The great outdoors

With all the sunshine over the Easter weekend, it certainly seemed like spring had sprung – in fact it was positively summery. And after weeks, nay months, of neglecting the garden – for a number of reasons including the weather and George's insistence to help or hinder – it was good to get outside again.

Tidying the borders and mowing the lawn not only makes the garden look nice, it lifts the spirits a bit too... and George is loving playing outdoors, so much so that when he's indoors he stands with his hands and face pressed against the patio doors shouting "outside, outside", occasionally interspersed with "blackbird" when one alights on the grass.

The sunshine has meant he has spent a lot more time on the fresh-air side of the patio doors – we've been eating alfresco and enjoying the delights of grandparents and friends' gardens too. George also enjoyed a romp through the bluebells in Brandon Wood...

As he gets older I'd like to encourage his enjoyment of the outdoors and perhaps an interest in growing and gardening and with that in mind, and taking into consideration George's fondness for Thomas the Tank Engine, I embarked on a little topiary.

I was quite proud of my euonymus creation and unveiled it to mummy and George. However, I didn't get the response I was hoping for – I thought George might delightedly shout "Thomas", but when I asked him what it was, he looked at me as if to say "you mean you don't know?" and simply pointed and said "bush".

Mummy just shook her head, but I actually think it's not a bad effort – you can judge for yourself...

A sunny day excuse

It's beautifully sunny – far too sunny to sit at a computer for very long, and if I'm not having fun playing in the garden with George then I'll be mowing the lawn or weeding the borders. So, I'm not exactly being lazy if this week's blog is a simply picture to look at... of George of course.

A day with Thomas the Tank Engine

A glorious sunny Saturday was just perfect for a day out with Thomas the Tank Engine, and George, a little gobsmacked at the huge difference in size between the Thomas he pushes round on his play table and the massive steam engine chuffing along the Battlefield Line, loved every minute.

Of course, if George loves every minute then so do mummy, daddy, nanna and grandad. We arrived for the first trip of the day and made our way on to the platform to see the Fat Controller and Thomas declare the day open. We then boarded the train and settled in a compartment for the journey to Shenton, where there is chance to find out about the Battle of Bosworth.

Returning to Shackerstone, a quaint old English village station, we watched Thomas race against a diesel engine, the Fat Controller waving a chequered flag for the winner.

It was a top-notch day, made all the better by the weather, and it was certainly value for money at £9 a ticket and under 3s free. A coffee from the buffet car was £1 and the Thomas merchandise was priced just as competitively as the supermarket – which meant George bagged a new engine and a few other goodies too. Balloons were free and there was plenty of entertainment, including Punch and Judy shows, face painting, brass rubbing (well, Thomas rubbing) and more.

It's all happening again on June 18, 19, 25 and 26... visit http://homepage.ntlworld.com/candj_simmons/

Anyway, here's a little taster of our day...

Going potty

The time is fast approaching when George will have to start using a potty. We got it out for the first time this morning.

George is usually pretty regular and almost always "goes" just after mummy has left for work and before I have to drop him off at nursery/nanna's/nanny's. Then he usually "goes" again just after I pick him up and before mummy arrives home.

George hasn't "been" for a couple of days and so this morning, as he stood in front of the TV watching Postman Pat, his face reddening as he clenched his bum cheeks and adopted a stance that can only be described as "I'm free" (a reference to Are You Being Served for those whose memories don't go back as far as mine), we thought it would be the ideal time to whip down his pyjama bottoms and plonk him on the duck-shaped potty.

Well, needless to say, it didn't go as planned. Rather than realising the true purpose of the potty, George got a little frustrated that it didn't have wheels... after all, as well as its squeaky beak it has handlebars just like his ride-on train.

It's too early to say yet, but hopefully when this potty training gets started proper it won't drag on too long – well, we will get there because most, sorry, all the adults I know stopped using potties years ago. Let's just hope he doesn't get his duck mixed up with his train.