Bank Holiday Love

Daddy and Eve on the way to Windmill Hill City Farm

The long bank holiday weekend has been good to us. Our old pal Jamie came to visit on Saturday. He works for the Australian Navy and we hadn't seen him for 6 years, so we had a great time catching up. It was pretty chilled, just our usual park-life existence :-)

Eve loved having a new playmate, and shouted and waved goodbye to Jamie as he left early on Sunday morning. It really has been the 'year of the Aussies' for family Fergusson!

Nigella Damascena - almost dry, awaiting seed collection - such a satisfying activity.

Along with a jolly good bit of pottering about at home; which involved tidying the garden and watering my many houseplants, we took Eve to Windmill Hill City Farm on Sunday after lunch.

Watching the guinea pigs

Daddy and Eve

Family reflection

We enjoyed wandering about the allotments together, and were particularly keen on watching the goats, guinea pigs and cows.

On Monday morning we nipped down to Asda together. Whilst we were there Eve spied a ruler/set square set and some Pritt Stick and was keen to have them.

We treated her to them so that she could use them in her multi-media art creations.

She had a lovely time with Daddy making collages and drawings. 

Eve adores watching Peppa Pig on the laptop and on tv, and we let her watch a fair bit on the weekends (how can we say no when we like to do similar, and after all, it is educational). But art works, music and nature walks are the musts on our agenda.

The reason for our trip to Asda was to buy some of the dreaded Pull Ups. I am so against these things, and didn't want to use them at all during potty training. I'm pretty sure they are confusing for kids and give them conflicting information, but here we are anyway. Ugh.

Eve was doing brilliantly with potty training, and I thought we had it in the bag. She is fine throughout the day and during naps. However, after weeks of doing fine at night she started having accidents almost on a nightly occurrence. The past couple of months I've spent a lot of time worrying, and even more time getting sheets washed to hang out before heading to work early each morning. 

I'm really not sure that Pull Ups are a good idea at this stage, but it started to appear that Eve can't quite handle going through the night without some kind of nappy (even if I get her out of bed and on the potty multiple times). I checked her at 10pm last night before I went to bed and she was dry. But when we got up at 6am, she looked at the bed to tell me it was dry, but I had to point out to her that her 'pants' were wet. She realised that she had still had an 'accident' during the night and told Daddy about it when we saw him at breakfast time.

This multi-media project with dad was great fun.

Eve is not keen to try using a 'big girl toilet' either. Nursery tried her with it last week and she became very upset. We tried to see if she would use it over the course of the weekend but she was adamant that she would only use the potty.

This morning, nursery told her that they had special stickers for her if she used the toilet. I'm hoping that when this comes together a bit more it will also help during the night time. Then we can say cheerio to the Pull Ups. It's a time of change for our girl. Pre-school officially starts next week though she has been there each day for the past week or so. Some of her key friends have been away on holiday during August and another one has just moved to Hong Kong. Eve is apprehensive at first when arriving at nursery, but I know that she takes it all in her stride once she gets fully involved. Autumn is here, September starts in a couple of days time - to new beginnings!

Happiness: Family and Friends

 Dad, Eve, Grandad Col and Great Uncle Robert

The rains came on Friday whilst I made my first journey by train to the Gasworks Studio in St. Werburghs. I'll be studying a practical course in sustainable permaculture there in September and wanted to do a quick recce. Other than getting wet I had a nice time wandering about different areas of Bristol during my day off.

I have 7 days left in my current job of nine years. I am super excited about this big life change which is fast approaching. To say that I'm not nervous would be lying, it is a real leap of faith. I am hopeful about the future; I really want a different lifestyle for my family.

Saturday was no different to Friday, and the rain poured off an on all day; we got caught out in it as we walked to Brislington with Eve, to see Dan, Katrina and George for the afternoon. 

Although we hadn't seen George for some time, he and Eve have known each other since they were babies. This could be seen in the easy way that they played with each other.

Eve had a nice time playing with George's toys, and they both enjoyed jumping about in the garden trying to catch bubbles! 

Eve had such a lovely time at George's and laughed most of the way back to our house. When we arrived at home she was completely beside herself to find out that Mike had come to stay with us for the night. Eve absolutely adores him, so it was cute to see her having fun with him.

The following morning Eve was very good at being quiet whilst Daddy, and Mike slept. I prepped our wellies and general gear as we were shortly to head off to Grandad Col's for lunch.

As we pulled into their driveway the clouds cleared and the sun shone. Colin's brother Robert and his wife Amanda (Eve's Great Uncle and Great Aunt) were visiting from Australia. We decided that the last time we saw each other was 11 years ago, so it was really nice to catch up and spend some time together.

After cups of tea, we put on our wellies for a walk through the garden. Grandad Col and Jeggs have been working hard, so we were interested in how it was coming along. Seeing the water lilies in bloom on the pond put a big smile upon my face...

Beautiful lilies on Grandad Col's pond

We had a look inside Grandad's greenhouse and helped him pick some tomatoes. The scent in the greenhouse was divine, and eating freshly picked raspberries from the fruit cage was even better!

Grandad Col's vegetable garden

Picking Beef tomatoes

Daddy and Eve

Playing with Eve in Grandad's garden was truly wonderful - there were some of those moments that you know will stay in your heart forever. 

Back at the house Eve enjoyed playing with a wooden car that Grandad had made for Sam when he was a boy. Memories floated across the generations as Grandad thought about making it, Sam thought about playing with it, and Eve pushed it to and fro on the lounge floor. 

Lunch was a feast of treats from the garden: really healthy, yummy summer salads.

Eve was well behaved and sat contentedly with us at the table for most of lunch time. She was especially happy that Grandad had bought her a special chocolate pudding for dessert.

Before driving home, I took a final walk down to the greenhouse with Eve; just me and her. She held my hand as we walked around the garden, and enjoyed going under the canopy of the willow tree. Weekends are made for these moments: moments that I can properly immerse myself in her brightness, and experience the fullness of life.

Balloons and Bells

 Watching the bell ringers of the Holy Nativity Church, Knowle - http://holynativity.org.uk/Aboutus/

We have been big fans of 'Melody' on CBeebies for quite some time. The show is music based set around the life of Melody who is partially sighted. On one episode she goes to see the bells being rung at her local church. The Holy Nativity Church is just around the corner from our house, and the Vicar is the dad of one of Eve's nursery friends, Rosie. So, when I bumped into him one day I asked if we could possibly stop by one Sunday to see the bell ringers in action.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/shows/melody

Eve was very good and let us dress her in a cute top for church. We arrived bright and early at 9.30am and were sent straight up the tower. 

Eve looked a bit unsure at first as we stood in the doorway of the bell room chamber, but when they started pulling on the ropes and the bells started ringing she was completely in awe, and watched with mouth open wide.

After chatting to the Vicar, his wife and some of the congregation we headed to the playground. It was a fresh morning and felt so good to push myself high into the air on a swing, whilst Eve laughed with Daddy pushing her.

Daddy went to work in his studio after lunch, so I took Eve for a walk in the woods. She enjoyed running about, and we went and had a look at the flowers amongst the war graves. I explained to her that we had to carefully go round the graves and stay on the grass at all times, and she was very good about it.

As we were wandering I spied loads of ripe blackberries. I emptied Eve's drink container and showed her how to pull them off the stalks. We picked until the container was full, then she got into her pram for a sleep.

Whilst she slept I headed back home, and then trundled back to the woods with her and extra tupperware in tow.

This is the recipe I used: http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/member-recipes/recipe-detail/4268/

It was quiet, still and cool in the woods as I worked at blackberry picking. I filled an entire lunchbox (600g) with blackberries. The success of foraging and traipsing about in nature is so therapeutic.

I returned home, left Eve asleep in her pram in the hallway and set to cooking apple and blackberry crumble for dinner. I was pleased and it turned out well, however, Eve only wanted to eat the 'white biscuit' part and didn't want the 'pink stuff.' Doh!









It was our fifth wedding anniversary this weekend, so we used it as an excuse to mainly chill out together. We went to a bbq at my sister's on Saturday. Eve and Jago loved playing together, especially filling watering cans in the paddling pool and using them to water the garden :-)

Eve and cousin Jago on Saturday

On Saturday evening just as I had got Eve down to sleep Sam called to me with a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc under his arm - the balloons were flying by en masse past our house. We raced upstairs as they flew overhead. As the balloons fly over the crest of the hills some of them are so low down that we can hear the people talking in the baskets. It is such a spectacular scene, and a truly brilliant way to spend our anniversary each year.

Bristol Balloon Fiesta from our roof - http://www.bristolballoonfiesta.co.uk/

Playtime with Jago

 Jago and Eve's tea party

It's been a busy week so I'm just getting round to updating various things online, phew. Last weekend, whilst Daddy was away DJing at Wilderness Festival, Granny T came to Bristol to babysit my nephew Jago.

I walked across sunny Bristol with Eve on Saturday morning to my sister's house in Southville. Eve got out of the pram whilst we waited at the front door for Granny to answer. When she opened the door Eve jumped up and down and was very excited to see her and Jago.

Jago and Eve quickly got to work playing in the back garden in the sandpit and with a beach ball. This was quite short lived as Eve demanded that they go and play in the lounge together with the tea set. One of Eve's main loves is making tea party's and Jago was interested at first, but rather quickly became disillusioned with it.

Enjoying the tea party

Waiting patiently for Eve to finish with the tea party ;-)

Granny had brought a brilliant new toy for Jago - the wooden car slide above. Eve had great fun playing with it. It was a really hot day, so we ate lunch inside and then slowly wandered down to Greville Smyth playground.

Greville Smyth playground, Southville

It's a brilliant playground and has a few different sections suited towards various age groups. There is even a bit for teenagers/adults where you can swing about on crazy contraptions. I can't wait to get down there with Sam one day for play time...

(This photo was not taken by me)

Lots of fun on the bouncy chair

We finished off our afternoon with an ice cream under a shady tree, then we wandered back down North Street, away from the many football fans that were heading towards Bristol City ground.

Happiness is this.

For the past few weeks Eve has lapsed backwards with potty training during the night time. She was doing brilliantly with it for quite a few weeks and then suddenly got into a bad habit of having accidents almost each night. Thankfully, Granny T had been working on a new duvet cover for Eve. So, when Granny left it for us at the weekend I let Eve help me make the bed with it and explained that she had to be very careful during the night time. There was no accident that night, hurrah.

She was a bit on and off with accidents for the next few days, but last night for the first time in weeks she called me at 1.30am to use the potty. Daddy had told her to try to use it herself, which she she did try to do about a week ago. But in the dark and in her sleepiness she got out of bed the wrong side and didn't make it to the potty in time, which was fair enough really.

Here is a random, but lovely photo I took of College Green, Bristol the other day :-)

Since receiving the new duvet cover and having time over the weekend, I've rearranged Eve's room from that of a toddler to one of a little girl. Her bed is now against the wall, making getting up to use the potty/toilet easier. We have been given another bookcase, which has been put to immediate use in Eve's room. She just loves books and they are constantly all over the place. It was nice to be able to have a shower on Sunday morning, listening to Eve sat on the floor in her bedroom playing with her toys. 

I even found time to go through bin liners full of handed down clothes from Eve's older cousin Lottie, which have been hung in the wardrobe, or are already being loved and worn to nursery. (This is good for me, for about a year all of Eve's clothes were on an armchair in the lounge!) Oh my girl is growing up so fast.

Want to go on Holiday?

 Eve and Daddy at Burnham-on-Sea

On the way home from nursery for the past few weeks Eve kept asking me, 'Want to go on holiday?' Her best friend Taro has been away on holiday and there are lots of photos on the wall of all the children having fun with their parents on the beach.

We didn't plan a holiday this summer as I'm leaving my job in a few weeks time to study permaculture. But as Eve kept asking if we were going on holiday, Sam and I thought we'd take her to the beach.

On Saturday afternoon we went to the park by our house to make sand castles in preparation for our beach adventure :-)

                                                     Hydrangea's on the way to the park

Eve, wearing a beautiful blue dress from George and Maxine

On Sunday morning we woke up to blue skies and warm weather so we headed off to Burnham-on-Sea, which is a 45 minute drive from our home. It's situated on Bridgwater Bay, where the Somerset levels meet the Bristol Channel (the River Severn has the second largest tidal range in the world) and when we arrived it was low tide, so we could not see the sea at all - it was sand and mud flats to the horizon! But we spent a few hours having fun on the beach, making sand castles, ate a picnic and also wandered to the lighthouse.

The Low wooden pile lighthouse at Burnham-on-Sea

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burnham-on-Sea

Eve, Mummy and Daddy ('scuse the food in Eve's mouth)

The beaches on that part of coastland are really long, so we were absolutely exhausted by the early afternoon. We walked back along the seafront so that Eve could have an ice cream (the look on her face whilst she ate it was priceless, she loved every second), and then headed home to relax.

Whilst we were pottering about at home making dinner and prepping for the week ahead, I sat Eve down at the kitchen table and gave her some of the presents that Ilias and Dimitra had given her last weekend. This was Eve's first time using scissors (no metal blade but still sharp and cut brilliantly), she was frustrated at first but once she let us show her how to use them she really enjoyed it. She loves the new Crayola pens too. What a lucky girl she is :-)