Come on England!

Ben followed the lead of the England rugby team by having some broccoli today - though he didn't manage it for breakfast as they seem to (Broccoli v foie gras)! Obviously we're hoping Ben will be cheering our boys on in his sleep tonight!

Baptism

This weekend was a very special time for us as a family, as we celebrated Ben's baptism at our church in Kenilworth, during the Harvest service. It was a lovely day, and a great opportunity to say thank you to God for the wonderful gift He's given us in Ben and to join with family and friends in praying for his future. Thanks to everyone who came and shared the day with us.

One of Ben's godparents, Kay, was unable to be with us in person as she's living in Ecuador, but we were able to share a beautiful letter she had written to Ben. This is part of her prayer for him:

"Daily, I ask God's richest blessings upon your life.
For your childhood years I pray that laughter and joy will be your constant companions.
That you will know such safety and security in your growing up
And will have that freedom to discover and delight
In all the beauty God has given you in this world."

On Saturday we also had the opportunity to get to know our beautfiul goddaughter Tabitha, who has grown up so much since we last saw her in April. We love the photo below of Ben and his 'God-sister', who he definitely took a shine to!

Big boy now

Last week Ben graduated to a foward facing car seat - here he is looking very pleased with himself. Now he is even more of a distraction to driver and passenger as we try to point things out to him as we go along! Seems a far cry from when we were first taking him out in the car:

Ben aged nine and three quarters

Ben has been crawling around "Commando-stlye" on his tummy since the beginning of August but in the past week or so has begun to crawl a few steps on all fours. This video clip captures him chasing after his robot, a favourite gift from his cousin Kayla. He's looking cheerful despite being poorly with the inevitable "back to school" cold and fever this week.

One of Ben's other favourite activities at the moment is exploring his "Treasure basket" of everyday household items and other interesting stuff, put together by his Mum.

He's growing up in so many ways - his new winter coat makes him look like a proper little boy - and is just so cute we thought it should have a mention!

Witley Court

Life has stepped up a gear in the last couple of weeks - with Debbie going back to work and Ben being at the childminder three days a week. We have also started leading a "Coaching Group" for some of the young people at church, with about fifteen 13 and 14 year-olds descending on our house every other Wednesday night from now on. We'll mostly be meeting as two separate groups, one for boys and one for girls, but we started off with everyone together this week for a social. Amazingly Ben slept soundly through their wild games - probably due to the Calpol.

Which all means we never put up a post from our visit to Witley Court in Worcestershire with Debbie's parents two weeks ago - on a sunny September Saturday. Witley Court was a very grand stately home which burnt down in the 1930s and has been preserved as a shell by English Heritage - and probably more interesting ("Romantic", in Debbie's eyes) for all that. Pat and Malcolm liked it so much they went back again the following week!

Cyprus

It's been a little while since we returned from our holiday in Cyprus but we have finally got our photos sorted and decided to put a few on the blog. We had a lovely week with all the grandparents in Pissouri, visiting old haunts and discovering some new ones. Here we are having an afternoon drink down at Pissouri Bay.

It was a holiday of firsts for Ben:

Ben's first flight (which wasn't quite as bad as we feared!)...

... Ben's first go on a childrens ride. His face was a picture when the horse started to move up and down!

... Ben's first swim in an outdoor pool, which he did every day of the holiday, with a variety of willing volunteers joining him

... Ben's first swim in the sea

... and Ben's first splash in a paddling pool

Cyprus with a nine-month old was very different from previous trips (including our honeymoon in 2000), but with grandparents always willing to share the load, we managed to snatch some moments of relaxation - like Debbie's blissful sunset swim one evening while others dealt with Ben's tea-time (hooray!)

For our last couple of days we were joined by Ben's Uncle Stephen and Aunty Lucy. Here we all are enjoying our last evening at the 'Bunch of Grapes'. Ben is sleeping soundly in his pushchair at the end of the table, which he did almost every night, to everyone's appreciation!

Happy Birthday Great Grandad!

Last weekend we had a lovely time celebrating Debbie's Grandad's 84th birthday with all the family. It was a special occasion bringing together the four generations, and as Ben's only surviving Great Grandparent he is an important person to us all. Ben's party clothes showed off his pink knees - the result of his new skill of pulling himself around the floor commando-style. It's surprising how effectively he can get around. We wonder if he'll bother with proper crawling.

Summer

Summer finally arrived last week as Ben turned eight months old. We've been doing our best to make the most of the sunshine, with trips to the park and bubbles in the garden. Debbie and Ben also spent a lovely afternoon at Hidcote Manor Garden with her parents and went for a walk around Draycote Water with some of her Kenilworth friends and their babies. At the weekend we all went off to Suffolk, taking in a trip to the theatre at Aldebrough with Mark's parents. The summer theatre at Aldebrough and Southwold is becoming a bit of a tradition for us and we thoroughly enjoyed Arsenic and Old Lace. On Sunday morning we went down to Ramsholt on the River Deben for a photo shoot with Ben (see above for results).

Baby Ben and his Nan enjoying the beautiful gardens at Hidcote Manor. Ben decided it would be fun to see if the gardens tasted as good as they looked. Luckily Nan noticed just in time to stop him!

Taking a break from the five-mile walk around around Draycote Water to enjoy the view and the sunshine (and feed the babies).

Harry Potter

Now that Mummy and Daddy have both finished the final Harry Potter book, it is Ben's turn at last. Neither of us have read so much since he was born - it was a real page-turner and finished the series in style. We shall miss Harry and his friends, but perhaps one day we will read the books to Ben.

Sunshine through the Rain

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.

Hiking

Having invested in a back carrier for Ben, on Wednesday we tried it out on our first "proper" walk since he was born - a walk from Coniston to Tarn Hows and back that our friends Rich and Clare did on our last trip to the Lakes when Ben wasn't so portable.

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).

When we returned to the car Ben was wide awake again and ready for another adventure.

All Terrain Pushchairs

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.

Lady Florence

It's over a week now since we spent a weekend in Suffolk celebrating Mark's Mum's Birthday. On a rare dry Saturday we enjoyed a cruise on the Lady Florence boat, up the rivers Alde and Or from Orford. Our party of 12 had the boat to ourselves and enjoyed a meal on board as well as a guided tour of the Suffolk coast from our South African crew. Captain Ben enjoyed exploring the wheel house and later took a break from steering the boat to have a long sleep on deck while we tucked into our lunch - the sea air worked wonders!

The sun continued to shine Sunday when we went to the beach at Bawdsey and helped cousin Kayla build a sandcastle. A lovely weekend!

Cricket

Mark went on his first corporate hospitality day today - entertaining clients at the England v West Indies One Day International at Edgbaston. Despite the rain, and England losing comfortably, a good time was had by all.

Back at home, Mummy was teaching Ben the rudiments of cricket, and he got very excited when she told him that Daddy was on TV. It was even better than Postman Pat.

Seven Month Itch

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.

Debbie thinks seven months is a bit like being 31 - a bit of a non-event after the excitement of six months/30 - but Ben seemed very pleased with himself all the same.

Father's Day

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!

6 months

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.

Party in the Park

As Debbie's special Birthday treat on Friday afternoon, we took a stroll down the road to Abbey Fields. First we fed the ducks (frozen bread - we'll be watching the Kenilworth Weekly News for news of an outbreak of indigestion amongst the local duck and swan population). Then we took Ben on the swings and see-saw for the very first time. He's a little bit small, but seemed to have a good time. Thanks to our friend Clare babysitting we were able to enjoy a celebratory meal out in Leamington on Friday night. We don't know what she did to Ben, but he had the best night's sleep in months - definitely Mummy's favourite birthday present!

Monkey Business

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!

London Calling

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 enjoyed our night on the town, recalling our lives "Before Ben" with a trip to Belgo's - reminiscent of our courting days in Brussels all those years ago. It was good to be back in London again and to catch up with friends there on Sunday.

Holidays

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.

We stayed on for the rest of the week when our friends left on Monday and spent a nice few days pottering around the lakes and introducing Ben to his Great Great Uncle. Long walks weren't really viable with a heavy baby who doesn't yet fit into a back pack baby carrier, but we managed a bit of 'off road' pushchair driving at Keswick, Elterwater and Tarn Hows - feeling slightly silly not having an 'all-terrain pushchair'. We had the perfect excuse to spend lots of time in tea shops eating cake. Ben was very excited at the sight of Daddy's chocolate cake at Chesters in Skelwith Bridge - much more inviting than the root vegetables he is living off at the moment.

Solids!

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.

Anniversary

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!
Here's a photo of Ben on the same day enjoying playing in his play nest which was our first "win" on e-bay. It's a hit with Ben, and is great, apart from needing to be topped up with air every morning... Is it common for e-bay items to come with these little quirks?

Yorkshire

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
where Ben got a good introduction to the rural way of life. He was fascinated by the peacock, chickens and ducks that populated the garden in front of our cottage, and had a great time watching the calves in the field - until he scared them away with his squeals of delight.