She's adoring colouring and drawing at the moment. We chucked out all of the old, broken and worn out textas, crayons and pencils and replaced them with a pile of new ones. She's in heaven. When she's deep in concentration like this, I can watch her - unposed - and the enormity of this little life that I helped create overwhelms me in the best possible way.

He's a monkey - that's his current nick name too. He loves to laugh and to make others laugh. He's watching every move his sister makes and mimics her. He's more daring and fearless than she though, and throws himself head first into anything that looks remotely adventurous. I have my hands delightfully full with my little man.

And, when you least expect it, quiet, harmonious play time together. These little snippets in our days (for they are brief!) bring me such joy and reassurance, that under all the sibling warring they engage in lies a best-friendship to last a lifetime.