The Birthday Party

Hello everyone, we're just back from our holiday and we did so much (as well as it being Beth's birthday) so I'm going to do a couple of posts (probably over the next few days) so I don't get in a muddle! Hope you enjoy.

Last Saturday (the 18th) was Beth's third birthday - a much talked about and anticipated event! The day before we had a party for her friends. I'm not sure if it could strictly be classed as a party since it consisted of Beth, Carl and Harriet (and of course Toby was there too). We had picked out a birthday dress a couple of weeks ago and got some new shoes so she was all decked out and ready to celebrate.

I outdid myself and made jam sandwich hearts (a big hit) and cheese star sandwiches (not such a hit). Beth chose her own cake (the first of three), it was Princess Aurora (Sleeping Beauty for those of you who aren't up-to-date with all things princess).

We only did two games; pass the parcel and musical bumps. Unfortunately there are no pics to illustrate the delights of these as I was trying to prevent Toby from tearing the paper off, etc but they were most amusing and enjoyed by all. The party was finished off with the hokey cokey (yes, I purchased a Black Lace CD especially for the occasion) and I think Beth had a fab time.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter everyone, I hope you're not all too stuffed full of chocolate and Peeps (did I hear correctly that they brought out chocolate-covered Peeps?). The kids got a good haul from the Easter Bunny (and all the other bunnies - thank you), I think some may have to be put away for later and some may be disposed of by other means. ;)

Today we headed over to a park in Sheffield, close to the halls of residence where Steve and I lived. It was a bit odd as all the shops were closed and it was pretty much student-free but there were lots of other families out enjoying the park. After a play on the swings we wandered on down the road to the botanical gardens. They were really beautiful with lots of flowers in bloom. Beth was impressing elderly ladies with her knowledge of tulips, daffodils, magnolia, grape hyacinth and daisies.

Toby was more interested in the fountain and would happily have jumped in to it for a quick swim. He is pretty obsessed with walking (holding our hands) at the moment and was desperate to join Beth balancing along the walls. It makes me laugh trying to get him back in the pushchair as he suddenly morphs into an ironing board and won't bend at all.

When we got home I brought out a toy box that has been hidden in Beth's wardrobe for a few months - thought a change of toys might be in order. Toby was straight in there to pull out the fire engine jigsaw, Beth was just very excited to see all these forgotten jewels. She eventually pulled out a whoppee cushion and Steve showed her how to blow it up. After that she spent the rest of the afternoon falling about laughing every time anyone sat on it.

White Post Farm

As it's Easter week, there are no classes or clubs or groups on . . . a blank week with nothing to do (ahhh). So, I booked Beth, Toby and I on a trip with the local children's centre to go to White Post Farm.

The first big excitement was the fact that we had to go on a bus. Beth sat next to Carl and poor Toby got stuck with me. They were both really good on the journey and thankfully it was only a shortish ride.

We got to see loads of animals and reptiles. It was quite a big place and we saw the reptiles first. Toby was very interested and tried to grab anything that came close to the edge of the glass (tortoises, snakes, lizards . . . ). Beth wasn't so fussed and didn't much like the snakes but did of course like the tortoises. In the yard there was a tractor and combine harvester that you could sit in, it took quite a while to extract them both from those!

Beth got to bottle feed a goat and we also fed lots of sheep, lambs, goats and llamas that were in the fields around the farm. We took a picnic lunch and sat in the playground to eat it. As you can imagine, not much was consumed as there was just too much to see and explore. There were a few trampolines built into the ground and both of them loved being on those. Beth bouncing and Toby being bounced.

There were also lots of ride-on pedal tractors sat about so Toby spent much of the time pointing and saying "tractor". His highlight was probably having a tractor drive right by us while we were feeding the animals - in the photo you can only see the back of his head but he had big saucer eyes. :)

Have to say that my proudest moment was glancing up from putting Toby in the pushchair to see a crowd looking (very disapprovingly) at a certain little girl chasing hens and poking them with a stick. I had to make a split-second decision over whether to disown her and walk away or grab her and dash. ;) Would just like to point out that the photo shows her minus the stick.

Trains, Dreams and Sunny Days

Meant to get this written at the weekend but time got away from me. On Saturday the weather was horrid so we chose to visit the National Railway Museum in York since most of it is inside and of course, Toby loves trains. Beth isn't so bothered about trains but does love to climb on things. Unfortunately she soon got a little miffed as most of the trains are priceless pieces of history that the museum do not want jam-covered children clambering on.

We met gran and grandad there and spent a very enjoyable day running around, pointing and playing. As you can probably see from the pic, Toby is really thinking about walking (much to the discomfort of grandad's back!).

One day last week we were walking around the village and there was a big patch of daffodils. Beth said something about picking them to which I said that we couldn't. She corrected me and said that she didn't want to pick them there, she would pick them in bed. It took me a few moments and a bit of questioning to realise that she dreams of picking flowers, what a nice thought! Sunday was a gorgeous day, sun shining, warm and no clouds (almost California . . . ). We made the most of it and spent the day out in the garden, even having a bbq. Beth and Toby both love being outside and they played really nicely together (most of the time) on the trike, dump trucks and radio flyer.

They both were modeling new hats courtesy of the Next sale - 50p each, a right bargain! Don't think Toby actually realised he had a hat on but Beth was rather taken with her pick straw number.

Couldn't resist bunging these pics on the end of the blog. Two of Beth engaging in her favourite pastime - dressing up and one of Toby. Toby just cracks us up at the moment. His speech is getting much better and he seems to be picking up lots of new words every day. In this photo he is waving Beth's wand and saying abracadabra.

Happy First Birthday Toby

Toby has greatly enjoyed his birthday weekend so far. Steve took the day off work yesterday so we had a very relaxed morning opening presents and playing. There's a definite theme to his birthday - wheels! We bought him a car transporter complete with two cars, it was a great hit and I think Beth was rather taken with it too. We also got him some bells; they are lovely and not at all obnoxious.

We spent the afternoon at the playground and in the park watching someone kiteboarding and eating ice cream. I could quite get used to that, sorry for the lack of photos, I forgot the camera. After dinner Toby got a little cake that Beth had iced and decorated with a candle.

Today was his party day. Lots of the family came to celebrate and he got some fantastic presents. My favourites were the clothes but obviously they weren't of any interest to Toby. He was much more impressed by the dump truck from grandma and grandad and all the other vehicles and vehicle related books he received.

Cousin Adam came to celebrate and brought his bouncy castle. Toby absolutely loved it, especially whizzing down the slide at the front. The water table was out and Toby was mesmerised by it and ended up soaked through and very, very cold. He wasn't too bothered and probably would have played all afternoon - he does love his bath so I'm not surprised.

Before naptime came his big birthday cake. He was a little bemused by it and again had no clue what to do with the candle (given the chance I'm sure he'd have had a little nibble). Luckily Beth and Adam were on hand to show him how to blow out the candle. It was a great day, lots (and lots and lots) of food, all the family and non-stop playing. Now we have just under a month to prepare for the next big birthday . . .

Nostell Priory, Fun In The Playground And A Very Clever Boy

It was beautiful this morning so we whipped out our new National Trust cards and headed off to Nostell Priory - it's only 20 minutes from the house. We have been once but it was before we moved house, I think last September time.

When we arrived, only the parkland was open so we went for a wander and found some great felled trees to climb on. Beth was a little under the weather as she's recovering from slapped cheek syndrome which made her tired, achy and rather miserable. She did manage to have a good run round and could have played on the tree trunks all day.

Inside the formal gardens of the house, a playground has just opened. It was really nice and despite being aimed at older children rather than toddlers, Beth was able to negotiate all the bits. There was a birds nest swing (they seem to be appearing everywhere now) and a jumper thing. After seeing a little girl with her brother bouncing and swinging on it, Beth was determined to hold on to Toby. He absolutely loved it and Beth was fantastic at hanging on to him and being the perfect big sister. Oh, this isn't a great picture but I thought I'd bung it in to show I'm at these outings. :)

After lunch we had planned to go inside the house for a poke around. There is a huge dolls house in there and we are sure Beth would love it (well, at least until she realised she's not allowed to actually play with it). However, by that time both kids were past it and we thought it would be a bit unfair to subject other visitors to the sounds of two screeching children echoing off the walls so we came home.

Newly refreshed after a nap, Toby was adamant at dinner that he wanted to feed himself a yogurt. I was not enthralled by the thought – scraping food off the ceiling is not my idea of a fun Sunday evening. He was quite stubborn and wouldn’t take no for an answer so I closed my eyes and handed over the spoon. To our delight, he proceeded to eat the yogurt without making any mess and has probably lulled me into a false sense of security concerning his self-feeding abilities. I’m sure we’ll find out when we decide to give him a big bowl of spaghetti bolognaise. Beth was very supportive and presented him with a sticker while telling him “Well Done”.

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.