Leeds

My parents, Joel and I popped over to Leeds on Friday to visit family for the day.  We had to leave before 9 for a 2 hour drive and although Joel was a bit put out that he was taken away from his playing time, he was fine once we set off.  The whole way he pointed out buses, vans and nee-naws.  Oh, and the left over snow over the pennines!

We firstly went to Uncle F’s and Aunty M’s for tea and coffee where my uncle offered a plate of biscuits.  Joel carefully measured them all for size and took the hugest chocolate biscuit on the plate!  He’s no fool that boy!!j  Anyway, their house is all cream, with cream carpets and sofas and luckily my cousin was there with her three children (the youngest being 3 weeks younger than Joel) so there was a bit of distraction and I was able to wipe everything that he touched with melted chocolatey hands before they noticed.  I was on tenterhooks though!!

All four of them then sat round the kitchen table for an oatcake at noon.  Aunty M asked Joel if he’d like cheese or egg, and he said egg, so egg he got!  He was a bit tired by this point and pretty much ate the egg but not much oatcake.

Then we had to pop over to Aunty C’s and Uncle A’s where my other cousin was bringing 12 week old Lucy!!  And she was gorgeous.  Really pretty features (and its’ not often other peoples babies actually looks that cute at that age!!) and so alert and holding her head up.  Joel was wonderful with her.  I don’t know where he learnt it, but he gently stroked her head a couple of times when he went to have a look and pretty much entertained everyone once he realised he was the centre of attention.

Cousin Martha and my sister came along too and it was a lovely family day out.  We had a lovely lunch after which Joel dropped off for his nap in his buggy 2 hours too late!!  Then we headed for a park in the afternoon and as we walked around a lake, the sun came out and it was warm!  The first signs of this winter finally being over!!  Joel toddled at his pace, and I’d put him in his wellies, the paths were pretty muddy and grandad was holding his reins.  I should have probably warned grandad that Joel likes to stamp and jump in muddy puddles, just like Peppa and George but he found out the hard way when his trousers got muddy droplets on them!!  He leapt sideways like a gazelle after that at every puddle we came to!!

After a rather splendid Yorkshire tea where Joel ate three sausage rolls and four tomatos and licked the icing off a fairy cake I got him into his pyjamas.  He was the only toddler left now and he was determined to show off.  He strutted about playing his guitar, singing, falling over for effect, and then bent over with his little bottom towards the grown ups and began blowing raspberrys!  Well, they all fell about laughing.  I don’t think he knew he was ‘fake trumping’ but once he got the reaction he’d been after that was it.  It was raspberrys here and raspberrys there and I guess you had to be there but we were in hysterics!

Finally it was time to go home and he stayed awake the whole journey back!!  We got home for 9pm and by 9.15 he was tucked up in bed and sound asleep.  And we’d had a really nice family day out 🙂