Sunday mornings as always started far too early and this time Josh and Dad were off to Northwich. It was our turn to take Harry to watch his elder brother play for a change as Mum took Emilie to watch Dan play in Manchester.
The away game it transpired turned into a mini tournament as Northwich had not only an ‘A’ and a ‘B’ team but had also invited Ashton Upon Mersey as well.
Warrington got off to a slow start in their first game going a couple of points behind before waking up and taking control of not only their first match but all three of them.
The results were as follows:
Northwich ‘A’ v Warrington: 5-8
Warrington v Ashton Upon Mersey: 8-2
Northwich ‘B’ v Warrington: 5-11
Josh scored twice in the three matches, one in the first game and one in the second game in which he was also captain. Both try’s were dominating runs straight from kick off flying through their defensive line at speed like they weren’t there!
He certainly enjoyed himself, Harry was less happy as he wanted to join in but wasn’t allowed, mainly for safety reasons to ensure he didn’t hurt any of the Warrington squad!
Well done Josh, you had a great morning, keep it up!
Last week we all went on holiday to London, Dan, Em & Josh have been wanting to go for a while & so we finally decided to bite the bullet & take all 4 of them on a sightseeing trip of our capital city.
No sightseeing trip to London would be complete without a trip on The London Eye so on the 4th day of our visit that is exactly where we went. Em & Josh were very excited about going on The Eye, Harry is too young to voice his opinion but he was smiling so I guess he was excited too, unlike Dan.
Dan has over the last couple of years developed a fear of heights so getting him on The Eye was going to be tricky to say the least! I’d explained to him previously that there is a bench in the middle of each pod that he would be able to sit on & that he should just look out of the pod & not down. As we approached the Eye I could tell he was getting nervous as he walked next to me & he went very quiet.
Fortunately our ride was at 11am & there were no queues so we were able to board quickly, Dan boarded clinging onto me for dear life & with his eyes firmly shut. We sat together on the bench whilst the others went to peer out of the pod. As we started to move Dan started to shake, cry & say repeatedly “I want to get off.” This attracted the attention of our fellow pod inhabitants. I reassured him that everything was alright & he calmed down but he would not let go of me.
As The Eye turned I reeled off a list of the sights that could be seen & asked Dan if he wanted to open his eyes to see them, he refused firmly & clung a little bit tighter! Meanwhile Tim, Em, Josh & Harry were having a great time & were really enjoying this view of London.
When we got three quarters of the way to the top of The Eye there was a breakthrough as Dan briefly opened his eyes to look at St Paul’s Cathedral. He then asked me to tell him when we were at the top as he would open his eyes again then. When we got to the top he kept his promise & he opened his eyes & he slowly looked at the sights. I pointed out Paddington Station, Buckingham Palace & the Houses of Parliament to him. I then asked him if I could leave him for a minute with Tim so that I could go & spend some time with his the other 3 – he agreed.
We took a photo of all of us to prove that Dan had opened his eyes:
And then something amazing happened I asked him if he wanted to leave the bench & join me near the window & he said he would. His method of moving from bench to window was somewhat unconventional; it was halfway between a walk & a crawl, but at least he did it!!
And then we took a photo of him on his own standing up!
Some of our fellow Pod riders congratulated him on his achievement & this really brought a smile to his face.
Before we knew it we were back at the bottom of the Eye & it was time to disembark, Dan walked off rather than sprinting off.
When we got off the Eye I gave him a big hug & told him how proud I was off the fact that he had faced his fear & I could tell he was delighted as he exclaimed “I’m so proud of myself as I’ve conquered my fear of heights” he was so pleased he got his mobile phone out & updated his status on Facebook, including the fact that he was now braver than Uncle Chris.
Em asked if she could go & look at the gift shop so we obliged, she then asked if she could have a model of the Eye so we obliged. Little did we know that the model wasn’t for her but it was for Dan. When we returned home she presented the model to him with a note telling him how brave he was.
I’m really proud of Dan for facing his fear, it is a huge achievement for him.
Happy 1st Birthday Harry we hope you have a brilliant day with Mummy & Daddy.
We are sure you will get lots of lovely presents which we can’t wait to help you play with.
Sorry we can’t be with you today.
Love you lots little Brother.
Dan, Em & Josh
X X X
Yesterday we had a BIG party to celebrate Harry’s 1st Birthday which is on Tuesday, we can’t believe he has been here for a year already!
The party preparations started on Friday. Mum, Dad, Auntie Alex & Uncle Jerry hung up bunting in the garden, put banners on the fences & went shopping for some food and drinks for the party. We helped by taking Grandad to the park along with our cousin Finley.
We got up quite early on Saturday as there were a lot of balloons to blow up and more banners to put up before the first big event of the day – Harry’s Naming Ceremony. Mum & Dad had decided to have a naming ceremony for Harry, after all we aren’t religious in anyway and so having a christening because it’s the traditional thing to do doesn’t sit well with them. Daniel & Emilie had Naming Days when they were babies & Mum wanted Harry to have the same.
The Naming Ceremony was at 11am and was held at the Register Office where Mum & Dad got married, in secret, 4 years ago; infact the ceremony took place in exactly the same room. The ceremony was really nice. Mum & Dad, Our Grandparents & Harry’s Non-Godparents (Auntie Alex, Uncle Jerry, Auntie Jennifer & Uncle Mike) all made promises to Harry and the 3 of us did some readings. We had been really nervous about doing the readings. Mum & Dad told us they were very proud of us when we did our readings as we all read them beautifully and didn’t make any mistakes.
When the ceremony finished we went back home ready for the start of Harry’s 1st Birthday Party. Our house was soon filled with family & friends who had come to help Harry celebrate. There was loads of food to eat, loads of drinks to drink and lots of fun to be had on the trampoline & in the paddling pool that had been filled with balls. At one point the adults had a big ball throwing fight which was great fun.
Naturally Harry had a birthday cake, however it wasn’t just any birthday cake it was an absolutely amazing birthday cake – it was The Very Hungry Caterpillar (check out the photos). The candles were lit on the cake, Happy Birthday was sung and Mum & Dad helped Harry blow the candles out. Unfortunately Emilie & Amy hadn’t heard the singing as they had been playing in Emilie’s bedroom so when they came down & realised the cake ceremony had been done they were a little bit upset so the candles were lit again and Emilie & Amy sang Happy Birthday to Harry and then they helped him blow out his candles again.
The party carried on late into the night with the last guests being picked up by taxi at midnight! We had a great time at Harry’s 1st Birthday Party and although Harry won’t remember it we will be able to tell him it was a great day.
Thank You to everyone that came to the party & helped us celebrate!
At the beginning of May Mum decided that she needed to get fit and so she started getting up at 5:45am, whilst us sane family members stayed in bed, and going out for walks with Holly and in the evening she started to use the cross trainer in the conservatory that had been gathering dust since she became pregnant with Harry.
It is now nearly the end of July and Mum is still walking every morning, in fact on some mornings she is known to run 10k which is no mean feat as at the beginning of May she was rubbish at running., she is still going on the cross trainer & in addition to this she has also been going out for weekly walks with some of her work colleagues, all a bit strange you may think?
Well actually it isn’t as strange as you think, its just that Mum has finally gone mad and has signed up to do the 3 peaks 24 hour challenge in October (yes October 2011) and so she needs to get herself superfit. She is doing the challenge with her work colleauges and they are raising money for Macmillan Cancer Care and Wish Upon a Star.
If you have a few pennies spare could you sponsor her & help raise money for these charities? The sponsor page can be found by clicking on this link Mum is Mad.
Last Saturday Mum did a practice training walk up Scafell Pike, the highest mountain in England at 3,209 feet (978 metres) and on Sunday she is walking up Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales at 3,720 feet (1,130 metres) and this is just to practice too!
She might be a bit mad but we love our Mum & hope you can help her raise funds!
