Rainy Afternoon in Stratford

This afternoon we drove to Stratford on Avon to look around and visit a few shops.  It was not too busy, now that the main post-Christmas sale rush is over.

Above is one of Stratford's most famous buildings, Shakespeare's birthplace in the town centre.

There is a small garden to the side of the building and there this fuschia was growing and blooming as if we were in early summer.  But it was clear from the weather that we were not!

At the end of the afternoon the Christmas lights came on and cheered up the damp streets.

And finally, how about this for a New Year's resolution, suggested by Paxton and Whitfield, the specialist cheese shop..

Well it might work, I guess..

New Year's Walk

This morning it was rather overcast and a little chilly but we went to Warwick for a walk in St Nicholas Park and along the banks of the River Avon.

The river was high and fast flowing and even the swans had to work hard to swim upstream.

They were keen to know whether we had brought any bread.

They are big birds out of the water!

This young one in particular was very tame..

It was quite a contrast to yesterday's visit to the park in Leamington, where the geese and ducks were completely disinterested as they had been fed so much bread!

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..