Centerparcs

Today we got back from a week at Centerparcs (a ‘holiday village’) in Sherwood Forest, about half an hour from home. It was a great week except both kids had bad coughs and colds and runny noses. We went with grandma, grandpa and Auntie Jane - a regular traveling circus. The villa/house was right in the forest and we had lots of visitors including squirrels, pheasants and all sorts of other birds. They were all a little too tame for my liking, I suspect in the past, there had been other little girls who were happy to share their breakfast with them too!

On the first day we weren’t really sure what to expect as none of us had been before so we headed straight for something to eat. The restaurant we chose was called ‘The Pancake House’ and was in a lovely location right next to the lake. None of us are that keen on pancakes (other than for breakfast with loads of syrup) but we figured there’d be other things on the menu. We thought wrong! It was a very bizarre collection of meals . . . I had the brunch pancake, it was a pancake cooked with mushrooms, bacon and sausage mixed into the batter then baked beans and a fried egg on the top. Everyone else had similar concoctions of varying degrees of ghastliness – it actually verged on comical. I think I will have to invent my own menu item and send it to them. I’m thinking of a Hawaiian/seafood theme with chunks of tuna and ham baked in with dollops of mayonnaise and pineapple on top, yummeeeeee. ;)

There were lots of playgrounds and areas to explore. Even though Beth wasn’t quite herself, she managed to spend hours (and hours and hours) playing. First she played on the windsurfers, and then on the swings, unfortunately the slide was a little too wet to venture on to. Toby also went on a swing for the very first time and was rather unimpressed though we did manage just a little smile. Beth’s playing continued with grandma’s introduction of role-play using a tree they found down behind the house. To begin with it was a house with a bedroom and a kitchen but then it developed into being Robin Hood’s (grandpa) prison (in Beth’s mind Robin Hood was the villain). I’m guessing that after 50 minutes of the same 30-second routine, grandma was beginning to regret the initiation of this game!

We also spent quite a lot of time playing hide-and-seek. Auntie Jane seemed somewhat bewildered that Beth could shrink herself small enough to hide behind a leaf or twig (glad to see she has good body image). When in the house, the play continued with cooking sausage and mash (bobbins) and serving them in delightful little dishes (eggcups). Meanwhile Toby did get to join in some of the fun and got to play with the foliage (well anything within his reach really) and experimented with lots of new food. His favourite was grandma’s leek and potato soup, which he inhaled.

There was a children’s disco every night but unfortunately we didn’t quite make it to any of them. With being ill and up in the night, we decided that going to a loud disco with lots of other kids hurtling about just before bed would not really encourage Beth to have a calm night. Instead Beth donned her party dress, grandpa played Jane’s guitar and we all danced to nursery rhymes and other unidentified songs. I think she probably had just as much fun but without the intimidation of lots of other kids.

One of the only upsets of the holiday was when we realised that Molly had been left behind at home. It could have resulted in a quick trip back home but thankfully Beth wasn’t too upset as there were lots of other distractions and daddy picked her up later in the week. The week was wrapped up with a Fab ice cream for lunch.

Couldn’t resist including this pic showing Beth and Toby in matching hoodies courtesy of grandma and her clicky sticks. They are affectionately known as their rainbow vomit tops.

Feeding Time, Family Time And A Budding Artist

Bit of a mish mash of postings and photos . . .

Toby is doing well with his food and has progressed on to bananas, breadsticks, broccoli (anything beginning with B . . .) and lots of other bits. He makes it quite clear when he isn't a fan of something by doing a big raspberry and spraying the contents of his mouth all over the kitchen. So far he really is not a fan of avocado or the majority of vegetables (unless they are mixed with fruit/yogurt). It's quite amusing but a little frustrating since he makes up his mind almost before it touches his tongue - I think he goes by smell!

Today we headed over to Hull to visit Steve's aunt, uncle and cousins and of course, their two dogs. After a rather apprehensive start, Beth got acclimatised to the dogs and was soon ordering them around, telling them to sit down and hauling them across the floor. She wasn't too rough with them and even helped to clean their feet after we went for a walk. I do believe that for the next few weeks when I ask what she wants to do, instead of the standard response of "I want to see Adam," we may well hear "I want to see Barney and Mac." Toby wasn't in the slightest bit bothered by the dogs and made sure he let them know who was boss by poking Barney in the eye within the first 30 seconds of arriving. Here he is being entertained by Auntie Liz.

In other things, Beth is perfecting her artistic talent. She normally heads straight for the craft table or painting easel when she gets into playschool. Here is her latest effort, a portrait of daddy, done totally by herself. Not bad. ;)

Halloween Party & Other Stuff

Bit of a delay in posting about our Halloween as I left the camera at the party and have only just got it back - figured it would be rather a dull post without pictures. As it was half term last week and all our playgroups and classes weren't on, we decided to meet up with grandparents and family. We stayed with gran and grandad on Wednesday and played with cousin Adam then on Thursday we went to Adam's Halloween party.

Lots of Adams friends were there and Auntie Janet did a fab job of organising all sorts of crafts, activities and yummy grub. Far too organised in my opinion for someone who is seven months preggers! Beth had two outfits (thanks Gran), she is wearing the second one by the time these pics were taken, probably a good job she changed since someone else turned up wearing the same as her first one - could have been very embarrassing. ;) Toby did his part for the environment by recycling Beth's costume from 2006 - a bumblebee.

Beth loved playing with Mr. Potato Head and I think her and Charlie could have sat there all afternoon. However, Adam had a different future mapped out for poor Mr. Potato Head . . . microwaving his feet! It seemed only right to leave the scene of the attempted frying (and probably wise from a health point to avoid the fumes) so we headed outside. It was a little chilly but the pumpkin princess and the skeleton (along with all the other characters) didn't seem to mind and had a fab time jumping on the climbing frame and driving the digger. Don't worry about Toby, he made some friends too though did eventually succumb to the zzzz's and had a snooze on the sofa.

Earlier in the week we met up with grandma and grandpa at Rufford Park for the day. Of course we fed the ducks again but this time we explored a bit further and found some interesting bits to play with. Beth particularly like the musical instrument carved from a big bit of stone (marble?). For the first time, Toby got to sit in a highchair while out and about. He seemed to quite enjoy being up with everyone else and had a good nosey around. The weather stayed fine, amazingly, and it was a very nice to be able to enjoy being outside. Beth even made a friend in the playarea, Isabelle, and she had a great time leading the way (hurtling around causing trouble). I have no idea why Isabelle listened to her since she was five and should have had enough about her not to take orders off a two-year-old!

Boo!

In true American style we decided to carve a pumpkin this afternoon. It was the first time we'd done it and I'd always assumed it would be very hard work and tricky to do (the main reason I hadn't bothered before). Thankfully I was proved wrong and it was actually quite an enjoyable activity.

It was a joint, family effort. I set everything up and cut the top off, Beth scooped out the insides and Steve designed and cut the face. Amazingly it turned out pretty well - we both commented that it would be fun to try out other designs and really go to town with it. However, I think other commitments will prevent us from doing this! Beth found it very exciting and insisted that we sing happy birthday three times when we lit the candles!!

Not quite sure if we'll get any trick or treaters on Friday but we're all prepared with a big tub of chocolates, ones we like of course just in case no one turns up. ;) I don't think we'll go out this year, I haven't got costumes for any of us and Toby gets grumpy very quickly. At least by next year Beth will understand a bit more of what's going on and we'll know more people around the village that we can 'bother.'

Toby Takes Centre Stage (for once)

As you all know, poor Toby usually takes a backseat to Beth when it comes to blog entries but today is his day! This morning we went out into the Peak District for a walk and for the first time we tried him in the back carrier. He seemed a little put out at first but soon realised it meant he was as tall as daddy and he had a great view. I think he also thought it was cool that I came on an outing too - he doesn't normally see me as he's strapped on to my front. :)

We had a great walk through the heather and along the gorge. Beth did really well as there were loads of slippy rocks and tons of mud and she only fell over a few times. We did manage to fit in an ice cream even though it was not really ice cream weather.

When we got home, we sorted the highchair out so it would fit Toby. Beth has pretty much stopped using it (though I'm sure she will now suddenly decide that it's the best thing ever) and Toby loves to be included in everything so it seems a good idea to get him up at the table. Again he wasn't too sure of this new experience but soon got used to it. He's desperately trying to crawl at the moment so we'll have to get everything baby proofed as he jams anything and everything he finds straight into his mouth.

Our NI Holiday

On Monday we jumped (well, staggered since it was 6:30am) on a plane and headed over to Northern Ireland to visit family and introduce Toby. Steve didn't come with us since he had to work but grandma thankfully was on hand. We stayed at grandma and grandpa's house the night before and Beth made herself quite at home by picking and eating all the raspberries out of the garden and trying out the pump (very cool). Toby enjoyed a different view in his jumper and was very happy watching the goings on.

Both kids did great on both flights. Toby seemed very unconcerned about the whole proceedings considering it was his first flight. Beth, as an old hand, seemed to enjoy the experience and stared out of the window for a quite a while. The first afternoon we walked down to the beach and had a good scramble around. Beth made a picture with the shells and actually sat still long enough to have a photo taken with me.

We stayed with Ruth and Harry (great grandma and grandpa) and again Beth made herself quite a home and was not in the least bit shy about exploring the house and pilfering items that took her fancy. Despite my spending every summer in that house from around Beth's age until I was perhaps 20 odd, I think she now knows it better than I do!

After a little bit of confusion between 'Tom's shop' (little grocery shop down the road) and a 'toy shop' we had to make a stop at a toy shop to save total melt down. After three or four circuits around the shop and rather a lot of gentle persuasion, Beth chose a pinwheel and Toby a maraca. We then headed to the playground to burn off some energy. It was quite large and had lots to play on but Beth didn't get to explore it all as it was a little wet after the early morning rain. It shouldn't be too long before Toby will be able to join in the fun. He's getting better at sitting up and has shown signs of trying to crawl, he is just gives up a little bit too quickly - I think it's just too much bother.

The trip did seem to consist mainly of trips to the beach and thankfully the weather was fairly nice (though a little chilly). As well as making mud pies and admiring the view, we managed to introduce Toby to quite a few new faces including (great) aunt and uncle Norma and Laurence, cousin Garth and great aunt Ali and of course Ruth and Harry. It was quite an exhausting trip but good fun - I think it may be a while before we go away again as we certainly need time to recover. :)

Rufford Abbey Country Park

For a change, today we had a day out and met up with Sarah, a friend from school, and baby Abigail who is about the same age as Toby (I love this photo as they both look so shocked - Sarah took the pic and it makes me wonder what she was doing at the time to produce this reaction in both kids!). Rufford Abbey Country Park was our destination as it is about halfway between our two houses (and free :)). We began with a walk around the grounds and by the lake, heading towards the tea room for a quite relaxing cuppa and slice of cake. Unfortunately we forgot to bring bread to feed the ducks/geese/swans but I'm sure they won't go hungry since it seemed to be a toddler hang out!

Before lunch we stopped off at the playground for a stomp. There were two play areas, both pretty good. They were both made of wood, the first had a slide and lots to balance and swing on. The second was pretty cool. It had a tree house kind of set up in one area then there was a climbing frame with ladders up each side. It was in a sand box and there were pulley's and shovels so you could get sand up to the top level, and then shoots, slides and wheels to get it back down. I think Beth would happily have stayed there all day.

Some of the grounds were quite formal and quite manicured and then there were also little mazes and areas to explore that we didn't find until we were leaving so I think we'll have to go back and explore again. It certainly was a good place to play hide and seek and as long as the weather is good, it'll be a great place to go for a picnic.