Daddy and Eve looking out across Arnos Vale, towards Brislington
Our 'Indian' Summer is upon us at the moment so we've been making the most of the sunshine. I took Friday off work which meant that I could do the cleaning and shopping, which gave me quality time to spend with Eve on the weekend. I took her to the park on both days and generally had a lovely time with her. We had lots of giggles and fun!
Eve in the playground by our house. The sand pit is huge
Eve in the sandpit, looking toward the tower of Knowle Catholic Church
We spent a good hour together at the park on Saturday morning, before we went up to Knowle. Eve is so good at leaving the park now. She used to cry when she was younger if she had to leave the swings. But now, after she's had a good run about the place, I tell her that we're going shopping (she naps, I wander about the shops). She then happily asks for a drink and a snack and gets into her pram. Little things that make a Mama's life that bit easier, eh.
After lunch on Saturday we took a walk through the woods with Daddy.
This one makes me smile -
Both Sam and Eve are making exactly the same face as they walk through Arnos Vale Cemetery.
Eve's first successful shoulder ride
Daddy enjoyed giving Eve a shoulder ride on our walk on Saturday afternoon. We tried to do this on a previous occasion but she got upset about it so we gave up. She seemed confident to be on Daddy's shoulders this weekend, which was great.
Eve surveying the beautiful parkland scene ahead
Happy people
The Fergusson's at Boca Bar
On Sunday we met Sam's brother and sister, with their families at Boca Bar. We hadn't seen any of them for quite a long time, so it was wonderful to catch up on their news. Eve just loved playing with her cool, older cousins. Huxley has just turned 4 and Scarlett will be 6 in February. They are both so grown up now.
Which portion size doe you think is correct? Click the link below to discover the answers.
Well, I don't know whether I agree with the article below or not. This popped up on Facebook yesterday which started us all pondering. Eve is petite so I don't think it is something that we have to worry about too much, and she does eat very healthily. I'm sure some people would agree with this article about food portions for children, whereas other parents would think it's ridiculous. I always try to take portion sizes into account, but am generally just happy when Eve eats a decent meal.
I think that government authorities make it confusing and difficult for parents, one minute they're telling us to make sure children have such and such and then that advice changes. I take it all with a pinch of salt - not literally :-) - these days.
We are lucky to be in a position where we have the opportunity to worry about such things.
During those long nights where I spent endless hours on the sofa with Eve as a newborn, I saw the Nutribullet for the first time on one of the late night shopping channels. It totally sucked me in and I've fancied having one ever since.
I found it a big struggle going back to work after maternity leave, and have been ill for most of this year. I had 5 days off work for August bank holiday weekend and spent the time relaxing at home, and did a Chakra cleansing meditation with my husband. This created a positive outlook and I have felt a strong change in myself physically, spiritually and emotionally. After the past couple of years I seem to have suddenly found myself again.
I've decided to try to get back to a healthier lifestyle. So, yesterday (maybe on a whim, but hey ho) I bought a Nutribullet online. You can buy them from various sites. They have good offers, and free delivery with free Nutribullet Supergreens (superfood powder).
I'm really looking forward to getting stuck in. Unlike juicers the Nutribullet whizzes up everything, including nuts, seeds and skin, so that nothing is wasted. I like this aspect of it as I really don't like wasting food. It will also be a great way of chucking in ends of vegetables and fruit that may otherwise not get eaten.
Whilst I'm on the subject of cleansing and juicing, I found a lovely website yesterday via a friend who lives in Brighton. The company 42 Juice is based there, it comprises of Coral and Natalie who set the company up after suffering from illnesses, and winning some money on the tv show 'Million Pound Drop'.
I love their story and the juices they produce look great. You can buy their juices for 1 or 5 day cleanses through their website. They are pricey, but hey, that's why I've bought the Nutribullet (sorry ladies). It looks like they have a booming business anyway, and wonderful ideas.
Daddy and Eve are hard at work this morning, doing paintings at home. These pictures really brightened up my morning. Looks like great fun. I'm sure it will be amusing trying to get Eve to taste some super juice one day soon :-)
I love how Eve is always so hands on. If we ask her to do something, she gets stuck right in. On Friday evening after work, as the warm September sun was going down, we took her out to our little front garden to pick tomatoes.
It is a memory that I shall always treasure. I was lucky to spend my childhood in the countryside, and feel that experiences like this are important for children to have. It is something that you really appreciate when you grow up; plus it teaches you about food, nature and how plants grow.
At Boca Bar, where we spent Saturday afternoon with some friends
Sam and I were very proud parents this weekend, when Eve counted to 10 independently as she walked through the cemetery with Daddy. She had counted to 7 whilst stacking blocks a couple of days beforehand, so we both held our breath as she counted her paces up the hill. When she reached 10 she let out a cheer, and so did we!
Walking through the cemetery with Daddy
It seems that you're either for tv or against it as a parent in these modern times. I'm sure that tv in part has definitely helped Eve with her early progression in counting, the alphabet and general development. Personally I feel that it's all about balance. We like Eve to watch tv in the early morning and evening because we know that she spends a lot of time running about playing indoors and outside during the day. She's started singing along with 'Charlie and the Numbers' on Baby tv from an early age, and now happily sits and learns about phonics on Youtube.
Yesterday when I collected her from nursery, Eve's key worker told me that Eve had recognised the letter 'S' and 'B' in a book.
Daddy found a great channel called Super Simple Learning Songs. Like he says, the sounds and music are good, no fear of the hideous children's internet euro-cheese here. There are loads of different things to work through and Eve loves watching it. Plus, it's a brilliant thing to keep her occupied in the morning, whilst we are trying to get ready for work.
At the weekend whilst we were at Boca Bar our friends introduced us to Sago Mini. It's a games app for kids, which is colourful, fun and entertaining. There are some free games, but you can also buy bundles etc, depending on which Sago Mini games you wish to download. We like the free Friends and Monsters games.
We don't have an ipad but Eve likes playing games on our phones. Thankfully us oldies just worked out how to use the Guided Access setting on our phones, as she kept trying to lock us out with her nimble fingers.
Wearing her Boden tights
Granny Loraine gave Eve some gorgeous baby Boden tights for Christmas last year. They were a bit too big for her last winter but now they fit. They are so thick and sumptuous, and come in lovely colours and designs. It's nice that she can stomp about in them with the knowledge that she's cosy and warm.
Eve is a funny old thing. It's not often that she'll eat cucumber slices if I give them to her during meal time. But she just loves to chomp right into the whole vegetable as she goes round the supermarket.
Eve is such a funny little thing and has already started asking the big, why? questions. She's been waking up a bit earlier than usual, at about 5.45/6am. Nicely, started coinciding with the change of seasons so that it is still dark at that time - not so great for Mummy. She sits on my knee on the rocking chair in her room whilst she has a drink of water and we both wake up a bit. I always say to her, 'shush, Daddy's in bed.' Yesterday morning she began to ask why.
At the weekend I gave her a Peppa Pig plastic beaker, so that she could attempt to drink out of it. I picked up from a charity shop for 49p last week, put it through the dish washer and it's as good as new. It doesn't have a spout, it's just a regular cup.
When we were over at Dan and Ocky's the other weekend, Arthur was showing us his skills with the beaker, Eve barely touched her's at all and just looked at it. So when I gave her the Peppa Pig one, I placed it in front of her on her high chair table, not expecting her to pick it up. Of course, she picked it up like greased lightning - and chucked the whole cup of cold water all over herself. She burst in to tears, and looked like she thought Mummy was playing some kind of mean trick on her. Oh dear!
Since then she has not gone near the cup, but we shall persevere. I'm sure she'll get the hang of it soon. Whilst she was crying, Daddy was comforting her and I was telling her that I was sorry. She's certainly learnt the meaning of sorry from that occasion and now says 'sorry' to the nursery girls if she has an accident and doesn't make it to the potty in time.
When I collected her from nursery last night, her key worker Gemma was very excited and told me how during lunch time, Eve had asked to go to the potty, and had then gone straight over to do a wee. Eve also did a wee in the potty at bath time last night. She became a bit agitated but settled down to the matter at hand, whilst we looked at pictures of owls in a magazine.
Eve just loves animals, especially monkeys, owls and cats. As we've been getting up earlier than usual we've been watching 'Show me, Show me' on CBeebies together. She likes learning about new animals. Yesterday we watched bats hanging upside down and flying. When Daddy woke up she told him, 'Daddy, bats upside down.'
'Show me, Show me' on CBeebies channel
It's so lovely being able to ask Eve about her day at nursery. Sam asked her what she had done one day, when he saw her in the evening. She told him 'Outside in garden, Essen,' (Essen is one of her friends).
Little Lamorna and Eve were taken to playgroup on Wednesday morning by their doting Dads. Now that term has started, play group has re-opened.
It looks like they had a great time. Eve went flying backwards off the see-saw but didn't bat an eye lid. They have a see-saw like this in the garden at nursery and she absolutely adores it.
Yesterday when we collected her from nursery she was cruising about on a little trike. It's funny how difficult it was for her to get on and off things like this before, but now she's taking it all in her stride.
Joe and Lamorna playing with a Minnie Mouse headband, with Eve in the ball pool
I never get tired of watching this little clip of Eve going down the slide.
We feel so lucky to have the playgroup at the end of our road. I'm sure that Eve is going to have a lot of fun there this winter.
Eve is such a big girl now and loves rocking the bunches look. She's has to be in the right mood to let one of us do her hair - usually Daddy.
Sam bought Eve a WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) monkey at the airport in Athens the last time he was there. He said it was quite pricey but the money spent on it went to care for the protection of animals. It turned out to be money well spent as Eve absolutely adores her soft toy money and takes him to bed quite often.
Daddy plays a game to find the monkey, and she goes wild when she finally discovers him hiding somewhere in the sofa.
Enjoying a bit of painting
With the start of September we've seen condensation building up inside our windows at home, showing that autumn is now here, with winter not far behind. Sam took Eve to the park yesterday. They had fun but got quite wet in the dewy morning grass. My mission this weekend is to look through lots of clothes in the cupboard and pull out all the wet weather/winter gear. I've been searching online for a pair of wellies small enough for Eve, but haven't found them yet.
Eve walking through Victoria Park
Windmill Hill City Farm
As the park was so wet, Sam took Eve to the farm as well. She loved seeing the chickens and rabbits. She has been saying both of these words really well for quite some time now, as she has Duplo toys of both which she likes to play with at home.
This was Sam's last Tuesday morning with Eve. From next week she'll be at nursery four and a half days a week. Sam's finally received a full time contract with his college so he'll only be looking after Eve on Wednesday mornings for the next academic year. I'm so proud of him. He's worked so hard teaching over the past ten years. He stuck it out through some very tough times with City of Bristol College, and never gave up. He loves working at dBs Music in Bristol, and we both have high hopes for their new partnership with Cornwall College.
Walking back from the park together, on a rainy Sunday morning
A thoroughly long and very much needed bank holiday weekend has been and gone. I had booked Thursday and Friday off work as we were going to visit family near Salisbury. Unfortunately Sam was called into college for a big meeting on Thursday, so we had to call our trip off. This was a real shame as we had been looking forward to seeing some of the Pelly family. However, as Eve was at nursery that day and Daddy was at work I had the most relaxing day I've had for a long time. I had a leisurely breakfast, a bath, did some meditation, watched a movie and did a spot of housework and gardening. A bit of time for yourself as a mother is often hard to find, and I relished this opportunity for some quiet time. I now feel fresh and positive, moving into the next chapter - the autumn.
Eve wearing a lovely cardigan, a present from Aunty Claire
The weather wasn't particular great for our long weekend, so we stayed at home for the majority of it. We took Eve to the park in the rain one morning. Sometimes you can't let the rain stop your plans.
Thankfully I had anticipated a rainy weekend at home, and had bought Eve a little Play dough tool set. She absolutely loved pushing the cutters into the dough. She cut out the shape of a little man and gave him a kiss, it was very cute. She is learning new words at a rapid pace, and continues to repeat words that we say to her.
When we collected her from nursery on Friday afternoon, she hadn't eaten much all day and her nappies had not been good. I figured the ol' teeth were back on the attack and gave her some medicine when we arrived home. We've had four or five months respite from the dreaded teething pain which has been amazing, as it has meant that it hasn't interrupted her sleep or eating patterns. She was a bit grumbly this weekend due to the pain with her teeth, but it didn't affect her sleep. On Sunday morning she woke up at 8.50am, we could hardly believe it, but we were so thankful. Our longest Sunday lie in for years! The teeth pain did affect her eating and nearly everything we cooked she would not eat. Eve pretty much lived off cereal, Philadelphia sandwiches and yogurts this weekend. Thankfully by last night she was back to eating pasta which was a real relief.
We've been continuing with potty training throughout August. This weekend saw a forward move with the process. Eve Talks about and tells us she needs to use the potty more frequently now.
I have been taking the potty into the bathroom with us to use before her evening bath for about a week or so. I have been persevering each night, getting her to drink lots whilst she sits there, even though nothing was happening. She sits facing me on the potty and we look through magazines together. On Sunday night I sat there with her for an hour, hoping for a positive outcome. She drank a bottle of water but nothing happened. I eventually gave up and put her in the bath.
(Sorry for this potty photo, Eve!)
Last night after drinking lots of water with Daddy downstairs, Eve did a big wee in the potty in the bathroom before her bath. The difference was that she did it with ease, by herself, without any tears or worries. Sam and I were both ecstatic. This made me feel that the hour I thought I had wasted the night before was actually put to good use.
Eve is formulating lots of sentences. She says 'Morning Daddy, alright?,' and also now says 'orange' (one of the last primary colours for her to master), though I think she still sees the colour red. During her bath last night she said 'Ready, 1,2, 3' as I prepared to squirt water out of her toy dragon. She makes the sounds for counting up to ten but doesn't quite get all the words right. She likes to count along with me as we prepare to jump off the armchair on our make shift indoor sofa slide.
Arthur and Eve
Yesterday for Bank Holiday Monday (after cooking Shepherd's pie for 2 hours; which Eve didn't eat) we went over to see Dan, Ocky and Arthur. We hadn't seen them for quite a while so it was really nice to have a catch up and play with the kids.
Dan made fresh fruit smoothies for Arthur and Eve. Arthur is such a pro at drinking out of a beaker. Beakers are now on my shopping list. Eve hasn't mastered a straw yet, but she enjoyed playing with it.
Sam and Eve, Ocky, Dan and Arthur
The Higginson's have such a beautiful home and it's always such a pleasure to go and chill out with them. They've built Arthur a little wooden fort in their garden, so the kids enjoyed tramping about outside. Ocky has up-cycled a little kitchen set for Arthur too. Sam and I were really impressed with it. Eve loved playing with the pots and pans.
The Fergusson's at Boca Bar
Uncle Ben playing sticker games with Eve
Eve surveying the beautiful parkland scene ahead
Katie-Jane, Tom and Ben
The three ages of Man
