Castles with 18 month olds

Yesterday we met up with our friends and their daughter little D. Little D is two months younger then Charlie, she's not yet walking but is very good at understanding and talking. We haven't seen them for ages as they moved to the country when little D was a few months old, so we planned a meet-up somewhere halfway between our homes and hit on Hever Castle.

We'd been to Hever once before but hadn't been inside, it has beautiful grounds and I remember T and I spent a lot of the time posing for photos by the topiary and looking at the lake.

This time, with a baby not yet walking and getting over a chest infection (Little D not C-bear) we definitely wanted to go inside. So that began our flash with-kids tour of the castle. It's Anne Boleyn's childhood home, but that's about all I still know about it. The babes were actually pretty good, but long gone are the days of spending time, reading the plaques under each exhibit and taking our time. We visited each room, briefly, Little D was whiny, C just wanted to run around. A lot of time was spent carrying C and then, when we were in a particularly empty room, letting him walk with his reins. He found it hard to understand the concept of not going under the red cord barriers, and was fascinated by the suits of armour.

We had more fun outside by the lake, C loved looking at the ducks (wanted to join them) and running around with Daddy. Little D had a crawl around and sat on a chair. Both kids liked our visit to the cafe which involved chocolate cake for all.

We'd also gone to a beautiful country pub for lunch beforehand. It was perfect, roaring fires, plenty of space, two highchairs and the food was good too.

It was a good day and lovely to spend it with another family who understood the ups and downs of having a small child.

This little guy put me in a Christmassy mood!

P.S. on the drive home Charlie was sick, very very sick. We stopped the car, wiped him down, wiped the seat down, changed his outfit, put him back in a sticky, wet seat and snuggled him up with a blanket. 10 mins down the road, he did it again. If you're a Mum you'll know there is nothing worse then being trapped in a car with a sicky child, just wanting to get home. We thought it was the chocolate cake, but after we'd got home, bath, stories, boy in bed, washing machine on, drier on, he was sick again. He managed to stay fast asleep so I cuddled him in our bed whilst Daddy bear changed the sheets and I managed put him back into bed again without him waking up. He had a temperature this morning, but has not been sick again.

P.P.S If you're a Mum you'll know there is no worse chore then cleaning sick from a car seat - how many crevices are in these things? It took me a good 45 minutes to properly clean all the straps and it still smells like sick and Milton spray.