Chickens in a box

James is a nightmare, as Will keeps telling me (probably because I say it a million times a day). He is SO clingy. Not once have I managed to leave him without a full-on James-tastic tantrum; screaming, tears, frantic hitching of chest, snot....Even at Christmas we had hystrionics trying to get through the door of both Grandma and Uncle Jim's houses. I don't think anyone apart from Eddie and I actually managed to pick him up for the whole time we were away for Christmas and he is no better a month on. Last week when we bumped into Sonya after swimming and had a coffee. I had to take William to the loo about 3 times (all that water) and each time James went into meltdown. I got all sorts of funny looks while poor Sonya got lumbered with a screaming, puce child that wouldn't let her near him. The ridiculous thing is that he is the most cuddly baby ever...but just very, very clingy. What am I going to do with him? I'm going to have an outsized right arm from constantly hol...

We took William, James and the Greens (minus Richard who was wrestling with turbulence flying home from the States) to ride on the steam train at Alresford. Such good fun and the most amazingly beautiful day. A fantastic time had by all - with the possible exception of the passengers who'd made the mistake of sitting in our carriage and who subsequently had to cope with the utter chaos created by 5 small children in a confined space...

I cannot believe Will is actually 3, it seems like yesterday Eddie and I spent what felt like a lifetime in Reading hospital trying a variety of methods of baby removal before he finally made his appearance. We had a lovely day, Father came round in this morning bearing pressies and staying for a coffee before we headed off to The Living Rainforest to explore a mini-jungle and all its creepy-crawlies. Then to The Bell for lunch - you cannot go wrong with hot sausage rolls. William clutched his lemonade and was as happy as Larry. A quiet afternoon and then spag bol followed by the World's most chocolatey chocolate cake and several renditions of 'Happy Birthday'!

James took his first steps last night! He let go of the fire guard and managed about 3 steps before hurling himself into my arms using the traditional Slam Dunk approach favoured by both boys. He still prefers to crawl most of the time, but with vocabulary now moving on from 'ga' and 'doo' to 'flower' and even 'chicken', and now this, I am terrbly excited for him. Today is the dreaded MMR but we're very busy seeing friends which is taking my mind off the inevitable. I can't bear taking the children for injections, I always get much more upset than they do and this one is such a biggie. Let's hope James is OK and not too ill afterwards. Shall have yet more Calpol on standby!

1.00am, the Calpol finally wears off and a plaintive cry comes from the direction of William's bedroom; "I want Mummy and Daddy....." Long pause.... "I want my Mother and my Father!" No getting out of that one then. The patient was swiftly removed from his own bed and relocated to a prime spot in-between his dutiful, exhausted parents.

A bit late I know, but I've been in hibernation over Christmas and this is the first time I've turned the computer on in ages. A wonderful Christmas spent in Sussex with everyone. We looked like the Berverly Hillbillies leaving East End with so much stuff rammed into the car that Will had zero leg room and eventually went to sleep in something resembling the lotus postition. It was a magical day; Father Christmas didn't disappoint stuffing Will and James' stockings full of rubber dinosaurs, snakes, bouncy balls, gold coins and other essentials. Later that afternoon Will's face when he opened his trike was a picture - it is definitely very different when you have children to bring the magic of Christmas to life. James did his best to eat as much wrapping as possible but alas ruined his appetite for dinner......We stayed up after the boys went to bed, putting the world to rights before the cards came out. My nemesis (I am TERRIBLE at cards). Time for bed. Boxing Day a...