With Britain battling floods again we thought we would share a couple of photos of our recent experiences with the weather - first a gorgeous rainbow when we were on our way back from the Lakes on Thursday evening; and then the scene that we found by Kenilworth Castle on Saturday after our return home. Kenilworth seems to have got off fairly lightly compared to much of the rest of the Midlands, but who knows what the next few weeks will bring.
When we set off it was raining steadily, but we hoped it was just a passing shower. Of course it wasn't, but we Dawsons are made of hardy stuff - and here in Guards Wood above Coniston there were trees to shelter under some of the time. Our map was suffering in the rain, when we made the serendipitous discovery of a map case in a tree, here modelled by Debbie. (We later handed it in at the Tourist Information having put it to good use on our journey!)
We were all feeling a bit soggy and grumpy but by the time we reached the top of the hill up to Tarn Hows Ben was sound asleep under the spacesuit cover of his backpack. Pack horse Mark made good use of the above gate to recover from the climb.
At Tarn Hows the rain relented and we found a bench where we could enjoy a much deserved picnic and Ben provided much entertainment to passing walkers and ducks.
We were quite impressed by Tom Gill Waterfall, on the way down into Yewdale from Tarn Hows.
By the time we reached Yew Tree Farm (which doubled as Beatrix Potter's farmhouse Hill Top in the recent film "Miss Potter") the sun was shining and the tea garden looked particularly inviting. A little while later, full of cream tea / chocolate ice cream / milk (can you guess who had what?) we headed onwards to complete our walk.
Everything looked so much nicer in the sunshine, including the whitewashed farm buildings of Low Yewdale Farm and the fells beyond.
It was around this point that Ben went to sleep again...
... and missed the best view of the walk - Coniston Water from the woods above the lake (a view we had also largely missed on the way up due to the rain).
For her Birthday, Debbie got a book of All-Terrain Pushchair walks in the Lake District, and last week we got a chance to try it out. Although we don't have an All-Terrain Pushchair we thought that the more straightforward walks would be do-able with our Pramette, normally more suited to trips to John Lewis and Costa Coffee. However, we hadn't bargained for the recent rain and therefore on our way up to Moss Eccles Tarn, near Near Sawrey we were a bit surprised to encounter a stream. Ben sat unfazed as Debbie battled through the water while Mark took charge of the camera. It was worth it for the pretty view of the tarn at the top, where Beatrix Potter apparently spent many an hour fishing.
The sun continued to shine Sunday when we went to the beach at Bawdsey and helped cousin Kayla build a sandcastle. A lovely weekend!
Not sure whether Ben is getting that seven-month itch or not - but Mummy and Daddy certainly seem to have some comptetition for his affections. We think we're fairly safe for the time being - he didn't seem to particularly enjoy this kiss (above) from one of his female friends.
Today was another special 'first' - Mark's first Father's Day. We had a lovely day, with a visit from Mark's parents and Stephen and Lucy. Ben was so excited that he woke Daddy up at 5:30am to tell him how much he loved him - very loudly! Three hours later he was still going strong, finding Daddy's balloon absolutely hilarious - captured on the video clip below. We think Ben can almost compete with the laughing baby of recent internet fame. It always strikes us how it's the simple things that have the most impact - give Ben a balloon covered in labels and he would have all the toys he ever needed!
This week was Ben's Half Year Birthday. We can't believe how quickly the time has gone although looking at this photo makes newborn Ben seem very distant. Sitting up, rolling over, smiling constantly, laughing out loud, and (whisper it) sleeping through the night (8 days and counting!). He's growing up so fast.
A slight delay in posting this to the blog, but last Saturday we took Ben to meet his cousins the monkeys at Woburn Safari Park and to introduce him to Tim and David. Actually Ben slept most of the way on the drive around the park, even whilst said monkeys were clambering all over the car, but he was a bit more interested when the elephants walked by, just captured in this photo. Later we fed him to the lions (not really). The day had the added advantage that it meant we missed what was by all accounts a pretty dire FA Cup Final!
Last Saturday we travelled down to London to celebrate Rich's birthday. We spent the afternoon with Stephen and Lucy and introduced Ben to his "cousins" Henry, George and Ellie, before heading into central London to meet Rich and Clare. We left Ben in the capable hands of his Uncle and Aunty and we're told he was on his best behaviour. Ben particularly seemed to enjoy playing with the dogs. Here he is pulling Henry's ear. What fun! He's braver than his Mummy!
We're just settling back into normal life after a lovely week or so of holiday. Bank Holiday weekend we headed up to Broughton-in-Furness in the Lake District with some Kenilworth friends - Josh, Heather and one-year old Jamie, and Rich, Clare and Morris the dog! Josh et al return to Canada at the end of the month, so we really valued the time with them before they leave.
At five months old, and a whopping 17lb 10oz (8kg exactly) Ben has now entered the wonderful world of weaning. We're taking it slowly - so far his diet has included baby rice, apple, pear and sweet potato. The latter is featured in the photo and has the splendid effect of creating genuine orange vomit! It's another steep learning curve for Mummy as well as Ben, but we're having plenty of fun so far.
Our seventh wedding anniversary was slightly different to the previous six, with a little boy to occupy. However, we enjoyed a lovely afternoon in Warwick where we had tea and cakes in the afternoon sunshine and visited the beautiful Mill Garden overlooking the castle. Actually, thanks to our long-suffering friends Josh and Heather, we were able to go out for a lovely meal too, leaving Ben sleeping soundly in a travel cot in their bedroom. Thanks guys!
We're just back from our first family holiday - a long weekend in North Yorkshire, where we met our new Goddaughter, Tabitha, and celebrated her baptism on the warmest April day since 1946. We thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Lucy and Mark's little beauty, and are really excited to be her Godparents. Ben was all smiles when he met her, but Tabitha was playing a bit hard to get - although Ben raised the stakes by lending her his dummy during the baptism service when it all got a bit too much. We stayed down on the farm at Laskill Grange 
We have been celebrating Easter in a fairly low-key way this year but on Good Friday we joined the traditional Walk of Witness that takes place each year in Kenilworth to a corner of Abbey Fields, where a large cross was planted.
On Easter Monday Debbie's parents came across and we had our Easter meal with them and went to Charlecote Park for a gentle stroll in the afternoon sunshine. Last time we were there, Ben had about one week left in Mummy's tummy - and as we walked around Debbie had begun to wonder if she was starting contractions. Strange to think that here we are four months later with our little boy. 
Yes, it's true - Ben is yet another month older today, now a grand old 4 months old. We say it all the time, but how the time is flying by. After a grumpy week or so of battling a cold Ben was on great form today - here he is enjoying demonstrating his new skill of very nearly being able to sit up on his own. The last few weeks have seeen him try out the forward facing pushchair for the first time, from which he can sample the delights of the great outdoors - such as feeding the ducks, and grinning away at nice ladies in shops. Old age doesn't come on its own though, as they say, and Ben is now experiencing the challenges of teething. He's also learning to shout about it quite loudly. And of course, our optimism about his sleeping through the night at three months turned out to be unfounded - now he wakes several times a night. Fun!
Debbie had a helping hand today caring for Ben in the shape of 22-month-old Keziah, as the Tilleys came up from London to meet Ben for the first time. We were amazed by Keziah's keen interest in baby Ben - she was ever-attentive, and loved to stroke, cuddle, kiss and pat him on the back. Ben seemed to enjoy the attention of the older lady - especially as the two of them snuggled up on the sofa watching the cricket, much to the approval of their Dads.
Ben enjoyed his first trip to the seaside this weekend when we visited his Gran and Grandad on the Suffolk coast. It was blowing a gale and freezing cold, but we couldn't miss out on the chance to show Ben the sea for the first time. Here we are at East Lane Point, near Bawdsey. Hopefully the recent shoring up of the sea defences will mean we can come back with Ben on a sunny summer's day to look at the Martello Towers and gun emplacements when he is old enough to notice!
Today we celebrated three months since our little boy came into the world and we can't believe how fast he is changing. In the last couple of weeks he has begun to catch hold of things, which means new opportunities and toys to play with. He smiles and giggles at all the silly things we do, and chatters away to us, without us understanding a single word. He's also graduated to his cot in his own room and, miracle of miracles, sleeps for a full 7-8 hours most nights, which is making us very happy (though we're not counting on it lasting!) Sometimes we feel nostaligic for newborn Ben, but we're also really excited about all the fun to come.
More settled evenings with Ben have meant we've had some time to ourselves once more. Last weekend we curled up on the sofa and watched our Bridget Jones DVD, and Debbie even had time to complete the "Who is your ideal man?" quiz in the 'extras'. It turns out she chose well - she is "a Mark sort of girl". Mark is apparently the sort of man who "loves your wobbly bits", which is nice!
It's amazing what can happen in a year: since we last saw Kay in January 2006 we conceived, Debbie was pregnant for nine months, and we now have a 12-week old little boy. Meanwhile, Kay has been working hard in Ecuador for the Baptist Missionary Society having plenty of adventures of her own. And she has even changed her name to Katty! Dave has been a bit closer, studying in Hertfordshire, but it had been quite a while since we had seen him too.
It's been another action-packed weekend for the Dawsons. Saturday we had a visit from Uncle Stephen and Aunty Lucy - luckily the worst of the snow was over, and we were able to enjoy a short walk at Hatton Locks where the remnants of the snow and ice remained to provide a skating rink for the ducks on the canal.
On Sunday we enjoyed sharing in the special occasion of Gayle and Steve's daughter's christening. Rebecca looked so beautiful in her 100 year-old Christening robe, although we think Ben was a bit in awe of her - he doesn't look too sure of himself under Rebecca's close scrutiny. Our trip home included an eventful detour to Draycote Water - ask us about it some time, particularly if you need tips on what to do when your car gets stuck in mud. Sadly no photo, but it makes for a good dinner party story... When we got back to Kenilworth, we found our way blocked by a flood caused by the melted snow, captured on Josh and Heather's blog.
