Snow!

Is it that time again? Middle of the week for all you working types.
All the way back to last Wednesday and it snowed! When I got up in the morning everything was white, when we left for nursery I could see the footprints Dad made in the snow on when he went to work earlier in the morning. I took my wellies into nursery and we spent the morning playing in the snow and having snowball fights, it was excellent. I think dad was a bit disappointed that it had all melted by the time he came to pick me up.
Thursday we went to meet mum for lunch. We also bumped into Owen. He asked me what I’d been doing at nursery so I told him I did a burp! He liked the idea of that I think.
Friday and once we picked mum up from work we went to Pizza Hup(!) after a bit of to and fro-ing. The garlic bread with cheese is almost as good as the ice-cream factory. Once we were home Andy, Rach and Ben came round to see us and as if that wasn’t enough excitement so did Aunty Chris. I was pretty disappointed Mum and Dad didn’t go out to be honest. Never the less I did get Andy to read my nursery rhyme book from cover to cover before I turned in for the night.
We went up the woods on Saturday, I rode my bike through some really big puddles:

After that we went home for some lovely sandwiches and then into town. Mum and I got some smart new clothes and dad got nothing…ha! We went to see Aunty Chris at work and managed to get a load of chocolate eggs…they’re really very nice.
Mum had to go to work on Sunday as a one off. I was up bright and early to see her off when Sarah came to pick her up.

Dad and I played with my Lego for a while before he suggested we go down the big park with our bikes…..good idea Dad! We loaded both our bikes into the car and off we went. I found the whole thing really exciting and I raced him all the way round the park, I obviously won. We even had a go on the skatepark and I rode up and down the ramps and everything. Dad started showing off so I left him and headed off to the swings….. We went round to see the cards playing gang at Chard’s in the afternoon and I got to play with Abi’s toys, showing her (and Dad) what they all did. Mum was home soon after so we headed home for a bit of a cuddle up session.
Monday afternoon and we took mum to see the doctor about her baby. I made a bit of a fuss when she was called into the doctors room, so I was allowed to go with her (dragged Dad along too). He asked her a few questions and then pulled up her jumper, stuck a weird looking thing on her belly and then a picture of the baby came up on a telly screen….it was great! I got a bit confused though as I thought the doctor was going to get the baby out there and then, apparently it isn’t quite ready yet and I’ll have to wait a little bit longer.
On the way to nursery this morning I got really excited when I saw a cement mixer coming along the road, I stood watching it intently as it went past but it caused such a gust of wind all my hair stood up and quite honestly it frightened the life out of me.
A general update on the toilet front, I am now demanding that I go to the toilet alone in the house. I’ve got a nice little set up with a foot stool and padded toilet seat thingy and when I’ve finished my business I have a little wipe with my Kandoo’s (which are now on top of the radiator to keep them nice and warm) and flush it all away. I then drag my foot stool to the sink to wash my hands before attempting to put my trousers and pants back on. Sometimes I even get them the right way round.

More bike....

So it was shopping day on Wednesday. Dad let me go free range and I was allowed to walk around the shop rather than get strapped in the trolley. It was great until he made me get in the trolley while he packed and paid and I howled like mad all the way back to the car…..
Thursday and Mum came to get me from nursery early and we went home to find Grandad and Anne had come around to play. Dad then turned up and him and Mum went off and left us to get on with it. Anne made me a lovely extensive luncheon, we played with my fishing game and watched the bin lorry collect our rubbish. I think the whole world pretty much knows that I’m going to be getting a brother or sister and Mum and Dad had gone to have a scan to have a look at the baby:

And here he/she is….scary or what! There are some other less scary pictures too, but this one’s the best. Mum asked me what we should call the new baby and I told her we should call it either ‘Brother Baby’ if it’s a boy or ‘Sister Baby’ if it’s a girl, see it’s easy. I’m quite excited about the whole thing at the moment to the extent that I’ve been claiming I have my very own baby in my tummy too. It even kicked Dad the other day (with a little help from me).
Friday afternoon and I told Dad in no uncertain terms that I wanted to go to the big park. He loaded me and my bike in the car and off we went. I rode all the way around the park under my own steam before doing a few laps of the playground itself before finally dismounting for a go on the swings and slides. There were plenty of other kids to play with so I had a good time. We then rode all the way back to the car before picking Mum up from work. In the evening Auntie Chris came round to babysit. I introduced her to my imaginary baby friend ‘Mary’ who I wrapped up in a muzzy and put nicely to bed amongst other things…..it was our little secret and no-one else needs to know.
Saturday Dad decided that all the furniture in the front room should be moved around, so I decided to take cover and go to sleep until he had sorted it all out:

Once the dust had settled we got off to the park with my bike again. I had to show Mum how good I was, she couldn’t believe her eyes!
Sunday we went to sunny Bournemouth with Andy, Owen and Nikki.

We even braved a picnic, it wasn’t too cold down behind the wall.

I rode my bike miles and miles up the seafront before pounding on the pedals all the way back into a strong headwind. Common sense prevailed for once and neither Andy or Dad went in the sea, even though the waves looked really good. I even got to have a go on the trampolines and bounced like a lunatic. When we got home I made the most of dad’s furniture re-arranging by playing on the computer which is now downstairs:

I was best at the Tweenines football game I think.
Monday and after nursery we went to get Nanny before heading off to the swimming pool. I wasn’t quite up to my usual standard but Nanny enjoyed watching from her nice warm vantage point. I did decide to have a go at proper swimming all on my own which impressed her and Dad though. After that Nanny came home with us for tea and helped me deprive dad of sausage sandwiches from the following day’s sandwich box.
Tuesday and I was pretty much done for after such a busy few days. When I got home from nursery dad and I cuddled up on the sofa for the afternoon watching telly. By the time Mum got home from work I was fully re-charged and made the most of it, I think I wore her out in about 15 minutes…..

Pedal Power

First of all, here’s a late Christmas picture to please Auntie Chris:

It shows all of us except poor old Uncle Slim who had to take the pucture.
Wednesday and after we had been shopping, dad and I went outside to play as it had actually stopped raining. Dad got the bike out, put me in the seat and we went to the little park:

It’s a bit rubbish compared to the big park in town so we went for a bit of a ride and to say hello to the horses. When we got home the sun was still shining so dad got my bike out. I hadn’t been on it for ages so I was really excited:

Dad was really pleased as I’ve now got the hang of pedalling it all by myself. Seeing as I was on a roll with the pedalling, dad got the tractor out for me to have a go on as well:

I struggled getting up the hill a bit though.
Grandad and Anne came round on Thursday afternoon for a quick visit, I made Grandad play trains with me, he loves it.
On Friday we met mum for lunch, obviously we went to the pasty shop. I paid some Christmas money into my building society account which I thought was really exciting. After mum had gone back to work we went to see Auntie Chris. She came for a walk with us up the street and we watched a real life Bob the Builder in his big yellow digger digging the road up outside Mum’s shop, he even gave me a little wave. I recommended Chris get her lunch from the pasty shop and we went home (I should get commission). That night I got myself into a bit of a state at bedtime which culminated in me being sick on my sheets….oh dear. I climbed into bed with mum for a cuddle while dad sorted it out for me.
Saturday, and we were going to Auntie Chris’s for a get together! It was really exciting, I got to meet my cousins Ben and Josh, there was birthday cake, presents and everything:

Obviously, I had some competition on the grandchildren front and had to pull out all the stops. I think I managed it. While we were sat around the table I called for Nanny’s attention, held her hand and then told her I loved her. That’s how you keep em sweet, watch and learn….. We had a great time, and I got to have all my Aunties and Uncles (from Dad’s side) together for the first time ever. We must do it again some time!
Sunday we had Grandma over for lunch. We have great conversations about everything and anything, wittering on in our own little world.

We had a game of Thomas the Tank Engine dominoes (I won) and then we took her home again.
Monday, the rain held off again so it was back out on my bike. This time I managed to even ride up the hill myself and was going at such a speed on the way back down dad couldn’t keep up with me on foot and had to get his skateboard out. We drew quite a crowd, firstly with Amy from next door and her mum and then James over the road and his mum all marvelling at my pedalling skills and all out speed. It’s a good job neither of them saw my two high speed crashes….
At nursery on Tuesday I got an invite to Alistair’s birthday party at fantasy land next month….i’m so excited I can’t wait! In the afternoon I was pretty tired, so Dad and I had a lovely time on the sofa having a kip….it’s hard work!
Just one general note for this week, Coffee flavoured stuff is my favourite at the moment. From coffee cake (no walnuts though) through to mum’s posh coffee ice cream I love it all. Just a note for you all to get some in if I come round…..

Confused? Me?

All back to normal and it was shopping on Wednesday afternoon. When we got home, we made some stock for my shop:

Here you can see the fruits of our labour displayed on the counter. I’ve been doing a roaring trade to mum in the mornings, selling her chips and ice creams.
Mum had been telling me on the way to nursery on Friday morning that we would be meeting her for lunch tomorrow and going to the pasty shop….I got a bit confused and thought it was today! So when Dad picked me up from nursery and said we were going home I got pretty upset and demanded we go and see mum there and then. Dad made an emergency call to Mum and we did get to meet her. There was no pasty shop though and I had to make do with the library instead.
Saturday we took mum to work and then went to see nanny, she was still in her jim-jams! Once she was ready we took her to the shops to get her some dinners and then went back to her house to do some jigsaws. After that we picked mum up and went for lunch at a burger place, I don’t like burgers, chicken bits or any of that stuff….just the chips! We had a lazy afternoon at home before going round Chard and Kaz’s house so they could all play cards. I had a few left over Christmas chocolates and watched a transformers DVD with Chard after his early exit at cards. We had a very late night….
So I had a bit of a lay in on Sunday morning. When we were all up we went to Basingstoke shopping. I was a very good boy indeed and walked around the shops quite nicely. I did cause dad a few problems by over-shooting my porta-potty when I went for a wee though….ooops! We didn’t buy much but did have my favourite Marks and Spencers sandwiches for lunch. After the shopping was done, we went round to see Trish and Al. We haven’t been round to see there house even though they have lived there for a year! It was very nice and they had a lovely smooth wooden floor, ideal for zooming my bob the builder toys across. Even better than that though….they had a serving hatch!

Trish helped me burst the doors open time and time again, each time I found it hilarious! From my serving hatch vantage point I could also help myself to loads and loads of grapes, my favourite!
Mum was off Monday, and she’d told me on Sunday that we were going swimming. I woke up at 4am and made a loud request that we ought to set off for the pool there and then. It didn’t go down to well……I went back to sleep in the end and we had to wait for dad to come home from work before we could finally get going. I’ve been telling them ‘I get up early’ at every opportunity, but I think they probably already know that.

Christmas

Well, it’s been and gone…..what a great time I had, it was certainly worth the wait!
Going back all the way to the Wednesday before Christmas, we had our Nursery Christmas lunch. I made short work of it and even tried a sprout (it was revolting though, Dad was relieved as he doesn’t want me eating them). I thought I’d enter the spirit of the season by over indulging and when we met mum for lunch afterwards I still managed a jumbo sausage roll from the pasty shop!
Thursday afternoon Dad and I did the Christmas food shop. Why can’t Santa deliver the food when he does the presents? It’d save us the bother. The supermarket was packed full of casual once a year shoppers clogging the place up (not regulars like me and Dad). We did okay though and managed to get out in one piece with enough supplies to keep us going until August. In the evening, we went food shopping again, but this time we took Mum with us to get a few ‘bits’ from Waitrose. Shopping with Mum along for the ride is a very different experience, we get to buy loads of sweets, cakes and ice-creams! You can come along any time Mum. I made a really high tower out of coleslaw cartons in one of the fridges that I think Dad was particularly proud of.
Friday afternoon we had a surprise outing with Emma, Max and Leo to fantasy land. I’m getting a lot more confident with it all now and left Dad to sit in the comfy chairs drinking coffee like a real grown up rather than forcing his bulk through the children sized holes, although I did manage to get him down the particularly tight and twisty blue slide without getting stuck half way.
On the Saturday we had visits from Slim and Trace, James and then in the afternoon Ian. In the evening we went round to Nick, Carol and Abi’s house to play pre-christmas games. The whole gang was there and I had a great evening, except when Cousin Owen decided it was high time I received my first ‘Wedgie’
Sunday was Christmas eve apparently and I got to open the last door on the advent calendar at long last. We had Grandma, Alan, Sonia, Grandad and Anne around for a pre-Christmas Christmas Day. We had food and presents….

Being the smallest, I get the biggest presents:

Later on Trish and Al came to see as well, I love Christmas, you get to see so many people and not get stuck with boring old mum and dad all the time!
Now the serious business began:

Before I went to bed, I left a Mince Pie on the table for Santa, and a Carrot for the reindeer……
Then it was Chrismas day! I woke up to find my stocking bulging at the seams at the end of my bed:

It even had chocolate coins in it! After I’d gone through the stocking we went downstairs, I couldn’t believe my eyes. The mince pie had gone (all but a few crumbs) and all that was left of the carrot was the end with a big bite mark! I was amazed, and just stood pointing at them with my hand over my mouth. Then I looked under the tree and saw even more presents. We got busy unwrapping them, although to my disappointment a few were actually for mum and dad.

After we’d opened everything and dad had assembled and fitted batteries to everything and I’d given them all a proper once over we went to pick up Grandma before going to Chris and Ian’s for lunch. The pressure was on, I had 14 to entertain! I had more presents, I ate my lunch, I crashed out with mum:

I had some more presents, I crashed out in one of them:

But not for long. It was quite a day……
Then it was boxing day, we all had a nice lay in before getting up and having a lovely day playing with all my new toys and going down the park for a bit of fresh air.

My new favourite saying is now ‘Jim-lad’
Wednesday and Mum had to go back to work, we met her at lunch time though and just for a change we went to the pasty shop….
Thursday Nanny came round for the afternoon to play with my new toys and stay for tea, Aunty Chris must have smelt the pudding and turned up just in time.
Friday, and Dad couldn’t stand the prospect of another day in the house with me so he got all brave and took me to the Coral Reef single handed. We had a good time splashing about and going on the slide time and time again. When we got home Andy came around to put a plug socket in for the dishwasher, I made sure I helped him do the job using my own tool kit at every step of the operation. I’m sure he’d like my help on a regular basis at work.
Saturday we went to try out mum’s new wellies at the woods:

It was ideal conditions to test them to the max with so many puddles to investigate and they seemed to be fit for purpose.
Then it was New Years eve, the last day of the year! We had a quiet day and in the afternoon mum suggested we make some cookies. Mum and I had a lovely time getting flour everywhere and making a right old mess, we even managed to make some Christmas shaped cookies (although we put them a bit close together on the baking sheet and they came out as one big splodge). In the evening we had Rach, Ben, Andy, Chard, Kaz and Owen over, but I had to go to bed and sleep over the noise from downstairs.
New Years day and dad was a little delicate but we went out to Millets farm to see the animals before going on to the Pendon museum. It had some really big model railways with massive bridges, I hope granddads set up is as impressive as this when he’s finished it.
That brings us to today, when I had to go back to nursery and dad had to go back to work…..booo! I cried my eyes out when mum left me and in my haste to get to dad when he came to pick me up, I fell over and bumped my head on a chair, resulting in tears again. Oh dear. When we got home Dad and I made an ice-cream shop for me using a big old cardboard box. He even got the paints out in the house and let me paint it, he is getting brave.
I’d really like to thank everyone for the fantastic presents I got this year, and to everyone who fed, watered, read me a story or cuddled me over the last few hectic weeks. Happy new year!