Park Party

As always the morning was spent just having breakfast, clearing up and then playing. I sat reading to Ellis while Leo played in his chair. He was really kicking and hitting out at his toys but by the time I grabbed the camera, he stopped.

I put Ellis down for an early nap as we were due to go to Jaimie and Ria's house for her 2nd birthday party. Iestyn also turned 2 but we have his party tomorrow.

At the party Leo had loads of cuddles from everyone and I sat chatting and eating biscuits. Ellis was quite well behaved too and enjoyed playing with Ria's kitchen. He will make a good husband one day as he loves babies, buggies and kitchens.







The kids also played out in the garden with loads of toys and Kamron seemed to enjoy himself.



There were 2 pregnant women at the party and I must admit I was slightly jealous. Becky is expecting twin girls next Friday and I felt them moving which was great. I really miss that feeling.



We had to leave early as Ellis had to go to Little Stars. We had to go the back route too as the main road was very busy.

We arrived on time and Daddy had been waiting quite a while for us. Ellis unfortunately was limping but it only slowed him down for a few minutes.

Lots of fun was had by everyone and it was over all too quickly.

We went straight home for dinner and bath and bed routine. I then spent the best part of 2 1/2 hours trying to get Leo into bed. Basically I'm trying to get him to go up to bed by about 8:30pm. I'm not feeding him to sleep or rocking him, just getting him sleepy and putting him down so that he can get himself to sleep on his own. It worked with Ellis so fingers crossed I can do it with Leo too.

I was so tired after trying to get him to sleep that I went to bed.

We had agreed that on Saturday Rob was going to have the day to himself to get his paperwork in order so I had to take the boys out.

Mum and Dad had my nephew, Kamron, for the day so we agreed to meet up at a park which is actually a working dairy farm.

It took me ages to get there but it was quite good as Ellis had a nice nap and I just sat in quiet enjoying the motorway drive.

We met up in the car park, loaded up the buggy, put on our sun cream and went into the park.

Tickets were 1/2 price as it was the birthday party of the parks mascot, Clara Cow.

Our first stop was the soft play area inside. We let the boys have some fun.





Then we set them up at the table with a few bites to eat.









It was really hot inside and it was quite hectic getting everyone sorted out with food and drink, but we managed it.

We then went outside to explore. The kids were off! They were quite hard work to keep up with.
There was a little park, with slides and swings and Ellis' favourite thing, a blue wooden tractor.







Leo was chilling out in the buggy after his first feed at the park.



Next stop on the lap around the park was a petting barn. It was filled with rabbits, guinea pigs, ducks and chickens. The chickens had just had chicks the day before so they were the main point of interest. Mum and I left Dad to chase after 2 toddlers, going in different directions!





We caught up with Dad who had managed to coax both the boys in the right direction, but doing different things.

Ellis told Nanny about the Alpacas in the paddock, which Nanny was rather impressed with. She said he was so smart until she saw how he was trying to get onto the toy digger.







Kamron was playing in the sand pit but as we passed he came out to join us. It was short lived and he soon ran off to the climbing wall, to climb up a ladder.

Ellis, meanwhile, was chatting to some sheep. Then Leo started screaming so I had to hurry along to find a bench.

I sat and fed Leo again and Mum, Dad, Ellis and Kamron went to have a look at the birds of prey.
They joined me at the bench for a bit and then I realised that Ellis had wandered off. I found him the stables just staring at a couple of huge horses. Ellis was looking slightly worried. He had placed his drink down between his feet and was just looking up at them with his arms folded across him. It was really cute.



Leo was again chilling out after his second feed.



The park has long paths that take you to all the different attractions. Sometimes it was quite hard to keep up with the little legs of 2 toddlers, both of which wanted to go in opposite directions. I was glad that we had extra hands/feet to fetch them.





The boys at one point had a race. Ellis would stand by Kamron and say, ready, and then they would run. Kamron was the winner, and just kept going!



The milking shed was closed so we found a little area that had loads of bats and balls to play with. The kids loved it, even the bigger kids ;o)







Leo was just content to sleep in his cocoon.



It started to go a bit chilly and the rain clouds looked like they were coming over so we rushed back to the restaurant to have a snack and a drink.





Outside the restaurant is the picnic area. There was an Elton John impersonator who was quite good from a distance but when we got closer the sound just changed for some reason.



Kamron had a balloon, taken from the restaurant, that he kept dropping outside and then running after it like a nutter. It was so funny to watch.



We decided to just walk around for a bit and let the boys decide what they wanted to do. Ellis decided to join a random lady sitting on a wall. Very cute and made me laugh.



We eventually made it back to the area with the bats and balls where more fun was had.





All the excitement was getting to one member of the party and so they decided to have a rest.



We then decided that we had all had enough and that we should start to make our way home. It took forever to do that though as I had to go to the loo and change 2 nappies.

We had a wander through the farm shop and Nanny and Grandad bought the boys a toy tractor each and a little book. They both loved them.

We arrived back at the cars all hot, sticky and tired.

It was just gone 4pm so still a bit early to go back to disturb Rob so I decided to go home with Mum and Dad.

At their house the boys ate some dinner and I fed Leo a couple of times. I let him have some floor time too which was nice for him. He of course had cuddles.





More playtime was followed by more nappy changes and then we got back into the car and went home.

We arrived home late as usual and Ellis was taken straight upstairs by Daddy for a bath.

Ellis' head hit his mattress and he was asleep. His eyes were pink where he was so tired.

I fed Leo while Rob had a shower and then he took him downstairs so that I could shower.

We then videoed Leo having a bath at home before Rob gave him his first bottle.



He took the bottle well and it only took me about an hour to get him to bed tonight. It is hard work but I think it will pay off in the long run. Just need to stick with it. He was asleep by 9:30pm and it is now 11:57pm and he is quiet. I'm off to bed but sure I wont get much shut eye before Leo wakes for some grub.