Wedding

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!

Beep!

Playing with Amelia and Finn

Can I have some please?

With Auntie Liz at the Sea Life Centre

Centre of England

I’m tired Auntie Liz

My first painting

With Nanny on my horse

Visiting Great-Grandma

Nine months old

Thursday 23rd July 2009Friday 11th May 2012Baggie

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!

Nanny tells great stories

Shall Granddad tell you a story?

Follow me

James making a break for it

I’ve got all the red ones!

What do the blue ones taste of?

My new trike!

How do you drive this thing?

Kazaam!

They said that this is my new toy!

All I’ve got is this balloon

I am not a number!

Stand Up!

Monday 8th June 2009Friday 11th May 2012Baggie

It has been quite a busy and emotional week and a bit since the last update. The week started quite brightly with fine weather as befits the start of June. Éowyn took full advantage of this in her new paddling pool. Each morning we took her into the garden to have a splash, which is a very easy way to give her (and us) a wash! She thoroughly enjoys being in the water and it is something that we want to encourage.

Our friends Neil, Emma and Kerry met us in Chertsey for a walk along the Thames on Thursday. As with all good walks a meal at a pub was in order and we incorporated this tradition with Thames Court being the goal for the half-way stage of the stroll. We were also introduced to the hobby of geocaching by the guys. It adds an added interest to a walk and it is quite nice to be part of a secret club where muggles walk by geocaches unaware of the hidden treasures lurking in the undergrowth.

The weekend started with an invite to the evening-do of the wedding of friends of ours Stuart and Sharon Hellyer. This was Éowyn’s first wedding and she did very well considering she was in a new place, with new people and long past her bedtime. However by 10pm she was getting really grumpy and we had to say goodbye while the night was still young. We wish Stuart and Sharon all the best for their future lives together.

Monday we took full advantage of the fine weather and headed to Windsor to meet up with Lee and Caroline and their daughter Georgia. Caroline and Lucinda meet up quite regularly so the girls know each other, as well as 7 ½ month olds can. They don’t really play with each other (as yet) and Éowyn took full advantage of her advanced manoeuvrability and went in for Georgia’s dummy while she unsuspectedly sat in the sun. I suppose she has a long memory from the time that Georgia punched her in the face while they lay on our lounge floor.

Nan and Granddad took us to the Harvester in Windsor Tuesday evening where Éowyn was on her best behaviour once again, until she swallowed a large chunk of the bun that she was chewing and began to choke. Fortunately the first aid training kicked in and a swift slap to the back dislodged the offending lump but unfortunately brought up a quantity of vomit too. Not the nicest thing to happen in the middle of dinner. Éowyn was nonplussed by it all and was none the worse for her incident. This was the second time in a week that she had bitten a large chunk of food (the first was a baby ricecake last Thursday) and choked, fortunately I have been on hand both times and have not panicked but it is quite upsetting and Lucinda finds it especially so. We are being extremely careful now with the kind of foodstuffs that she is being given.

As you may recall from the last entry Éowyn’s Great-Great Auntie Iris passed away and Thursday was her funeral. So although it was nice to see the family and Éowyn got to see her Nanny Fran, it was a shame that it was under such circumstances. We were a little concerned taking Éowyn to the funeral service as she is a little young to persuade her to behave but we had needn’t fretted. She slept through the service at the crematorium, which was a little embarrassing since she takes after her dad and snores. So when the minister asked all to take a minute to reflect on Auntie Iris and pray silently, all that could be heard was the dulcet tones of Éowyn‘s snoring. I think that Auntie Iris would have found it amusing as a number of people suppressed their sniggering.

She was a good tonic for the people there and a nice distraction. During the memorial service she was as good as gold, except for continually tapping her Auntie Liz on the back causing her to turn around. Then at the wake, she crawled around the hall, trying to escape from her daddy and hoping for people to drop crumbs off their plates. She also begun to say the two words that we have longed to hear: ‘Momomomomomom’ and ‘Dadadadadadadadadadad’. Well not quite the words but definitely the sounds. She also got to meet some of the relatives that she hadn’t as yet had the opportunity to meet, including her first cousin once removed Mark and her first cousin twice removed, my first cousin once removed Ray and his wife Pat (that is if I have followed this table correctly). She also received a couple of presents a nursery rhyme book from her Great Uncle Michael and Great Auntie Yvonne and a hand-knitted doll from her first cousin twice removed Pat. She is a very lucky little girl to have such generous relatives. Thank you!

We stayed the night at Nanny Fran’s so that they could have an extended play time, which I am not sure who enjoyed the most. We also visited her Great-Grandma and for the first time took her to place some flowers on my dad’s grave, her Granddad Vic, for what would have been his 63rd birthday; not that it means anything to her at the moment but more for Lucinda and me.

To complete the triumvirate our next door neighbours, Cliff and Vicky had a baby boy in the early hours of Thursday morning. Congratulations to them and welcome to the world little one.

In this hectic week of births, deaths and marriages Éowyn has also begun to pull herself up on furniture. The first time was just before the last update on the 27th May and then nothing for a couple of days, but now she is constantly pulling herself upon and standing for quite a while. She has taken a tentative step or two but it has, so far, always thrown her off balance but nappies are great shock absorbers for little bottoms. I don’t think it will be too long before she is walking. We are not ready! Keep an eye on this space.

Peace and Love

Baggie!