Climb Every Mountain

This is a picture of me on my new climbing frame. It's a present from Mummy and Daddy and Granny and Grandpa. It's really good fun and gives me something to do in the garden when Mummy and Daddy are losing the battle with the weeds.

It's a funny, although slightly embarassing, story about when I got it. Mummy and Daddy brought me home from the nursery and in the back gate as normal. I stomped up the garden path and stopped about half way and turned to give Mummy and Daddy their instructions. They're not very disciplined and it's necessary for me to instruct them into the house at night. They've got to wait until I walk to the door and then I will call them - one at a time - to join me. Once we're all on the top step, I decide who gets to open the door. Almost every night I've got to raise my voice to them as they think they can just do as they please. Anyway, this night was no exception. When I turned around to see what they were doing, Mummy was struggling with the gate lock. Once I'd torn a strip or two off her and she'd caught up with Daddy I turned to head for the door. When I turned and looked up, there in front of me, just two feet away was this huge, great, multi-coloured climbing frame! I think Mummy had been distracting me with that gate nonsense because it couldn't have been there when I entered the garden and walked up the path. I couldn't have missed it... Could I?

Tiny Tim

I had a little turtle,
His name was Tiny Tim.
I put him in the bathtub,
To see if he could swim.

He drank up all the water,
He ate a bar of soap,
Then that little turtle,
Had bubbles in his throat.

OUCH!

I was at a friend's birthday party today. I had a great time. We played in the soft-play area and then had some food and played some party games. Then we went on the tractor around the farm. Regular readers may recognise the familiar routine of Almond Valley Heritage Centre. Some added drama today though. While playing on the soft-play I hurt myself. It wasn't when I was diving head-first into the ball-pool (which appeared to be scaring Mummy quite a lot), but when I jumped off a low wall onto a soft matt... And bit my tongue. I cried for a bit and then got on with the party. I might have gone back into the soft-play but I was getting hungry. Look at my great war-wound. Mummy and Daddy keep telling me I'm really brave. I have to be careful when I'm eating otherwise it can hurt quite a lot. Mummy can't look at it without feeling sick.

Growth spurt

Gardening update. The carrots have broken ground. There are a few of them through and this is the first photo (the carrots are the little green shoots on the right, not the big marigold shaped flower on the left - that's to scare off the carrot-fly).

Shrink Spurt

Mummy and Daddy have been measuring me recently. Against the cupboard doorpost in my bedroom. This is a fairly new thing for them, maybe they've just noticed that I do actually grow?

Anyway, as you can see from this photo, they've measured me three times. But take a close look at the dates on the three lines. First time they measured me was March 28th. Very carefully I might add. Then they kept going on about me growing because I was eating and sleeping more than usual. I was really just hungry and tired, they have to over-analyze everything. Parents, eh? So they measured me on April 10th (my birthday!) and were astonished to see that I'd grown about an inch in a couple of weeks. Mummy was telling everyone she could about this.

So a couple of weeks later they try this again. I think Daddy was expecting to see another half-inch there. And he did, but it was in the wrong direction. He tried again with all his man-handling of me. Making sure my feet are together and then holding my head at the correct angle - it's not much fun for me, you know. And he said "Stand up straight", so I did. I stood up very straight. On my tiptoes. I didn't know "stand up straight" didn't mean you keep your feet flat on the ground.

So... Looks like I'm not growing like a freak after all and I am just tired and hungry. If Mummy would feed me more of the stuff I want (chocolate) and let me have a longer nap during the day instead of hoping I'll sleep in the morning there would be a lot less fretting in this house.

A duck ate my lunch!

This has been the longest birthday ever! Today we went to Blair Drummond Safari Park on another birthday treat. It was really, really busy, but we had a great time. It was very hot and sunny - Daddy says if it's this hot in April he may need to leave the country for all of July and August! I'll miss him.

First we drove round the enclosure where all the wild and dangerous animals like the rhinos and lions and camels are allowed to roam free. After that we had a wee picnic lunch beside the car where we were savaged by a wild and dangerous duck who stole some of my sandwich. We were lucky to escape with our lives. I heard Auntie Carol was attacked by a Nile crocodile this week but I bet my duck was scarier.

After lunch we had a walk around to see what else there was to see. There were a lot of interesting animals like the playful otters, the sleepy pot-bellied pigs and rather uninterested llamas. There was a quite angry bear walking around his large enclosure making sure no people came in to use his nice cool pool in the hot weather. Daddy's favourite was the big elephant standing eating his dinner with his back legs crossed, followed closely by the giraffes. These were all great, but my favourite was almost certainly the dragon that I had a ride on!

I also had a go on the bouncey castle and the rocket ships (with Mummy). There were the greatest climbing frames in the shape of a pirate ship and a fort. Daddy had to help me into the pirate ship and almost had to come in to get me out because I was having so much fun! He also had to help me up to the top of the fort so that I could go down the very big slide. Daddy was too scared to come down the slide.

Home Grown

Today we went to Dobbies and bought some stuff for me to plant my own vegetables. We got a couple of planters and some organic compost and carrot seeds (4 different kinds), rocket, lettuce and spinach. It took all afternoon to prepare and plant everything. That was partly because Auntie Lesley and Uncle Roger came by again. I gave Auntie Lesley a big cuddle after I had been playing in my water-logged sandpit and she got covered in sand!
You can see me preparing a container (not a new one) with Daddy and then planting the carrot seeds. I can't wait until we can harvest them.

Happy Birthday to me!

It's my third birthday today! I'm three! I got lots of presents from loads of the family and they're all great. Mummy made this fantastic Dinosaur Birthday Cake. I picked it out of the cake book and it's just what I wanted. Gran and Grandad and Auntie Vikki and Uncle Ian were here yesterday and after playing in the park on the climbing frame and with the kite (when Grandad let me have a go) we put candles on the cake and I foofed them out and then we had some. It's chocolate cake and very yummy. So technically we had the cake before my birthday but it'll take at least three days to finish it all (at the rate Mummy and Daddy eat it) so that's OK.

After opening all my presents we went to Deep Sea World in North Queensferry. It was excellent! Especially since I didn't want to go after Mummy told me I'd have to go under the water. But it turned out she didn't mean in the water. They have a great tunnel that's underneath all the fish and they have sharks too. Lots of really cool fish and even some Nemos. I had a great time. Shame it's not my birthday every day.

Happy Easter!

Yesterday Auntie Lesley and Uncle Roger arrived and stayed for the night. They're great fun. I love having people around to chat and play with - the more the merrier. Today when I got up, I discovered the Easter Bunny had been and left me lots of chocolate. But the cheeky monkey had hidden it from me. It took me ages to find it all but got there in the end. That's me got a nice stash now that should last quite a while.
Unfortunately Auntie Lesley and Uncle Roger have gone up to Granny and Grandpa's now but hopefully I'll see them again later in the week. I insisted they take me with them but they've left me here. Used the old 'not enough room because of the cat' excuse...

Holiday Part 3: Revenge of the Holiday

On Friday we went to Highland Wildlife Park and saw lots of interesting animals. Unfortunately it was a bit colder on Friday and rain came on so we didn't see all the animals but we did drive around the enclosure and I got to sit on Mummy's knee instead of strapped into my own seat. I wanted to drive but Mummy and Daddy said no. We saw lots of stuff but here are some pictures of a Highland Cow eating a pheasant and a reindeer eating a car. But the best were the baby wild boar. Too cool.

After seeing them we took a walk with one of the rangers to see and learn about some of the other animals. We saw the Wildcat, the Capercaillie and the Pineapple Pine Smartie Pine Marten.

In the afternoon we went to the park and also flew the new kite we got while at Loch Insh. At least Mummy and Daddy flew the kite. I played in the largest mountain of sand you'd ever seen. I think it was for the Shinty pitch (where we were flying the kite) but I didn't care! Check me out on the balance beam. It didn't really need Daddy's help - you know my balancing prowess - but Daddy insisted...

On Friday night we came home again to get ready for Auntie Lesley and Uncle Roger arriving on Saturday. It's been all go.

Holidays Part 2: The Sequel

On Thursday we met Cousin Heather and all of us went for lunch at Loch Insh. It was great and nice and sunny. After lunch we had a play in the sand and on the boats. Check out these photos (the one of me running is Mummy and Daddy's favourite).







That evening, Daddy cut Granny's grass with the petrol lawnmower. Daddy said it was the best holiday ever. I played in the garden with Granny.

Holidays

I've just returned from holiday up north at Granny and Grandpa's. It was great fun and the weather was unusually very good.
We went north on Tuesday night after Mummy and Daddy finished work. They waited until my bed time and then bundled me into the car and I slept all the way, which is good because it's a two hour journey and my hands aren't big enough for a PSP yet.

On the Wednesday we went to see Auntie Anne, Uncle Ian and Cousin Andrew. That was great. All the boys went down to the pub park. I threw the ball around with Uncle Ian and the frisbee with Cousin Andrew Andy. I made Daddy take photos as I can play with him any time.

Afterwards, we went back to the house for a great lunch which Mummy and Auntie Anne had prepared followed by an excellent caterpillar birthday cake that Auntie Anne had made for me. Here's a picture of me blowing the candles out. That evening back at Granny and Grandpa's Daddy made a bonfire and burned all the garden waste with Mummy and I helped a little. Daddy said it was the best holiday he'd ever had!