We always thought POD would thrive when she started reception last September as she’d been ready for school for months. We’d made the decision to keep her at nursery until she was four – three seemed way too young for her to start. Hindsight is a wonderful thing however and had we known what the last six months would entail we might have done things differently. That said, there’s a big difference between nursery care (from 8am to 6pm) and pre-school (10am to 2pm) – the latter just wouldn’t have worked for us.
Recent weeks have seen POD finally settle in at school, a huge relief if I’m honest, progress to the next level in gymnastics and embark on drama classes. Not only that, we’ve seen some notable changes at swimming too. Obviously I totally blame myself for her getting the fear a couple of years back. Three dives was three too many in her first lesson back after I broke my wrist and she quickly got the fear. We pursued the course to the end of term but often had to leave before class finished because she was so scared. She’s such a daredevil too so it seems so odd saying that now.
The first Disney film POD ever watched was the original Sleeping Beauty which was released around 1960. It became a firm favourite of hers alongside other brilliant classics such as Snow White & the Seven Dwarves, Beauty & the Beast and The Jungle Book. She turned five on Christmas Day. Over the last couple of years or so she’s been able to experience a number of Disney greats – from Tangled, The Lion King and Big Hero 6 to Winnie The Pooh, Maleficent and Frozen. The latter still continues to dominate and last year saw POD dress up as Maleficent (Aurora was busy) – a costume that won her best dressed at school. She’s a huge fan of Pixar films too from Toy Story, Finding Nemo and Ratatouille to Monsters Inc, Monsters University and Inside Out. Mickey Mouse, Sofia the First and The Lion Guard are top of the list on the Disney Channel.
We’ve been fans of the JoJo Maman Bébé brand since POD was born five years ago. We always used to find it so sad when the beautiful items we’d so lovingly chosen for her no longer fitted and were confined to the loft. In 2015, JoJo Maman Bébé launched their ‘A Mother To Another’ charity campaign, designed to prolong the life of their baby and children’s clothes. The recycling initiative saw donated pieces sorted into sex, size and season before being wrapped as gift packs of co-ordinating outfits via Barnardo’s. That campaign has been extended this year to offer distribution through the Trussell Trust’s Foodbanks and to those displaced by war in Syria.
Welcome to the Alphabet Photography Project and letter P! Thank you to everyone that joined in last week.
Letter P absolutely has to be for POD but given that’s what I’ve chosen the past two series of the Alphabet Photography Project, I’ve opted for parenting. POD turned five on Christmas Day and on one hand it’s quite hard to believe that. On the other, it’s strange to think of life before she arrived. She has such an amazing character and although parenting can be challenging at times, I wouldn’t swap it for anything.
Christmas Day is always more hectic than most as it’s also POD’s birthday. Like the majority of other children, her excitement levels were at fever pitch as we approached the festive period. We had a great drive up to the POD Father’s parents, enjoying a lovely Christmas Eve feast before putting presents under the tree and retreating for the night. POD was up early the following morning to discover Father Christmas had been. The presents were all individually wrapped in Santa paper (he’s a good egg that chap in red) and POD was thrilled with every one. Her wide-mouthed look of surprise continuing until she reached the final gift.
It doesn’t seem five minutes since POD was born. She arrived on Christmas Day 2010 to the Salvation Army singing Good King Wenceslas outside the delivery suite. We couldn’t have planned that even if we’d tried to! When we returned home, the streets were still white with snow, as they had been for the majority of December. Although there was some snowfall the following year, POD doesn’t remember touching it or helping Daddy build a snowman. It’s far too mild for a white Christmas but I do hope this winter sees her make her first snowman and sleigh down a hill. She’s itching to have a snow ball fight with Mummy and Daddy too although I’m not sure she fully understands it’s a two-way thing. She’ll learn.
Many of you know Katy Hill from her time on Blue Peter. These days the TV and radio presenter can be heard on Heart breakfast although you may have seen her on ITV’s This Morning as well. She’s married to producer and presenter Trey Farley and they have two children – daughter Kaya who is nine and son Akira who recently celebrated his sixth birthday.
This is a particularly nostalgic time of year. As I glance at the Christmas tree adorned with decorations from five years ago, I can’t help but smile. I remember that time so clearly, I suspect I always will. The first dump of snow arrived early December and I had to work from home for several days as we were snowed in. Two weeks later I went on maternity leave.
The Doves are huge advocates of the National Trust and we’re lucky to have so many properties local to us. We venture outside the Surrey Hills whenever time allows and Mottisfont has been on the ‘must see’ list for a while. Located in a sheltered valley near Romsey in Hampshire, the country house is set in the most magnificent grounds with ancient trees, lawns and streams to explore.