Counting Down

As it is a little milder and very clear tonight I am sure that it would have been great to be at the London fireworks! 

We opted for a more low key celebration for New Year's Eve, but Theo was pretty impressed by his first sight of sparklers..

We had a lovely family meal before Theo headed for bed.

But he was awake(ish) again to see the New Year in, enabling us to take a quick selfie..

Happy New Year to all, I hope 2016 will be a great year for you. 

Quiet Day

We were at home today, still feeling rather fragile and lacking in energy.

Theo on the other hand was full of beans and working on his technique for getting across the room to reach his toys without actually crawling.

Lauren had bought some new toy boxes and Theo was keen to explore these, inside and out..

Missing Star Wars

David and James were due to go to see the new Star Wars movie today.  They had tickets for the 3D version and there was much anticipation.

Unfortunately, it was not to be on this occasion as we both succumbed to a tummy bug and were out of action.  Enough said!

Happy Birthday, Lauren!

After several days of practice, Theo was ready to assist Lauren when she sat down at her birthday table this morning to open cards and gifts.

It was a dry morning and we decided to go for a walk and visit the park.

There was plenty of fun to be had in the children's playground - 'Look! No hands!'

Everything was tried..

And not only by Theo...

Then home for birthday cake and candles..

More Presents!

Theo has had lots of lovely presents for Christmas - amongst them this very soft and cuddly elephant.

This morning he opened another .. A stacking chicken from Emma which was a great hit even though the 'egg' kept rolling away!

At lunchtime Theo was the best-dressed baby in the cafe at Sainsburys, thanks to a bib from Great Grandma.

This afternoon, presents from us - this one proved popular..

And a big present from his Mum and Dad...

This part was interesting enough, but once it was in place on the 'motorcycle' there was great excitement..

Theo's first Boxing Day!

After a lovely few days in Bath and catching up with all the family there, today we drove up to see Lauren, James and Theo and to bring gifts for them.

There was time for Theo to open a few gifts before bed - and for him to subject them to the standard test..

He was very pleased with everything (and also loved the wrapping paper, of course).

Grandpa was given the task of feeding him his tea - and that seemed to go quite well.

A bit of cleaning up was necessary afterwards..

The next few days will no doubt be full of fun!

Happy Christmas

I hope that you had a very happy Christmas Day with family and friends.

We went to see Maggie and family with Mum and Dad and had a lovely day.

Crackers were pulled..

The chef and her helpers were congratulated on a great lunch.

The trifle was sampled.

The Christmas pudding was (well and truly) flambé'd!

And, of course, through the day we have enjoyed seeing photos of Theo's first Christmas - with a stack of wonderful presents..

We are looking forward to seeing him - and his Mum and Dad - very soon!!

Christmas in the garden

I went into Mum's garden to look for a seasonal picture.  

This beautiful variegated holly still has its berries - although the yellow-berried holly and the dark green holly bush are now stripped bare of berries.

This hellebore - called 'Corsicus' is usually in flower after Christmas.

These beautiful smaller hellebores, bowing their heads, are not Christmas roses and usually appear closer to Easter.

Happy Christmas Eve!

Birthday Party

Our friend Derek had a special birthday today and we were very pleased to be invited to celebrate with him and lots of our Pucklechurch friends.

His birthday 'cake' was a selection of his favourite sweet things!

The party food was focused on his favourites of his 1970's teenage years - sausage and chips and chicken and chips.

This was much appreciated by all!!

The 'puds' were also 1970's themed - how much strawberry blancmange could you eat or crumble, treacle tart, or steamed jam pudding?

Needless to say lots of work went into all the catering for this surprise party and to the choice and wrapping of the birthday presents, well done to all, a great party!