Sunday, February 28, 2010

Teresa & Ceri's Birthday

We went to the Crooked Billet in Wimbledon today to celebrate Teresa and Ceri's birthdays. It was great to catch up with Teresa and Adam and baby Amber and we all enjoyed a gorgeous Sunday dinner

Teresa & Amber

Make a wish!

Hmm....suspicious

Birthday Girl!

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Farewell Waterstones!

Today was a strange day of relief and sadness. My decision to leave work to concentrate on the new house and, more than anything, being with my lovely Coby, ended up being easier than I thought. Most of you will have learnt that I adored my job as a children's bookseller at Waterstones in Hitchin. I started as a Sunday girl in May 2007 and progressed to full time bookseller, dedicated to the children's section in March 2008. The team there were truly wonderful and have been so good to me through my operation last year, Wendy's illness and passing and my child care problems. In particular, the manager, Alison, was patient and accomodating during a very tough year for retail with redundancies and pressures from Head Office. However, I was tired and weary and had very little time for family life, my weekends especially were often taken up with work and I missed Coby's nativity play and various other events. The hardest thing of all was handing back my staff discount card! I reluctantly placed it in Alison's hand - 33% off was very generous....

With James, Matt, Mark & Phil

Phil, forever grateful for introducing me to graphic novels

James, a shared love for Taylor Lautner

Friday, February 26, 2010

What's a Hairhee?

Its a strange name that Coby refers to when he's wearing something on his head! I believe the name comes from the same ilk as oompa loompas.

"Look mummy, I'm a hairhee"


Bye Bye Puddleducks

Well, today was a tough day! Coby's last day at nursery! On Thursday the girls gave him his own mini graduation ceremony. Dressed in a cap and gown, he was presented with a certificate and had his photo taken which I will post on here soon. Coby was absolutely fine about his last day, it was I who shed the tears and, I guess, it was because I was grieving for the close on a chapter of his life, be it only a small one so far. Every morning Coby has waved to me from the window as I've dropped him off and this morning I took a picture of his final wave.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who has taken care of him over the last three years: Kara, Claire, Sam, Ria, Georgie, Donna, who has cooked him lovely food, Carla, Lucy and finally Emma who left me the following note:

" I just wanted to say how much I will personally miss you all. Coby is a credit to you both he has a wicked personality and even when being a monkey will always hand you a laugh. He has flourished at Puddleducks and I personally have no worries for when he goes to school only that I will miss him. Coby is a friend to everyone and has kept me entertained for hours. He is an extremely intelligent little boy and takes everything in even with the tough year you've all had. Good luck with the move and the future. We will stay in touch"

Cheerio everyone - we will miss you so much!

Sunday, February 07, 2010

Helping Haiti: Everybody Hurts

Super Sunday

The boys had a very busy fun day today! First stop was the Shuttleworth Collection near Biggleswade where the first one hundred years of flight is displayed including the 1909 Bleriot XI, the World's oldest flying aeroplane. Al bought Coby a model Spitfire and an Airfix Hawker Sea Fury! Then they turned their hand to some crafts at Pots of Art in Hitchin (I have a suspicion I might be getting something handmade for Valentine's Day), then they surprised me at work in Waterstone's before heading off to the cinema to see Disney's The Princess & the Frog. Coby informs me the snake lady is called Mama Odie, so there!


















The Life of a Royal Marine Wife

Over the last few days we have spent some wonderful time in Somerset with Teresa, Adam and their new addition, Amber Lily. Amber is almost ten weeks old and so adorable, we made sure we got plenty of cuddles. Teresa showed us around the village of Ilchester where they live. Its just down the road from RNAS Yeovilton and the Fleet Air Arm Museum, so we saw lots of helicoptors and planes flying over. The RNAS' International Air Day is in July, so we're planning a treat for Coby, and of course more cuddles with Amber who will be six months old by then.





Attention!

On our recent visit to see Teresa and Adam, Coby had the pleasure of trying on Adam's Royal Marine jacket and the famous green beret. Judging by Adam's composure, I suspect that being a Royal Marine Officer is far less taxing than being a daddy to ten week old Amber!




When I Grow Up...

We suspect we may have a budding actor in the family. Coby's expressions, voices and theatrical displays are fascinating. He is a great little dancer too, very energetic and passionate - we showed him video clips of Diversity and Michael Jackson and he was very inspired....




Helping Haiti

Coby's nursery have organised a sponsored treasure hunt to help raise money for the Haiti earthquake children's appeal. Coby needs to collect six items: a ribbon, a bottle top, a piece of pasta, a twig, a sticker and something shiny. Any donation to the appeal, however small, adds up and will be a valuable contribution towards providing clean water, health care and generally saving the lives of all of those effected by this terrible disaster. Please respond by commenting on this post.

Monday, February 01, 2010

Daisy's Party

Coby's nursery chum, Daisy, celebrated her 3rd birthday recently and Coby was lucky enough to receive an invite. She only joined pre-school a few months ago and Coby has helped her settle in. She had TWO cakes and lots of presents....