Post by Lydia: My friend Tommy...

Last weekend Mumma and Daddy took to me to Bath for a holiday :) We we're to be staying with Grandad Peter and Grandma Julia. Daddy got a hire car on Friday morning and we set off...

Testing out Mumma's seat for her

Its hard work all this travelling, i had to have a quick nap before we stopped for lunch

Then it was a picnic at Rownhams service station. I've been there so many times now, i was disappointed that the playground was closed though :(

I of course took Dora with me, can't leave my baby behind can i! Here is a photo Mumma took of us...

We made another pit stop before we got to Bath. Mumma said it was because i was having a paddy and needed calming down, but i think she was just blaming me for something i didn't do. See it was Dora who was screaming and kicking her legs. NOT ME!

We arrived at Peter & Julia's house at about 4.30/5pm. It looked like knowone was in so Mumma went around the back and found Peter in the conservatory. 

Peter let us in and made us a cup of tea, Mumma and Daddy got all of our stuff in just before Julia returned home. Julia then made a gorgeous Thai chicken curry for dinner and we had ice-cream and raspberry's freshly picked from their garden.

The next morning i woke up to some presents. Julia had brought me 2 lovely outfits, a dress and a rain jacket. She'd also got me some shoes but because i have big feet like Mumma they didn't fit me :(

I decided it was time for a fashion show and tried on all my new gear whilst dangling the hangers from my wrists, its the new rage you know.

 

Shortly after the fashion show Julia took me into the garden to meet some of the neighbours and show me and Mumma what fruit and vegetables she has growing there.

This is Nanny....

And her two friends....

After the adults had a naughty breakfast of bacon and egg sandwiches we all headed off into Bath centre to do some shopping. Daddy brought me some lovely shoes, jeans and some winter accessories. Mumma told me i can share them with my sister, but she's not here yet. Silly Mumma!

After a coffee stop at M&S i decided to test the adults, lets see how far away i could run without them realising. I waited for Daddy to get his wallet out and i slinked off into the menswear section, i managed about 10metres before Mumma shouted 'Where's Lydia!?!'

Everyone was looking for me and Mumma got quite upset about it. I didn't like being told off so i decided to scream at her and hold my breath until i went blue, floppy and passed out in her arms for a minute or two.

I was OK though, don't think i will do that again anytime soon. I will wait until i am bigger then i can run faster!

So when we had all calmed down we headed off towards the river, we stopped to get some ice-cream on the way (apparently as i nodded off and was told i missed ice-cream!). Then we all got on the boat that takes you up the Wier, i only woke up just before we had to get off though. I was knackered from my tantrum!

 We then got off at the top of the Weir for some lunch.

We ate in the Bathampton arms...

Then we got a return boat ride before they finished up for the night. This time i was awake for the whole journey! I changed into another of my new outfits and watched the ducks swim by.

Back at our home for the weekend we all relaxed after a busy day. Mumma sat down and watched the horse's next door whilst i played with Daddy.

On Sunday i put my new dress on and went into the garden for breakfast, i heard a really strange noise. Funny, but very odd. I asked Mumma what it was and she told me they're sheep! What is a sheep? We went to have a look at them down the bottom of the garden but they ran away i we got there, don't think they liked me :( But i loved copying the noise, 'Bahhhhh'

When Peter woke up he said he would take us to meet the chickens and horse's. I had no idea what he was on about until i was handed over the fence and we walked towards this massive shiny black animal and a smaller grey and white one. Horse's!!! Oh i like them, the small one is called Tommy. He is my friend...

He gave me lots of kisses and let me sit on his back for a bit...

Then it was off to the chicken coop, whatever one of them is? Tommy and his mate didn't want us to go and followed us all the way down...

We kindly asked them to wait for us and we went on.

I really like chickens, they make funny noise's. I asked if i could get in with them, i was allowed and i petted some of them.

After the chickens we headed back towards home. Tommy and his friend were still waiting for us and walked us back up towards the fence. I told Tommy i would come and see him again later, we had another hug and kiss and off we went.

We went into the next field where there was another horse, a shy brown one. Now she was funny, she cleared her nostrils and made a really loud noise. The noise made Daddy jump, i was laughing, half at the noise and half at Daddy's reaction to it!

Julia had then woken up and said we could go to the park, she told me they had swings there, i LOVE going on the swings! When we got there i was so excited that i wanted a go on everything, the rocking motor bike, slide, roundabout, swings, steps and wooden bridge, all of it!

 But somehow i think the adults were having as much as me...

 

Then we carried on walking to a really old church, and i mean really old, it was older than Daddy! I got bored and nodded off at this point, when i woke up we were back at home.

The sun had come out and there was a barbecue on the go, i spotted the sun loungers had been put out. Time for a little relaxation me thinks!

It soon got really hot and people started taking their clothes off, so i joined in! Why not?

 After we had the barbecue Julia's friends came over, the people who live next door. Its their land and their chickens :) They brought with them their dog Rocky, i like dogs and this one liked me. He kept licking me and trying to steal my food! Cheeky pup. Here i am feeding him some of my sandwich..

I then had a lovely warm bath, i was quite dirty after rolling about with Rocky, he kept licking me,and i had been messily eating lots. Also i still had slobber on me from Tommy's kisses!

I felt a bit crinkly in the morning and asked Daddy to give me a pressing, he wouldn't though :(

So i settled for another visit to see my friend Tommy. I didn't have to go far as he was just outside the conservatory when we went outside. Tommy was hungry today and tried to nibble on my legs! I had green marks on me from where he'd eaten grass then tried to eat me! So Peter got Tommy a carrot to eat, as i need my legs!

It was then time to say goodbye for a while as we had to go home to Brighton. Peter and Julia went to work and Mumma and Dadda packed up the car.

We got a bit lost and ended up 3miles away from Bristol! But still Daddy said he had alot of petrol still left to use up so it didn't matter to much. Finally we arrived in Salisbury for some lunch, here's me pretending to drink a coffee...

I had another outfit change and we then headed to Eastbourne where we ate chips on the seafront.

After that i was getting pretty tired. So Mumma and Daddy got a Chinese takeaway for dinner and we went home. Home to Brighton.

I loved my holiday and i can't wait to do it all again next year, and by that time i will be a big sister! :)

There's a lot of fun to be had here....

Me & Lydia

My baby is growing up :( This makes Mumma so very broody!
Especially when both of my brothers wife's are pregnant!!!

She's turned one and is not looking back, she's growing into a cheeky little girl already! First words so far;

• Woof - when she see's a dog anywhere inc.TV
• Duck - when holding her rubber bath duck
• Dog - before she says 'woof'
• Mum/Mumma/Mummy - varies depending on what she needs from me
• Daddy/Dad - depends on her mood as to what she calls Justin
• Mum-nums - this is her own made up word for when she wants milk (mummy's-nummies, lol)
• Don't - if she doesn't want something i offer her
• Gone - if she eats everything or i take something off her she's not allowed
• No -with the shaking of her head (so funny)
• Ahh - whilst she rests her head on a pillow or hugs a toy/person
• and some less formed words like cat - 'at', giraffe - 'go'

Also we're having fun with walking! The last week or so she's just been toddling off all around the flat, my little Dora the explorer :) She's in size 3.5G shoes from Clark's, eBay bargains mind you ;p

We've had two accidents so far, not really due to walking, just generally sillyness of my crazy child!
She fell over whilst playing the 'chase-me' game, split that little bit of skin under the top lip (you know where i mean?)
And secondly, this morning she decided to pounce of the sofa at me! She was happily eating her cereal and then leap forward! Her head went into my bowl, her left foot went into my coffee and everything went everywhere! I was not very impressed with this stunt, the rug is ruined! lol. I rushed her straight to have a shower as she had cereal stuck all over her face/hair and milk/coffee all over her clothes! Luckily the coffee was almost cold.

And we have learned to climb stairs also.....

Now about us.

Justin and i had our 6yr anniversary on the 28th January. My parents were baby sitting Lydia so we could go out for a meal.

We didn't manage to get out until gone 8pm, and into town about 8.30pm. It was getting a bit late to eat a fully blown meal so we just had a quick Chinese meal at China China, then a few drinks at The Font. Then we got a bottle of wine, went home and shared it with the folks. We stayed up until about 1am just chatting to them :)

However it was lovely just to be 'us' again, other than 'mum and dad'.

The Font was the first pub we went for drink in together :)

It was our first 'date-night' in around 2-3yrs!!

Hopefully we can get out more now Lydia is bigger.



Us being silly on the bus

Right, monkey is awake after finally napping today! Must go as its snack time, Yummy.



A mother's work is never done....but surely she deserves a tea break?

On Friday the 12th of Novemeber we went on our first family holiday!

We went to Bath to stay with Justin's dad and his wife, in their gorgeous bungalow.

It was dark when we arrived after a 4-5hr car journey. We only had to stop twice, once to feed Lydia and give her legs a stretch from the carseat and secondly so i could wee! (Very daintily alongside the motorway,glamourous or what!?!) I also sucessfully managed to breastfeed Lydia twice whilst Justin was driving! Totally safely and both strapped in, i just leant into her. Thankfully i have huge boobs! Lol

We had a white Skoda Fabia hire car, small but perfect size for the three of us. I was so shocked at how much luggage such a small person needed (Lydia, not me!) and i was amazed that i managed to tetris style fit it all in the boot!

The car was comfortable once we worked out how to lower the seats, but in need of a good wash!

I was greatly amused by its registration number;

FOOK! (hehehe)

Julia had prepared us a lovely meal of beef stew, the first stew i have ever eaten! And i hadn't eaten beef for several years, but it was gorgeous! Since being home i have re-created it, but our beef was not as tender as the Bathonian Jasper the cow!

We washed it down with some yummy cava, a few bottles to be accurate!

So here was my break, finally! Peter and Julia were so lovely and would'nt let me lift a finger! Everytime my glass had a sip missing it was topped up, if my plate was empty i was offered more. If i needed or wanted for anything i was told to ask for it. They were so attentive to Lydia's needs and tuned in to moving all the hazzardous items away from her grasp! It felt quite alien to not do much, but bloody fantastic at the same time! It was lovely to find out that Peter fully supports and understands me for still breastfeeding Lydia, after all she is a baby and needs it! (had a not so nice comment from another family member so i am a bit touchy on the subject! lol )

With Lydia getting lots of attention from Peter & Julia, Justin and i managed to have a bit of 'us' time.

I felt really happy and fell in love all over again! Holding hands walking through the streets of beautiful Bath together, so romantic! We can't wait to go back, hopefully next year for longer :)

Justin & I at 'the circus' cresent

On the saturday we headed into Bath town centre, about 11miles from where we were.

We had a coffee to perk us up then all walked around Bath centre, the royal crescent, back streets, a few shops,the weir and stopped for lunch at Garefunkils. The weir is a beautiful sight, i'd imagine it to be a perfect picnic location during the summer.

That evening we went to Glastonbury! Not the concert though, thats in Pilton :p

It was a carnival for a childrens charity that they run for a few weeks a year, every year around the surrounding area/towns/villages.

Walking to the carnival through the main street was manic! It was so packed (think Lewe's on bonfire night and times it by five!) We were meeting a few of Julia's friends at the other end of the street, so we had to battle it through the crowd. We found a gap in the fence to get through so i asked the people stood there if we could pass. the response was, well.... less than polite! Lets just say they ruined our night before it had even started! The carnival was nearly 2hrs late in starting and we were all friggin freezing standing around waiting for it to start. Full of drunken kids smoking weed, it got to 9pm and we had only seen about 3 floats, it started to rain and we decided it was time to go home to wine and nibbles!

Lydia & Daddy at the carnival

Then sunday arrived, going home day :(
Lydia was a bit unsettled in the night,but nothing to major. Didn't have to bring her in with us, she was happy in her travel cot on loan from Chelle & Fizz. (Thankyou :) )

We met up with Julia's parents and went to the local pub (for local people, hehe) for a sunday roast.

The staff were very good at helping with my dietry requirements and checked things for my safety. I had roast chicken and Julia had roast pork, everyone else went for the beef. The beef was quite tough yet rather red inside? Julia complained and they couldn't appologise enough, offering a new meal and free tea/coffee's all round. Excellent service that you don't get down here that much.

 

Before we left Peter showed us around the bungalow and garden (1/3 acre!)

He picked an apple fresh of the tree and gave it to me! I'd love to able to have that. They have a huge vegetable patch, green house and several fruiting trees/bushes. I was given a bag of pink fleshed apples to cook with. They looked scary but tasted gorgeous in the apple pie i made :) yummy!

Then we had to leave for home :(

We were very sad to leave as we'd had a brilliant time with fantastic company. But we left smiling, knowing we were welcome back, and for longer next time.

The journey was quicker coming home as it was a late and dark sunday, and Lydia slept the whole way!
We stopped off to get a take-away curry and some cava to finish off our holiday with a bang! (more of a pop really! lol)

We still had the hire car until tuesday morning so we decided to make the most of it by having a day trip on monday. We went to Eastbourne :)

I finally brought myself something! (it was only a pair of leggings, but its something!) And managed to get quite a few christmas presents, yey!

We drove home via seven sisters, what a beautiful view!

Tuesday arrived and it really felt quiet somber, the real end to our holiday :(

We handed the car back and wandered aimlessly around Brighton.

Lydia loved having her daddy all day everyday for two whole weeks, she had been super clingy to him the whole time. I knew i'd have my work cut out when he returned to work.

And boy was i right! This week she's been teething so badly, waking a few times each night. Being un-consoleable and grumpy.

My tea break is well and truely over.....COME BACK DADDY!!!!!!!!!!!!!