Reason No. 257

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because we were watching The Sound of Music on TV (typical New Year's Eve fare) and afterwards he sang the songs all through tea (with his own words!).

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she was very good during the day despite being stuck in the house all day in the rain - she had no trouble keeping herself occupied and not complaining!

Reason No. 256

I love Amelie and Seth more than I did the day before yesterday because they were really fantastic on the journey to Grandma's house watching their iPads and playing games, and the words "are we nearly there yet?" were only uttered once in 4 hours.

Reason No. 255

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he clung onto my hand throughout "Rise of the Guardians" at the cinema today - but clearly loved every minute (as did I!).

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she is such a sweet kind girl - she's now realised that it's not very nice for Daddy to always want to sit next to Mummy and hold Mummy's hand so she prides herself on wanting to sit next to Daddy.

Reason No. 254

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because today, over tea, she said to Seth "you're behaving like a complete lunatic" which sounds a little bit like Mummy.....

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because today, when playing Angry Birds, he said "blast it" repeatedly, which also sounds a little bit like Mummy.....(but is a very bad habit which we must both get out of otherwise he'll get in trouble at school).

Reason No. 253

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he was very excited about seeing his godmother today and then even more excited to play with her cute puppy (which means chasing it round the room saying "Hello Doggy" a lot!).

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because all day we played a kissing game where she tried to kiss me  before I kissed her, and giggled madly every time I beat her!

Reason No. 252

I live Amelie and Seth more than I did yesterday because we got back into the painting routine today and they got back into playing really nicely with each other all day - their creative role-playing is wonderful to listen to when you're half way through sanding down 14 doors!

Reason No. 251

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he sat down with his Lego dinosaur hunters and made it all by himself in about an hour. He was so focused on it and so quick and then spent the rest of the day playing with it - no interest in TV or his iPad for a change!

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she was entranced by her video message from Father Christmas, nodding and answering questions when he asked them and was really pleased to be on his 'nice' list!

Reason No. 250

I love Amelie and Seth more than I did yesterday because they have been fab today- inside all day because of the nasty weather but just getting on with it, playing angry birds on their new iPads, playing board games, watching TV and generally getting very excited!

Reason No. 249

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he was great playing duets on the piano with Grandpa and singing Christmas carols along with the radio.

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she sat down and made a stuffed cat which she was given for her birthday - it involved a lot of sewing and concentration but she sat and did it all herself.

Reason No. 248

I love Amelie and Seth more than I did the day before yesterday because they were totally fantastic today, entertaining Grandpa and Nannie Carol and playing with Matthew and Max who came for lunch.  We all had a fab day and it was mostly down to Amelie and Seth.

Reason No. 247

I love Seth more than I did the day before the day before yesterday because the excitement of the birthday didn't wear off all day, and he careered around the house clinging to his ipad, playing with his apps and watching his films.

I love Amelie more than I did the day before the day before yesterday because she was still excited but also much calmer than Seth is and feeling very grown up at 6.

Reason No. 246

I love Amelie and Seth more than I did yesterday because they were pretty fantastic throughout their birthday today - from the moment when they got up and opened all their presents in great excitement, through to the moment they went to bed in great excitement!  Thank goodness it's only once a year!

Reason No. 245

I love Seth and Amelie more than I did yesterday because they spent their first proper day of school holiday, helping TWBD making their own birthday cake - can't wait to eat it tomorrow!

Reason No. 244

I love Amelie more than I did the day before yesterday because she wasn't 100% sure about going to school as she was still feeling ill, but stuck it out for the whole day and didn't even complain when TWBD and Seth turned up late to pick her up as they'd got the time wrong.

I love Seth more than I did the day before yesterday because he stayed at home and looked after TWBD - sort of!

Reason No. 243

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he has started reading spontaneously including today wanting to read all the magnetic words on the fridge.

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she faced the day with fortitude despite feeling really ill including making her own laptop to play on and not being unhappy about Seth going on a play date without her.

Reason No. 242

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she has been a very cuddly girl today because she's been so full of cold and not feeling well.  So all she's wanted to do is to have cuddles and although I wish she wasn't ill, it's nice having lots of cuddles all day.

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because while Amelie has been ill and cuddly, he's spent the whole day getting on with making lego.  He's obsessed and when he sets his mind to it, he persists until he's finished.  Definitely something to channel into the the rest of his life!

Reason No. 241

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because we went to Endcliffe Park while Amelie was at a birthday party and we had great fun watching ducks ice skating on the ponds - Seth found it all hilarious!

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she was really not very well today - having been better yesterday - but was still insistent on going to a birthday party and grinned her way through it, then got more poorly as the afternoon went on.  Hopefully she'll feel better in the morning!

Reason No. 240

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because we went to her 'Toy Museum' display at school today and she was thrilled to show us around, like a real curator, and read out all the labels for all the toys and explain what they did.

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he finished school at lunchtime and then, instead of watching TV or driving us mad, he spent the whole afternoon making a new Lego toy -  he did it all by himself and was so proud of himself at the end.

Reason No. 239

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he sung and danced beautifully in his big number at his nativity today - but only in his big number and didn't seem to want to sing at all during the remainder of the nativity!

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she's full of cold and a bit feverish but still soldiering on! When I arrived to pick her up from yoga she was looking very sorry for herself and went to bed very early, but I'm sure she'll be fine in the morning.

Reason No. 238

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she was totally fantastic in her school nativity play.  She knew all the words and moves, and she kept smiling constantly which is what they had been told to do (although many of her classmates yawned, looked around or looked grumpy!). She's my little star and my little angel!

I live Seth more than I did yesterday because he was very good about the fact that we didn't go to his nativity play today - we're going tomorrow instead - and he was very happy anyway. I don't think we were the only ones but I know he would have liked us to be there.

Reason No. 237

I love Seth and Amelie because they have both, very diligently, written their thank you and Xmas cards today both before and after school.  They had to do lots of them but both recognised that this was the price they pay for getting lovely presents from lots of people so they got on with it, without too much complaining.

Reason No. 236

I love Amelie and Seth more than I did yesterday because they picked me up from work and insisting on singing 'Away in a Manger' all the way home, all evening and it was lovely (if a bit repetitive!).

Reason No. 235

I love Seth and Amelie more than I did yesterday because they were fantastic at their birthday party this afternoon. They were so excited about everything - the bowling, being with their friends, their cupcake stacks and all the presents they got. It's amazing that they've gone to bed and haven't caused any fuss at all!

Reason No. 234

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because while Seth and TWBD were at a party, she found a book about the human body Andreas beautifully to me while I was painting. I was a bit perplexed by all the 'musicals' in the body, including in the arms and legs, and a very important one in the heart! West Side Story maybe?

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because, for the first time ever, he found a book and read it to me while I was painting. This was before Amelie read her book to me so he clearly inspired her!

Reason No. 233

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he came home from the pantomime today buzzing - there was lots of shouting, lots of singing, two men dressed as ladies who had funny dresses on and they said "behind you" a lot!

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because when I picked her up from ballet she was doing proper ballet jumps and waving a sparkly wand around so looked like a little angel.

Reason No. 232

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because every morning at the moment is great excitement as we open all our advent calendars. Amelie is particularly taken by our computer one so we have to watch each day's entry several times.

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because at bedtime he sang his nativity song to me and it was word perfect and in tune and lovely.

Reason No. 231

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because after school, TWBD took him and Amelie to the Botanical Gardens cafe for a cake and he was really grown up including getting a napkin and putting it on without any prompting.

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she is so keen to do her reading now that even on nights when she doesn't have homework , she still volunteers to read other books to us. Maybe it will rub off on Seth!

Reason No. 230

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she has got all her nativity songs perfect now - fingers crossed she remembers them next week!

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he recognised the word 'extraordinary' in his reading tonight - a great leap forward!

Reason No. 229

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because sometimes he is completely oblivious to everything around him, and sometimes he notices even the smallest things, like today when he noticed that all the trees around his school had been pruned. Small but important steps!

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she came home from school saying "Did you know that every year Norwhere gives a Christmas tree for Chafalgar Square" which is near enough I guess!

Reason No. 228

I love Amelie and Seth more than I did yesterday because when we went out for lunch today, they held hands and chatted to each other all the way there - we were quite unimportant as they were having such a nice time with each other!

Reason No. 227

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he had a good night with no wees and no waking us up - which isn't always the case!

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because when she and Seth are doing their homework and she knows the answer to his homework, she puts her hand up, sometimes in that desperate 'pick me pick me' way which is so cute.  But we never let us because Seth has to learn for himself.

Reason No. 226

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because on the way home, when we were talking about Seth going to the pantomime, Amelie said "when you've been told about a surprise, the best thing is to forget that you know about it, and then when it happens, you will be all excited again!"

I love aesthetics more than I did yesterday because when I picked him up from school and we were walking up to get Amelie, he decided that he was 'an army man' who was chasing baddies so he dashed from place to place hiding in the shadows and being a very good soldier. 

Reason No. 225

I love Seth and Amelie more than I did the day before yesterday because even though I forgot to write this last night and I've forgotten what they did yesterday, I know that they were fantastic and that they were enthusiastic and that they were loving, and that's why I love them!

Reason No. 224

I love Amelie and Seth more than I did yesterday because on the way home from school they had a fantastic discussion with TWBD about days of the week, how many days there are in the month, how many days there are until December and which days.  They got all the answers right so are clearly learning something!

Reason No. 223

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he can now play 3 duets on the piano and there's one march which he really loves playing because he loves the tune and thinks it's "so cool"!

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she has been singing all her school nativity songs this evening and seems to know all the words.

Reason No. 222

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she was very excited about having her friend Caitlin round for a playdate and showing her the house and particularly the cats which were a great fascination!

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he was very excited about the school Christmas tree today and insisted that TWBD went back to look at it - and then demanded why we didn't have a Christmas tree yet.

Reason No. 221

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because at breakfast, when we talked about the party he was going to, he said "and I'll have to go in my pirate costume".  And we'd completely forgotten that last time he went to the same place, everyone was in fancy dress and he wasn't.  So he went in his pirate costume and had a lovely time, even though no-one else was in fancy dress!!

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she stayed at home with me while Seth went to his party, and she was fantastic doing lovely pictures for her scrapbook and then snuggling up in bed with me watching TV, then carrying on watching TV while I had a bath.

Reason No. 220

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because when we were watching TV in bed, and I had said that she had to swap places with Seth half way through the programme so that he could sit next to me, it was Amelie who pointed out that it was half way through and that it was time to swap.

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because when Amelie did that, he leant over and gave her a big kiss on the cheek without any prompting!

Reason No. 219

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because on the way home from school he told TWBD the story of Jonah and the Whale in full - so he clearly listens well at school.

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she went with TWBD to the Botanical Gardens cafe after school before picking up Seth and he said they had a hugely grown-up conversation and it was like having tea with an adult.

Reason No. 218

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because at bedtime she was really sweet and said "if you remember when you come up to check on me when I'm asleep, could you bring my yellow teddy. But only if you remember!"

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he brought home a toy that his friend had leant him, was very excited to show it to us, so much so that he said we couldn't look in his school bag and had to do the big reveal!

Reason No. 217

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because we had a lovely time playing the piano this evening - he loves playing duets (where he plays one note and I play the tune!) and is very proud of his ability to play his note in time.

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she started using her school 'virtual learning environment' at home tonight and got very excited about logging in and doing some adding games with TWBD.

Reason No. 216

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she got her cowgirl costume today for her Xmas nativity and promptly showed TWBD her cowgirl dance!

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he came out of school with crown on like all his classmates - but unlike them, he had his on onside down!  When challenged by TWBD he said "it's because they are all kings but I'm the Prime Minister"!

Reason No. 215

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because his reading continues to improve massively - getting words like "snorts" on sight (even though he has to spell out "on")!

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she had some poem reading homework and she acted them out beautifully, including animal noises!

Reason No. 214

I love Amelie and Seth more than I did yesterday because they have been fabulous today - playing with each other, inventing new games and making up recipes with each other, and walking hand-in-hand on our walk today whispering things to each other.  If only it was always like this!

Reason No. 213

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he was such a good boy this morning when Amelie and TWBD went to a birthday party and I was painting our bedroom.  He played happily on his own for over 2 hours, only occasionally asked "have you finished yet" and didn't cause very much havoc at all - especially given the potential to do so with wet paintbrushes, tins and walls everywhere!

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because at bedtime she said "Mummy I've got something very little to say to you - I love you" so I said "That's not little, that's very big" and she said "It's a very little word but it's a very big feeling".

Reason No. 212

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because when I was drying her hair this evening, I told her that a wild monster with hair all over its face and body had kidnapped Amelie and only when I'd finished drying, had Amelie come back. She was desperate to reassure me "but it was me Mummy, with my hair loan over my face, honestly there was no monster!"

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he was so embroiled in his swimming today that he managed to swim into the wall and came home from school with a huge bump on his head!

Reason No. 211

I love Seth and Amelie more than I did yesterday because my little bundles of love bounded into my bed this morning with presents, croissants and kisses to celebrate my birthday - and it eas lovely!

Reason No. 210

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because at bed time she told me that she had had a headache at school because one of the other girls had shouted at her.  When I asked why, she said it was because the other girl had said Amelie was being bossy.  So I said "You know you are a bit bossy some times" and Amelie said "I know I am sometimes Mummy but I really wasn't being this time"!  At least she's self-aware!

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he was Star Scientist at school - when I asked why he said "What colour is light?" and I said "You tell me" and so he said "No you are supposed to say yellow or white and then I would have said that you were wrong because it's all rainbow colours".

Reason No. 209

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he was really good doing his piano practice tonight - he now knows C and D and can tell the difference between them and play them with the correct finger.

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she sang her school Christmas songs to TWBD this evening - which was apparently lovely!

Reason No. 208

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because on the way home from school this afternoon she counted in 7s - she's been doing 2s and 5s and 10s for a while but 7s is a new departure!

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he moved back into his newly painted room this evening, having helped TWBD to put all stickers back on the walls (in a very Seth-like layout!) and was very appreciative for all TWBD's hard work on putting everything back together today.

Reason No. 207

I love Seth and Amelie more than I did yesterday because they behaved so fantastically during our night away in a hotel, celebrating Grandpa's birthday - although they were very excited about seeing all the family, when they went to bed they behaved really well, we didn't hear a peep out of them all night, and they stayed there until we got them up in the morning.

Reason No. 206

I love Amelie more than I did (the day before) yesterday because we had a great conversation over breakfast about Christmas and she said "Father Christmas only comes when you're asleep.  The tooth fairy only comes when you're asleep.  Do you think that the tooth fairy works for Father Christmas?"

I love Seth more than I did (the day before) yesterday because during the same conversation we warned him that Father Christmas won't necessarily bring him all the things on his Christmas list because he might not be able to get all the things - so Seth said "Where do we normally get Lego from?" and TWBD said "John Lewis and Amazon" so Seth said "I think we should tell Father Christmas that if he can't find any of my presents, he should try John Lewis and Amazon and they'll have them!"

Reason No. 205

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he was a little bundle of joy and cuddles when he arrived home from school very excited about school and about it being the weekend.

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she was also a bundle of joy and cuddles but the first thing she said to me was "Mummy why's your hair red?" which it isn't really, but I had had it dyed!

Reason No. 204

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because her reading was described as 'brilliant' by whoever read with her at school today - which we knew already!

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because his reading has been described by me today as 'brilliant' - which I wasn't so certain about before but he has really come on massively in the past couple of weeks so I'm very happy with him.

Reason No. 203

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because at bedtime he said to me "Duncan brought some Lego to school and he sneaked it past his parents so they didn't know" (this relates to an ongoing battle because we've said he can't take Lego to school in case he loses bits). So he said "I would never do that.  But I really want to take some Lego to school please?"  All said with wide eyes and a pleading expression!

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she sang her Christmas song to me at bedtime which had verses which started "Christmas is for you and me.....", "Christmas is for boys and girls....." then she got to "Christmas is for rich and ...um..." So I said "poor?" And she said "How did you know that - do you know this sing Mummy?!"

Reason No. 202

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because TWBD went on a school trip today with TWBD and was apparently brilliant - the first to put up her hand to answer questions and one of the girls chosen to present what her group thought to the others, which she did very confidently.

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he's showing increasing signs of having a really good musical sense including singing along to the radio and criticising Amelie when she doesn't get tunes right!

Reason No. 201

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he was not on his best behaviour this evening after school but after having his tea, he snuggled up on TWBD's lap to watch TV and then said "I'm sorry for not behaving well tonight Daddy" which is better than the alternative!

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she was so excited about being back at school and was desperate to tell me the whole story of The Hare and the Tortoise (including "the moral of the story Mummy is that you shouldn't fall asleep while you're in a race and also that slow and steady wins the race") and to also show me how to do a straddle roll which she'd learnt in PE.

Reason No. 200

I love Amelie and Seth more than I did yesterday because they survived the week in Wales - despite it being quite wet a lot of the time, very snowy on the way home, and having to sleep in a double bed together, they really did behave pretty well most of the time and are looking forward to returning to school so that they can tell all their friends about it.

Reason No. 199

I love Seth and Amelie more than I did before because they spent the day being complemented by strangers during our trip to Anglesey.  First, an old lady stopped Seth and said that she loved his hat and that he looked like a proper little man!  And then a lady sitting next to us during lunch stopped us as we were leaving and said that the children behaved beautifully and we should be proud of them!

Reason No. 198

I love Amelie more than I did before because she has no fear of heights and is like a mountain goat - together, we climbed up all the towers in Caernarfon Castle - she said it was 13 but I'm not sure as I lost count (as well as being pretty scared most of the time and exhausted by the end!).

I love Seth more than I did before because he was very happy just patrolling the bottom of the towers with TWBD - it doesn't bother him that he is slightly scared of heights and that Amelie is better at these things than he is!

Reason No. 197

I love Seth and Amelie more than I did before because they are both steam train freaks!  They loved the whole business of getting on the Ffestiniog Railway, 'driving' the train from the first carriage, imagining that we were going to go over the cliff side, and even tolerated the pouring rain when we got to Blaenau Ffestiniog at the end.

Reason No. 196

I love Amelie and Seth more than I did before because they were excellent on our pretty long journey to Wales and were very excited to get to Auntie Charlie's house near Harlech and to explore it fully before bedtime.

Reason No. 195

I love Seth and Amelie more than I did yesterday because I got some lovely snuggly warm kisses and cuddles in both the morning before I went to London - when they were awake - and in the evening when I got back from London - when they weren't!

Reason No. 194

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she was very worried about TWBD who had a fall when picking her up from her playdate - she was worried that Daddy had hurt his arm (and that he'd hurt her arm in doing so).

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because while we were waiting for TWBD and Amelie to return from her playdate, he sat on my knee and read a book on the way things work to me - of his own accord!

Reason No. 193

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he played so well with Amelie today - despite us spending a second day painting her room, he played nicely on his own for a while, then played nicely with Amelie, pretending to be shopkeepers and selling their toys to each other!

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she made a great pizza for her homework project:

Reason No. 192

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she's a great room painter!

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because I played piano duets with him at lunchtime today - his part was one note (middle C) but he was still really keen to play which is a good sign!

Reason No. 191

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because at bedtime he insisted on telling me all about a TV programme he had been watching including one bit that he had to whisper because it was very scary and very secret!

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she was a total joy today - all happy, bubbly and excited about the weekend of painting ahead.

Reason No. 190

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she spent the day at home with TWBD and started preparing her room for painting at the weekend - and now she's very keen to actual paint some of it herself!  I see a messy weekend ahead.

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he got called up in assembly on his last day at school for doing  'Wonderfully Outstanding Work' (WOW) and came home very proud of his sticker - haven't seen the WOW work itself yet but await it with baited breath!

Reason No. 189

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he spent all the way home telling me about things that he had learned in science today about the eye - "did you know Mummy that there's something like a camera in the eye and the light bounces off it and everything is upside down but our brains make it loom the right way up?"

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she was desperate to tell me about learning to log on to the school network at tea time club - she told me her user name and her password several times, including spelling it out, just to be clear!

Reason No. 188

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she got Star of the Week at schools and her teacher said lots of fantastic things at parents' evening tonight.

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he got called up in assembly today because he had been well-behaved and told another boy to shhh!

Reason No. 187

I love Seth more than I did before because he may not be motivated by merits (see below - and it's house points at his school) but I know that he's really keen to do well (and is motivated by the prospect of playtime after work!).

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she got another 10 out of 10 for her spelling and therefore got another merit so she's second in her class for merits this half term.

Reason No. 186

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she was really good at doing her reading homework while we were painting a bathroom this morning, and then helping Seth do his reading homework including doing a very good 'mummy' impression getting him to sound out the words he didn't know!

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he and Amelie went to Abi's birthday party this afternoon and he was great when they did some mini beast handling - he was very keen to tell the animal person everything he knew about the animals she had brought, particularly the Giant African Snail which Seth knows a lot about!

Reason No. 185

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because it was lovely to watch him at some of the concert we went to this afternoon. For some of the time he was fidgeting and bored but when they played Pirates of the Caribbean and Harry Potter he was completely entranced.

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because, as usual, she spent her hair cut complaining about losing her curls but when her hairdresser put rollers on her and dried in the curls, she spent all her time saying "don't like it, it looks funny" because of the curlers!  Luckily she liked it better when the curlers came out!

Reason No. 184

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she is a yoga superstar - she's got her first certificate to say that she's learned all her stage 1 poses, plus she's now talking about her second ballet exam where she will apparently have to do some 'freestyle' dancing (which TWBD had suggested that I choreograph - hmm!).

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because today he managed to find middle C straightaway on the piano, and managed to play a rhythm on middle C having learned how to count different types of note (minims and crochets).

Reason No. 183

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he was really good and well behaved when he went to pick up Amelie from a playdate at her friend's house even though he really wants a playdate himself soon.

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she was desperately excited about her playdate and wanted to talk about everything she did including what she ate and what toys they played with.

Reason No. 182

I love Amelie more than I did (the day before) yesterday because it was raining cats and dogs in the morning and she said to TWBD somewhat wisely "it's not a good day for the beach"!

I love Seth more than I did (the day before) yesterday because he had a really good piano lesson and learned a tune for the first time.

Reason No. 181

I love Seth and Amelie because they are lovely, scrummy and cuddly - and were particularly so this morning:

Reason No. 180

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she was very keen to show me at bedtime the balances that she had learnt in PE at school - basically 2 hands and one foot on the floor, and one foot in the air, for the count of 5!  But she thought it was great!

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he was very cuddly when I got home, and very interested in my piano practising which he said was lovely.

Reason No. 179

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he had a very good time with TWBD while Amelie was at her birthday party - as usual, doing boys' stuff like making great lego, eating pizza and buying cakes!

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she was a star at her friend's swimming party - no problems with confidence any more and desperate to do everything go everywhere.

Reason No. 178

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she's really priding herself on being the big grown up girl at the moment, wanting to help out making pancakes for breakfast, serving them to Seth and generally helping out at every opportunity.

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he spent the day playing very creatively with his Bakugans, making up new and interesting games and playing out full-scale battles with Amelie.

Reason No. 177

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because when we were talking at tea time about moving things around to accommodate the new piano which we bought today, and I said to TWBD that we would need to go to Plan B, Seth said straight away "Can we go to Plan C?" and I said "What's Plan C?" and he said "Me and Amelie watching television after tea!".

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she found it hilarious when TWBD was brushing her hair at bedtime that he ended up brushing it all over her face, so she looked like some kind of hairy monster!  She left it like that so I could be scared when I went in to say good night!

Reason No. 176

I love Amelie and Seth more than I did yesterday because we gave them their new pirate fancy dress costumes this evening (for a birthday party next weekend) and they were so excited about them - we had lots of yo ho ho, avast mateys and cutlass clashing.  I'll be amazed if they survive the party without doing major damage to themselves, each other or someone else!

Reason No. 175

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because this morning when TWBD had to do various official things he went off to the cloakroom, did all his jobs, then presented himself back to TWBD ready for the day.  Which is a major improvement on the boy who needed help in hanging up his coat and shows great signs of growing up!

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she got herself to the school office today, on her own, for her antibiotics and when there was no-one there, she sat quietly on her own and waited for some to come and do her medicine.  Which I think is very grown up too!

Reason No. 174

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she was very brave at the dentists today when she had to sit really still for an x-ray and it turned out that she is so grown up that she is growing through her molars rather than having an abscess!

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he was desperately excited to me on the phone when I was coming back from London because he had got not one but two bakugans.  Cue major explanations and descriptions down the phone from a very happy little boy!

Reason No. 173

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because on the way home with TWBD they were trying it list his classmates and in the middle, straight-faced, Seth said 'tree'. TWBD almost believed him that there was someone called Tree in his class which Seth found hilarious.

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she was very brave tonight when she came home with a very strange looking tooth/gum and had to go to the doctors. Apparently she might have an abscess so now has to go to the dentist too.

Reason No. 172

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because it turns out she's a demon bowler!  We took them both bowling today as a try out for having a bowling birthday party, and Amelie was great at getting strikes and halves.  But I still won!

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he was over-the-top excited about the bowling.  He wasn't as successful as Amelie was, but he enjoyed every minute of it and we'll definitely be doing the party there.

Reason No. 171

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because, listening to the radio on the way home from a party today he asked TWBD "is there anywhere I can go and hear music like this beng played". Very encouraging although he was a bit put off by the thought that a concert would be as long as a Star Wars film!

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because while Seth was at his party we went to Ponds Forge swimming pool and had a fab time - she swam like a dolphin and we both had great fun with the rapids which carry you round the pool on floats. We both had a totally fantastic time!

Reason No. 170

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because at bedtime when I told her that we wouldn't be able to watch TV in bed tomorrow morning (because we've moved rooms during the big painting effort) she said "but can we come in for a snuggle before we get up anyway?"

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he talked all the way to school about his plans for Lego building - I bough him a Lego ideas book yesterday and he has been totally inspired to make new and exciting things. Tonight we made a castle drawbridge with guns and scary spikes on top!

Reason No. 169

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because we had his parents' evening tonight and his teacher said he was a lovely boy, bright, helpful, friendly to everyone etc etc. So I'm not the only one who loves him!

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because on the way home from school she treated us all to her rendition of 'five little men went round the world in a spaceship' and 'I'm a floppy floppy scarecrow' both of which she's been singing at singalong club.

Reason No. 168

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because at bed time she was so giggly and cuddly that I thought she had done something naughty - but she just said "I really love you Mummy" and gave me another big kiss!

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he had his school photo today and we practised smiling at breakfast - no teeth, too many teeth, you look in pain, you look like you're having a poo etc. Poor Seth probably ended up so confused that the photo will be a disaster!

Reason No. 167

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because today's obsession is Bakugans - a bizarre toy which transforms from a ball into a monster. He must have told me 10 times that Robin had lent him one but he had to remember to take it back on Friday. But he's a very happy boy for the next 2 days!

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she now has had 3 10/10 spelling tests and got a merit as a result. She now also wants a Bakugan as a result!

Reason No. 166

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she is now very excited to have her own computer password for the school network and today she learnt how to print!

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because rather than watch TV this evening before bed, he spent ages in his own little world making lego and trying to put together models from pictures in a book that he's got.

Reason No. 165

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he spent a long time over lunch telling us about a film he watched at school with an invisible giant alien. What he got was ET after lunch, but he really loved it.

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she gets loads of homework but is really excited to do it all, even when she can't do it. And on top of homework, today she did a Christmas card for us to send to everyone.

Reason No. 164

I love Amelie and Seth more than I did yesterday because they were both really fantastic and grown up today - we spent the day painting a room and they spent the day occupying themselves, playing nicely, and hardly complaining at all.  The only low point was when Amelie fell and banged her cheek which caused a lot of crying, but she recovered and no real harm was done!

Reason No. 163

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he's becoming a very musical boy - firstly when waiting to pick Amelie up from ballet he was playing drums in the playground and showed real rhythm, then when at home, he showed us what he had learnt in his piano lesson and already knows where all the notes are.

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she is getting really good at ballet - compared to the little elephant in a pink dress when she started, she now looks like an actual ballerina with proper pointed toes and gracefulness!

Reason No. 162

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because I arrived to pick her up from school to find her completely engrossed in working on a computer the school library - a very good sign.

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he told us all at breakfast that his name is in the bible and he was really interested to know who Seth was and whether he had done any stories about Seth at school - we managed to point him to the links with Cain and Abel (brother) and with Noah (ancestor) so he was happy.

Reason No. 161

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he made a great "Seth and the beanstalk" at his school's 'fairy tales fancy dress' day, as evidenced by the photo below!

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she spent ages this evening showing me the dance steps that she had learnt at school which apparently were shake, stroll and wiggle.  I did my best to try them all!

Reason No. 160

I love Amelie and Seth more than I did yesterday because they both were very good today at occupying themselves (and each other) including reading quietly by themselves while TWBD helped Nanny Mabel with her furniture and then ate their tea together sensibly while we moved some furniture into the garage.

Reason No. 159

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he was so excited about going on his school trip tomorrow to a fairytale adventure park, and was so devastated when it was cancelled today because of a bad weather forecast.  Anyone would have thought the world had ended, the way he reacted.  But he's still very excited about going in fancy dress on Wednesday - and says that his costume is going to be the fancy dress costume of the year! - hopefully that won't be rained off.

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because this morning so stated firmly that Yazza (the cat) is so big it looks like she's having babies.  The fact that Yazza is a very old lady and is on a constant diet doesn't seem to have registered with Amelie!

Reason No. 158

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she is like a little me sometimes, telling Seth "if you don't move this Lego, someone will sit on it and break it" and telling him off for burping and generally being naughty.

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he lets it all wash over him and he still loves Amelie hugely, giving her big cuddles and kisses and letting himself be bossed around as much as he does the bossing.

Reason No. 157

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because when he is tickled, he has the most lovely happy twinkle in his eyes and smiles unreservedly.

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she turned interior designer today, choosing a light pink paint for her bedroom and declaring that her flower stickers would look much better on pink than they do on the current magnolia.

Reason No. 156

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she got full marks in her first maths homework this week.

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he looked extremely cute in a peak cap that TWBD bought for him to wear when he goes to school as Jack (and the Beanstalk) next week.

Reason No. 155

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he brought home 2 pieces of work which were 'roll of honour' at school, and was very proud of them.

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she was very funny when talking about her tummy ache "it makes funny noises which sound a it like frogs in my tummy!".

Reason No. 154

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because I wasn't well today and she was totally lovely when I had to sort out breakfast and take the children to school.

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he was hugely amused by something that happened at school today - it involved a parcel, a huge wardrobe, Jack (without his beanstalk), two policemen and Cinderella. What actually happened wasn't clear but they were real people ("but I think they were dressing up Mummy") and were obviously hilarious!

Reason No. 153

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because when he finally buckled down, and learned some difficult spellings, he got them all right. Now our challenge is to get him to concentrate on the important stuff in life!

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she has already started to doubt the existence of Santa Claus - she told TWBD that Santa didn't exist and that all the presents came from Mummy and Daddy. We'll have to spend the next 3 months persuading her otherwise!

Reason No. 152

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she had her first ever spelling test and (we think!) she got them all right!

I love Seth  more than I did yesterday, but I didn't when he got me up at midnight to say he needed the toilet.  On the plus side, at least he now seems to get the idea that getting up to the toilet is a good thing (rather than not getting up at all.......)

Reason No. 151

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he decided today to start reading the newspaper with me - no idea what sparked his interest but it seems to be a maor step forward and we read several headlines and first paragraphs together.

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she had a whale of a time building dens and campfires at her friends' birthday party today which was in Eccy Woods. Luckily it didn't rain so the adults were happy - but they still got pretty muddy!

Reason No. 150

I love Amelie and Seth more than I did yesterday because they had a great day celebrating Nanny Mabel's 89th birthday. They were very keen to make cards, wrap presents then to give them to NM so they could help unwrap and then eat cake!  It was a lovely day.

Reason No. 149

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he is desperately excited about the prospect of getting new Lego at the weekend - he can sniff Lego out and managed to find some new Lego people in his box and realised that TWBD had bought and made some new models and these bits were the leftovers. So he has been organising 'investigations' with Amelie to search everywhere they have access to, to see if they can find the new models - but no luck so fat!

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she got her ballet exam certificate today and she had got a distinction - so she's definitely inherited my artistic and balletic tendencies!

Reason No. 148

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she did her first yoga class today and came home buzzing. She learned 'a dog having a wee', 'a palm tree' and 'a magic carpet' which she demonstrated at home - not sure these are formal yoga terms but never mind!

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he had his first piano lesson today and learnt "that you use different fingers to play different notes". Great progress!

Reason No. 147

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he was 'Star Scientist' at school today.

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because in her phonics lesson today, she got all her words right and she was very proud of the fact.

Reason No. 146

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because this evening she said "I love homework" when she was learning her spellings for her first spelling test.  Seth's reply "You can do mine then"!

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he forgot his school jumper yesterday then found it this morning in his tray at school - his reaction "Mystery solved Mummy" (to add to the "On the contrary Mummy" which he said yesterday - if only he was that mature in other ways too!).

Reason No. 145

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he brought home some reading tonight and read it really fantastically to TWBD - and the feedback from his teacher in his school book was that he had read really well too.

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she was very excited about getting some homework tonight - and it's going to be 4 nights a week so long may it last!

Reason No. 144

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because we had a lovely afternoon at a birthday party and on the way, totally exhausted, she wearily said "It's been a lovely day Mummy".

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because we were watching the Paralympics  marathon while Amelie was at swimming and when I said, who lives in Buckingham Palace he said "Grandma?".

Reason No.143

I love Seth and Amelie more than I did yesterday because we had the most fantastic day doing a treasure hunt at Chatsworth. The weather was glorious and they were both totally occupied for 2 hours running around saying "This is totally awesome!"

Reason No. 142

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because we had a lovely chat about everything when I was taking her to school - she told me all about school and her theories on life, the universe and everything - or something like that.

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because at bedtime he described to me in great detail the episode of Star Wars The Clone Wars that he had just seen - OK it was because he wanted to describe something he wanted to get in lego, but at least it shows he pays attention and internalises things when he wants to!

Reason No. 141

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he, under sufferance a bit, did some great reading this evening. He was sent home with 2 books which he said to TWBD that had to go back tomorrow so we dutifully read - and very well. Then on the way to bed, he said that he didn't have to takeback unil Monday. But I think it's a good sign that he forgot that and wanted to read!

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because at bedtime I asked her to tell me what she had done at school. She said there was too much so I said "just tell me the highlights" - "what are highlights?" - "the best bits" - "they were all the best bits!".

Reason No. 140

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because her first day back at school went very well - she chatted non-stop after I got home about everything that happened, all the writing she had done, the dancing she had done, and even gave me a run down of the head's speech in assembly where she talked about doors!

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because before school he did some fantastic writing about his holiday and was really proud of it, taking it to school and telling his teacher about how he had written very small and neat on purpose.

Reason No. 139

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he was really pleased to be back at school today, mostly, it seems, because he loves his teachers so much - he greeted one of them with the 'Seth death grip' and generally seemed to have had a really good day.

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she had  lovely day at home with TWBD (as she doesn't start school until tomorrow) and showed real determination in trying to get to grips with the bike without stabilisers.  Not quite there yet, but making progress.

Reason No. 138

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because when TWBD was trying to buy an age 6 birthday card for one of her friends, she insisted that her friend was only 5. TWBD insisted she was wrong but Amelie stood firm. But TWBD bought the age 6 card anyway. And of course Amelie was right so now we have to go and buy another card!

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because at Chatsworth he made a fab moat in the sandpit complete with water. Maybe he'll be a builder, or an engineer!

Reason No. 137

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he was a fantastic help with cleaning today and even did some of the hoovering himself - very exciting for him (until it got boring!)

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she watched Superman II so intently that when I missed a bit (where Clark Kent re-gained his super powers) she was able to explain what had happened and gave me her theory about why it had happened (he picked up the green crystal and that contains all his super powers so they all just came back into his body again!)

Reason No. 136

I love Seth and Amelie because we decided they were ready to watch Superman today and they loved it!

Reason No. 135

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she was desperate for a 'light sabre belt' so that she could play Star Wars with Seth - so I made her a sheath to fit her belt and her sword and she played madly with it (for all of 10 mins!)

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he did really well in the park today when he climbed higher than before and did some bits of the obstacle course that he's been scared of before.

Reason No.134

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he was very excited about going to his friend Robin's house today and Robin's mum said that he had been fantastic and that they had played really well together.  He was still buzzing when I came home from work much later on.

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she had a lovely day at home with TWBD (and a lovely lunch with me) when, amongst other things, she acted as his stylist helping him to choose a suit, a pair of trousers, a jacket and a pair of slippers!

Reason No. 133

I love Amelie and Seth more than I did yesterday because I got a fantastic welcome when I came home from work - a nice contrast to yesterday when they totally ignored me and leant around me as I kissed them so that they could continue watching the TV.  So tonight was lovely and quite unexpected!

Reason No. 132

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he did some fantastic bike riding today after previously struggling with a bike that he had grown out of.  Now that the bike has been fixed, he's going to be the next Bradley Wiggins!

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she is also shaping up to be a Laura Trott - despite the fact that she had quite a bad fall last week when out on her bike, she was very brave and determined to get back on her bike today and to ride really well.

Reason No. 131

I love Amelie and Seth more than I did yesterday because they have not stopped talking to everyone - us, people in shops, Lego characters - about how much they have enjoyed being at Legoland.  It has been a hugely successful mini break!

Reason No. 130

I love Seth more than I did before because his face going on the Viking's River Splash was fabulous - blissfully happy - and every time we approached a corner or a splash he said "Incoming!"

I love Amelie more than I did before because after we had been on the Viking's River Splash she said "That was disgusting - can we go on it again!"

Reason No. 129

I love Amelie more than I did before because, after our first afternoon at Legoland she said "That was the wettest, worstest, loveliest day ever!"

I love Seth more than I did before because he absolutely loved every minute of the rides at Legoland and, as usual, defied expectations and didn't get scared even when we went down the huge drop into the Pirate Falls ride.

Reason No.128

I love Seth and Amelie more than I did yesterday because over breakfast this morning they were both desperate to tell me about the 'How to be a Pirate' book that TWBD has been reading to them.  Although sometimes neither of them seem to be listening to the story, Seth said "you'll never guess what happened in this book last night - you won't believe it" and then between them they described the story in great detail including Amelie being very taken with someone biting the other one's bottom, and Seth telling me that the dragon poo-ed in someone's helmet.  They were very tickled by this and hearing them tell the story was hilarious and lovely.

Reason No. 127

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because TWBD was reading her a story today and had to go and leave it to check up on dinner; when he came back and carried on reading she said that she already knew what was going to happen because she had continued reading the book in his absence.  And this was quite a difficult book with lots of hard words.

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because TWBD bought him and Amelie in to town to have lunch with me during work and I got a fantastic welcome from Seth who ran up the road and flung his arms around me and gave me a big kiss.

Reason No. 126

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he finally overcame his fear of the bath today and managed to dunk his entire head under the bath when washing his hair.  Next challenge - the shower!

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she climbed up to the top of a climbing wall at the playground today, without any help, and was very proud of herself.

Reason No. 125

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she and Seth discovered the 'joined-up writing' bits of their phonics books and loved practising it.  Amelie said "I could do this all day".

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because, although he normally doesn't like reading or writing or generally doing anything that he thinks of as 'learning', he also loved the joined-up writing and said it was 'awesome'!

Reason No. 124

I love Seth more than I did yesterday but I just don't get him!  I suppose it's having 2 children to compare but Seth seems to be on a completely different wavelength to both me and Stephen. He's motivated differently, he thinks differently and he communicates differently. But I love him beyond anything else.

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she is continually trying to get better at everything she does. She still whinges and complains I'd she doesn't get her own way, so is far from perfect. But I love that she's so easy to motivate.

Reason No. 123

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because, although she has recently complained about nightmares about bears chasing her, she managed to sit through the whole of 'Brave' which is full of very scary bears chasing people.

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he got very scared in the film, so much so that I had to take him out, but he was clearly very interested in the film, wanted to talk about the plot and was even asking if there was a Brave 2!

Reason No. 122

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he is such a gorgeous loving little boy when he wants to be and he has wanted to be a lot today so I've had lots of kisses, cuddles and hugs.

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she is so sweet when she's being grown up. This evening when I was feeling a bit 'end of the week rough' she said "so where does it hurt exactly Mummy?".

Reason No. 121

I love Amelie and Seth more than I did yesterday because they had a great day today with "the world's best Daddy" (as declared by Amelie when she said that there should be a line on their sticker chart for stickers given to Daddy for being the best Daddy in the world!).  Anyway, today they worked with TWBD to make a model of pirate island (from Jake and the Neverland Pirates) using cardboard boxes and toilet rolls.  The result is astounding - as seen below.

Reason No. 120

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he was very brave at the doctors when Daddy and Amelie took him this morning about his weeing problems, including giving a sample on demand and answering all the doctor's questions like a big boy.

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she was also very brave when she fell off her bike in the park. As she said on the phone to me "I was going down a really big hill and the I hit a hole and I hurt my arm and my leg and my knee and my hand and my side and my bottom". Luckily none of that hurt translated into major injuries or blood but needed big kisses and big plasters!

Reason No. 119

I love Amelie and Seth more than I did yesterday because I was unexpectedly able to give them both a big kiss before leaving for London early today, and they were both really snuggly and kissy so I left with a lovely warm feeling inside.

Reason No. 118

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because today was his "best day ever" (again!) when he got some new toys - a pirate ship, Jake and the Neverland Pirate figures, and a Lego star wars model - to share with Amelie.  He was very very excited (and understatement).

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she showed her mature emotional intelligence again when receiving the toys - she couldn't help herself pointing out that the pirate ship wasn't Bucky (the ship from Jake) but when I gave her a look (because Daddy had done a lot of research into toy pirate ships and there isn't a toy Bucky) she quickly corrected herself to say "but it's even better than Bucky"!

Reason No. 117

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because her swimming went from strength to strength again today when she did her whole lesson without any armbands. She's now decided she definitely wants to be an Olympic swimmer when she grows up!

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he stayed with me while Amelie went swimming and was a joy throughout. He played happily with his toys, all the while singing the James Bond theme tune (bizarre given that he has never seen a Bond film!).

Reason No. 116

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he took charge during our visit to Graves Park today - he had been before with school but none of us had so he took great pride in showing us the way and bossing Amelie around.

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she had been very stoic with her cold - despite having been sick in the night and having a nosebleed all over her pillow she was determined to have fun at Graves Park including in the playground.

Reason No. 115

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she really wanted me to get my hair dyed red today, and tried to hide her disappointment when I came home without scarlet highlights.  And then spent the rest of the afternoon, periodically saying "I can see a bit of a red stripe here" and "this bits a bit golden" and "why don't you keep your hair curly like mine?"

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he was far more interested in his own project of creating a Star Wars fighter out of Lego - having watched Star Wars at lunchtime.  He took a picture from a book of an aircraft and used his Lego to copy it in great detail.

Reason No. 114

I love Seth and Amelie more than I did yesterday because they had a fab day today with Amelie's schoolfriend Abi who came over to play.  They all played really well together and had a lovely trip out with Daddy to Chatsworth.  So generally another lovely holiday day for everyone (except me!).

Reason No. 113

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she is really keen to grow up, as evidenced by our experience doing her hairwash tonight where she wanted to wet her own her, put her shampoo on, massage it in and rinse it off.  And she was very proud of her ability to do most of that on her own.

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he also wanted to wash his own hair, but more importantly managed to have a bath with hairwash without any screaming or crying that there was water in his eyes, ears, hair, fingers, toes etc etc etc!

Reason No. 112

I love Seth and Amelie more than I did yesterday because they spent the day with Daddy and they all had some very grown up and democratic discussions about various decisions during the day - whether they should buy tickets for the cinema before or after having lunch, and whether, if one of them wanted the toilet during the film, they should all go or the other one should stay watching.  Apparently it was like having a debate with adults (or at least teenagers) and they came up with some very sensible ideas and reasons.

Reason No. 111

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she went out cycling with Daddy and Seth today and she is now cycling like Bradley Wiggins - maybe she is going to be a triathlete with the cycling and the swimming!

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he explained to Amelie about marriage today - "you wait until you're older, then you find someone you like, then you marry them".  Easy!

Reason No. 110

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he has really got into the Olympic thing, today deciding he wanted to be in the sailing (after watching Ben Ainslie win gold) and said that he had had "a good idea" which was that the sailors should tie their ropes to the side of the boat and then pull hard.  He had clearly been watching them struggling with holding on and pulling at the same time.

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she was a complete star at her swimming lesson today - before we went on holiday she was pretty much the worse in her group and wouldn't swim without help from the teacher; today she was the best in her group and went for it throughout the lesson.

Reason No. 109

I love Amelie and Seth more than I did yesterday because they have both really got into the Olympics since we got home from holiday and today it was great to see them practising their headstands on the carpet, doing the steeplechase round the living room, and pretending to race out of the blocks after watching the 100m.

Reason No. 108

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he has finally got wise to the 'Daddy pretending to drink bathwater' trick (see earlier posts) and tonight gave Daddy his 'cup of tea' and then kept a very close eye on him so that he couldn't pretend to drink it and pour it away.

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because we went shopping for pants, trying to find some dark coloured ones which will hide marks better (so she doesn't report every single 'wiping accident' to her teachers at school next year). Unfortunately, they don't make dark coloured pants for girls her age/size so she suggested getting boys briefs instead.  And they fitted fine and looked normal so we'll see how it goes when she starts wearing them.

Reason No. 107

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she did some fantastic climbing when she went to Chatsworth with Seth and Daddy today.

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he climbed to the top of the slide at Chatsworth even though he thinks he is (and probably is) very scared of heights - feel the fear etc. etc.

Reason No. 106

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he has had a really good day at home with Daddy and Amelie today, and behaved really well despite being very excited about being home and wanting to catch up on everything including playing, drawing, watching TV and making lego.

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she was very lovely when they dropped me at work and practically dragged me back into the car asking me to stay with them today.  I wish!

Reason No. 105

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she was very excited about getting home and seeing Yinky and Yazza again.

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he was manically excited about getting home, and particularly about getting to make lego with Daddy.

Reason No. 104

I love Seth and Amelie more than I did .... because they handled the (much easier) journey home well - no crying, whingeing, complaining, or being sick, like most of the other children on our flight seemed to be doing!

Reason No. 103

I love Amelie more than I did ... because she finished our holiday in style on the swimming front, by first doing a whole length of the pool without armbands, and then doing an underwater width using breaststroke.

I love Seth more than I did ... for his wide-eyed trust (gullibility?) - having woken up in the morning with a grasshopper on his bed, at bedtime Daddy managed to persuade him that we'd installed a completely invisible anti-grasshopper machine under his bed.

Reason No. 102

I love Seth more than I did ... because he is so interested in everything wherever we go so it's a constant "What's this?", "what's he doing?", "what's she saying?" - half the time it drives us mad but it's lovely too"

I love Amelie more than I did ... because she has miraculous powers of recovery - she's clearly getting very tired with the heat to the point of falling asleep in the car and not wanting to eat her tea.  But the prospect of Jake and the Neverland Pirates on TV for the umpteenth time leads to an amazingly swift recovery.

Reason No. 101

I love Amelie more than I did .... because she loves the "How to Train Your Dragon" book which Daddy is reading every day and wants to discuss the plot in great details.

I love Seth more than I did ... because he was very taken by the boats at Agios Stephanos, telling us which ones he wanted to buy and what colour he would paint them (normally the multi-million pound super yachts!).

Reason No. 100

I love Seth and Amelie more than I did ... because they were 'super fantastic' according to the waiters at the restaurant where we had lunch in Kassiopi who were bowled over by them saying "efkharisto poli" when they got their food.

Reason No. 99

I love Amelie more than I did ... because she looked very cute in her new purple sunglasses but was insistent that they didn't match her purple swimming costume at all (because it has white spots and a butterfly on it and the glasses are plain purple).

I love Seth more than I did ... because he has become a bit of a philosopher - today he came up with "everyday the roads don't know where they are going" and "the sea is the sky and the sky is the sea".

Reason No. 98

I love Seth more than I did... because he has made major strides on the shower front, with the help of his swimming goggles and a pan of water!

I love Amelie more than I did ... because she is such a sweet girl, particularly when I had another meltdown, this time in the mad traffic in Corfu Town (mad Greek drivers, no sign posts, very hot weather) - when we finally parked, we had a hand squeezing conversation as we walked along!

Reason No. 97

I love Amelie more than I did.... because she has now decided that she is going to be a writer when she grows up and so spent the day writing lovely stories including one called "The Mad Hat" and one called "The Dinosor (!) School".

I love Seth more than I did ... because he has decided to be an artist and so spent the day doing fantastic drawing and colouring of paper aeroplanes which he then spent ages throwing around the house.

Reason No. 96

I love Seth more than I did .... because he has a fantastic imagination which means that he can make up wonderful and weird stories, like he did over tea.

I love Amelie more than I did ... because she continues to be persistent and determined with her swimming - she swam a whole width without armbands and now wants to let her armbands down and never use them again for swimming!

Reason No. 95

I love Amelie more than I did... for her heroic swimming - from being the screaming scaredy cat of day 1 to being desperate to swim without armbands on at all.

I love Seth more than I did... because he was very keen to go up Mount Pantokrator despite being scared of heights, and was very keen to be photographed at the monastery at the top with Barnaby Bear, so that he could take the photo back to show his RE teacher at school.

Reason No. 94

I love Seth more than I did.... because he loved chasing little fishes in the sea and had no fear of being in amongst the rocks in the sea (the same still cannot be said about the shower.....!).

I love Amelie more than I did ... because she is an emotionally little angel who, in the midst of Seth's shower melt-down, came to me with tissues and cuddles to make me feel better.

Reason No. 93

I love Amelie and Seth more than I did.... for the looks on their faces when I came out in my bikini for the first time - dropped jaws and speechlessness.  I would like to think that this was because I looked jaw-droppingly gorgeous, until Amelie said "Mummy's in her pants" and Seth said "Look at Mummy's boobies"!

Reason No. 92

I love Seth more than I did.... because he was very excited about going to see the old fortress in Corfu Town , despite the fact that he was really really scared of heights at the top.

I love Amelie more than I did.... because she is an olive monster - over lunch she squirrelled away the last olive onto her plate, then put a "who me?" look on her face as if butter wouldn't melt!

Reason No. 91

I love Amelie more than I did before we went on holiday because she was so excited about going in the swimming pool, and would have done it in her nightie if we'd let her, but then screamed every time we tried to let go of her (even with armbands on).  However, by the end of the day, she'd persevered and was mostly swimming alone.

I love Seth more than I did... because he's a boy of contradictions - one minute flinging himself into the pool and splashing around to his heart's content, then the next minute he was screaming the place down because he didn't want his hair rinsed in the shower because "it almost went in my eyes"!

Reason No. 90

I love Seth and Amelie more than I did before we went on holiday because they both handled our nightmare, 8 hour delayed journey to Corfu really well - sometimes they can both be a bit whingey when they are bored and very impatient to get places, but they seemed to really enjoy the experience!

Reason No.89

I love Seth more than I did the day before yesterday because he was very excited about going on holiday - but more excited about going to Grandma's house, particularly because "Grandma's really going to like my hair!".

I love Amelie more than I did the day before yesterday because on the way to taking the cats to the cattery for their 'holiday', she said "it's really not fair on the cats because every time we go on holiday, we go to different places, but every time they go to the same place!".

So we are now supposed to be on our way to Corfu, having left Grandma's at 5am to get our flight, but the flight has been delayed by 9 hours, so we are back at Grandma's killing time before we go back to the airport after lunch.  Lovely!

Reason No. 88

I love Amelie and Seth more than I did yesterday because we spent a lot of time this morning going through all the bags of stuff that they brought home from school and marvelled, not only at the fantastic pictures, drawings and other work that they had done, but also the way in which they have clearly developed over the school year.

And tomorrow we are going on our holiday so when I get back, I'll have to write up something like 16 more reasons all in one go!

Reason No. 87

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because, over lunch today, he was very excited to tell me about everything he had done at school in the morning, including the bronze medal that he had received for finishing PP1, the gold award he had got for his house points and the certificate he had got for eating his dinner every day!

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because, when I finally got home from work ready to celebrate being on holiday, she ran up the stairs to me and when I said "what's up, has something happened, do you want to tell me something?" she said "no I just wanted to give you a really big cuddle because we're going on holiday"!

Reason No. 86

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because I went to meet her at lunchtime for her end of term picnic and she was great - playing with her friends, behaving better than most of them and afterwards really keen to go back into Weston Park Museum to tell me all the things she had learnt in the morning.

I love Eth more than I did yesterday because I picked him up from school at lunchtime and he was so lovely to all his friends as we left and even to their parents ("goodbye Oliver, goodbye Mrs Peat"). And he played really nicely with the girls at Amelie's picnic.

Reason No. 85

I love Seth and Amelie more than I did the day before yesterday because when I go home from London they were both making fantastic cards for their teachers with pictures and drawings on the front, lovely messages that they wrote themselves and lots of kisses!

Reason No. 84

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she brought home from school 2 huge bags full of fantastic artworks that she has done throughout the year - now we are going to have to find somewhere to keep/display it!

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he also has a lot of new artwork, including a model of the Isle of Struay complete with lighthouse made out of a champagne cork!  On his way to bed, he said "my bedroom is a bit like an art gallery" so we are going to make a sign saying "Seth's art gallery" at the weekend.

Reason No. 83

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he was really excited at visiting his local church today and especially that Daddy went with his class.  Here is Seth pretending to be a Daddy during a mock christening around the font at the church.

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because we had her school report today and it was really really positive, particularly on her reading and on her independence and maturity.

And here is a picture of Amelie from Friday with her 'gold medal' from sports day.

Reason No. 82

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she made a fantastic pair of sunglasses for her school homework - very Dame Edna with glitter, feathers and pink lenses.  Whether they survive the journey to school is another matter!

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because on the way to the supermarket, he told me in great detail about the different types of church building and how some churches in the war were bombed but the steeple stayed standing because it was made of rock.  He seemed very amazed by this thought and fascinated by the different churches we saw on our way home.

Reason No. 81

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he has suddenly discovered a love of reading - we cleared out our books today for a book sale and Seth found things he really wanted to read, but definitely wanted to read them for himself. So he spent a lot of time sitting and reading out things with no prompting.

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she ran into our bedroom this morning with such a big happy smile on her face, even though there was nothing planned for the day, she was just looking forward to a nice day en famille!

Reason No. 80

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because it was her school sports day today and she won the Reception egg and spoon race (slow and steady did the trick!), came second in the relay, and her house (Sapphires) won the house cup.  She was beyond thrilled.

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he didn't win the pirate prize but took it very well, and he also got a great school report which said how good he is at music, creative stuff and lots of other things.

Reason No. 79

I love Seth more than I did (the day before) yesterday because he did another fabulous performance of his surfing parrot today and is absolutely fixated with winning the pirate prize tomorrow!

I love Amelie more than I did (the day before) yesterday because she loved the green fish stew that Daddy made for her tea and said "the sauce was very lovely".

Reason No. 78

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she went on a school trip to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park and one of their activities was to draw a tree and put things on it that they wanted and she put 2 butterflies, some Lego for Seth and a glass of wine for Mummy. You can imagine what her teacher and the Mums on the trip made of that!

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because we went to the first showing of his play today and he was completely fab - sang his heart out and knew every word of all the songs.

Reason No. 77

I love Seth and Amelie more than I did yesterday because when I phoned up from my train home, they both shouted down the phone "I loooooove yoooouuuu Mummy" which cheered me up no end after a long and tiring day!

Reason No. 76

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because when I spoke to her from my train back from London, and asked about response to her homework gorilla project she said that some of her classmates had done pictures too but none of them were as good as her collage.  Which is great because she's previously gone overboard to say that everyone's efforts were as good as hers so I love that she is getting more confident about how great she is!

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because it was great to have a nice start to the day, no tantrums, no tears, no complaints, just a peaceful (but quick) breakfast with the children and a big kiss and cuddle before heading off for my London train.

Reason No. 75

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he makes a great surfing parrot!  He and 14 classmates are playing parrots in their summer play this week, and we got him practising this afternoon doing his song and all the actions.  We'll see whether he is as confident and enthusiastic on Wednesday and Thursday!

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she has agreed, against all her natural instincts, to have two targets for swimming on our summer holiday - to jump into the pool without sitting down or holding on to anyone, and to swim a short distance without armbands.  Given that she is scared of doing anything without armbands and holding on to someone at the moment, we'll see how determined she is!

Reason No. 74

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because we spent the afternoon, while Daddy and Seth were at a birthday party, doing her homework on gorillas.  I never got as excited about homework as she does, so it was great fun making a gorilla collage using black felt, pipe cleaners and various other bits of stuff.  Picture to follow - it looked fab!

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because the big surprise arrived in the post today as predicted - a home made postcard with a photo of himself on it and, in lovely writing it said "To Mummy and Daddy This is a letter from me at Birkdale love from Seth xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"  He was particularly excited to find that the postman had stamped his stamp!

Reason No. 73

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he is very excited about a 'big secret' which we are going to find out about tomorrow (hopefully!)  It somehow relates to the post box near the Botanical Gardens which he went to today and saw a postman near to.  Watch this space.......

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because I had a lovely morning at her school, playing my horn to her and her school friends.  She was desperately excited about it all before, during and after, and everyone seemed to have a really good time.  Phew!

Reason No. 72

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because when I picked her up from after school club she was busy sewing a little wool picture which she put in a bag she had also made, brought home, and then continued making rather than watching TV  or doing anything else at home.

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he got two 'good reading' stickers in his homework book and his teacher wrote "Seth has really taken off - in his own words 'I can just read without thinking about it'".

Reason No. 71

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because when we were coming home from school, discussing the fact that in a couple of weeks time they will have finished their first year of school, Seth said "Soon I'll be going to university Mummy". So I said "When do you think you will be going to university?" and he said "When I'm about 10". So we clearly have a genius on our hands!

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she is clearly focused on the shorter-term having met her new teacher today. She was very enthusiastic about the prospect of Year 1, and was particularly excited about the fact that in Y1 she will need to have her own pencil case! Thrilling!

Reason No. 70

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she told me at great length about everything she did at school, when I phoned up from the train on the way home today - practically minute by minute detail - and then when I managed to get home in time to see them before bed, she told me practically second by second! But at least she loves school and is still excited about going every day.

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he had his school 'oscars' event today, where the boys all had to dress up in formal gear.  Seth looked great (photo below) - but was very disappointed that he didn't win an oscar (he's shaping up to be competitive!).

Reason No. 69

I love Seth and Amelie more than I did yesterday because when I called from work to say I was on my way home, all I could hear in the background was the two of them chattering away in conversation over their tea - Stephen had no idea what they were talking about but it sounded like a very vigorous debate.

Reason No. 68

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she was so lovely this morning doing her homework, including writing 8 very interesting facts about gorillas in her homework book - next weekend we're going to make a gorilla collage so watch this space for that!

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he and I started a jigsaw together while Amelie was at swimming lessons this morning - he is very keen to do big adult jigsaws and has a really good eye for pieces that might fit (but sometimes a really bizarre sense of what fits!).

Reason No. 67

I love Seth more than I did yesterday because he stayed home with Daddy while Amelie went to her party, uncomplainingly and the 'Lego King and Crown Prince' did their usual fantastic work, with Seth creating the 'pod racer' below completely on his own and out of his imagination.

I love Amelie more than I did yesterday because she had an ice skating party this afternoon, for the older sister of one of her friends.  Mummy was very trepidatious because last time we went Amelie was very timid and clung on tight to her 'penguin' skate aid throughout.  Today she was a revelation - off skating on her own within 15 minutes of starting, abandoning her penguin and starting to play fun ice hockey with her friends.  A star of the future?!