I really hoped that we would only be ‘blessed’ with one madly adventurous toddler in our parenting journey, but it seems that we are to have double the fun!

Daniel our 16 month old boy, has become the worlds fastest climbing toddler! Honestly, you wouldn’t believe how quickly he can get from the floor, to a kitchen chair, to the table, and then BANG!!!!! back to the floor again.

The beauty of our children is that they really don’t believe that there is anything they can’t do. In fairness we do nourish this quality a lot, we would like them to be confident and secure in their own abilities. But Daniel is just starting so young, and he wants to do so much more than he wee body is ready for.

It is extremely tiring, there is no room in our house in which he is safe. Our living room is fairly childproofed. You know all the sockets are covered, nursery guard on the fire. But how do we stop the baby from climbing onto the sofa and then trying to jump back off……you tell me!

I can’t cook dinner or clean up, or even go to the toilet without making sure he is securely strapped in his highchair or pram. There is only so long that he will endure that form of captivity before demanding his freedom…in an ear splitting fashion.

I am hoping this phase will pass quickly, though it didn’t with Jake. Thankfully though, he is still in one piece and just one minor scar later, seems to be settling down. I wonder if it’s just a boy thing?

Last year I had an idea that I’d like to read Jostein Gaarder’s The Christmas Mystery to the children. At the time, I read it myself, but decided to hold off reading it to the kids.

The Christmas Mystery is a charming little story, told through an advent calendar, of a girl (Elisabet) who chases a lamb through a department store and across country. On her travels, she meets various figures from the nativity scene and discovers that they are all travelling across time to Bethlehem and the birth of Christ.

The story is told via a little boy, who is given the Advent calendar by an old shopkeeper and told that it is a magic calendar. When Joachim opens the first door on the calendar, a piece of paper falls out and he discovers the story of Elisabet, and each day her journey unfolds and her meetings with new members of the Nativity.

Anyway, I’ve been reading The Christmas Mystery with Rachel for a couple of days now. Granted, we’re a bit behind and need to catch up by a few days if we’re to finish on the 24th December!

I think she’s liking the story so far, as she’s repeating the tale to Lisa and her aunts. In fact, when she was given an advent calendar as a gift, she was a bit disappointed that a piece of paper didn’t fall out!

I’ve since found out that reading The Christmas Mystery has become a family tradition for some people - one review on Amazon.co.uk said:

Our family started reading The Christmas Mystery about 5 years ago and it is now a very special Advent activity and a way to come together as a family in a busy season. While it is a bit confusing at first- the story moves backward through time and geography-it is so rich and has so many layers that it’s absolutely worth reading.

There are bits that obviously confuse Rachel, but I try and skip these or simplify them as best I can. However, after we read the night’s chapter, I ask her to tell me what happened in the story that night, and then we look at the picture on the next chapter to see what the next tale will be about.

If I remember correctly, the end of the tale moved me the last time I read it, so I’m looking forward to Rachel’s reactions! Anyway, I’ll maybe post a few updates here before Christmas!