Tom's first Christmas

Christmas (like all years) co-insides with Grandads b'day. This year to celebrate he has the 'pleasure' of looking after his 2nd grandchild. And even managed a smile, as this photo proves !



Tom travelled up to the East Midlands to celebrate his first Chrismas with Grandma Dawn and Granddad Sean. He was suitable spoilt !

Here is Tom's before he opened his presents.


After a busy lunch, he found time to relax on his private Jungle !

Everybody needs a nap after a big Chrimbo lunch with all that Turkey.

The next step of the seasonal pilgrimage is to Northamptonshire for some pampering and playing with his Cousin.

Today is Tom's 3 week birthday!

Time definately moves fast. Today is BabyTom's 3 week birthday. Here is a photo of him relaxing last night.

Tom's life day 13

Tom is now 13 days old. And he has already put up a Christmas tree which is impressive between sleeping, crying and filling nappies!

Tom took time out in his busy schedule to relax in the tub.

Before making some executive decisions in his bouncy chair!

Day 11 of Tom's life

We almost cant believe how quick time is flying by.
Tom is different every day and we can see that his personality is coming through.

Here are just a couple more photos from the last week.

Day 2, 3 and 4 of Tom's life

Since we have been home, it has been manic. We have had many visitors and nappies to change. Here are just a couple more photos from the other cameras. We haven't taken many photos are home really. To busy making the memories at this stage.

More will come.

Day 3, just hanging around.

Tom is getting ready for Christmas

Another photo from the hospital, just after birth. Tom was in the 'heating tray' in the labour room.

It was hard , so we had a kip when we got home !

Here are the happy / scared ! grandparents on the day Tom arrived home.

Thank you all for your cards, flowers, texts, emails and phone calls. Its all a bit overwhelming at the moment, but we will get to each and every one of them shortly.

Lots of love from Claire, Adrian & Baby Tom.

Please welcome Thomas to the Land family

The little monkey kept us waiting for 4 days post due date. We were getting bored and restless!

After what the midwives called a very rapid delivery of 3 and a half hours ! (from first contraction to birth) all are well. The team at the West Middlesex Hospital did a great job.

Here are some of the first photographs.

Thomas joined us on the 1st December at 5.29am. Weighing in at 6lb 14oz or 3.12kg.

The teddy photo is my favourite to-date

Our first visitors - Granddad and Grandma O'Higgins.

There are just a few photos taken on my mobile.

Claire's mobile and our proper SLR will come shortly.

Thank you all for your kind messages.

Where is our baby?

We are now Due Date + 3.

Bored

Bored.

Our House is finally finished

I am pleased to say, that our house is finally finished.

At the weekend we had the parquet floor finished and the fireplace finished. This means that every room is now finished, just in time for BabyLand to turn up. Only 8 days to go til the due date!!!!

How does google get info for its image search?

If you have a few minutes to waste then here is a place to do that!

Google Image Labeler >>

Rugby World Cup - our holiday

Here are some photos from the trip to France to see the rugby world cup.

We traveled over to France on the Eurostar and moved in to our delightful Parisien hotel right next to the Gare du Nord. On Friday the other match goes arrived and we prepared ourselves with a pre game warm up !

At this stage we were still happy and excited about the England Versus South Africa game.

The wife and I ready for the game. The Stade de France is an amazing stadium.
We were given the flag the second before by a Bok fan - its not ours!



Here are some photos of the stadium.

An interesting shop name

While wandering around Paris we saw this shop. Just thought this shop had an interesting name.

What do you think?

Would you buy your kid an AK47?

While in France on holiday, in a sleepy little town we came across a kids toy shop. And to our surprise they were selling toy guns! We assume they are toys!

Tenby, South Wales - an excellent beach resort

.... I never thought of holidaying in South Wales would be so good.

Four of us went down after work on a Thursday and spent the long Bank Holiday weekend there. Our cottage was in a great location just off of South Beach.

Here is a photo of the harbour. Looking overcast - but all four days were brilliant sunshine and hot!

Tenby is so famous it has a Wiki entry ! On the Saturday three of us went out on jet bikes. It was a safari tour around an off shore island. It was a great opportunity to test these powerful machines, oh and see some seals !


And not to be left our - 'little monkey' saw some beach action too!


When you need a barbeque you need the right tools - Steve flirting with the sun with his favoured method of transport!


Aswell as the beach we went on some great walks down the Pembrokeshire Coast Path, and we had lunch one day on top of Giltar points (not sure of the spelling). From this vantage point we could see the island with the monestry, passing boats, jetbikers and rock climbers; plus a fair few walkers. We were more content with drinking wine and relaxing.

But no beach holiday would be complete with out a beach fire.



I was really impressed with Tenby. The beach was clean, big and space available. The people lovely and not full of tourists. Reasonably priced and everything was walkable. The pedestrianised town centre made it all the better.

Bring on Wales.

Here are some facts about the 1500s:

• Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and still smelled pretty good by June. However, they were starting to smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odour. Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.


• Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying: 'don't throw the baby out with the bath water'.


• Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath.
  It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs etc) lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying: 'it's raining cats and dogs'.


• There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence.


• The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence the saying: 'dirt poor'.


• The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until, when you opened the door, it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entranceway. Hence the saying: a threshold.


• In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme: 'peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old'.


• Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could 'bring home the bacon'. They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and 'chew the fat'.


• Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.


• Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or the upper crust.
  
  
• Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of 'holding a wake'.


• England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realised they had been burying people alive. So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the graveyard shift.) to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be saved by the bell or was considered a dead ringer.

Now, whoever said history was boring?

Marble Hill Picnic Concert - starring Berlinda Carlisle

On Saturday we endured the rain and went to Marble Hill, Twickenham. It was a picnic concert organised by English Heritage. There were 4 acts. Bananarama opening, with 2 of the 3 members. They enjoyed themselves - maybe a sound check first?? The second act was strange. It was Altered Images. Scary to say the least.
We missed the final act - Midure because we went home - we were soaked and cold.
But the 3rd act was great. I was very impressed - suprisingly so.
Anyway here are a couple of photos.

The advantages of being a man!

Being a man definitely has its perks...

1. Your backside is never a factor in a job interview.

2. Your orgasms are real. Always.

3. Your last name stays put.

4. The garage is all yours.

5. Wedding plans take care of themselves.

6. You never feel compelled to stop a friend from having an elicit affair.

7. Car mechanics tell you the truth.

8. You don't give a hoot if no one notices your new haircut.

9. Hot wax never comes near your pubic area.

10. Same work .. more pay.

11. Wrinkles-add character.

12. You don't have to leave the room to make emergency crotch adjustments.

13. Wedding Dress £2000; TDJ rental £100.

14. If you retain water, it's in a bottle.

15. People never glance at your chest when you're talking to them.

16. New shoes don't cut, blister, or mangle your feet.

17. One mood, ALL the time.

18. Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds.

19. A five-day holiday requires only 1 suitcase.

20. You can open all your own jars.

21.You get extra credit for the slightest act of thoughtfulness.

22. Your underwear is £10 for a three-pack.

23. If you are 34 and single, nobody notices.

24. You can quietly enjoy a car ride from the passenger's seat.

25. Three pairs of shoes are more than enough.

26. You can quietly watch a game with your friends for hours without ever thinking "He must be mad at me."

27. No sanitary products are needed.

28. If another guy shows up at the party in the same outfit, you just might become lifelong friends.

29. You are not expected to know the names of more than five colours.

30. You don't have to stop and think of which way to turn a nut on a bolt.

31. You are unable to see wrinkles in clothes.

32. The same hair style lasts for years, maybe decades.

33. Your belly usually hides your big hips.

34. One wallet and one pair of shoes, one colour, all seasons.

35. You can "do" your nails with a pocket knife.

36. Christmas shopping can be done for 25 relatives, on December 24th, in 15 minutes.

37. The world is your urinal.

Bathroom is still being built !

We are now 6 days into the 10? day project.

• To date they have stripped all the wall, bonded and skimmed them.
• Done the electrics
• Installed a new floorr
• Installed the bath with taps and plumbing
• Built the stud wall and put the shower in place
• Installed the heated towel rail
• Installed the sink and taps

To do.

• Finish the shower
• Install the shower screen
• Tile part of the room
• Fit the lighting and fixtures.

Hopefully finished by this Friday?

Chances??

the final room has been started !!!

The final room in our house to be renovated has started. Monday the 23rd the guys pulled out the horrible gold previous suite! And here are the pictures at the beginning of day two! Lovely, isn't it. The builder asked if it was a DIY job!

Windsor

We were in Windsor at the weekend celebrating our first wedding anniversary.

We visited the castle as you would expect. It was actually very good. You can see the official information here >>

Claire was sharing the audio tour with the little one - never too early to start the education?

A view of the castle on the way up to state rooms and the dolls house.

We ordered a luxury room and we definately got more than the normal hotel room. To start with we had our own garden which was overlooking the river. Here are some shots.

To the left
From our balcany - this is the main bridge. On the other side of the water is Eaton. We went to the school. And then walked back !

You can see the hotels site here>>

We ate at the Stroks restaurant, it was very good. We would recemend you make a visit.

Monkey transport

In preparation of Project Monkey's arrival we have gone out and bought his/her their own chariot.

We have gone for a Scenic ! I know you may think a family option. I have been practising my excuses of why this is still sporty and cool !

Its more powerful than my old golf!
It doesnt need a key! to open or to start the engine.
To start / stop the engine there is a button!
Alloy wheels and electric everything inc AC.
Automatic lights and wipers etc.
Front fogs and wingmirrors that fold in at the touch of a button.
And if you walk away, it closes all the windows, roof and locks itself !
Almost cool?
Plus the wife like it.

We get in this Saturday and then can drive round - I will work on my cool line. :-)

Baby Land at 21 weeks

This morning we went to the West Middlesex for our 21 week scan.

Here are some of the photos. Once again they never do the scan justice. I just wish we could get a copy of the screen in video it is some much more detailed.

We were amazed at how much attention and detail they went through. They looked at everything from parts of the brain down to a full examination of the heart and everything in between.

It is all GOOD.

Onto the photos....

A split picture - both feet

A close up of the head, with left hand in the background.

An overview shot. Crown to Rump was 17cm.

And a scary shot! I have rotated this picture as BabyLand is looking straight at you!!!!