Its been a whole year since I’ve talked about all the boys and where they are at developmental, personality and behaviour wise for each of them. Tobias is now a strong, willed four years old, Hamish is a tantrum throwing two year old and Seth is finally in a good place now he’s crossed over the one year threshold. 

Let’s start with Seth, as expected when each of my children have reached the one year benchmark, the physical milestones slow down as they focus more on their mental developments. Seth started walking two week before his first birthday and it feels like he’s swiftly moved to running and keeping up with his brothers! Now he’s focusing on learning to communicate, I get the feeling he will be speaking before Hamish!

Seths routine has changed considerably since he turned a year old as he now only has one nap a day,  it’s usually straight after lunch and lasts for two hours. He wakes up around 6am, we all eat breakfast at 8am and lunch is at 12 noon. He then will nap until 2pm. Dinner is usually around 5pm and then bedtime is at 7pm on the dot (he can’t last any longer). He’s still drinking 5oz of milk before nap time, before bedtime and usually around 5am (when Gavin goes to work and he stirs). Seth loves his food and is quite happy to put anything in his mouth (closely followed by it coming back out if he doesn’t like it), he prefers to feed himself and has mastered using the spoon. He also goes through two cups of water a day.

Seth is very much wearing one to eighteen month clothing. Whilst on the subject of clothing, Seth has started taking off pieces of clothing by himself, he tries to pull off his nappy and ‘helps’ take off his trousers, he likes nothing more than pulling his hat or socks off. Speech wise, he’s saying everything he should be at this age (mama, dada, baba, no) and fully understands what people are saying to him (come back, stop, sit down)! I’m not too worried about any of the speech stage however, as I’ve learnt from his older brothers that were both slow to start. He loves music and always dances when he hears it, his little head bobbing from side to side makes me smirk every time! His hand movements are getting more intricate now, he can use a pen or crayon to scribble and he brushes his teeth with help.  

Seth and Tobias’ relationship is lovely to watch. They seem to get on the best out of all the boys relationships. Hamish, being two, doesn’t like to share and can sometimes be a little rough with Seth by trying to push him. I see many similarities between Seth and his eldest brother (Tobias) so I’m leaning to Seths personality being more like that too. He’s definitely got the short temper and strong willed independent determination already!

Now onto Hamish. Hamish continues to plod along, developmentally. We’re close to him starting potty training, but he doesn’t like change so I foresee this being a long process. Hamish also is slow in the speaking milestone, I look back to six months ago and he’s come on leaps and bounds but he’s still not where he should be for his age. Because of coronavirus not many ‘extra groups’ are happening so I’m spending every day, one to one with him trying to work on this. I do sometimes look at Hamish and think how much behind he’s going to be anyway in school, being a July baby!

Hamish’s routine has changed a little in the last year. He’s dropped his nap, but still struggles to get through the full day and by bedtime at 7pm, he’s ready to collapse in a heap. By 5pm he becomes a whiny mess, however he now sleeps until 6.30am so that’s worked well (instead of the 5am wake up). Hamish has always been a picky eater (it’s not too bad, it’s more dependant on what mood he’s in on that particular night) its never been a concern to me, he just knows what he likes and what he hates. He doesn’t have any milk in bottles anymore, but goes to bed with a drink of water. He continues to prefer to use his hands for feeding himself, even though he can use utensils.

Hamish wears 2-3 year old clothing (some trousers are too long for him and I have to readjust the waist band on all trousers, for all my boys). Hamish loves to help take off pieces of clothing by himself, tops, trousers, socks, etc. He can put his Velcro shoes on by himself and is now pulling his nappy on or off. He loves music and always dances when he hears it, his little bottom shakes like crazy, making me burst into laughter each time! Hamish loves books and reading and always has to turn the pages otherwise we get a meltdown! I try to get him to point to objects on the page and his understanding is fab, he just can’t say the words. He also does the actions to nursery rhymes are gets excited when he hears them (baa baa black sheep is still one of his favourites).  One of the most interesting things I’ve seen in Hamish’s development has been his personality. As a baby he was very emotional and that seems to be continuing into the toddler stage.  He isn’t very confident which is completely different to his older brother, but Hamish does like to follow his brother once he knows it’s ok. He’s also got a hidden naughty side to his personality and I can tell when he’s being mischievous, as he just stares at me with a smile that could be from ‘the shining’ movie!  This being said he is very kind, loving, affectionate and a gentle being.  But he just can’t judge his strength correctly every time. He’s got a very cheeky smile who likes to test his limits, which every two year old should!

Finally, let’s talk about Tobias. He’s always been a full on child and I think (in the nicest way possible) some days are just disasters, more so since going into a third lockdown. I feel like I’m telling him to stop, don’t do, get down and end up shouting at him (Which i hate, being THAT parent)! By bed time I feel exhausted and usually have a headache, but most nights now, he can’t sleep and waits for Hamish to go to sleep so he can come back down for an hour to play on his own. I must say when he is on his own and has my full attention he’s much better and easier to deal with. He’s definitely ready for school and will be nearly five by the time he starts.

Tobias wakes up the last usually, around 7.30am. Tobias does have to be coaxed into trying foods and going out of his routine. He’s a very structured person and has set times for everything, he gets very flustered and flaps if something isn’t right (eg when I try to have a pyjama day)! Tobias is still very much wearing three to four year old clothing (he has a few pieces of four year old clothing but they do swamp him). He doesn’t wear nappies at all and we have had minimal accidents, I think because he is outside a lot, it’s just a matter of dropping his trousers (which is easier than having to go upstairs inside the house)!

I try to sit with each of the boys every day on a one to one basis. With Tobias I’ve worked on his counting which he does very well in, were currently working on phonics and the letters of his name (which he can do but doesn’t hold his attention for long). His penmanship is coming on leaps and bounds and I think he’s going to be left handed, he does tend to do all his letters backwards though (I don’t know if this is a sign of dyslexia). I have taken to whispering when I want Tobias’ attention, it seems to intrigue him! Tobias continues to be very confident and boisterous, loves meeting new people and very rarely scared of anything.

Tobias truly is a very special boy and holds great relationships with both his brothers, which I’m very proud of. He’s taken to being the oldest brother, taking the lead and helping where necessary very easily and he shines when he does so.

So that’s where we’re at currently, let’s see how they change over the next year. There are some big changes, new preschool settings, school starting, etc. Its going to be an exciting year even if Coronavirus hold us back slightly!

Much love

Rebecca