A Busy Weekend

We had a lovely weekend last weekend, but seemed to forget to take photos so sorry about the lack of them. Saturday was the day of the West Midlands Translators Walk which took place at Wenlock Edge. We managed to exercise the lad in the morning and he had a sleep before we left meaning he was well rested. I think he was happy to walk, but his pace was too slow for the group so Matt and I took turns in carrying him. It was HARD work, he is quite heavy now (2 stone 2lb last time we weighed him) which is quite a weight to carry on your shoulders. I was really glad that I asked for walking poles for my birthday - they helped a great deal.

After the walk we headed off to Much Wenlock for dinner. Tom was in good spirits, but unfortunately the pub cat decided to scratch him which caused tears and nervousness. However, on the whole it was a good day and it was nice to see the gang again.

Sunday we headed off to a village near Shugborough Hall to meet up with Abi, Rose and Martin. Abi was born on the same day as Tom, they moved to Staffs in March due to work commitments and we had been meaning to see them for quite a while. They have moved into Rose's Nan's house which is an ex pub and about 400 years old. A beautiful place, which needs a lot of work doing to it, but which has a magnificent garden and as the sun was shinning, we spent most of our time out there. We also took our bikes with us, so we were treated to a ride through the Shugborough Estate and had lunch at a pub the other side of it.

Today, for the first time I can remember, I actually experienced Tom being less shy than another baby! So, it was him who found his confidence first and him who led the way with play etc. Very strange, I am so used to it being the other way round. Abi did warm up eventually and she did end up bossing Tom around in the pub garden telling him where to run etc. Both toddlers took great delight in 'giddying' their fathers up on the bike ride home - apparently it led to raucous laughter and huge grins.

We had another play in the garden before reluctantly returning home, it was such a lovely day, a real pity we didn't take a photo of the two of them together.

Green Tongue

Not a great weekend, the weather wasn't good - quite a bit of rain and it has got colder. The plan for Saturday was to go to a steam rally in Bridgnorth with the Zielkes, but Olly came down with a cold and none of us really wanted to get cold and wet, so we visited the Zielkes instead. Tom was in his element (lots of new toys) and we all got to catch up.

Next stop was Shrewsbury for a spot of lunch and some shopping, including Setonaikai, meaning that we picked up lots of Japanese food. Didn't get home until 4pm, Tom was tired, so put him down for a quick nap, then had a late dinner (dim sum - yummy) and late to bed (Tom didn't get to bed until 8.15 - which is mega late for him!

Today, we decided to go to Enginuity for Tom to have a play - which he did, he certainly does enjoy himself there - as long as he can play with the water feature and the recycling apparatus he is as happy as Larry. We then walked to the Green Wood centre to have lunch (Tom wasn't very happy with us and grizzled pretty much all the way there) and then back (with some cheese on toast and flapjack in his tummy he did much better on the way back!)

We then had a lazy afternoon - the boys playing with trains whilst I made Japanese in the kitchen - gyoza and chicken karaage, both of which I was quite pleased with.

If you are wondering about the photo - Tom had a cupcake with green buttercream on it as a treat earlier this week (I made some ready for a wedding consultation, but the bride pulled out at the last minute, meaning extra cake in the house) Makes a lovely picture doesn't it?

Cakes

I had a pretty busy week with work. I took on an order that went from being a simple cake, to being a very involved cake telling a story of a family going stock car racing in the 1970's. It got so involved that I tried to put Tom in nursery for an extra session this week, but they couldn't take him, meaning I had to work most evenings which wasn't great, means I have no time to relax and Matt doesn't get any quality time with me. I have decided not to take on any orders this week, so I can catch up. We also need to go out as we have two babysitting sessions owed us at the moment.

New Words

Tom's really beginning to pick up words now, we've had loads over the past two weeks: Saturday, nose, toes, toast, knee, light, chew, cake, me and many more I can't think of right now. He is also beginning to mimic us, so saying words he doesn't necessarily know the meaning of. It's quite exciting seeing his language develop and makes interacting with him so much easier. He still can't say Tom, if you ask him his name he says 'Daddy'! He will recognise himself in a photo though and say 'me' when you ask him 'who is holding the ball' etc

Long Mealtimes

He has also developed a really annoying habit of chewing his food really slowly, he will chew and chew and chew, but not swallow, meaning meal times can get very very long. Having said that he is still eating well - he ate dim sum and gyoza this week, without too much coercion.

Ouch

If you are wondering the title belongs to me and not Tom or Matt. I've just been doing our usual 4 mile round trip on the bicycle and fell off into a bush of nettles, so I'm sat here with a very lumpy leg and grass stains on my only pair of shorts! Nice photo isn't it!

We had a nice local weekend this weekend. On Friday Matt returned home from London with the Kurodas who stayed overnight. They were the perfect guests (except from the jet lag they were still suffering from). Ate all their food and said all the right things.

We took them to David Austin Roses on Saturday morning (very famous brand in Japan). They have beautiful gardens there, so Tom had a good galavant around, whilst they took in the roses. We then deposited them on to their train back to London and we went off for lunch at our favourite greasy spoon - Long Lane, where Tom was cooed over by Sam, the proprietoress. Then we had a lazy afternoon.

Sunday, Auntie Jude came over for a play and then we all went on our bikes to Tom's Club for lunch. I was babysitting Olly that evening, so we decided to have dinner at lunch time - so a veggie calzone for me please. A bit of a mistake, it was too much food in my tummy to cope with the bike ride back home. Spent the rest of the day groaning, regretting my choice of lunch. The evening was spent babysitting Olly and making models of stock cars for a cake next week.

PS - if you fall into a bush of stinging nettles - the stinging sensation stays with you for 24 hours and then the stings itch for another 24 hours. Not fun!

Summer Fête

Another nice, sunny day, so we decided to get the bikes out and ride to Sunnycroft (an NT property on the other side of Wellington) for their annual Summer Fête - we went last year and had a terrific time. It looked like quite a long ride on the map, but much of the route was along one of the national cycle routes (next to the new railway line to the disastrous Telford Railfreight Park), and it took us less than 45 minutes. We chained our bikes to the railings and left our helmets in the ticket office before heading to the fête.
We made our way around the various stalls doing tombolas, playing traditional games and wandering round the expansive gardens looking for clues on a Beatrix Potter trail. Tom ended up with a couple of little prizes, and after we'd had our picnic on the lawn with the Morrows, we treated ourselves to some ice creams (which Tom showed little interest in), and headed back to the bikes.
The journey home was even shorter (less than 40 minutes), so I'm wondering where we should set our sights for future rides.
Anyway, Tom headed off for his nap as soon as we got back, during which we watched today's MotoGP race. He and I then did a bit of gardening while Nik did burgers for our tea. I'm not sure what he was up to, but I found him crying in the middle of the veg patch with his sandals full of soil & stones. Anyway, I emptied his sandals and he cheered up.
We all then had a good tea, Tom had a much needed bath, and Nik then headed out to babysit Mae - we're going out tomorrow night.
Not a peep from the lad yet - here's hoping it stays that way.

Choo choo trains

A perfect summer day really. Sunny and warm, but not too hot, so we decided we had to get out and do stuff. Tom's favourite word at the moment is choo choo train, so we figured that a day on a heritage railway would be nice for all of us. Instead of the nearby Telford Steam Railway or SVR, we decided to venture further afield and try out the Churnet Valley Railway in Staffordshire. One problem with heading that way from here is Stoke-on-Trent (depressing, full of speed cameras), so I was determined to find another way. Mission very much accomplished thanks to a succession of unclassified roads between Stone & Cheadle.
Following a look round the well-stocked souvenir shop at Kingsley & Froghall station, we had a light lunch in the tea shop there and caught a steam train up the line to Consall, where we spent a very pleasant 45 minutes playing on the lawn next to the station. Football to start with, but Tom then decided it was his job to water the flower beds and veg patch, much to the delight of the lady who was doing it up to then.
We then caught a 1950s diesel unit, which took us to the "end" of the line at Cheddleton, and about 10 miles beyond down an old branch line to Cauldon Lowe quarry, where they run trains a few days a year. Pleasant scenery, but the somewhat shambolic state of the track meant that we didn't ever get beyond 30mph. Tom got very excited on this train and spent far too much time jumping up and down on the seats - lucky the train wasn't that full.
We got home around 4.30 and, realising that we had next to no food in the house, headed swiftly out to Shifnal Cottage, a local curry house owned by a friend of ours. A good meal as always, and Tom ate masses - rice, 3 types of curry, more than a whole poppadum, some naan bread and most of a chapati - the little piggy.
We were all pretty tired, so we put Tom to bed without a bath. He woke up crying around 10.00, though, soaked in sweat. We were worried that his amazingly long run of good health was over, but he was just too hot in his pyjamas - we put him in something cooler and didn't hear from him again until 8.30am.