Bring out the bunting!

As I mentioned in my last post Charlie had his first birthday party at the weekend and what a day to celebrate! Everywhere was decorated for the long Jubilee weekend and it looked like everyone had made the effort just for Charlie.

We decided to have a small family 'seaside'party in the garden. There were lots of people we would have liked to invite but we thought it would be slightly overwhelming for a 1 year old and besides catering for any more filled me with dread quite frankly! (I always worry that is never enough food and drink)
My brother kindly manned the BBQ and Mum as ever brought wonderful extras - including the most delicious homemade raspberry cheesecake. There were cones of white chocolate fish 'n' chips and jelly starfish. I made some ice cream style cakes and a homemade sandcastle birthday cake.

We decorated the garden with red white and blue bunting and banners and some blue crepe paper pinned to the fence made our 'sea' complete with smiley fish. There were deckchairs to sit in and the kids had a sandpit with buckets and spades a sea creature ball pool and a sun tent to play in. 

Charlie got so many lovely cards and presents (and slept through most of the party!) but he did get to enjoy some cake and take a ride around the garden on his new trike.

Sunday it rained. And rained. And rained. We had been invite to friend's BBQ but unfortunately Charlie was a little poorly so we stayed at home on the sofa. I was quite grateful for this as the day turned colder and the rain persisted. We had our own Jubilee celebration in the warm watching the River Pageant and eating ice creams.

Monday and the weather had improved slightly. We had been invited to my Uncle's Jubilee party - being held in honour of my auntie who we sadly lost to cancer in February. She was planning to celebrate the Jubilee and              always put on the best parties.My Uncle did a fabulous job - he was up at 5am setting out tables with Union Jack tablecloths putting up bunting and preparing masses of food. My auntie would have been very proud!

We spent the evening back home watching the Diamond Jubilee Concert and Alfie was thrilled he got to stay up and show us his dance moves.

Tuesday we visited friends who were camping out in the countryside not far from where we live and had a game of football and rounders with the kids. Charlie had loads of fun crawling around the campsite with no restrictions and Alfie was in his element playing sport.

The best thing about the Jubilee weekend has definitely been spending some quality time with the family. We don't usually take Bank Holidays off so this time it was a real treat. I didn't want to put my bunting away!

Happy Birthday Pudding!

On June 2nd (Coronation Day) amidst the Jubilee celebrations our gorgeous baby boy Charlie turned 1. I can't quite believe that this milestone has come around already! It has been an eventful year but Charlie and his big brother Alfie have brought us so much joy.

Seeing Charlie grow and learn day to day is fascinating - I continually take photos of both boys and am planning a very special photo album. I'm aiming to have a photo on each side of the page (one side for Alfie & one side for Charlie) of each month starting from birth. I realised that I have got at least 1 photo of them for every month since they were born and to compare their growth and changes I am going to put them all together in one album as a lovely keepsake for when they are grown up. I hope to share this with you in the future..when time allows!

The weather thankfully remained dry on Saturday afternoon when we had a small family 'seaside' party (plus a few neighbours) in our garden for Charlie's birthday. We had deckchairs and a sandpit plus cones of fish 'n' chips (the chocolate variety!) and a sandcastle cake (more of that in my next post)

So in honour of Charlie's 1st birthday I have put together a short film that covers his first special year...happy birthday Pudding! 

We love you Charlie Thunder xxx