Well, how has this happened, eh? My oldest child is 10 years old already. It has been an entire decade since that surreal sleepless night in which he entered our lives. His arrival followed an on-and-off, three-day labour which felt like forever at the time – particularly for my brilliant wife. But the subsequent 10 …
Youngest’s latest obsession is a contender to be the most annoying one yet. She’s constantly talking about presents. Now, I’ll preface this by pointing out that she’s not a greedy child at all. Nor is she spoilt. It’s simply down to the way things have panned out in the last few months. It started in …
Somehow or other, Xander is going to be six years old next week. Naturally, we’re really looking forward to his birthday but are already dreading an important part of it. His party. You see, I have come to think of it as an escape room game. I have two hours in which to avoid letting …
One of my hopes for my kids has always been that they’ll be popular with their peers. Happily, this has proved to be the case. They seem to be well liked and by a really nice crowd of kids too. It’s unusual to go anywhere local without hearing a friendly voice shouting one of their …
Somehow or other, Dylan is seven years old already. How has that happened? Yes, I find myself saying words to this effect every year but the time really has whizzed by. It doesn’t seem like long ago at all since the day he was born – even though it was bloody ages ago! Despite seven years …
It’s gone in a blur but Amelie is one year old already. I remember the first year passing quickly with both Dylan and Xander, but this has to be a new record. Yesterday was a year since her dramatic arrival. Despite her worrying start to life, everything has been pretty straightforward since and she’s a happy …
Six years ago today, Dylan was born. Yes, this is a cliché, but I don’t know where the time has gone. When people ask what it was like becoming a dad for the first time, I refer them to 28 Days Later. There is a good reason for this and it isn’t just because I love horror …
We all have our critical weaknesses. Superman is useless around green crystals, Daleks aren’t much use on stairs and Jaws would be rendered decidedly glum and peckish if people decided to just go to the zoo instead. Not to be outdone by this lot, I’ve been thinking about what my Achilles heel is. And I’ve …
So I’m the father of a one-year-old boy. How did that happen and where did the last year go? We’ve been celebrating Dylan’s first birthday for the last couple of days. While he was blissfully oblivious as to the reason for all the fuss and sudden appearance of his grandparents, uncles, aunty and cousin at …