What's Up with the Welches?

Weeks before Christmas

2011-12-15T02:49:00.000-08:00

It's official...we have dropped the ball with our blog! We'll just have to persevere and see if we can make it right in the end. Please pardon the huge jump in time between the summer pictures posted in November and these December photos.
Some captions:
Alf with his face and hands (he insisted)painted like a tiger at the Shire Christmas Fete.
Josephine after licking the beater from a session of brownie baking.
Alf as the happiest shepherd in Bethlehem in his school play.
Gabriel discovering our Christmas tree (he's 9 months and some in most of these pics).
Alf and I making the first batch of peanut butter kiss cookies to give to teachers and friends.
Bertie calm again after battling to get the too wide tree base into the tree stand!

Pictures from the summer - yes summer!

2011-10-27T01:21:00.000-07:00

Get lazier and lazier with this blog. Pictures from trip to North Wales in the summer. Freezing cold by LLyn Brenig (but impressive heather in background) and on the beach at Harlech.

Alfie now very good on rope swing and keen to impress. Gabriel not impressed with Grandpa's tractor.

Josephine is 2

2011-10-24T05:03:00.000-07:00

Josephine had a very good 2nd birthday. She had pancakes for her tea and liked her presents. The stroller is very handy for storing all her toys that Gabriel is not allowed. She can be heard saying "No, No Gabriel" for much of the day and is constantly policing him.

On the day after her birthday Alf said to Jose, next it is my birthday, this did not go down well with madam who thought it should still be her birthday and proceded to sing the birthday song again for the 100th time.

Lake District Summer 2011

2011-09-24T00:06:00.000-07:00

more pics

2011-09-06T12:55:00.000-07:00

Baptism

2011-09-06T12:46:00.000-07:00

A few pictures of the baptism also Josephine eating paint.

2011-09-06T12:31:00.000-07:00

blimey, getting very lazy at doing this blog. Have stacks of photos taken over the summer. Here are a few and will put more on shortly, Alf and Jose teaching Gabriel how to watch tv and a trip to watch the 20/20 cricket between Glos and Glamorgan

Hole Station, Devon June 25th 2011

2011-06-27T03:14:00.001-07:00

Bert, Alf and Josephine joined our friends Sara and Joe and their two kids, Hope and Noah and our other friends Eloise and Neels and their son, Neil for a weekend camping at Hole Station campsite in Devon. It was an incredibly wet weekend, apart from an exceptionally hot Sunday which they spent at the beach. Gabriel and I opted for drier climes and stayed at home in Bristol.

2011-06-12T00:43:00.000-07:00

last few days, Alf is dressed up as his daddy, he tried to convince Josephine that "daddy was home" but not sure she fell for it.

Alf also dressed in top from Egypt, he demanded to wear "fancy" clothes as he was going to the theatre with his friend last Sunday.

The third child

2011-06-08T06:02:00.000-07:00

It's been too long since our last post. We are desperately trying to chronicle Josephine and Gabriel's lives but there simply isn't enough time to document all the weird and wonderful things that life with three small children involves. Here's some of what's been happening since we went camping...
Gabriel:
Was 3 months old on May 26th. He is talking through gurgles. He is super sweet and tracks very well whomever he is addressing. He smiles frequently at all of us, slightly less often at Josephine but then she is so frighteningly noisy. She causes Gabriel to startle quite a bit but he rarely cries because of it. His hair is still auburn. He's a fair size and rarely sleeps during the day at all. He's had a few spells of sleeping 7 hours straight at night but not usually on my nights to sleep with him. He's strong, holding his head well and trying to stand up on his legs. His baptism is coming up on Sat, July 23rd at 2 if any of you can make it.
Josephine:
19 months on 17th of May.We fear for Alf as Jose is becoming such a character. We've dubbed her 'The Force' at home because she is certainly something to be reckoned with. Josephine is home full-time and is really very little trouble when she is home with just her little brother. She is content to potter about the house. She plays with all of Alf's toys. She particularly loves his Playmobile police stuff but we've had to store that in Alf's room because she was getting so frustrated when she couldn't put on hats, place officers in cars or in police helicopters. She loves to dance and listen to music. She runs well for someone her age and has quite a few words. Today she started using apple but it wasn't exclusively for apples but covered lemons, grapes, any fruit she didn't know the name of. A shortlist of her other words includes: thank you, please, Josephine, Gabe, Dada, Mama, shoes, socks, bath, dance, drink, toast, snack, nana (banana), Grandma, excuse me, animal noises, yay!,teeth, car, nose, toes, feet, Jess, baba (dummy), more. She eats all day long and is quite temperamental. She has an incredible smile and is very loving towards us all. She is very observant, yesterday whilst watching part of So You Think You Can Dance with me, she pulled up her top and started copying the moves of the female dancers kitted out in shirts exposing their tummies. She also loves to sing the theme tune to Raa Raa the Noisy Lion on CBeebies.
Alfie
4 1/2 and so grown-up! He loves nursery but is definitely ready for big school. He got in to the school across the road, our first choice and a Catholic primary. He is still taking swimming lessons and is really improving with his new teacher, even willing to get into the big pool. Still not keen to put his head under but that'll come. He also has an amazing vocabulary and can relate all kinds of facts about various animals. His fave show at the moment is Jake and the Neverland Pirates on Disney. Alf questions absolutely everything at the minute and it is challenging but he's also pretty amazing as a helper to me and big brother to Josephine and Gabriel. He occassionally tells me he wants to be an American and asks what he should say to talk American. The other day he announced he was going to start saying soccer instead of football. I didn't want to tell him that that will probably get him beaten up at school in a few years time. He is very good at Spanish and looks forward to it each week. He has reached the silly stage and loves to talk goobledy gook and tell jokes which aren't in the least bit funny, especially when told 45 times in a row.
Bert is working hard but has also gone on a holiday with work to a villa in Portugal.
We had a fantastic time in North Wales over the half term. The weather was tolerable and we made it to Chester Zoo one day. Alf spent a lot of time asking Bert and I when we were going to live in a house with a big garden and a summer house. Neither of us really knew what to say to that one. Alf and Josephine both made it into the stream and Alf tried out the new rope swing Grandpa put up. We also had a very chilly BBQ for lunch on the last day. We have plans to camp with a few other families in a few weeks time.

camping

2011-04-24T22:46:00.001-07:00

We spent a night in Devon camping last week. The tent and dining area were all set up for us which has got to be the way to go. The car was still jam packed. Josephine took the middle of the back row which will not be happening again as she likes to touch.

Campsite was in the woods and I saw a very long snake. Alf and I also saw lambs being born. Gabriel fairly relaxed about it all, Alfie liked sleeping in a bag and found some friends to run off into the woods with.

2011-04-23T02:46:00.000-07:00

sunglasses

2011-04-03T12:50:00.000-07:00

Grandma Suzie has arrived from North Carolina bringing gifts...including these sunglasses which were required for breakfast.

We decided to give Josephine a try without a nappy this afternoon...she weed on the dining room floor, promptly pooed in the kitchen and decided the potty was better suited for washing her feet.

Zoo

2011-03-20T12:14:00.000-07:00

Beautiful weather, trip to zoo this morning.

Gabriel slept for the most part.

Just had all 3 in the bath, lots of touching.

Gabriel doing very well, likes to sleep in the day and be up at night.

Gabriel William 26.2.11

2011-03-04T07:44:00.000-08:00

will do more pictures shortly, Josephine in love with baby, he weighed 7lb 14oz, arrived 11 days early and is doing fine.

2011-02-20T11:23:00.000-08:00

2011-02-20T09:42:00.000-08:00

February

2011-02-20T09:13:00.000-08:00

We managed to get to Noah's Ark Zoo Farm near Bristol last week. Nobody else about and I took the day off as Johanna was ill.Got very close to the feeding rhinos and enjoyed the soft play and the trampolines. Josephine as bad as Alfie was in trying to throw herself off the trampoline.

Other pictures include helping in the garden, and in the kitchen (with headphones for protection from mixer noise). Also Josephine wearing her hat inside as she likes to do now.

Danielle's Visit January 2011

2011-01-21T07:37:00.000-08:00

We had a visit from Aunt Danielle recently. It was the first time she'd been able to come and stay in her own room! It was absolutely wonderful having her here. The kids were especially disappointed when she left. We hit all of her fave places: GBK (Gourmet Burger Kitchen); Marks and Sparks for melting chocolate puddings; Tesco in Eastville...yes, she has a specific one she likes because she knows it; and Seafoods Fish & Chips in Bath. She was smart to come before the arrival of number 3! Sure to be a more chaotic place the next time she's over.

lately

2010-12-04T04:30:00.001-08:00

Josephine and Alfie have enjoyed riding the horse and police bike side by side. They have spent this morning sailing on the ocean and reading stories in their boat. Alfie is enjoying the fact he now has someone to play with.

Here are some pictures of Alf's birthday and other pictures from the last month or so.

2010-11-08T10:56:00.000-08:00

London

2010-11-08T10:49:00.000-08:00

We managed to make it to London for the day on Saturday and took some very bad photos. These are the best of a bad bunch.

The trip was worth it just for Alf's excitement at seeing the dinosaurs at the natural history museum.

Also managed to meet Ben and Heather with the sleeping Stella and Rich and Ester.

Just about Halloween time

2010-11-03T05:53:00.000-07:00

Seems like it has been a hectic couple of weeks. Bert is working a lot, often in the evenings but better to be busy than not, I suppose.
The children are reasonably well at the minute. Runny noses and coughs but at least we seem to have given the stomach bug the shake at last. Josephine and I have swapped that one back and forth many times since September.
Josephine does not cry anymore when we drop her off at nursery. Alf has started mentioning other kids at preschool. He is getting ready for his 4th birthday party a week from Saturday. This Saturday we are heading to London on the train for the day and leaving at the incredible hour of 6:40! Joy!
We had our 20 week scan a couple of weeks ago and all was well. It's going to be another boy which means even more use of all of Alf's clothes which really appeals to my thrifty side.

2010-09-21T12:08:00.000-07:00

Josephine is into clapping.

Alf went down the big slide at the kite festival and ran away from the bears that live in the woods nearby (supposedly)

Alf's graduation from nursery

2010-09-21T12:02:00.000-07:00

Alfie finished at the nursery he has been at since he was 10 months old. There was a saying good bye and he has now moved on to big school. Unfortunately his best friends Alfie Kimsey, Luke and Ella are not going to the same school.

2010-09-21T01:11:00.000-07:00

Alf's friends all having something to eat

sorry, been a while with Johanna going back to work, Alfie starting a new pre-school and Jospehine going to nursery all has been a bit hectic, anyway here are a few pictures from the last month or so.

Katie's wedding

2010-08-07T07:32:00.001-07:00

Hailey siblings.
Alfie did not mess about with his meringue nest.

Oh no, I ate all the pies again.

Katie got married last weekend. Camera worked on and off so have some pictures mostly of beforehand and a little afterwards.

Henry and Alfie went to try on their outfiits the day before, Henry was not pleased.

Was a really good day and the sun shone when it was supposed to. Joe and Jen also had a wedding party the next day. Unfortunately camera had stopped working by then. Another great day, all exhausted by the end of it.

2010-07-26T22:51:00.000-07:00

Some fairly recent pictures. Josephine sitting next to me trying to help, if I put enough Cheerios on her tray it will keep her quiet for a few minutes. Alfie yet to get up although Johanna did find him holding a mirror in front of his face crying at about 8 last night, so he might be a bit tired. We are not allowed to close his door as he might get "lonely" and his eyes seem to be having trouble closing at the moment.

pictures include Alfie on a special safari wearing his microphones (aka headphones and eating peas from the pod in the garden.

Magnifique Holiday in France

2010-07-01T06:06:00.000-07:00

It was a great holiday. The weather was fantastic, only felt a bit chilly in the pool the first afternoon. Then, it seemed to get warmer each day. The beach was 15 minutes walk or 5 minutes drive for us away. The campsite had pools perfect for the kids and football playing at the bar for Daddy. We'd definitely do it again but would love to have the kids in the same room. Josephine is a bit too noisy at the moment for that, I'm afraid. No trouble on the drive on either side which is amazing given that we arrived at 11:30 the first night and had to leave at 5am on the last day. The kids were absolute troopers.

Alf

2010-06-13T05:57:00.000-07:00

eAlf with the headlamp on about to go into the secret room, otheriwse known as the loft.
Alf enjoys riding his bike in the front yard, fully kitted out in support of England. He is a big Rooney fan.

Granny and Grandpa visit

2010-06-13T05:44:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Granny and Grandpa came to stay. The sun came out and we played in the back garden. Edie and Henry also came to visit. The next day we went to the zoo.

Josephine has started to move and likes to chew on Alfie's toys. He has taken to hiding them around the hosue when she gets close.

Josephine

2010-06-13T05:42:00.000-07:00

Happy girl

summer sun

2010-05-24T11:49:00.001-07:00

back yard

2010-05-24T11:32:00.001-07:00

we have grass!

Back home in Asheville

2010-05-12T12:02:00.000-07:00

After three nights in NYC, we flew down to Asheville to see family. All the main roads were closed when we prepared to leave the airport to drive into town. The reason? President Obama and the First Lady had come down for the weekend. We stuck around in hopes of seeing the President but the Sheriff drove his massive armoured truck to block the entrance onto the runway.
We had the best time ever in Asheville. It was fantastic for my family to finally meet Josephine and to have a chance to get re-acquanited with Alfie. The weather was superb...really warm, kids sleeping in nappies, fans running, a/c on in cars. We ate lots of great food and went everywhere!

The Big Apple

2010-05-12T11:50:00.000-07:00

After much worry that we'd have to postpone our holiday due to the cloud of volcanic ash, we made it over to NYC to see our good friends, Suki and Harj. Bert and I became friends with Suki whilst in Japan and then roped Suki into becoming one of Alfie's godmothers. Suki and Harj have a beautiful apartment in Tribecca and generously allowed us to come in and create chaos. We had such an awesome time with them and can't thank them enough for making everything so easy for us. We were up each day at 2am but otherwise it was smooth sailing.

2010-03-22T14:21:00.000-07:00

We recognise that our posts our far less frequent second time round, however here is a quick update with more of the kids in the bath, watching tv etc

I have finally started smashing up the concrete in the back yard. Alf is of great assistance, mostly making mud balls and devising games which involve him winning a lot.

The Kids

2010-03-06T07:07:00.000-08:00

These are photos from this morning and a few from around Valentine's Day. Alf used the IKEA chest of drawers box this morning to make a rocket. He did a fab job, coming up with the idea of attaching the pegs and then doing them all by himself. I can certainly remember a time when he couldn't use a peg and would ask me to do them for him all the time so that's a cool development and as I explained to him, will help with his writing when he's in big school...all that fine motor control.
He makes a ridiculous amount of noise around Josephine and heaven help her, she usually rewards him with a goofy grin, so he persists. We really need her to learn to ignore him so we can calm him down a bit sometimes, but I don't see that happening any time soon. She adores him.
Alf is with his Dad in Standlake visiting his cousins and grandparents for the day. Josephine is asleep in her car seat in the hallway and I have just woken up from a nap on the couch, in my coat! It suddenly got cold again today here.

Josephine's Baptism

2010-02-15T11:56:00.001-08:00

We celebrated Josephine's Baptism this weekend. Our church is having renovations so we first went to Mass at St. Bernard's in the school hall. After Mass, we processed over to the church to be the first to use the font in its new location. Josephine handled all of it like a pro and was only a little bit sick on her gown which is over 100 years old. Her brother and cousins were understandably excited and enjoying each other's company. We were blessed to have Bert's parents and his brother Tom and two children, Edie and Henry with us, along with good friends, Eloise and Neels and baby Neil and Rachael and Patrick. Josephine's local Godmother, Sara was also present with her husband, Joe and two children, Hope and Noah.
Everyone came back across the street to our house for some of Eloise's awesome coffee cake...what does she put in that to make it sooo good??? and then later on we had a lunch of beef stew and veg followed by Rachaels' superbly moist chocolate cake. The rugby came on and some of us watched that whilst the kids trashed Alf's room (see photos). It was one of the best days we've had so far in our new house. It made me think yet again how lucky we are to have such incredible friends and family nearby. Nevertheless, my family and our friends back home were on our minds as always on these special occasions, particularly the other Godparents: my sister, Danielle and brother, Michael and oldest friend, Katie.

More snow

2010-01-09T09:21:00.001-08:00

Lots of snow last wednesday, most we've seen in Bristol. Very exciting but causing problems on the roads, which meant bert could not make it to work on wednesday morning.

Christmas 2009

2010-01-03T03:46:00.000-08:00

We had a great Christmas this year. We went to Mass on Christmas eve and spent Christmas morning at home opening presents and eating pancakes. It was a bit cold as the boiler had packed up. It's fine now after the tech came out and wiggled some wires?? The Rover also died on Christmas eve and after an alternator was replaced is still struggling a bit in the cold so we'll wait and see about that one. Anyway, we travelled up to North Wales Christmas day and spent time with Bert's parents and siblings. Alf's cousins arrived a few days later.
Joesphine is doing really well in spite of a very stuffy nose. She obviuosly wasn't too disturbed by all the Christmas carrying on. Alf is reaching the end of his ability to cope without structure, and we are all looking forward to a return to routine tomorrow. Happy New Year!

2009-12-13T00:47:00.000-08:00

We have managed to make it through the week. Zoo yesterday with friends and then a Christmas party. Just trying to take it easy today.

latest update

2009-12-05T08:33:00.000-08:00

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All doing well here, been busy. Had very good Thannksgiving last week when we faield to take any photos except the one of Alf, Edie and Henry. The week before that we had a party for Alfie with 5 of his friends which was slightly chaotic but again went very well. This weekend is a bit calmer and we have all just woken from an afternoon nap.

Science

2009-11-15T10:23:00.000-08:00

Alf and I spent the morning at @ Bristol museum. Is very very good. Alfie spent most of time chasing balls and watching them get blown into the air.

All else fine, Josephine piling on the pounds and has been asleep much of this afternoon.

More photos

2009-11-07T05:24:00.001-08:00

Alf asleep, Johanna and Josephine at the mall. Rain, rain, rain in Bristol. Watch out for the scary witch. Fair to say Josie likes water and will immediately calm down once she is in the bath. Also fair to say that Alfie is in love with his sister, so much so that he likes to get in her face much of the day. Josie had some trouble feeding she was tongue tied whch made it a little tricky, that has been sorted now so hopefully no more trips to the hospital.

She slept from 10.30pm until 5.30am last night, amazing, particularly given that her brother was up every cpuple of hours.

Week one

2009-10-23T05:13:00.000-07:00

All going well. Johanna and Jose asleep. Alf and Bert just been to the pool.

Here she is

2009-10-20T01:45:00.000-07:00

Josephine Loretta arrived in a hurry at home on Monday 19th October at 10.30am. Fortunately the midwife arrived just in time as her head was popping out and daddy did not know what to do. She weighed 8lb 2oz and is in rude health. mum is tired after not much sleep last night but both now resting. Alfie likes to cuddle and is very impressed that josie brought a farm with her for him to play with.

will try and get some better pictures soon.

Alf (mostly) running on beach

2009-10-03T10:23:00.000-07:00

Cruel but funny.

2009-10-03T10:17:00.000-07:00

It has been a while, but it probably right that Alfie has 1 last showcase before the arrival of his sister. We think we are already to go, but no doubt she will shake things up a little.

Johanna has finished work and we are hoping for a home birth this time which would be good after Alfie’s antics on the last occasion. We even have a pool so fingers crossed. I am hoping that the baby arrives at the end of this week as that would fit in well with work.

We have had some friends over today and played inside as it is a bit wet. Alf is not the easiest indoors full of energy event though he had a flu jab this morning.

Various photos - at the beach, with cousin Henry and friend Hope.

Of Late

2009-09-23T06:34:00.000-07:00

Well the main news to report is that Josie is head down. The local midwife has seen me over the past month a couple of times because in her words, she 'couldn't tell if the baby was head down and simply has a very pert bottom or was breech'. I had a scan today and she's fine. The midwife projected Josie to come out at 6ilbs 8 oz. so we'll wait and see how accurate that is.
Alfie is doing fine. The arrival of his baby sister will no doubt be a complete shock to his world, especially as he has taken to riding his bike out the back and shouting into the house 'hey, everyone, come out and see me!'. He has had a lot of well-deserved 1:1 and 2:1 attention over the past 3 years. Luckily, he has a kind nature.
He got new shoes over the weekend. Unfortunately, he had a few toileting accidents yesterday at nursery and his shoes were still damp this morning. I gave him a choice of wellies or crocs and he complained that both were too quiet. He wanted to wear his new shoes because they make quite a bit more noise....crafty chappy!
Bert's work is going well but has not been overwhelming, meaning that he is able to help out with Alf as I get bigger and slower.
We'll post some photos soon and then make sure we let you all know once Josephine is here safe and sound.

The Balloon Fiesta and potty training

2009-08-08T23:21:00.000-07:00

We went to the Bristol Balloon Fiesta Saturday morning with our friends, Eloise and Neels and their South African posse. The balloons start taking off at 6am so it means an early start but luckily(?) for us we hadn't really slept for one reason or another the previous night anyway. Alf was entranced by it all and enjoyed his jam sandwich and pain au chocolat while the rest of us ate bacon butties...everyone was BBQing.
Alfie started potty training on Monday and has done really well. We included a picture of our proud boy next to his potty to commemorate this event.How wonderful to use one diaper a day! I love it!!
There is an artistic close-up of Bert and Alf which Alf took and Alf at our dining table which we decided we didn't like and returned. We're waiting to find the right thing and using a plastic table for the time being but it does the job.
It's the 2nd consecutive beautiful day after weeks of rainy ones so we're planning a trip to the car boot after Mass.
Bump Josie is doing fine, kicking and punching with incredible force.

Hot English days

2009-07-04T01:36:00.000-07:00

It's been exceedingly warm for england the past two weeks. We've all done our best to stay cool and not melt. Alf likes to enjoy a frosty ice lolly when he comes back from nursery and often wants to lounge in his diaper and on one occassion, his Bob the Builder wellies...don't ask!
He also has taken an interest in Daddy going to work, mind you he seems unaware of the fact that his mommy goes too along with doing everything else, but I digress. :)
We bought him a shirt and tie for church and so he wears it sometimes around the house to play 'going to work'.
He had his first merry-go-round ride at the zoo and sat in a boat next to a crocodile as Alf would say,'don't worry it pretend'.
Bert took a picture of baby Josie bump last night at 25 weeks just because we haven't done any of that this time round.
We start moving on friday and are really excited.

My school photo

2009-06-07T12:44:00.000-07:00

Bank Holiday Weekend

2009-05-25T05:08:00.001-07:00

We have just arrived home after a couple of nights camping on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall. We stayed on a farm and Alf enjoyed the ducks, hens, cats, dogs, cows and horses. He also liked the swings, although much of the time was spent complaining to the designated pusher "that's not very fast". Campsite was great, no dogs, no caravans, lots of space and everything very clean.

Alf took to camping very well, sleeping much better the second night. He liked the torches and particularly the head lamp. Was not so sure about camp food, sticking to jam sandwiches and croissants for much of the weekend. Would not even have his marshmallows (or "mishmallows" as he calls them) toasted, preferring to scoff them cold.

Weather was superb and we had a great day out at Trevone Bay just south of Padstow yesterday. Very pretty beach, great sand and rockpools and most importantly a car park right next to the beach. Water was freezing and only managed to get in up to our knees.

Nice to be home, but hoping to go back again this summer.

Easter in Nantglyn

2009-04-18T06:22:00.000-07:00

Easter...where to start? Suffice it to say that it was the best Alf and his two English cousins have ever got along before. They seem to have reached the age where they can become a group and everyone is just about interested in the same things. It was a great trip up to North Wales and pretty good weather, too (for North Wales).
The kids were outside loads. They fed the donkeys; took a ride in the trailer behind the tractor; played in the creek in their wellies; drew with chalk all over the drive. My mom sent over some PAAS egg dye so we dyed eggs one day. I had found plastic eggs at Costco so we had a traditional American style egg hunt on Easter morning. The eggs were a bit obvious but the kids were new to it all. There's a photo of Edie on a bike her dad used to ride. There's a hilarious picture of Alf and Edie with the sun in their eyes. I told you how much he hates the sun in his eyes. Well, he clearly hasn't figured out how to keep it away without completely losing his ability to see by covering his eyes with his hand. Edie is clearly more intelligent at her 3 1/2 years. Janette brought down a box of fancy dress and the kids spent an afternoon running around in weird get-ups. Alf settled on being Bob pretty quickly and wouldn't let anyone else have a go. All in all a really nice time with this side of the family.

Meeting Suki for the first time

2009-04-18T06:11:00.000-07:00

One of Alfie's godmothers moved to New York(from Banbury)when Alf was about(-7) months old, meaning I was only 3 months pregnant. We have visisted America, but only NC and Suki and Harj have been here but not near us or for long enough to arrange a visit until a few weeks ago. She is one of the doting-est godmothers imaginable, she just lives a few thousand miles too far for us to see her as often as we'd like to.
It started off a bit rocky as Suki does not find being quiet a natural state. I think Alf went into a bit of shock and refused to come down off my hip. He eventually was lured down by the toys. We met up at Suki's sister's house and Suki's neice, Layla and nephew, Dillion have lots of toys Alfie was interested in trying out for himself. Since the visit, Alf has told me a couple of times that we should go to Suki's house or that the person on the phone is Suki so it's clear that she made an impression on him. Hopefully we'll all be able to meet up again sometime soon, although Dillion was not so happy to see Alf playing with his stuff so it might do to wait a few months.

At Home

2009-04-18T06:06:00.000-07:00

These are just a few shots of Alfie playing at home. Goodness knows now what his grand plan was, but he sure looks mighty cute to us.

Train trip into Bristol

2009-04-18T06:00:00.000-07:00

The Shirehampton train station is about a five minute walk from our house. A few weeks before Easter we decided to take a trip into town on the train. Alf had been on it once before but it was probably about a year ago. He loved the whole experience. We just went a few stops to Clifton Down station where we had a snack at Starbuck's and then went to the library.
Alf had a paddy walking up the street, and I've put in a picture of our impromptu 'naughty step'. Alf looks out whenever we go on the Portway now because he knows he might catch a glimpse of the train.
The shades are possibly the best purchase I've made for Alf in a long time as he has a slightly abnormal hatred of the sun shining in his eyes.

The Last Few Weeks

2009-03-07T04:37:00.000-08:00

I'm going to make this quick because I have just put Alf down for his nap and want some time to read and rest myself. Mind you, I can distinctly hear the patter of feet over my head. There was a bit of a disagreement about whether or not the rhino, dinosaur and walrus purchased today from the pound store should go to bed with Alf. I imagine he's gathering his crew.

What have we been up to?
Alf and his Dad and I went into town one Saturday to go to the main library. We also saw the swans and fed them some bread and posed for a contemplative photo (looks like it could be on the cover of an album to me).

Alf and his dad went to the zoo and Alf's habit of putting his hands inside his pockets was cinched. Alf spent a lot of time looking at the fish and crocodiles. He also went down the tunnel slide for the first time and wa going bravely down it, head first by the time he left. He also made it over the rope bridge by himself which in the past has always been tricky to navigate.

We're all pretty busy but doing well. We're looking forward to some warmer weather although I hear it's supposed to snow again next week???? It's only 4 weeks until break which is great.

We had our friends, Sara, Joe and Hope over for dinner and a play. Alfie and Hope played 'night, night' amongst other things.

Alf spent an afternoon setting up picnics for all of his friends. It was kind of a welcome event for the two newest members of the gang, both gifts from NC Grandma a Thanksgiving turkey and bear dressed as a Native American. Alf loves both of them and they were a steal at Barnes and Noble as they are moving stores.

Alf helped me make tacos for dinner and ate them like a star.

Some recent pictures

2009-01-28T08:40:00.000-08:00

here are some pictures of me, that mum and dad took in the last few weeks. The first one is of me eating an ice lolly because I had been such a good boy at the doctors and took all my medicine. The second shows me dressed in Grandma's cardigan ready to go out and entertain in Shirehampton, in the third you can see me sat on the stairs with my friends, we are on a train if you did not realise, the fourth is after an accident in the kitchen making a cake, not quite sure what happened but daddy says all good cooks make a mess in the kitchen, the last one is sitting with daddy watching videos on the computer.

big kisses to my mum who is currently back home in North Carolina as her sweet daddy and my grandpapa died unexpectedly last sunday.

last few weeks

2009-01-18T08:34:00.000-08:00

We have had a very busy few weeks. Alfie decided to get ill just before Christmas and he and mummy took a ride in the ambulance to hospital. We spent a night there and were let out on Christmas Eve night. So we had a Christmas morning at home in Bristol and then travelled up to North Wales for lunch with the rest of the family. Alfie by this time having made a swift recovery. So much so that Johanna and I got to spend a couple of nights away in Chester and we left Alfie with his grandparents and uncle and aunt.

it was very cold, but we did get out every now and then and look for trolls under various bridges around plas Nantglyn. alfie also helped Grandma do some cooking and did some reading and watching TV with Edie and Henry.

Christmas and new Year were very relaxing and it has been back to a lot of work since then. I am now a tenant at my Chambers which is good news and means we can start thinking about buying a house in Bristol. We have seen 7 or 8 already and are beginnning to get an idea of what we would like. Alfie has a new bed and has settled into very nicely, he has not realised that he can get out and into our room yet which is good. He is refusing to have anything to do with the potty or toilet and is quite happy in nappies.

Last Weekend

2008-12-19T10:59:00.000-08:00

Aw the holidays..a bit of breathing space and time to get things done... like upload the photos onto the blog. I must ask Bertie to show me how to do video. We have tons of good footage of our boy doing a bit of this and that.

These photos are primarily from last weekend. Bertie and Alf went to the zoo on Saturday while I cooked and got some housework done. On Sunday we met up with some old friends at Westonbirt Arborteum and had a nice walk on a beautiful day. Alf and Lottie in the willow and playing in the explorer park.

The stray photos are
a)Alf making ginger cookies with me a few weeks ago. He was quite good, in spite of a slightly dodgy recipe, just a bit too sticky but the end product was fine and loved by Alfie.
b)Alf doing a bit of DIY with his trusty hammer and golf tees

Alfie turns 2

2008-12-03T10:46:00.001-08:00

Alfie turned 2 years old on the 17th of November. We celebrated on the weekend before, Bert's parents came to Bristol to visit. We had cake and a great time hanging out together. On the Monday, Alfie slept through the snack time so didn't have his cake at school until the Tuesday. It was a very long birthday celebration! Alfie certainly got used to the cake and the attention.
He is talking incessantly and is particularly concerned about crocodiles, wolves and trolls. Bertie and i, along with Alfie's toys, are constantly being told to hurry and run and hide, quick or risk being something by these creatures. Alfie doesn't specify but one can easily interpret their naughtiness.
On the subject of naughtiness...Alfie is cranking it up a bit of late. He had his first laying down in a store crying tantrum over the weekend...in ASDA (our Wal-Mart). Amazingly, given that Bristol is such a large place and that we have only lived here 4 years and some and don't know that many people, an acquaintance happened upon us..Alfie wailing and me crouching next to him, fearful that he might get run over by a frantic Christmas shopper. It's so cliche that it's painful, but the lady said no her child never had done that and told me what she would do. I smiled and nodded and thought of killing her and then peeled my son off of the floor and frog marched him off to find his dad.
The staff at Alf's nursery asked me yesterday if we had a lot of crying at home. I said it had just begun and they said that at school he has started crying for more food. They give more food out if there is any when the children are eating but that Alf is crying even when they show him that there simply is no more food. I assured them that Alfie's father and I feed him and are not concerned by his shedding of tears.
Twice this week, I have had to use the phone in the evening when we get back from nursery but before Bert arrives home from work. The first time, I was speaking to a customer service rep at a company trying to sort a Christmas order mix-up. Predictably, Alf did not appreciate his mom's attention being directed away from him or her use of the phone (an object he is seriously interested in but not allowed to use), so, he expressed his displeasure by screaming, not as if he was in pain but in short intervals, at different pitches and following me around until I had to surrender and hang up the phone after making many apologies. Today he did it again when I was speaking to a friend. She was very understanding, having a small child herself but I did tell Alf off ( he said sorry) and told him that next time he'd have to go sit in time out on the steps for a couple of minutes. I can only imagine how that is going to go.
He's still a wonderful, funny, smart little boy and if you haven't seen him recently, you'd be amazed at how fast he's growing up. Bert and i certainly are and we see him every day.

Half-term Holiday

2008-11-05T10:58:00.000-08:00

We just had a half-term holiday. It started on the 24th of October and ends tomorrow, the 6th of November which is fortunate...meant I could stay up ridiculously late to see the election results come in. Yeah, Obama!!!
I took Alf up to see his Gran and Papaw and to spend time with his cousins, Ede and Henry and their parents. We also got a few days with his Auntie Katie and Great Aunt Lucy and second cousin, Maddie. There was a mix up with the court scheduling so Bert managed to come up and join us for a few days. We all had a great time, eventhough it was very cold and damp. We had a day of snow flurries and although it didn't stick where we were, you can see it in a few of the photos. We went to Chester Zoo one day to stave off the stir craziness; we also carved pumpkins and made soup and fairy cakes.
Alf became obsessed with talking about bears while away. We still have endless conversations that go a bit like this:
'Look, bear! Come on! Quick! Run! Hide! Oh no!'
Over and over again.
He has a very active imagination and unfortunately a snotty nose in a a few of the photos.
Needless to say, Alfie is full of things to say and is very clearly not going to get quiet any time soon.

Art

2008-10-25T08:08:00.000-07:00

Alf decided to do a bit of painting this morning, he enjoys having a big canvas to work with.

Lately

2008-10-20T03:53:00.001-07:00

A few new pictures and videos

2008-09-18T03:33:00.000-07:00

Autumn has definitely arrived and we have had some Asheville like sunny autumn days after a very wet summer.

Alfie spent his first night away from his mum and dad as they went off to Brighton for a night. He stayed with his cousins Edie and Henry and was not in the least bothered.

Alfie is into colours, counting and commands at the moment. He will say to Johanna or myself "sit", "walk", "dance", "up", "song" and so on.

A Morning out in Clevedon

2008-08-31T10:43:00.000-07:00

Clevedon is a seaside town about 10 minutes down the motorway from our house. It wasn't exactly the most beautiful Saturday but it was warm enough to wear shorts and be out and about. Clevedon has a nice promenade down the seafront and the amusements where Alfie discovered Postman Pat and Jess. We have a video of him on the Postman Pat ride. Bertie showed it to him today and then Alf wanted to watch it over and over again. He just kept saying 'gain' until we made him stop to come and eat his lunch. He cried and cried but wolfed down that scrambled egg once he was told he could watch it one more time if he finished his food. We didn't pay the £1.50 per adult to walk the length of the pier but you can see it in the background. Alf enjoyed sorting through the pebbles on the beach.

It's been a good weekend. Today we went to church and Alfie lost his bouncy ball just before communion. I had to take him out until I could get him calmed back down. However, just about everyone was really kind and afterwards at least three people came to tell me he had been really well behaved. They obviously missed the part where we were kneeling for communion and the lay minister attempted to give Alfie a lovely blessing while touching his arm and Alfie just wailed and squirmed away.

Anyway, I'll ask Bert to upload the Pat video because it is very sweet.

Danny and Mel's Wedding Weekend in Wales

2008-08-29T07:56:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, Danny married the woman of his dreams in North Wales. Danny is one of Bert's best friends from growing up and is also Alfie's godfather. The wedding was beautiful and the reception, in a marquee in Bert's parents' field, extremely fun and convenient for us. Alf had a ball. You'll see a not so good photo of him scoffing a brandy snap basket and dancing with his friend from up the lane, William. The couple pictured with Bertie and I after the wedding ceremony are Sam and Hannah, William's parents.
This trip to North Wales, Alf called Bert's mom, 'Gran' and Bert's dad, 'Papaw'. These were his own decisions. He also learned to say the names of the donkeys and often asks about Millie and Charlie.

Look What I Can Do

2008-08-15T08:21:00.000-07:00

Alf's hygiene practices are improving of late for no other reason than he loves to stand on his Moo stool or chair and splash around at the sink.

He also has finally shown an interest in the Duplo I splashed out and bought him from the local charity shop a mere 6 months ago. I'm sure you'll agree that it's a pretty good tower, maybe he'll be an architect or work in construction.

The Last 24 Hours

2008-08-14T10:36:00.000-07:00

In an effort to add some much needed levity to the last 24 hours and to help to distract me from the incessant murmurings of 'Mommy' coming from upstairs where my son and husband are getting the former ready for bed, I thought I'd write a post.

Right.

Yesterday I collected Alfie from nursery and was told that he had had a good day but might be having some trouble with teeth because he had appeared to be in some pain during the afternoon. It was suggested that we send in some Bonjela the following day. Easily sorted I thought but also remembered that Alf and I had nice plans to meet up with a mom and daughter we met at a First Aid course we took an eternity ago. We got home and Alf became ridiculously clingy for someone who had had a good day at school. He wasn't himself, sitting around and crying rather than running around like his usual maniacal self. He just made it through his bedtime routine, possibly dehydrated from the copious amounts of tears shed over seemingly insignificant matters. This is 6:45. Fast forward to 8, his exhausted mother finds something she can watch on TV and slumps for 45 minutes. Cue crying. Not constant but starting up every couple of minutes for about 30 seconds. At 9:45, I give in and go to check on Alf whose cries are more insistent now. He comes to bed with me. Bert returns home from football and is relegated to the futon in the living room. We all settle for sleep, Alf on my chest. I get claustrophobic. This has always been Alf's way to 'sleep' with his parents until he finally goes into a deep enough sleep that we can ditch him somewhere between ourselves and the wall. Alf is squirming and digging and rooting around. he starts pulling hair and laughing insanely about nothing that I can see. At 11, I decide that I am not able to sleep like this and that Alf is clearly not sleeping so the best thing would be to just cry it out and have a shot at some sleep for both of us. Alf doesn't agree with my choice and cries for the next 3 hours. Bertie and I do our best to ignore him and he finally goes off to sleep. At 5:40 we are up for the day.
I've lost interest in this exercise already so the short of it is that Alf was wheezing quite a bit. I took him to the GP and waited for 45 minutes. Ten minutes later, we were on our way to the Children's hospital to meet with a pediatrician. Alf screamed the place down. The staff couldn't believe how loud he is or how stubborn he is about being pissed off. It took two tries to get his heart rate with the machine that simply clips onto your finger. He screamed as soon as the stethoscope appeared, even harder once the tongue depressor did its trick and through the whole chest x-ray. He's fine, just has a viral chest infection but his lungs are clear. the solution is to give him puffs from and inhaler to help him breathe until his infection clears up.
The three staff nurses are joking about who has to come in and demonstrate for us with Alfie how to use the inhaler and volumatic dispenser thingy. They expected us to be able to put this mask on his face and hold it in place four times for 30 seconds each time, four times a day. Alf went ape shit. It took 3 of us to give it to him for 10 seconds, I'd say and by the end of it we were all sweating. He heeds it and so we will do our best but we have a strong son and a very determined one at that. I think someone out there needs to spend a bit of money researching how to make the whole inhaler dispensing process more passive. But, it's 7 now and the house is quiet. We'll hope for a bit of sleep and a better day tomorrow. Hey, at least it didn't rain all day!

Mike and Linda's party at Bert and Lulu's

2008-08-10T12:21:00.000-07:00

Pictures from the party where Alfie enjoyed playing with his cousins, Edie, Henry and Luca. His Great Uncle Bert and Great Aunt Lulu made lots of nice food and set up lots of toys to play with in the garden. Alfie and Edie particularly enjoyed throwing apples into the neighbour's garden.

Lacock Abbey and village

2008-08-10T12:15:00.001-07:00

We went to visit Lacock Abbey and surrounding village which is run by the National Trust. It is where Cranfield, Pride and Prejudice and Harry Potter have all been filmed.

Alfie likes to pick up gravel which he calls "rocks" so a fair amount of time was spent doing that. The village is very pretty and we managed to dodge the rain showers
by stopping off for cake and tea. Unfortunately we have to eat cake very quickly because Alfie demands cake until it is all gone. He did pick up the plate and lick it today.

Trip to Stonehenge

2008-08-10T10:52:00.000-07:00

My uncle Joe, his girlfriend Jen and my mum went to visit some stones in a field. Don't know why but the fish and chips were good after.