So a busy few weeks continues with our oldest child’s sixth birthday. Yes, Éowyn came into this world six years ago. Although six years, in the grand scheme of things, is not that long it is amazing to think how much our lives have changed in those years. It is also difficult to remember that we once had a life sans kids.
Éowyn’s birthday, this year, fell on a Friday. The Friday the week after 54 European Qualifying games. Hence my ‘weekend’ this week was Wednesday and Thursday so it seemed a good opportunity to claw back some of the days owed me to turn it into a three day ‘weekend’ and tag Éowyn’s birthday onto the break. With Lucinda unable to take the day off work it meant that I could take Éowyn and Amélie to school and look after Ezra, and then to be there to pick the girls up at the end of the day.
Despite it being her birthday, Éowyn did not wake any earlier than usual Friday morning. However, she did declare that it was her birthday and she felt different now that she was 6. She did not elucidate as to what this difference was exactly but good to know that there is a difference between being 5 and 6, it is too long ago for me to remember (the 1970’s!).
The morning, as most parents of young children can probably relate to, followed its usual routine of cajoling them to get ready and ushering them out of the door, so there was no time for present opening, that would have to wait until after school. However, she had received her main present from Mum and Dad the night before, her first bicycle. Yes, both Amélie and Éowyn received bikes for their birthday, I will keep you up to date with their progress and when the stabilisers come off. That is a little way off yet.
We had asked Éowyn what she would like to do for her birthday and whether she wanted to invite anyone around. It will not surprise anyone that knows our daughter that she wanted her best friend Aaliyah to come round and to go to the pizza restaurant (Pizza Express in Staines). Éowyn rushed out of school doubly excited firstly because Aaliyah was coming home, and secondly it was her turn to take Marmaduke home. Marmaduke is a teddy bear that is given to a member of the class to take home each weekend. The chosen child then has to write a little diary entry of what they did with Marmaduke and attach a photo of them with Marmaduke. So Éowyn insisted that Marmaduke came along to the restaurant.
Since Friday night, is usually movie night alternating between our house and Emma and Martin’s house we invited Emma and her kids Blake and Natalie along too. So a table was booked for three adults, 6 kids and a bear.
We only live a short walk into Staines town centre so we decided to walk the kids to the restaurant. As we started, we questioned whether this was the wisest of decisions, however apart from an attempt at walking on water by Natalie and Aaliyah (the mistook an algae covered pond for grass) the journey was uneventful and all six were very well behaved and we got to the restaurant relatively unscathed, if a little soggy.
I am not sure that the restaurant staff were fully prepared for the rumbustiousness of a table of excited children; however in fairness to our brood, they may have been a little noisy but they were not unruly. They all ate well, although the prize for the best diner was Ezra. He ate every crumb of his three courses and helped the others finish their meals too. Not bad for an 18 month toddler, although he is a Bagnall and my son, so it is to be expected.
The one thing we had overlooked when we decided that we would walk to the restaurant was the fact that we have just passed the Autumnal equinox and so the nights are getting longer. So by the time we had finished our meals and left the restaurant it was dark. O.K., we live in a town on the edge of one of the largest conurbations in Europe so dark is a matter of perspective, nevertheless it was a lot darker than when we arrived, especially the walk through the park, that had Amélie holding on to her daddy very tightly
Éowyn still had a large pile of unopened presents when we arrived back home (safe and sound, I hasten to add). She was kind-hearted enough though to allow Amélie and Aaliyah to open some of them, although not the big ones! There were a few tears when I refused to extract some of the toys from their packaging but it had been a long day and it was the cue for Lucinda and Éowyn to take Aaliyah home and me to put Amélie and Ezra to bed.
There was a whole weekend ahead of them to play with their toys and another party to go on Saturday morning. Georgia’s princess party, so they needed their sleep and so did Mum and Dad.
All it is left to say is ‘Happy Birthday Éowyn, love Mum and Dad’
Peace and Love
Baggie
