Frosty but nice

Papa was in charge on Friday night as Mama was exhausted from an all-day meeting in London, but Lara seemed to play along and sleep well. Until 4am that is, when poor Mama had to get up and look after her, eventually returning to the tried-and-tested method of putting Lara to sleep in her pram in the lounge and Mama sleeping on the sofa.

Saturday was cold - it never got above zero degrees in Wycombe according to our thermometers, and the frost on the trees outside. It did make for a nice walk in the afternoon though, so long as we were all well wrapped up. In the evening we went over to Reading for our friend Simon's birthday party at his flat, where Lara and Eve enjoyed sharing each other's toys, amongst other things. It was after 9pm before we got Lara ready for bed, and we decided to try giving her her usual bowl of porridge just before she goes to bed, rather than giving it to her downstairs, then taking her upstairs then getting her ready for bed. That, combined with being tired after the party and going to bed late, seemed to work and she fell asleep straight away, and stayed asleep until 9am - a personal best!
Olga and I watched Mamma Mia - I have to admit that I assumed it would be a chick-flick and whilst I was mildly curious to see it, I really enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone who doesn't vomit at the first few bars of an ABBA song. You can even play the DVD in "sing-along" mode whereby it'll put the words on the screen as the songs are being sung...

Sunday was a quiet day for us, the nice frosty weather had given way to warmer, but wetter and windier. We popped a chicken in the oven and went for a walk round Flackwell Heath, the village were this nice Stag pub was that Lara took me to on Tuesday. The village itself is a disappointment, not nearly as pretty as the pub suggests it should be, but we had a drink in the Stag afterwards while Lara slept in the backpack carrier, drawing "oooohs" and "aaaahs" from the staff and customers.
We tried the new teatime food regime on Lara again, so she had chicken and vegetables for tea at 6.30 then a bowl of porridge at 7.30, once she had had her bath and was in her PJs. It took a little longer to get her off to sleep this time, but once she had fallen asleep, that was the last we heard from her until Olga had to wake her up at 6.30 this morning. Have we found the secret? It's too early to say but it looks good so far....

You can keep the rabbit, but I want my kidney back

This story is unfortunate but I couldn't help but smile when I read it. Where will it all stop!?

10,000 up!

After 16 months, 16 days and 303 posts, we've reached the 10,000 hits mark :-) Imagine how many hits and posts there'll be before Lara can start reading and writing her own posts!

Lara's Day with Dad

It was a long day for both of us yesterday, starting with dropping Mum off at the railway station at 8am so she could go to work in London, then it was back home for porridge and a nap (me, not Dad). Then there was a busy morning of playing with my toys with Dad, before an early lunch at 11.30. There was time for a second nap between 12 and 1, then we took Mishka for a walk round the block; it was lovely outside, with clear blue skies and still some of that nice white stuff on the floor. I couldn't see much because Dad had squeezed me into that carrier thing which holds me to his front, and I had to breathe in his smelly breath for 10 minutes. Then we went to a pub, which isn't unusual but this was one I'd not been to before. Dad says it was The Stag in Flackwell Heath. It had a lovely view from the beer garden over farmer's fields, and Dad had a hot chocolate with marshmellows while we sat outside and I had some snacks. A little furry fella came and sat on our table, I think he was after my snacks, I tried to talk to him but he doesn't speak Dog, which is the only language I know. The barmaid in the pub was making very complimentary noises about me and my new hat; it is lovely and warm.



I had a third nap while Dad drove me somewhere else I've not been to - the huge Tesco superstore in Slough. He takes me to all the best places, you know! He even remembered to feed me in the cafe before pushing me round in a trolley for two hours. Whenever I got a bit bored I'd just entertain the people around me with a song, and I even grabbed the arm of one nice old lady, who gave me a big kiss in return. I didn't mind Dad wandering up and down each aisle twice though because most of the things he put in there are for me anyway! Shopping is a tiring activity, and I had to have a fourth nap while we drove back to High Wycombe to meet Mum, who gave me my tea before Dad showed me how to fall asleep in my cot by falling asleep in the chair next to me.
Just for good measure I woke up and screamed 20 minutes after I heard Mum and Dad go to bed, but Dad came down and persuaded me it that if I went to sleep quickly then Mum would buy me a pony when I'm older. I tried getting Mum to come to see me at 1.30am so we could discuss what colour of pony, but I only cried for a few minutes before I got bored and went back to sleep on my own.

Today is Mum's Day with me, so we can discuss it at length and at a very high volume then....

The teenager might be back!

Fingers crossed, but hopefully Lara is back to sleeping well again. Last night she slept the whole night in her cot, and although she stirred briefly at 11pm, she didn't wake, and we didn't need to go in to soothe her at all. She woke again at around 5.30, and there were tears this time, but we stuck to our guns (and pillows) and she fell back asleep until Olga was out of the shower at 6.30.

Today is my first "Dad's Day" with her, I'm having the first Tuesday in every month off work to look after her. It's a lovely day outside, so naturally we'll go shopping indoors somewhere :-) Nah, only kidding, we'll go for a walk in the park first, then head off to the shops. And maybe a pub lunch!