Friends of Finn, Orry, and Oshin: March 2017

Monthlies:

28 months (2 years 4 months) old

29 months (2 years 5 months) old

65 months (5 years 5 months) old

66 months (5 years 6 months) old

As I write this, in May, we're pretty much just going on the photos and our Facebook posts, so I'm not going to pretend to really remember what went on months ago...

We had Pancake Day races at Maughold:

This is a picture of those experienced pancake racing cousins:

Sadly, however, Finn refused to run when the whistle went, so he didn't get off the line. Orry did slightly better but soon got to shy and refused to go any further with people looking at him. Never mind!

Both were happy to eat pancakes though, even Orry, who had his own ones especially brought from home (which were lovely, despite what they look like!):

Rather excitingly, Cori and the boys were in a crash when on a bus, reported by the police as:

"We are currently dealing with an RTC involving a horse box and a bus on the TT course just prior to Ballaugh"

... But reported on Cori's Facebook as:

"Me, Finn, and Orry were on this bus!! All fine of course but scary! To me at least - Finn thought it was all terribly exciting and wouldn't stop asking the police questions and Orry simply noted "whoa! That was loud!" and went back to his colouring. Meanwhile I was smothering my babies in kisses and shaking in relief that it wasn't anywhere near as bad as it could have been..."

There isn't a picture for it, but here's Orry borrowing his friend Sal's hat:

The Manx National Heritage sites opened again for the season, and Finn was very excited to get to the Laxey Wheel again:

Orry, however, was a bit poorly for the trip (this is his best attempt at a "Cheese!" smile):

It was lovely though:

Finn's cousin Georgie (& aunt & uncle) came for a rare visit over. It was great fun, especially with Georgie leaping into the cousin-fun, marching with Finn and Orry's band around the house, or else piling into the great ruckus with all the cousins in Ramsey. Great fun. We were very sorry to see them go, after a final trip up the Albert Tower:

It was when visiting the cousins in Ramsey that Cousin Thomase showed off his worm breakdance move, Orry was very impressed and so decided to do it himself later:

Finn celebrated Mother's Day in a very heart-felt fashion, as Cori reports:

"For Mother's Day this morning Finn made me a card with a picture of the thing "he loves most in the entire world."It's the stick he found on our walk yesterday and accidentally threw in the river and mourned the loss for the rest of the day.
But he wanted me to know on this special day that "I love you almost as much as my stick.""

This is the accompanying picture:

This is a picture of Orry (just because it's nice) whilst on that fateful trip up the river where the beloved stick was found and lost:

Orry also made a beautiful thing, in their Possan Cloie Manx play group [gura mie ayd = thank you]:

On Mother's Day itself we went up for lunch with my mother. It was probably something which he ate, but Orry ended up vomiting in the car, all over himself. His Sunday Best clothes were not going to work for the Golf Club any more. Luckily Cori had packed a change of clothes, or else this is how he would have been dining:

Also whilst in Ramsey, we took a trip to the Mooragh Park, which was great fun:

Orry did have a certified allergic reaction in March. This happened when Cori had a glass of milk, finished it, and left it on the table. Orry then got a hold of it and drank the dribble at the bottom of the cup. This was the result:

In actual fact, we're rather pleased with how it came out; he has obviously come on a long way since last year, when this would certainly have been much more serious and certainly a trip to the hospital. Compared to that, a mere swollen lip is a great thing!

In March Orry got really into Finn's wipe-clean drawing books:

This was be the first thing he'd want to do for weeks upon entering the play room. And we were very impressed by what came of it at times:

Something else that Orry got really into in March was the Brown Bear book, which he was soon able to recite by heart (thereabouts):

It had been going on for a while, but it became constant in March (and it's still going on now at the end of May): Orry's finding comfort in touching the mole on Cori's cheek. It began as a thing he would do to get to sleep at times, but then it spilled out into the day; when in the carrier, when sat in her lap, when kissing her goodnight etc. Of course, this soon became very irritating for Cori, as you might be able to tell from this picture from in the midst of an evening meal:

Without any sort of attempt at a story, here's some silly dressing up with the rack of costumes they only very rarely use:

... And also with the sieve in the bath!

Finn is a good one for asking questions, even of strangers. So when we saw a police officer checking people's speed at the car park near the school, Finn confidently went up to ask when they were doing. Manx police officers being as they are, Finn was immediately offered to wear the hat and hold the speed gun thingy:

We and the other parents arriving at that time were all very impressed. Finn, however, had had his curiosity satisfied, and that was about it. Such is Finn.

In contrast, Finn can also be very shy at times. This is certainly the case when it comes to Taking Part in things with groups of other people. This is certainly a part (if not the whole part) of how Finn has yet to take part in the Manx dancing which we were trying to take him to throughout March. Even though 70% of those in the place are his schoolmates, and even though he regrets not taking part each Sunday evening after he's missed his chance, there is just no way to get him involved in the thing when it's actually going on. Very frustrating: because we want him to be a part of this good thing, because all his friends are doing it, because it's a good community thing, because Cori's a part of it, because he would benefit massively from doing it, because (at some level) he wants to take part etc.
We continue to hope, but hope is all we have at the moment.
Here is a picture of Orry on the bridge in Peel in those naive early days when I thought that we'd go along to collect Finn after his hour there with Cori and he'd be beaming with accomplishment, rather than bitter and twisted with dug-in heels and self-hatred... Sigh...