Carl, Carl, Carl

Beth has a new best friend, you've guessed it, Carl. My day now has a soundtrack that goes something like this; "I want Carl, can Carl come over to play? Can Carl come to my house and eat Bob the Builder pasta? Can Carl come and watch Sleeping Beauty and drink warm milk with me?" This is pretty much on a loop and is driving me round the bend! I suppose I'll have to develop selective hearing and learn to nod in the correct places.

Yesterday we met up with Carl at Cusworth Hall for a play. It was a lovely day and we spent a good couple of hours charging around, Beth and Carl picking flowers, chasing ducks and scaring elderly couples and his mum and I attempting damage limitation!

As usual Toby was there but spent the majority of his time in the pushchair. Hopefully he'll be able to join in the fun soon as he's getting pretty good at cruising along the furniture. It's only a week till his birthday - I can't believe how fast the year has gone (despite some of the days being very, very long!). I think Beth may adopt his birthday and be in charge of opening presents, blowing out candles and eating cake, I suppose we could class it as practice for her birthday next month.

Fountains Abbey Again

Just a quick post as I'm tired but want to get these photos up. Today we went to Fountains Abbey for the first time in ages and met up with gran and granddad. The weather wasn't great but we took our raincoats and just decided to go for it.

When we first arrived (and again before we left) we spent quite a while in the playground. Toby is really not too happy to stay in the pushchair but the ground was just too wet to let him roam around. I kept telling him that if he would just walk, he could join in all the fun but it just didn't seem to motivate him. He still managed to have fun on the enormous swing and on the horse and cart.

In the few months since we were last there, Beth seems to have grown lots as she flew up the net - she could get up it last time but was a little unsteady, and quite happily climbed anything and everything in sight. After leaving the playground we headed down to the Abbey and the river. Although I never actually caught her in the act, I believe that a number of snowdrops were picked and suffered the fate of being crushed in her pocket. At least there were plenty around, she'll be most disappointed when they all disappear in a couple of weeks, at least there will be daffodils to replace them by then! It was a lovely relaxed day and in Beth's eyes could probably only be improved on if the ice cream stand had been open.

Couldn't resist including this last photo. It was taken out in the garden yesterday afternoon.

Hodsock Priory

We just wanted to get out of the house so we went exploring today. After a bit of humming and hahhing we headed for Mattersey Priory (on the suggestion of the GPS). Well, it wasn't quite what we were thinking of - 3/4 of a mile down a rather bumpy track and we arrived a pile of stones. So, we decided to backtrack and follow the signs to Hodsock Priory Snowdrops mainly because it sounded interesting and Beth loves snowdrops at the moment (mostly due to the snowdrop fairy in a book at grandma's house) and also because we didn't know the area well and figured it was there or back home. We followed a long line of cars all turning in to the priory and got parked, still not entirely sure of what we were going to.

It seems that following the crowds sometimes works as the priory was a beautiful building (it's a manor house and despite its name has never been a priory) with lovely gardens that the owners open to the public every spring to see the snowdrops and other flowers. We spent a really nice couple of hours exploring the gardens finding fairies, bonfires, snowdrops and other delights. Toby wasn't too bothered about the whole trip but sat quite contentedly anyway as we wandered round. They did have a tearoom but it was jam-packed with pensioners all having a nice Sunday morning out (I think we were just about the only ones there under 70!) so we headed home.

After lunch, Steve and Beth built a tower for Sleeping Beauty (the current favourite dvd) that Toby eventually pulled down on himself (causing cascades of tears). He didn't cry for too long as we ventured out into the garden and he got a good play on his tricycle - all very serious business. I also thought I'd include a pic of Beth with the flowers she planted while we were staying with grandma and grandpa last week.

Oh, one last thing, you may have noticed that electric pink shoes . . . We went shoe shopping yesterday, Toby got his first ever pair of shoes and Beth chose some herself - thanks gran for those, she hasn't taken them off since we left the shop!

Odds and Sods

Yesterday we went up to the Peak District for a wander. At first we headed for Surprise View near to Hathersage but realised it would be way too snowy still so we went over to Derwent Water instead. It was very beautiful but still pretty icy and to Beth's delight there was quite a lot of snow around. We stomped around for an hour or so then Toby decided it was time to head back to the warmth of the car.

Toby is getting fairly adventurous with his standing and his favourite pastime is pulling open the drawer in the kitchen and throwing the contents all about, sometimes having a chew before chucking whatever it is over his shoulder. Sometimes he'll topple over but it doesn't seem to bother him too much, you'll notice his bruises. Beth has been a little trying for the last few days/weeks and is driving us round the bend. Perhaps she's just getting into the terrible terrible twos and seeing what damage she can do before her birthday! She looks rather angelic in this picture - don't be fooled, she's just plotting her next move.

Here they both are in a very bubbly bath last night. Toby still loves his bath and would stay in until he turned in to a prune. Beth likes them as long as she doesn't have to wash her hair and as long as she gets to play with all the toys at all times. Anyway, this coming week is half term so we may well take trips to see the grandparents - I do like to share the wealth especially when it comes to delightful children. ;)

Keswick

On Sunday we drove up to the Lake District for a mini holiday in Keswick. Grandma and Grandpa were there for a relaxing week so we thought we'd gatecrash and join them for a couple of nights. Along with reinforcements (Gran and Grandad) we rented a cottage in the centre of Keswick - our favourite Lake District town.

Amazingly the weather was pretty nice although it was a little cold. Beth of course loved being in her holiday house especially since she was surrounded by grandparents willing to be bossed about and join in her games. When we arrived on Sunday we headed down to the lake to stretch our legs and also had a run around the park before heading to the pub for dinner. We spent Monday walking over the hills and around the lake. It was lovely and clear and the views were great. We spent lots of time watching the para gliders come down off the hills, I'm not sure Beth realised that there was someone attached to the bottom of them - she thought they were big kites.

Toby seemed to enjoy himself but since he isn't yet on his hind legs, he spent most of the time in the pushchair. He did get to go in the swing at the bottom of the garden of the holiday house but just seemed to love having a new place to explore. Since coming home he has started pulling himself up on everything and can now get up two steps of the staircase. We really will have to get a stairgate up this week.

It was a great few days and I think we'll try and sort things out to go back for longer when the weather gets a bit warmer.

Snow Day

Just a quick post about our snow activities. :) Beth and I managed to get out and play for a while yesterday when Toby was napping but the real fun came when daddy got home. First they made a snowman (and snowbaby) complete with arms, nose, mouth and eyes. The eyes were a bit freaky as all we had were mushrooms! I am not looking forward to him melting as Beth hugs him and says she loves him every time we go by.

After Mr Snowman was complete they made snow angels though Beth didn't quite get the idea and waved her arms in the air. Steve's were quite impressive and I would have joined in except I was cooking tea (good excuse). There was no more snow today but what was there did not melt. We walked to playgroup and it was really slippy. Toby was in the pushchair and Beth walked. I held her hand in case she fell - she did and I was left holding a glove! She was not impressed.

Due to the weather, we have spent quite a lot of time playing in the house. Beth spent much of her time dressing up, no surprise there, but also experimented with her tower building. Toby just spent his time knocking towers down and chasing the cat.

Brrrrr

Couldn't resist doing a quick post so I could include this picture taken from the front door. As you can probably guess, it's snowing. Not sure what the forecast is for the next few days but I would imagine cold! Mog was not at all sure what was going on. It's the first time she's seen proper snow but being adventurous she did get outside even though that only lasted a minute or so before she headed back inside to sit by the fire (probably dreaming of the California sunshine!).

This afternoon we went to a third birthday party for Yvie, a little girl at Beth's playgroup. It was at The Wacky Warehouse again but this time they had face painting. Beth was a little hesitant at first but after watching another girl get made up as a puppy she decided that she would like to be a butterfly. The picture was taken once we got home so some had rubbed off, but you get the idea. We're still trying to decide what to do for Beth's birthday, I'm sure ideally she would like a (pink) princess party that includes dressing up as a princess, eating pink princess food and generally pretending to be a princess. We'll see.

While at the party Toby stayed with Steve. I don't think they did too much as Toby slept for most of it . . . sod's law that as soon as he's out of my care he falls asleep. Why doesn't he do that during the week??? I think he's probably recovering from being ill last week. He had a fever on and off all week culminating in a stunning 105.5 degree temperature that had us rushing to the out-of-hours doctor. All good fun, have to say that he is lovely even when sick and can muster a smile when most of us would be horrid. He also seems to have started to say understandable words. A couple of weeks ago he was sat by the radiator, touched it and said 'hot' a few times then today he picked up the party hat Beth got from the party and said 'hat' three times. Perhaps he just likes words beginning with H!