gift tag

This weekend has been the annual 'Festival of the Nativities' at our church. It's a wonderful event that gets everyone exited to start the Christmas season.

Daddy and Oscar went to the giant Christmas tree, where you could write a tag of what gift you were going to give to Jesus this year. I asked what Oscar wrote. He'd written:

"Help people to read and be kind to everyone."

What a darling!! I think reading must be at the forefront of his thoughts as he's learning sounds and letters at school himself. He got Daddy to lift him as high as he could to put his gift tag right near the top. The tree looked amazing with hundreds of tags hung from it, representing peoples' good intentions and things they would share with others. A really lovely idea.

Also from the Festival, here we have my best boys dressed up as a camel and... space man? Oh wait, a camel and a STAR! Tinkers!!

Grandma created an amazing craft room, a world of Nativity fun with lots of things to make and play with. We've spent hours and hours in there enjoying all the special things to do. Oscar LOVED it! And Barney had a great time exploring, sticking his hands in a tray of glitter, and crawling beneath the cookie table hunting for dropped sweeties.

red cap attack

Beautiful baby boy was giggling to himself round the side of the armchair. Then suddenly, crawling the fastest he could, he storms out into view towards us, grinning from ear to ear and laughing from sheer excitement, wearing a red cap he'd found. Mr tinker had (somehow?!) put it on in secret all by himself, thought it FELT brilliant so it must LOOK brilliant (which it did!) and then come out to show us all.

For a good 20 minutes he continued to speed round and round in an excited frenzy. The cap came down to his eyes, which made him laugh even more. Unfortunately this impaired his vision at times, and caused him to crash head first into the TV stand. Poor giddy Barney!

sneaky geese

A few weeks ago we visited a lovely little place called Peasholm Park in Scarborough. Turned out it had a million geese there, and they liked to follow you round. Without any bread to give them, we improvised with a pack of jaffa cakes. Here we have Oscar being brave offering the eager geese a jaffa cake. Except a sneaky one enters from the right and gives him a bit of a shock...

little feet

Today was a big day for Barney boo! He WALKED!!

For the last week or so, Barney's had the courage to stroll around using his walker. Previous to this, he WOULD stand holding onto it, but if it moved he would drop to the floor and scuttle away as fast as his 'dead leg' would carry him from shock.

So this is Barney boo one evening a few days ago, getting the hang of things and enjoying exploring with his baby zimmer-frame, being a complete tinker and flaunting his chubby legs.

Today there was the anticipation that something big was coming... all morning he would try taking a step by himself and his bottom would plonk to the floor.

Then eventually, in front of me by the couch, he took a 2nd step!! Unfortunately, his second foot landed on a piece of paper and it made him slide into the splits. Making the most of the situation, I grabbed the camera and stood him up, and waited to catch of camera his first proper steps! He didn't disappoint!

What a clever baby boy! One day past 11 months old. Well done Barney!!

Following a busy afternoon practising this fun new experience round the room, Barney fell asleep. Weird thing is, he hasn't tried to walk again since he woke up. I think maybe he's forgotten about it all! I'm sure we haven't seen the last of this though, and soon he'll be dubbed "little feet" as well as "little hands" as this little tinker embarks on more cheeky adventures with his legs!

ball pool

Barney played in a little ball pool for the first time. He LOVED it! Plucking up the courage, he'd squeeze his legs to slide off the side of the ledge, and close his eyes during the free fall. What a brave little chops!

bonfire night

Bonfire Night was BRILLIANT! Here's why...

Spending the weekend in charming Scarborough as a family and with wonderful friends.


Walking along the coast eating iced buns as dusk began to settle in.






Getting a warm meal in a restaurant while the men watched the football on the big screen.

Wrapping up for the cold and the dark, and getting all excited.

Going to the pitch black beach, lit up with oranges, reds and yellows from the giant bonfires, and hundreds of beautiful fireworks lighting up the night sky.

Walking along the beach in our wellies.

Huge bonfires all along the beach. Getting warm and laughing.

Fireworks being set off next to where the water was lapping in and out.
The smell of gun powder.

Oscar running around with a huge smile taking in the whole experiance.

Sharing fudges out of my coat pocket.

Dancing with sparklers.

Barney's big eyes looking at all the light and colour.

Our clothes and hair starting to smell like bonfire smoke.

The smell of candy floss and cheeseburgers from the shops next to the coast.

Cuddles with a giddy Oscar.

Enjoying fresh warm donuts while sat on a bench having a rest.

Having family and friend photos in front of the bonfires.

Barney getting tired and falling asleep having a cuddle with daddy.

Playing games in the arcade late at night.







Having hot chocolate back at the hotel, made with the kettle in our room.


Bathing Oscar and Barney to get rid of the smokey smell.

Bedtime cuddles and talking about all the great things about that night.

Sleeping in the hotel! (Oscar: "Oh my bed is just so BEAUTIFUL!")




Breakfast buffet. Oscar picked a croissant, mini muffin, crumpet, raisins, fruit salad and juice.

Barney stole a hotel spoon by throwing it in Naomi's bag (only found a few days later).

Smelling the fresh seaside air in the morning as we leave the hotel.

Finding the lighthouse.

Visiting an old school ice cream parlour and eating the most delicious knickerbocker-glories!

The long drive home with a lilac and pink sunset changing to dark while our 2 best boys sleep in the back.





A summary list doesn't do it justice, but what wonderful memories we have :)

palloween!

"THIS IS PALLOWEEN!!" 
is unavoidably our family slogan for this brilliant day. When Oscar was a toddler he always said it like that, and it's stuck with the rest of us. (Sing this phrase to the Halloween song from 'Nightmare before Christmas')

This year, at Oscar's request (and my DELIGHT!) he picked to dress up as Ash Ketchum (from Pokemon), and wanted Barney to be his Pikachu. I thought that was a great idea, and I got cracking on the sewing machine! Here's how they turned out...

Here's the 'accessory kit' we made to complete the experiance...

Oscar made the 'pokeballs'. For those of you who understand these things, apparently the green ball has 'Onyx' in. He looked super cool!!

Barney Chops was SUCH a PEACH in his costume! I made a nice cosy yellow fleece all in one, perfect for trick-or-treating in the dark cold evening, and also for looking like a complete darling!

Imagine opening to door to these tinker-trick-or-treaters! 

Oscar beaming away, and Barney would stare and wave. People just about died when they saw them.

 My lovely boys!

Halloween is always extra special for us because it's also my Dad's birthday! Oscar asked me the other day, "Is it ALWAYS Grandad's birthday on Halloween?!" and was blown away by the answer, haha! So after we'd scoped our little neighbourhood we visited Grandad. Daddy dressed like a jedi and Mummy dressed as a bag a jelly beans. Grandad and the family had made an amazing 'Spook Alley' that freaked Oscar out - he had so much fun putting his hand into boxes to feel the witch's potion ingredients! (Early the next morning the thoughts of 'rat brains', 'witches fingernails', 'monster skin', and a 'zombie hand' forced Oscar out of bed and he went downstairs to sit on the couch by himself, where it felt safer!)

To end a brilliant day we all had a Halloween dance. I love my family! Oscar danced with Daddy, Mummy, Barney, Grandad, Grandma, Uncle Dan, Auntie Abi and Auntie Jenny. (One Auntie Robyn away at uni, but whenever there's a good dance to be had, she will be there in spirit.) 

Enjoy, and a belated HAPPY PALLOWEEN!!

the fair

Every Autumn a fair visits our town. It's quaint and fun, nice old school circus colours, cheap-sounding tunes playing from all directions, and the smell of candy floss in the air. It was a chilly day so we'd wrapped up in our coats, scarves, hats and gloves. Extra blankets for little Barney in his pram, and warm blackcurrant juice in a flask for Oscar. We were ever so giddy on the way, it's a tradition we really look forward to!

Oscar had a great time on the little rides. On this ride he was mixing fun with danger and kept letting go of the handles... The operator was an old-ish man, and the poor guy probably nearly had a heart attack every time he looked at Oscar. "Hold on please!" Oscar's face at the end is funny, when he finally realises he's doing something wrong. Oops!

While Oscar was loving every minute, Barney Chops looked like he really couldn't care less.

Barney went on a tiny ride too, and just seem pleasantly interested as the breeze blew through his curly hair. There were a few coos of excitement, and some hand tapping, so I guess that's a good thing. Barney enjoyed all the bright rides and flashing lights and all the bustle going on. Little love!

Oscar had good luck with the 'Hook-a-Duck' game, and won a prize! Well done Oscar! He chose a pack of Spiderman action figures and was super chuffed. He DID have the option of taking home a real life goldfish, and I'm ever so glad he didn't. As a child a lot of goldfish seemed to die in my care almost immediately, no matter how much I doted on these creatures that would forget me every 3 seconds. Plastic toys seem the safer option for my son's emotional well-being.

See you again next year little Fair!