Sam Hat & Seabirds.

Last weekend we took John & David to North Berwick Fire Station's Open Day in celebration of their reopening after it burnt down (yes, really...) in December 2012. John had a great time running around the Station, climbing in and out the "nee-nawr" with his Papa.

It was strange for me being back however, given that it was the place that of many childhood memories. I even had my 5th Birthday party there & Fireman Sam came to visit! The Station is looking fab though and a lot more modern without the chalk board & dated kitchen. And John was very impressed with getting his very own "Sam hat". The highlight of the Open Day was without a doubt seeing Flint, the Fire Investigation Dog, (or "Radar", as John kept calling him) in action, sniffing out hidden petrol as well as letting all the wee ones have a shot of patting him. We also got ice cream & candy floss which is always a good thing!

After running riot in the Fire Station, we took a wander down North Berwick High Street with Granny & Papa and stopped at the Seabird Centre for some lunch & coffee. We got a lovely seat on the balcony of the cafe and sat in the sunshine watching the boats & ducks below. John was also fascinated by the seal statue on the rocks, telling us that "seal asleep" numerous times whilst we ate lunch. David also woke up to join the party and had lots of smiles for everyone, particularly his Aunty Holly & Uncle Neil who came to meet us.

We're now spending the next week going back & forth from North Berwick as Grany & Papa are on holiday so fingers crossed for more good weather for long dog walks & splashing in the rock pools.

Have a great weekend,

Papa's Nawr.

My Dad's mission in life is to be a cartoon character. For over 30 years he was Fireman Sam, whilst simultaneously helping to build Sunflower Valley as Bob The Builder, and more recently he's become Postman Pat. However the one he'll forever be most known for [despite retiring from the fire service last year] is Fireman Sam.

John has recently become obsessed with Pontypandy's greatest hero (he's actually napping in his new Fireman Sam t-shirt from Granddad as I type this) so when his Papa suggested going to see his old "nawr" (aka. fire engine) John was obviously more than happy to oblige. So on Wednesday morning after a bus & train journey too my sunny home town, we headed to the local fire station where my Dad used to work so John could see the "nawr" up close. And despite being a little apprehensive at first, he was soon exclaiming "Papa's nawr!" over & over. He was even lucky enough to try out the hose and have a shot of sitting in the drivers seat. One happy little fire fighter!

Fun fact for you. Did you know the actual Fireman Sam (yes, it was definitely him) came to my 5th birthday party?

Good Morning, Bella.

Cuddles for Bella. She clearly wasn't interested.

On Friday we took the bus to visit Granny. And after a nice chilled out afternoon in my home town, we decided to stay the night. John just loves being at his Granny & Papa's house -- the different toys, the constant supply of grapes and of course, playing with their dog, Bella.

Despite taking a little longer than usual to settle to sleep and waking up when Papa left for work at 5.30am, we had a not too bad nights sleep. And seeing John's face light up when greeted by an excited Bella first thing in the morning made up for any negative points in terms of a 'good nights sleep'.

It's lovely to watch these two at play. Bella follows John everywhere and John is always running up to Bella for cuddles, to pat or to simply bash on the nose. John loves to give Bella dog biscuits (& knows fine well where they're kept) and Bella likes to sneakily help herself to John's biscuits when his back is turned. John has also become an expert at throwing Bella's ball in the garden and Bella will always play along, regardless of how exhausted she already is.

Being only days apart in age, these two are set to grow up hand & hand (or paw?) and will no doubt continue to cause lots of mischief when we visit Granny & Papa. And God help Bella when John has a little brother for her to keep up with as well!

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