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May and June are always slack blogging months for me. Tamsin's birthday is middle of May, and Sasha's middle of June, so all the party planning, present buying and wrapping and cake making takes over for a while. Throw a few classmates parties and half term into the mix to keep me on my toes and it ends up as general chaos (no different from usual then...!).

On top of that, it's my birthday 2 days after Sasha's, and this year's happens to be a 'BIG' one, so we also slotted in a lovely little trip away as a couple to the Big Apple - oh, didn't I mention that already?! Must post on the blog separately all about that soon. Here's a pic or two just to keep you going though:

Manhattan sunset from Brooklyn

Not being evacuated from our hotel....

Seeing as I will be attending the big blogging conference Britmums Live! in just over two weeks, I thought I really should try and fit a couple more updates in before, or else everyone may wonder why on earth I am there (call yourself a blogger? huh!).

'Mummy I love you so much' were the last words I heard from Sasha tonight as I cuddled her whilst she tried to get off to sleep. She had been lying very quietly in our bed for over an hour trying to drop off, but obviously need the 'hand cuddle' to finally go (she insists on my arm being over her body and her grasping my hand in a certain way). Me lying next to her on the bed has sadly become part of the routine, and part of me looks back longingly for those days where I could just give her a kiss then walk away and close the door, knowing she wouldn't try and get up. On the other hand, there is nothing nicer than taking a break, lying down next to your child, and watching their gorgeous faces as they slowly succumb to the wonders of sleep.

Life is still up and down with Sasha - from her amazing good humour about mummy and daddy going away, followed by 4 days of brilliant behaviour for Nana and Bampi who were doing the school run (and everything before and after!), to the last day of school before our half term break where the dressing-up and Jubilee theme, along with a change of routine, really threw her and has led to some more controlling behaviour since. We managed a fantastic day out at Peppa Pig World (oink!) where she was extremely happy - but not at the point where mummy wanted to go on a 'big' ride with Tamsin.

We've been doing regular swimming lessons for the past 6 weeks, where mummy (or daddy or Nana) gets to be in the pool with Sasha for a lesson while Tamsin has her lesson up the other end of the same pool. Tamsin has been doing fantastically well, but the jury is still out on whether it's really a hit for Sasha or not. As with everything, if she's in the right mood she will participate, but usually only for a limited amount of time. Fortunately she has always been a water baby, so is fairly confident in the pool, but that was previously with arm bands. I feel the step towards moving away from being able to stand on the bottom is now a rather large on, and I'm not sure how, or if, we'll achieve that. Still, no rush. Everything at Sasha's pace is usually the name of the game, and bless her she does get there in the end. In a way, it makes her achievements all the more special for me as I can see how much more of a struggle it has been for her.

Anyhow before I waffle on too much, I just thought I'd wish everyone a 'Happy Jubilee' and leave you waiting with bated breath for the next instalment...