Day to Day

The Little Mermaid

After a week of on and off accidents in bed, Eve completely nailed potty training. We are super proud of her. She loves being independent, and we feel confident in her potty abilities. She's so determined in her outlook of life, even at the young age of 2 and a half. As we get older our realisations about age change, It's not until I had a baby that I realised how clued up kids are. They understand much more than we give them credit for sometimes.

Eve enjoying a sandwich in her den.

As we've had some rainy spells lately, Eve has loved making dens in the lounge with her Dad. Along with sofa cushions, she's also realised that our washing racks make great camps too. I absolutely adored building camps inside and out when I was small. Imagining, building and projecting these ideas is a real rite of passage in a child's life.

Arnos Vale Cemetery

Mummy and Eve in Arnos Vale Cemetery.

Eve loves going for trolley rides in Lidl. She also loves eating half the produce as she goes round the shop, but is very good at naming the items of food too.

Sticker time

What kid doesn't like stickers?! Eve is a huge fan. The Craftisan craft cafe at the end of our road sells some lovely, inexpensive stickers. She loves choosing a new pack every so often. We constantly have different sticker displays on our kitchen table.

Daddy is away in Germany this week, DJing at Fusion Festival, north of Berlin. I took Sam's place on Wednesday morning looking after Eve at home. I had hoped to take her to the park, but it rained all morning so I found some indoor activities instead. She was a really good girl, though she became sad at missing Daddy just before lunch as she was getting tired. 

I dropped her off at nursery for the afternoon session. It was the first time I've done this and put a big smile on my face at the cuteness of it. When we arrived the Bouncies room was dark and all the children were on little mattresses having naps on the floor. I handed a very sleepy Eve over to one of her carers and headed back home to get some chores done.

Painting at home on a rainy day

Creating.

Eve wanted to get involved with my lampshade project, so I set her up next to me so that she could make some Play Doh creations at the same time. 

"Colour my love with sunshine yellow each day..."

This morning we were just about to head out the door  for nursery when Eve pointed out that we both had on the same colour clothes; yellow tops and grey leggings. Uh oh we're gonna end up like those matching mother n daughter combos... hmmm, that actually that sounds quite appealing! :-)

The Bishop's Palace - Wells

The Well House - http://www.bishopspalace.org.uk/palace

Eve's nursery held a charity bake sale on Friday. I knew about it in advance and decided to make fairy cakes. When I was pondering upon my recipe I had thoughts in my head of nice fluffy cakes, topped with a thick pink icing and tiny white chocolate stars...

The reality was late evening drunken baking on Thursday night after work (it's the new Friday, right?!), with fairly disastrous results. I can safely say they were the worst cakes I've ever made. They were supposed to take 20 minutes to bake but our oven is dodgy and took almost an hour. By which point I had a very hungry husband, who had not yet had his dinner, and very disappointing cakes. When they had cooled I thought some icing would be their saving grace. But the lovely pink icing that I had imagined turned out a dark red, as I was tired and tipsy and picked up the wrong bottle of food colouring by mistake, oops.

Need to up my fairy cake making skills - hoping to make something like this in the future ;-)

I asked Sam if we could stop at the shop on the way to nursery in the morning to buy some cakes, but after all the effort he told me to not be silly and that I had to take them. Doh. When we arrived at nursery I was even more embarrassed when I saw beautifully presented fairy cakes in a box, that another mum had made. But the main thing, which I knew would be lovely, was seeing Eve proudly walking in holding her box of cakes. She was completely delighted when she put the cakes on the table, along with her friend Eli, who was doing the same.

When I collected Eve from nursery on Friday evening I took her to the table to see which cake she might like to choose. I pointed out all the different cakes, cookies and flapjacks to her. She took a moment and then pointed at the cakes I had made and asked to have one of them. This cheered me up no end. We both ate one on the way home, and they didn't taste as bad as I thought they might. But this is a big mummy reminder that I need to start practicing fairy cakes - and get the oven fixed!

Wells Market

We've had on and off heavy downpours for the past couple of weeks, which turned Glastonbury Festival into a mud bath, with lots of traffic at the start of the festivities last Wednesday. I suddenly realised that the trip I had scheduled to the Bishop's Palace in Wells with Grandad Col and Jeggs was during Glastonbury weekend. Sam and I were worried about traffic, but we were lucky and had quiet roads to Wells bright and early on Saturday morning.

 Wells Market

Grandad Col had told us that if there was a lot of rain the palace closes due to the wells flooding. We took our chances, hoped for the best, and were glad to see that the palace was open when we were the first to arrive at 10am.

Walking towards the palace gateway

We were incredibly lucky with the weather. Strong sunshine broke through patchy clouds as we walked through the beautiful gardens. The palace is surrounded by a moat, with streams and wells inside the palace walls.

History of the palace: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bishop%27s_Palace,_Wells

Cool stained glass sculpture

The ruined Great Hall and Chapel

We walked around the ramparts and then went down to the traditional flower garden. Building of this wonderful palace started in 1210. Following the dissolution of the monasteries in 1548, Bishop Barlow sold the lead from the roof of the Great Hall. This resulted in it falling into a ruined state.

Grandad Col and Jegg's dog, Saffy, looking down at the moat below.

Lovely succulents

Grandad Col gave us a good tour of the palace, and we felt very lucky as we walked around it. Eve was so happy. It felt good to be able to take her to experience something new and exciting.

Daddy and Eve looking at an Ent

Grandad Col

Eve

 Checking out some modern art

Saffy, Jeggs and Grandad Col

From the modern art seating we walked across a little bridge into a section of the garden which held the wells; a very atmospheric place.

 The wells

The last part of the palace grounds were the huge vegetable allotment gardens, which Eve and I thoroughly enjoyed. She particularly liked the scarecrows.

I fully recommend a trip to the Bishops Palace in Wells - it's a great place to take kids, lots of fresh air, history and medieval architecture - what more could you want.

Eve loved running around the allotment garden

Dragon sculpture construction the other side of this fence

As we approached midday the sky became dark with rain clouds. We had a drink in the cafe (which was very nice), and I smuggled Eve some ham sandwiches for lunch that I had made. Grandad Col, Jeggs and Saffy set off for home. Daddy, Eve and I slowly made our way from the palace, through the market square, had a quick look at a miniature painting exhibition and back to the car. Sam and I ate the rest of our redundant picnic in the car on the way home to Bristol, whilst it poured with rain outside, and Eve slept in her car seat. 

www.facebook.com/craftisanshop/

It poured with rain all afternoon in Briz, so Eve and I spent our time wisely; working on jigsaw puzzles together at home. We made a quick trip to Craftisan at the end of our road before dinner time. Dad and I had much-needed coffee's and we all enjoyed sticking and painting weird and wonderful art works.

I love Craftisan, you can get creative whilst you relax in a cosy place, plus you don't have to tidy up at the end :-)

Father's Day Weekend

 Daddy wearing his Father's Day Medal, with Eve giving him a Peppa Pig cup 

We didn't do much this weekend, just hung out at home and took a walk in the woods. Mikey arrived on Saturday afternoon just as we walked in the door with Eve asleep in her pram. So, we drank some cold beers and caught up on life. When Eve woke up later in the afternoon, as soon as she saw Mike her face lit up into a big smile. She had been really looking forward to seeing him.

Late afternoon the sun came out for a while, so Dad, Mike and Eve played with bubbles in the back garden.

Daddy, Mike and Eve bubble time

Eve was really well behaved, and we could tell that she was being ultra good as Mike was there. She was very good about going to bed, even though she knew she was leaving us downstairs to have fun. 

Us oldies stayed up a bit late, and felt a bit worse for wear on Sunday morning. I got up with Eve at 6am and enjoyed breakfast with her and played some games. At 10am we both agreed that Daddy had slept for long enough. I reminded Eve that it was Father's Day and that we should go and take him the medal that she had made him at nursery. I gave her a Peppa Pig Father's Day cup, which she proudly carried upstairs to give to Daddy.

Daddy was also feeling a bit dodgy, but waking up to see Eve with her Father's Day gifts filled him with happiness so that he felt much better. I had helped Eve practise saying 'Happy Father's Day' for a day or two beforehand and she kept saying 'Happy Birthday,' and that we had to make Daddy a cake. ;-)

But when we walked into the bedroom, she said 'Happy Father's Day,' perfectly and I could see tears of joy in Sam's eyes. We are so grateful for our girl, she is such a beautiful person, so kind, caring and happy.

Eve playing Connect4 with Mikey on Sunday morning

A Weekend of Nature

Mardon, Moretonhampstead, Devon - small stone circle

Bristol Festival of Nature began this weekend, and runs until the 25th June. 

http://www.bnhc.org.uk/festival-of-nature/

I took the train down to Newton Abbot on Friday morning to meet my mum. We headed straight to Bovey Tracy craft fair on the edge of Dartmoor http://www.craftsatboveytracey.co.uk/ 

My mum has visited the craft fair for the past few years and always calls me afterwards to tell me how amazing it is. So, it was cool that this year I was able to go too. We really enjoyed looking around the different artist's work. There was a lot to see, and every stand exhibited individual styles of work at an incredibly high level. You could go completely mad there and spend a lot of money, that's for sure.

Etched glass by Vinegar and Brown Paper

We stayed at the White Hart Hotel in Moretonhampstead (http://www.whitehartdartmoor.co.uk/), a few miles away on the moor. The hotel was lovely and value for money, couldn't fault it. We ate dinner two doors down at The Horse (http://thehorsedartmoor.co.uk/) The meal was fantastic, and we gave them 10/10 for service, atmosphere and the food. I fully recommend it if you're ever on North Dartmoor.

The following morning before we checked out of the hotel we had a look in the Green Hill Art Gallery in Moretonhampstead (http://www.greenhillarts.co.uk/#home). A textile exhibition was ending that day and we were so lucky to have noticed that it was on. It was a beautifully curated show and we absolutely loved it - inspiring stuff.

Walking on Marden Hill near Moretonhampstead.

After the art gallery we drove up to Marden hill on the outskirts of Moretonhampstead and walked up to the largest stone circle on Dartmoor. It's mainly a large earthwork without many standing stones. We carried further along and found a small stone circle with amazing views across the moor. We were really lucky with the weather; it didn't rain and became quite warm in the afternoon.

Whilst I was away, Sam was looking after Eve. They were supposed to be going to a BBQ party on Saturday afternoon, but it was called off due to dodgy weather. Eve was disappointed but enjoyed a walk in the woods holding a tupperware box with Daddy. Eve collected flowers and put them in the box whilst they walked, and discussed them with Dad. This was good to put towards our 30 Days Wild Challenge. http://www.mywildlife.org.uk/30dayswild/

Eve with her box of woodland delights.

It was lovely to have a break away and be able to spend time with my mum, and it was equally as good to return home to Eve and Daddy on Saturday evening. The night that I was away, Eve called for Daddy two times so that he could help her with the potty. I was thrilled that there hadn't been any 'accidents' in bed whilst I was away.

Bristol Festival of Nature - Millenium Square

After lunch at home on Sunday we jumped on the bus and wandered over to the harbour in Bristol for the Festival of Nature. Just as we arrived, the sun started blazing which made the afternoon perfect.

We had a good time wandering about and drank some local cider. Eve was very excited as we were going to meet Claire, Jody and Jago there. She desperately tried to stay awake in her pram, but fell asleep just before we met them. She woke up in the bus on the way home and asked us if we were going to Jago's house. We said that we weren't and she looked very sad. Her little disappointed face made us feel terrible, but if she hadn't had a sleep she would have been cranky. To make up for it Daddy discussed it with her and asked her if she would like to get some stickers from the craft shop on our way home. This cheered her up no end. We now have dinosaur stickers stuck all over the kitchen table that are not allowed to be removed ;-)

Jody, Jago and Sam - Millenium Square, Bristol

Bye Bye Nappies!

Eve loves cats

We slowly started the process of potty training this time last year, when Eve was one and a half. The first 2-3 months were tricky but then she got on really well with it. Of course there were 'accidents,' but that's all part of it. About four months ago she started getting upset at bed time and didn't want to wear a nappy (which was the only time that she wore a nappy; she has been nappy free for a long time during the day). I tried her without a nappy that night, but she had an accident. Because it was cold weather I postponed the idea of no nappies at night until the summer. Also, Eve was having the occasional accident during the day and I didn't feel that she was quite ready for it.

Now that it's summer potty training is easier, as washing dries that much quicker. Two nights ago after Eve's bath I told her that she wouldn't wear a nappy in bed that night. She looked at me with a worried expression and asked for a drink. The idea of it confused her. She thought that she had to drink lots so that she could use the potty before bed. I tried to explain that she only needed a sip like usual, but she proceeded to glug down lots of water. 

She sat on the potty whilst we read stories (for ages), until I finally gave in and asked her if she wanted to wear a nappy. She said yes, so we went with that. On Sunday night I attempted it again but this time I didn't mention anything. I put the potty next to her bed like usual, put her to bed in just a vest (easier to change her if any accidents), and didn't tuck the duvet in (I was hoping she might be able to get out of bed and use the potty if she needed to).

We love the Baby Bjorn Potty Chair.

It wasn't unexpected when we went to bed and checked on her, that she had had an accident. She was very good about it and sat sleepily with Daddy whilst I changed the bed and her vest. We put her back to bed just in a vest, and Daddy told her where the potty was.

Eve slept all night and didn't wake up till I went into check on her in the morning. However, as I was worrying about it, I woke up to the slightest noise through the night, thinking that it might be Eve. (I shouldn't have worried and could have had a peaceful sleep, doh...) Eve's bed was dry when I went in to see her, and I was over the moon about it. I could tell that Eve felt proud of herself. 

Does anyone else look at these kind of photos online and think - 'I wish!'

Eve had an eventful day on Monday at nursery and walked all the way to the playground with a couple of her pals (she walked all the way there and back without any accidents, even though her carers said that she needed to use the potty). When I got her home that night she was very tired, refused to get in the bath (but was filthy, mud all over her face) and lots of screaming and crying ensued. I finally got her through the bath time ordeal and into bed. She had used the potty during bath time at about 7.30pm.

Diggin' in the crates with Dad - very pleased she stayed well away from the Tony Christie record ;-)

I have read and been told that some people pick their child out of bed about 10 or 11pm and put them on the potty to get them through the night. So, I tried this technique on Monday night; and won't be doing it again.... Of course, she was exhausted from the long day and the craziness of bath time. I think she was asleep with her eyes open, and was waving her arms, pointing at the end of her bed like something was there. She made a crying sound that I've not heard her make before, and seemed delirious, which was quite upsetting.

She was obviously not going to use the potty, so I put her back to bed. She was frightened at being woken up and asked me to sing her nursery rhymes. I sang to her until she fell asleep.

I woke up at 6am to hear her singing. I went to her room, and she said, 'no mummy,' which meant that she wanted to stay singing in bed for a while. I figured she would have told me if she'd had an accident, so I went back to bed for half an hour.

When my alarm went off, I went into her room to get her, and yep - dry sheets. She slept from 8pm to 6am without an accident. Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah!

Image copyright http://blog.thisisgold.co.uk/










I guess the next step is using the toilet. Eve has refused in the past when I've offered to help her try it, but I'm sure she'll be using the mini children's ones at nursery in no time. 

Using plastic nappies for the past year and a half really bothered me. I'm so glad that I'm no longer sending nappies to landfill (8 million go to landfill each day in the UK alone / it takes 500 years for a nappy to decompose). My initial plan when pregnant was to only use washable cloth nappies, but of course, as you gain experience as a parent you realise that sometimes you have to expand your thoughts to accommodate things that you don't want to do.

We had to use disposables for the first month of Eve's life as she was too small to fit in the cloth nappies that we had bought, but we used the re-useable cloth nappies (Bum Genius - brilliant things) for a good 9-10 months. At the age of 5.5 months poor Eve got chronic teething pain which lasted for a year (droopy eyes and lips, very swollen face). It progressively got worse, until at 10 months we had to say goodbye to using cloth nappies. Eve was waking at 2 hour intervals during the night, demanding lots of milk to comfort her (along with a steady supply of medicine). The washable nappies just couldn't handle the amount of liquid, even if I changed her through the night, so leaks in bed were frequent. I was exhausted and was looking at the prospect of going back to work full time a few weeks later. At that time my mental health was my priority so I headed out to Asda to stock up on nappies.

Working full time, with very little sleep around that time was tough, and I knew there was no way that I could summon the strength to be washing soiled nappies (that had been sat at nursery all day) each night. So that unfortunately was that. But I feel happy that we gave it our best shot, and kept our nappy consumption as low as we could. (We even used washable cloth nappies during a week's holiday in Greece when Eve was 8 months old).

We're four nights down now, the first three went really well, but when we went to her room this morning she'd had a fairly severe 'accident' during the night and said that she had a sore tummy. She was very good about it and happily got on with her day. I shall say no more, but I wasn't expecting that at 7am. One of those random things, sods law I guess.

Praise be for our Clevabed mattress protector:
www.amazon.co.uk/Clevamama-ClevaBed-CotBed-Mattress-Protector/dp/B006HTXO2E/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1465466666&sr=8-1&keywords=clevabed+mattress+protector

Enjoying the sandpit in the park