Cutie!

Perhaps one day the novelty will wear off and we will stop taking hundreds of photos of our little boy, but at the moment we are desperate to capture every stage and mood. No real news to report after a fairly quiet few days at home, but we couldn't resist posting these couple of photos of Ben. Above Debbie is enjoying a cuddle with this little snugglebum - sporting his first 'grown up' dinosuar trouser and top set. We love moments like these! Below Ben is showing a decided lack of interest in trying to burp. He's not been weighed for a week or so, but we reckon the double chin is a sign that he's creeping up the chubbiness chart.

Playtime

Ben's new play gym is already proving a hit. Here he is exploring it for the first time and looking particularly cute! We don't think it will be long before he is interacting with it. Unfortunately it didn't take him long to christen it with a stomach full of milk - oh joy!
Ben's model Christmas behaviour doesn't seem to have lasted - as we write this he is stubbornly refusing to go down for a sleep and grumbling away in his cot...

First Christmas

This week we have had the joy of celebrating Ben's first Christmas. Here he is in our bed on Christmas morning surrounded by some of his presents - what a lucky boy he was! Ben is a little bit young to take in all his new toys and gifts, but Mummy and Daddy enjoyed opening them and playing with them. On Christmas morning we headed over to Gobowen for Christmas day with Debbie's family, and then spent a couple of days with Nan and Grandad in Wellington. Ben was on his best behaviour on Christmas Day, sleeping through Christmas dinner, and then waking up to charm everyone with cuddles later in the afternoon. We were very pleased with him!

Uncle and Aunty

Saturday saw a visit from Aunty Lucy and Uncle Stephen. They spent most of the day with us, plying us with food (thank you so much) and giving Ben plenty of cuddles, as well as a gorgeous pair of raindeer shoes for Christmas. A cold, grey day, but we still decided to go for a walk round to the castle and back to try to get Ben to sleep (successfully this time).

New wheels

Yesterday we picked up our new car - another Ford Focus. You can tell we've got a family now, and we're grown up, because this time it is an estate! But we're very pleased with it and Mark is a bit worried that Debbie might try to pinch it off him!

Today we took Ben for a first drive in the new car, and dressed him in his special fleecy 'digger' hat and mits for the event (-it was near freezing outside). Bless!

Tummy Time

We are trying to give Ben some 'tummy time' each day, to prevent him from getting a flat head! He sometimes seems a bit bewildered by it, but other times he quite enjoys this change of scenery and tries hard to push himself up and lift his head. We've seen quite a change in him in the last few days, as he seems more alert and responsive, and we're looking forward to playing with him properly as he starts to become more interactive.

'Tis the season to be jolly...

Christmas seems to have been a bit late arriving this year - the early arrival of our main present has been somewhat distracting! But on Sunday we finally put up our Christmas decorations. Ben seemed to be transfixed by the Christmas lights and we were pleased to find another means to pacify him. Now Ben's "My First Christmas" stocking is hanging on the mantelpiece and we feel like we're getting into the Christmas spririt.

Great Grandad

Today Ben had a bit of an adventure, taking an 85 mile trip to Gobowen, near Oswestry, to visit his Great Grandad. He spent a good hour on his best behaviour before getting a bit fretful when his Great Auntie and Uncle turned up - nothing personal! It was a special moment to introduce our son to his Great Grandad and to watch Ben getting to know his new-found friend.

The magic touch

As Mark returned to work on Wednesday, Nan and Grandad arrived to help out for a few days. Aside from doing a wonderful job of looking after Mummy and Daddy, they also enjoyed some precious moments with their new Grandson, like the one captured here - we love this photo of Ben with his Nan. They experienced all his various moods, but seemed to bring a calmness and soothing touch that helped to settle Ben at least some of the time. And when that didn't work, they did a grand job of walking the streets of Kenilworth while Mummy caught up on some sleep. Thanks so much to you both for your support.

Lazy morning

Tuesday this week was Mark's last day of paternity leave, so here we are enjoying a lie-in together in the morning - well, sort of! The blissful family photo belies the reality that our little chap was being pacified by the sound of the hairdryer in the background, and had definitely got out of bed on the wrong side! Like his Mummy, he's not always much of a morning person, nor an evening person for that matter...

Bathtime

We finally gave Ben his first bath on Sunday. Well, he was beginning to smell and we couldn't put it off any longer. We were quite scared because he hates being changed and we thought that a bath might be even worse. But we were pleasantly surprised to find that once in the water he seemed to be quite content. We were also pleased to see that he took great interest in the books we have put on his bookshelf. We're not certain if his eyes were fixed on the Biggles omnibus or Anne of Green Gables, but Mark has promised to sort that out for next time. We're not quite ready to bath him again yet, but we intend to do it a bit sooner than last time.

Wakey, wakey

Ben has been a bit jaundiced, which makes him a sleepy baby at times, and feeding a little difficult. We've been advised to wake him up to feed him every 3 hours, which seems so unnatural when he is blissfully sleeping - and we know that he'll be howling like mad by the evening. Here Mark is heading upstairs to the dreaded change table to try to rouse this sleepyhead. How cute does he look?

Jekyll and Hyde

Life in the Dawson household has become more complicated as we battle with Ben's mood swings. Sometimes he's a little Dr Jekyll...

... later he may become Mr Hyde...


Many of our visitors have yet to experience the latter but we assure you it is pretty common! Ben is certainly bringing us plenty of new challenges, and we feel we have so much to learn, but despite the screaming, feeding battles and explosive nappies we are still enjoying getting to know our little one. When he's quietly lying in our arms exploring our faces and the world around him we know we are truly blessed. We are also blessed with a wonderful church family who are supporting us with 'meals on wheels' every night. Time is such a commodity these days, we don't know where we would be without them. Thanks so much everyone. With grandparents on hand to offer wisdom, practical support and much needed hugs too, we're slowly making the adjustment to parenthood.

Official

Mark visited the Registrar's office to register Ben's birth on Wednesday and after a brief moment in whch he wondered whether to surprise Debbie with a different name - Cornelius or Sebastian perhaps - he relented and so now it's official. Benjamin William Dawson it is.

First walk

On Sunday we decided it was time we got out of the house and braved the cold wind to go for a short walk around the block with Ben and his grandparents. Here is Debbie getting some practice at pushing the pram - no doubt she will be braving all sorts of weather to do this over the weeks to come.

Ben seems to be settling in well at home. We have even managed to get several hours sleep both the last two nights. There was something magical about feeding by candlelight in the early hours of Saturday morning after we had a power cut. Hopefully this won't be a common occurence though!

Welcome home!

On Friday afternoon Ben and Debbie finally left hospital and came home with Dad. Here is Ben about to go through the front door after his first trip into the outside world and first car journey. He didn't seem particularly interested! He is wearing a cardigan his Granny Jones has knitted for him and covered in a baby blanket crocheted by Mark's Gran many years ago. A moment to treasure.

Baby Benjamin

It's taken us a few days to get round to posting this photograph - we seem to have been quite busy!

We were thrilled to welcome our beautiful son Benjamin William into the world on Wednesday 29th November 2006 at 3:23am. Ben weighed in at 7lb 9oz (despite Debbie's deceptively small bump!). Here he is pictured at about 13 hours old. He has totally won our hearts already and we are so grateful to God for entrusting him to us.

Autumn

A sunny Saturday afternoon found us taking a trip to Charlecote Park, a National Trust house south of Warwick, where we had a gentle wander around the deer park, enjoying the beautiful autumn colours, a look at the secondhand books, and a visit to the tea shop. Trying to pack in what we can before the baby comes, although there was a moment during our walk when we wondered whether it was about to come. False alarm.

Lady of leisure

Debbie is now settling into the rigours of maternity leave. Here she is enjoying a sunny November Thursday with her Mum and Dad in the pretty Cotswolds town of Chipping Camden. Mark is hoping that paternity leave will be similarly relaxed, but perhaps that is wishful thinking?!

Gunpowder, treason and plot

On Saturday evening we went with the twenties and thirties group from St John's to the firework display at the Castle, which was rather more spectacular than this photograph suggests, with the castle as a great backdrop to the fantastic fireworks. The baby seemed to enjoy them too, jumping around in time to the music (sort of).

An early start

Last Saturday found Mark waking early and unable to resist the prospect of an early morning traipse round the castle, in the frost, with the sun just rising. Very cold, but very pleasant. Surprising how many other people are up at 7:30am, mostly walking their dogs. Maybe one day Mark will be able to do the same!

Baby Dadswell

Yesterday Debbie headed over to Northampton to meet 5-week old Rebecca Dadswell - Gayle and Steve's beautiful little girl. It's amazing to think that the 'bump' featured in 'Welcome Home' is now this little person. Louise came over too for a lovely Durham girlie get together - how life has moved on! Nice to be ladies of leisure - well sort of, for a while at least!

Star!

On Sunday Debbie's cousin Rob came fifth in the National Trust Snowdonia Marathon, finishing in the amazing time of 2 hrs 51 minutes. By all accounts it's a challenging race, much harder than the average marathon. Rob's achievement could entitle him to a place in the elite race in the London Marathon! Well done Rob - we're really proud of you.

Preparations

We are now busily preparing for our imminent arrival. On the first day of her Maternity Leave, Debbie's Mum and Dad came over to give a hand with decorating the nursery. 'Grandad' pasted up a border while 'Nanna' (name tbc!) took up the curtains. We hugely appreciated their help - and suspect that they quite enjoyed it too. We think the final effect looks lovely, and now feel much more ready to welcome our baby into our home.

Seaside

A visit to Mark's parents on the Suffolk coast resulted in a trip to pretty Aldeburgh on a grey Sunday morning (although the rain held off until our journey home). Composer Benjamin Britten lived for many years in Aldeburgh, a fact now recognised by the addition of a large, slightly rusty scallop shell on the beach, inscribed with the words "I hear those voices that will not be drowned" from Britten's opera Peter Grimes.

Four go crazy (not mini) in Warwick

After a satisfying lunch at the Saxon Mill last Saturday, we decided to head into Warwick to check out the mini golf course with Jo and Dan. Last year we had played the full 18-hole course at Stratford, and the 9-hole course at Warwick (apparently a crazy golf course, rather than mini-golf, according to the chap taking our money) was probably not quite up to the same standard, but good fun in any case, particularly as the Dawsons comfortably defeated the Penns. Not sure whether crazy (or mini) golf in October will prove a lasting tradition, but so far it's working out well!

Aunt and Uncle to be

Last Sunday we had a visit from Uncle Stephen and Auntie Lucy (to be). We gave them some dinner and then took them on the obligatory walk around Kenilworth castle to work some of Lucy's pudding off. Someone offered to take our photo just after the camera had clicked but we thought we'd managed ok on our own, even if it is at a slightly odd angle.

Ducks

We've been a bit busy recently with double doses of ante-natal classes the last couple of weeks. Now it feels real!
We got in some practice with a weekend visit from Tim, Celeste and Keziah two weeks ago. Here Keziah is enjoying meeting the ducks in Jephson Gardens in Leamington. We can't believe how fast she is growing up.

Mobile

Anyone we've spoken to recently will have heard us agonising about buying a pram/pushchair and our complete inability to make a decision. But we finally bit the bullet and we're very happy with our Pramette which arrived a few days ago. Now all we need is a baby! And either Debbie has eaten too many pies or we won't have too long to wait!

Victory!

Victory for Chedham's Yard in the final of the BBC's Restoration programme on Sunday night. This means that the people of Wellesbourne could have £millions to spend on redeveloping this fascinating series of 19th century workshops as a working museum. We were very pleased to see Chedham's Yard had won and we look forward to going back there in hopefully a couple of years time to see the restoration completed!

An Indian Summer

A gloriously sunny Sunday afternoon found us at Stoneleigh Abbey, the model for the house that Fanny Price visited in Mansfield Park(see Chapters 8-10 for Austen's description of the house). We went on a Jane Austen tour, following in her footsteps on a tour around the house. Apparently you can buy apartments in parts of the house - probably slightly out of our price range!

Life Begins At...

A couple of weeks ago we celebrated an important birthday for Debbie's dad - but we wouldn't be so mean as to say which one! We spent a lovely family day together, including a 'posh' meal at the Madeley Court Hotel in Telford and a potter around Much Wenlock (or Much Wedlock as it has become fondly known between us...), and rounded the day off with a nice birthday tea, complete with champagne and strawberries. We decided it would be a fire risk to put the right number of candles on the cake, but Dad seemed to enjoy his birthday cake anyway!

A very British Bank Holiday Monday

Our Bank Holiday Monday started off in a typically British way, sat in a traffic jam in the rain - with Clare and Rich and their neighbours Dan and Leanne. Things perked up when we eventually arrived in Ratley , a pretty village on the Oxfordshire/Warwickshire border, where we began a walk which took in Edge Hill where the first major battle of the Civil War was fought in 1642. The walk culminated in a visit to the Castle Inn at Edgehill, with a fantastic view from the beer garden over South Warwickshire. It was a welcome sight at the top of a pretty steep climb!

Relaxing in Jephson Gardens

This August Bank Holiday we had a visit from Tim, David and Martin. Whilst Debbie, Heather and Jamie enjoyed a girlie shopping trip, Mark and the boys scoured the charity shops of Warwick and Leamington for board games and sampled the delights of Jephson Gardens during a rare spell of August sunshine. Later we played 'JetSetGo!' - Martin's personally designed board game which will undoubtedly be the charity shop 'must have' in 20 years time!

Welcome home

Louise and David arrived back in Blighty a couple of weeks ago after living in New Zealand for four years. Today we had a little reunion of some uni mates with Louise and David near Nottingham and were treated to some cordon bleu veggie cuisine. It was great to catch up after so long. Meeting up also gave Debbie and Gayle a chance to compare bumps.

An evening drink

A slightly chilly evening drink at the Saxon Mill near Warwick. The picture tells a lie - we rapidly retired to the much cosier inside to sit on huge leather sofas - although alas no fire yet. After all it is still August, although as Mark and Lucy kept reminding us, it had only been 13 degrees when they left Helmsley in North Yorkshire that morning. It'll soon be Christmas!

Restoration Village

The BBC's Restoration Village programme has Chedham's Yard in Wellesbourne as one of the three Midlands buildings people are able to vote to restore. We took a visit to this crumbling but fascinating time capsule of rural life. Three workshops crammed full of tools, benches and equipment, including a wheelwright and a working forge, started in the early 1800s and untouched since it closed in the 1970s. You can vote for it to be restored!

On the beams in the Wheelwrights workshop are snippets of weather records, such as the one below, which reads that the last day of October 1934 there was a "heavy snow storm".

Warwick Castle

Yesterday we spent a lovely day with Sue, Mark and (nearly) 1 year old Beth, and enjoyed a trip to Warwick Castle, our first since we moved to the area. We arrived just in time for the jousting, got dive-bombed by a hawk, none of which seemed to faze Beth, and wondered around the grounds and some of the inside for a very pleasant couple of hours.


And after the exertions of climbing the towers and ramparts, we needed an ice cream.

Orleton Park School

A few weeks ago we visited Debbie's old school of Orleton Park in Wellington, Shropshire (1987-1992) to take some final photos before they knock it down. The school closed for the last time in July and is to become part of the new Hadley Learning Community which opens in September eleswhere in Telford.

Debbie says that too many significant places in her life have been knocked down - her infant school, Orleton Lane Infants; Wembley Stadium, where she saw her first football match (Telford FC v Enfield Town FC in the 1988 FA Trophy final) ; and now her secondary school.

St Michael's Mount

We also enjoyed a walk along the causeway to St Michael's Mount, a rocky island near Penzance, crowned by medieval church and castle. At high tide, the sea surrounds this island completely.

Seals on the Isles of Scilly

On our return to St. Mary's from Tresco, we took a slight detour on our boat, "Wizard" to some of the outlying rocks to the north and east of the islands. We were very excited to see a number of seals basking in the afternoon sunshine, and swimming around the boat.

Tresco Abbey Garden

We thoroughly enjoyed the subtropical gardens on the island of Tresco. Tresco Abbey Garden is 19 acres of winding, tree lined avenues, a dazzling array of flower species, as well as statues and sculptures by respected artists.