Great-Grandma

Happy 2nd Birthday

Tuesday 26th October 2010Friday 11th May 2012Baggie

A little belatedly but ‘Happy Birthday’ to my first born. Yes, Éowyn celebrated her second birthday last Sunday, although in true style she celebrated it all weekend and hence no updates!

As my family are still primarily based in the West Midlands and since Nanny Fran is still unable to drive, we headed to West Bromwich so that Éowyn could see her Nanny and Auntie Liz. We also took this opportunity to introduce Amélie to her Great-Grandma and to the husband of her namesake, her Great-Great Uncle Albert. Both enjoyed extended cuddles with Amélie but Éowyn was a little subdued, although she did have excuses. At Great-Grandma’s nursing home I think it is a little overwhelming to enter the common room and I think it freaked her out a little and hung onto Daddy’s leg for protection. While on the way to Great-Great Uncle Albert’s she fell asleep and so we had to wake her and I don’t think that anyone is at their best when they have just been woken up.

We were only at Nanny Fran’s for a little over 24 hours but I think that Éowyn completely wore out her Nanny Fran. Éowyn was so excited all along the motorway and couldn’t wait to get out of the car when we arrived at West Bromwich. She bounded into the house said ‘hello’ then headed for the toy corner and made herself at home. Nanny Fran was a star and looked after Amélie overnight so that we could have a (fairly) uninterrupted night’s sleep to try and put some hours back into the sleep bank.

We headed back home Saturday afternoon and while my 3 girls snoozed I managed to listen to another fine performance of West Bromwich Albion battling back from a two goal deficit at half time to draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford! The first time in Premier League history that Manchester United have let a 2-0 score slip at home in the Premier League (although they did let a 3-1 score slip to Chelsea in 2000). Amélie only knows West Bromwich Albion as a top 6 Premier League team. Boing Boing! (It can’t last can it?)

Sunday, (Éowyn’s birthday) we headed the couple of hundred metres up the road to Lucinda’s parents for Sunday roast with Lucinda’s immediate family and the girls’ cousins. Éowyn loves to play with her cousins including poor Finley who will soon feel left out as the only boy in the group. In fact he is the only great-grandchild of Granddad Badger (Lucinda’s granddad), outnumbered 10 to 1. However, if we take into account the second cousins then the ratio becomes a little more respectable 11 to 2, still the Cathrall family name is reliant on only two males to carry the name forward. I know the feeling. My Grandfather Bagnall had five sons, who between them have had 5 girls and me. It is probably the reason that I am interested in my family history but I think my girls are going to have to keep their surname for this branch of the Bagnall line to carry into the future.

I will leave the update there as this post is a little belated and as I am now back at work you will have to tune in next week to fine out how that is going.

Peace and love

Baggie

Nanny Fran and her Grand-daughters

Sisters!

Bagnall Hug!

High-Five!

Make a wish

Bagnall girls on da Sofa

Great-Grandma

Great-Great Uncle Albert

Auntie Carol

Birthday present

God gave Rock ‘n’ Roll to you

Rubber Ducky you’re so fine

Having fun at my party!

Can I open them?

My cousins are helping me get into my presents!

Make a wish, 2!

Close up

Snoozing!

Where did those three months go?

Monday 19th April 2010Friday 11th May 2012Baggie

And so here we stand in April. Where has the year gone? For most of the year Lucinda and myself (and Éowyn of course) have been keeping a big secret from all and thankfully the weekend of Mother’s day we were able to share that with you all. Judging by the speed of the last three months it will not be long before our family of three becomes a family of four. With such momentous news it was only right and fitting that it was a separate entry and should hog the front page for a couple of weeks. Therefore this update will cover nearly a month and so there are bound to be many omissions, but hey, you’re only here for the photos! Right?

So what has been happening in the Bagnall household over the last month? Obviously the Mothering Sunday weekend and following week was dominated by the news that Lucinda is pregnant, this included a flying visit to West Bromwich to let my Mom and sisters know and a meal with Lucinda’s parents to let them know. Obviously all are delighted, our main concern will be Éowyn. She will be going from the centre of attention and the apple of Daddy’s eye to sharing that limelight with a sibling. Éowyn already shows signs of jealously if Daddy is showing attention to others, and woe be tide that Mommy and Daddy have a cuddle: the tears start and she demands to join in for a group hug. I think that it will be a bit of a juggling act and new skills to be learnt when the new bubba comes along.

Éowyn has already begun to push the boundaries. She is seemingly entering the terrible twos six months too early. In some ways it can be quite funny to watch, when she looks around for something to throw and then launches herself on the floor kicking and screaming. But when you are trying to do something, or go somewhere, or just get her to do something it can be extremely frustrated. Months of watching Super Nanny on telly somehow still doesn’t prepare you for the tantrums. In all fairness her tantrums tend to be short lived and she is as good as gold before and afterwards. Hopefully this phase is over by September and there will be little or no troubles when the new arrival comes along. I really am clutching to straws there, aren’t I?

As it has been nearly 7 weeks since a detailed update it is quite hard to remember all that we have done (visited a farm, bought new shoes, lots of time around Nanny and Granddad’s, playing with cousins, fun at the childminder’s, fun at home and skyping Nanny Fran). Hopefully it will not take me 7 weeks before the next update. By then we will have a new government (we presume) and the airline industry will have gone bankrupt due to the unpronounceably named Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland. It is a timely reminder from Mother Nature that however powerful we think we are as a species how she can affect so much and cause so much disruption with what is, in essence, a very minor geological hiccup. Living so close to Heathrow airport (still the busiest airport in terms of international traffic) the effect of a total ban on traffic in UK airspace is dramatic. The village seems eerily quiet and the skies are not punctured by large aircraft heading for exotic locations. The sky is clear blue (it has been particularly fine April weather the past week) without the merest hint of a contrail (or chemtrail should you believe the conspiracy theorists). However, I think that when they return we will really notice the noise levels, the smell of aviation fuel and the great big iron birds in the sky.

While the big iron birds have been conspicuous by their absence the bird life in our little corner of the land has been very noticeable. The number of species around here is fantastic for an amateur bird watcher like myself. One in particular has taken a liking to our garden. As we all know spring is the time when birds nest. Maybe you have nesting birds in your garden, but I think we are quite fortunate with the species that has decided that it will raise its family 10 feet from our back door. A mallard had decided that our borders make an ideal nesting ground. Unfortunately we didn’t notice her at first and we scared her off the nest, which gave us the chance to have a look in at the dozen or so eggs in her down lined bowl on the ground. We have been very careful since and Lucinda (probably empathising with impending motherhood) has been on duck-watch ever since. Hopefully most of the eggs will be viable and we should soon see a team of little ducklings. Duck is probably Éowyn’s favourite bird mainly due to the fact that it is the one bird that she can recognise.

I don’t think that I am going to waffle on too much, but by way of appeasement I have uploaded more than the usual number of photos for your enjoyment and hopefully you will not have to wait quite as long for the next instalment. A quick mention goes to West Bromwich Albion who will be plying their trade in the English Premier League next season, well done boys, the new bubba will be born supporting a top flight side (Oh yes it will, it has no choice!).

Peace and Love

Baggie

Who’s the prettiest of them all?

I shouldn’t be here, should I?

You can’t see me!

Have this food, bunnies

I’ll get some more

Look mommy, ducks!

Just there!

Granddad’s girl

Coming through!

Have some food ducks

Where have they gone?

There you are!

On the sofa with Nanny Fran

Cheeky chocolatey grin

Look, no hands!

Shall I read to you?

No, I’ll read to you!

Just chillin’

Concentrate

This is fun

Beep Beep, reversing

Our first night off

Friday 31st July 2009Sunday 1st January 2017Baggie

This week has marked a big stage in both Éowyn’s development and our own as parents. For Christmas my mom, Nanny Fran, bought us a two part present a ‘Couples Experience’ voucher, and while we were taking advantage of that, she would look after Éowyn. You could say that mom bought a day with her grandchild but she knows that she doesn’t have to do that.

We decided to use the voucher to book a spa day at the Marriott Hotel and Country Club at the Forest of Arden for our wedding anniversary and then on the back of that a night at the hotel. This meant that Éowyn would spent over 24 hours with Nanny Fran and Auntie Liz but without Mommy and Daddy. To make this as easy as possible we travelled up to West Bromwich on Sunday. It had been a while since Éowyn had seen her Nanny Fran but had soon made herself at home and was more interested in her nan and auntie as new playnates than her mom and dad. We had arrived in West Bromwich a little earlier than we thought and had more than enough time to take Éowyn’s Great Great Uncle Albert out for Sunday lunch. I think that she amazed him with how much she enjoys her food and how vocal she can be.

Sunday evening, Liz’s friend and Mom’s surrogate grandchildren paid Éowyn a visit. It was really interesting to see Éowyn interacting with older children. She loved it as you can see from the photos below and I’m sure that Amelia and Finn enjoyed it too.

So Monday morning came and as usual we woke with Éowyn and after her first morning feed we took her downstairs. It was quite strange knowing that we were going to leave her for a day and have no way of telling her. So after breakfast Nanny Fran took her upstairs to get washed and dressed and we left for our day (and night) away. No kisses or waves goodbye as we drove away. We were in two minds as whether this was best but listened to Nanny Fran’s advice and hoped that all would be well.

The hotel is a couple of miles from Meriden a village that lays claim to be the centre of England and after a day of relaxation and massages we decided to walk into the village for a gourmet pub meal at the Bull’s Head as we were assured that it was only a 20 minute walk. Nearly an hour later we found ourselves in the village at the centre of England. At just over 3 miles we would have needed to have walked at 9 miles an hour to have made it into Meriden in 20 minutes. That is the equivalent of running a marathon in under 3 hours! Not part of a relaxing day, especially up hill and down dale.

It was strange not to have Éowyn with us, and Lucinda obviously felt that more than I on the Monday and I had to prevent her from phoning mom and texting constantly. However, Tuesday morning the roles were reversed and it was me that was anxious to get back.

Our return was a mixed blessing: Éowyn had not missed us as much as we thought she would. Obviously this is good, as it means that we can leave her with others and have some freedom and time to ourselves but at the same time a little disappointing that she didn’t miss us. It is, I suppose, only our egos that assume that only we can possibly know what our child needs and it is good, nay crucial, for her development to realise that there are others that can look after her. Not to mention good for us as parents to have time for us and our relationship.

Éowyn had a fabulous time at Nanny Fran’s as she was the centre of attention. They went to the Sea Life centre in Birmingham (about as far from the sea as you can get in the UK!) as well as meeting Nanny Fran’s friends and visiting her Great-Grandma.

The journey back home was eventful too. Lucinda had bought a rocking horse off ebay (for the grand total of £5.50) from a family in a village near Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. Conveniently this is not too far from our way home, so we decided to pick it up on the way back. The transaction was smooth but as we left with the horse the call of the bladder and Éowyn’s feed, time beckoned and there was no welcoming hostelry on the horizon. Sitting on a bench rocking a baby in a pushchair an elderly lady was the only person around to ask where the nearest pub or restaurant was. ‘There isn’t one near”, she said and Lucinda returned to the car. Before she had managed to climb back into the car to head home the lady called her back. “I can’t see you without a cup of tea or the baby without her feed,” she insisted. “Come back to my place.” The lady was most insistent and it seemed as if it would offend not to take her up on her offer, so we did.

Her husband did not bat an eyelid that his wife had invited two strangers with a baby back to their house for a cup of tea and the chance to use the loo. We sat with them for 90 minutes or so, drinking tea from china cups being forcefed kitkats while Éowyn nursed. They were a lovely couple, so friendly and welcoming. They were both approaching 90, yet scarcely looked over 70. It was so uplifting to meet such kind people when there is such a barrage of depressing news in the media. Marge and Len we tip our hats to you and only hope that we are enjoying life as much as you guys do now when the calendar reads 2060.

Today, saw another journey, this time south, for a rocking horse. Yes Lucinda’s winning streak on ebay listed rocking horses extended to two (well Éowyn does mean ‘lover of horses’). This one however was in Southampton and was actually a donkey. In all fairness this second horse (donkey) will last her much longer and is much nicer (although don’t tell the frst one that!) As we were down in deepest darkest Hampshire we decided that it would be nice to visit Lucinda’s friend Pam in Andover. It was good catching up with Pam as we have not seen her for a while and to see her youngest daughter Zara who is growing up so fast.

Éowyn took another step in her development too, although not one under her control. Finally she has teeth. After what seems like an age her top two front teeth have cut through the gum and are growing well. However, it is a little strange to see her with teeth after nine months with none. Our little girl is growing up so fast!

Enjoy the new photos (and I have uploaded more of our wedding photos onto the Flickr pages too)

Peace and Love

Baggie!