2016

Éowyn’s Eighth Birthday

Baggie

As you can probably ascertain from the title above, it has been eight years since we became parents welcoming Éowyn into our lives.  Yes, our eldest child has completed her eighth circuit around the sun and as the tradition dictates she is entitled to a write up all of her own; this is it.  It has been slightly delayed due to the lack of internet in deepest darkest Dorset – but more of that in its own write up.

Éowyn’s birthday fell this year on a Monday, a school day and a Brownie meeting day and unfortunately a day that Daddy was unable to get off work.  Therefore, and Amélie had set the precedent three weeks previous, Éowyn decided to stretch this birthday out to encompass the weekend before.

As you may recall, when we had asked the girls if they wanted a party for their birthdays, Amélie had jumped at the chance while Éowyn was nonplussed.  Therefore Amélie had her pool party for her birthday celebrations and although Éowyn came she was not allowed to invite any of her friends.  Instead, she wanted her two best friends to come for a special party:  a trip to the cinema followed by pizza and her only stipulation was that Amélie and Ezra were not invited.

Although I was working on Éowyn’s actual birthday I was off the weekend before.  So Éowyn’s birthday celebrations started on the Saturday lunchtime.  As luck would have it Ezra had been invited to his own pizza party that Saturday, by his girlfriend for her fourth birthday.  So while Mommy took Éowyn and her two best friends: Kavya and Aaliyah to the cinema to watch Storks and Ezra was enjoying his girlfriend’s birthday party, Daddy took Amélie for a special pizza date of our own.

Éowyn and her friends thoroughly enjoyed the cinema but drove Mommy a little crazy at the pizza parlour afterwards as they were hyper on excitement and sugar.  Indeed I think Mommy was glad when they had finished their meal and could walk Kavya back home before returning with Eowyn and Aaliyah, as Aaliyah was having a sleepover.  They dropped Kavya off and began the walk home when the heavens opened and they were drenched by an Autumnal shower.  This drenching did not calm the hyper mood that the girls had got themselves in and we were quite glad when they finally went to bed.

Amélie and Ezra woke at their usual early hour, but thankfully Éowyn and Aaliyah were a little later to rise.  Nevertheless they were all up and ready by the time that Nanny Fran and Auntie Liz made their way through the rain and down the M40 to join the second day of Eowyn’s birthday celebrations.  Auntie Mary joined us a little later.  We allowed Éowyn to open the presents from her Bagnall relatives.

Éowyn has always shown an interest in taking photos.  I think I have ruined her chances as a model as I have taken so many photos that she no longer enjoys having her photos taken.  Taking photos, however does interest her and she has a natural flair for taking photos.  Obviously she has to learn the technicalities but she has an artist’s eye and will quite often take unusual photos because she found the angle interesting.  We bought her a kiddie camera a couple of years ago but Nanny Fran thought that it was the right time to buy her a ‘proper’ camera.  She had asked Éowyn if there was anything she wanted her camera to do and all that Éowyn asked for was that it had a zoom and it would be nice if it was waterproof.  Amazingly Nanny Fran managed to tick both boxes and it was blue!  Éowyn was over the moon and immediately began to take photos.

She then wanted to open a few more presents so we allowed her.  Taking the newly opened presents she disappeared into her bedroom with Aaliyah to play with her latest bootie.

The third day of birthday celebrations and her actual birthday was the Monday – a school day.  She got up early and got ready in double-quick time to open the remainder of her presents before going to school – it is a good incentive.

Now she is 8 and in year 3  it is no longer the done thing to hand out birthday sweets on your birthday so there was no need for Lucinda to meet her at the end of the day with bags of sweets for her classmates.  However, after school was her usual Brownie meeting and it is somewhat a different rule: it is expected to bring some treats and fairy cakes fulfilled that criterium.

So although Éowyn did not have a big celebration it was definitely  a case of quality over quantity with her best friends and family and presents that she really wanted.  Perhaps it is a sign of getting older that she is becoming more discerning.  Don’t grow up to quickly Éowyn!

Happy birthday Éowyn

Love Mommy and Daddy

The girls in Staines Upon Thames
The birthday girl
At the Pizza Parlour

October update and a weekend in Bath to celebrate a Silver Anniversary

Baggie

The three week gap between Amélie’s and Éowyn’s birthdays is usually barren on this website unless there is a major event (and there have been a small number of such instances over the last eight years).  This year I thought I would treat you to a bonus update because I am feeling generous, however time has crept upon me so it doesn’t actually bisect but has been snuck in just before the birthday update, and just before the half term holiday.

So, as half term looms into view it is probably a good time to reflect on the school term so far.  Both girls still thoroughly enjoy school, although the new school year has taken them both a little time to settle in.  Amélie because, as mentioned in a previous post, as you enter year 1 you have to leave the childish ways of Reception behind and become much more disciplined in your learning.  So, instead of learning through play and breaking up the working day with unscheduled play breaks, year 1 is much more regimented in lesson structure and it wasn’t just Amélie that was struggling with the change in regime.

Éowyn struggled in the first few weeks for a completely different reason.  The school had decided to completely mix up the classes of her year as they moved from year 2 to year 3.  Unfortunately for Éowyn, nearly her entire circle of friends were split up (probably because they all talk too much!) and she had to forge new friendships as she entered junior school.

Nevertheless we have just had our first Parents’ evening  of the academic year and both girls are doing well.  They have no problems with Éowyn’s work and she is an intelligent, enthusiastic girl who always wants to take an active role in lessons, however she is prone to bouts of silliness and talks too much!  We will work on that!  Amélie, on the other hand is top of her class in everything, exceeding expectations in everything and is a ‘delight’ to teach.  I think Lucinda and I are both guilty of thinking that Éowyn is the clever one (and she is naturally very clever and is very questioning, it is just that she has a tendency to laziness mainly because she doesn’t need to try so hasn’t developed the tools to motivate herself to learning) while Amélie is just quiet and gets on with it.  Amélie means ‘hard-working’, and Iris means ‘angel’ and she is our hard-working angel!

It is not just school that starts up afresh in September.  Both Éowyn and Amélie are part of the Girl Guide movement.  Éowyn is in Brownies and Amélie attends the local Rainbow group.  They both thoroughly enjoy their respective evenings and neither are ever in a rush to leave the respective church halls at the end of the meetings when we come to collect them.  There must be something in the blood both Lucinda and her mum loved Brownies while Nanny Fran was a Brown Owl and a Rainbow leader.

It is not just school that Amélie has had to get used to but as you may remember she is now bespectacled.  None of our fears of bullying or resistance from Amélie to wearing her glasses have materialised which is a worry off our mind and we now have a confirmed appointment for the ophthalmologist to start the treatment for her amblyopia.  Lucinda did have to do some negotiations with the hospital bookings team however as the first date given coincided with the special something that was alluded to in the post Half term and a trip to Nanny Fran’s but you will have to wait to find out exactly what that is.  She was initially told that if she couldn’t do the date given we would have to go back not he waiting list but she explained why we couldn’t make it and they relented giving us an appointment for the following week.  Well done Lucinda!

It hasn’t just been school, swimming and girl guides though.  Those of you that know me, know that I read Electronic Engineering at Manchester University in the early 1990’s (I, know, I don’t look old enough!).  In my final year I shared a house in Longsight with four other lads.  We have kept in touch through the years attending each others’ weddings, however that excuse to meet up has dried up and so if we don’t make an effort then the years will pass us by and before you know it a decade or more will have passed.

Life is busy and it can be difficult to arrange these meet ups but inertia is the biggest obstacle.  Once the notion has been sown we are all happy to become involved, we just need someone to take the upper hand and start the ball rolling.  Up stepped Karl and Sara (in fairness to Karl, mainly Sara) who set up a WhatsApp group, found suitable accommodation and donned the cloak of debt collector to ensure that we all managed to pay on time.

The choice of location was the town of Box, just outside of Bath, in a lovely luxury home called Shockerwick Lodge.  Four bedrooms in the main house with a fifth in a log cabin in the garden, it fitted the criteria perfectly.  A large lounge and an equally large kitchen completed the layout with the added bonus of not just one but a pair of hot tubs!

We hired the house for two nights and could take ownership on Friday afternoon and had to vacate by Sunday lunchtime, so to make the most of the time I decided to take holiday on the Friday so that we could head down the M4 as soon as the girls left school.  This meant that the girls could not attend their Friday after-school clubs and Amélie could not go to Rainbows.  In addition they missed their Saturday morning swimming lessons but all were a small price to pay for a weekend of fun, or at least we hoped it would be for the children as much as it would be for me.

The decision to leave as soon as the girls left school was a good one.  We missed the heavy Friday night London traffic and it meant that we arrived at the house while it was still light.  We were the first ones to arrive and so had the choice of bedrooms and we had the opportunity to explore the house and garden before night fell.  Gradually the house filled and the weekend celebrations began.

Although we do not see each other that often it wasn’t long before we were all chatting and mickey-taking as though we were 20 years old.  Indeed we sat up until the early hours discussing Brexit, Trump and reflecting on our time in Manchester.  I crawled into bed around 03:00 leaving some of them still putting the World to rights.

There was no lie-in for the Bagnalls on Saturday morning though, not with Ezra!  So, we were first up and washed and dressed and gradually we all arose proving that we still have the stamina to drink to the wee hours and be up and functioning at a reasonable hour.  Which I think surprised us, as much as you dear readers!

A fairly relaxed day followed with the kids getting on extremely well.  Éowyn and Amélie got on extremely well with Andy’s eldest daughter, while Ezra latched on to Charlie’s youngest mainly because he had lego and a lightsabre.  This definitely puts him high in Ezra’s estimation especially since the lightsabre was modelled on Kylo Ren’s lightsabre replete with the cross beams.  (Although Ezra’s current favourite Star Wars character is Darth Maul – I am concerned about my youngest!).  Advantage was taken of the hot tubs – mainly by the children but we didn’t just stay in the house.  Karl had done some research and found that we were not too far from the Avon and Kennet canal and so we headed in convoy the couple of miles or so for a pleasant walk along the canal  looping back to a pub (it would be rude not to!). Then we headed back to house for a repeat of the previous night of drinking and chatting.

Again, we were woken early by Ezra and got up and begun the tidying and packing ready for leaving the house.  Éowyn was extremely upset to leave her new friends and we have promised that we will meet up soon, especially since Andy and his family only live a dozen or so miles from us.  It is nonsense really that we don’t meet up that often – but,as this website is testament, life can just be a little busy.

Andy and Máire had to leave to get back home but the rest of the party decided that we would try and find somewhere for the remaining 8 adults and 5 children to have Sunday lunch.  That proved to be a little difficult, nevertheless we found somewhere along the way and so decided to take a punt.  I think it was probably the worse Sunday lunch, if not Pub grub that I have ever had.  We waited for what seems like an eternity to receive our food after we ordered it (in reality it was probably close to two hours!) and when it arrived it really wasn’t worth the wait.  We were all so hungry that it didn’t matter I think we all managed to eat it and Ezra invented a new favourite.  His garlic bread was so dry and hard he dipped it in the gravy boat.  Garlic bread and gravy – a winning combination!

We first met 25 years ago and we have all done pretty well for ourselves putting our degrees to good use and I truly believe that we will since be friends in another 25 years we just have to keep this momentum up and not leave it too long before the next Manchester Alumni Moot.

Before I leave you just a quick funny from Ezra.  When you are getting him ready for bed he has a tendency to hide, usually under the bedclothes.   So the game commences and you loudly province ‘I wonder where Ezra is?‘  And then you eventually discover him under the giggling lump of bedclothes and he thinks it is brilliant.  I was playing this game the other night and I loudly pronounce ‘Who is this under the bedclothes?‘

‘Not me!‘ came the reply.  I am not entirely sure he has got this hiding malarkey down to a tee yet!

Stand by for an Éowyn birthday write up and see you soon

Peace and Love

Baggie

 

 

Hot tub fun
Amélie!
Splash!
Seesaw
Margery Daw
Johnny has got a new master
Amélie
A nice cuppa
This is fun
Ezra and Éowyn
The Baguettes
I’m going fishing
Best friends
Shockerwick Lodge
Stopping taking photos
We can still parent!
The Rushford Ruffians
The Manchester Alumni

Amélie’s Sixth Birthday

Baggie

It has become somewhat of a tradition that each of the Baguettes has a page dedicated to their birthday each year and despite the number of updates recently I am not going to stop that tradition just yet.  This year is flying by and without so much as a by your leave we find ourselves at the start of Autumn and Amélie’s birthday.  As somewhat given away by the title of this update, Amélie has just completed her sixth trip around the Sun.

This year Amélie’s birthday fell mid-week and with busy school lives it is not the ideal time to celebrate one’s birthday.  With my break in the lead up to the weekend before her birthday it seemed like a good idea that if were we going to do anything for her birthday then we should do it then.  This also meant that Amélie could spin her birthday out for 5 days – and who doesn’t want to do that?

With the girls birthdays a mere three weeks apart it has been known that they get rolled into one celebration, indeed birthday parties tend to be joint affairs.  However, as they are growing older they want a little more self-identity and more independence (although they are both very close) and so it was when we offered them a birthday party.  Éowyn didn’t want to share and indeed would rather have a small gathering with her close friends, while Amélie likes to be everybody’s friends and wanted to invite everyone.  So just a party for Amélie then.  We asked Amélie what she would like to do for her party and with her new love of swimming she asked if she could have a swimming pool party.  Now, personal swimming pools are not very popular in Staines and Bagnall Manor does not have its own pool so we looked to the local leisure centre to host the party.  This was duly booked for the Sunday evening before her birthday.  Invites were sent out with a request that they needed to be accompanied by an adult for pool safety reasons.

With a party booked on the Sunday evening and her birthday not until the following Wednesday you can see how this was going to become an extended birthday celebration.  Then why not extend it another day and so Nanny Fran and Auntie Liz came down on Saturday, staying over and returning before the pool party on the Sunday, really making it a weekend of celebrations.

Nanny Fran and Auntie Liz arrived around lunchtime with Auntie Mary joining them a little later.  As always the Baguettes were overexcited and Amélie doubly so when she saw the presents that Nanny Fran had brought with her.  She was given special permission to open her presents from the Bagnall family and was even more excited when she saw what she had received.  A double buggy from Nanny Fran (Amélie told Nanny Fran that she wanted one when she stayed with her in August) and the beginning of her Sylvanian Families collection (not Slovenian Families as the autocorrect seems to think that she received, that is a completely different kind of collection) – something that was to become a feature of this birthday.

A Saturday evening meal with both Nannies, Bagnall Aunties and close family was a treat in itself for Amélie and was a fantastic end to the first day of Birthday celebrations.  Those celebrations moved up a gear the following day.  The morning was spent with Nanny Fran and Auntie Liz.  The pool party wasn’t until 4pm so there was plenty of time to get ready, making sandwiches and ensuring that all the party bags were evenly filled with sweets, bubbles and the all important Whoopie Cushions.

As we were booking a party for a six year old we were given the small pool, which was perfect for the kiddies but a little too shallow for the adults, 80cm only comes up to my knees.  Most of the party the adults were sitting on the floor of the pool, indeed it was a little safer than trying to swim or kneeling.  This was because the bottom of the pool was rough.  I assume that this is to stop the kids from slipping on a smooth floor.  In theory, that is quite a good idea however, it is not too good on one’s knees if you kneel and it certainly it isn’t very good on your chest and belly when you try swimming under water to pretend to be a shark when playing with the kids.  As you can probably guess I know this from bitter experience and the scrapped skin I received seemed to sting even more as the chlorine reacted with the scratches.

The only downside of the party was it felt a little rushed as we left the pool.  Obviously we had to get dried and dressed before moving into the party room.  We barely had time to eat the food and there was no time for party games, however I don’t think that really mattered as after swimming all the kids (and the adults) were ravenous.  The food was decimated (which was good) and all the birthday cake disappeared (not so good – I didn’t even get a slice).  Nevertheless the party was a success. The feedback that we got was all good, everyone seemed to enjoy the pool party and the party bags and especially the Whoopie Cushions were big hits.  Indeed we feel quite proud that we have introduced a new generation of children to the simple delight that is the Whoopie Cushion.

Amélie’s actual birthday was on the Wednesday so apart from a flying visit from Uncle Michael on Tuesday night there was little birthday celebrations on Monday or Tuesday. To help celebrate her birthday on Wednesday she had two friends from school come over after school for dinner and to play with her ever growing collection of Sylvania Families, after further additions from Uncle Michael as well as her main presents from Mommy and Daddy.  Indeed the collection wasn’t over for this birthday as a late visit from Uncle Steven and Auntie Zoe completed the haul for this birthday.

Amélie thoroughly enjoyed her birthday week and was completely spoilt with the number of presents that she received from everyone so we would like to thank you all for her presents and cards and kind wishes she is a very happy girl.

Happy birthday Amélie

Love Mommy and Daddy

 

Birthday girl
Birthday Cake
Birthday smile