Hello once more

It's been a good few months since I last blogged, as I was finding the pressures of work and parenthood left me with little time to keep the blog up to date. But I'm keen to start again, partly because I think I can make enough time to keep it going, but mostly because I'm loving the time that Jess and I spend together reading, and I want to keep a record of this for both our sakes. It's been a busy 6 months. Jessicat is now 3 and 3 months, and a strong willed and busy little girl.

Probably the biggest change in our lives recently has been Jess starting a pre-school, which happened last November. In spite of my anxieties about her separating from us, she has settled in well and appears to really enjoy her 3 mornings a week at The Village. It's a small, informally run group, and an ideal place for Jess to build up confidence and make some new friends (quite a challenge for my timid little girl). There is little by way of formal instruction (rightly so at this age IMO), but lots of painting, crafts and pretend play. Jessicat's best friend is her neighbour Rex, and her favourite activity so far is playing with the toy farm, and painting. She is beginning to recognize letters, and can probably sound out most letters, as well as becoming increasingly confident with counting objects up to 10 and recognizing most basic shapes.

We have a slightly longer bedtime routine now. Jessicat still goes to bed at about 7.40pm after a story and milk, but now she is the proud owner of her own bedside cabinet and lamp, she likes to spend a short period in bed reading her books "just like Mummy and Daddy". Our book at bedtime tonight is one from the Charlie and Lola series "Whoops! But it wasn't me". I'm sure I'm not alone in being slow to realise that Lauren Child hasn't written the whole series, but Jess still enjoys the collage pictures and Lola's misdemeanours. She watches the TV adaptation on CBeebies and recently, we enjoyed a family outing to Cardiff to see the fantastic Lauren Child exhibition at the National Museum of Wales. Couldn't recommend this exhibition highly enough: lots of interactive elements for toddlers to enjoy, whilst parents could look at the artwork and learn more about CHild's unique style.

The range of books for children of Jessica's age is splendid, and time and energy permitting, I'd like to note down her reading experiences in this blog over the coming weeks and months.