Sunny Days

(Yes, I'm backdating this post.  I forgot to write it when it was sunny and now Summer is apparently over again, so I'm trying to recreate that summery feeling without being all depressed about the current constant drizzle.  As you can see, I'm failing.)

Summer came in with a bang this week, and we capitalised on it with 4 glorious days spent trying not to burn  and trying to encourage Jacob that water is not the work of the devil, and is actually quite fun to play in (on the plus side, we found a suncream that Jacob is not allergic too!  Nivea Kids, factor 30, for those keeping track).

On Thursday, we went with my dear friend Rhian and her daughter Poppy to a park close to her home.  And blimey, do they keep this one secret.  From the road, it just looks like a nice bit of grass and an old house.  Once you get in, tucked away out of sight of the road there are shady walks, a duckpond, tennis courts and a fantastic playground complete with sandpit (I'm always jealous of there being sandpits in parks in America, I've never come across one here before).

When we got home, I spent bloody ages blowing up a paddling pool (I couldn't get the pump to work), only to find a small rip in the base.  So I found another paddling pool, spent bloody ages blowing that one up, then just as I finished I found the repair kit for the first one.  Still, Jacob had a whale of a time filling it, and now we have a spare ready blown up in the garage, in case of a paddling emergency.

(There are no more photos of Jacob actually playing in the paddling pool, because as Jamie delightfully put it, Jacob put the 'poo' into 'paddling pool')

 On Friday, we went with my friend Hannah and 18-month-old Finn to the beach.  Jacob entertained us in the car by translating Finn's squeaks and screeches all the way: "Finn says he saw a little bird!"/"Finn says he loves the beach", which was just too lovely for words.  As we approached the beach, we could see that the sea was swathed in mist, and the temperature was about 5 degrees lower than on the top of Gower.  A welcome relief, although it didn't last long and we had to retire not long after lunch, before the littlies spontaneously combusted (not me though, I swam in the sea.  Yes I did.  And came face-to-face with a fucking huge fish.  Never again).

See little Jacob's front tooth?  He knocked that bit out at nursery.  They neglected to tell me.  I was not impressed. 

Jacob and I, perfecting our ANTM poses. 

On Saturday, we went to the beach (a different one) with Jamie.  We became proper grown-ups by buying a windbreak and throwing passive-aggressive dirty looks at the group of teenagers who set up camp 6 inches away from us and began swearing and playing their iPods through tinpot speakers.  Have they never heard of headphones?

We spent hours climbing over these rocks, looking for crabs in the rockpools.  We found lots.  I discovered that the dye on the bottom of my flipflops has a tendency to leach into the skin when they become wet, but once transferred, it sets up camp and refuses to move.  Yes, I now look like I never wash my feet.

We spent Sunday at home, playing in the garden and clearing up the deck to make it a nice play area for Jacob.  I took before photos but forgot the after ones, so you'll have to wait until another day for those.

It was a freaking awesome four days, dirty-feet and pooey-paddling pools aside ;)

Happy-tired

You know that feeling, when you've been squinting in the sun, lying on the beach, too hot to breathe, swimming until your lungs give out, salt drying on your eyelashes, climbing up the cliff, walking miles back to the car, and trying to stay awake while you drive home? That. Except we haven't even been to the beach today.

Following the mother of all tantrums yesterday afternoon (I swear, they only get higher in intensity as the days pass...), we bundled into the car (in the rain and mist and coldness) and went to Pizza Hut, where J-cub delightfully constructed his own happy face pizza (unprompted) using carrots and cherry tomatoes and croutons.

And as he didn't really eat anything other than carrots and breadsticks and croutons, we thought it best not to have ice cream factories, so we went to Morrison's and loaded up on Ben and Jerry's. And they had a Peppa Pig ride on thing in the entrance. So far, J-cub has existed not knowing what these strange things in supermarkets are. But he needed cheering up, and so did we, so out popped our pound, and in popped our boy. He's been talking about it ever since.

We managed to thoroughly exhaust him enough that he went to bed pretty much as soon as we came home, and we settled in for an awesome-sauce evening of watching Parks and Recreation (soon to supplant The [American] Office as my favourite ever TV show). And somehow, despite it being Sunday, we were up and dressed and out before 9am this morning, on our way to a Safari Swim at our leisure centre. It was sunny but pretty fresh and chilly - hence our bundled-upness:

I'm not entirely sure why it constituted a safari swim - it was supposed to be for little people who were too small to go on the slides, with calmer waters and jungle animals. None of which seemed to be in evidence. Still, they charged us a fairly shocking £6 each to get in, so we thought we'd better make the most of it, and stayed in til we all turned blue. Which turned to be two hours after we first went in!

We started swimming with J-cub when he was 12 weeks old, we did Water Babies which was, on the whole, great ... but also beset with problem after problem. Swimming pools were too cold/deep/busy. Staff left. Classes were too small so we got bumped up into a toddler group while J-cub couldn't crawl, let alone walk (leaving us bobbing around, totally unable to join in the activities as he just didn't have the skills or understanding). He went through a big wobbly phase, which they say always happens, but having a child clinging onto you so tightly that you're left with deep fingernail marks, and who screams bloody murder when you even suggest that they should hold onto the side or do one of the million exercises they've been doing weekly for a year, just felt horrible and wrong and I left each class in tears. So we quit. We've been swimming precisely once since then ... more clinging, and more screaming.

But swimming should be fun, and we don't want to just give in when we know that he'll eventually get over it and start enjoying himself. So we stayed, and splashed, and cuddled, and gradually he calmed down. At the start of our two hours, he was screaming and refusing to approach the water's edge. At the end, he was riding on my back, holding on to the straps of my costume while I bobbed around the lazy river. And he went down a slide, which involved going through a curtain of water, and splashing into a shallow pool at the bottom. Yay!

We'll try and keep going I think, although maybe not at that time of the weekend with those prices.

Afterwards, we emerged to find the sun had put his hat on, and it was freakishly hot. We went to check out the marina (see the building in front of Jamie's face? Imagine that hadn't been built, and instead you could see a rather grimy ex-launderette in the basement of a fancy marina-flat-complex ... that's where we first lived together. Awwww.) - how similar are my boys?

And just to emphasise how perfect* the day has been ...

*By perfect, I mean too stinking hot to breathe. It's quite nice indoors though. We've also managed to weed and clean half the patio. It took 2 hours. That'll teach me to have a baby and ignore the gardening for nearly 3 years.

Summer Holiday Project

So, evidently, I've failed at the whole NaBloPoMo Saved thing. I'm claiming extenuating circumstances, and I'm chucking in the towel. I need to get back to blogging regularly, and I need something to give me a bit of purpose, like my Hundred Days list did.

I am therefore going to do something blog-worthy every day during the school Summer Holidays. We broke up today (woo hoo!), and I'm not sure exactly when we go back, but it's in about 7 weeks time, so I should have 50 or so posts under my belt by then. I'm defining something blog-worthy as being anything from 'Ooooh look, I took a lovely photo today' to 'I redecorated the hallway! Honestly, I did!' (a prize to anyone who guesses which of those is more likely to happen*). I've got two weddings, a week's holiday, a 31st and a 40th birthday before school restarts, and I'll try my best to keep going through all of that. The first day of my holiday is going to involve going to a funeral, so I also reserve the right not to blog tomorrow if it's all too much.

I'm also going to be working on and off for the first couple of weeks, but it's work of the 'Let's go to the beach' variety, rather than 'Let's ruin the holidays with a lot of work' work. In case I haven't mentioned it often enough before, I love my job.

*If anyone actually tries to claim that one, I reserve the right to provide a virtual prize. It'll be a good-un though.

Hey, it's the sun, and it makes me shine...

There was an eagerly-anticipated NCT Nearly New sale yesterday - I love going to these sales and fighting through the masses to stock up with bigger clothes and toy bargains. However, we made the mistake of starting off the day with a 'quick' trip to the beach. It's been so hot this week that we've been careful to keep J-cub out of the sun between 11am and 3pm, which pretty much scuppers any of our usual "let's go to the beach today" ideas.

A little forward planning yesterday saw us leave the house by 9.30, and we were at the beach by 10. The sale ran from 10.30am-1.30pm, so we figured an hour or so at the beach would get us there in plenty of time.

But the beach was just TOO lovely. It was a little overcast, so the sun wasn't too strong, and with liberal half-hourly applications of Factor 50 sunscreen, and J-cub's UV sunsuit, and our UV tent, we figured we could stretch our stay out a little.

J-cub's Auntie Rachel and I took him for a toddle down to the sea, while Jamie languished in the tent with Ali Smith and a bad back. As we walked, J-cub repeatedly plumped down on his little bum to investigate tide pools, crabs, stones, shells and general detritus. Whilst he loved letting grains of dry sand run between his fingers, he was even more excited by smacking the wet sand and trying to pick up handfuls of it.

He emphatically did not like walking on the hot dry sand, but almost got up to a run on the hard wet sand, shouting gleefully as he spied something else of interest.

He had his second dip in the sea - the first was inflicted on him at 6 months but yesterday he walked right into the sea of his own accord, laughed at the waves, wasn't at all bothered by the cold and even washed the sand off his hands before coming out.

We'd hastily packed some snacks before we left, which turned into a makeshift lunch when we realised it was midday. J-cub is currently crazy about Welsh cakes, and he happily crumbled them all over the tent, totally ignoring the more healthy options on offer.

He sensibly stayed out of the sun while his sun-suit and nappy wrap dried, happy to lie in the tent and look at the beautiful view. Not long after, he started rubbing his eyes and yawning, so we called it a day and packed up.

We got back to the car park at 12.50pm, and gave up any hope of going to the sale. Being drenched in sweat and covered in sticky-sand-and-sunscreen had nothing to do with our decision, honest.

J-cub fell asleep as soon as we got in the car, slept for the 30-minute drive home, was transferred to the cot still asleep, and slept for a further 3 hours! All that healthy sea air and toddling is very tiring.

Living near the beach makes me so happy :D

A Day in Pictures (3)

Life is moving too fast for me to keep up with blogging at the moment, I have so many things I want to write about but I'm so exhausted by the end of the day that I can't summon the energy to write. I'm going to try and make more of an effort, I promise.

In the meantime, we've had another glorious summer's day here (which was not at all marred by the 4.15am wake-up call from the nursery), full of family and loveliness and the crazy adventures of a brand-new toddler. Lots of photos, so here's another day in pictures.

J-cub getting to know his Great-Grandad. He lives in Gravesend so we don't get to see him very often, but he adores J-cub to pieces

80-odd years difference

J-cub with his Great-Auntie Pauline, who objects enough to the term 'Auntie' when used by her niece and nephew, and is mercilessly teased with her new position as a Great-Aunt

Maeby had been curled up fast asleep in the shade under a tree in the garden, when she suddenly leapt up and started stalking something around the (entirely land-locked) garden. Close examination found it was a frog who seemed to be suffering an identity crisis - he squeaked loudly every time the cats came near him. This mouse-like behaviour strangely did not deter them

By the time the afternoon rolled around, J-cub had refused to go to sleep and was suffering in the heat - it was 25 degrees even in the living room which tends to be cooler than anywhere else. He screamed if we tried to encourage him to do anything other than sit on us and watch CBeebies. So that's what we did

A little later on, some Calpol and some chocolate cake started to perk him up a bit

Toddling around on our gaming duvet

Giraffe-mania: J-cub sporting his giraffe ears, and holding Jemaine, Not-Jemaine (who I'll write about soon) and his new friend Olaf who came all the way back from Auntie Rachel's holiday in France

When the afternoon cooled down a bit we went for ever such a long walk to the shop to buy Welsh cakes, then to the pond to see the ducks, then back home. J-cub walked all the way, apart from when a nasty gravel path bit his knees and he had to be carried onto the grass

Looking at the ducklings

Quack!

Walking excitedly towards a bench...

...and getting a bit close to the birdies

Just before bedtime J-cub disappeared into the hall, a shriek of delight and several thumps later he knee-walked back in with a football he'd unearthed. It was very exciting and his Daddy was very proud

After listening to J-cub playing in the cot and refusing to go to sleep for nearly 2 hours, we finally managed to eat dinner and settled down to an evening of Super Mario Galaxy 2 and the associated Nintendonitis

Despite it still being 23 degrees in the living room, Rachel is happily sitting on her cushion wrapped in the gaming duvet as I type. Jamie is 'helping' her, and I'm itching to watch the finale of Doctor Who. We're planning on getting up really early in the morning to go to the beach before it gets too hot, before returning via an NCT Nearly New sale and then coming home to watch some sort of relatively important football match which is apparently on.

Goodnight ;)

Summer Solstice

J-cub is technically 2 years old today (I'll be delicate and leave you to figure that one out). I can hardly believe that 2 years ago I had absolutely no idea that my life was about to change so massively. And yet I can't remember a time when he wasn't a part of me.

This week I want to talk a bit about breastfeeding, as it's National Breastfeeding Awareness week. I'll try and write some longer posts over the next few days, but I've had a long day at work today and have a stressful day tomorrow so I'll keep this short.

The photo below was taken during our first breastfeed in public. J-cub was just under 4 weeks old, and we went to the Civic Centre to register his birth, then had a long (and far too ambitious, I was in tons of pain) walk round the Marina to a cafe where we stopped for chips. I was very nervous about feeding in public, and spent ages getting him latched on and making sure I was covered up, but barely anyone glanced at us, except for an elderly lady who gave us an encouraging smile.

It was a big breakthrough for my confidence, and I remember excitedly texting my mum afterwards, who was very proud. And it was a lovely day, our first proper trip out as a family, and it felt wonderful.

A Day in Pictures (2)

We've had such a lovely day today, and I had too many photos to choose from, so I'm doing another day in pictures. Last night was awful - we've had 2 nights of pure, unbroken sleep from 7pm-7am, which has obviously lulled us into a false sense of security which needed shaking up. We put J-cub down at 8pm last night, he immediately fell asleep but woke up 10 minutes later and grizzled and groaned and descended into full-blown screaming over the course of the next hour. We gave up and brought him down for some extra playtime. At 10.30pm, he went back to bed, and eventually drifted off. Result, we thought, that means a lie-in tomorrow morning.

J-cub hadn't finished toying with us though. At 3.30am, the screaming started again. We were up, and down, and rubbing his back, and cuddling him, and trying everything under the sun to get him to go back to sleep. I don't know when he did, I just know that I've once again been floating on a cloud of exhaustion today (and he wouldn't go down for his afternoon nap, just when we really needed a break).

It didn't stop us from enjoying ourselves though...

J-cub having his first go on the climbing frame. It's built in a square, with different surfaces and sides on each section. He went round and round and round, while we ran round the edge to block the exits and stop him from falling off.

Crawling through the tunnel, full of giggles.

Riding a very evil looking horse.

My favourite moment - we walked round to the park for the first time with J-cub between us, holding our hands. He got tired a few times and we carried him for a while, then he'd be back down for another go. It's like we're proper parents all of a sudden.

New walking skill - holding just one hand.

Bad Mummy - J-cub's first taste of ice-cream (and it was a Magnum - nothing but the best for our boy).

Picking the flowers.

Adapting our game from a few days ago - "What's in the boot?".

Covering the car with a sarong makes it even more exciting.

Building a den under the Jumperoo.

Rescuing Jemaine from inside the den.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Today's Look Up photo: J-cub enjoying the swing with tiny chuckles and wide-mouthed grins, lots of pointing and staring up at the sky.

(More) new nappies

When I picked J-cub up from nursery yesterday, he was wearing a disposable nappy. They said that he'd been sweating loads (it was insanely hot, and they hadn't yet got the air conditioners working) and they were worried so had put him in one to cool him down. I was a bit unsure about whether or not they were right - cloth nappies are breathable, as are the wraps we use, whilst disposables are not. Then again, the weight of a disposable, even when saturated, is nothing compared to the weight of a wet cloth nappy.

I decided that today was the perfect time to try out the TotsBots Easyfits which I won during Real Nappy Week. The nappies are pockets, and after our initial foray into the world of pockets, we were a little reluctant to try any more. However, I figured that I'd let nursery deal with any potential leaks, and I shoved a few disposables into his bag Just In Case. Pocket nappies don't have a wrap to cover them because their outer layer is waterproof. That makes them ideal for caregivers who aren't used to cloth, as they are as easy to put on as disposables, and are seemingly good for hot weather, as they're slimmer and have less layers.

We bundled him off in one this morning, and when I collected him I had a resounding thumbs up from the nursery staff. I'm happy enough with our normal MEOS at home, but it's far easier for us to strip him off and keep him cool during a heatwave than it is for the nursery staff with all the other babies and children to deal with.

When I got him home I had a chance to see them in action - they are far quicker and easier to change, and after 2 hours and lots of drinks of water, the nappy was fairly dry (although again, the hot weather and a sweaty baby could account for that). Still, I really like them. I started to think about getting some more, as we only have 5 Easyfits which wouldn't cover 2 days at nursery. I was lucky enough to win the brand new Easyfits V2, a fancy new super-dry version which doesn't need an extra booster (hence being so skinny and cool). And which seem to cost a whopping £17.50 each. The ones I won are white, but they come in 6 gorgeous prints as well, and I am so coveting this one:

Damn it, I thought I'd escaped from the cloth nappy mania which seems to befall so many users. Until I win the lottery (or another competition), I think it's unlikely that we'll be able to afford to buy more anytime soon. In the meantime, I'm going to do some proper research into whether or not cloth nappies are hotter, and spend my hard-earned pennies on some potties so we can have lots more bare-bum time at home.

I thought I'd combine today's Look Up photo with a snap of J-cub modelling his new nappies - although this isn't the best one as you can't really see the nappy. It was the only time he chose to stare at the ceiling though, so that's all you're getting.

I'm off to clean the telly now.

Hot Hot Heat

So hot. So very very hot. Dawn broke at 4.30am this morning. And J-cub woke up. And wouldn't go back to sleep. I'm so so tired, and it's been so hot all day. When I picked him up from nursery, he was covered in heat rash and burning hot. He cried most of the way home, despite the air conditioning in the car, and screamed as soon as we got in the house. I ended up stripping him off and giving him his evening bottle straight away, lying on the lounge floor, even though he normally has it right before bed. He seems a bit better now, and is still wandering around in just his nappy with no wrap, to keep him extra cool.

I'm shattered, and can't really do much Internetting as I'm avoiding Lost spoilers. The finale was on at 5am this morning (the irony of me being awake but not able to watch it as I was tending to a grumpy baby was not lost on me) so we've Sky +'d it for later. I can't wait.

I snapped a quick photo of J-cub looking up at me while he drank his bottle, as my tired, hot brain couldn't come up with anything more inventive.

That's all for now - hope all my lovely readers are finding ways to keep cool.