Sunshine in Southport!

Well we've been graced with some unseasonably lovely weather this March and yesterday decided to make the best of Foz's day off by heading to the seaside! Southport isn't too far from us and, although the beach isn't particularly sandy, it's got a nice marina and pier. We started with a meal in Wetherspoons which was unsurprisingly awful. We waited ages for it and when it arrived it had clearly been sat under a heat lamp for a long time, my egg mayo sandwiches were crispy.

But no matter, on to nicer things: our walk down the pier!

Walking down the pier

Waving to the tram

 Southport Pier is the second longest in Britain (after Southend Pier) and runs at a whopping 1,216 yards or 0.6 of a mile. It starts a ways back from the seafront, passes over the marina and past a shopping complex before hitting the beach. A tram runs along it, taking people from one end to the other as it's a heck of a trek to the end! But trek it we did, we're tough, we don't need no tram! Plus it was such a lovely day and Bee was fed up of being in the pram.


 

Look Mama!

It was lovely to walk in the sunshine with Bee toddling along next to us, waving her bucket and spade around and looking very cute in her sunhat. She's very excited about her freedom these days and loves to just walk, it doesn't matter where. She does have a distinct preference for walking by herself however, she does not like to hold anyone's hand, something we're starting to work on now we need to worry about her wandering into roads and such.

Having fun on the train

On our trip down the pier we stopped halfway for a ride on the minature railway. It was only a short ride but since our trip on the steam trains recently Bee has been very interested in trains. One of her new words is "hoo hoo" meaning 'choo choo'. The train took us along the side of the marina and back again, maybe 10 minutes at the most but plenty enough for our Bee with her short attention span.


After out little jaunt on the train it was back on to the pier to finish our trek to the end. We were all tired by this time, Bee had given up and asked for the pram and Foz & I decided to ride the tram back instead of walking. 

Finally the end was in sight and we could see the tram sitting at the tramstop. We knew the end of the pier shut at 5pm and it was getting on for that time. But wait, the tram was getting nearer?? The damn thing was leaving without us! We literally missed it by 2 or 3 minutes, that's what we get for stopping to admire the view! So, cue a loooooong walk back! Lucky Bee got a pram ride though!

Once back we treated ourselves to hot, fresh doughnuts which Bee has never had before and my did she love them! We kept getting "mo" and lots of signing every time she finished a bit, I was very impressed that she managed almost an entire doughnut to herself. Greedy Bee!

Having a go on a ride-on car

The sun was starting to set and it was time to head back to the car. We had plans to head to Crosby Beach (Home of the Antony Gormley installation 'Another Place') for Foz to capture some nice sunset shots. I didn't have high hopes of our success at Crosby. Last time we'd tried Bee on the beach (at Talacre, Wales) she'd screamed in fear the entire time. Bee and sand are not best friends. So I'd been expecting for myself and Bee to sit in the car while Foz got his photographs.

Even though I wasn't expecting Bee to tolerate the sand we still wanted to give her the opportunity and, as it was fair chilly by the time we got there, I put Bee in her ski suit and we headed down to the beach. I carried her down the steps and over the initial uneven surface of beach but once we got to the firm, flat sand I asked if she wanted to walk. Her answer was 'yes' so I placed her down and continued to walk ahead, hoping she would follow. She didn't. Instead she stood in place reaching out to me and saying "mama up". This is typical behaviour of Bee, she lacks confidence outside generally especially when the surface is uneven and/or of a texture she doesn't like. We persist though and try all kinds of encouragements to overcome her fears and get her walking. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

Yesterday it worked.

Walking across the beach

In preparation for the melt-down I set up a blanket for myself and Bee while Foz got his photographs although wonderfully Bee was happy to potter about on the beach. We did digging with her bucket and spade and collected shells and pebbles as an encouragement to touch the sand. 

 The beach sloped slightly towards the sea and at one point Bee lost her footing, fell forwards and banged her face on the sand. Although uninjured she had sand on both her hands and her face, which distressed her. I took her to sit on the blanket and gently wiped her down and tried to calm her down. I was worried that that small incident would be enough to undo the small positive steps she'd made in conquering her fear of sand. It took a few minutes but she calmed down and with lots of encouragement and praise carried on digging in the sand next to the blanket with her spade. Although she wouldn't stand on the sand again I was thrilled that she even overcame her little knock to that extent.

Touching the sand

Bee got very excited by digging up sand and putting it in her bucket, then tipping it out again all over her legs. She even made the great achievement of touching the sand on her spade. We build a sandcastle, Bee's very first, and she enjoyed whacking at it with her spade and watching it crumble. Little hooligan!

I'm hoping this is the start of major progress with sand and if we get the right weather this summer we'll be able to practise much more.

 

Once the sun set it was time to head for home. It was well past Bee's bedtime and she was a very tired little miss. We had a wonderful day as a family and I'm looking forward to many more this summer if we get the weather! 

Bee's first sandcastle

 

Mother's Day 2012

 

Mother's Day this year was very special as I got to spend it with my lovely Mum and my beautiful daughter. My Mum has not been in the best health recently so my brother and I conspired to take her on a lovely day out, to show her how much we love her and give her a reason to smile. We chose the Churnet Valley Railway in Staffordshire and had a wonderful time. 

Slightly east of Stoke-on-Trent, the Churnet Valley Railway is a restored heritage line running steam and diesel passenger trains through 10 miles of the beautiful Staffordshire countryside. The three stations along the line have all been restored or rebuilt to their original early-century beauty, even the advertising signs around the place are from the 1930's and 40's. It really is a great experience.

Showing her baby the sights

I had been a little worried about how well Bee would enjoy it, the trains can be quite loud and I worried that she would be bored sitting for the journey. I underestimated my girl though, she loved it! She was fascinated by the passing scenery and enjoyed walking up and down the carriages, despite the swaying movement! 

Having a look around with Grandma & Uncle Chris

 We were able to get on and off freely at any of the three stops and have a wander about, visit the cafe or even walk back along the canal that roughly follows the line.

 

 After a yummy bread & butter pudding stop at the cafe we had a mooch about the station and a visit to the souvenir shop. Bee was very taken with her Thomas the Tank Engine flag and train colouring book! We had lots of fun waving the flag just like the train guard. She also mastered 'hoo hoo' for choo choo, thrilled :)

As the day wore on we rode the train some more and stopped along the line in a lovely pub for a warm drink and a rest. It was a typical country pub with dogs welcome and a roaring fire, even some chickens roaming around outside! Bee wasn't very impressed with the chickens, she's afraid of all animals but enjoyed doing some colouring in her new train colouring book.

As the day wore on we all began to get hungry and the trains were coming to and end. We loaded up the car and hit the road, deciding to eat at a carvery in Stoke-on-Trent on the way home. It went down extremely well and Bee very much enjoyed her small tastes of veg, potatoes, gravy and cranberry sauce.

My Mother's Day was everything I wanted it to be, with some of the most important people in my life. I had a wonderful time and would definitely recommend a trip to the Churnet Valley Railway!

Bee's Dictionary Updated

**NEW**

Train                                Choo choo

Mr Tumble                        Be-bul

Word                                Sounds Like

Yes                                  Yeah

No                                    Naow

Ta                                    Gaa

Thank you                         Guy-or / Guy-oo

Car                                  Bum bum

Ball                                  A-bawl

Monkey                             Ooo ooo

All gone                            Uh gnnn

Baby                                Ba ba / Baby

Hello                                Hey-yo / Hiya

Bye bye                           A-bye / Be bye

Dog                                 Uff uff
Food                                Num nums
More                                Moh

Bubbles                            Bu-bull

Door                                Dior

Up                                   Up

Keys                                Daa

Bag                                 Ba

Play-Doh                          Bawl

Bed                                 Ba

Chair                               Ka

Book                               Booo

Outside                           A-hide

Boat                               Ba

Me                                 Me

Pram                              Bam

Knee                               Knee

Nappy                             Da-pee

Shoes                             Sues

Boots                              Booo

Gate                               Diit 

Bethany                          Bee

People                             Sounds Like

Mummy                            Mama

Daddy                              Da-de

Grandma                          Gam-ma / Gram

Great-Grandma                  Noo noo
Great-Grandad                  ChGee ChGee
Clare                                Ka

Gem                                ChGem


Makaton Signs
Yes
No
More
Book
Finished
Bubbles
Bed
Please
Thank you
Mr Tumble
**NEW** Nursery

Aaaand I'm Back...

I've been a little lax with my blogging since December. It's always such a busy month and we've had lots going on since then so it sadly had to take a backseat. But I'm back with a vengeance and intend to keep it updated as often as possible. Much has changed since I last blogged yet in some ways things stay exactly the same. Maybe that's an indicator of having a special needs child.

 

 Our biggest change is Bee is that walking confidently without the aid of her walker. She's still a little wobbly sometimes and especially clumsy when she's tired but in the main she walks everywhere now. I can't tell you how thrilled we were. More than thrilled. Even now, months later, I watch her toddling round the living room or down the aisle at the supermarket and marvel at how far she's come. Bee revels in her new freedom and it's created some challenges for us in how to deal with a very strong-willed toddler who wants to go left when you need to go right. We've invested in a LittleLife Daysack (the bumblebee design of course!) and I highly recommend them. Even if it did take Bee some time to realise that the handle is for us to hold, not her!

We've always considered ourselves very lucky when it comes to Bee's behaviour and thanked our lucky stars when the 'terrible twos' never materialised. She's always in a good mood and very rarely cries, unless there's a good reason. She says 'please' and 'thank you', most of the time without needing to be prompted and is generally charming and sweet with everyone. Or so we thought. We've recently seemed to hit the terrible threes. On top of this Bee has learnt how to be devious, highlighted in a recent trip to my Grandparents. We change her nappy on the bed there and she also likes to bounce on it when supervised. Whilst sitting in the living room chatting and drinking cups of tea Bee came over to me and asked:

"Mama ba" (mama bed)

"No Bethany, we can bounce on the bed when the drinks are finished"

And with that she toddles off so I rejoin the conversation. Minutes later I felt a small hand on my knee and looked down to see Bee, with a nappy in her hand and patting her bum. "Mama ba". You devious little minx! But clever at the same time, very clever!

So now we're having to become requainted with our toddler. Her likes and dislikes have changed, she's tolerant of and aversive to things she wasn't before. It's been a challenge as through all this her speech delay is still causing us some communication problems. She gets very frustrated when she can't express to us what she means or wants.

Something that hasn't changed a great deal is Bee's compulsion habits. We still have to close doors behind us, sit in the same seats in the living room, read the same book over and over again...the list goes on. Sometimes it can be difficult finding the line between accomodating her obsessions and not reinforcing them. It's hard to know where one ends and the other begins, especially when we know it's something she can't help.

Health-wise Bee has been doing very well, with just the one nasty bug over Christmas which landed us in the emergency GP's on Boxing Day. She seems to be much stronger these days, although with a constantly snotty nose (thanks nursery!)

Talking of nursery: Bee loves it. She is now asking to go every day using the Makaton sign for 'nursery'. We're really happy about it as she struggled to settle at first and would scream and cling. Her confidence has soared since starting there and we're really hopeful that Bee will be able to attend mainstream school.

Overall our girl is coming on really well, exceeding everything we were told to expect for her. The fact that we're even able to think about mainstream school is testament to what a clever, strong, beautiful daughter we have. Love you Bethany May xx