BUDDING PERFORMER.

We had our hair done yesterday at Emmas house, Emma and I first, then Rachel when she arrived back from work. Even Graham got into the act and had his trimmed! Rachael, hairdresser to all the best people, arrived just before 4pm, she is off on holiday this week so we managed to catch her before she heads off to Portugal for the weekend on a hen do. Graham and I had arrived at Emmas before 3.30 to find Poppy fast asleep on the sofa after a busy morning at Lauras house playing with Finn who is 11 days older than Poppy. As the Olympic diving was on tv we were watching it with the sound down so as not to wake Poppy who was sound asleep on the sofa! She woke just before Rachael arrived and was very pleased to find Grandma and Grandad sitting in her lounge! She lay on the sofa for a while until she woke up properly then as soon as she got down she was gathering up her ponies. I was first to get my hair done and Pops thought Grandma with brown dye on her hair, in a twist on top of her head very strange. 
"Grandma funny hair" she pronounced pointing up at me.
I then had to go out into the garden to play at tea parties so I expect I looked rather strange to any neighbours who saw me! Grandad was then called out into the garden too and handed a little red cup of water with the cry "cup a tea".
Poppy decided she was going to sing and dance, she kept singing the same song,though I must admit that on this occassion I could not quite catch what she was singing. We had to clap at the end of each performance and then she sang the same thing again, and again, and again, about 12 times I think!I think we may have a budding performer on our hands!
"What Mommy doing?" she cried when she saw Rachael doing Emmas hair, and she stood fascinated for a while watching until she decided she just had to ride her hobby horse. Then I had to ride the hobby horse .........
It`s a little small for me!
When Lee arrived home he started to cook Poppy her tea while Emma was having her hair finished off so we decided to leave everyone to it and get off home for our own meal.

WOW, AMAZING, BALLOONS, BALLOONS!

Emma had a pile of wrapped presents ready for when Poppy got up yesterday morning, with some balloons adorning them. Poppy saw them, said "Wow, amazing" and ran towards them shouting, "balloons, balloons"!!! Its the old saying isn`t it, give a child an expensive present in a large cardboard box, and they will play with the box!

We arrived to join the birthday lunch to find that the others were already there, I put the hedgehog cake that I had made in the kitchen and Poppy spotted it straight away, "Ooh, hedgehog, asleep"! Poppy was very excited as she had received a few My Little Pony toys, and if she has a favourite it is horses! Some of them had arrived all the way from Australia from Aunty Kim and I was immediately handed one of them as soon as I walked in through the door. She could hardly get her words out with excitement, telling me all about them. She was very pleased with them, so thankyou Aunty Kim. x

She opened a couple of presents with her Mommy before turning her attention once again to the balloons, throwing them up in the air and batting them towards everybody, which she thought very funny. Emma was in the kitchen preparing the buffet so I went to see if I could lend a hand, she was almost finished with her preparation so I did the tuna mayo and poured some crisps into bowls. Poppy sat on her booster seat at the table and cousins Connor and Harry sat with her, all chomping happily on pizza, salad and a variety of other things. She could see her hedgehog cake behind her on the kitchen counter and wanted some, so Emma put her candles on it eventually and Lee rushed in with the camera to take photos of her blowing out the candles. We all sang happy birthday to Poppy, with Poppy joining in and singing along happily, Poppy just loves to sing!

When we had finished eating Emma carried on helping Poppy to open her presents, with Poppy stopping every few minutes to play with those balloons again! It took until about 5pm to finish opening everything! She is a very lucky little girl and had a lot of beautiful presents and cards. She was thrilled with the hobby horse which neighs, whinnies and makes galloping noises when you press its ear and was `riding` it around the house. Her ponies all had to sit in a group on the rug and have a tea party with her new tea set and she wanted to read the My Little Pony books the minute she opened them.

We left about 5pm as our dogs had been on their own and we needed to let them out and later on in the evening Lee sent me a photograph of Poppy wearing her new dressing gown and nightdress to keep her cosy and warm following her bath, she was all ready for bed.

Thank you to everybody who sent Poppy birthday wishes, she had some lovely presents which she was very pleased with, and for which her Mummy and Daddy were very grateful, she is a lucky little girl.

BIRTHDAY POEM.

Sitting here waiting anxiously at home,
Cup of coffee grown cold by the phone,
Each time it rings up I jump,
Is this the news, my heart begins to thump,
I stutter as I try to speak,
Legs like jelly they feel so weak,
Waiting, waiting, what can I do,
Can`t bear to think what you`re going through,
My little girl to become a Mum,
The miracle thats about to come,
My heart is full, what can I do,
I feel so helpless to help you,
I want to cry but my eyes are dry,
I urge the big man in the sky,
Help my girls, please God oh please,
If needs be I`m down on my knees,
And then a little after four,
The call comes through we know the score,
The babe is born, she cried at birth,
She took a breath how much thats worth,
She`s very small 10 weeks early,
Our beautiful, beautiful little girlie.

Poppy is 2 years old today, so a very happy birthday to our beautiful granddaughters, Poppy and her Angel sister Emily. xxx

THE SAFARI PARK BIRTHDAY TREAT.

Emma and Lee took Poppy to the safari park today for her pre birthday treat. Lee arrived with Pops this morning on his bike so as to give Lily the dog a walk, then Emma arrived in the car to pick them up and head off to the safari park. The picnic was packed and off they went, with Poppy waving brightly at me.

The sun has been shining all day, which is good, but it has been a bit cooler than the last few days, which is good, for me anyway. I don`t cope well with the heat and the humidity. Graham arrived back from work and after a visit from my sister and brother in law who dropped round with birthday gifts for Poppy we headed off to get some chocolate buttons as I was in the process of making a cake for Poppys birthday. Graham needed some new gardening gloves and in one shop we tried we found a hobby horse for Poppy, an extra present for her birthday! When you press its ear you hear a galloping noise and then a neigh and a winny! Poppy will be thrilled with it tomorrow. It makes a strange shaped parcel now I have wrapped it up!

The cake is cooked and decorated, a chocolate hedgehog. Hopefully Poppy will like it, she loves hedgehogs.

Emma, Lee and Poppy arrived at our house about 6pm to fetch Lily and nipped in for a quick cup of tea, just enough time for Poppy to get virtually all the toys out! We managed to pick up a dolls house in the charity shop yesterday for her to have in her playhouse and she was thrilled to bits with it. She was telling us all about her thrilling day at the safari park, apparently she saw a camel it stuck its head through the car window and licked her hand when she gave it some food. She was flapping her arms about apparently when it did it, but laughing at the same time. She saw an elephant with a big trunk, a rhino with a big bum, a giraffe which was very tall (demonstrated by Poppy standing on tiptoes and extending her arm above her head as far as she could, eyes wide with excitement), and she saw a lion which said "roar"! She was very excited and very chatty about her lovely birthday day out.

Poppy was getting tired after her busy day by almost 7pm so they headed off home, with Em saying she needs an early night as its her big day tomorrow. I don`t know who is more excited, Emma or Poppy! This is the photo Emma put on Facebook of Poppys presents, waiting for her to open in the morning. Gives it away somewhat, don`t you think?!!

BIG GIRL PANTS.

Well done Pops, Mommy text me this morning and said you sat down and did a wee wee in your potty, what a good girl you are! You have been resisting it for quite some time now, asked if you wanted to use the potty brought a resounding "NO", you did manage one on the toilet the other day, well almost, Mommy said you would not sit down but instead had to stand astride the toilet seat so most of it went on the seat and floor but ever since you would not entertain the idea of actually sitting on the potty or toilet seat! You may only be 2 on Sunday but boy are you stubborn! Hopefully this will be the start of `big girl pants` and the end of nappies.

You have a new pink playhouse in the garden, a lovely present off Mommy and Daddy for your birthday, and Mommy tells me you have been having a tea party and a chat with your cousin Ruby this morning, how sweet can you get? Love it.

The big birthday present.

Poppy is fast asleep upstairs at the moment, Emma arrived with her before lunch and we ate in the garden on this beautiful sunny day. Poppy was obviously very tired after she had eaten and so we decided to go indoors as it is a little cooler and I put her programmes on for her. First she sat on her mommys lap and then she decided she would sit on Grandma where she fell asleep, so Em took her up to sleep soundly in her cot where it is a little cooler.

Emma has just nipped out to buy a few things for Poppys birthday, she had a playhouse delivered yesterday and Lee has put it up in the garden, but Emma wanted to get some things for her to open, so as she was asleep, it seemed pointless taking her along when she can sleep more comfortably here.

Grandad will be home any minute to help me when she wakes up and I daresay she will be wanting the paddling pool out as she did on Tuesday. She was playing with her tea set in it and pouring us all cups of tea, as a result my feet got all wet and my slippers had to dry on the washing line! She was playing in the sandpit (seaside) this morning and making sandcastles.

Apparently she was giving Daddy a lot of help while he was trying to put the playhouse together yesterday on his return from work and when she spotted it in place this morning, around 7am, she immediately fetched her wellies to go out and play in it! She is going to have her toy kitchen in it and it already has two little garden chairs in it given to her by Ryan, Rhys and Owen, my great nephews. Em said she will get a little table and is hoping to get a play shop till for her to vary her games. I have been volunteered to make some curtains, and it will be painted pink and cream. So that is Poppys big birthday present!

Poppy, pematurely born, now almost 2.

Two years ago Poppy your Mommy was in hospital doing her very best to hold on to you. She was 28 weeks pregnant when her waters broke and had to rush to hospital in the middle of the night.

As a mother and prospective grandmother it was a frightening time, wondering if my beautiful daughter would be able to hold on to the precious life inside her. The circumstances were so tragic, your twin sister Emily had already lost her fight for life, we could not bear to think you could also be lost to us.

We visited every day, your Mommy was still loosing her waters all the time, though it was building up a little at the same time, so all the fluid around you did not disappear completely. Your little limbs could be seen through the walls of your Mommys tummy and she was afraid to move incase she bumped or bruised you. Your Mommy kept having scans and other tests, trying to determine that you were okay in there. The consultant said he wanted to try and get your Mommy to 32 weeks gestation, to give you the best chance. We told her to keep her legs crossed.

Your Mommy spent over 2 weeks in hospital, carefully nurturing you, hoping that you would grow big enough, and strong enough, to be born safely. She was given medication to make your lungs strong, incase you were born early, so that you would be able to breath. Those 2 weeks and a few days, were the longest 2 weeks and days you can imagine. We woke up each morning and wondered if you were still waiting to be born, if your Mommy was still bearing up under the incredible strain she was facing. Your Daddy must have gone through hell, wondering how things would turn out, if his wife and daughter would be okay.

On the morning of the 29th July your Mommy rang early and said she would be having the baby that day. She had a show of blood, which could indicate infection, and the consultant was willing to wait no longer. He wanted you out safely and said that your birth would take place that day. They gave your Mommy medication and she went into labour as she wanted to experience natural childbirth, but after a few hours it became necessary to perform a C section to ensure your safety.

You were born, Poppy, on the 29th of July, weighing just 3 pounds 4 ounces. Thank God you cried as soon as you were born, which meant you had taken a breath. Your Mommy and Daddy were able to see you for just a second before you were whipped away to the neonatal unit for specialist care. Emily had been born first, and she was born sleeping as we knew she would be, the nurses took care of her with compassion and love. She was wrapped in a little blanket and cared for. Your identical twin sister.

Your Daddy let us know just after 4pm that you were safely born, that you had breathed, you had cried, and that your Mommy was okay. We cried when we got the news, we were grandparents! I had been through agonies, knowing what my daughter was going through, I could not bear to think of her in pain. The day had been very long, and full of angst.

We felt joyous that you had arrived safely though apprehensive that you were so small, and wondered what ordeal you and your parents would face before you would be allowed home.

The first time we saw you Poppy was so emotional, I went in with your Mommy, she was in a wheelchair and in a lot of pain, you were lying in an incubator. So so tiny, I could hardly believe it. The lights in the unit were dimmed as the eyes of premature babies are very sensitive to light and they had to protect you. There was a cover on the top of the incubator to further darken your world a little. Port holes were at the side, with little doors, so that we could put our hands in and touch you. We had to scrub our hands and put on a plastic apron before we were allowed anywhere near to you. We could not hold you, you needed to be in the warmth of your incubator. Your skin was translucent, the veins clearly visible. You wore only a nappy, you were hooked up to a monitor which emitted sounds and beeps, pads adhered to your chest and a plastic cup held your foot, the lead also went to the monitor. The nurse tried to explain the noises and numbers we could see, it was too much to take in.

We took it in turns to visit you, only 2 at a time around your incubator. Only parents and grandparents allowed into the unit. Emma desperately wanted her brother to see his niece, but he was not allowed in Poppy.

You were in the neonatal unit for 4 weeks before being transfered downstairs to the special baby care unit. You had jaundice in the time you were in neonatal and had to go under a infrared lamp with goggles way too big for you. The monitor would show that you were barely breathing at times, and you would have to flick your feet to remind you. All that time you were fed breast milk through a tube which went down your nose and into your stomach, tiny amounts at a time, hourly, then two hourly, then three hourly. You started off with one syringe of milk and it gradually increased until your were having 2 large ones. Your nappies were so tiny they would have only fit a doll, and a small one at that, yet they were enormous on you, coming up to your chest. Your Mommy said she would breath a sigh of relief when she arrived at the hospital each day and saw that you were still hanging on in there, fighting. It was terrible for her when she was discharged and had to leave you there, in the care of others. She could not drive for 6 weeks after her operation, so we had a rota going to make sure she was with you as much as possible. She was there from morning until night, she did not want to leave at all.

At 4 weeks old you were finally in a cot down in the special baby care unit, in preparation for going home. Mommy tried her hardest to breast feed you, you had been having her milk from birth, expressed each day for you, but it was not something that was easy to do. You did not latch on, and Mommy decided the best thing would be to try you with a bottle of her own milk instead. You never looked back, as soon as the bottle was offered to you, you took it. You began to put on more weight. At 6 weeks of age you were finally deemed fit to go home, they seemed 6 long long weeks at the time, though in the course of a life time it was not so much. You were not quite 5 pounds by the time you left the hospital, still tiny by anyones standards, and not even as big as some full term new borns. It was a scary prospect to have such a responsibility to look after such a little fragile person such as yourself Poppy but at the same time it was such a joyous occasion when you finally went home.

And now you are almost 2 years old, I can hardly believe it! You were born 10 weeks early, you were so tiny, and now you have not only caught up with your premature age, but you have surpassed all the expectations we would have of you at this age. You chatter away like a child much older, you smile all the time, you sing, Poppy you are a joy. From such a difficult start you are a beautiful, wonderful little girl. God bless you Poppy, we are looking forward to celebrating your 2nd birthday with you soon. xxx

All my love, Grandma. xxx

BREAKING UP FOR SUMMER.

The sun was actually shining for a change when Poppy arrived with her Mommy this morning. I had already had a silly moment just before they arrived when I texted to wish my great nephew a happy birthday only to be told his birthday is on Saturday! I was looking at the wrong page on the calender! I had a text back off his Mom telling me senility is setting in, she is maybe not far wrong! Cheeky!

Emma breaks up from school tomorrow for the summer, the children break up today but there is a teacher training day tomorrow so she has to go into school. We had to deliver Poppy back to her Daddy this evening as Emma is out with the girls from work to celebrate their holidays. Lee was going to fetch Poppy and Lily on his bike today but it rained, again, so we took her round in the car instead.

It was quite a sunny morning, though the sun did keep hiding behind the clouds, but at least we were able to get out into the garden for a little while for some fresh air. Poppy played on the slide, and with her car and bike then we had to make numerous sandcastles which she immediately flattened with her spade. Just before 11am I could see she was tired, Emma said she had been stirring since 5am so I was not surprised, and when she went into the house voluntarily that confirmed my suspicions. She sat on my lap for a cuddle and soon fell asleep but just as I put her down Jill arrived at the door, the dogs barked which woke her briefly and she said "dogs, barking, dogs, barking" before falling asleep again! I put the dogs into the other room and shut the door so that they would not disturb her again and made a cup of tea for Jill and we sat and chatted for a while until Poppy woke up again over an hour and a half later. She lay on the sofa for a while until she was ready to get up and was soon chatting away as usual once she had woken up properly. I got her some pate on toast for her lunch, and she sat at the table to eat it and watched Come Outside on tv, which features Pippin the dog whom she loves. Tori, Jills lovely daughter, popped round a little later with a lovely plant for my garden in honour of my birthday the other day which was very kind of her and after Poppy had finished her lunch Tori did some colouring with her. Grandad arrived soon after Jill and Tori left and played with Poppy for a while until she indicated she was tired again and wanted to go to bed, not that she went to sleep but she did lie down upstairs in the cot for a while and came back down again full of beans so the rest was obviously needed and did her good. We all went out to sit in the garden and Poppy was playing on her bike and in her car until it began to rain and we had to go inside and she played with her dolly, feeding her and taking her for walks in the pram, until tea was ready.

She has gone home to Daddy now and I doubt it will be long until she is fast asleep in bed, as she was tired when she waved me goodbye.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA, YIPEE!

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday to Grandma, happy birthday to you. Yipee!"

That was what Poppy sang to me yesterday morning when she arrived with her Mum! Bless.

She had drawn me a picture on my birthday card, "Poppy birthday Grandma" she kept telling me pointing at the card. "Poppy draw."

I had some lovely presents, Em managed to buy me the same poppy charm which she got me last year to go on my bracelet! She somehow forgot that they had already bought it for me! Blonde moment! Graham got me a couple of charms for my bracelet and some Thorntons toffee, and Rachel and Steven bought me the box set of Pacific which I have been wanting to watch. Jill bought me a lovely nail varnish set so this morning my nails are painted purple!

Poppy was very pleased with all the visitors who called in during the morning to give me birthday cards and good wishes. She saw Anne walk past the window on her way to the front door and hurried into the hallway to be first to greet her. Anne had a my little pony thrust into her hands as soon as she walked in! Jill was handed a my little pony, so was Lesley! Barney knocked Poppy over in his excitement when the other Jill knocked on the door so Poppy was crying when I answered the door but she soon cheered up when she realised yet another visitor was on the step, and she waved her off cheerfully calling "Ta ta Aunty Jill" when she left.

At the end of a busy morning Poppy had a sandwich for lunch and then showed herself to be tired. She wanted her dummy and snuggly which is always the give away. Jill very kindly took her upstairs for me and we put her in her cot with a couple of toys, she was soon fast asleep. She must have been really worn out as she then slept for almost 3 hours!!

Emma had a phone call from Lee while Poppy was finishing off her tea to say he would fetch her on his bike, as for once it was not raining. When he arrived, and she had eaten her yogurt he put her coat on and she ran into the lounge to give her Grandad and I a kiss and cuddle before she left. "Bye Grandma, bye Grandad" she called, waving as she went out of the door. "Bye Mommy". We all waved and blew kisses and Emma stopped for a little while to chat before heading off to get a bit of shopping and give Poppy her bath before bed.

After all the excitement of the day, we decided to leave going out for my birthday meal until this evening, to be honest I was just too worn out to bother!

GRANDAD OVER THERE.

As it is my birthday tomorrow (Tuesday) Gray said we would go for Sunday lunch yesterday. Normally all the family would go out for a birthday but Rach and Ste were away in Wales, (for Rachels birthday) and Lee was away in Spain, for a stag do weekend (whatever happened to a night out in England) so we went out with Emma and Poppy.

We decided to go to the carvery as Emma can chose what she wants to eat and add a little extra for Poppy, just ask for an empty plate. Em took the booster seat for Poppy to sit on, it fits on to a normal dining chair and so Pops can sit at the table with the rest of us which she prefers to sitting in a high chair which she hates. Em had her colouring book and crayons with her so Poppy was quite happy colouring in the pictures while Gray got the drinks and food tickets. Poppy kept asking where Grandad was and we said "he is over there" pointing to the bar. After that Poppy kept calling "Grandad over there" and pointing in various directions, not always the correct one!

Em went up to the carvery first and got the food for herself and Poppy then Gray and I went and got ours, accompanied by Poppy calling "Grandma, Grandad" and waving at us from her seat! It is a lovely carvery at the Severn Gorge in Telford, just off the town centre, and the meal was enjoyed by all. Poppy was very good and ate most of her moms yorkshire pudding and some of Grandads! She also had some turkey, roast potato and veg and managed some of her dinner though she is a bit chesty again at the moment so her eating is a bit erratic.

What a big girl!

It is my birthday on Tuesday so Gray and Emma wanted to pop into town for some special shopping (their words) and they were going to take Poppy but as she had not had a sleep she was very tired so Em asked if she could stop with me. She put her in her cot and Poppy was so tired she was fast asleep within minutes, she normally sleeps for a couple of hours so they thought they would be back in time for her when she awoke. Poppy woke for a few minutes about an hour later, she is coughing again and her cough woke her, so I picked her up and gave her a cuddle sitting on my bed for a while and she went back to sleep again and I laid her back down. She was still asleep 2 and a half hours later when Emma and Gray arrived home!

Pops was hungry when she woke up, not having eaten much lunch as she was so tired, so we had our meal and she was soon feeling much brighter. Now she is drinking well from an ordinary cup she is reluctant to use her tippy cup any more, and she is generally very careful how she holds her ordinary cup and how she puts it down. She was standing holding her cup and it slipped a little, spilling a bit of juice on the floor, then she went to wipe it up with her hand and a big blob of juice sort of jumped out of the cup on to the carpet. It looked so funny Emma and I were laughing, Poppy looking at us wondering what had amused us so much! She is getting to be such a big girl now, the time is passing so fast it is unbelievable, she was so pleased with herself when she arrived yesterday, telling me that she had used her potty for the first time. She would not sit on it, but stood above it to use it! Thinking she may prefer to use the toilet we have now got a toilet seat to fit over the ordinary one for her. We shall have to see how she does. Em was going to wait for the start of the summer holiday to get her potty trained, but Poppy herself went up to her yesterday and said "Mommy Poppy wee wee, potty, big girl" and Em was so pleased that nappy was off before she could blink! She did do one on the floor later though!!!

IT`S NOT FUNNY!!

Poppy slept for 2 and a half hours yesterday afternoon, in fact she was still asleep when Grandad arrived home from work so it was him who went up to fetch her when we heard her stirring. She had obviously only just woken up so when she came down she was still sleepy and had to sit on my lap for a cuddle for a while until she came round properly. Although she smiled at him, she would not entertain the idea of sitting on Grandads lap. Grandma seems to be for cuddles, Grandad is to play with!

When Poppy had woken up properly she went off out into the garden with Grandad and then wanted to take her dolly for a walk in the pram. Unfortunately they had only been gone ten minutes or so and it began to rain so they were forced to return, much to Poppys chagrin as she did not want to come in! We distracted her with her toys and realising she was probably hungry we put the tea on. Emma arrived as she was eating her tea and she was very pleased to see her mummy, she kept telling her she was having her tea!

Just remembered a funny incident from when Pops was playing with the sandpit in the morning, she was picking up handfuls of sand and throwing them on the patio.
"No Poppy" I said to her, you will have no sand left."
When she did it again, I said "no Poppy, thats naughty, you won`t have any sand" and she looked at me and laughed, then said
"no, its not funny!!"
Little monkey!

Poppy and I waved to the Queen.

The Queen is visiting RAF Cosford today, just down the road from where we live, so when I saw some helicopters fly over our house this morning Poppy and I waved, just in case the Queen was inside one of them. Only a few minutes later I noticed on Twitter that the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh had arrived at Cosford so it seems we may well have waved to the Queen! Luckily it is a sunny day, for a change, and so far we have had no rain which is great considering the awful weather we have experienced lately. Poppy has been playing in the garden most of the morning, following our visit from Anne, my friend from next door earlier on. Poppy never stopped chattering all the time Anne was here, I bet Anne was worn out by the time she left! Pops has played on her bike round and round the patio, then she wanted the seaside out so I pulled the sandpit over by the table so that she would be in the shade and not in full sun. She brought the skittles outside so we have set those up and she has thrown the ball at them to knock them over. Her ball, then her baby doll, then Poppy all went down the slide several times. I had to flick off a couple of ants that were walking along the side of the slide as she would not go down when they were there, although she called them incey wincey spiders! She has been in her little car and taken her baby for a walk in the little pram. I could see her yawning and realised she was tired so I made her a sandwich and she sat down on her booster seat at the dining table and ate her lunch. She did not like sitting in the high chair and is much better eating now that she can sit at the table with everybody else. I put her programmes on tv while she ate and she chattered all through, telling me what was happening. After she finished her lunch I changed her nappy and she told me she was tired and wanted to go to bed so I off she went, climbing the stairs and I put her in her cot. I went into the bathroom for a few minutes and by the time I looked in on her again she was fast asleep! Infact almost 2 hours later she is still fast asleep! She is a good little soul.

POPPYS NURSERY VISIT ETC.

A busy few days.

Emma asked if Poppy would be able to stop overnight on Saturday as they had been asked out to celebrate a friends birthday. Then she added, "and can we stop too then we will be there in the morning when she wakes up". As it happened that worked out well as we were invited to visit family on Sunday and we were going to ask them to look in on the dogs and take them for a walk and feed them. They brought Poppy round about 7pm and she immediately set about getting all the toys out. She was obviously tired as she had almost fallen asleep in the car on the way here but she was desperately trying to deny the fact. She was ready for bed dressed in her pyjamas and arrived with her bedtime bottle of milk, not that she wanted to sit down and drink it, she was more interested in playing. She asked for her colouring but Lee told her it was too late and she was not very pleased! After about ten minutes of asking she suddenly gave up, grabbed Lee by the hand and said "Daddy bedtime, Poppy tired". Off they went upstairs, Poppy waving and 15 minutes later she was fast asleep!

We did not hear from Poppy until about 8 the next morning when she was singing and playing with the toys in the cot. Em got up and took her downstairs for breakfast then she realised that if Grandad was downstairs, where he was making a cup of tea, Grandma must be upstairs and decided she was going to visit me. She burst into my bedroom, big grin on her face. "Grandma", and immediately tried to climb into bed with me. I had to give her a helping hand and she then snuggled underneath the bed clothes and rested her head on Grandads pillow, pulling the duvet up to her chin. Wriggling against me she started to chatter, looking around her. "Grandma clock, tic toc." she said pointing to my alarm clock. "Grandma cup a tea", "Grandma book", "Grandma bum"!!! (I was wearing a nighty!) We sneaked off to visit our relatives when Poppy went for a walk with her Daddy and the dogs, we thought it best as she may have been upset to see us going out.

Today Poppy had a visit to nursery, where she will be going 2 mornings a week in September. Emma finished work at lunch time to take her. Knowing she had her visit I realised that she would be better if she had her sleep late morning, so that she would be bright and breezy to go. We played for a while and I could see she was getting tired which was quite useful as just lately she has not been wanting to sleep until after she has lunch. She asked for her dummy and snuggly and sat on my lap, eventually falling asleep about 11am.  Emma arrived just after 12.30 and luckily Poppy had just woken up and eaten some of her lunch so I put the rest in a plastic bag for her incase she wanted it on her return and off she went for her nursery visit. She had a lovely time, she played with the farm, play doh (she tried to eat some then when she realised it did not taste nice handed Emma some wet play doh!) and some books, Emma had a pile of 7 plastic horses on her lap while she was trying to fill in the paper work. She saw Grandad, who works at the community centre where the nursery is held, and came back full of chatter, ready to watch My little pony - again! I made the mistake of putting it on for her this morning, and then she kept wanting it on. I must have seen it about 6 times today! Spent the afternoon visiting Marg and Rich who Poppy was calling Uncle Rich, Uncle Marg, Uncle Mich and Aunty Rich. Uncle Rich even got a kiss before we came home, quite a rare occurance, he should be honoured, Poppy gives out her kisses very sparingly!!

DADDY BIKE, DADDY WORK.

Got a lie in this morning as Lee was not starting work until later so he brought Poppy up at 9.30 on his bike. Poppy had a big grin on her face when they arrived, she loves that bike! Lee had a cup of tea and a look at the internet then Dan picked him up just after 10am to go to work. Poppy, thinking she was going on Daddys bike, got upset when she realised that Daddy was going to work and that she was staying with Grandma. She started to cry when Daddy waved goodbye to her, but as soon as she walked back into the lounge and saw her toys she was fine. "Daddy work" she said to me, then handed me a toy horse. About fifteen minutes later Jill arrived, I was washing my hands and I heard her say "hello, Daddy work" and wondered who she was talking to, when I looked round the door she was standing on the sofa talking at Jill the other side of the window. Jill offered, as she often does when the weather is fine, to take Poppy for a walk and Poppy decided she would take her dolly in the pram too, so I put her reigns on and off they went, Poppy chattering away and I heard her say "Daddy work, Daddy bike" as they disappeared down the road! When they got back Jill said she had not stopped talking all the way and she said "Daddy work, Daddy bike" several times. She played with her toys for a bit when they got back but she was plainly tired and sat on my lap for a while, having asked for "baby tv". She was fighting sleep though and after half an hour or so she slid off my lap to play again, so I thought the best thing would be an early lunch and then maybe she could get the sleep she needed. Jill went home, Poppy waving and still saying "Daddy work" and then she stood at the bottom of the stairs, dummy in mouth, snuggly in hand and said "tired Grandma, bed"!! I followed her up the stairs and put her in the cot, I sat in my bedroom for 10 minutes then sneaked a look and she was fast asleep. Bless.
Poppy slept for not quite 2 hours, I think the dogs woke her barking as the window cleaner was outside but I could hear her chatting to the dolls in the cot and she was quite happy for a while. Grandad helped her to walk downstairs when he arrived home from work, "Daddy work, Daddy bike" she told him. We reassured her that yet Daddy was at work, and yes, when he finished he would fetch her on his bike. She was just eating lasagne, sitting on the new booster seat we got for the dining chair, she no longer wants to sit in her highchair and prefers to be a `big girl`. She is growing up so fast it is frightening!! So she was just eating her lasagne when Daddy arrived to great excitement.
"Daddy, Daddy work, Daddy bike".
Lee told her to finish her tea then he took her home on his bike with Lily.
By the way, booster seat for the dining chair was only £8 on Amazon, a very good buy, in pink or blue it fits on to most normal dining chairs and a strap holds it in place. There is a strap to secure the child and you can take it out with you so they do not need a high chair but can sit at the table with you. Poppy was very pleased and ate her dinner much better than when she sits in the high chair so happy smiles all round.

The slide.

Yet another day of rain, when will it end? We bought a slide for an early birthday present for Poppy thinking she would get more use out of it if we bought it at the start of the summer! Fat chance of that the way the weather has been! Perhaps we should have bought her a boat and a set of waterproofs instead?!!

Poppy has been very busy today and as a result Grandma is worn out now! Lesley came to visit us this morning, Poppy was showing her horses to her then she had to look at her dolly who was in her pram. About 12 Poppy was hungry so I made her a sandwich and she sat on her basket chair and ate her sandwich while she watched the Mickey Mouse club. I was very pleased that she ate all her lunch, when she is poorly, which has been quite frequent since her premature birth, she does not eat much at all, so it is nice to see a healthy appetite when she is well. She was tired when she finished her lunch so she wanted her dummy and snuggly then sat on my lap and fell asleep very quickly. Luckily for me, who needed a rest, she slept for almost 2 hours so I was able to have a sandwich and a rest. She woke up just before Grandad arrived back from work and got very excited when she saw him emerge from the car. He was going to take her out for a walk with her doll and pram but Em has forgotten to leave her coat and as it was too chilly to go out without one, ridiculous in July, we kept her occupied in the house, playing being chased and tickled by Grandad, drawing and playing with her toys.

We were very pleased when Poppy ate all her tea, we had scampi and she had 7 pieces which she enjoyed with chips and followed by a yogurt.

She was excited when Mummy arrived home and rushed to show her the mummy horse as she had brushed its hair (mane).

Hope Poppy has a lovely time with Salli tomorrow, she loves the playgroup they go to and particularly the slide!

Poppy pictures at the party, dressed as a princess.

Poppy, our beautiful princess at her cousins party.


Poppy just loved the giant colouring mat!

 She was in bed early after a busy day!!

Ruby had a party.

Although we didn`t see Poppy yesterday we heard about the lovely time she had at her cousin Rubys princess birthday party. Ruby, the birthday girl, reached the grand old age of 3, and I must say that has gone quickly. Em said there was a huge colouring mat on the floor in the middle of the room, a genius idea, and could not have been better to occupy Poppy who loves to draw and colour. I would never have thought of that, but whoever did deserves a medal! And where do you get the colouring mat from?

Emma put up some photos of Poppy at the party, dressed as a princess in lilac and lace, she would have had some wings too if only I had remembered to buy her some! On her arm is a pink tattoo of a butterfly, hopefully not a permanent one!

Emma said Poppy had a lovely time, and was glad Ruby had a party.

THE TEDDY BEAR DANCE.

When we returned from shopping yesterday I thought that the pushchair parked outside next door looked like Poppys and was proved right when her Nanny hailed me from over the garden fence when I went out to feed my baskets and tub plants. Julie is up from the Devon coast to visit for a few days and had taken the grandchildren to the park and Poppy had fallen asleep when she was taking the two lads home who happen to live next door to us. She was currently fast asleep on their sofa, with her cousins playing and trying to be quiet around her! Julie said Emma would be round later to fetch her and sure enough an hour later, while we were just finishing our lunch, in she walked with the dog. Em went off next door to see if Poppy was awake and then she arrived back at our house a while later as Poppy needed a nappy change and it was easier to do it here as I have all the facilities! Poppy was playing with her toys and her Mummy when Lee arrived, having been at work all morning, hence the reason why Emma had to walk up, Lee had gone to work in the car. Pops did some colouring but she was getting tired, not having had a lot of sleep, after all its not easy to keep two lads quiet for long! Emma showed us how her and Poppy did the teddy bear dance, with all the actions, and then they went off home for tea and I suspect an early night for Pops!