A 1.4 metre milestone...

First tooth. Check. First bath. Check. First birthday. Check. First day at school. Check. First time he's tall enough to ride Nemesis, Air, Rita and Oblivion at the Alton Towers Theme Park. Check.

Before you have kids, you probably have some preconceived notions of what the big milestones will be. As it turns out, they're far more prolific than you could ever imagine. It feels like every other day they do something they haven't done before, from smiling to turning over to raising their head... the list goes on and on. But what I've since realised is that even though they don't come quite as often as they do in those first couple of years, those milestones keep coming!

For instance, my eldest son is now nine and yesterday we hit another big milestone (for me anyway). We measured him, double checked it and yes, he is now 143cms tall, which as any self-respecting-rollercoaster-loving-dad knows means he is exactly 3cm taller than the minimum ride height for the 'grown up' rides at Alton Towers. I have literally been waiting to take him on a proper rollercoaster from the time he was born - and yesterday it happened. What's more it was a truly wonderful father/son bonding day and a memory that I will cherish.

That's the thing with children, the moments keep coming. My daughter has her first day at school soon, but even that will be just the first of a series of memories we'll want to celebrate and remember, from pictures and trips to parents evening to first friends and sleepovers and all the little details in between. Firsts, memories and moments do indeed come in all shapes and sizes. The secret is to remember to remember.