The importance of sleep...

As we emerge from a week where our 19-month old supreme being clearly hasn't had enough sleep, it has reminded me to consider the importance of sleep. Sleep is no less important than food, drink, or safety in the life of a toddler. It's vital to growth and development. And although this may seem blatantly obvious, it's sometimes easily overlooked and our daughter's lack of sleep is certainly not something we did on purpose. As a matter of fact, it can happen for lots of reasons, and that is the problem.

Too much/too little excitement, too much/too little food, bedtime battles, not wanting to miss out, not wanting to give in, missing Mummy (rarely Daddy)...all of these and many more are the reasons why our lovely daughter has not wanted to sleep. I read an article that said she was supposed to be getting 13 hours a day - 11 at night and 2 during the day. Last week we were lucky if she got 9 or 10 in total, some days it was worse. It made for a difficult week.

The results of lack of sleep are not pretty. Emily is in a bad mood alot of the time because she's tired. This means she won't let Mummy more than 6 inches away from her, which in turn makes Mummy in a bad mood. Daddy is public enemy number 1 and can't do anything to please his beloved daughter, this in turn makes Daddy in a bad mood. As everyone is in a bad mood they all get on each others nerves which then makes everyone in even more of a bad mood... Come to our house - it's lots of fun.

So we decide to go to North Berwick to inflict ourselves on the Gurneys and hit the beach...that cheered everyone up (apart from Emily who still didn't sleep).

 Mummy travelling light to the beach

 The sleepless one...as if butter wouldn't melt

Sexy, sultry, surf dudette

My favourite bit of parental advice is "nothing is permanent". And so it was with the lack of sleep. This week we have persevered and been stricter in our routine. It's worked wonders. Our delightful daughter is back. So much so she has been learning to spell (although clearly unimpressed by this adult nonsense)...

Videoclip: Learning to spell

On safari....

 What you looking at? (Part 1)

 What you looking at? (Part 2)

 What you looking at? (Part 3)

 What you looking at? (Part 4)

 What you looking at? (Part 5)

Lions, tigers, elephants, rhinos, ostriches, giraffes, zebra, buffalo, owls, impala, gazelles, lemurs, chimpanzees, sealions, eagles, penguins, meerkats, vultures, goats, llamas, horses, camels, deer, alpacas, falcons, lechwe, otters, pigs, wallabys, buzzards, kudo, eland, hogs, marmosets...today we saw them all. And what did the supreme being like the best? None of the above. She just loved running up and down the wooden walkway, and so spent hours there. Sometimes things just don't go according to plan...

Videoclip: The best thing at the Safari Park

One for all the family...

Emily is fascinated by our family. She has pictures of everyone in a little album and she loves to look at them all everyday. We also have pictures on the kitchen wall and she loves to point her supreme being's finger at all of them and say hello. It's incredible how she's learnt they are more than just passing acquaintances in her life, but instead really trusts and knows them. I guess it's that strength of relationship and care that makes family special.

Anyway, she loves repeating all their names as part of learning to talk. It might not always sound quite right but she loves doing it, and, I for one, will do anything to keep a supreme being happy. I need to work her up to saying all the aunts, uncles and cousins names but that's a much bigger job, so in the meantime this is one for all the family...

Videoclip: Saying hi to all the family...

The jewel of the Highlands...

Week one of our holiday took us to Plockton, a gorgeous National Trust for Scotland conservation village on the mainland looking onto Skye. Sometimes known as the 'Jewel of the Highlands', Plockton is set amongst lochs and mountains and has carefully preserved its heritage and character, making it a 'must' for any visit to the area.

It was great to get out of the city and relax amongst some of the best scenery in the UK. Emily seemed to welcome a return to the Highlands and was immediately in her element listening out for birds, rivers and any other new sounds she encountered.

The supreme being is absolutely enthralled by the great outdoors. Some highlights were boat trips on Lochcarron and to Loch Coruisk on Skye where we had close encounters with seals; watching Emily’s excitement at every new burn she discovered; getting more fresh air with some early starts up nearby munros; foraging on the beach for shells and other sea bounty; discovering the world with a supreme being who delights at every new experience the planet has for her. She even learnt to sing...if that's what you can call it!

Videoclip: Singing Frozen's Let it Go? One viewing and she was hooked...

 I wish I was a punk rocker (with flowers in my hair)

 You can't beat splashing in puddles

 Beach combing

 The second half begins with Bla Bheinn (Blaven)

 Lunch :-)

 Introducing Emily to the Cuillin

 Plockton from the sea

 Plockton from the shore

 Seals (in case you didn't work it out)

 Onwards Mummy...to the Cuillin

Holiday friend...the poor dog Finn that Emily chased round and round and round

 Al fresco dining

 Storytime in the front garden

 The UK's finest view???

Gannets-ville...

The supreme being hits the beach

To follow up on the sun in Banchory we took a quick trip to see the Gurney's in North Berwick. It's really wonderful having relatives in such a special seaside town - particularly one's that don't mind us landing on their doorstep at regular intervals. North Berwick was in a pretty sunny mood and we managed to hit the beach which was a great delight to the supreme being. More important than this was a very exciting boat trip to see the gannets on Bass Rock, which brought out shrieks of delight from Emily. For those of you that have never seen Bass Rock, its a big volcanic plug which is home to upto 150,000 gannets - so many that it looks white from a distance. It is a magnificent spectacle and often advertised as one of the ornithogical wonders of the world.

  

It mght have been sunny but the sea was still somewhat chilly

 

Anyone seen a gannet?

Bass Rock: "Gannets-ville"

Once again Emily loved being away. Her entertaining skills are coming on a treat and she delighted us all with her actorial and musical talents. It seems she really loves to be centre stage and a particularly cute favourite just now is acting out her some of her books. It's great fun to watch and we need to make sure we pack plenty for our holiday next week.

Videoclip: the Entertainer

Videoclip: Half the story

Easter escapades...

Easter this year brought welcome relief as I was more than ready for a few days off work. So we packed up our bags and headed off for some welcome respite with Tanya's parents in Banchory. The sun shone for the whole of the time we were away so we had a marvellous time. The supreme being delighted at everything that spring had to offer - every daffodil and budding tree brought out shrieks of happiness from her and it was lovely to see. It made me realise once again what a truly amazing planet we live on and how we need to take better care of it for all the future generations of supreme beings.

 The wonders of spring - part 1

 The wonders of spring - part 2

  The wonders of spring - part 3

It's great visiting Nana and Baba as amongst other things they have a wonderful garden which enabled us to spend much time running round in the sun. It also made us think we need to move house. They are wonderful babysitters as well, and Mummy and I got to spend a day munro bagging together as well as an evening trip out. This was the first climbing expedition we had had together since our honeymoon, and was made all the more special by me hitting 141 munros - exactly halfway on my quest to bag them all. Thank you very much Nana and Baba.

Emily always takes a developmental leap when she goes to Banchory - must be all the fresh air. And this time she really got to grips with playing games, having races and a special proud moment was her first climb up a slide and down all by herself. It was brilliant to watch!

We're off on holiday in a few weeks time, let's hope the weather holds as its the bonny Highlands for us, and that we have just as much fun as our Easter escapades.

 Sheer sunny delight

Celebrating halfway - let's hope it's downhill from now on

Videoclip: Spring fun 

Express yourself...

As a supreme being, one is required to be in control of one's emotions at all times. In fact you could go a bit further than that and say one is also required to be able to adopt a particular emotion at any given moment. This skill allows a supreme being to control their world and manipulate desired outcomes according to their wants.

Emily has been perfecting this skill of emotional hoodwinking under the watchful eye of her father, and has recently grasped a whole array of impressions that even the likes of De Niro or Hoffman would be proud of. Her actorial abilities will I hope one day become legion and she will become a famous actor (or at least this is my latest plan to encourage my daughter to fund her father's early retirement options). The early signs at least are promising in this respect...

 First smiles on demand for camera

Shock and horror

Videoclip: The supreme being's full emotional repertoire

More important than any of this acting ability though is the discovery of nodding and 'yes'. Some of you may have read about a father's lot in life and Emily's view of her father in the post 'Ghosts of Christmas past'. Well I am now pleased to announce that she has reconsidered this viewpoint (with clearly no persuasion from myself), and has done a complete u-turn on her views in relation to Daddy. I am now officially 'the best daddy in the world'. If you are in doubt of that then read on, there is irrefutable video evidence to support the view. And, for the record, I am now more than happily supportive of the view that it's a woman's perogative to change her mind. Vive la différence!

Videoclip: A father's lot in life - the sequel