Mumbles

The Family Yanguns just spent a weekend in Wales to see some old friends and to attend their party. It was our first trip away from home as a four piece. But Boy! If I knew what a torture the journey it was in advance, I may have decided against it. On a good day, it takes about 4.5 to 5 hours to go from London to Swansea. We took a more leisurely 6.5 hours and pretty much every single waking minute of it, Dylan screamed all the way. Aimee sometimes protested, but mainly because Dylan was upsetting her. With regular pitstops at service stations to break up the torture, we finally made our destination (Mumbles) somewhat frazzled and stressed.

That evening, we spent our time at my friend's house party. Aimee found her idol in the girly pinkness that is Olivia, my friend's daughter. Olivia is the very epitome of pinkishness and Aimee saw her bedroom as a treasure trove. She couldn't contain herself and wore hundreds of necklaces, bracelets, hair adornments and millions of spangly, pinkyish, glittery things. She loved it. After we got back to out hotel, the tactical error of all sleeping in one room became apparent as none of us got any sleep. Dylan woke up screaming, which woke up Aimee, whihc woke up Cat then me, after settling all back dopwn, it kicked off again and the pattern repeated. It was hell.

The next day was spent walking around Mumbles in a zombie like daze.

But the big party that next night was actually brilliant. I caught up with loads of old friends and faces. aimee partyed hard until midnight and even Dylan took it all in his stride.

That night, everyone slept well.

Sadly, the journey back was even worse, as Dylan screamed ALL the way without sleeping. Aimee vomited and started screaming as well and me and Cat were on the verge of exploding. It was 6 hours of unimaginable torture.

So, although the mini-holiday was fun overall, the journey was just too much to ever bear doing again in the near future.

In other news, Dylan is still not putting on enough weight according to the health experts, but we are finding that regular doses of Gaviscon, a anti-acid for kids, is allowing DJ to eat and drink for longer without his usual awful symptoms of pain and discomfort that have plagued him since birth. But we must monitor his weight weekly now.

Having said all that, DJ appears to be in rude health and is exploring the world with his increasingly improving crawling skills. He can now take about three paces forward, and spin a complete 360 on his knees. He is still his usual very curious, nosey parker self, and will always crane his neck to check out the latest noise, or event.

Aimee's language skills are improving beyond recognition. She is uttering completely new sentances every day, most of which she has independently constructed, rather than leart like a parrot. I am always amazed at this.