Pre-Christmas Party 2006

Saturday 9th December was Granny's traditional Pre-Christmas party only this year we played hosts.

They children got some lovely bits from Granny & Grandad and everyone had a lovely time.

I decided to try and be fun Auntie for a change and brought a Pinata (not very christmassy I know) and everybody had great fun trying to smash it open. It took a surprisingly long time.


We had a really nice tea and pulled crackers and once the kids were all tucked up in bed we settled down to a rousing game of Cranium - well at least the young ones did. Granny & Grandad crashed out on the sofas!

Fins and Feet

Today was a very special day for both Ben and Amy....

Ben got his first pair of professionally fitted shoes today. They are little blue & beige cruisers and he picked them out himself. We went to a little independent shop recommended by the ladies at Moulsham Grange and with any luck they will help him perfect his new found walking skill.

Amy received her first swimming certificate and badge today. She received the Puffin Award for swimming 5 metres with a bouancy aid.

Go Ben! Go Amy!

Amy's 1st Nativity Play

Today was Amy's first ever Nativity Play. She had been practicing for a while now and I knew she was going to be an Innkeeper but that was about it.

The show was scheduled to start at 10:15 so when I got there at 10am I did wonder if I was bit early. I needn't have worried, lots of over eager parents & grandparents had beaten me too it and I was relegated to the cheap seats at the back.

The show was good really, lots of very bemused looking 4 & 5 year olds with tea towels on their heads.

I struggled to maintain my composure - not through emotion like some of the sniffling mothers beside me but through laughter - it really was one of the funniest things I seen in ages.

Well done Amy! You made a fine Innkeeper.

Disney Magic

Well we're back from our trip to Disneyland Paris. All three kids had a great time (that's Amy, Ben & Brenda!!)

Sunday
Our arrival on Sunday afternoon (after a lovely ride in first-class on Eurostar) prompted some raised eyebrows as the place was heaving with people. Amy had said she wanted her first ride to be Dumbo so we joined a 65 minute queue!! I was a little bit worried that was going to be the shape of things to come but that evening the park cleared out and it would appear that it was mainly day-trippers

Monday
We headed off the the busier rides nice and early on Monday and we discovered a new ride this year - Buzz Lightyear - which everyone enjoyed. It was fun to see Amy dressed as a Princess zapping everything in sight and I think it can safely be said that it was Ben's favourite ride - not least because it had a queue which he could crawl around!

We made this our full day and watched both the Princess Parade, the lighting of the castle ceremony and Fantallusion (the night-time parade). The night-time parade was wonderful and it was something we had never stayed to see before and was well worth it. The kids where exhausted by the end of the day though.

Tuesday
More rides today including a brief trip into Disney Studios and a spot of shopping. It started to rain towards the end of the afternoon so we headed back to the hotel for a well-earned rest.

Wednesday (last day)
It turns out that Amy was very much into the characters this time but didn't really mention it until fairly late on so for the last morning we booked a character breakfast at Cafe Mickey. We thought that Ben was waving hello to them all but he was probably waving them away from his breakfast!

The rooms at the hotel were lovely as usual but this time we had adjoining rooms with Granny & Grandad which caused much frivolity crawling/running between the two.

It was an action-packed holiday and a fabulous time was had by all. I don't think my feet will recover for some time!

I've picked a few pictures but really I could add loads more:
Ben eating his way around the park!
Amy meeting Sleeping Beauty and the rather dashing Prince Phillip!
A picture Amy took of us outside It's a Small World.

Twisted Weekend

Its been quite a good weekend. On Friday night the Train Gang came over to ours for a little take-away get together - we decided it was easier than trying to find a suitable time for everyone and arrange babysitters. It was a really good evening - not least for some amazing insights into Jo's job!

On Saturday afternoon we went to CocoNuts with Dave, Kellie, Matthew & Emily and the kids ran about like lunatics for a couple of hours. Then we had tea at a nearby Pizza Hut. Ben's tea must have disagreed with him though as he spent most of last night projectile vomiting which was nice!!

Today was a big day for Steve some trifling football match between the Super Ipswich (aka "The Donkeys" according to Amy) & Narwich so he left quite early to journey to Ipswich. It turns out this is the first time in 8 years that Ipswich have beaten Norwich at home (3-1 for the record - Ste) and apparently that is quite important.

My Mum, Dad & Ally popped over and we decided to go to lunch at the Queen B. It was a complete disaster with Ben practically covering me with his dinner and I have vowed not to set foot into a restaurant with him until he is 13!




This afternoon the kids (both large & small) had great fun playing Twister in the kitchen - I didn't realise how hard to was to play as an adult!

Ben has been practising really hard with his walking and is now up to 3 steps without falling over so he's getting there.

Kids Say the Funniest Things

I wanted to recount a conversation I had with Amy in the car the other day - just in case I ever forgot it. It went something like this....

Scene 1 - Amy is in the car writing out little notelets and putting them in envelopes

Amy: These are invitations to my wedding.

Mummy: That's nice dear, who are you going to marry?

Amy: For my first wedding I am going to marry Ben.

Mummy: Oh so you're going to get married more than once are you?

Amy: Yes, 1st I shall marry Ben, then Ollie, then Charlie McKechran, then Charlie White, then Conor.

Mummy: Won't it get confusing marrying two Charlies?

Amy: No, I'll see one just on the weekends!

Mummy: (giggles to herself)

Amy: But Charlie McKechran says that girls can marry girls if they can't find a boy they like. And boys can marry boys if they can't find a girl they like

Mummy: (Speechless!!)

I'm not sure which is worse, incest, bigamy or the gay/lesbian marriages and all of this at the tender age of 4!! Whatever next I wonder.

Happy 60th Mum

Well all in all it's been a fairly exciting weekend for Mum's birthday. As you can see below we had the dogs on Saturday and then on Sunday we went to The Alma for Sunday Lunch. The Alma's an odd place really - at the front its a dark little pub but at the back it's this uber-modern haute cuisine restaurant which does some of the finest food in town.

Amy behaved quite well considering she's had a sleepover the night before and was obviously shattered and Ben wasn't too bad either considering he woke up in a strange restaurant surrounding by lots of people. I think the big bowl of chips might have helped!

Hopefully, Mum enjoyed her 60th celebrations. I think she did!

One one final note and it's definately a case of last but not least. Ben took his very first tentative steps this weekend. Ok so it was only 1 step without falling over but its a start! Go Ben!!!

Night at the Dogs

Saturday night at Romford dog track - that's what my Mum said she fancied doing for her 60th birthday celebration so Romford dog track it was.

Steve and I sorted out the transportation and a lovely black stretch limo was the order of the day. Mum really enjoyed it and I think we all could have easily gotten used to the celebrity lifestyle!

Dad organised for us all to have dinner in The Chase restaurant and we had great fun throwing good money away on the little greyhounds. Mum and I kept getting mixed up and asking for £1 to win on Horse number 4!!

Everyone had a lovely time and Amy & Ben more so than anyone because they got to have a sleepover at Auntie Kirstie's house. Steve & I enjoyed our 9.30 lay-in quite a bit too!!!

Ben's Baptism

The 5th November - a special day for many reasons, my late Grandad's birthday, Guy Fawkes Night and now Ben's Christening.

Everything went really well. The service was a little long-winded but aren't they always and Ben spent most of his time by the pulpit slapping me about the head with the programme but that's about par for the course really.

After the service everyone came back to our house for a little party. Thank goodness the weather was nice because we seemed to have invited a fair few people.


All the kids played together really nicely and the adults didn't do too bad either. Amy & Ollie especially liked sneaking away up the stairs with a big tin of Roses!

Sylvie made a beautiful cake which was too lovely to cut - well almost.

We got to see Natalie, Kev & James again too which was nice. James is a little sweetie and was completely unfazed about being surrounding by loads of people he didn't even know.

Many thanks to Ben's lovely new godparents Paula & Daniel for doing such a splendid job. I look forward to sending him your way for spiritual realignment when he gets arrested for drunken behaviour at junior school!

Fantastic Fireworks

On Saturday we went to Lily's house in Danbury for a little fireworks party. Amy was, naturally, thrilled to be seeing Lily and several of her old nursery friends.

The Parker's house has a spectacular view down the Danbury hills and as the sun was setting it was truly beautiful. - I can see why they brought the house.

Amy is scared of fireworks as it turns out so spent most of the night watching through the dining room window but seemed to enjoy herself nonetheless.

Ben had a great time too but was a little frustrated that we wouldn't let him crawl on the wet grass or hold a sparkler!

Halloween Fun & Games

Now I'm not a big fan of Halloween and I definitely don't agree with Trick or Treating but I'm not one to be a killjoy so I on Tuesday 31st I was equipped with a large bag full of sweets for any costume-clad littlies that came knocking.

I was quite surprised though that Amy got so into it because I really haven't made a big deal of it. We cut out a pumpkin (well Auntie Kirstie helped!), baked a spider cake and she & Ben dressed up.

We had a little impromptu party (naturally Granny had all the necessary bits "at home somewhere") and we opened the door to tonnes of trick or treaters.

Ben enjoyed it too until a slightly larger than average trick or treater rang the doorbell and that scared him a little bit but apart from that it was all good fun.

Boo Hiss to the kids who took off with the whole bag of sweets that I left out for any late-comer trick or treaters whilst we put the kids to bed. In the 5 years I've been doing that it has never happened before but I guess that's the damning indication of what our world is coming to eh!

Our Photo's Back

We were very excited last week to receive our portrait from Venture. We thought it was going to be really complicated to put up but Steve managed without any trouble on Thursday night - it went up like a dream.

It is truely beautiful and at first I was hung up (pardon the pun) about how much it had cost but then Steve pointed out that we had not spent a fortune on our wedding & honeymoon and that kinda made it ok. After all, some people spend £1000's on one day and we've spent a few hundred quid on something which will last forever.

It really is gorgeous and I'm not a soppy date as you all know but it brings a tear to my eye to look at it.

So, here's a sneak peak.....
And now, are you ready for some close-ups!....

Ben with his truely unique smile:

And Amy with her radiant one:

Stunning isn't it.

Apple Day

Today was Apple Day at Lathcotes Farm. It's a little local farm doing "pick-your-own" produce much of the year and today was their annual Apple Day. We'd never been before so were surprised to see the place packed out (there were a few too many people really).


We had a little look around and Amy sampled some of their home-made Apple Juice. We saw the pigs and the donkeys and everyone had a lovely time.

Ben has really started to come on with his walking. He now manages a fair few steps holding on to just one hand and he is really trying. Here's hoping he gets it sorted it before we go to DP in November as he's quite a feisty little lad and really doesn't like sitting in his pram much!!

Miaow!!

Just a short but sweet post this one.....

Here's Amy dressed as a cat. It's a Halloween costume really but when did she ever need an excuse to dress up!

Parents Evening

Thursday night was Amy's 1st Parents Evening at her Infant School. I met her teacher, Mrs Berlyn, we is very nice.

Apparently Amy suffers from a lack of concentration! - But then again what 4 year old doesn't. She also plays with her shoes a lot at school apparently and takes them off when they have story time!

Here's a picture of Amy in her school uniform, complete with the tie which is something she said she'd never wear because "ties are for boys!"

A Brilliant Weekend!!!

This weekend was one of the best of my life so far.... Steve came good on a promise he had made several years earlier. -- "I'll take you to see George Michael if he ever tours again" must have seemed like a safe bet!

However, things being as the are in the U.K. it's cheaper to transport your entire family to the South of France (complete with babysitter) for one night than to pay Wembley prices! For those not in the know my flying phobia means that I won't fly without the kids - silly I know but that's what phobias are. It also meant that we were able to fulfill Amy's wish to travel on a plane - more about that later.

The concert was excellent - his voice is still superb and the performance was well worth the wait. We were really close, although the heat in the venue was stifling and after about and hour crammed in with several thousand sweaty French gay men we moved slightly back but the view was still very good.

Apologies about the quality of the photo. It was taken on my crappy mobile phone but it's all I've got.

You've got to love France though - their concert experience is a little different to ours. Grot burgers turn into premium French keebabs with baguette & the stalls sell good quality beer that doesn't cost you £4 a pint.

On the Sunday we drove up to St. Tropez and spent the morning browsing round the shops trying to blend in! The yachts are beautiful and we had much fun picking our favourite from the many on show.

After a splendid lunch of Moules & Frites (and that includes Amy - no other 4 year old I know would eat Mussels!) we travelled back home.

Amy loved flying - even the little spot of turbulence near the end which sent me spiraling into panic didn't faze her - I'm not even sure she noticed.

Ben seemed to be able to take or leave flying. Well leave really, he found the whole idea of being strapped down for a couple of hours and unable to destroy things frankly a little boring.

All in all a great weekend.

Molly's Birthday Party

Sunday was Molly's 1st birthday party. We had a lovely time out in the garden and the weather was glorious considering it's late September.

There was party food a-plenty and the kids had a great time running about like lunatics for a few hours.

Molly looked lovely in her little silk party dress - complete with mud stains - well it is Molly!

Uncle John's 60th

This afternoon we went to Steve's Auntie & Uncle's house for John's 60th birthday party. There was a lovely bar-be-que and a fine spread of home-made cakes for pudding!

Amy and Ollie found a new friend in Rosie and they spent the whole afternoon playing together very nicely.

Ben had a great time too - swinging from the bar in the ceiling of Cessie's conservatory!

Pictures to follow possibly - forgot to take the camera again!

Amy's 1st Day at School

Monday was Amy's first day at Infant school. She was very excited but also a little bit sad, although bless she had no idea how to describe the emotion she was feeling. School didn't start until 9:30 today and I think there was too much time from getting up to going in which she could think about it really.

Still we got there and after a brief cuddle she was off without a backward glance.

Granny's Birthday Party

On Saturday we all went to Granny's Birthday Party. There was a lovely bar-be-que because the weather was so nice and pass the parcel.

Granny got lots of lovely presents and the kids had a great time playing in the back garden. Amy took a bit of a tumble walking down to the park & scrapped her elbows & knees just in time for her 1st day at school tomorrow! - Kids eh!

Amy's Last Day at Nursery

Friday 8th September was Amy's last day at Seymour House Day Nursery. She has really enjoyed her time with them and was especially fond of a couple of her teachers.

She went in a special party dress to mark the occasion and took with her sweeties & cake for the children & chocolates for all the teachers.

Steve and I both collected her and she then handed over a bouquet of flowers, a shopping trolley for the room & a bird house for the garden.

I was a little bit sad just because its one chapter of her life ending I guess. I can't believe it has come around so soon but I guess all parents say that don't they.

Ben's Latest Check & Amy's Last Tuesday

Ben had another visit from the ladies at Moulsham Grange today and they were happy with his progress. They said that we should encourage him to use Amy's big trampoline as much as possible as apparently it is good for him. That shouldn't be hard - he love the thing!!


I tried to make yesterday a bit of a fun day for Amy as it was our last Tuesday together before she starts school. I was a bit sad because we had to wait in for the oven cleaner & the Moulsham Grange girls so I couldn't go anywhere special like the Zoo but in the end if didn't matter. At the end of the day, completely unbidden, Amy thanked me for "a lovely day". I guess it's still the simple things that make you happy at that age!

Then to top off a good day we heard news that our friends who emigrated to Australia gave birth to their first child. Way to go Karen & Justin we look forward to more details soon

Another Action Packed Weekend

Well, we had another action packed weekend. We went to Basildon for a spot of shopping on Saturday am and brought out the large Asda there - lots of things that we couldn't possibly live without! Then at 4pm it was off to Monkey Puzzle for Isabel Wilson's birthday party. Isabel left Amy's nursery probably over a year ago now but they still remember each other which is very heart-warming. Lily was there too which meant Amy was in 7th heaven and she didn't stop for the whole time we were there.

Ben had a lovely time too playing in the ball pool and was a bit popped afterwards!

On Sunday we had our Venture photo shoot. It was great fun and with any luck we will get some beautiful, natural shots out of it. Though, hopefully there won't be too many to choice from as the prices for the finished prints are astronomical!!!!

After that we had lunch at the Fox & Raven and then Amy insisted on popping over the road to Pets at Home so she could buy a toy for Roger (the rabbit next door) and we spent a couple of hour gate crashing Bev & Gerrys (our lovely neighbours). Its so nice to live next door to people we really like and get on with.

That's it for now. Sadly no photos for this one as we forgot to take it to Isabel's party and the batteries had run out when we tried to take some at Venture - typical!!

Busy Bank Holiday Weekend

SATURDAY
We had a very busy August Bank Holiday Weekend. On Saturday we all traveled up to Birmingham for the wedding of my cousin Roger to Noori. I was a little surprised to see him in his full Asian wedding attire but I guess I shouldn't have been really. Noori is such a lovely girl and her family made everyone feel so welcome. The food was traditional Indian cuisine which meant that my Nan went a bit hungry but she didn't mind she was just happy to be at the wedding of one of her grandchildren.

We got to see Steven (my other cousin) and Natasha and their little girl Isabella who we had never met before which was lovely.

Amy had a wonderful time especially with all the beautiful sari's that were being worn.

SUNDAY

After staying overnight we traveled back home on the Sunday via Cadbury World. Amy really enjoyed this but did make me laugh when she announced, after receiving her 3rd bar of free chocolate, "Chocolate again! Why don't they give you anything healthy like fruit!" - I swear she's not really my kid.

Ben had a great time too, sampling the delights of chocolate milk!

MONDAY

On Bank Holiday Monday we all went to Adventure Island in Southend with Evie, Morgan, Paula & Gav. The weather looked good so we packed up suncream etc but just 5 mins after getting out of the cars the heavens opened and we got totally soaked. The downpour lasted all of 10 minutes whilst we took shelter and after that it stayed fairly warm and dry for the rest of the day.

Evie has absolutely not fear and wanted to go on all the rides. Amy took a little more coaxing but in the end went on quite a few and enjoyed herself immensely.

Baby Josh is 3!

Amy, Ollie, Ben & Molly all went to Baby Josh's 3rd birthday party on Sunday. We really should get out of the habit of calling him "baby" Josh now I guess - especially as he has a little brother now!

The children had lots of fun on the bouncy castle, eating party food and playing Pass the Parcel & Pin The Tail On The Donkey. Amy & Daniella did extremely well at pin the tail on the donkey and it was only after they had been awarded their prize that Amy admitted she had been able to see!!

The weather held out although it was bit windy and black clouds threatened for a while.

Steve & Stu have been friends for ages but these days the kids see more of each other at the "Wednesday Club" than the adults do. Still I got a chance to say hello to Toby (Josh's little brother) who is a little younger than Ben

They're Back!!!

Kirstie, Phil, Ollie & Molly are back in Chelmsford. They finally returned to their roots after 5 years up North and they bring with them a serious tea-drinking habit!

The move went very well and it won't be long before the house will feel like a home. They have much work they want to do in terms of rennovating and seem to be looking forward to the challenge.

Amy and Ollie are delighted to be living so close to each other now and are eagerly anticipating many hours of fun at the weekend.

Ben is also happy that Molly is close enough for him to terrorize more often. Not too sure how thrilled Molly is at this prospect though!

Amy's 1st Haircut

Amy finally paid a visit to the hairdressers yesterday- for the first time ever. I have been keeping things in check at home by trimming her fringe and snipping off the split ends at the bottom of her pony tail! Needless to say the hairdresser was less than impressed with my feeble attempts!

Amy is now converted and says the next time she goes she wants to have her hair washed too!!

Picture now added thanks to John & his spare router!

Two Lifetime Firsts for Amy

Sunday saw two lifetime firsts for Amy....

Firstly, We went to the big Asda in South Woodham Ferrers to buy her school uniform for September and she looked soooo sweet in the changing rooms in her little grey skirt, white blouse and sensible black shoes!! There's a little bit more of it to get but the main parts are done.

The second lifetime first was a trip to McDonald's - it would seem that the only two places to eat in South Woodham Ferrers is a smoky pub or a McDonald's franchise within Asda's. So for the first time in her life Amy sat down to eat in a Macy D's - not bad for a 4 1/2 year old!! - Shame Ben won't be able to say as much but that's second siblings for you!!

P.S. This photo was taken of the pair of them caught snacking on biscuits in the downstairs toilet - well where else!!

Friends Reunited

On Saturday we had a Bar-be-que with some old friends - some of which we worked out we hadn't seen in over a year. The weather was great and Evie, Amy, Morgan and Ben played together beautifully.

The evening saw a rather energetic game of volleyball commence in the back garden which was only called off when darkness fell and the ball disappeared into next door's garden!

Greg did a marvelous turn as his alter-ego "Mr Carrot" (as the girl's named him!) Seriously he is wasted as a policeman and if he ever decides to leave the force he could make a mint doing children's birthday parties.

It was lovely to catch up with old friends and Paul & Gav and their two stayed over for the first time giving Amy & Evie even more time & opportunity to dress up again on Sunday morning.

A Busy, Busy Day

Yesterday was a busy, busy day. It started with Ben's appointment to have his MMR injection. True to form he fell asleep just before we got there so was miffed enough about being woken up without being pricked with a needle too! - he took it rather well considering.

Then it was off to South Woodham Ferrers for Amy's last ever Tumbletots. She has thoroughly enjoyed the sessions and they have done much to improve her co-ordination and daring. She made them a little thank you card which I think they were quite pleased with and wore her Tumbletots T-Shirt for the first & last time!!

And then last but by no means least - Ben realised what his legs are for and started to walk whilst held. Well I say walk but prancing like a pony is more like it! Once he realises that he can do it slow and steady hopefully he'll begin to walk unaided.

This picture was taken today of them playing "rough & tumble" in their underwear!!

Happy Birthday Daddy Steve

Saturday 22nd July is a very important date on the calendar for on that one day a year you can guarantee it will rain! Even in our current heat wave the weather forecast for the week was brilliant sunshine all week with a single rain cloud on Saturday. Why you may ask - well that is Daddy's birthday and it has rained every 22nd July for the past 32 years.

We're used to it now and made the best of it. Steve had a little family bar-be-que and had a lovely day.

Grandad Martin's 60th Birthday

Well Grandad Martin became an OAP on Monday 17th July and the Sunday before he had a lovely Caribbean theme BBQ party with some close friends and family.

We all had a lovely time. The weather was perfect and Amy had a marvelous time showing everyone how to sing her showtunes!

Grandad brought Ben a surprise present - a blackpool football kit but Daddy had his own surprise for Grandad in return - an Ipswich Town top with 60 on the back! Needless to say they both looked fairly silly!

Happy 60th Birthday Dad!

Showtime!

Today was the end of term Stagecoach show and much to my surprise Amy not only went up on stage but actually joined in too. I had totally expected her to bottle it at the last minute - especially as they had to go into the hall and onto the big stage but she was a little star.

She sang away with great gusto to the words of Supercallafragalisticexpiallidocious (excuse spelling!) and looked really sweet dressed up as a little bird for the "Day out with Mary Poppins" play.

Stagecoach as been a complete hit with Amy. She has made a lovely little friend there called Thalia who she adores and has had a lovely time.

Our Poorly Poppet

Amy is poorly today. She has a throat infection and has spent most of the day asleep. Sadly she missed her last visit to school this afternoon where she would have met all her next classmates and her new teacher.

She has some antibiotics so hopefully she will be ok soon. She'll have to bounce back very quickly though cos its the Stagecoach End of Term Show tomorrow and then Grandad's 60th Birthday party on Sunday!

Fingers crossed!!

Ben's First Word!!

On Sunday Ben uttered his very first proper word. I was overjoyed when it turned out to be Mama. However, after he had addressed the TV, the fireplace & the sofa all as Mama it kinda put it into perspective a little bit.

Its strange really, he went to be on Saturday still doing just "baby babble" and woke up on Sunday morning saying Mama, Bra Bra & La La.

His Bra Bra trick should please Barbara one of his nursery teachers though!

Well done Ben!