Paris - Day 5

Today has been a reeeeally long day, it's currently almost midnight but feels like 1am as we're still on Paris time. We're on a very quiet train, Marmar, Daddy and Henry are all asleep but I'm staying awake watching the bags, holding Henry and trying frantically to move to save my numb bum without waking the baby. Not an easy task. The popcorn is also out of arms reach...seriously bad times.

Anyway we started this morning by packing our room, checking out and then making our way to the aquarium nearby. Henry absolutely loves fish at the moment so we thought he'd enjoy a proper aquarium visit rather than a quick dash into Pets at Home to keep him happy on a shopping trip! Needless to say he loved it, he kept pointing at the fish and shouting to get our attention and then opening and closing his mouth doing his little fishy impression. Seriously cute. 

We then had lunch in a really busy little french bistro nearby and it was delicious. We had a huge plate of cheese, ham and pâté to begin with and then I had beef bourguignon which was just divine. Afterwards we had a little wander round the shops before heading back to the hotel to get a taxi to the station. Since then it's been a blur of TGV, Eurostar and East Coast trains, sleeping baby, feeding baby, snacking mummy....you get the picture. I'm so excited about finally getting into my own bed in a couple of hours and luckily Mr B will be getting up in the morning so I can have a lie in! 

Paris - Day 4

Wow, what an amazing day! I think if Henry was old enough to talk, he'd say it was his best ever. He's currently absolutely zonked out in his cot and we are finally resting our very achy legs. It turns out it's almost impossible to get a baby to nap in such an exciting place as Disney and so he's been out like a light the last two nights.

We started off in Disney Studios this morning, the second park at Disneyland. It is much smaller than the main park, with a lot less rides, but seemingly the same number of people. This made for enormous queues that weren't at all Henry-friendly. Mr B and I went on the Rock n Rollercoaster and Tower of Terror, both of which we absolutely loved, but we didn't go on anything else. We were really looking forward to going on the new Ratatouille ride with Henry but they'd closed the Fast Track ticket machines and the main queue had a waiting time of 120 minutes! No thank you. Luckily Henry isn't old enough to be disappointed, but if he'd been older and been looking forward to it, I would have been really cross. Obviously queues are to be expected, but 2 hours?! Really? Anyway we decided to head back into the main park and we went on lots of baby friendly rides today which was lovely. Henry particularly enjoyed 'It's a small world' for the second time and a lovely little boat ride around gardens themed as fairy tales.

After a long day of walking around the parks, we headed out to Disney Village for dinner. We decided on Cafe Mickey and I'm so glad we did. One of my best memories of Disney when I was little was of the characters walking around the park and having our photos taken and our autograph books signed. We saw 1 character walking around the parks in 2 full days which was really disappointing. Luckily, unbeknown to us, the characters visit Cafe Mickey all day so Henry got to meet Mickey Mouse, Tigger and Donald Duck whilst eating his tea. I would have put money on him being shy or upset when he saw them, but he was the exact opposite, he was absolutely thrilled! We told him to give Donald Duck a little kiss, which he did, mouth wide open on Donald's beak! He then did the same on Tigger's mouth and Mickey's nose without us even telling him too. Very very cute! It really made our last meal in Disney super special and actually, the food was really tasty too. Henry certainly enjoyed his seafood linguine which he shared with my mum.

When we got back home, Mr B and I headed to the spa again while Henry had his bath, and now we're all back in the room ready for an early night in bed. We've had such a magical time in Disneyland but I'll post more about that in the next few days. Tomorrow we have a full day here before heading back so we are planning to visit the aquarium, very exciting! 

Paris - Day 3

Wow, what a busy day! Today was a busy one, our first at Disneyland. We were up and out early and got the train one stop along the line to Disney. It was almost €6 for the 4 us on the train and it was pretty chaotic and hectic at that time on a morning, especially with a buggy.  It's only €10 in a taxi from our hotel so we're just going to do that tomorrow.

We had a really fab day, plenty of time on 'big' rides for us, lots of time on smaller rides for Henry. We flew over London with Peter Pan, travelled the world in a boat, took a roller-coaster ride with Indiana Jones, were catapulted into space on Space Mountain, visited Pirates of the Caribbean on an underground boat, spun round in teacups, shot lasers at baddies with Buzz Lightyear and got lost in Alice in Wonderland's labyrinth (turns out it was even harder to find Mr B in a labyrinth than it was in the aisles if Auchan yesterday!). Overall a really lovely, but very tiring day.

We finished off our day in Planet Hollywood and I have to say, I had the best burger I've ever eaten in my life. It could have been because I was really tired and had aching legs and feet or because I was extra hungry having not eaten since lunch (snacking is a no-go at Disney's extortionate prices) but it was absolutely divine. I'd like to say I ate the whole lot but I'd be lying; unfortunately Henry chose tonight to decide that he was extra hungry too so he put a pretty good dent in my burger, chips and salad by himself.

We then came back to the hotel and while Marmar bathed Henry, Mr B and I escaped for a quick chill out in the hotel spa. There's nothing nicer than a swim, sauna and jacuzzi when you're tired and achy after a long day, it was heaven. The little one is now fast asleep in his cot, I've had a bath (complete with wine and chocolate) and I am very close to crashing out. I really hope Henry chooses tonight to sleep well, I am exhausted! We're all looking forward to Disney day 2 tomorrow.

A lot of travelling but we're finally here - Paris Days 1&2

So tonight I am blogging from a rather posh, and very comfy, hotel bed in Paris. This is in direct contrast to my usual blogging spot which is our spare room, complete with a duvet that needed washing last week, a set of drawers that are always slightly open due to a mishap when building them using the slightly dodgy Ikea instructions, and a pile of junk that has no other home.

Anyway I digress...we are finally in Paris! We caught a train to London last night and stayed in a Travelodge at King's Cross before catching the Eurostar out of St. Pancras this morning. It was a really easy journey and after checking in at lunchtime, we unpacked and had a little wander around the area. We have a very swanky little kitchenette in our room - we decided it was probably a practical and sensible idea now we have a little mouth to feed on a morning and going out for a posh brunch isn't a viable option anymore! We therefore decided to visit the local Auchan to buy a few supplies to fill said kitchenette, and had a little wander round the shops too. Mr B and my mum spied some very tasty patisserie that they're going to get for their breakfasts in the morning (not dairy free for me and the littlest one though. Boo!), we bought some very cheap but amazingly tasty wine and we lost Mr B countless times in the supermarket as he lost focus on what we actually needed and drifted towards the French beer and cheese aisles..some things never change.

We then made our way to Disney Village and went to The Rainforest Cafe for dinner which was fab. It was expensive, but you expect that, and totally un-French, but Henry LOVED it. There was so much to see and watch and the food was actually pretty decent too. Definitely worth going to if you're staying in the area and have small children. 

We then came back to the hotel and got Henry to sleep so Mr B and I escaped down to the hotel bar for a quick drink while Marmar babysat. Unfortunately we only managed one because Henry woke up absolutely heartbroken that I wasn't there. My mum didn't believe me about no one else being able to settle Henry at night! He is an absolute angel all day and so easy...but a totally different story at night!! Anyway we still managed one and a bowl full of peanuts, so don't feel too sorry for us.

And so here I am, now blogging whilst trying to feed him back to sleep (mission impossible) and we're all getting an early night before Disneyland in the morning. Exciting times.

Henry's first Nando's

Continuing with the theme of 'firsts' this week, Henry experienced his first Nando's earlier today. We decided to pop out for lunch to start out holiday off in style and decided to take Henry for his first Nando's. Mr B and I love Nando's, we've been going for years and despite the crazy price hikes of recent years, we still love it (even if it is a bit of a rip off these days!).

Henry tucked into his daddy's olives to start and then had a kids' meal ( priced at £5.50, which isn't bad at all). We chose the chicken breast strips with cherry tomatoes and corn on the cob for him, and he had a few of my chips too. He absolutely loved it, and finished it off with an apple and blackcurrant ice lolly which was included in his meal. A lovely family lunch, we'll definitely be back soon. 

We're now off on the train to London where we'll stay the night before boarding the Eurostar bright and early in the morning. Disneyland Paris, we're on our way!

Henry at 13 months

I had originally planned to stop these monthly updates but I think I'll continue for a few more months, mainly because I can't get over how much my little one is changing on a daily basis. They're also lovely to look back on in a few months time and good to refer to in the future when we're wondering when Henry met his main milestones.

Weight: I haven't had Henry weighed officially but think he's between 23 and 24 pounds. Compared to other babies his age, I'd say he's pretty average, he's definitely not as chunky as he once was despite his enormous appetite!

Routine: We've really noticed that this month Henry doesn't need his naps the way he once did. Just last month Henry really needed his two daily naps or he'd be a total nightmare. Now he's able to miss a nap or we can delay naps if we have something to do or somewhere to go. Ideally we'd like him to have 1 lunchtime nap, but because I'm not home from work until 1:15, this isn't really practical during the week. He's still a great napper and is really flexible so we can fit his napping around our day.

Food: He's just a star, still so easy to feed. He'll eat anything except for broccoli and this month's favourites are fresh pineapple, black olives and green beans (fried with pancetta and garlic....the child's got taste!). I absolutely adore cooking for him. We finally have a hospital appointment next week after being referred for his allergies a few months back. I'm still breastfeeding, pretty much on demand, which I plan to continue doing until we have a decent alternative. Hopefully the hospital appointment next week will help with that.

Sleep: Last week Henry slept through the night for the second time ever, definite progress!! He's much much better than he was, he settles on an evening quickly and we don't hear a peep from him, which I would have paid good money for just a couple of months back. Most nights he'll wake up once or twice, but does settle quickly after a cuddle or quick boob feed.

Sizes: Henry is in 12-18 month clothes and size 4+ nappies. He is now a size 4G for his little shoes.

Milestones: 

• Henry can finally walk! He just looks so cute waddling around and thinks he's so clever when we clap and cheer when he walks between us.

• He had his first ever hair cut this week and looks very cute with his big boy hair!

• Henry talks and babbles ALL day long. He can say Mama, Dada, George, Marmar, juice, bang, boo and key. He gets particularly excited when he hears his Daddy getting home on an evening and shouts "Dadda" really loudly. Very cute.

• He now has 10 teeth and another 1 coming through. He has 2 molars which he really struggled with, poor little thing. Hopefully the other 2 won't cause him as much pain.

• Henry can use a fork and spoon himself  at dinner time. We tend to load the fork and spoon with the food and hand it to him to feed himself.

• Henry does the actions for Twinkle Twinkle Little Star which he learnt at his music class that my mum takes him to. He wiggles his fingers for the first line then points upwards for the 'up above the world so high' line. I absolutely love it. He also knows how to do 'round and round the garden' on his hand and especially loves the 'tickly under there' part!

• A bit of a random one but Henry can now drink from a straw. I've wondered for ages when he'd learn to do this so thought I'd include it for future reference. He is loving being able to drink little cartons of Innocent smoothies! 

I've absolutely loved this month; he's such a gorgeous age and is learning new tricks every day.

A very lazy weekend full of 'firsts'

We're having such a lovely lazy weekend. We've had no appointments, no set-times or deadlines, we've had long lie ins and lazy naps in bed, tasty treats and lots of TV and snuggle time. More importantly though, we've had a couple of exciting 'firsts'.

Yesterday afternoon Henry and his Daddy went to the barbers for Henry's very first haircut! His hair was getting really long in places, and although I loved the curls, I'm generally not a fan of boys with long hair so we've been meaning to have it cut for weeks. He looks so adorable with his big boy hair and daddy said he was really good having it cut; he sat in the chair like a really big boy all by himself. Daddy left his phone at home though, so no cute pictures unfortunately! Here it is all finished:

And then today we had an even more exciting 'first' - Henry's first proper steps! He's been cruising around furniture for ages and would take the odd step on his own between objects, but never more than one. Then this morning he could just do it, he can pretty much walk across the room between me and Daddy and he is super pleased with himself, as he should be. We are so proud of our big boy.