Holiday!

We took Honey on her second holiday this week, a pre Christmas break in Devon to blow away the cobwebs before the festivities commenced. We stayed at Woodford Bridge Country Club and were lucky enough to have an amazing lodge (named Owl Lodge) all to ourselves, while Honey's Granny and Grandad stayed up the hill in an equally gorgeous apartment. We did a bit of walking (we took Honey to the spot in Woolacombe where we got engaged), ate lots of yummy food but the best bit was being able to take Honey swimming every day. She loved it and happily splashed away until she got chilly then enjoyed a warm shower before being bundled into her snowsuit!

Honey wears... Hat and gloves by Junior J @ Debenhams

All that glitters

Christmas messy play today, oh what fun! Honey loved eating glitter, Christmas pudding, tinsel and icing and made lots of little friends along the way. Everything seemed particularly sticky today, i'm so glad it wasn't my job to clean up (although the glitter nappy was pretty special this afternoon)!

Honey Wears... Rose bib by Tu @ Sainsbury's

So much to do!

Honey and I had a busy day today! First we joined the other Abbeymead ladies and babies for Bounce and Rhyme at Cheltenham Children's Library, next was a pit stop at Blue Skies to refuel with cake and Bottle Green (Ginger and lemongrass today) and finally, we went for a taster session with Tatty Bumpkin at one of Cheltenham's most popular venues, Whole Foods.  Andrea led us through a fabulous jungle story involving snakes, bears and monkeys, all the while demonstrating movements for baby to try. Their motto is 'The bendy, giggly world for strong bodies and clever minds' and it was plain to see that the children who came regularly were gleefully anticipating the next movement and had improved their flexibility. Honey loved the multi sensory experiences, including stroking the bear's fur, being tickled by a parrot's feather and crackling dry leaves (aka a square of space blanket, genius)!

Honey wears... Christmas jumper by Primark

Adam Henson had a farm...

I was delighted to win a family ticket to visit Adam Henson's Cotswold Farm Park, as a prize in a Cotswold Homes competition. I knew there had been some big changes since I'd last visited as a child and it certainly didn't disappoint! We met a friend and her 3 boys at the farm and the range of activities available kept everyone entertained. The boys dug up dinosaur bones, drove toy tractors and found their way round a maze.  Honey isn't big enough for those things yet but she did get to stroke a chick, a rabbit and a donkey and she listened intently to a talk about pigs then got upset because we were all feeding goats with bottles instead of her! As well as the range of activities, the amount of under cover areas to eat, drink and rest was impressive and the hot mince pies and clotted cream in the cafe were pretty good too!

Honey Wears... Snowsuit by George @ Asda

What a mess!

I'd seen evidence of Honey's latest adventure on a friend's Facebook wall and knew we were on to a winner. Turn up, make a HUGE mess for an hour then just leave! No cleaning, no tidying and no putting away, brilliant! Honey played with (for played with, read ate) multi-coloured spaghetti, pink rice pudding, sand, flour, soil, shredded paper and paint and then had a rinse off with a crocodile, an octopus and a plastic duck. Unsurprisingly, she was exhausted by the end and practically inhaled her bottle before having a much needed nap. x

Find out more about Mess Around South Gloucestershire here

Honey wears... Floral Babygrow by Marks and Spencer.

Rhythm Kids

Honey 'graduated' from Mini Moments at the wonderful Blue Skies today, we've had so much fun learning baby yoga and Rhythm Kids with the fabulous Emma.  We now have a library of ridiculously catchy songs, coupled with super exciting moves to use at home. We will miss giggles with our little group and Honey can't wait to walze with Stan again soon! x

Find out more about Mini Moments
Find out more about Blue Skies Play Cafe

Honey wears... Pink denim shorts by Baby Gap.

Swing when you're slinging

Honey and I went to Sling n Swing's very first session at it's brand new venue, Whole Foods in Cheltenham.  After successfully avoiding the yummy food smells and heading to The Acorn Cook Centre, we thoroughly enjoyed a fun packed session with lots of other parents and their gorgeous bundles. We have been big fans of Sling n Swing for a while now, dancing with a partner who can't stand on your feet, what's not to love!

P.S. We were not successful in avoiding cake on the way out... Best doughnut ever! xo

Find out more about Sling n Swing here

Find out more about Whole Foods Cheltenham here

Honey wears... Floral top by Monsoon.

Sing and Sign

Being able to read Honey's mind would be awesome sometimes but since I don't have any psychic abilities, sing and sign seemed like the next best thing! We were lucky enough to get a place on a free taster session at Whole Foods and learnt some really useful signs to repeat with Honey at key times throughout the day. Honey had fun playing with the toys and instruments provided by Laura while listening to us sing.

Find out more about Sing and Sign here
Find out more about Whole Foods here

Honey wears... T shirt by John Lewis baby

Monkey Music

I wasn't sure what to expect from Monkey Music at The Play Farm but I needn't have worried, it was like being in an episode of a kids TV show, a-ma-zing! Sian sang us through the seasons with a weather themed session where we looked for Monkey, built towers and went for a walk in the rain. Honey smiled and laughed her way through the class and will definitely be going back, especially now that she has her very own Monkey T shirt and a CD of Monkey's favourite songs to listen to at home!

Find out more about Monkey Music here

Find out more about The Play Farm Cheltenham here

Honey wears... Peach vest by Tesco

Ready for a close up...

We were thrilled when Honey was chosen to have her photo in the 'Welcome to the World' section of Your Cotswold Family's Winter edition! It's such a great magazine for anyone with kids whether you live in the area or not. As well as information about local activities and events, there are also lots of competitions and interesting, useful articles about family issues. There are also loads of gorgeous clothes featured in the magazine, all modelled by local children and many of the shoots are done at local landmarks, go Cotswolds! Honey instantly took to Tara (the magazine editor) and Anne Marie (the photographer) and was soon flashing a range of expressions for the camera, what a fabulous experience!

Honey wears... Cream and gold shrug by Matalan

Splish Splash

Given our backgrounds in the leisure industry, my husband and I were keen for Honey to feel happy in the water. Unfortunately, we didn't manage to have a water birth but we did take her swimming for the first time when she was 7 weeks old and have continued to take her regularly ever since.  Honey's favourite thing to do is to float around in her pink seat and gabble away at anyone who passes her while our favourite thing is to play ring o ring o roses and we all know how that ends...

Find out more about The Fire Service College Leisure Club here

Honey wears... Hot pink swim ring by Mothercare

Two Front Teeth

Thanks to my recent run of good luck, Honey had her baby photo shoot this week at Two Front Teeth Photography in Cheltenham. The prize included a photo shoot and some vouchers towards prints. John, the photographer, was brilliant with Honey and got her to make all kinds of faces in different poses. Choosing which photos to buy is going to be a real challenge as from the sneaky peeks we were given, they all look a-ma-zing!

Honey wears... Honey bee cardigan by Next

Presenting Honey Lola Gore

So baby G finally arrived and has been in our lives for 6 weeks now! The first few weeks were a blur of visitors, nappies and sick, but even when she chose to throw up a whole feed moments before leaving the house (resulting in complete costume changes for us both), they were still the best weeks ever!

Honey wears... Hooded towel by John Lewis.