Christmas Day

Christmas day was fantastic. Tanya and David invited everyone to them and Mummy, Dave, Sarah, Keith, Ami, Josh, Carole and John all came and we all had a great time. We started by going to our local pub, The Woodcock for drinks, came back and had Christmas Lunch, then opened our presents in the afternoon. Thank you to everyone for making it a really lovely day and we wish everyone reading this a very happy new year.

December 2008

As there was so much going on in December, I thought it might be a good idea to summarize the whole month of activities and upload a few photographs.

On Friday 12th, Nannie took Marianne to see Peter Pan on Ice at The Spectrum in Guildford whilst Tanya and Reuben finished off the Christmas shopping in Guildford. Marianne thoroughly enjoyed it (so did Nannie!).

Tanya took Marianne to see Peter Pan in pantomime at Aldershot on Saturday 13th whilst David was enjoying his work christmas party in London and Reuben enjoyed spending some time with Nannie (fairy photo above - Marianne was Tinkerbell!!!).

On Saturday 20th, Tanya, Marianne, Aidan and Ethan went to see CBeebies Live at Wembley Arena. It was a great afternoon - we were sitting on the 3rd row back, so the kids had a fantastic view and really enjoyed themselves.

On Monday 22nd, Nana and Grandpa took Marianne and Josh on the Watercress Line to see Santa (photo above).

On Christmas Eve, Tanya, David and Marianne went to see Aladdin at The Yvonne Arnaud in Guildford and sat on the front row. It was excellent - I hadn't had so much fun in ages. Really good pantomime and really good actors. Tanya had her handbag taken onto the stage as part of the act and emptied (really embarassing!!! especially as I had some of Reuben's teats and some sandwiches in a clear plastic sandwich bag which Nannie gave to Marianne to take with her!!!). Close-up photo above of Marianne.

All this, combined with Nursery Christmas parties, Christmas Bizaare's, Christmas Concert, Alice Holt woodland christmas trip, visits to people to swap christmas presents and all the normal things, December was a very busy month.

Reuben's Walking

On Sunday 7th December, Tanya and David were sitting in the living room watching television and suddenly Reuben just stood up in the middle of the floor and walked over to us!!

He has walked more and more since then (trouble is, he can get to where he wants to go ~ especially when he's racing Marianne ~ a lot quicker when he's crawling!!!).

I have also attached a copy of his first passport photo - ahhh!!!

Christmas Tree

Tanya, Marianne & Reuben had a fantastic day with George on Tuesday 16th December. We went to Forest Lodge Garden Centre to buy the Christmas tree and we put up the decorations and decorated the tree during the afternoon. The kids love it and so far, so good!!! We're all looking forward to Christmas day now and wish everyone who's reading this a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year xxx

Marianne's Chistmas Concert @ Nursery - 9th December

Marianne had her Christmas Concert at Nursery on Tuesday 9th December - it was brilliant. I managed to film a clip of the children singing (apologies now as it's not very good, but gives you an idea!). Marianne seemed to enjoy herself and was pleased as punch that Daddy, Mummy and Reuben were all there.

Tanya has dance classes

As you all know, one of Tanya's loves is Strictly Come Dancing and she was lucky enough to get tickets to a Rumba dance class with Matthew and Nicole Cutler - it was absolutely fantastic and they were so nice. They finished the class off with one of their Samba dances which was amazing to see live.

Reuben's Birthday Party Family Pictures

Reuben's 1st Birthday - Tuesday 28th October

It was Reuben's 1st birthday and we all had a lovely day. Tanya, David, Marianne and Reuben caught the train from Haslemere to Portsmouth Harbour and went to Gunwalf Quays to buy Reuben's 1st pair of shoes, see the boats and have lunch - we sat outside by the water (it was a beautiful sunny day). We caught the train back home before Reuben's birthday party at 4pm when all the family came round and celebrated with us. Reuben got some lovely presents (which Marianne is enjoying playing with!!!).

Reuben goes swimming for the 1st time!

Here he is - all dressed & ready for swimming!!!
He absolutely loved it. He was a bit nervous at first, then found he could splash lots, move around and was fascinated by the water. He didn't know what to look at or do first - he particularly liked the turtle.
I took him down the big water slide and he giggled and squeeled with excitement, so he must have liked it.
I tried to do a bit of swimming with him and he did splash him arms, but not his legs! He also liked being thrown in the water and making a splashing noise as he landed!

Reuben's nearly there...walking!

Reuben is now confidently walking around the furniture, hold your hand(s) to walk and stands alone for a few seconds too. He has also started walking with the walker (see photos). I have also attached a few more photos of him because they are sooo cute!

Little & Large!!!

David bought some face paint when he took the children out on Saturday (4th October) and painted Marianne's face as a tiger. George and I painted Reuben's face - how fantastic are these pictures!!!

Reuben's 1st Haircut - Saturday 4th October

Reuben's hair had started to grow and was getting a bit long at the back, so we decided he needed to have a hair cut. George kindly cut it for him (short back & sides!!!) and he looks really smart.

Old Trafford - Saturday 27th September

Tanya was so excited to get tickets again for Old Trafford to watch Manchester United play Bolton in the Premiership. They won 2-0 with Ronaldo scoring a penalty (rather lucky to get it) and Rooney scoring a fantastic goal.

It was so nice for Tanya and David to get away for the weekend and the kids had a great time at Nannie and Grandad's.

Marianne's Nursery Art Exhibition

Marianne's Nursery, Caring Daycare, currently has an Art Exhibition at the Museum in Haslemere (subject; Nursery Rhymes). Marianne's class contrinuted with 'Hey Diddle Diddle'. The pictures with the blue background are of the main display with photographs of the children painting (Marianne's picture is shown just to the right of the moon and her name is above). The pictures with the orange background are the children making the display and Marianne has 2 photos on here. If any of you are in Haslemere - it's well worth a look.

Family Day Out in London

As the weather was really nice, we decided to have a family day out and drove up to London. We parked near Waterloo and walked along the Thames path to the London Eye (there was a Thames Festival taking place on the grass there). We crossed the bridge and had lunch on one of the fixed boats on the Embankment (beautiful). We then went on a Thames Cruise up and down the river (Reuben went to sleep and Tanya burnt her face!) We then had an ice-cream before going home. Both the children were fantastically good and fell asleep in the car on the way home!

9th September - Marianne's 1st 'proper' haircut!!!

Marianne had her first proper haircut today. Up until now she has just had her hair trimmed a few times, but this time, she had a lot cut off and her hair layered too. She now looks really sweet - her hair looks much shorter (but better) and is not at thick & messy!