Our Trip To Ipswich

Last weekend we went down to Ipswich to visit Grandad. This had been booked for quite a while and I was really looking forward to it.
We arrived at our hotel, The Novotel, around one and got checked in. We fed Calleigh on our make-shift high chair before heading out into Ipswich for a walk around before it got dark.

 

 

 After a walk around the shops we went back to the hotel for a drink in the hotel bar. Calleigh loved the low leather sofas. She was sliding about all over the place and learned very quickly how to slide off them and scurry off across the room. As always she drew a lot of attention to herself.

We went to bed early that night after a long and tiring drive down. However Calleigh had to make a few phone calls before bedtime (we did have to unplug the phone though as the number she liked pressing the most was the number 9).

On Saturday we met up with Grandad and Tess and headed off to Bury St Edmunds for the Christmas Fayre. It was very crowded but we still enjoyed walking around. It was set in the beautiful Abbey Gardens and we saw some Reindeer, Donkeys, Ducks and Squirrels. Paul enjoyed a Pork and Stuffing cob whilst I enjoyed a yummy hot chocolate and Danish Pastry.

 

We had a really good day, even though it was raining most of the afternoon.

Later that evening we went out to Frankie and Benny's for dinner with Grandad and Tess. Calleigh slept through the meal which was good as it was really busy in there. She woke up back at the hotel to have a play with Grandad before bedtime.

 

 

I also managed to catch Calleigh and Daddy red handed sneaking things out of my bag.
Calleigh blamed it all on Daddy of course.
 

 

We all had a really good weekend and we hope Grandad enjoyed seeing us too. We must do it again soon.

 

 

A Day At The Fair

At the weekend Chestnut Fair was in town so we took Calleigh down for a little look. Auntie Lana was also going to be there raising money for Children In Need by sitting locked in a cage all day. She did look cold bless her but Calleigh had a good laugh nevertheless.

 

 

We walked around the fair which took us down the highstreet and eventually found something I was happy with to go on with Calleigh. After afew minor bumps of my head, we got in.

 

 

At first it was a bit too loud for Calleigh with all the other kids ringing the bells, but once they stopped she started enjoying it a bit more.  Daddy and Mee-Maw got a big thumbs up when we past them.

 

 

I banged my head once more on the way out, much to the amusement of the lady who was helping me out of the train. Luckily Paul didn't see that one, neither did he see me walk into the post shortly after. Some days I feel I shouldn't be allowed out of the house, just for my own safety.
 

The walk around the fair really tired her out, when we got back to the car she was fast off and didn't even wake up when we put her in her car seat.

 



First Walkers

Since Calleigh's birthday is coming up and she is inches away from taking her first steps on her own I have been in the market for some new shoes, her first pair of grown up first walkers.
First walkers are important to provide comfort and support for your baby when they are new to walking. A good fit is also important so I used the printable size guide on the Tiny Toes Baby Shoes website to find out Calleigh's shoe size.
It's nice that she now has a shoe size instead of just having to judge it on how many months she is. I always found that they were either too big or too small.

 

The key things I have been looking for are: Comfort, Style and Durability.

 

I have managed to narrow down my choice to 2 pairs of shoes.

 

Option 1

 

Clarks Ida Chic G Slip-on Shoe from Brantano

 

Image Source

This shoe is made from leather with a rubber sole, ideal and robust enough for first walkers. The Velcro fastening makes them easy to get on and off which is a definite plus when you've got a wiggler like Calleigh is.

It retails on the Brantano website for £24.00 which I think is a very reasonable price for the quality of the shoe.

 

Option 2

 

Girls White Flower Mary Jane from Tiny Toes Baby Shoes

Image Source

These shoes are made with the finest Italian leather and a fine soft leather interior for maximum comfort. Each shoe is handmade down to the smallest detail. They are developed specifically to provide support over that transition period from crawling to walking.
These retail on the Tiny Toes Baby Shoes website for £39.99. A little more expensive but they do sound much higher quality. Every inch of this shoe is designed with baby in mind.

 

Both shoes are very good and I may find myself buying both. Even as young as Calleigh, a girl can never have enough shoes!

Birthday Countdown

The countdown to Calleigh's birthday has begun with only two weeks left until the big day.



5 days old

 

I have been very busy shopping for presents and think I am just about done, although I must admit my purse is definitely feeling lighter now.

 

We have planned a little party for her the following Saturday which I am looking forward to. Not only because of the gorgeous cake I have ordered but to get together with family and friends again.

 

It's hard to believe that my tiny little princess is soon to be a big 1 year old. Where does the time go!

 

It seems like it was only yesterday when Paul picked us both up and brought us home.



I remember how she looked like a little frog because her feet were always in the air (she was breech). Now she likes her legs as straight as possible, annoying when your changing her nappy!

 

Tiny little toes

 

At least we have some things to look forward to before then.

This weekend the fair is on and Auntie Lana will be sitting in a cage to raise money for Children In Need.

Next weekend we are heading down to Ipswich to visit my Dad and take a gander at the Christmas Market at Bury St Edmund's.

 

Outfit of the Month: November

Outfit of the Month Is...
 

Mothercare Oatmeal Knitted Dress with Crochet Detail

Tights from Baker Baby at Debenhams




Our Trip to Copenhagen: Day 3

On our third and final day in Copenhagen we had another early start as we had to leave for the airport at 3 and we still had a lot to fit in before then.

 

This time we headed straight for Amalienborg Palace. We arrived there just before 10 and just in time to see the changing of the guards. It was actually really good to watch, Calleigh woke up during and just had a look on her face that said "Why are these men wearing silly hats?"

 

Frederik VIII's Palace

Equestrian Statue of Frederik V



Marmorkirken



Palace Guards

 Afterwards we took a short walk to Rosenbourg Slot and the surrounding gardens at Kongens Have. It was beautiful, there was even a little  kids park and a duck pond. Unfortunately we didn't have time to wait until the Castle opened to walk round as there was still much to do before check out.

 

 

 

 

We then headed back to the harbour for a hot drink and some Danish Pastries I picked up from breakfast.

 

 

 

Our last stop before the airport was Ripley's Believe it or Not! and the Wonderful World of HC Andersen Museum.

Calleigh was happy looking at all the strange freakish things on display like a two headed cow and shrunken heads. And I enjoyed reading about the life of Hans Christian Andersen.

 







We went for lunch in Hard Rock Cafe and arrived at the airport with plenty of time to do some last minute gift shopping.

 

Huge Chicken Club Sandwich

 

When it came to boarding time we did notice that the plane was tiny and wondered briefly if it was even capable of getting us back home. Thankfully it did and after a very wiggly Calleigh on the flight home it was nice to touchdown back in England.

Home Sweet Home.



Our Trip To Copenhagen: Day 2

Day two started with breakfast in the hotel restaurant, Ristorante Frascati. Paul then nipped out to get me a hairbrush and we went back up to the room to let Calleigh have a nap before the busy day she had ahead of her.

Our first point of call was The Little Mermaid about a half an hour walk from the hotel. Although we took a slightly longer route so we could see Nyhavn (New Harbour). It was beautiful with colourful buildings either side of the harbour and a giant anchor in the middle. We planned to come back here for lunch.

 

 

We carried on our walk and soon arrived at Langelinie and The Little Mermaid. Calleigh was asleep at this point (as usual) so missed out on seeing her. If you want to know the story about her find I posted her story here.

 

 

After a short tea stop looking out at sea, Paul decided to take us back to see Amalienborg (home to the Danish Royal Family) and the harbour another way. Several miles later we decided that this wasn't the best route, we couldn't see the Palace anywhere and somehow ended up back on Strøget. So we decided to stop for lunch. We found a nice Café called Café Scandi and headed inside. Paul and I both ordered the lunch buffet and Christmas Beer. We helped ourselves to a good selection of dishes and I even tried a green olive. After spitting it out straight away I concluded that it tastes like Paul's socks soaked in vinegar, I knew there was a reason I hadn't had one before.

 

I like Calleigh in the mirror on this one hehe

We made our way back to the hotel to rest our feet from all the walking and toyed with the idea of catching the train to Malmö, Sweden. After some research it didn't look like there was going to be much to do so we decided against it and headed back to Strøget for an evening walk. I wanted to try a hot chocolate in a place called La Glace but unfortunately they were closing as we got there so we ended up sat outside Café Norden listening to a street performer sing The Beatles. Bliss.

 

On the way back to the Hotel I stopped to get my Dad some Christmas beer and finally got hold of a blue Santa hat. Yay.

 

 

That evening after Calleigh had gone to bed, Paul and I ordered some Italian Antipasti and Champagne. Great end to a great day!!

 

 

 Our third day in Copenhagen

Our Trip to Copenhagen: Day 1

To say I was worried about travelling alone with Calleigh would be an understatement. I hardly slept the night before which when you had to be up at 4:30 to get everything ready was not good.
Turns out I have no idea what I was worried about. Calleigh slept in the car on the drive to the airport and even though we arrived far too early for our flight it was easy to keep her entertained. We had breakfast together, did some shopping and I enjoyed a Gingerbread Latte while Calleigh had 10 minutes kip before the flight.

She was lucky enough to have her own seat next to me on the plane and besides the few times I had to pick everything up that she dropped it was a very easy flight.

We arrived at the airport excited to see Daddy, however because the flight was 15 minutes early he was not there to meet us. We only had to wait about 10 minutes before we saw Daddy looking around for us. Calleigh was absolutely knackered as she had no sleep on the plane so the minute we got into the taxi she fell asleep on Daddy (not the reunion he was hoping for).

We checked into our hotel, The Grand Hotel (at which point I realised I had left my hairbrush at home), had a awful cup of tea with powdered milk (bleurgh), looked through our book to see what we wanted to do this weekend and then headed straight out to take a walk around.

I want to go there Daddy!

After a short walk we found ourselves at Strøget, Copenhagen's main shopping street popular for it's street performers. You can find anything from bargain stores to your high-end stores such as Louis Vuitton and Gucci. After walking past a few bars we realised that it was the release of Tuborg's Christmas Beer, Tuborg Julebryg, that night so we headed back to the hotel to get something to eat and planned to come out later to try and catch it.



Ready to go out

Sure enough at 20:59 we heard lots of horns going off and from around the corner 3 Tuborg lorries appeared beeping their horns to a crowd of people cheering. The lorries then stopped and from out the back blue Santa's came out and handed out free beer and hats. It was really great to see!

After all the travelling and excitement of the first day we made sure we got to bed early so we could be nice and fresh in the morning. Calleigh fell straight to sleep and slept just like she does at home, although being in the same room as her we did notice she talks in her sleep. Weird.

Our second day in Copenhagen