Notes at 31 months

At two and a half suddenly C's a v independent being. We're midway through potty training, so independently pulling down trousers and pants and sitting on potty. But other times vehemently refusing to go near the potty and then having an accident. He's also good at pulling back up but sometimes gets all twisted.

The toddler bed see's him taking himself to bed, refusing to be tucked in and closing the door behind us. bedtime routine is becoming trickier, we now use the potty, demand the hall light is left on and take a cup of water to bed.

He still uses his cow cup with spout but has open breakers when we're at the table. He uses a small metal toddler fork and spoon. A very fussy eater, we had a 45 min stand off over eating one piece of carrot. Yes he held the carrot on his mouth for 45 mins and refused to chew or swallow, it was only immense gingerbread reindeer bribary that eventually got him to ear it and that was just one tiny piece of carrot!

This month he's been ill and off nursery twice. A stomach bug followed by a nasty cold. Having a sick toddler is no fun, the days taken off work are write offs, there's no brave face when C is ill, just a miserable little man who clings to you the whole day long. We spent both times snuggled on the sofa with books and films and toddler apps.

As his 3rd Christmas approaches he's really getting into it this year. He's helped me with lots of painting and decoration projects, loves his advent calendar and advent book countdown and talks about seeing everyone at Christmas.

He's learning 3 Christmas songs for a nursery concert and likes to sing them or shout them at the top of his voice. Jingle Bells is his favourite (he likes the 'hey') followed by When Santa Got Stuck Up the Chimney and We Wish you a Merry Christmas.

It snowed last week, a quick morning blizzard but he hated it. I had a meeting in town so all 3 of us walked down to nursery together and C grizzled all the way.

Loves - trains, stickers, cats, chocolate, best friend little Miss C, grandparents, running in the park, Mr Tumble and Baby Jake, jigsaws, The Lion King, Mog books, playing with Daddy, hugs and yoghurt milkshakes.

Hates - eating a square meal, snow, walking ALL the way to nursery, waiting, laying in and having his nails clipped.

Fun Christmas Meme

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? I like the idea of Egg Nog, but never ever get round to making it, so Hot Chocolate, particularly with whipped cream and sprinkles.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? I didn't know that he didn't wrap presents!! Definitely wrapped and in a stocking.

3. Coloured lights on tree/house or white? No preference, but we have little white lights in the shape of stars to go on our tree, the colour is added from the decorations.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? Not usually, I would never buy it, but if I came across it in a wood, then I'd take some home, along with holly.

5. When do you put your decorations up? Mid December, not too early or too late.

6. What is your favourite holiday dish? My Mum's sausage and chestnut stuffing (plus the turkey with all the trimmings).

7. Favourite Holiday memory as a child? Having the house filled with family and different visitors arriving every day. Plus getting the Sylvanian Caravan was a pretty big thing for me.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? Primary school, quite late, possibly when I was 7 or 8? Other kids in my class talked about him not be real.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? No never, best to wait until the morning, though this year I will be bringing out Charlie's Christmas PJs from last year (I think they should still fit) for him to wear.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? When we moved just before C was born I gave our fake tree to a charity shop because I thought that from now on we'd get a real tree every year for our boy to help decorate. It didn't happen in his first year, we couldn't justify the cost whilst I was on mat leave, so I collected some evergreen branches and hung up my v. favourite decorations on there. Last year, we realised with so much baby stuff taking up the space there was no room for a large tree, so we got a teeny tiny one in a silver bucket. I have a whole box of special decorations I've collected over the year, they are a mix of colours and shapes and I love getting them out and hanging them on the tree. This year, we're going to look for a medium sized fake tree so C can enjoy decorating and it looks pretty, but as we won't have much time in the flat this Christmas, I'm being practical and going for less mess and effort!

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? Love, love, love it! Yes, it can be a pain, but it's so pretty. We always go out in it as much as we can, making snowmen and last year took the mini sledge to the park and spent the whole afternoon playing in the snow.

12. Can you ice skate? Yes, not amazingly but I can get by. Every year ice rinks pop up all over London (there's one at the Natural History Museum this year). I've been to one at Mansion House and Kew Park and one year we turned up for Boxing Day Ice Skating at Hampton Court, but got turned away as rain had melted the ice.

13. Do you remember your favourite gift? It was definitely my Sylvanian Caravan, but I also loved getting my bike, skateboard and tent as a kid. Very cheesy, but when I was pregnant with C, his first proper kick happened on Christmas eve when I was in bed alone at my Aunt's house - I felt that was pretty special.

14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Time away from work to spend 100% with my boy, plus seeing all the rest of the family.

15. What is your favourite Holiday Dessert?  Oooh, I love dessert, you can't beat Christmas Pudding with Rum Butter

16. What is your favourite holiday tradition? I love singing at carol services, Christmas parties through work (I have 4 this year) and gingerbread lattes! I'm also going to continue with the holiday pyjamas on Christmas Eve, though at two and a half Charlie won't mind that they're not brand new as he won't remember wearing them last Christmas.

17. What tops your tree? A silver star, much much better then an angel

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving? I love giving, I like planning what I'm going to get everyone and then wrapping it nicely. This year C and I have made wrapping paper with brown paper, glitter and paint.

19. Candy Canes: Yuck or Yum? Yuck, I like to see them hanging on a tree, but way too sweet to actually eat.

20. Favorite Christmas show? Muppets Christmas Carol.

21. Saddest Christmas Song? T's favourite is Fairy Tale of New York, it's pretty sad though, but beautiful to listen to.

22. What is your favorite Christmas song? When a Child is Born, I love that it makes me all tingly just listening to it.

Thank you to Beth at MommaBandBabyboy for sharing this Meme! I've been at home all day with an ill boy (winter stomach virus, throwing up and temp) so it's been nice to think about Christmas and get into the festive mood for the next few weeks!

PS - after filling this out I downloaded the Mog's Christmas e-book and have been reading it with C on my Fire. Am now going to finish wrapping the 25 Christmas picture books I'll be turning into an advent read for Charlie, more about this later!

This morning I'm getting an extra boost with

Amarretto latte from Cafe Nero - mmm

Beds, guests and fishes

We've had a busy weekend at home. I took the day off on Friday and C and I entertained his best friend, little Miss C and her Mum. I've booked that Fri and another Fri in December off work as the long weeks are wearing thin for C. By the end of the week he's whiny and moany, so a couple of days off are just what we need to get through to the Christmas hols. As we were waiting in for the delivery of the toddler bed, we did lots of indoors activities. We made Christmas wrapping paper with brown paper, glitter paint and heart shaped cookie cutters, we played with the duplo safari and the train set and the two of them sat good as gold watching Peppa Pig as I made pasta for lunch and F went back to her house to get some couscous.

The following day we cleared out C's room, he said bye bye to the cot and T made up the toddler bed. We then had an emergency trip to Mothercare to buy a mattress! I had assumed that as the bed said it took a cot bed mattress we could use the old one, but nope, a bigger one was required.

T dropped C and me off in the park and we went to the station to meet my cousin V. V brought stickers (from my aunt) and chocolate and storytelling skills and C was in awe. At one point he randomly said "I love you" which was really sweet and sincere.

We had a vegan feast of homemade pizza and couscous, guacamole and for dessert Swedish Glace, which I must remember to buy more often because it tastes just like ice cream.

On Sunday we took V to The Horniman, there was a BBC Archaeology event on and C got a sticker for walking in the footsteps of 'Lucy' an ancient ancestor. He also painted a seashell, just like ancient man did long long ago. We saw the fish, the yellow headed jaw fish is still his favourite and the Amazonian tree frogs were another hit.

Back home, after refusing to nap, we had a lazy afternoon playing with jigsaw apps on the kindle and skyping my brother.

The big boy cot fiasco

Otherwise known as the day we broke the cot. As you can tell by this title, things have not gone smoothly in this transition period.

Three nights ago Charlie learnt to take his sleepbag off by himself. It's taken him 30 months to do this and at two and a half I guess I'm lucky he didn't do it any earlier.

Without the bag he can climb out of the cot and I didn't want him to fall, so we had a couple of nights of him waking up at 2am and 3am and not wanting to sleep.

Because he was upset I couldn't leave him to climb out and fall, so he ended up in our bed, squeezing up against my legs, tummy, on my face and eventually sleeping down by my feet.

So last night enough was enough, I didn't want to worry about him falling or end up with three in a bed and no sleep. So I got out the tool kit and took the side off his cot. It took longer then I thought and bedtime was delayed by 20 mins, but he loved it. Yes he was up and down a few times, testing our resolve, jumping on the pillows we'd put down to cushion the floor and generally loving the fact that he could close his door by himself and get back into bed. After 30 mins Daddy bear decided he needed a calm down talk and tuck in, which all went fine, through the monitor I heard them sing, rub noses, say night night then CRACK followed by "Mummy we need you".

With trepidation I went in and turned on the light. There was the little man sitting cross legged and at an angle with Daddy holding up the mattress. It transpired that when he went to get up, Tom had leant on the mattress, which made the plinths beneath, already weakend by me removing the side, snap in half.

Daddy took the boy through to read a story whilst Mummy set about fixing the bed. It was very splintered, wouldn't go back neatly and is now held together with gaffer tape. I tucked him back in and within 10 mins he was fast asleep with his blanket over him. I checked on him before I went to bed, he was fast asleep on the floor cushions. I scooped him up, tucked him in and he slept on. An hour later just after T came to bed he was back on the floor and refusing to get into bed. I took over, scooped him up, had a hug and put him back in. And that was it, I got a terrible night's sleep listening out for any noises or a wandering boy, but none came, he slept through until 6am and was excited to wake up in his big boy bed.

Tomorrow we will have a brand new toddler bed delivered and hopefully that will all go smoothly.

Belated Birthday Celebrations

This weekend T's parents took Charlie from Fri night to Sun morning, so T and I could have some us time together.

With some free tickets and a great discount offer we made the most of being free to do grown up things and crammed in a lot.

On Fri night we had a meal out and then watched Skyfall at our local Odeon. Cinema is something we rarely do and it was good to see the trailers and watch the film.

On Saturday we got up late, did the supermarket shop then caught a train and a tube to the V&A. I'd done some work with then and scored two free tickets to the Hollywood Costume exhibition. Even better they let us cut the queue and go straight in, saving us a 30 min wait. If you're a film fan, the exhibition is well worth seeing. My favourite was the Indiana Jones costume, the highlights were Dorothy's gingham and 'that' Marilyn Monroe dress. There were so many more, superheroes, glamorous gowns and Darth Vader (who looked v dated with clunky 80s switches on his suit). The main thing I took away was how tiny Hollywood actors are, the waists in the girls were teeny weeny and even the men's suits were not as big as you'd expect.

After the exhibit we wandered around the V&A then looked for Christmas presents in the gift shop and over the road at The Science Museum shop (mental note to take Charlie there, it looks like great fun for a little boy).

We hopped on a bus and did a little shopping in Piccadilly, Fortnum & Masons had all their Christmas displays up but it was unbearably busy.

 

We then went to our favourite Byron's on Kings Road (we used to go there when we lived in Battersea).

Back into central London we went via Peter Jones on Sloane Square, which had amazing lights outside and in. We saw the new modern 38 route masters (very nostalgic for the RM 19 which took me to and from work when I first lived in Battersea) and mingled with the tourists by the Eros Statue. We then went underground to the Criterion theatre and watched The 39 Steps. It was v funny, the main joke being the 4 cast members played all the different parts.

Back home tired but happy we had a mini lie in and then went to get our boy.

A weekend with my boy - day one potty training

I wrote this 3 weeks ago but didn't get a chance to post! It's quite rambly but sums up our first day of potty training, more to come!

Tom went to a stag do this weekend (in Norfolk involving laser tag in a forest and a  dodgy Norwich club) so Charlie and I stayed home alone.

I had lots of fun activities for us, with a lot of indoor play as we were embarking on the dreaded potty training, dum dum dum! But actually it wasn't that bad, we're a long way off being perfect but by the end if Sunday little man was nearly there. In preparation I had:

- One green potty (handed down from his older cousins)
- 8 pairs of little boy pants - so cute and small (I bought a 3 pack in a gap sale and Nana got Thomas the Tank ones)
- Botty wipes - not sure why these differ from baby wipes except they're a little smaller
- Boys' Potty Time book, I looked at the full range at my work and decided this was the nicest (it also came with reward stickers)
- Reward stickers, I picked these up on Sainsbury's having forgotten that the book came with some (these have been stowed away until needed)
- Reward chart - I made this the night before with C's wax crayons, I drew a train because at the moment trains will motivate him to do anything!
- Potty Time app, I downloaded this at the last minute, it's free, pretty annoying but turned out to be a lifesaver.

So on Friday night after his bath we snuggled up on the sofa and read the potty book, this was a big hit I must have read it at least 5 times and I explained that in the morning he'd wear big boy pants just like the boys in the book.

Once C was in bed I put the potty and wipes in the bathroom and drew the reward chart. I blu-tacked this at potty level on the bathroom door. I then had last minute deliberations and downloaded a free potty training app, there were a few to choose from and I went for the v. chirpy Potty Time.

In the morning he didn't want to go anywhere near the potty so I got myself ready whilst he played with his trains in his night time nappy. We then got him dressed in the bathroom rather then his bedroom (I thought it would be a good mental step for him if we changed the routine) and although he sat on the potty he didn't need to go. He had lots of fun choosing which Thomas pants to wear (blue Thomas) and he loved the Potty Time song on the app.

We had breakfast and he peed on the floor... I explained about accidents and that he had to tell me or run to the potty when he needed to go. He replied with "no potty mummy" #sigh. I got him changed, he chose James pants, and we skyped my parents. After the call he peed all over my lap just as I was asking if he needed to go on the potty... I'd read that you shouldn't immediately get him changed, so he has time to realise it's uncomfy, so I sprayed the floor with a water/dettol mix and got changed myself. By that time he wanted to get changed so I sat him on the potty and took off the wet clothes, I then remembered about Rachel. Calls to Rachel are what make this app so great, yes its v over the top, but C loved it. Rachel 'rang' my phone, C answered it and she gave him an upbeat message about accidents. C then had a wee on the potty by himself. Yes it was small, but I was sooo happy, we phoned Rachel for congratulations and he chose a sticker from the reward sheet.

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Then it was time for activity number one, we mixed shaving foam with red and yellow paint, added glitter and pressed sheets of paper onto the foam to make leaf patterns. C enjoyed mixing the foam and loved peeling the paper away.

We then had accident no.3 but this led to success as he sat on the potty and finished up there. He was really proud, loved listening to the potty time song and choosing a sticker. I decided fresh air was needed so we put on a pull up, packed the potette and went to the park. Here we collected leaves to use as templates for our paintings and walked to the shop on the other side. As a treat we got the train one stop back home. Although I'd asked if he needed the potty he'd kept declining and as suspected had a wet pull up. We put on New pants (Percy) and I made a quick lunch.

After lunch we had a success in the potty, put on a pull up ready for naptime and read the potty book. I carved the pumpkin whilst he slept (cat-o-lantern) and fried the seeds with salt and pepper for a yummy snack. When C woke  we switched to pants, had a small accident and a big stress out about using the potty. We read the book again and ate pumpkin seeds (C mainly sucked off the salt and pepper). Then we decorated gingerbread men to take on a playdate the following day. I love the Sainsbury's decorating kit, if I don't have time to bake biscuits, this is perfect for a quick toddler activity.

I tried to set up a mini photo session of the boy in his Halloween costume next to the pumpkin but he wasn't having any of it.

Just before tea he used the potty on my insistence and was pleased that he did it himself. After tea it was time for bath, beebies, stories and bed. He was happy to go back into a nappy.

A hen in a yurt

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Last weekend I went to a hen party in the Peak District. 16 of us stayed in 3 yurts to celebrate the hen's wedding next month. It was November and jeepers it was cold. Here's the memories I've taken away:

- The yurts were beautiful and compared to normal camping v glamorous but NEVER stay in one in November. The MUD got into most places and the COLD got everywhere else. I have never been so pleased to have my wellies.

- The mud and the cold bonded us much quicker then on previous hen parties I've been to!

- A cup of tea followed by bacon, sausage and eggs was the most welcome breakfast ever.

- Wearing 5 layers became the norm.

- A lot of champagne, cava, wine and vodka was got through.

- Plate painting in Baked Well of Bakewell was a lot more fun then it looked on the site. We each painted a plate or bowl for the bride and groom, had a picnic lunch and kir royales. They had so many other things to paint I'm going to find one locally and take Charlie to make some Christmas decorations.

 

 

 

- Pink fluff was kept to a minimum but it was fun to have. The Mr & Mrs game was hilarious but the hen was too good, she knows her husband to be v v well.

- We somewhat took over the 50's night at the pub, much to the surprise of the locals. But like premature Cinderellas left them to it when the minibus arrived at 10pm.

- There was a snow shower/mini blizzard on our way back to the yurts.

-The 2nd morning it was so cold I had to wipe frost off my phone and our water bottle had ice in it.

- The drive there and back was fun, strangers became comrades, sweets and chocolates were passed around and we cursed the bad driving habits of certain coaches and lorries.

- So pleased to see my boys when I got home. C had so much to tell me about aquariums and fireworks and loved that I brought him back a couple of Schleicher toys for his collection. Potty training had continued to go well, my little guy was in pants and told us when he needed to go! Many hugs were had and as I was feeling tired and ill hubs made me hot tea and dinner.

So would I go yurting again? Yes. Those 3 little yurts nestled within the vast fields, hills and dry stone walls of the Peak District were beautiful. I would love to go back in the summer with a couple of other families. The boy would love the farm and the fresh air.