Aidan watch

It was great to see Aidan again after 6 months – my first comment when I saw him was “he’s huge!” He’s becoming a real boy now. When we left he wasn’t saying anything very understandable, maybe “mummummum” and “Tessssssssss” (the dog). Now, 6 months later at 2 and a half, the stories we’ve heard from his parents and the mumblings we’d heard in the background over Skype are in fact true – he speaks in pretty full and quite understandable sentences. The most used sentence at the weekend: “Where’s Craig?” (guess who was Mister Popular?!) I was called “Taffy” most of the weekend but slightly better pronunciation by the time we left had me as “Coffey”. He also did an excellent rendition of “GO YANKEEEEES!” that he’d been coaxed to practice in the weeks leading up to our arrival which was pretty tear jerking (for The Mister!)

He has quite a determined mind of his own now and does everything a little boy should – rides around the garden on his bike bashing into neatly trimmed lavender, outdoor furniture and fathers; is mad on cars (toy ones and real ones) especially emergency vehicles; can do everything for himself including pushing the buggy, ‘making the coffee’ (any old excuse to climb on the bench and get water everywhere!), keeping you informed about what the neighbours are up to and other general boyish activities like farting proudly, leaving clothes all over the doorstep, being an idiot in front of the camera and getting furious when something doesn’t go to his liking!

This is one of my favorite photos from this trip – apart from the fact he’s wearing the vest I knitted him, he’s just taking a break in a suitcase snacking on a piece of frozen bread!