We took Callum (, a birthday balloon left over from yesterday) and Charlotte out in the new buggy this afternoon for a stroll along the seafront.
Whilst the sun still shone, the wind really picked up today creating ideal conditions for the wind/kite surfers who were out in their droves.
Lots of small people turned out yesterday to celebrate Callum's second birthday in the park behind our house. There were six who could walk and four that could not!
Callum had a lovely time and received lots of wonderful presents and cards. Vic made a cake and we made sure there was plenty of food for adults and children alike.
By the end of the day we were all absolutely shattered but had a good feeling of a job well done. We only decided to do the party at the last minute as we weren't convinced that we were going to have the time/energy to sort everything out.
This last picture is Callum dancing to his personalised happy birthday CD which he thought was really cool!
Just after 7:00 this morning the SSS Codfish set sail on her first commercial voyage taking two passengers on a pleasure cruise along the south coast (well, a small beach in Hove really!). The journey was not without incident however, and in turbulent seas (okay, so the sea was like a mill pond) we managed to capsize a total of four times.
Luckily we left Callum on the beach with Grandma, but in fact the tide was so far out that the water was very shallow anyway.
Chris and Norma and the girls left this morning for Scotland via Derbyshire. Vic and I spent what felt like t
he whole afternoon in Tesco buying bits and pieces for Callum's Birthday party tomorrow. We are going to spend the afternoon in the park behind our house and Callum has six little friends coming - there will also be a further four babies - it really is funny how everyone had babies around the same time twice!
Today we celebrated Norma's Birthday at Barcombe Mill which is just a few miles the other side of Lewes. We had a picnic on the banks of the river Ouse where we also fed the fish, played football
and watched the cows. It was another beautiful sunny day so we positioned ourselves under large tree with plenty of shade.
This afternoon involved anther swim in the sea and a BBQ for supper.
Charlotte spent most of the day either asleep or happily watching the world go by - she really is a joy.
Only in Britain would you find the beaches packed and the sea full of swimmers when the sun in hidden behind a thick blanket of heavy cloud. However, as the temperature was still in the late 20s the sea was an ideal place to cool off and have some fun.
It must have seemed especially odd to Bleue and Saige who arrived today from California. They are here on holiday (or is that vacation?) and are spending a couple of nights in Hove with Chris and Norma before they all drive north on Friday. Callum went to bed absolutely exhausted as he was very excited at having his two 'girl' cousins to play with.
The picture above was taken shortly before the rain started to fall, at which point everyone ran for cover. It was most strange walking home in the rain with steam coming up off the pavement!
Tonight Vic and I went out for dinner while Chris and Norma babysat four grandchildren. Believe me when I say that they were as happy as we were about that!!
We ate at Okini which is a wonderful new Pan-Asian (?) restaurant in East Street. The food was absolutely delicious and we would highly recommend it to anyone.
Tomorrow is Norma's Birthday and we are looking forward to a great day of family fun!
We thought this morning that we might pack a lunch and head to the sandy beaches at Littlehampton, but then remembered that Charlotte had an appointment with the doctor at 11:00 - Just a check up and everything is fine.
Instead we spent the afternoon at Stoneywish Nature Reserve near Ditchling. We took a picnic and had the whole place to ourselves (the school holidays start tomorrow!). The only other sign of life was what looked like a very friendly/hungry Canada Goose.
Callum insisted on wearing his wellington boots even though it was about 26 degrees!
Today has been another beautiful day on the south coast with a cloudless sky and blazing sun. Callum was in nursery this morning so Vic took the opportunity to buy a few new clothes. Charlotte had the joy of bombing round Tesco with me. She slept through the whole trip (from the moment we put her in the car to leave for the shops until we took her out when we got back to the house!). Touch wood she has already fallen into a sleeping pattern at night. For the last two nights she has woken only once for a feed at around 3:00am. I hope I havn't just jinxed that!
This afternoon we met our friends Bee and Simon with their children Billy and Ruben, and Simon's daughter Rosie down on the beach in front of our house. We are so lucky to live as close to the sea as we do. Callum enjoyed splashing around in the waves whilst Vic and Charlotte relaxed in the shade.
A couple of things crossed off the list of things to do today were:
We have ordered the new buggy which will be delivered on Wednesday. Both Callum and Charlotte can ride on this one on top of the other.
The glass for the new front door has also been ordered and should be ready toward the end of this week.
Being a big brother is a lot more exhausting than I had imagined!!! I have to take five minutes when I can.
Would write more, but too tired............
almost to the minute ....Grandma had just arrived and Charlotte must have been thinking - okay - now it's time to show my face as there'll be someone here to look after my brother while I make my journey.
I can't believe that little Charlotte Louise (we're remembering Sue's Mum with her middle name) has been with us for almost a week. We've had a great few days with visits from all the grandparents and Adam - which Callum was especially pleased about and Dan and I found tremendously helpful.
The picture of me with Charlotte was taken two days ago and the one on the bed was taken just this morning.
It's great fun reading all your comments - thanks for joining in the fun. A little person is just waking up so I'm off again. Love to you all. xxx
We cannot believe that it is already nearly a week since Charlotte was born. It has been a calm, but very hot week which meant we have not been out and about, instead trying to keep cool in the house.
Thank you all for your messages, we really do enjoy reading them. Keep 'em coming!
Here are couple of pictures taken over the last few days.
Here are a few more pictures taken over the last two days.
All the grandparents have met their new grandaughter and Uncle Adam is with us today. Callum can't believe it!
Thankfully the machine wants to play ball this morning and I can post a picture taken yesterday about an hour after Charlotte was born.
More to follow...........
You will of course all know by now that Charlotte Louise was born today at 12:09 weighing 9lb 13oz.
Mother and baby are doing exceptionally well and are in fact both back home already. Callum is quite taken with her - lots of kisses and even giving her one of his favourite biscuits!
I cannot load any pictures tonight as for some reason it does not want to work. It is not helped by the fact that we are all too tired to try and work it out! Pictures in the morning I promise.
At 6:15 this morning the SSS Codfish took her maiden voyage in perfect conditions (well, for a novice anyway!). There is room for Callum to sit on the front once Daddy has mastered it properly. The kayak is heavier than it looks by the way......
Today has been a slow news day i.e. still no baby!
We all ate out at Pizza Express this evening where Callum demolished a whole plate of olives before devouring an adult portion of lasagne. Can't think who he takes after!!
When we left he made an old lady's day when she stopped in the street to say hello. Callum went bowling over full of conversation (mainly about olives) and big smiles.
I have bought a Kayak for the sea today, big enough to take Callum as well. I'll stick some pictures up of the maiden voyage which will probably be tomorrow.
Keep leaving messages - good to hear from you Bleue - say hi to Saige from us, we are really looking forward to seeing you guys soon.
This is the current favourite - a very useful present from Rita and Bob, brought over by Rita when she visited in February. We have changed the name of the little boy in the story to Callum. For some reason Callum thinks he is having a sister - which would be quite useful because as yet we only have a name for a girl!
Callum and I visited the Bluebell railway yesterday with Callum's best friend Billy (plus Billy's Mum and Dad - B and Simon and new baby brother Reuben). We had a picnic lunch at Sheffield Park National Trust property beforehand - which is where this picture was taken. Callum's favourite part was the tunnel. It was obviously memorable as it was the first thing he started talking about this morning when I got him out of his cot.
This is a bit of a test to check that I have followed the instructions properly!!
Hopefully by Clicking here you will be taken to some photos of Callum!
This is how we will upload photos for you to see (you can also order prints from this site!).
Vic was due to give birth last Friday, but as yet, there is no sign that the newest member of our family is ready to say hello.
We are both very much now in a state of limbo waiting for things to happen. Obvioulsy this is a lot harder for Vic, although her 'nesting' instincts have worked wonders on the house. Her deft little touches are making our home feel very 'homely'. It was all we could do to have paint on the walls for when Callum was born and has taken us the best part of two years to knock the house into some sort of shape.
Hopefully we won't have too much longer to wait and Callum will finally believe that there really was a baby in Mummy's tummy!
