Alex eats a Creme Egg

Alex was understandably thrilled to discover a basket of chocolate waiting for him on Easter morning and didn't let the grass grow under his feet. He was soon peeling the foil off some of his treats and started tucking in. Chocolate before breakfast is a rare treat and one not to be wasted!

I love this sequence of photos of Alex eating his first Creme Egg. The first three pictures show his obvious enjoyment of the delicious Cadbury's chocolate. The last picture, where he discovers the fondant centre and is less than impressed, makes me laugh every single time I look at it! He has such an expressive face!

Nesting

As part of our family membership of the The Woodland Trust, the Podlings each receive a 'Nature Detectives' pack each quarter filled with ideas for seasonal crafts and activities. Inspired by their Spring pack, the girls, particularly Emma,  wanted to head to the woods to build a giant bird's nest. Fair enough! We duly hopped in the car and drove to Alderley Edge. The children had a little play and then we had some tea and biscuits before starting on the nest. Emma and I did most of the groundwork and then Lily came and helped to finish it off. Alex was fascinated, but I wouldn't say he was particularly helpful! It was a fun way to pass a Sunday afternoon..

Out and about again

On Sunday we took advantage of the improving weather to take a walk in Ladder Edge Country Park. Part of the park runs alongside a golf course and the Podlings were excited to find a couple of lost golf balls on our walk. The ground was muddy from all the rain we have been having, but it was so nice to be out in the fresh air with my favourite people. I miss our walks in the winter months when it just too cold for them to be enjoyable. The promise of warmer weather brings with it the hope of more time in the countryside with the people I love and it makes me happy just to think of it!

Alex doesn't like to walk in the mud, so it is lucky he has a caring big sister to carry him through it!

The Twins Turn One!

Mark's side of the family came together on Saturday afternoon to celebrate the first birthday of our niece and nephew, Taylor and Freddie. It hardly seems possible that a year has passed by since these two wonderful little people entered the world to delight us all with their sweetness. The Podlings loved spending the afternoon with their cousins and Lily, in particular, was in her element playing with all the babies at the party. I enjoyed taking photos of all the little people and we all had a lovely afternoon celebrating the twins' first birthday with everyone. 

Happy 1st  birthday Taylor and Freddie!

The birthday girl

The birthday boy

A proud Nanna with the twins

Grace and Alex play so nicely side by side. I love watching them together.

I love this photo of Alex. It just captures his personality.

My lovely Lily, baby entertainer extraordinaire!

Singing 'Happy Birthday!'

Carrie with Grace and Poppy

Let him eat cake!

Seven of the eight cousins on Mark's side of the family

Beautiful Poppy, the newest member of the family

Sweet Taylor

.

World Book Day 2016

Here are my motley crew dressed for this year's World Book Day. There is always much deliberating before the day as to which character they should choose. I'm rather strict about choosing characters from books or stories, much to Tom's chagrin. I tell them it is World Book Day, not World Fancy Dress Day!

Lily quickly decided she wanted to be Robin Hood and I rather cheated and bought her costume. Emma eventually chose Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, a story she loves. I read the original book to them a year or two ago and Emma also has a couple of picture book versions of it. Of course, we also enjoyed the film, but she wore the traditional silver shoes of the book instead of the more commonly recognised ruby shoes of the film for her costume. I made her pinafore from a pretty charity shop find and the rest of the costume we put together from what we had at home.

Tom finally settled on James Bond at about eight the night before World Book Day. He couldn't think of what he wanted to be, so I suggested he wore his suit with one of his Daddy's bow ties and went as James Bond. Thankfully he agreed to this, although obviously he has never read any of the books (or seen the films for that matter). We were just grateful to have settled on a costume! They all had great fun at school on the day (Lily's bow and arrow were a big hit!) and all the children were in high spirits when they came home.

My pretty little Dorothy

There's no place like home!

Feared by the bad, loved by the good...

007

Alex wanted in on the photographs!