Village Walk Around

Yesterday we managed to explore another part of the village - there are loads of footpaths going in to the fields around us and until now it's been too muddy to have a good look. The weather was lovely (though a bit windy) and it was really nice wandering through the long grass in the meadows, playing hide and seek - the grass was almost as tall as Beth.

We found a couple of reservoirs where people were fishing, it was very relaxing and peaceful. I always like the idea of fishing, not for actually catching anything but just because you get to sit in nice surroundings without being bugged by anyone!! You could almost see our house from up there, this photo shows the estate of houses.

Toby was with us but slept most of the way round in the Bjorn. He seems to be calming down a bit probably because he's almost got rid of his cold. Today he laughed for the first time - it was a lovely sound. :) He has also taken a liking to his binky, Beth would never take one (except for now when she wants one as soon as Toby has his). Anyway, that has probably also helped to calm him down.

Rolling

We've had a couple of weeks of sickness, Toby still has his cold and Beth has an ear infection. Both Steve and I have head colds - all great fun. I think it might be because the weather has suddenly changed and it's pretty warm and sunny. Hopefully we'll be cleared up and well very soon . . . The warm weather is very nice, Beth can actually go outside without her big coat on so you will all get a break from the photos of English landscape with Beth in the foreground bundled up in 'the coat'! Here's one last one - taken last week when we went for a walk in the woods under Roseberry Topping.

Apart from the cold, Toby is doing great. He still isn't sleeping longer than three hours at a time but his tummy time is doing him wonders and yesterday he rolled (multiple times) from his tummy onto his back. Bit worrying, if he can do that at eight weeks, what else will he be doing soon!! Perhaps he's trying to beat Beth's milestones and be crawling before six months.

Painting

Even though the weather was lovely today, we did an indoor activity this afternoon and broke out the paints. I'm very ashamed to say that it was the first time in Beth's life that she had painted at home (the thought of multi-coloured walls had put me off).

She had a fantastic time experimenting with colour mixing and created some masterpieces. :) It was surprisingly easy to tidy up since I used a paper plate to hold the paint and the kitchen table cleans very easily (and it was really cheap so I'm not too worried if the paint doesn't come off!). I think we'll be doing that again - perhaps we'll try to design our own greeting cards . . . if we start now, we might have time to do enough for Christmas cards!

Farm Visit

Today we ventured out with Beth's cousin and his family to the farm (Big Sheep Little Cow). It was a pretty nice day but not very sunny. The farm is quite small and you go in groups to see the animals. First we feed the hens - they were a bit pecky and Beth wasn't overly keen despite Rosie's Walk being one of her favourite books!

After that we met a little mouse, very cute until it relieved itself in Steve's hand. Beth was adventurous enough to stroke it though she didn't hold it. Nightly readings of Goodnight Moon until she was 18 months has set her in good stead to like mice and expect to find them in every nook and crannie!

The next room had turtles and hedgehogs in - she fed a hedgehog, more than I was willing to do since they eat worms that look like maggots. The next bit (in my opinion) was the best bit, everyone got to give the pig, Wilbur, his bath. Beth enjoyed this but I suspect just liked the fact that she got the chance to play with a bucket of water and sponge!

The last part of the tour was seeing and bottle feeding the calves and lambs. You can't really see Beth in the picture but she was quite insistant on holding the bottle herself even though the lamb was far stronger than her.

After the farm we went to Fountains Abbey again (see a previous post) for lunch then 'the boys' assembled and flew a kite. We've had it for ages, I think it was a Costco one we bought a couple of years ago and it just sat in the garage forgotten about until now. It was pretty good - fairly light and aerodynamic since it wasn't hugely windy. Beth helped to fly it but Toby just hung out in the pushchair. :)

Our Second Home

We haven't invested in a holiday home or anything like that! The title refers to our frequent visits to the doctors office. Beth has had a fever of between 99 and 103 for the last few days and is a total pleasure to be around (I hope you can hear the sarcasm). Steve is at the doctors with her at the moment but I doubt there will be a lot they can do - we're kind of hoping that they prescribe a magic potion that sorts her out! Toby is still under the weather but has just finished some antibiotics for an infection and is still on medication for thrush. I think the doctors surgery have put aside a weekly appointment for us as we seem to be in there so often!

It's now May 1st and nap time so I'm trying to finish the post before Toby wakes up. Beth is doing a bit better today probably due to the antibiotics she was prescribed - for some sort of throat infection, so hopefully she's now on the mend. Toby had his six-week check up yesterday and now is a hefty 11lbs 2oz and 22 inches long. I (thankfully) have got the ok at last to drive - most of the cars over here are stick-shift so they tend to want you to wait longer than with an automatic before driving after an operation. It's good news as I loose my chauffeur since Steve starts his new job today. Having said that, I wouldn't be surprised if he got the sack as I'm sure if he sits down for longer than two minutes and doesn't hear crying, he'll fall asleep!!

In the absence of other adult help (Beth is being helpful when she's in the mood but tends to forget what she's helping with if something more interesting comes along), I decided to be slightly adventurous this morning and we headed off to the playgroup in the village. Amazingly we got there, had a good time and got back with minimal amounts of crying. Lunch was a bit more of a challenge but everyone got settled down for their naps eventually. I suspect that today is lulling me into a false sense of security, making me think I can actually cope with two children on my own. I'll probably find Beth in a very needy mood tomorrow and Toby anxious for attention and I'll end up a soggy heap of parent by the end of the day!

The photos are all rather random - Beth wearing one of her birthday presents (an apron and oven gloves), Beth and Toby together - Beth very unconcerned and Toby looking rather worried (probably with cause since just after I took this, she pushed him off her lap very unceremoniously!), and Toby having his first ever bottle.

(Some) Sleep At Last!

Last night we gave in to the lure of the swing and decided to see if Toby slept any better in that. Amazingly he snoozed for almost five hours straight - he can do it, all those stories he told me about being half starved every two hours were fibs! Have to say that when he woke up from this marathon sleep, he thought it was time to get up and play so we actually got less sleep than normal. This afternoon I put the toy bar up on his seat to see if it kept him entertained. At first he was very wide-eyed but he soon started batting the ball and book about and thoroughly enjoying himself.

Beth is doing fine though her skin is still a bit sore from the lotion. It's gradually clearing up but since she has pretty sensitive skin anyway, it's taking longer than it should. I thought I'd include this pic of Beth as she looks so grown-up.

More Birthday and Bath

Beth's birthday tea party went really well with lots of family coming to celebrate and play in her house (and of course eat). For a while we thought we may have to cancel as Beth was up lots during the night with a really, really bad rash. It looked like a severe sunburn all over her body (except her face). We worked out that it was from a new lotion we used after bath time. Obviously her skin was too sensitive for it and also the lotion was a few years old and probably a bit past its best. Anyway, she eventually settled down after getting some medicine from the 24 hour chemist (poor sleep-deprived Steve had to go to get it at 4:15am). The rash is gradually going away but her skin is still a bit of a mess even now.

Anyway, Beth thankfully was distracted from the itching by the fab presents she received including a beautiful dolls house with all the furniture - she has hardly stopped playing with it since Steve put it together on Sunday. She also got a very posh pushchair with a bit to swap it into a pram. It's an exact replica of a proper Quinny brand pushchair and Beth loves parading around the house with it. Her birthday seems to have extended to fill the week as today her playgroup did the whole cake and candles thing for her. She'll be expecting cake everyday at this rate and will be very disappointed when she gets a plain biscuit!

In Toby news, he was fussed over at the party and didn't miss out on getting a few presents himself. This evening he had his first bath in the big tub on his own. He really seemed to enjoy it and hopefully it will calm him down and relax him since he's been really stuffed up with his cold and a little sicky. I'm also hoping it relaxes him so he sleeps better. He has been sleeping for once stretch of three hours followed by two hour blocks. He's gradually improving but I can't help but compare him to Beth who by this point (five weeks old) was sleeping from 10pm until 4am on a regular basis. I know every baby is different but come on Toby, sort yourself out!!