The Accidental Pirate

Down memory lane. Do you remember this favoured image here two years ago?

I slept up in Callum's bed though he did his best to kick me all night, just so I could slip in an easy feed to Reuben in the night and because my bedroom feels so far away from them being downstairs overlooking the garden. Before I'd made it downstairs this morning, we stopped on the mid landing where Callum read 3 books and I found a little shelf, more an indent on the wall, upon which we could line up books the boys have read. So I added Reuben's read of Jack and the Beanstalk last night and 3 Bob Books for Callum this morning, all 4 read "all by myself". We were later joined by Peter Rabbit, Reuben's rabbit that he's had since birth and a strange lilac rabbit as all 5 of us sat huddled on that landing.

Yesterday, Reuben and I spent more than an hour teaching him to type. There's a great BBC programme online that teaches touch typing to kids. I actually struggled a little with the accents! We tried it a couple of years ago, but today he happily skipped through about 22 lessons, rewarded at the end of these by a record he had to crack. He was in his element and later I was able to ask him which is the "A" finger or any of the other home keys and he would remember each. So, we have the home keys covered from one intense lesson. I type at about 100wpm and I think it'll be a great skill for him to have, especially given his difficulties with writing. His hands are marvellous little tools, having provided him with his first expressive communication as a confident and accomplished signer in American Sign Language, first signing back at 8 months old.

The boys are now watching Blue Peter so that's taking me back to my childhood. I didn't know it had been rekindled by the BBC so they'll enjoy that for a few moments before we head out to Sophia's birthday party. I don't tend to photograph too much at parties (even though I have the first 2nd or 3rd ranking as such on Google for Los Angeles), simply because I won't use the images without a signed model release from the parents and I just don't photograph kids without permission, on the street or anywhere. And because that ends up transitioning to work to me, I just stick to photographing the boys solely at parties unless I'm booked to work for the day. It just helps me make the transition between, I'm here to enjoy the time with my boys, but not to work. What are your views on that?