Aunty Nat

I met my best friend, Nat, whilst studying zoology at the University of Aberdeen. After graduating, I headed South and she further North.  Throw in work commitments for us both, and one of us starting a family, and we rarely get to catch up in person.  Nat visited us when Rowan was 8 weeks old, and again when he was 6 months old (yes, Nat has made all the effort in visiting - guilty much?)
This month, Nat had a course to attend down South, so she took the opportunity to drop in for a couple of nights.  I was surprised when I realised it's been 18 months since we last met up, so I was happy that we could catch up.  Despite the irregularity of our meetings, it's never weird or awkward. Somehow, Nat always manages to visit when I need a reality check, or general kick up the arse!  She's such a positive and genuine person you can't help but be at ease in her company.

Being a trio of scientists (well, one active and two relapsed) we decided to take Rowan to At-Bristol on the Sunday.  There was a lot to see there and fortunately lots of interactive exhibitions for Rowan to explore.  I do think he was a tad on the young side to fully appreciate all that was presented to him, but he had fun throwing the plastic femers, ribs and ulnas for the other children to fetch.
He was over-tired, over-excited and coming down with a cold so it proved a challenge in herding him through the displays.

Rowan thought this was a giant hairdryer.

The globe next to Gareth's head is being kept

aloft by the 'hairdryer' 

This is an aeroplane wheel. Huge!

More exhibitions

Rowan's favourite was the large water tank with dams

(and rubber ducks). Lucky he didn't dive right in.

In the afternoon Rowan's let us play with his train set till he went to bed.  Surprisingly, he even let Nat attend his bath, and asked her to read him a bedtime story.  This is highly unusual as he gets upset even if his own dad tries to do this at times.

Aunty Nat!

Partaking in Etch-a-sketch with friends

A tussle over the elephant doodle pen

Rowan enjoyed watching us build the tracks. Then he would sit on

them and laugh when the train crashed into him 

Aunty Nat was clearly a hit.  After I picked Rowan up from nursery the next day he asked for Nat. I told him she had gone back home to Scotland. He paused for a moment, then without any prompting said "move there."
It was great to see Nat again, and I'm hoping not to leave it so long next time.  It's definitely my turn to make the effort.

And Tangent? He liked having the toddler's attention diverted

away from him for a few hours.

Project #2

Rowan has a tiny waist and still wears a size 12-18 months.  However, since he is tall it can be difficult finding clothes that fit him properly.  I usually have to add a temporary stitch to the waist to hold them up until he goes through another growth spurt.
He's had one particular pair of jeans since he was 9-10 months old and remarkably they still fit (just - they are becoming ankle-biters) but they have been battered through constant wear!  It was time to patch...

 Just a simple denim patch. It's going to be 

a sad day when these jeans finally give up

I also patched a second pair of jeans Rowan had worn through.  I sense that I'm going to get really bored of patching knees over the next few years.  Still, it's a good way to practice my hand-stitching as it's not the neatest it could be.  

 Patching is a great way to use up scraps

of fabric remnants

Hand stitching practice.  Best to do it on something that no

one's going to scrutinise too much!

A visit from Nanny and Grandad

My parents came up to visit us but they could only stay for the day since they had left their dogs at home.  Rowan is fond of their Yorkshire terrier, Molly, but the feeling isn't mutual.  Molly is 10 years old and would rather be left alone thank you very much. Since Rowan is too young to understand the concept of someone not wanting him in their face, my parents are sticking to day visits until he's a little older. Rowan is generally good with dogs but can be over-exuberant when he is over-tired (or simply showing off).
Mum and Dad kindly took us out for a pub meal. It was a really nice afternoon out, and Rowan was generally well behaved. There was some of the usual toddler throwing things on the floor that inevitably accompanies public outings, but overall I was proud of how he conducted himself. He occupied himself playing with ice cubes, completely ignoring the paper and crayons that were specifically for him.  However, if my Mum had brought her walking stick I expect Rowan would have invested all his time trying to get at it!

After a treat of brownie and ice-cream for pudding, Rowan had a lot of sugar to burn off. Fortunately, Grandad was an obliging accomplice to this veritable maelstrom and swiftly became Rowan's best buddy!  He even demanded Grandad at bath time, and told me to go away (usually it's a battle letting anyone else do the bath time routine in place of me).  He then insisted Grandad read him his story.

I'm glad all Rowan's grandparents live reasonably close.  It can be a bit challenging to visit in a day as it's a fair amount of driving but he's lucky that he gets to see them all regularly.

Rowan playing in the park outside the pub

Gareth told him we were leaving now. Rowan

wasn't on board with this suggestion 

 Fun with Nanny and Grandad!

 Grandad holding Rowan still for a photo -

the boy can't keep still!

Clifton Downs

Gareth and I enjoyed a rare day together today.  I enjoyed a long lie-in (10am!  I haven't slept in that late in, well, I can't actually remember) while Gareth got Rowan up and ready for nursery.  We then decided to go for a walk around the Clifton Downs.  It's very rocky and steep in places, so we took the opportunity to go toddler-free so we could get a bit closer to the edges without worrying about Rowan wanting to do some impromptu bouldering down the rock face.
It was a really overcast day, and since I'm still figuring out my camera the photos weren't fab.  It was also really windy and cold, so I didn't take too many pictures since I wanted to keep moving to keep warm!

 When we got home, we just vegged out and watched a film together and generally enjoyed some time off. 
Rowan had a good day at nursery, and was in a good mood when we picked him up so we had a pleasant family evening before his bedtime too.  In summary, an excellent recharge day!

A day with Grandma

I attended a workshop at work that fell on one of my usual days off, so my Mother-in-Law came up to look after Rowan for a couple of days.

Rowan had great fun with his Grandma and got to go to the park, the shops and generally wear out Grandma's energy reserves!
I was thankful for an extra pair of hands too, as lately I've been exhausted!  I recently got a promotion at work, so I've been getting to grips with my new role.  So, thank you Grandma Lynn for all your help!

Cuddles with Grandma

Project #1

My first completed project for 2015 was a new duvet cover and pillow set for Rowan's cot bed.  I have some fabric my Mum gave me, which included a large amount of blue gingham.  I wasn't sure what to do with it at first as it's probably not a fabric style I'd have picked out myself.  Since toddlers can leak a lot, I figured I couldn't go wrong with a spare duvet cover.

I found a double sheet for £2.99 in a charity shop which I used for the bottom layer of the cover and for the pillow case.  It was in fairly good nick, and just had a small grease stain on it (pasty in bed anyone?).  I added a fleece strip to the top of the cover to make it more cozy (and to make sure the visually stimulating gingham pattern wasn't by Rowan's face whilst he slept!), and another strip to the pillow to match the cover.

It was a bit 'sew it and see' as I didn't work from a pattern.  I took my measurements, fold and sew lines from an existing duvet cover, and hoped for the best.
It turned out well, although I think I might replace the metal fasteners I used with buttons at some point in the future.

These aren't the best photos to show it off, but I was attempting to photograph it with Rowan (fresh from his nap) eager to help.

The completed duvet cover and pillow set.  Ironing is clearly 

not on my radar 

Chilling in Rowan's room

This was a very straight-forward and quick project.  It would have been a lot quicker if I had used my overlocker instead of using zigzag stitch to finish the seams.

It also turned out very cheap too.  I used fabric I had been given, spent £2.99 on a sheet which was enough to make two duvet sets (almost finished that one too - post to follow!) and used thread/notions I already had - I estimate that cost maybe £2.50 max.

In total I reckon it cost £4.00 to make (plus my time and the cost of using the sewing machine, but I'm not that pedantic. Actually, I'm absolutely that pedantic, but that's not the point).

Rowan likes his new bedding, and particularly likes the fleece top.  With this cold weather snap I think it's a welcome warm addition to bedtime.

Rowan's theme

Rowan's favourite song is Green Day's Good Riddance. He often sees my phone and asks for 'music.' At first I thought he just wanted any old song, so I used to put kids rhymes on.  Nope, it's definitely Green Day he wants; he gets upset and continues asking for music until it's on.

Green Day and other lullabies

 Personally I think he has a good taste in music so far.