City of Bath

We took a weekend trip to Bath near the end of March and we had a blast. Helping out on the financial side was Cotswold Centre. Its a military base with mobile homes for rent, you can spend the night for only 10 pounds! That's crazy cheap, plus you have a kitchen to cook your meals in.

Our first evening we drove to Castle Combe Village, also known as "The Prettiest Village in England" It was the most darling place, with century old walls, named homes and a cute little church, which housed one of the earliest working clocks in England (installed before 1500.)

The village has been the back drop to a few movies throughout the years and so we decided to support the film industry and buy 2 loaves of cake (lemon and banana.)

The Manor House is a luxury Hotel surrounded by 26 acres of parkland. I can only imagine what the price of a single night would be to stay there. We walked some of the grounds and gardens, and saw a beautiful red wood tree, sculptures, and waterfalls.

Day 2 (after setting off the fire alarm during breakfast) we packed up and headed to Bath. Our first stop was the Royal Crescent. This is a row of 30 houses built between 1767 and 1774. It is among the greatest examples of Georgian architecture found in the UK. The building is now residential flats, offices, a museum and a hotel. Each flat is 3 stories up and 1 lower basement.

When I first heard about Bath and the Roman Ruins I thought back to Trier Germany and the "Roman Baths" that were uncovered there. LAME-O (I really didn't enjoy it.) So last year when my brother and sister in law were visiting they mentioned Bath and I completely steered them away from the idea (because I thought "what's the point?" and "we don't have enough time") I completely regret my actions. Bath is amazing! There are fully intact pools, foundations, plumbing, drainage systems. . . I couldn't believe the difference between Trier and Bath.

This is the entrance to the Roman Baths. We all got walkie talkie telephones to hang around our necks and listen to narration of Bath history. Even Ava had her own "child" phone with kid friendly facts.

Our last stop was at the Bath Abbey. Cathedrals are starting (unfortunately) to become "you've seen one you've seen them all" but it was beautiful and I tried to get some interesting pictures. This was a great, quick trip for us.

Busy Busy March

March has been a busy month, and with the nice weather we have been having playing outside has been easier than ever. We fed the ducks, swans and geese down by the river in Mildenhall village.

We took St Patrick's day by storm and made rainbow pancakes! Ava's favourite were the pink ones, they were eaten first, even though they all tasted exactly the same.

Dave took Ava to the park and out for lunch while I got my hair cut and colored.

Dave found a remote control speed boat at the base thrift store. We took it to the river and let Ava be the skipper. She had a blast spinning it round and round in circles.

She's growing up fast

We had a little outing one day and ended up buying Ava this cute/hip knit hat for 1 pound! She is really staring to look grown up. It's so fun to be her mom and literally every day I love her more and more. She listens (most of the time) and she is learning how to say "grown up" things like:

Not yet, just one more minute

Hold on, I'm coming

How about you watch a mama show and Ava eat ice cream. . .

Potty Training is a Special Time

So we have been talking about potty training with Ava for almost a year now. We had a toilet seat adapter which she sat on every now and then when we lived in Red Lodge (but unfortunately our new home has older toilets with smaller seat holes so it won't fit.) We decided to wait until after our huge trip to St George this Christmas to really hit the training hard. Hard might be a harsh word for what we really hit it, more like soft banana. I don't want to push her, I don't want a bazillion accidents and I don't want logs of poo in panties!

We started with big girl panties in mid February and had lots of pee issues. I gave up the cotton panties and went to Pull Ups (which she treated like diapers) so I gave up for a while. Once in a while she puts panties on for the afternoon and stays dry.

One Saturday after just returning from the swimming pool, Dave saw Ava in "pushing" mode. He quickly took her diaper off and we sat her on the toilet. GUESS WHAT, she pooped for the first time! Is that potty training? No not really but we celebrated like it was New Years. I quickly threw together whatever I could find that was fun and partyish!

I found a table cover, left over green streamers, 3 balloons, rainbow star garland, and mini umbrella toothpicks! Not too bad for a mother who had no idea there was going to be a poop party created in under 30 minutes. I think the umbrellas were her favorite.

For dessert we had beach style brownies. Ava loved every second of the "Poop Party" but unfortunately has never pooped in the toilet again. I keep promising her another party but it doesn't seem to make a difference. On the bright side, peeing in the toilet is getting better and better. We still have the whole summer to get this potty training down.

Jesus Wants me for a Sunbeam

Because Ava has a December birthday she turned 3 before the Primary Sunbeam cut off date. She most likely is the youngest in her class, and although I'm not sure she really enjoys the schedule of Primary compared to the playtime of Nursery she likes to be called a SUNBEAM!

A Sunday Kiss from my Sunbeam

She is 3 and a big girl but she still was scared her first day so she asked "Papa" to stay with her. Dave sat in Sharing Time and took a few pictures when she volunteered to go up front and sing a song she didn't even know. That takes "finger up the nose" guts!

When the Sunbeams were leaving for class, her teacher had them all hold hands and Ava thought that was fun. Dave told her that he was going to leave and she had no problem. When we picked her up an hour later she was a happy girl and proudly showed off her coloring picture.