A Whole Year . . .

Today it is exactly a year since we touched down in the UK - I was going to put a little face there but I can't decide whether to do a :) or a :( I think it would have to be both.

It has been a busy year, lots of moves, two new jobs for Steve and the arrival of Toby. It is pretty amazing that Beth has only turned into a partial terror rather than a total terror! It is certainly wonderful to be close to family and able to see them and other friends more often but we most definitely miss a lot of things about SoCal. The number of times this year we would have loved to indulge in an In N Out or gone for breakfast at Woodies or Hofs Hut. We also realise how many things we took for granted - Disneyland being less than 30 minutes away, shops being open past 5pm, lots of parks all really close, the beach being right there (and the sun being out!). But most of all we miss our friends.

Great News, First Haircut and Playing

Yesterday we got to meet the newest member of the Makepeace Family. Last Monday, the 19th, Cousin Adam got a baby brother, William. Beth wasn't too impressed with the news - I don't think she realised that you are allowed more than one cousin and thought this meant Adam was being replaced. Adam is a very attentive older brother; the newness definitely hasn't worn off yet! I think that doesn't really happen until the little one is on the move, as Toby is finding out with a train to the head from the top of the stairs after showing interest in his own toys (poor thing).

On Friday Toby went for his first haircut as his wispy bits were poking him in the eyes. I had held off as I felt £5.50 was a little excessive to trim the hair of a baby. However, Toby gave the stylist a run for her money - at one point she was attempting to cut bits while he was just about upside down, an inch from the floor. Beth on the other hand is now an old pro when it comes to getting her haircut and was just about finished by the time I got Toby strapped back in to the pushchair.

Nothing much else left except a few pictures from here and there of the kids playing. Toby in his 'car' and playing on the piano, and Beth in full dressing up mode. Steve was not very impressed with my description of her in the last post but I still think it's fairly close to the mark with the exception of the fact that she is very cute and not at all manly!! Any better descriptions would be welcome.

Adam's Birthday, The Blue Poo and Lots of Other Things

Sorry for not posting for a couple of weeks, we have done plenty but I've been rather comatose by the end of the day with no energy to organise thoughts well enough to make them public.

Last weekend we headed up north for Adam's third birthday party. The party was at The Wacky Warehouse, a soft play area perfect for a dozen toddlers to hurtle around without doing too much damage. All his friends turned out to celebrate and Beth was very excited - she had been talking about the party for ages and everyday since has asked if we can go to Adam's party again. The birthday boy had a Thomas the Tank Engine cake and received a great haul of presents. I think the experience has started Beth thinking about her birthday. Perhaps I won't be able to get away with not throwing a 'proper' birthday party for her this year, especially since she's going to another birthday at The Wacky Warehouse for a friend from playgroup so that will further cement the idea in her head!

At the weekend we went for a walk along the river and for the first time Toby sat properly in the seat of the pushchair rather than in the sling attachment. Judging by the photo, he was pretty happy there. Amazingly Beth stayed in the pushchair for most of the walk (over an hour) but I don't think we'll let her do that too often, nice as it was to have a relaxing walk not worrying if she was going to jump in for a swim, I prefer to think she's getting some decent exercise. On the subject of exercise, she has turned into a bit of a couch potato since becoming obsessed with the Tinker Bell dvd. She could watch it back-to-back 24/7 - thanks to those responsible for sending her the Tinker Bell socks and starting this all off, you know who you are!

Their Christmas presents are still providing hours of entertainment. Beth loves her dressing up box and spends most afternoons looking like a drag queen dressed for a wedding! This is mainly due to the fact that she cannot wear just one outfit but layers them then finishes it all off with a wig and hat. We all use the wooden blocks from Gran and Grandad - Steve and I are very defensive when our magnificent creations get knocked down without a second glance. Having said that, Beth is getting pretty creative with her architecture. Toby loves the garage (also from G+G) though it will still be a little while before he uses it to it's full potential.

Toby has been trying out more foods, he likes most things and will try most things as long as he isn't tired, his teeth aren't hurting (he now has six, four top, two bottom) and he's in the right mood! Over Christmas and the New Year he tried chocolate for the first time, here he is enjoying a chocolate finger. Finally, thought I'd leave this till last to keep you all reading. After Adam's party, Beth ate the most enormous slab of birthday cake coated in the thickest layer of blue icing. Well, I'm sure you can guess the rest though it took me a while to attribute cause to the effect!!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to everyone, I hope you all had a relaxing Christmas and best wishes for 2009.

Today we went for a walk in The Peak District. Santa had bought Steve a book with walks in Derbyshire with children so we thought we'd try one out. The one we chose was around Derwent Water, we've been for short walks around there before but never for a proper walk. The weather wasn't too bad, it was dry but a little cold and got colder as we walked. At the highest point there was 'icing' on the ground (poor Beth was a little bit disappointed when she realised it was frost and ice especially since icing is quite possibly her favourite food!).

Toby was in the carrier and seemed fairly happy to be there. I think he got a little chilly (we need to invest in a snow suit for him) as his hands, despite the gloves, were little blocks of ice by the time we got back to the car. This pic is from New Years Day, bit cheerier than him looking cold! Part way round we had some soup (very organised I thought) and that perked Beth up - I think the hill had worn her legs out. She did really well, the walk was about three miles and she did the whole lot herself.

I think the tiredness hit her around five o'clock at tea time when she asked for a bath and didn't want anything to eat. We managed to shove half a plate worth of food into her then off she went for her bath and was in bed before six. Toby, not wanting to miss out on the bath, had a good splash but was having none of the bed so he had a good play until just after seven.

Christmas And The Hols

We have had a lovely 'holiday season' so far. As you can probably guess from the date and time I'm writing this, we're not doing too much to see the new year in!

Christmas Day and Boxing Day we stayed at home - amazingly there were still presents to be opened on Boxing Day. Grandma, Grandpa and Auntie Jane came to join in the fun on Christmas and we had a very relaxing day opening gifts, playing, eating and walking. As you can see, Toby is extremely excited about the prospect of opening presents. ;)

Between them they got a very good haul, Beth loved everything she got and wanted to use it right away. It was definitely a Christmas of dressing up for her as grandma and grandpa gave her a dressing up box filled with hats, skirts, capes, dresses and even a Robin Hood costume. She was a little hesitant at first but soon jumped in and hasn't stopped playing with it since. It can get a little tiresome when we have a different character at every meal!

Toby got some good boyish toys - we were a little mean with our gifts as we have so many toys already it seems a waste to buy loads more. However, everyone else was very generous and from these new toys, a love of wheels has been revealed (seems he's a proper boy). One of his favourites is his Caterpillar truck from Auntie Jane.

On the 27th we headed up to see Gran and Grandad and catch up with cousin Adam. It was a nice few days and Beth didn't want to return home as she likes being on holiday too much (her words). I suspect she rather likes all the presents and attention while 'on holiday.'

Nativity and Crawling

On Thursday (18th) Toby managed to eventually get out of reverse and into drive to begin crawling forwards. He is now rather unstoppable and getting into everything. His favourite locations now seem to be the fireplace and the Christmas tree. His crawling isn't particularly quick yet but he is rather sneaky and be up to his elbows in something before you blink. He's managing to annoy Beth constantly now as he goes straight for her toys - especially her dolls house. The house will need a bit of babyproofing - gate on the stairs and lowering his mattress. I think we're going to have to get Beth to close doors behind her to stop him going in the kitchen as I have no idea how we'll secure the cupboards.

The nativity on Friday morning was great, Beth had a speaking part as the angel who told Mary she was going to have a baby (you have to imagine all this in Yorkshire accents - most amusing!). Her angel outfit was definitely the best out of all the angels (goes without saying) and she was pretty well behaved and certainly didn't cry. I did notice that it was all boys who cried and wanted their mums. After they had their Christmas party and Santa came to see them all. So far she's seen three Santa's, all very different (one female, two skinny, one very grumpy) but hasn't noticed anything amiss!

Christmas Cheer (well, not quite yet)

We've all been sick for the last few days with coughs, colds and fevers. Always good fun trying to take care of a couple of overactive children when ill - I think the government should provide a nanny in these circumstances. ;) Although a nanny did not materialise (I'm beginning to doubt the existence of Mary Poppins) thankfully grandma and grandpa came to help out.

We've got our Christmas tree up, it survived the journey from CA in remarkably good condition though it has blown up one transformer. Toby doesn't seem all that fussed by the tree even when the lights are turned on (all 1,500 of them - it could only be an American tree!) and he hasn't really noticed the (few) presents underneath. Beth has also been pretty good with the presents as I've never seen her touch them. The chocolates are a different matter, they have all been mauled and squashed and I'm not sure if they'll be in a fit state to be eaten by anyone else (perhaps that's Beth's plan).

Last week we went down to see grandma and grandpa and helped to decorate their tree. It's a really nice real one and smelled lovely. Beth immediately gravitated towards the two angel dolls that we had as children. She dragged them round for a good few hours before catastrophe struck . . . Poor things, they managed to survive 28 years of abuse from Jane and I then one afternoon with Beth and they succumbed! I suppose that is a little harsh as I think the plastic may have become somewhat brittle and grandma and I may have been responsible for a limb lose each!

Anyway, Beth did a great job of dressing their tree - I'm not sure if you can tell, but she was in charge of the tinsel. :)

In other Christmasy stuff, there was a mum and toddler group party on Monday. Beth and I were a bit under the weather though you couldn't tell with Beth. I don't think I got a picture of her sitting down, hence the blurred photo here. Toby had a great time, he found the Little Tikes boat and I think could have played in it all day. I shouldn't be surprised as Beth loved 'the boat' when she was that age. Tomorrow is Beth's nativity (she's an angel . . . ) so I'm sure there will be a new post fairly soon.