It seems a while since I updated the blog, so apologies to all you regular readers. The heatwave has left us and the weather has returned to a more expected British summer and Éowyn has settled into a really fun phase at the moment. She is sleeping through the night (let’s hope that hasn’t jinxed it) and her teething has subsided once again, (still no teeth!) Her separation anxiety has diminished somewhat. Obviously she still likes to know where her parents are, but if there is someone entertaining her or she is engrossed in play then she is not quite as clingy until she realises that she is not sure where Mum and Dad have gone. Will keep you all up to date with how that progresses.
There are some incidences in all of our lives when there seems to be something guiding our way, or looking out for us. Some people regard it the hand of a deity, others: fate and others dismiss it entirely. I’m not sure exactly what it is but when it happens I get a warm a fuzzy feeling inside, although that could be wind. The latest example of this kind of coincidence, revolves around our choice of child minder. As you may be aware, when Lucinda returns to work we will require a small amount of child care. Unfortunately, as we both work shift patterns this will not be the same day every week and it seems that most nurseries/ child-minders only accept set days each week and we are only looking for around 4-6 days a month.
When Lucinda was a child she would quite often stay at her nanny Vera’s (after whom Éowyn takes her middle name). Lucinda obviously enjoyed the attention that she would receive from her nan but also enjoyed playing with a girl, Jo who was a neighbour of Vera’s. When nanny Vera passed away there was no reason for Lucinda to visit that part of Staines and a childhood friendship was lost. Fast forward twenty-odd years and one of Lucinda’s friends, Liz, that we met through NCT is best friends with Jo. Jo it turns out is a registered child-minder who maybe able to take Éowyn under her wing.
Liz’s son, James, was Baptised on 12th July and Jo, being a close friend of Liz, was there and so we had an opportunity to meet her. Me for the first time and Lucinda for the first time since the early 1980’s! Lucinda and Jo seemed to turn the clock back and were soon catching up on two decades of gossip. Jo impressed us with her attitude to child-minding and the activities that she does with the kids in her care and she is exactly what we were looking for in a child-minder. So whether is is the finger of fate, nanny Vera keeping an eye on her great-granddaughter or just coincidence we have hopefully found the best answer to one of the major worries when returning to work, who is going to look after your child.
Lucinda and Jenny took Éowyn and Leo to Syon house to play in the Snakes and Ladders soft play area for children and toddlers. Éowyn thoroughly enjoyed herself especially the ball pit and on the bouncy castle. Fortunately as the schools had not yet broken for the summer holiday there was space each of the areas for the little ones to play safely. I don’t think that this will be the case for the next few weeks, so I will have to wait until September until I can have a go! As you can see from the photos, Éowyn did not want to leave, although it completely wore her out and she slept soundly that afternoon.
Éowyn took charge of her first vehicle. While we were on holiday in Noss Mayo Lucinda won some Early Learning Centre vouchers and so we wanted to make good use of them. Therefore after much deliberation we decided on the Smart Trike. It will hopefully last her many years as it grows from a parent controlled fancy pushchair to a fully working pedal trike. As you can see from the photos below she loves it and that first journey to Nan and Granddad’s is one that she will make many times on her trike.
Monday marked our second wedding anniversary. Unfortunately I was working but Lucinda and Éowyn paid me a visit and we went for lunch, but not before the girls in the office got to play with Éowyn. Éowyn was a little wary, if not scared, at first. This was understandable as it has been many months since she last came to mediahouse and she has become more aware of her surroundings since then. However, after a short time of hiding on daddy she soon was entertaining the girls and demonstrating her many talents. We will endeavour not to leave it quite as long next time.
Please enjoy the new photos both below and on Flickr.
Peace and love
Baggie!
