I commonly look for alternative angles from which to approach each blog post, but more frequently the entries are becoming more formulaic. Granted, part of the fault lies with my ever diminishing grey matter (what's my name again?) but Luca's preferences are also a cause. Why? Because his fascination with Scotland's national sport has reached fever pitch.

Is he improving however? Slowly. He suffers from the same unfortunate lack of balance as his Dad, and hasn't grown much of late either - he's now one of the smaller boys in his year at school. However, at least now he is one of the elder members of his current Saturday coaching sessions which is proving beneficial to his confidence.

He does still often compete against older boys however. I've been taking a number of holiday days lately (I'm utterly determined to use my entire years allowance for once) which has allowed me to collect him from school very often. As gratifying as this is, a permanent bruise has now formed on my thigh from his "greetings" - he rather overenthusiastically sprints from the school door to his waiting Dad, and hasn't quite perfected the stopping part yet. His concrete-esque skull seems unaffected by it's contact with my upper leg, but I'm having to work hard to stay on my feet and suppress my "Oooofff" noise as he pummels into me. He may still be small, but is becoming more powerful by the day.

I digressed again didn't I? The point I was going to make was that on each day I pick him up he begs for a game of football in the park before we go anywhere else. No problem there, but as my appearances in the schoolyard become more common, as has the begging of other boys from various years to their parents/guardians to follow us to the park and join in our footy related shenanigans.

Luca, of course, prefers the rare occasions when it's just he and I, but has shown diligence when playing against boys 2/3/4 years older than him, and (so far) has only flounced off in frustration once. He's very quick which is to his advantage, but we're still working on the bravery. Will that come? I have my doubts (he is the worlds most "careful" child) but hope springs eternal.

Perhaps, however, the beatings he's receiving at school will toughen him up. Yes, he's had a couple so far. A common "game" that seems to be becoming more frequent is play fights, where his "gang" take on other gangs. Worryingly, it seems to be older kids they're taking on, and Luca has been sent to the headmaster once so far for walloping one of them. Because of his lack of size it appears he ends on the ground more often than most, yet keeps coming back for more.

I am suspecting this aspect of his personality originated more from his Mother than his Father.

On the subject of gangs, one of his closest friends is Sky, who you may recall has been his girlfriend for years. This, however, is now past tense. Luca was dumped a couple of weeks ago. Sky is now Tyler's girlfriend. You may also recall Tyler's name - he's Luca's best friend. It was actually quite sad when he told me on the way to school one morning. I stopped the car to give him my attention, and at the end he muttered "I don't know what to do" and lent his head against my own. One day they'll write an opera based on his tragic story.

Some pictures would be good now wouldn't they?

Chocolate ice cream. I'm quite unsure as to how he's procured this without the intervention of a hungry Dad (perhaps my absence from this trip played a part). Carole emailed this to me on the insistence I add it to the blog simply to make Liz jealous that the chocolatey goodness was being consumed by her grandson rather than herself. There's a look of torment on his face in this picture too, so perhaps he was already aware of the pictures future teasing purpose.

"Luca, who's your favourite - Mummy or Daddy?" "Yoda!!!" His love for that poor little dog really does grow by the day.

The finish line of my recent 10K. More amusing would have been a picture taken once I'd stopped. I was so dehydrated by the boiling hot day (combined with the fact I had never ran that distance in my entire life - not even on a training run!) that I contradictorily couldn't find a way to get any fluid down my throat. I've rarely been that knackered in my whole life, but it's a wholly satisfactory experience. I returned to a shorter race on Saturday (a 5K) in which I finished 10th out of around 200 runners which was highly surprising to say the least. The standard of the runners that day was poor and the race was slow, but I do admit to feeling a little proud of myself for that one. Next up is another upcoming 10K, followed by a 3K competitive sprint against a "friend", who is an extremely quick and experienced runner. My dodgy knee (as you'll see in the picture above is strapped up as always) is already gulping in fear.

This is better, back to Luca again, albeit accompanied by a horses a*se (no obvious jokes please). He's really enjoying his farm visits with his Mum, and with there being other children his age commonly in attendance the benefits are clear. Mum and son really, really stink on their returns however. I almost wish Carole would take up smoking again to mask the smells somewhat. Almost.

Almost as large as Harvey is the latest love of his life, big Lion. Purchased by friends for Luca online for (allegedly) a mere £4. Pound for pound you won't find better value than that - other than the cheap, raggedy Tessy Bear he's had since the day he was born and still carries everywhere in the house. It's now so worn that it can't have more than a few more months before it finally disintegrates. It will be a genuinely downbeat day when the inevitable occurs.

**Useless fact of the day - On top of the physical challenges during Lucy/Scott/Kelly/Chris' visit next Christmas there will now also be an event day at Lochters - see link for the events (http://www.lochter.co.uk/page.cfm?main_ID=2), and may the the most competitive Scot/Englishwoman/American/Aussie win!**

If it tastes good don't eat it

A brief entry tonight, as my legs continue their recovery from their first 10K run on Saturday. I say run, but it was more of an amble. And I say recover, but I'm actually completely fine. I like to pretend I need time to recover as it gives me the excuse to sit on my backside, watch TV and eat Smarties Ice Cream. Self delusion, where would we be without it.

 

Of course, not all types of kidology are delusional. For example, where would we be without the wide eyed excitement of a 5-year-old? Pictured above, Luca adoringly hangs onto the arm of a robot at one of the science exhibitions held in Aberdeen this past weekend. This Robbie-The-Robot-alike was functional and intriguingly operated by remote control by a chap in Yorkshire. The latter information remains a mystery to young Luca however, who is convinced he conversed and played with a real life robot. I will never quash his glorious fantasy.

The (very young) staff were all REALLY good, incredibly lively and helpful, completely dispelling the myth of sulky teenagers. The Daily Mails reactionary stance has a lot to answer for. That, and it's innumerable typo's. Honestly. Pick it up in the newsagent tomorrow and have a flick through. It's almost like they're trying to make mistakes.

A rubbish picture granted, but a millisecond before this Luca was encased inside a giant bubble. So if I'd been quicker off the mark you'd be looking at a rubbish picture with the addition of a bit of washing up liquid.

A better image is that of Luca lying exhausted on the grass outside after his football training on Saturday, during which he won "King of the Ring" for the first time. This competition, entirely unrelated to a similarly named game commonly played in Manchester's Canal Street, involves every player (usually 12-14 of them) entering a circled enclosure in the sports hall. Each player is given a ball and has to dribble, defend and shield his ball while simultaneously kicking his opponents out of the enclosure. An excitable Luca then took the confidence gained from this victory into the actual match at the end of the training session, and produced his most dominant performance in some time. A clever dribble and goal by our scruffy rapscallion won the game for his team (1-0), and he almost topped it with a rasping shot just before the final whistle too. "I'm so getting a bag of sweeties now Dad, aren't I?" was his chortled question as we walked out together at the sessions end.

To finish tonight we have more pictures of Luca atop Harvey. There will be many more of these to come I feel. Until he falls off. Then Yoda will regain her position as favourite pet.

**Useless fact of the day - The common horses ancestor was called a Hyracothrium. Curiously, it had toes**