Knighton Park

Little D ate his first icecream this week at one of our local parks. He was looking for the icecream man for ages repeatedly asking 'van, van' and when it eventually came i just knew that now was the moment to let him enjoy his first 99. He was so delighted with it, he seemed to ooze confidence and joy when i placed it in his tight grip and we went to sit on one of the benches. At that moment he began to repeatedly say 'ma-ma man' meaning 'icecream man' - its so funny, he still says it all the time. He wasn't quite sure how to eat it so i showed him how to lick it, and encouraged him to try to bite it but i think he couldn't get to grips with the whole 'but-cover-your-teeth-with-your-lips-first' aspect. I ate most of the icecream myself, at one point being met with an amazed 'oooooooh' from him when i took a particularly big bite from it. I could never let him eat the whole thing, im quite restrictive when it comes to comfort foods as opposed to healthy foods. It makes me feel really uncomfortable to let him fill up on empty calories rather than something which will benefit his tiny growing body. He always shares cake or chocolate with me and never has his own slice or bar or whatever. As adults we eat the 'naughty' foods usually because there is some kind of pleasant emotional or psychological connection with it. Well this isn't the same for young children, they eat them simply because they are given them. They don't link emotions and foods just yet. So we treat food purely as a fuel for his body, to help turn him into a healthy, intelligent and attractive young man who will hopefully insha'Allah bring some benefit to humanity.

As well as enjoying the icecream, we heard the furious drumming of a woodpeckers beak against a tree (didn't manage to see it but it was still wonderful to hear as ive never heard it in real life), we glowed under the suns warm rays and the brightness of the clear blue sky, we wowed over the flowers and i made a mental note that i must have some magnolia growing in our garden.

I love how these furry buds turn into these classic white Magnolia flowers.

Today the weather turned back towards the days of Winter and we endured a very cold walk around a new-to-us park and woods. Photos of that will be here soon. xx