Category Archives: Personal

Posts about me and what has been going on in my life.

Parental Leave: Week 7 – On holiday in Croyde

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This post starts off where the previous one left off, with us on holiday in Croyde, North Devon, so this has turned into a bit of a travel blog too. The week started off grey and rainy, always the risk when holidaying in the UK. So we took Owen to the softplay in Barnstaple, he’s still a bit too small for it, but seemed to enjoy playing in the ball pit. Once again our plans to stop in Braunton on the way back to Croyde were thwarted – although Jen did get out of the car to pick us up some pasties for lunch.

The weather wasn’t much better on Tuesday, so we went out in the car. The north coast looked to have the best weather, so we went to Lynmouth, mainly because last year we found a cafe that does a good pasty and cream tea lunch. We also went up to Lynton on the Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway. We weren’t that fussed about Lynton, but Owen enjoyed the funicular, especially as we were able to sit at the front and pretend that we were driving!

Wednesday was fairly similar to Tuesday, except that the railway was flat and powered by steam! We went to The Lynton and Barnstaple Railway, for Owen’s first train ride! I think Owen’s granddad was the most excited though! Jen’s sister Heather joined us in the evening and we all went to the Thatch pub for dinner.

The weather had improved by Thursday, so when Owen woke us up early, I went for a walk down to the beach with my camera. The light was lovely and the beach was almost empty – a perfect morning for photography. Later in the morning we all went back down to beach, Owen had fun throwing sand around, knocking down sandcastles and even dipped his toes in the sea. After all that activity we went to the National Trust tea rooms for a late lunch. At this point the day took a turn for the worse – Owen did a poo that breached both his nappy and shorts. Then when we were cleaning it up, we discovered that we didn’t have a spare vest or shorts for him – the only clean clothes available were two t-shirts. So he had to go back into his pushchair for the walk of shame back to the chalet with a t-shirt tied around his waist instead of shorts, luckily it was a warm afternoon! We hosted a takeaway evening for dinner, I went to the Mexican food truck at Down End car park, while Jen and Heather went to Billy Bud’s to collect some pizzas, it was a great way to spend the evening.

While Jen went out for a run on Friday morning, Owen and I hung out at the chalet, then walked down to the Thatch to meet Jen for breakfast – we can’t visit Croyde without having breakfast at the Thatch. After Owen’s morning nap we went back to the beach, but this time I was in my wetsuit and hired a surfboard, in the hope that I hadn’t forgotten how to surf! I think it was more through luck that skill, but I managed to catch a decent wave on my first attempt, then spent most of the next hour or so getting battered by the waves. A fun way to work off a large breakfast! We spent our last evening in Croyde at Blue Groove, our favourite restaurant. I made an out of character choice to have the special – octopus and chorizo stew! I think my decision was swayed by thoughts of tako yaki, Japanese deep fried octopus balls, which are my favourite thing to eat when I’m in Japan. I’m not sure I’d have it again, but I’m glad I had it. Owen was on top form, charming the staff and other customers.

Saturday was the long drive home – always the worst part of a holiday. We decided to break the trip up with a stop at Cribbs Causeway, as it is just off the M5, and has more food options that the usual motorway services. We ended up at a Mexican street food place – perfect. The downside to stopping at a shopping centre is that we had to do some shopping. Owen came out of it well – we had his feet measured and bought him his first pair of Clarks shoes. I spent the rest of our time at Cribbs Causeway paranoid that he would lose one of them. Who knew that such tiny shoes could be so expensive?

As much as I love Croyde, it is always good to get back home, especially when you still have a few more weeks before going back to work! There was a lot of washing to do, photos to process, blogs to write and a bike that had been unridden all week, so Sunday flew by!

Parental Leave: Week 6

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Fmily Holiday SelfieOur week started with a bit of a panic, Jen left for work and the power steering failed on her car. Fortunately I had decided to drive the MR2 this week and had already moved the car seat over, so she was able to take the BMW. As my friend Richard pointed out on Facebook – there always seems to be something wrong with one of our cars! It must have just been dodgy Italian electrics, as the car was fine when I tested it later in the day. Owen and I enjoyed being back out in the MR2, he had been really sleepy during his breakfast, so I bundled him straight into the MR2 to drive to my Mum and Dad’s house. Being in the MR2 perked him up and I had lots of smiles and giggles from the passenger seat, until he eventually drifted off to sleep. We had a lovely time with my Mum and Dad, Owen seems to have learned some new skills too – waving and drinking from his cup without any help!

On Tuesday Owen had some more firsts – I needed to do some more DIY, so Jen’s Mum came to look after Owen. They went for a walk to the park, where Owen enjoyed the playground, incuding trying the slide for the first time, then they came home on the bus – Owen’s first bus trip! When he got back Owen seemed content watching me paint – finding it funny when I was up the ladder waving down at him.

This is sounding a lot like my parental leave is just handing Owen over to grandparents to be looked after, whilst I crack on with something else – which isn’t the case. I guess the routine stuff, like battling with him to eat his breakfast, changing nappies and playing peekaboo just seem normal to me now, so tend not to mention them. It isn’t all bad, as Owen does love hanging out with both his Grandma and Nanny. He always has huge smiles for them when they walk in the door and I’m sure he’s on his best behaviour when they are in charge!

Wednesday was a Daddy and Owen day, we mostly hung out at home, our only trip out was to the supermarket, taking the long way home, as it was a nice day and we were in the MR2. I still find it funny how small the MR2 looks, parked next to all the SUVs and people carriers in the parent and child spaces. On Thursday we were out in the MR2 again, to go swimming – this week we even made it on time! Owen did a lot of splashing when we got into the pool, he splashed himself, the other babies and parents, the teacher, but mostly he splashed me. After his initial excitement, he didn’t seem to enjoy the lesson as much as usual. I think that he was tired, as he didn’t have a pre-swim nap – probably why we made it to the lesson on time. He went straight to sleep when we got home, allowing me to get some jobs done, then have an uninterupted lunch with Jen! In the afternoon Jen took Owen to buggy workout, leaving me free to get out on my bike. With all the veranda painting it felt like I hadn’t had a proper ride in ages, so it was good to be out again, even if I had to do some more painting when I got home.

Whilst I was painting Jen took a phonecall that would slightly change our plans for the rest of the week – our holiday rental in Croyde would be ready for us on the Friday, rather than the Saturday. Naturally we jumped at the opportunity to have an extra night in our favourite place. Friday morning was spent packing, whilst waiting for the health visitor to come for Owen’s twelve month development check – of course Owen fell asleep just before she arrived and had to be woken up to be measure and weighed. He apears to be doing fine though, he is above the 75th centile for weight and 90th centile for length, when corrected for being born 6 weeks early. We had a few final errands to run before we could hit the road – Owen even cooperated and fell asleep in the car for the exact amount of time it took me to remove the bike carriers.

We set off at 17:30, half an hour later than planned, mostly due to Owen being fussy about eating his dinner. Jen drove the first stint through the Friday rush hour traffic on the M42 to Glocester services, where we stopped for dinner/milk and a crawl round the play area. I took over for a long second stint all the way to Croyde, by this time the traffic had cleared and we made good progress. The downside to the late arrival was missing the view across Croyde Bay when driving round Down End Point, one of my favourite views anywhere in the world. We could just about tell that the tide was in, but couldn’t see much else. We found our chalet, complete with cot already set up for Owen, so all we had to do was transfer him from his car seat to the cot. It didn’t quite go to plan though, Owen woke up, and was keen to explore his new surroundings. He slept well when he drifted back off to sleep, and had a bit of a lie in.

The fun really started when he’d had his morning milk and realised that he had the full run of the chalet – heated laminate floors and no stairs must be perfect for crawling around, as Owen looked to be enjoying himself immensly. He then found the springy door stoppers, hours of noisy fun for a little boy! Due to getting to Croyde a day early, and our early morning wake up call, Jen decided to do Parkrun in Barnstaple. It was a lovely morning, so Owen and I expolored the park whilst Jen ran. The plan had been to stop off for breakfast in Braunton on the way home, but Owen fell asleep in the car on the way, so we carried on back to Croyde and went to Blue Groove instead. This was no hardship as it is one of our favourite places to eat anywhere  in the world. We spent the afternoon walking around Croyde and seeing what had changed since our last visit, then chilling at the chalet during nap time. We visited Squires fish and chip shop in Braunton, another of our favourite haunts, for dinner and Owen had his first taste of fish and chips. He didn’t quite get the concept, as he only seemed to want the chips.

Sunday started with another lie in (we now class 7:00 as a lie in), but as this was forecast to be the last sunny day of our trip we wanted to make the most of it. We started off with a walk to the National Trust tea room at Sandleigh, which after extensive testing Jen and I have declared to do the best cream tea Devon. Pete and Gill (Owen’s Nanny and Granddad) joined us for the walk, and we had a lovely morning. After Owen’s lunch we took him down to the beach – this was his first chance to play in the sand, as last time he was only a few months old! Rather than taking the pushchair to the beach we used the baby carrier, which hadn’t been used since last summer, when Owen was a lot smaller. He went on my back and seemed to enjoy the walk down to the beach. We set up a tent to shelter us all from the wind and sun. Owen was happy to stay in the tent to start with, so I took a stroll to the sea, and by the time I got back (it was long way due to it being low tide) he had ventured out and was fearlessly crawling over the sand. I built some sandcastles, but Owen was destroying them quicker than I could build them, maybe my Dad is correct in thinking that Owen wants to become a demolition engineer…

Owen seemed to enjoy the beach and did really well with not eating sand until just as we were packed up and about to leave, when he somehow ended up with a big face full of sand and cried most of the walk back – I’ve never had such a noisy rucksack! After desanding ourselves we all went for Sunday lunch at the Manor House Inn, followed by an ice cream from the little ice cream shop, introducing Owen to more of our Croyde traditions. After Owen had gone to sleep I went back out with my camera, planning to take a photo of the sunset, however it wasn’t to be, the sun dipped below the horizon, but there wasn’t even the faintest glow of orange in the sky. It was still good to get out with my camera, as I haven’t had much of a chance to do landscape photography recently.

We have got more of the same planned for next week, although the weather forecast doesn’t look as nice. Whatever we get up to it is nice to spend a decent amount of time together as a family and hopefully Owen will benefit from it.

Parental Leave: Week 5

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IMG_3082Another bank holiday! The excitement for me being that Jen is at home, rather than not going to work. However, as Jen had been away on Saturday, it felt like the weekend had just been shifted back a day. The day started off with more bank holiday DIY in prepatation for the garden project kicking off. Then, in the afternoon, we went for our first family bike ride at Kingsbury Waterpark. Owen didn’t seem too bothered by being sat on the back of my bike, I can’t say he seemed to enjoy it either though. I can see that a front mounted bike seat would make it easier to interact with him whilst riding along, but as my seat was free, I can’t complain! Hopefully with more rides Owen will start to enjoy it more, as I have a few longer rides I would like to do as a family.

On Tuesday the guys arrived to start the first phase of the garden project, so my morning was split between making cups of tea for the builders and baby wrangling. My Mum and Dad arrived at lunchtime, so I was able to run some errands whilst they played with Owen. Wednesday was a day at home for Owen and I, whilst the builders made progress on the veranda. Owen managed to climb into the coffee table in search of Jen’s iPad – nothing seems to be safe in this house!

Thursday was a much busier day! Like last week, Owen decided to take a nap just before we were meant to leave for swimming. Fortunately he didn’t seem too upset when I woke him up and we were only a few minutes late. Owen really enjoyed himself at swimming, with lots of splashing and squealing. Jen was on a half day and took Owen out after lunch, which was when the plumbing disaster mentioned in the new veranda post happened. After that panic was sorted I detailed Jen’s car – my plan is to detail all three cars whilst I’m on parental leave, so I thought I’d better get a move on! I started with Jen’s car as I’d borrowed it for ten months and returned it filthy. I didn’t feel too guilty though, as Jen returned my BMW in limp home mode and requiring an expensive trip to the garage.

On Friday Owen wasn’t keen to eat his breakfast, but made up for it by stealing some of my chips when we met Jen for lunch at McDonalds – this was after he’d eaten his own lunch! He was also on top form when we went round Sainsbury’s, chattering to staff and customers and enjoying a sample of samosa from the deli counter. After all that food and excitement Owen had a long afternoon nap, only waking up as Jen arrived home – at that point the trouble started. I think it was Owen’s way of showing he’d missed his mummy. I was able to escape out to run some errands in the MR2, which hasn’t been getting much use these last few weeks.

Saturday was a DIY day, Jen was away on a hen do, so my Mum came up to look after Owen, whilst I was perched up a ladder painting the veranda. I actually managed to get a fair bit done, despite the weather conspiring against me. Owen had a good sleep, not waking up until 7:15 on Sunday, and behaved well in the morning, which I was thankful for as Jen didn’t arrive back until early afternoon. Owen was adament that he didn’t want to go to sleep when I put him in his cot for his morning nap, but after sitting up and voicing his displeasure to me for a few minutes, he fell asleep, sitting up with his face resting on the bars of his cot. When Jen got home I got back up my ladder for more painting, at least today the weather was much nicer – I had to change into shorts, it was so warm! I’m now about halfway through the painting, so hopefully I’ll have it all done before we go to Croyde next weekend.

Garden project – new veranda

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The framework for the new veranda is up! Now we have three weeks to paint it, before the polycarbonate roof panels are fitted.

The job went mostly to plan, the only issue being that during the removal of the old veranda a piece of wood fell into the drain collector. This wasn’t a problem until I emptied Owen’s bath, which overwhelmed the drain, causing it to back up and overflow out of the boiler drain pipe. The first I heard about it was when the builder shouted up to say that there was a problem with the boiler. I came outside to a flood of water pouring out of the boiler cupboard, I was glad to realise it was the bath water, rather than an expensive sounding boiler issue. We were able to unblock the drain and it gave Jen and I the kick we needed to clear out the boiler cupboard which had become a bit of a dumping ground.

Garden project – before

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Landscaping the garden was meant to be part of the garage build way back in 2014, but when we realised the scale of both jobs, we decided to hold back on the landscaping. After almost a year without much work on the house (I can’t think why) we are ready kick things off.

Those who have visited our garden will notice that things have already started – all the clutter has gone from under the veranda, this is because renovating the veranda is the first part of the job. The veranda is an important part of the house, Jen’s family have been having tea and cake on a Sunday afternoon under there for decades! So we will be keeping all of the period features, and making sure we can keep using the veranda for decades to come.

Later parts of the project include sandstone paving the path and patio and adding another patio up by the garage, which will be in the sun when the veranda is in the shade (and vice versa). Like all good DIY projects we have a deadline – Owen’s first birthday party at the start of June!

 

Parental Leave: Week 4

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Owen and LewisThe week started off quietly with a visit from my Mum and Dad. We all went in to the city centre to IKEA and the market – to get Lorne sausage. With my parents looking after Owen, I was able to get some jobs done, including a sub-15 minute bottom bracket service on my bike. Followed by an amazing dinner – Lorne sausage with sweet potato macaroni cheese, one of my favourites! We had another vistor on Tuesday, my old school friend Stevo. We went to Hickory’s Smokehouse for a meaty lunch and a good catch up.

After eating well the previous few days, I needed to get out on my bike on Wednesday. So, I put the bike on top of the BMW and drove to my parents’ house in the Cotswolds. After a tasty lunch of cheese scones, I went for a 36km bike ride to the east of Chipping Norton. It was hard going, with probably 30 of the 36Km being off road, but the scenery was much nicer than cycling around Coventry! Owen enjoyed his time with grandma and grandpa, so we both returned home tired and happy.

After a two week break, Thursday swimming was back. This is usually Owen’s favourite part of the week, but he seemed to be doing everything he could to delay us getting out the house – refusing to eat his breakfast, crying, standing up in his cot then eventually falling asleep, just as he needed to get changed to get to the pool. In the end I had to wake him up and take him out in his pyjamas and got him changed for swimming at the pool. We were late for the lesson, but as soon as he was in the pool Owen was back to his happy self! After our eventful morning, I gave Owen an early lunch, which he wolfed down, because I was off to work in the afternoon for a handover meeting, as one of my colleagues is leaving. It was strange being back in the office – in some ways it felt like I’d never been away, other than the complete lack of knowledge of what had been happening. It was also a lot easier than wrangling a wriggly Owen, but I did miss him. He also seemed to have missed me, as he was all smiles when I got back home.

After a busy week, Friday was a quieter day and we had a walk down to the butchers in the morning. Later, Owen woke up screaming from his afternoon nap. I was about to start cleaning the bathroom, so was glad to have an excuse to avoid it. I gave Owen a cuddle, which cheered him up, and we spent the next hour snuggled up. Six months ago this would have been normal, but it is rare these days, as Owen would much rather be crawling round the house looking for things to climb or eat, or trying to pull my ears off/gouge my eyes out if I’m holding him.

Jen was in London on Saturday, so Owen and I had another quiet day, with a trip out to Leamington to meet my parents. Sunday started off well, with another trip to Hickory’s, for breakfast. I left early and cycled to meet Jen and Owen there, so I felt like I’d earned my breakfast. In the afternoon we did some work in the garden, in preparation for the next phase of the 119 Project, then went to Jen’s Mum and Dad’s for afternoon tea and cake.

I’m now half way through my eight weeks at home and it now feels like it is going very quickly. Going back to work, even for half a day, made me realise just how busy the days are with Owen. Very rewarding though.

Parental Leave: Week 3

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Playing in the garden

Week 3 started with a bank holiday, so it was pretty much a repeat of the previous few days, with Jen at home to help with DIY and Owen wrangling. I did manage to get out on my bike though. Tuesday and Wednesday were very similar, jobs at home with a few trips out in the MR2. Once again Owen fell asleep in the MR2, so I parked up in the parent and child spaces at Asda waiting for him to wake up and had a proud moment when the little boy in the car next to us loudly exclaimed that my MR2 was “a cool car”!

Owen seemed to be in a foul mood on Thursday, which was strange, as he’d had a really good nights sleep! He seemed intent on destroying anything he could get his hands on, or crying when being prevented from destruction. He also took offence at having his nappy changed or having clothes put on. I guess it was just one of those days.

Friday was much better, Owen slept through again, but woke up happier. He had learned a new skill overnight – he can now climb! He used the bed to pull himself from his belly to standing up and now seems to be climbing anything he can reach, nothing is safe now. We met up with Jen for lunch then spent the afternoon setting up the roof bars I’d ordered for the BMW, so we can go out on some family bike rides.

Saturday started with a trip to the park to cheer Jen on at Parkrun, although Owen fell asleep and missed the action. We then tried to cram in as much DIY as possible before our friends arrived for the afternoon. When our guests arrived we spent a lovely afternoon in the garden, with Owen the centre of attention, chattering away and looking cute.

After spending most of the week looking after Owen, Sunday was my day off. I started with a bike ride, then a cross country blast in the MR2 to meet some old uni mates for a burger. It was a good day, but I was still happy to get home and have a play with Owen.

Parental Leave: Week 2

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Roof down selfie

My second week of parental leave was better than the first, we seemed to have more of a routine and kept ourselves busy. Jen only being at work for four days helped too!

The week started off with another hospital visit, this time to UHCW, where Owen was born. The timing of Owen’s appointment worked well, as we were able to attend the Neonatal unit’s coffee morning. We also had time to pop up to the Neonatal unit to hand in some tiny hats that my Mum had knitted for them, and to see their photowall, which features this photo of Owen, holding a photo of himself when he was on the unit. At his appointment, Owen charmed the doctors, except when they needed to get equipment near to his face, in which case he kept trying to play with it.

On Tuesday my Mum and Dad came to visit, which meant I got to sneak out on my bike – the weather was pefect and I had an awesome ride! I also got to take the MR2 for a drive, unfortunately it was to collect my BMW from the garage, with a large bill to pay. Jen’s Mum came to visit on Wednesday afternoon, which meant I could get some jobs done whilst she looked after Owen. There was no swimming on Thursday, due to the school holidays, so Owen and I had a lazy morning, before meeting Jen for a McLunchdate. As it was only a short trip I decided to try Owen in the MR2 with the roof down, as you can see from the photo above – he loved it!

Friday was the start of the bank holiday, so DIY time. We got our jobs done fairly early on in the day, so I managed to escape for a short bike ride. Jen’s mum came over in the evening to look after Owen, so Jen & I could go out for dinner. As it was just the two of us we took the MR2 – it has been quite a while since we’ve been out in the MR2 together! Saturday was more DIY, along with a lunch trip out to see Jen’s friend Jo.

On Sunday Jen looked after Owen, whilst I met my Dad at Silverstone to watch the first round of the World Endurance Championship. The LMP1 cars looked so fast and the race stayed exciting right up to the end, with the lead Porsche being caught, and overtaken by the #8 Toyota with only a handful of laps remaining.

Next week is going to start with more work on the 119 Project, but after that I haven’t got anything planned when Jen is back to work, but I’m sure Owen will find plenty to keep me busy!

Parental Leave: Week 1

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My first day of parental leave started on an ominous note – Owen refused to eat his breakfast, preferring to blow raspberries at me. Normally we could just wait for him to be hungry, but we had an appointment at Birmingham Children’s Hospital, to look at the hemangiomas on his eyelid, so had to get a move on!

Jen joined us for the trip in to Birmingham; we had hoped to take Owen on his first train journey, but couldn’t get parked at the station, so drove into central Birmingham, which worked out to be quicker anyway. He will get to go on a steam train with his granddad soon enough and that will be more special as a first train journey than the London Midland train to Birmingham!

We had a bit of a wait at the hospital, but came away with some Timolol gel (usually used to treat glaucoma) to rub on Owen’s eyelid, which should speed up the healing process for the hemangiomas. We made it into the city centre in time to meet my friend Partho for a burrito – Owen seemed happy to see him, but not as pleased as he was to see a big bowl of guacamole!

As Jen was off work, I took advantage of having someone to look after Owen and took the MR2 for an MOT, which it passed!

Tuesday was our first day flying solo! We just had a quiet morning at home, Owen had a bath, then a nap, which left me time to get on with some jobs. In the afternoon we went to buy Owen a bike helmet, then watched Top Gear, whilst Owen practiced his new skill – going from lying on his belly to sitting up. I could get used to this!

Wednesday started with some complicated logistics to drop my BMW off at a garage in Warwick. This wasn’t helped by Owen doing everything possible to delay us getting out of the house, deploying both hunger strikes & dirty protests! He was fine once my Dad picked us up in Warwick, and on his best behaviour as soon as we got to Chipping Norton and he saw his grandma!

My Dad and I spend the afternoon sorting out the lawns at their house, which Owen played inside with his grandma. Then we all met Jen for dinner at the Hatton Arms. After an afternoon raking lawns I felt like I’d earned my steak pie!

Thursday is swimming day! Swimming is probably Owen’s favourite half hour of the week, he splashes, smiles and squeals with joy when he is in the pool! It also really tires him out, so I can get a lot done during his post swim nap. After the exciting morning we just hung out at home and in the garden, followed by a trip to the supermarket, where Owen seemed to be a hit with all the female staff! In the evening we strapped Owen on to the back of my bike and rode around the block a few times. I don’t think Owen was as excited by this as I was, but I’m sure he’ll get used to it.

Friday was another day where Owen didn’t want to eat breakfast, I think he’s gone off Weetabix. A similar performance followed at lunchtime, leaving me deciding between giving in (and Owen realising that he can cause trouble and get what he wants) or let him be difficult and go hungry. This hassle meant that the day went slowly, and mid afternoon – when I’d normally be finishing work and going on a bike ride, I began to question my decision to take parental leave. Fortunately Owen cheered up, which meant I cheered up!

Saturday started off well – after Owen’s breakfast we went to a small car show at Fargo Village, Coventry’s trendy market area. It was great to walk around looking at the various cars and small shops/studios. We bumped into my friend Dan with his bright green bike engined kit car, which looked awesome. Before we left we had some cake and a milkshake from Spangles American Diner, although after seeing what the next table ordered I should have gone for one of their freakshakes – a milkshake topped with a piece of cake!

In the afternoon we set up Owen’s beach tent on the lawn so that Jen and I could crack on with some gardening, we managed to get most of our jobs done, but it was hot work and I was really suffering with hayfever. Jen went out for the evening, leaving me to wrangle Owen. I think he may also have been suffering with hayfever, as he had a really rough night, alternating between crying and coughing for a few hours, only stopping about five minutes before Jen got home, then sleeping soundly until the next morning – I’m beginning to thing he is just doing it to annoy me!

Sunday started well – I had a bit of a lie in, whilst Jen sorted Owen out. Then, when she brought him through in to our room and put him on the bed next to me he said “Daddy”! We thought he may have said it before, but weren’t sure, but this time there was no mistaking it, so I’m calling that his first word – a proud Dad moment! He did follow that up by eating all of his Weetabix without any fuss for Jen, something he’d refused to do for me all week. We spent the rest of the day at my parents’ house, with my brother and his wife – Owen was once again the star of the show. We had a lovely lunch, sat outside in the sunshine.

My first week of parental leave has absolutely whizzed by, I’ll admit it is harder work than I was expecting, but I’m sure both Owen and I will get into more of a routine over the coming weeks and things will get easier. Hopefully leaving more time for bike rides and drives out in the MR2!

Family Portrait 

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Family portrait

As I mentioned in my last post, we were at Richard and Anna’s wedding this weekend. My friend Ali took this photo before the ceremony, it is my favourite from the weekend – we scrub up well, don’t we!

It was a lovely day, we were well fed and the new Mr & Mrs Long make a great couple. Owen was on his best behaviour and everyone commented on how good he looked in his outfit.

Ali seems to have a natural talent for photography, whenever I hand him a camera and ask him to take a photo of me I get back some of my favourite photos of me. This one from mountain biking in Wales is a case in point.