It's Christmas next week, and getting exciting for Connor, who is starting to understand it all, which is very cool. He gets very excited whenever he sees a Christmas tree, and the first few times we visited our local shops after the decorations were up he would run around like a mad thing, jumping up and down and shouting 'Christmas Tree!!!' at each one as he ran up to it pointing. We got our Christmas tree last weekend, and all decorated it together. Every morning he asks me if it's Christmas Day yet and if we can open the presents under the tree. He's remarkably accepting when I tell him it's not yet, and he hasn't tried to inspect any presents (which is more than I can manage!!). I've been really surprised that Byron hasn't tried getting into them either, but I think he's usually too busy kicking a ball or balloon around. He is absolutely obsessed with kicking balls, and is actually surprisingly accurate and powerful as he throws all his weight behind it. He loves swimming as much as Connor now as well, and has just started jumping into the pool from the side, with a huge grin on his face.

Connor's communicating is coming along in leaps and bounds, and he loves playing pretend fantasy games now, especially when we're out or up in the park. He'll take me to a tree and tell me it's his house, show me all the rooms, and explain where everything is etc. His imagination is really starting to show, it's so cool. He also announced to us a few days ago that he doesn't need to wear nappies at night time anymore, so he is growing up!

Some photos from the last week...





















Connor loves the new climbing frame at the zoo





















Rope walking























Byron finding a decoration for the tree




















Decorating the tree