I have visited Audley End Miniature Railway lots of times, but I had never visited the (totally separate) House and Gardens across the road in Saffron Walden. We picked a perfect time to visit. The formal garden behind the house was full of colour (and bees) and the kitchen garden was absolutely stunning with more varieties of peony than even Instagram Influencers would lead you to believe. 

Little wasn’t hugely interested in the house, asking a few times “can we go home now?”, but we happily spent hours outside.

Potty Training

The biggest challenge on Monday was it was our first time going out for the day with Little in pants. We probably asked a 1000 times if she needed a wee and she did really well with no accidents. I think this was partly due to the Ladybird My Carry Potty we bought that she absolutely loves. She thinks it is great fun to wee on and it meant we could get her sitting ready to wee in less than a minute when she communicated the need.

The rest of the week we did very little, although Thursday night was my eldest’s Summer Bounce at school. This is basically a fundraiser event where they have a number of bouncy castles and other inflatables. It was a good chance for me to chat with a few mums while M ran around for a few hours. Luckily Little was out with her grandparents so I didn’t need to worry about her. 

Baby Boy had his final baby injections Thursday morning and after the last two lots I was worried about how he would react, but he has been ok. A little more cranky than normal, but that could be due to anything. He was happy enough to chill with me on a picnic blanket at the Summer Bounce which was a relief.

Birthday Parties and Birthday Presents

It always seems to be the case for us that we don’t get any birthday party invites for ages and then we get two in a weekend. That was the case for us this weekend with Little going to a party on Saturday and Sunday. She had a great time at both parties although sadly her friend she was going to play with on the Saturday (the younger sibling of the birthday girl) was poorly and not really up for playing. The other positive was she managed not to have an accident at either party. Whoop whoop.

I had planned to put money in a card for both parties because I’ve had enough of spending ages choosing a present for children that they might not even like and spending money on wrapping paper and cards too so it all adds up to around £15. Having looked at our bank account and our budget for the rest of the month on Saturday I decided I was going to have to raid the cupboards for Sunday’s present. I have quite a few things I have bought just in case or been gifted that sit in my magic wardrobe until the need arises. 

Baby Boy On The Move

He’s been threatening it for a while, but as of the weekend I am officially stating that Baby Boy is on the move. I had my first “where are you?” moment when I walked back into the room and he was no where near where I left him. He’s still very slow, but through a combination of rolling, pivoting and diving forwards he can get himself closer to things he wants. Normally his sisters' toys or belongings which aren’t age appropriate. We have spent much more time picking things up and tidying everything away recently, but our house really isn’t ready for a crawling baby. The stairgates will be going up very soon and I think the girls will get bored of me threatening to throw away any small toys which are left in Baby Boy’s reach. At only 5 and a half months I was hoping not to have to worry about this just yet.

Any suggestions for getting children to tidy up after themselves?