Eureka!

As school gets ever closer I've been trying to fill mine and Bee's last days together with lots of fun. This week we went back to Eureka! in Halifax.

We last went for Bee's birthday in September 2012 & she loved it then. We haven't been back since but this week my mum and I finally made the trip over the Pennines to Yorkshire.

As before, Bee's favourite part was the mini-high street and the place she went to first. We played shops for ages, taking turns being the 'shopper' and the 'shop lady'.

It was incredibly busy this time as it's the school holidays. Last year was relatively quiet, being within term time. Yet the improvements in her language, mobility and confidence meant that she wasn't fazed by the masses of children around her or by all the noise. Although she wouldn't join in with the others she confidently moved around them and wasn't afraid to play near them without myself or my mum being next to her.

After the shop it was a visit to the post office and the house. Bee loves 'pretend play' and the Eureka! high street is the perfect play & learning opportunity for her. We put stamps on parcels and chose who to send them to, we made food in the house kitchen and played in the water table in the house bathroom. Back down the stairs and Bee had a ball playing 'knock knock' at the house front door...

There is lots of other things to do at Eureka! but much of it is too old for Bee, she likes running around the exhibits though and we spent some time doing that before we heard an announcement over the tannoy system for a puppet show taking place in the marquee outside. Brilliant! After the fun Bee had at the last puppet show we would definitely going to attend this one!

We head outside to the marquee and took our seats along the edge near to the front. There were mats set out on the floor in front of the stage for the children to sit on and I was pleased that Bee went and sat amongst them, not worried about being away from us. Her attention lasted for the first few minutes before she was up and wandering back to us looking for her 'baba', which I gave her and encouraged her to sit back down. She did and managed another few minutes of attention before she was back on her feet, wandering between us and the edge of the stage. Bee has no concept of appropriate behaviour in different situations and was quite happy to chatter to us at normal volume during the show. We got a couple of odd looks from parents but nothing I'm not used to. After the start of the show the the performer sat down on the edge of the stage with a giant box and distributed a puppet to each child, including Bee. I was concerned as it became clear that each child would have a turn on the stage making a story with their puppet. They were asked to think of a name, a job and a thing their puppet likes to do or eat. That level of pretend is way beyond Bee at the moment, she can't even say her own name and all her dolls are called 'baba' or 'doll'. Still, i was determined that (if she wanted to) she would join in like the other children. Why shouldn't she have a turn?

While the other children got up and participated I sat Bee on my knee and quietly explained to her what was going on and asked her if she'd like a turn. She seemed keen and so towards the end she was called up with another little girl. 

 I accompanied her as she needed support to climb on to the stage and to follow the instructions of the performer. I crouched down behind him as Bee took her place and tried to help guide her through. The performer made up a silly story based on the responses the little girl made and just made up Bee's part when she couldn't answer the questions he posed her. She didn't really understand what was happening and just held the puppet flopped over the curtain so the story became about the puppet fainting. It all only lasted 2 minutes or so but there was a nice moment at the end when the performer asked Bee's puppet to say 'thank you' to the little girl's puppet for helping her, to which Bee signed 'thank you' and got a clap. She was happy with that and I thanked the performer for his support and we re-took our places. What a proud Mama I was!

After the puppet show Bee wanted to go back to the shop so we headed inside and let her spend some more time there before it was time to find somewhere nice to have tea.

One of the things we did spend some time doing before we left was watching a video presentation at the start of the 'All About Me' section. It was presented by an automated robot with a video screen in it's tummy and Bee loved it. we must have watched that 2 minute video 50 times, over and over again while other families came and went. It didn't matter though, we were there for Bee to enjoy herself and if watching that robot made her happy then so be it.

My mum also spent some time outside with Bee while I went to take all the bags and the pram to the car. Eureka! have a fabulous outdoor zone with a giant sandpit (called the beach) and lots of toys and play equipment. My mum and Bee had a great time chasing the hula hoop she'd just been bought from the shop...

Bottom right is Bee's robot

After such a long day Bee was getting tired and we all were getting hungry so we got in the car, ready to head to a lovely canal-side restaurant that Foz and I had ate at last time we took Bee to Eureka!

We were all more than ready for a slap-up meal and Bee even had some leftover energy for a play on the park afterwards!

I took so many pictures during our day out yet one has emerged as my clear favourite. This is Bee 'hiding' during our game of hide and seek...

I feel she hasn't really got the idea yet...

Puppets!

Bee has found a new love - puppets!

Recently we attended a puppet show at the Play & Sensory Center and Bee was mesmerized! Methinks a certain something may be finding it's way into Bee's birthday gifts....

School Visits

Since receiving confirmation that Bee will attend Bewsey Lodge Primary School in September she's been invited for three hour-long sessions to help her get to know her new classroom and teachers. I'd been a little worried about how Bee would cope without us in her new class but I needn't have been. 

Each time she's been excited on arrival and recognised her new teacher, Mrs J. She's left us at reception without a backwards glance and despite us waiting around for the full hour each time, not once has she needed us before her session had finished.

I'm thrilled that she likes her new teachers so much and seems very comfortable both with them and in the new classroom. My only concern is that currently an hour session is like a fun playtime for her. When September rolls around she'll be going from 9am-3pm. A huge leap.

 On the way home after the first of her 3 sessions (one a week) we visited the local park as the weather was beautiful.

Holiday Book

We've booked our first family holiday for September of this year and I'm so very excited about it! It's Bee's gift for her 5th birthday and we're off to Peppa Pig World in Hampshire! It's in the New Forest, right down near the south coast and we're staying at Hoburne Bashley Holiday Park. 

We're only planning one day at Peppa Pig World (unless Bee really loves it) and have 4 other days to fill with fun and adventure. We're thinking maybe a car ferry over to the Isle of Wight or a visit to Beaulieu Motor Museum in honour of Bee's obsession with buses and trains, exploring the New Forest, maybe an animal park or farm, the seaside... there's going to be lots to do.

Since booking I've been worrying about how Bee would cope with the holiday. How do you explain to a 4-year-old with learning difficulties that you're staying away from home for a few days in a big box on legs? Or that for a few days she'll have to cope with a complete change to her normal routines? Bee always copes best with change when she's had some preparation so I decided to tell her about the holiday early. Of course the unforeseen problem with this has been balancing preparing Bee with her complete lack of understanding about things happening in the future. She's very excited about Peppa Pig World and asks me most mornings if we're going. Thankfully when I say "not today" the worst I get is a few whys? before she moves on!

To help with the preparation I thought some pictures would help so I emailed Hoburne Bashley and asked for a brochure that we could sit and look through together. Unfortunately when it arrived there were not many 'useable' pictures, just lots of information. I cut out the few I could use and got searching on Google images for generic pictures I could use to complement the few I had.

There was a lot of information I wanted to include about our holiday so there were two pages about where we would be staying, a page for Peppa Pig World, a couple of pages for activities we might do and a page for out trip on the way home.

Bee has loved sitting and sharing the book and I've found it a really helpful tool for talking about our holiday together.

New Play

Recently a new soft play center opened in Warrington, but this is soft play with a difference.

Warrington play & Sensory Center is designed and aimed exclusively at disabled children and adults. And it's wonderful!

Bee loves soft play but visiting can be stressful. Generally she's not content in the under 3's section anymore and even if she was, we often get dirty looks from other parents as she's clearly over the upper age limit, even though mobility-wise she's not too old. So we use the big play frame for the older children but due to her mobility problems she needs lifting on and off things and helping between level. She won't go on the slides or anything that needs to be climbed over. I often look at the other mums sitting with their cuppas in envy! Then there's the music, these places seem to thrive on banging dance music blasted out at full volume. Partner that with lots of running, screaming kids and you have a very loud place. Although Bee loves soft play her confidence in the environment is very low, fueled by lots of bigger kids moving around in a fast and loud manner, equipment that she can't handle by herself and a loud, overwhelming amount of background noise.

So our first visit to Warring Play & Sensory Center was a revelation.

Walking in through the door the first thing that struck me was the noise. Or lack thereof. There was just quiet: no loud music, no screaming. Just peace and calm. I paid (£2 - a bargain!) and signed us in. We made our way to a table and it became apparent that we were the only people there, perfect! Bee was practically bouncing at my side, anxious to be off and playing. I removed her shoes and let her go while I bought a tea from the counter. By the time I had purchased it and laced it with milk and sugar Bee had made it all the way to the top of the play frame and was preparing to come down the slide. BY HERSELF!

That may seem like a really small thing but for us it's huge. Colossal. Bee climbed the play frame without needing my physical support or needing my emotional support. She's never accessed a play frame without the support of an adult. I could have cried watching her come down the slide laughing. There wasn't an ounce of hesitation in her. From then there was no stopping her, she was like a child possessed. She explored the whole play frame, the sensory room, the chill out zone, all of it.
For the first time I was able to sit and drink my cup of tea in peace while Bee played independently. It didn't last long, she soon wanted my attention, but those 10 minutes were bliss. Not just for the cuppa but for the knowledge that Bee could play independently in that kind of environment.

The center is so well designed, between each level is steps for older children and adults and smaller steps for children. There's a sensory room and a chill out zone, equipment for seriously disabled children, hoists, soft music, the ball pool isn't too deep (and overwhelming)... I could go on and on about how wonderful it is. Every town needs one!

 

 
After a couple of hours Bee was starting to flag, she'd had a busy morning at nursery too and so I decided it was time to leave. We still had an hour to kill before collecting Foz from work and with all that playing we'd built up an appetite, so McDonalds called! A treat for her bravery. She chose chips and carrots sticks, that's my girl!

Garden Fun

 

During our recent sunny spell we spent a lovely afternoon in the garden with Bee's grandma...

We got out Bee's water table, play tents, slide, ball and lots of toys. She had a great time!

Eating dinner in her tent!

Squirting!

Sunshine on the Farm

A couple of weeks ago we had a few days of beautiful weather, luckily over the bank holiday weekend. Sadly since the weather has turned cold, rainy and very windy but it's not anything we're not used to! Foz unfortunately had to work on bank holiday Monday but with the weather being so gorgeous I didn't want to miss an opportunity to get some sun so Bee and I headed for a local pick-your-own farm. We'd been once before, back in October, for a little pumpkin-picking at Halloween. Bee hadn't been keen then but months have passed and her confidence has soared so I thought it worth the chance.

Sadly there wasn't much in the way of pick-you-own, it's only early May and the weather has played havoc with crops and plants alike so it was rhubarb or nowt. We went with nowt. I love a good rhubarb crumble but not when I have to make it from fresh rhubarb, plus I don't think the sour taste would agree with Bee!

We made do with a lovely slice of cake in the cafe, along with a cup of tea for me and water for Bee. It was the perfect sustenance for an hour of flower and veg browsing and play time in the meadow!

We went with the play time first, Bee was very excited that we'd brought her Peppa Pig ball along and had a mountain of energy to burn!

We had loads of fun playing throwing and catching, running and chasing, picking flowers and exploring. Bee did really well with the texture of the grass, it was coarse and prickly, unlike the softer grass she's used to. Thankfully her Piedro boots are ankle-high and with her socks above that the grass didn't bother her too much while walking. However she did refuse to sit down, despite my encouragement and would only go as far as bending down to pick up her ball.

Cheeky!

 We played in the meadow for an hour or so before Bee started stumbling over her own feet and the uneven ground, her co-ordination dropping with her energy levels. I decided it was time to head for the vegetables and plants on sale.
 
It's that time, I've been cleaning out the garden pots from last year and we were on the hunt for more veggies for Bee to grow. Once we entered the greenhouse however, I gave up all hope of keeping Bee's attention. She'd spotted the ride-on tractors dotted around, headed straight for the nearest one and climbed aboard.
We took our time looking around, I pointed out flower colours and we tried smelling some of them. Bee's got the hang on sniffing recently and likes to smell things and say "mmmm it nie".
After lots of deliberation we chose a cucumber plant and some pea plants, both of which I know Bee likes to eat and she very much enjoyed picking and eating the peas we grew last year.


We took our plants to the till, where Bee very helpfully gave the lady at the till the pennies and carried our bag to the car. It was starting to get late in the afternoon and I knew we'd need to head into town to collect Foz from work soon but Bee really wanted more time playing on the field with her ball.

Bee's getting much better at throwing, she's releasing the ball from her hands now instead of just passing it to you. She's even started throwing it up in the air and it getting a good height. Plus, we had even more progress on the field that afternoon.... Bee letting the grass touch her bare legs! Winning!

We had a lovely afternoon in the glorious sunshine and by the time we were ready to leave Bee was exhausted. She's done so much physically that her little legs just couldn't carry her anymore. Well done Bee!

An Afternoon of Sun & Shopping

We had a lovely day out yesterday at Bents Garden Center with a family friend, Bee's Uncle Stu.

We usually start with something to eat in the amazing (if expensive) restaurant and today was no exception. Moroccan pancakes for me and hot beef sandwich for Stu. The sun was beaming down and, although there still a cool edge to the wind, we decided to eat outside. This weekend we've seen the first real sunshine of the year and it's been wonderful to share great company and food under the clear blue skies. Bee had a plate made up of bits from both mine and Stu's and did a sterling job of tasting all the different foods. She stuck to the broccoli and peas in the end. That's my girl!

Of course Bee finished way before and was soon mithering to be set loose on the playground she could see from our table, pointing and  asking "me play here mama?" and "me pah, me pah". She meant 'park'. I made my impatient little miss wait until we'd both finished eating. I can't let Bee loose to play unattended. Firstly her danger-awareness, anything from surface level changes to strangers, is zero. Secondly she often needs assistance on play equipment as her gross motor skills are under-developed and she needs to be lifted on and off or helped in other ways. After 10 (torturous for her) minutes Stu and I were ready and we headed over to the park.

She spent much of the first 10 - 15 minutes running around the various pieces of equipment, deciding which to go on. she's get so very excited that she runs and screeches, flapping her arms and flitting from one piece of equipment to the next, not being able to commit to one thing or another long enough to actually go on it. Once she's calmed down she becomes more willing to actually use the park!

Bee's first choice is always whatever climbing structure leads to the slide, although she rarely will use the slide until we've been on the park for a while. Her confidence in her mobility needs boosting much of the time and she requires a familiar adult to be near her at all times. If she moves ahead she will stop and turn around until I reach her, or take my hand and pull me along with her. Sometimes, on days when I'm having a bad day, I'm feeling tired or stressed, I envy those parents sitting around the edges. Those parents watching their children run around while they drink their coffees and chat. Then I look at my girl's beaming face as she takes my hand and says "me up mama" and I remember that I'm the lucky one. They're the ones that should be envious.

To begin with I had to lift Bee up to the 'bridge' level on the main climbing structure for her to walk back and forth, waving and giddy to be up there. A couple of times she sat down at the top of the slide but no amount of encouragement could get her down and each time she backtracked and moved back to the bridge where she felt more secure. It didn't last long, she wanted to be off exploring the next piece of equipment so I lifted her down and she was away.


It wasn't long before she started asking for the doll I'd been carrying around. Something that always helps is having a doll on hand. Often Bee will participate more if she can use her doll to do the activity first then follow and do it herself, almost like she's using the doll to 'test the waters' and see that it's safe. She pottered around for a bit, deciding what to go on before she headed back to the slide. She started up the steps, putting one foot on and using the bars to pull herself up but her courage left her and she froze, refusing to continue up by lifting her back leg on or moving off the steps by bringing her front leg back down. I used the doll to climb the steps, trying to encourage her but nothing. Bee wouldn't move. Until a small girl, much smaller than Bee, came charging past and climbed straight up the steps. Bee watched her and as soon as the girl gained the top step Bee was straight up after her and followed her down the slide! It took one tiny tot 15 seconds to accomplish what I'd spent 5 minutes trying to do. This little moment is one of the reasons we are so keen on Bee going to a mainstream school with special needs provision. Bee thrives around others that can do things she can't.

Once she'd climbed the steps and gone down the slide once that was it, there was no stopping her. She looked back for me less and charged ahead by herself more. 

After almost an hour we decided to give Bee a break and have a look around the garden center. She was starting to stumble and had already fell over a small, raised wooden bridge after not noticing the level change.

Bents is a beautiful place, full of beautiful (if waaaay out of our price range) things and I always enjoy a mooch around with Stu. On this trip we spotted something that I couldn't leave without: a Peppa Pig ball! Bee fell in love and it didn't leave her grasp for the rest of our day out. Even on our second visit to the park she took the ball around with her instead of the doll. The ball went down the slide first, the ball was pushed through the tunnel...

Bee's Peppa Pig ball created a lot of interest from the other children on the park. Every time Bee dropped or threw it there would be another child racing to pick it up. As first I kind of hovered behind Bee as she went to retrieve it, ready to pounce if she got into communication difficulties but as time passed I started to hang back. Bee will be going to school in September and regardless of what type of school she'll have to learn to deal with other children of all abilities. As always she made me proud, handling the situations with aplomb and more confidence than I'd expected, even though she did come back to me for reassurance occasionally.

We had a lovely day out in the sunshine and Bee had a brilliant time. By the time we were ready to leave she was so tired, both physically and mentally. I think she'd run her little legs to water with her double session on the park and exhausted her mind with all the stimulation and interaction with new people/situations. We made the 15-minute drive back into the town center to pick up Foz and headed home, where Bee was straight to bed and, unsurprisingly, straight to sleep!

Whoops

It may have been a mistake to walk past this section of the toy shop...

Party Time!

Yesterday Bee attended her first birthday party. She doesn't have many friends. Her complete lack of social skills mean she doesn't make any of her own and I don't have many friends with small children that we can socialize with. It was a joint party for four different children, one of which is Bee's little cousin Ryan and I'd been worrying a lot about it. It would be busy, with lots of strange people we'd never met and not to mention noisy. I was worried about the very real possibility of Bee spending the entire party crying on my knee, overwhelmed by it all. It wouldn't be the first time it's happened in busy, unfamiliar situations.

I'd spent two days talking about the party and trying to answer her many "why" questions about birthdays and parties. We'd also watched the 'birthday' episode of Something Special many times, talking about what was happening and how she would get to do similar at Ryan's party. I was just hopeful it would all help.

On Saturday morning we dressed in our finery, Bee was very excited about her party dress and spent much time wandering around the living room pointing at herself and sticking her tummy out. Not so much fun was the hair brushing, but that never is, stupid curls!

The party was at a local function room and was due to have a DJ, entertainer, the works and when we arrived it was in full swing: loud music and a dance floor full of running, jumping, shouting, dancing, chasing, screaming kids and a DJ orchestrating in the middle of it all. 

We found Foz's sister, Ryan and Fox's parents at a table towards the back (relief) and joined them. Bee, although quiet, seemed quite interested in the children on the dance floor and I asked if she wanted to go and do some dancing but "no" was the fairly firm answer, I didn't push her. I persevered though and asked every few minutes until eventually something changed and she suddenly decided that dancing sounded like the most fun thing ever! She was all squealing and flappy arms! Bee took my hand and led me to the dance floor but I couldn't get her to move beyond the fringe. I crouched down next to her, took her hands and tried to initiate some groovy moves but all she wanted to do was sit and my knee and watch. Which was fine and lasted a few minutes before we were back at our table. This to-ing and fro-ing went on for a while, each trip to the dance floor lasting a little longer than the last. But it wasn't until the DJ brought out lots of large modelling balloons that Bee really forgot herself and went in for the kill.

 

Bee really loves balloons and we had a lovely session of squealing and scrunchy face as she waved them all around, greatly amused at their different to normal balloons.

And look: we made a hat!

The DJ set up lots of games using the balloons: who can stick them to the ceiling, who can make the best model etc etc. Bee doesn't understand enough to join in so we moved back to our table as the party took a more games-based turn.

The buffet opened and Bee was the only child that made a bee-line (ahem) for the platter with raw carrot and cucumber sticks, which she thoroughly enjoyed and followed with more toddler-like behaviour: a plate of cakes! Her dietician would be thrilled!

I can make a hat too Mama!

After food it was back to the dance floor for pass-the-parcel. Bee has never played before but was thrilled by the sight of the DJ holding a present. The kids were split into two groups, boys and girls, and we duly took out place with the girls. Bee was one of the youngest there and sat on my knee to play, partly due to her confidence and partly because she still needs a lot of support and direction to join in. I briefly tried to explain what was going to happen but the music started and we were off. The parcel came to Bee and she eagerly grabbed it, pulling at the paper. I had to swiftly pass it to the next child, which Bee looked a little perturbed about but she took it in her stride. As the parcel made it's way around the circle again I kept telling her that we had to pass it along until the music stopped but this time when it reached her she tried to hold on a little longer. I guided her hands across to the next little girl and she reluctantly let go.

"Let go Bee"         -         "Why?"

As the game went along the parcel kept bypassing Bee and each time it did she gripped a little harder and complained a little louder until finally there was a winner and Bee hadn't had a turn. I tried to explain the game was finished and the tears started. In retrospect pass-the-parcel must seem the cruelest game in the world: you show a child a present, let them hold it then take it away for another child to have. Torture. Ah well, it's all experience and to see her joining in with the other children and not hiding at the back was wonderful.

After her pass-the-parcel meltdown her tiredness started to show through, she was happy just to sit by the side of the dance floor and play with a burst balloon, despite my attempts to get her interested in joining in.

The party came to an end soon after and it was time to leave. Overall it had been a very successful adventure and Bee was thrilled to be given a party bag as we left. The three hours we'd spent there had been plenty enough for her, any longer and I think she would have descended into tired tears and tantrums.

Home again and it was party bag time! There was cake, some sweeties (which mama had to eat), some bubbles and a pink bouncy ball. Winner! All that was left to do was enjoy a quiet couple of hours with cake, a cuppa for mama and some Mr Tumble before it was time to pick daddy up from work.

Our first party had gone more successfully than I could have hoped and, although they always reinforce for me just how delayed Bee's development is, each time we do something like this I see the small steps of progress Bee is making with her social skills and confidence issues. I'm so proud of her.

Monkey Forest

On Wednesday we were lucky enough to have Foz's day off coincide with Bee's last day of Easter holidays freedom. We decided to do something nice together as (for various reasons) it would be our last trip out for a few months.

Somewhere I love to go is Monkey Forest in Stoke-on-Trent, a 60-acre forest where Barbary Macaques roam free in as natural environment as possible. There are no cages and 140 monkeys live in safety and freedom. The only fences are small, wooden ones that keep the visitors on the paths, the monkeys don't respect them! Monkey Forest also work towards the conservation of the species and have released over 600 Barbary Macaques back into the wild. I really, really like this place!

On arrival at Monkey Forest Bee immediately started with "pam, pam" as we parked. This isn't unusual, in unfamiliar places she craves the security of the pram and will absolutely refuse to walk. If we try she just crumples into a ball on the floor and won't move. So into the pram she goes.

We queued a little to get in, it's Easter holidays after all but we'd been talking to Bee the whole time about the monkeys we were going to see and she seemed very excited. At the ticket booth there were Monkey Forest leaflets so I grabbed one for Bee to look at before we entered. She spotted a baby monkey and that immediately captured her imagination, "baba oo oo mama!" with frantic pointing, clearly she loves baby anything, not just dolls!

We had to pass through the restaurant, gift shop, picnic area section of the park first before heading through the double gates and into the monkey's domain! We walked down the path through the start of the forest, watching all the trees and looking for monkeys but it wasn't until the trees opened out into a large grassed area that we saw them. Monkeys! Lots of them!

I parked the pram up next to a conveniently-placed bench and tried to interest Bee in them but as soon as she saw her first monkey she buried her face in the side of the pram saying "no, no" over and over. Oh dear. It appears Bee likes fake, cartoon or cuddly monkeys but not so much the real thing.

Despite this worrying start Bee wasn't crying, which was hopeful, so we ploughed on. It's a long, winding walk around the 60 acre forest, with the monkeys living in two troops, so there's plenty to see and even without them as an attraction it's a lovely stroll. We made our way around, stopping frequently to try and interest Bee, watch the monkeys or to take pictures. As the walk progressed Bee was more willing to watch the monkeys but still refused to get out of the pram. We unsurprisingly had more success with the baby monkeys, they went down relatively well.

We made a full circuit of the forest and then back out of the double-gate for a visit to the restaurant, gift shop and park.After a plate of chips for Bee (blame the dietician!) we had a mooch around the gift shop. It was very small and very busy. Bee picked a monkey cup and a monkey travel cup and we moved to the till. Bee managed to get herself stranded behind a line of other customers after moving away to look at some monkey teddies and promptly melted down when we tried to encourage her to walk amongst them back towards us. This involved tears and collapsing in a puddle of immovable flop on the floor. Once outside in the open space and away from all the people and chatter she was absolutely fine, meltdown over and done with, forgotten about.

The park went very well despite the gazillions of other (much larger) children charging around and the almost deafening amount of screaming and shouting going on. Bee needed support to play as the bark surface was very difficult for her to walk on and she couldn't walk without holding my hand. The equipment all had ladders instead of steps so I had to lift Bee on to allow her to use the slide, bridge or tunnel. She's getting mighty heavy too.
After a couple of turns on the slide and a stampy walk across the bridge Bee started asking for Peppa Pig. So we trotted back over to daddy, who was minding the pram with all our bags, picked up Peppa and made our way back. Bee was very eager to give Peppa a turn on the little rocking animals, we tried all three. One happened to be taken at first and Bee decided the best way to move the little girl's turn along was to stand right next to her and stare until she moved. Deary me. Still, Peppa got her turn and the little girl went to play on the slide. Everyone wins.

 










Of course then Peppa had to have a turn on everything!

It became obviously after half an hour or so that Bee was beginning to tire, she plonked herself in the center of the tunnel leading to the slide and refused to budge. No matter how many children pushed past, or clambered over and around her she wouldn't move. Plus the more that did so the more upset she became. I had to clamber up the ladder and half into the tunnel myself before she would make any effort towards getting herself out!

I wanted another trip around the monkey enclosure but Bee had spotted something far more fun.... a pay-to-jump trampoline! She does what she always does when she wants to show you something: grabs your hand and pulls you right up to the thing she wants or is trying to show you. The 6-bed trampoline had a large net around it and four other children already jumping away. We umm'ed and ahh'ed for a few minutes as, despite Bee's insistence that she wanted a go, we were unsure if she'd cope with the other children leaping so noisily around her. We'd of course already had the first meltdown in the giftshop and then the tired movement refusal on the park. But still, at £2 for 5 minutes we decided it was worth the chance. The lady supervising allowed me to hop on with her and this is how it went:

Winning!

I had a little trouble during our 5 minutes as Bee couldn't understand why she had to stick to her own trampoline and wasn't free to climb across them all as she chose. Still in the main she loved it. She recently even began leaving the floor ever so slightly when she jumps, rather than just going up on to her toes, a brilliant achievement. Our 5 minutes were up all too soon and we had to get off. Bee was not impressed and asked for another turn but time was marching on, we had about an hour until the park closed and we wanted another walk around the monkey enclosure.

So, shoes on for the walk across to the forest. We hadn't taken 10 steps when Bee stumbled and fell. That's when we knew it was time for the pram. Bee generally is clumsier than others due to her delayed gross motor skills but when she starts to fall a lot we know her little legs are giving up for the day and it's time for a rest.

Daddy gets a kiss from Peppa

Back in the forest we decided to hover around the first grassy area rather than trek all around the forest. There was a large group of monkeys to admire and it was near to the exit for when Bee was ready to leave. I parked the pram up next to the fence and got my camera out to take some photos. It was at this point I was very lucky that a monkey decided to walk across the path right in front of me. Wow!

Only a few minutes had passed when Bee piped up with "me out mama", really Bee?? I was thrilled. It was the first inclination she'd shown to want to leave the security of the pram while we were anywhere near the monkeys. I lifted her straight out and plonked her on the path beside me. She stood at the fence for a few minutes watching the monkeys before I decided to push my luck. Moving father along the fence I shouted "come on Bee, come and see the baby monkeys" and to my complete surprise, she very happily followed me! 

We watched the baby monkeys playing for a while, they were very cute gamboling around the grass together. All was going swimmingly until Bee said something to me that I didn't hear. I leaned down to ask "pardon baby?" and my big DSLR camera, which I'd so cleverly hung around my neck so I could hold her hand, smacked her full in the face. Well that was it. There was no more co-operating, no more happy monkey-watching, she just collapsed into a big ball of screaming tears.

And that was the end of our day at Monkey Forest. Well done mama. Epic. Fail.

We made our way back to the car. Bee wasn't really hurt, it was more the shock that had made her cry, but she was too tired to want to interact anymore so we decided it was time to leave. The park was shutting in a little over 30 minutes anyway.

It was nearly teatime by this point and we had a 45 minute drive back to Warrington in front of us so we decided to eat out before we got on the motorway. I asked Bee if she wanted to and her answer was "nye num nums ow" (nice food out) in a very excited voice. So that was that.

I'll have this one Mama

We ate a carvery I know of in Stoke (where I went to university) which is by a small marina used by narrow(canal)boats. It's a nice view out of the windows for the middle of industrial Stoke, plus Foz and I love a carvery. Bee had a little plate of her own filled with carrots and green beans, which she shoveled in and still asked for more!





 
When we'd finished we had a lovely 10-minutes by the water, blowing bubbles for Bee then chasing them as the wind took them. Despite her tiredness she did a lot of happy-screeching and giggling, even running, in her own unique way!

Evening was setting in and it's still very cold here so our tired Bee hitched a ride back to the car with daddy. We find these days that despite how tired she is, or how long a day she's had she will never sleep unless she's in bed. She won't sleep in the pram or in the car. Mainly this is a good thing as it means she is always keen for bedtime but every so often Bee gets so tired that she makes a constant drone noise that doesn't end. It's purely how she deals with tiredness but it can be a little frustrating when we know all she needs is to just let herself drop off. On this day there was no tired drone, just contented quiet while she listened to her Peppa Pig CD.

All in all it was a very successful day out, Bee maybe didn't show as much interaction with the monkeys as we'd have liked and we had a couple of meltdowns but she coped admirably with the scores of children, all the textures and sounds and even did some walking around the forest to boot. I'd call that a win :)

Happy girl!