2013 Teddy Bear's Picnic at Rippon Lea Estate

On Sunday, 24th February we finally did something I've wanted to do for awhile, and attended the annual Teddy Bear's Picnic at Rippon Lea House and Gardens.

This National Trust property includes a mansion built in 1868, and 14 acres of beautiful gardens. Unfortunately it was a very hot day, and the heat combined with the crowds made it not the right day to explore the estate. We'll have to go back another time to check it all out properly.

Part of the large crowd picnicking in the grounds.

We brought along a basket of 14 teddies, leaving our very large teddy at home for logistical reasons. The organisers were hoping to beat the Guinness World Record for the largest teddy bear's picnic, but fell well short of the mark. Still, it looked like a lot of people, teddies and other soft toys attended and enjoyed the day.

Grace and the teddies waiting for the Peppa Pig show.

Our teddies.

The entertainment included a Peppa Pig show, which Grace and Charlotte were excited to see. However, it was the pirate MC who captured their attention the most.

The pirate MC introducing the Peppa Pig show.

Peppa Pig.

There was a small animal nursery, rides, market stalls (I bought a couple of great bibs) and other activities to keep everyone amused. Grace and Charlotte enjoyed the craft area, where they coloured a teddy each and put them up on display.

Grace colouring in her teddy bear.

Grace's finished teddy.

Grace and Charlotte's teddies on display.

The girls seemed to enjoy eating their sandwiches, cookies and fruit, and drank lots of water and juice. But by far the greatest fun to be had was climbing all over Daddy!

Little girl's picnic food.

Climbing on Daddy.

Neil and his daughters.

We left by mid afternoon, to attend a friend's birthday party on the other side of town. But by then we'd enjoyed a great family outing.  This might become an annual tradition!

"Every teddy bear, that's been good

Is sure of a treat today

There's lots of wonderful things to eat

And wonderful games to play

Beneath the trees, where nobody sees

They'll hide and seek as long as they please

Today's the day the teddy bears have their picnic"

Milestones

It's been awhile between posts again.

That's what happens when you add paid work to the list of things you are already doing!

A photo I found online showing the front of my workplace.

That's right - I just survived my first fortnight back at work after a nine month period of maternity leave.

It wasn't actually too bad. While a lot of the processes have changed (like how to book a fleet car, and where to save documents on the computer) the core business of assessing and assisting older people remains the same. And it feels good to know I have helped them to receive the support they need.

It also feels good to know that in just under 12 months I'll be reaching another milestone ... long service leave!

While I've been busy getting back into the swing of things at work, and refining the routine that enables us all to be dressed, fed, packed and out the door on time (luckily only five days a fortnight!) Grace has achieved an important milestone herself. No nappy overnight!

We mostly used Huggies, but these were the last nappies Grace wore overnight.

The noise you hear is a loud cheer as I celebrate having one child out of nappies completely. Hooray!!!

Grace's nappy was mostly dry in the mornings, but I hadn't got around to buying the waterproof mattress protector and setting everything up for her. I've done it now, and we've had two nights nappy-free. There's been one small accident (probably contributed to by being extremely tired after a late night) but otherwise the change has been incident free.

Which brings me to the last milestone of the day. Our energetic, ever-smiling, lovely Lucinda is 9 months old today!

Unfortunately I didn't manage to get a photo taken today, but here's a shot from last week:

Lucinda enjoying her lunch at the Teddy Bear's Picnic at Rippon Lea.

Lucinda has two teeth now (more milestones I didn't record here) and is growing rapidly.

She is almost crawling - she gets up on her knees, rocks, then lurches forward and collapses. It won't be long! She can also push herself nearly all the way up from lying to sitting.  I'd better child-proof the rest of the house, because she's going to be on the move very soon!