Water water everywhere!

Hello again, plenty to tell you all this week.
Mum worked on Saturday but instead of the usual meeting her for lunch, I went to Bournemouth with Dad and Andy. Andy had been told by the internet that there were going to be good waves! I'm not sure, but I don't think you can believe evrything you read on the internet:

Anyway, Dad and I took up our vantage point on the pier to watch the action and enjoy the sunshine:

I kept pointing at him and shouting 'Andy' as he caught a few waves, it made a change from being miles away on the beach. After he finally saw sense and got out we went to the cafe, I tried to warm him up by feeding him some chips. We then went for play in the sand:

Andy's got a tight grip on my reigns as I really fancied a dip in the sea. The sun was shining so it couldn't have been much colder than last time I was in at the end of last summer could it? I also got the hang of throwing stones into the water, although I did have to get pretty close to the waters edge to get them to splash down.
Dad came back from his bike ride on Sunday morning with a face like a slapped bum, muttering about too much riding uphills or something. Mum and I did our best to cheer him up. In the afternoon we went for a walk by the river in Henley:

We went on this really long, bumpy bridge over some gushing water, it was really good. I liked looking at the all the boats and had a quick go in the playground but it was starting to get dark and a bit cold so I wasn't at all upset when we went back to the car. Shortly after we got home, Sue and Charlote came round so mum and dad went out. I had a great evening of running about and falling over on purpose and climbing all over Sue before cuddling up on the sofa with Charlotte to watch Heartbeat.
Mum had a day off on Monday so I made sure I got her up nice and early. In the afternoon they decided to bite the bullet and take me swimming again. We gave the cold, hostile waters of Northcroft a miss in favour of the Coral Reef in Bracknell. Now this was much more like it, it was much warmer and there were no steps down into the pool so I could go into the water at my own pace.....which turned out to be fast! Another factor was the super slippery slide! I loved this, splashing down into the water again and again and again. I even decided to go down it head first, there was a sign on the side of it banning this, but I can't read yet so it doesn't apply to me! I had a splashing fight with another couple of little ones (which I won easily) and put myself right on top of a water jet. Mum said I had the loudest shriek in the entire pool, uncle Alan would be proud of my decibel level. I was a lot more confident by the end of it and didn't even mind going under water that much.
I'm learning new words pretty quickly now. This week i've learned Kiwi (as in the fruit) and my new favourite is the word 'cold' which i'm having to use quite frequently this time of year.

Let's play darts!

Hello all! Back with a regular update again after the Christmas slackness. What have I to tell you this week? Hmmm, Wednesday dad took me out on the bike alone for the first time without Mum to supervise. I had no idea where we were going but I did quite enjoy the ride. We ended up at the racecourse, and although we didn't actually go into the races we sat right next to the yard and watched the horses coming and going, it was a great afternoons free entertainment in the sunshine. Thursday we went to see Nanny in the afternoon and I even let dad have a few of my chocolate buttons. Friday afternoon uncle Slim came round. We read a book or two, ate a couple of chocolate biscuits and then I sat on his lap for a while to watch the darts. I like the darts, i've got the hand action down and everything. Saturday we went shoe shopping for mum, the ones she got were black and didn't even have lights in them, booooring! Saturday evening Nanny and Aunty Chris came round so I knew Mum and dad were off out. Apparently it was mum's work do, how seasonal! I had another top night in with the 'Tag team' Sunday we had the pleasure of Uncle Alan's company as Hanna has gone to America! He stayed for lunch then we all went over to Grandad's to fix his computer. Well Alan did, dad tried to lok like he knew what was going on and I zoomed lorries accross the super smooth wooden floor. Once we got home the poker gang turned up, it was nice to see them all as it's been a while. I gave them a special treat by filling my nappy and crawling around under the chairs and table to spread the rich aroma.... Monday was a bit of a let down as there was no darts on the telly. However Dad came to the rescue with this:

Mum, dad and I had a cracking game! My enthusiasm for the noble art more than makes up for my current lack of skills and I expect to be a finalist at the Lakeside by the time I start school. Dad took me out on the bike again today. I got pretty excited and started making my loudest clip-clop horse noise but we weren't going the right way for the races. I was pretty upset about it but soon cheered up when we got to the playround in Victoria Park! I think that's it for the time being, see you all soon!

Back to normal

Hello one and all.
Not much to tell you about this week really. Dad's had man flu and has been proper poorly for the last week so i've been pretty nice to him and given him an easy ride while he's been on the sofa wrapped in duvet. We've watched some films (Magnificent men in their flying machines was probably the best) and generally lounged about. He has finally gone back to work now though, about time too!
I've been back to nursery for a while now and am really enjoying it, especially playing with Jude and Ted.
Hey, check out my new shoes:

We got them from Amazingstoke on Friday afternoon and they have flashing lights in the heel bit. We went to find Mum something to wear for her work do which is this coming weekend. She didn't find anything she liked but I bagged a nice new shirt as well as the footwear. I have been checking my reflection out in the patio doors after dark to see them flash. Classy.
Mum worked on Saturday so we did the usual out for lunch bit. I can heartily recommend the chocolate chip cookies from Scoffers. The highlight of Sunday was a trip to Sainsbury's, thrilling stuff eh?
I've been going to bed in pyjamas for a while now rather than my old baby style sleepsuits. I've got one pair featuring Bob the Builder and another sporting Postman Pat. These have transformed bedtime into a time of high excitement as I shriek out the name the character emblazoned on my night-time attire.
I helped Dad tidy my room today and pack away a load of toys to make way for all my new Christmas stuff, I don't think I was much help really.
Here's hoping for a more active weekend so i've got a bit more to tell you next week....

The Christmas Update

Sorry i'm late, the update got caught up in the Christmas post or something......
Anyway, here's whats been keeping me busy over the festive period.

Emma and Max came over for the afternoon a couple of days before Christmas. We were quite well behaved to begin with although in the end the afternoon descended into and all out cushion fight accross the front room....proper funny, but as you can see above it took it out of us a bit.
dad and I had to get more shopping, god knows what else he was buying, I lost interest back in November.
Christmas eve was a pretty low key affair. We did yet more shopping (I know, I can't believe it either) and then went home. I threw a big old tantrum and bit mum on the upper leg/bottom. I went to bed pretty smartish after that.....sorry Mum. Trish, Al, Matthew and Carrie-Anne popped over to see us later in the afternoon all the way from Amazingstoke. Dad was boiling a piece of pig in a drink known as Cherry Coke and made the house smell terrible, it was an awful stench and I thought about filling my nappy in a bid to mask the foul swine and fruit aroma. I can only apologise to my visitors. Trish was bestowed a Christmas treat when I gave her a slobbery kiss goodbye too!
Then the big one, Christmas day. During the night someone had attached what could only be described as a large sock to my cot. Upon closer inspection it appeared to contain items within. These were in turn wrapped in ornate and colourful paper. I believe these things are what is commonly know as PRESENTS!

Here I am going through a few. This was pretty good but when I got downstairs there were even more of them, some of them were bigger than me! Mum and Dad had a few each too, but they were all rubbish and really boring.
Alan, Hanna and Grandma then showed up, and guess what? They had more presents! I could get used to this.....

Alan read the tags and then I delivered them to their recipient, offering my services as an expert paper tearer should my services be required. As per Mum and Dad's earlier, Alan's, Hanna's and Grandma's presents were dull, mine were the best!
Slim and Trace then popped in, with...you guessed it...presents! I even managed a quick game of ball in the garden with them which was nice.
Dad sort of sloped off at this point into the kitchen.....

Which was okay, he looked a bit silly in his country squire style shirt, the misguided fool.
just when I thought I couldn't possibly see any more people I knew, Chris, Ian, Owen and Nanny turned up, wahey!

Here I am chillin' with my favourite laydeeez. Laura and James also popped by soon after which was a nice surprise too. Blimey, what a day and it wasn't even dinner time yet!
Next off, two tables were set up and we all sat down for dinner (Me, Mum, Dad, Chris, Ian, Owen, Nanny, Alan, Hanna and Grandma). I wasn't bothered with what appeared to be a relatively standard roast dinner, I knew a spectacular pudding was a safe bet if they had gone to this much effort for a meal. I was rewarded with chocolate Yule log! Winner. I knew I was onto something with my tactics. I had a great time holding court with all my loyal subjects during the meal, thanks everyone.
Owen help me set up my art table:

...and then we had a crayon face off! Chris and Ian then sloped off, only to be replaced by Grandad and Anne. I should have set up a cloakroom or installed a turnstile, i'd have been minted. Grandad and Anne had even more presents! We then had some supper and everybody started to slope off until there was just me, Mum, Dad and Owen. They played the Bullseye game and scoffed chocolates (dad has milked his win, sorry I mean 'crushing defeat' ever since) before I finally turned in for the night at just after half past ten PM. A very heroic effort I think with not a tantrum or power nap all day. I think this shot kind of sums up my Christmas:

On Boxing day we had a bit of a lie in and I got to play with my new toys a bit more properly than yesterday which was good. We went around Chris' in the afternoon, and saw everyone again! We had horse racing on the telly so I was well pleased even if we didn't win any money on the various sweeps.
Things now get a bit blurry, mum went to work for a few days so Dad and I just slouched about and played with our new stuff.
On the Thursday mum was off work so I decided to be a right little grisly monster. i think i'd earned an off day to be honest. I was not a popular boy. In the evening we went to Grandad and Anne's new house near Swindon

Here we are mixing up some flavours on my music thingy. Their wood floor was brilliant for zooming lorries accross as well....I was a right git there at tea time as well. Sorry everyone.
Faced with another day indoors with a wailing banshee Mum decided we were going out, no matter what. They decided we would go to the Cotswold wildlife park. Hmmmm, it was tipping it down. There was hardly anyone else there which wasn't really a surprise. We went to the Cafe for lunch and I knew it must have been the season of goodwill when Dad let me share his fishcake, chips and beans dinner (he's so classy), either that or he was just stuffed so full of Turkey sandwiches and Lindor chocs he'd nicked off Mum that he couldn't finish it himself and didn't want to loose face.
Anyway, the animals! There were some small Monkeys whose enclosure adjoined the cafe and they were great fun to watch. We also saw some truly massive snakes and lizards which I wasn't too sure of and some fancy looking frogs which were okay. We also saw loads of bats flying around in their own special dark room, they were really entertaining. The Gibbons were also a bit of a favourite of mine although I didn't like them springing up into the window right in front of me.

Now these fella's were a pretty smart looking bunch, although they did smell a bit wiffy. Did I mention it was wet at all? We didn't get to the outdoor enclosures, but I expect the lions and all the other more glamorous creatures would have cleared off indoors anyway.

I could probably have passed myself as a pretty good drowned rat exhibit by the time we decided we'd had enough. It was a good day out though.
New years eve I got to try out my bike seat on the back of dad's bike. I really enjoyed it and laughed all the way to the swings. I laughed even more on the way back because it was uphill nearly all the way. You all know how he loves to ride uphill!
In the evening we went to Rach and Ben's with Andy and Owen. I went round clinking my beaker against everyones drink and shouting 'Cheers' Dad taught me this one weeks ago but I had been saving it for a special occasion, it seemed right to unleash it tonight. We stayed over and enjoyed a lovely civilised croissant breakfast, sorry I got you up so earlt Rach and Ben, I hope you went back to bed....
Mum went back to work on Monday, because she hasn't even got a proper job (Dad told me to say that, he doesn't complain when he's spending her money though). Chris and Ian came round in the afternoon so it was nice to see them. In the evening, Alan and Hanna came round to look after me as Mum and Dad were going to the cinema. About an hour later they were home again because the film was full. I bet dad was pleased. I didn't mind though as I got to have a play with Alan and Hanna who are always good fun.
If your still reading after this mammoth update, thanks for bearing with me. I hope everyone had a nice Christmas, I certainly did. Thanks to everyone who got me all the really great presents, dad says I want a storage unit for my birthday......