Everything is awesome...

We needed to confirm our restaurant booking for tonight so took a walk to The Brewery. This 5-10 minute journey took us 35 minutes today and here's why...

How to go for a walk by Honey:

1/ Take hat off and put it on again at least 3 times outside the front door. Insist on wearing gloves which are much too big then laugh at your own hands a lot.

2/ Stop to sit on walls, climb steps and touch doors. Point and giggle at dogs, cars and railings (which are the funniest of all metal objects).

3/ Wander off 'by yourself' then, when legs are tired, return to Mummy, point at her bag and dance.

4/ Grab Mummy's bag and pull sling out because she has no idea what you want!

Honey wears... Hello Kitty leg warmers by eBay

Our town...

We love living in Cheltenham for so many reasons but one of Honey's favourite things about our town is the fish clock in The Regent Arcade. Yesterday, she was feeling chilly and the only time she stopped asking to go home was when we caught a glimpse of the arcade and she started opening and closing her mouth like a fish and repeating the word 'bubbles'! Luckily, it was nearly 4:30 (the fish plays a tune and blows bubbles every half an hour) so we were able to grant her request!

Honey wears... 'Bubbles' coat by Marks and Spencer

Family Tatty...

We decided to try a Family Tatty session out today. Having attended Baby and Explorer sessions before, we had an idea of what to expect but the reality was so much more! Children from a just a few weeks to around 6 years old worked together to take Tatty on a winter adventure which saw us riding a sleigh, jumping like a frog and rescuing a bee from a pond! Clever Tatty even managed to include a few Frozen songs and help us build a snowman, much to everyone's delight and cue enthusiastic, loud (and out of tune) sing along! An older girl took Honey under her wing which was so cute to watch and the new venue (The Wheatsheafs on Old Bath Road) kindly provided a slope for everyone to run up and down at the end, so smiles all round! We found Family Tatty to be a fantastic, energetic progression from the baby classes.

Honey wears... Spotty vest from H&M

Ho Ho Ho...

We took Honey and her BFF Freddie to see Father Christmas in The Enchanted Castle at Cribbs Causeway today. It was Honey's first time meeting the man in red so we were hoping for something special. We had to book in advance and arrive in plenty of time for our slot (he's a busy man you know). Honey occupied herself by petting the light up animals and knocking on all the doors while we waited. She was first through the door when it was opened and coped well (no meltdowns) as she was led through a Christmassy scene by a Princess and some sparkly elves. Father Christmas himself was lovely and had a fabulous knowledge of Transformers (much to Freddie's delight), he even gave the children a little, cuddly polar bear each, which they didn't let go of for the rest of the morning.  Car parking at Cribbs is never a problem and The Mall was nowhere near as busy as we expected so we were even able to tuck into a Full English breakfast at Patisserie Valerie without feeling crowded and harassed! All in all, a fab morning with great friends!

Honey wears... Father Christmas jumper by Next

Tea with the Christmas Fairy...

This afternoon, Honey met Fairy Sarah who hosted a fabulous party at Blue Skies. Honey was pretty awestruck at first as we listened to a story and sang some songs, she began to warm up once the musical instruments came out and by the time party games rolled around she was dancing and squealing with all the other children. Sarah was great, she had bags of energy and entertained with a wide range of activities delivered at a fast pace to keep everyone engaged. That was our last trip to Blue Skies in its current home but we are really looking forward to visiting the new venue (Sandford Park Lido Cafe) when it re-opens on Monday 19th January 2015!

Honey wears... Fairy Dress by Matalan

Sharing the Oobalove...

We've been waiting until the Grandparents had received their special cards to share Honey's official Christmas 2014 photo on Honey Wears... We met Sheryl, of Oobaloos Photography fame, at the NCT sale a few weeks ago where she had an awesome little pop up studio! Honey was her usual energetic self and raced around the place picking up everything in sight (mainly things that were not designed as props such as Sheryl's flip flops) and was not in the mood for posing! Imagine my delight when I saw the fabulous selection available on the Oobaloos website, there were some gorgeous shots and I had to stop myself from buying them all (which would have led to creating an enormous Christmas card)! Downloading and paying for photos from the website is simple and quick and the image quality is fantastic! Merry Christmas one and all, love from Honey! xoxo

Honey wears... Tutu by Next

Photo by Oobaloos photography

Nom Nom to the rescue...

Now that we've started taking Honey to a childminder, we have to have a morning routine that gets us out of the house in next to no time. My main concern was being able to fit in Honey's breakfast amongst getting us both ready and leaving the house with everything we need for the day. I have taken to packing everything up the night before and using our wonderful Nom Nom pouches to hold Ready Brek or Weetabix which she can finish in the car if we don't have time at home. We were lucky enough to be given some of the brand new, bigger, better pouches at last week's GBSN Christmas Fair where we finally met the Queen of Nom Nom* (this may or may not be her official job title) and they are doing a stirling job helping us leave the house on time! Thank you for our pouches Suzanne, we can't wait to try out the Nom Nom recipe cards too!

Honey wears... Owl coat by Tu @ Sainsbury's