Hat's Off to Anna

Last week seemed to last several years rather than the speed at which it normally goes. The reason for this was the eagerly awaited arrival of my brother's wedding. With me being me, I feared that we would all be struck down with Swine Flu or, that I would get so incredibly stressed, that my body would malfunction and I would only have myself to blame when I passed out. In fact, last week I was the biggest hypochondriac as each day saw me imagining that I had a new ailment ranging from Swine Flu on the Monday to Swine Flu, a Urinary Infection and temporary blindness on Friday which would all result in me missing my one and only brother's wedding. Not only would I let my special brother down but I would also be the one to blame for making my daughter miss her very special moment. She would never forgive me for allowing her to miss her solo performance as Bridesmaid. Apart from my own wedding, this was the second biggest day that I had ever been excited about in my life (Of course, giving birth to Anna was also extremely exciting but slightly terrifying too so, although it resulted in the best day of my life, excitement wasn't the highest emotion in the build-up to the day). Of course, none of these imaginary symptoms turned out to be the real thing and all 3 of us made it to the big day (although my sanity had been diminished dramatically and James patience had also seen a big decline!!)

We arrived in Hereford on Wednesday night, ready for the rehearsal that was to take place on Thursday. We thought it would be a good idea for Anna to attend the rehearsal as it would mean that she became familiar with the environment and possibly even the order of events. I think, in hindsight, Anna attending the rehearsal just added to stress and meant that I completely lost the plot!

Up until that point, both Carolyne (the bride and my future sister-in-law) and her parents (the hosts!) were extremely brilliant in ensuring me that, whatever Anna did and wherever she went during the ceremony, it would all be fine and great. After all, 'what is the worst that she could do?' (their words!). By the end of the rehearsal, they had a pretty good idea! For a start, Anna wouldn't stand still and ran up and down the aisle as though she was on a never-ending treadmill. Despite several attempts at getting her to stand next to Carolyne while waiting to enter the church, Anna decided that it would be best if she challenged her Auntie Carolyne to a race 'Run Carolyne, run. Chase me, chase me' as Anna hurtled towards the alter. She then decided that getting up into the pulpit would be an excellent idea. This may not have been that bad except the pulpit was a very convenient way of then climbing into the huge stone window ledge (it was an extremely old church) and using the stained glass window as her back drop as she sang 'Dancing Queen' at the top of her voice. Being slightly smaller than Anna, I was finding it quite difficult to climb onto the window frame to get her. Meanwhile, the Church warden was looking at us as though she had just swallowed a wasp. Then, it was time to practise the vows. Up until this point, Anna had shown no interest in the vicar and what she had to say. Now, all of a sudden, Anna decided that she should be listening to the thoughtful words so barged past the Father of the Groom, pushing both him and Carolyne out of the way so that she could stand next to the Vicar and congratulate her. 'Well done' said Anna while tapping the vicar's hip rather too enthusiastically! After explaining that Father of the Groom's were rather important at wedding ceremonies and that pushing them out of the way may not be a good idea, Anan decided to go and rearrange the leaflets. Anna then decided to pick up a leaflet and, pretending that it was the 3 little pigs story, Anna recited 'Not by the hair on my chinny chin chin, I won't let you in. He came down the chimney and burnt his bum. The end'. At this point, even Carolyne's poor parents were questioning the decision to have Anna as the angelic bridesmaid.

I went home with a big headache that evening. Friday saw me basically pacing the house, having visions of Anna asking all the congregation to move so that she could go body surfing along the pews (something else she did at rehearsal) or shoving Carolyne out of the way to get a better look at the vicar!

Saturday morning came and Anna's special day as Princess soon began when she walked out of the house to be greeted by Mummy's car decked in ribbons and bows (I was driving Anna to church so my dad had tied the ribbons earlier). 'Wow. Brilliant. A princess car' exclaimed Anna. I explained it was all for her to ride in and a huge beaming smile came upon her face.

At 10.45am, we arrived at Carolyne's parent's house. Anna had been here before (under the illusion that it may help to settle the excitement on the actual day). Of course, Anna hadn't forgotten so immediately asked if she could go and see the cows in the barn, the ducks in the pond, the sheep in the field and play with the dogs, all of which she did last time. Of course, time was not going allow for all that so I did one of those little Mummy lies and said today was the day when all the farm animals had an extra long lie-in. Anna just looked at me as though I had gone round the twist but thankfully went along with it! As it turned out, there was some time spare but going to see the animals was not a great idea as I knew we would then have to follow that up with a second visit when Anna insisted that we go and show her 'friends' (the cows!) her princess dress which would not have been a great idea. Therefore, Anna headed straight for the Grand piano and bashed the keys for a very long time while singing 'Money, Money, Money' at the top of her voice (Anna is insisting on listening to Abba for a vast majority of every day at the moment!!). I did check with all members of the household at frequent opportunities to check that Anna was not ruining a very expensive piano, passed down through generations and regarded as a family heirloom but they all assured me that as long as Anna was happy, it was fine. I also checked to see if anyone was suffering from headaches or perforated ear drums but they continued to smile at me and assure me all was well.

So, it was finally time to get the 'princess dress' on, complete with velvet shoes, head dress and special Rose buttonhole. I admit to crying when Anna gave me her first twirl as a fully fledged bridesmaid. We then set eyes on Carolyne where both Anna and I let out a collective 'Wow' at the same time at seeing how beautiful she looked. Along with Anna, they made a truly gorgeous pair.

So we were soon heading to the Church, which was the most nerve-wrecking drive of my life. I was imagining all sorts, such as car sickness or tearing her dress when getting her out of her car seat (Which you need a degree in to operate!). It felt longer to drive those 10 miles than it would of to drive to London and back.

As we approach the huge oak door to the church, Evan (Carolyne's brother and Usher) had been instructed to close it and only open it when the vicar announced 'Please stand for your bride'. Anna thought this was a great game so kept knocking on the door, shouting 'let me in. Huff and puff and blow the door down'. However, whilst the vicar apparently gave a tutorial to the congregation about the different types of confetti that could and couldn't be thrown, Anna got a little bored and thought Evan wasn't playing the 3 little pigs game very well. Luckily we just changed the words to being Evan, instead of Big Bad Wolf and Anna thought that it was all fine then!!

As our ears are flooded with the chimes of the organ playing 'Here Comes the Bride,' the door opens and I can contain Anna no longer as she giggles and goes racing in like a tornado and... stops very abruptly, frozen to the spot. No longer is it a church filled with only empty pews and a few people she knows. Suddenly, there is 150 people, all looking at her as the church is filled with music. Anna looks behind her to see Auntie Carolyne and Carolyne's dad smiling at her. Carolyne gently bends down and gently encourages Anna to 'show me the way to go' and Anan is serenely and so incredibly beautiful walking down the aisle, looking as though she is floating slowly and gently. Evan and I are peering around the corner of the pews as we watch Ev's sister and my daughter wowing the whole congregation and hearing the gasps of people realising how beautiful they both look. Then it was my turn to be frozen to the spot as I feel the tears well up and fall down my cheek. Ev, at this point, just smiles at me and says 'I think we can go now' and so, as the vicar begins her service, we both walk down the aisle and take our seats at the front.

The service was lovely and seemed to strike the perfect balance of humour (a reading of a funny poem which summed up Steve and Carolyne very well), sentimentality, faith and just a general feeling of a joyous and glorious occasion. All f this and the occasional shout of 'Look Goo-Goo, Iggle Piggle and Upsy Daisy are dancing (I had provided a sticker book to try and keep Anna seated for longer than 2 seconds. Thankfully it worked although the whole congregation and, in particular, my Nan had to hear all about it!). However, no one seemed to mind and just seemed to add to the whole atmosphere. It was only when signing the register that Anna decided to have another go in the pulpit so I then had to walk to the front to rescue her while Anna tried telling me that she was lost. A likely story but I did hear the whole congregation quietly giggling so Anna was forgiven! Anna then decided that she was missing some vital action so went to look at the register but, on finding that it didn't have any pictures in it, decided to return to her seat to tell Goo-Goo how much she liked her hat!

(I am wearing really large heels in this photo. Unfortunately, the grass was so soft that my heels sunk and I then had to be yanked out of the ground by somebody every time that I stood still for longer than 1 second. Nobody else seemed to have the same trouble as me!!)

The rest of the day was filled by lots of drinking of Pimms (which I had never tasted before but got quite a liking too), Champagne, photograph-taking and sitting by the lake soaking up the sun. Anna also thought that the throwing of the top hats by the men in the morning suits was not just for men only so decided to take her Grandad's top hat and do some wearing and throwing of her own. I think Anna thought it was all part of the wedding day tradition where everyone got to wear silly hats and throw them! She looked very cute though!

Thankfully my speech as 'best woman' was witty enough for people to laugh at a few times (I have video evidence to prove it as I had no recollection of it several seconds after sitting down due to the relief being so immense) and despite being heckled by Anna on one or two occasions, I think it went down well. In fact, I'm not sure Anna was heckling or merely trying to help. All week, I had been practising my speech and every time she saw me with my cue cards in my hand, she would announce (in her poshest voice), 'Ladies and Gentlemen' before allowing her Mummy to continue practising!

Despite only having half an hour's sleep all day (which was amazing considering how much Anna had been up to), Anna then proceeded to dance to EVERY single song from the moment the disco started to the time where her eyes could no longer stay open (11.45pm!). Amongst all that disco dancing, there were several requests for Abba, all of which were played and LOVED by Anna. A special Thank You must also go to Adrienne (my cousin) for accompanying Anna on the dance flOor. I did offer my services on several occasions but Anna was having none of it and literally pushed me off the dancefloor so that she could dance with Adrienne and not have a boring Mummy spoiling their creative moves!!

As I said in my speech, I thank Steve and Carolyne for asking Anna to be their bridesmaid. It was the most special moment of her life so far I think and made James and me very very proud parents. Of course, Steve and Carolyne also were fantastic in every way and I felt so proud of my little brother and how wonderful the day was.

As well as Steve, Carolyne, Anna and indeed everyone looking so wonderful, as well as the beautiful setting and the gorgeous food, the fantastic company of family and friends and the hundreds of smile, as well as all of that, the sun also shone. It had been torrential rain and storms in the week leading up to the Saturday and Sunday morning saw the rain heavier than ever. However, for one day only - on teh day that my little brother got married, the sun shone all day and it was glorious in every way. That is what they call perfection!

Huge congratulations to Steve and Carolyne. James, Lou and Anna (Chief Bridesmaid) love you very much!

Proud Parents

Sorry about being so absent from the blog recently. Rest assured, we are all fine!!!

In fact, all 3 of us are feeling very upbeat and happy at the moment. We have just returned from my brother's wedding, which was glorious in every way!!!! It was such a happy day and every single guest had a huge smile on their face all day.

I am sure you are wondering how Anna got on with her solo performance as Bridesmaid. Well, after the rehearsal where all my nightmares came true and, despite Anna climbing into the pulpit and trying to educate the whole congregation about the merits of Upsy Daisy and Iggle Piggle, Anna was wonderful. In fact, she was the perfect bridesmaid and I will try very very hard to tell the whole story on here in the next couple of days. However, here is a little picture to be going on with.

Standing on the Sidelines

We should have known. Anna has never been one to stand on the sidelines. Anna is most happy when she is in the thick of the action, exploring it all for herself. She certainly isn't going to be satisfied by standing back and watching others do it!

At a recent crucial hockey match that her Auntie Carolyne was playing in, Anna wanted to get on the pitch with them. (Last game of the season playing league champions in a bid for Carolyne's team to finish 3rd in the league. They won.) Whilst running towards the said pitch, she even picked up a stray hockey stick as she ran past it, just so that she could join in when she eventually reached the play. She was most annoyed when we pointed out that she couldn't be a substitute player and resembled John McEnroe as she nearly threw the stick down and stomped off with her trademark strut (Anyone that has seen Anna 'strut' her stuff will know what I mean which involves lots of bum wiggling and hands on her hips as she walks off!) Fortunately, thanks to a very thoughtful Auntie Carolyne and Uncle Steve, Anna was presented with her very own hockey stick at the end of the match (It is a genuine hockey stick made by a manufacturer of professional teams such as the England Hockey squad but just tiny, perfect for a 2 year old! They start them young in hockey!). In fact, while Anna was practising with her new treasured procession, the rest of the team was signing her up for next season! Anna is waiting for her call up!

So it appears that Anna is not destined to be one of life's by-standers. Instead, I think Anna will be in the midst of it all, creating chaos but having lots and lots of fun with it!

Daddy Cool

Oops!! I can imagine that you have all been sat on the edge of your seats, holding your breath and just longing to tell me how the Dad and Toddler morning went (see previous post). In fact, I expect you have turned blue at holding your breath so long. OK... so nobody has wondered how it went but I thought I would let you know anyway!

At 12.05pm , Anna and her Daddy came strolling back through the door with huge beaming smiles on their face. Anna was very proudly clutching a monster mask that her daddy had helped her make at the craft table.

Apparently the morning had been a tremendous success and, on the way back, James decided to call in at the hairdressers ~(which happens to be very close to the community centre which is convenient) and get Anna's haircut (which was desperately needed!). Bonus!

For the rest f the day Anna was not interested in me at all. Daddy had to sit next to her while eating lunch and Daddy was the one who got invited into the playhouse for a cup of tea and a piece of cake while telling me 'Mummy go and clean'!!!

Anna and James no intend to make this a regular occurrence once a month. Therefore, I have no choice but to have a leisurely Saturday morning on the first Saturday of every month. I am sure I will be able to find something to amuse me!

Oh... and James says the Bacon butties were not bad either!!!

Who Let the Dad's Out?

It is Saturday morning and the house is silent! It feels extremely strange and very surreal. Why?

Anna and James have left me!!!!!

Well, when I say left me, that is not strictly true because they will back for lunch!

James and Anna have joined a toddler group, especially designed for dad's and their toddler's. It is their first day today. It runs on the first Saturday of each month. I think James was attracted to it when heard that there would be bacon butties, comfy sofas and newspapers to read. I didn't tell him that Anna wouldn't give him any time to sit on a comfy sofa and read the paper. For Anna, there is toddler toys, a craft activity and lots of other children to get to know but she will probably be too busy running around singing Lady GaGa and trying to cut her hair with scissors again

I didn't even know they were going until 5 minutes before they left. I was reading the local paper while watching Anna draw faces in her Weetabix and just happened to mention that there was this dad's club running in our local community centre. James actually didn't seem very interested until I mentioned the bacon butties and then his ears sprung up like a cocker spaniel and he suddenly was very interested!

Before I knew it, Anna was being whipped out of the high chair with the promise of lots of new toys to play with and they were heading off down the road! I was left on the doorstep waving goodbye as Anna cheerily shouted 'Bye Mummy. See you later', holding her Daddy's' hand and skipping! Anyone would think she was pleased to see the back of me!

It feels very strange, sat here on my own. The house is never normally this quiet any more. Don't get me wrong, Anna and James do spend a lot of time together but it is normally with me or I am, at least, in the background somewhere. I think it is actually really good for both of them to spend time together without me around but it just feels very peculiar at the moment!

After long days of being rushed off my feet, I sometimes dream of moments like this when I would actually get spare time to surf the Internet looking at completely random sites and now that I am doing it, dare I say it feels a bit boring! Before Anna, I used to do this all the time (when I was meant to be planning scintillating lessons for the week ahead!). Now I'm not sure how I wasted so much time! Of course, there is always piles of ironing and washing that I could be doing but never mind!

So I am sat here instead, writing a blog about Anna and wondering what she is up to? Is James racing around the community centre trying to catch an excitable Anna who has decided to run amok with the glitter. Maybe she is trying to eat glue or thinking that the play dough is looking like a tasty snack ? Or could it be that James is sat eating his bacon butty while Anna plays beautifully with some new toys that she hasn't discovered before. If that is the case, then I am going to have to find out what I am doing wrong because she never does that for me!

As James left, he said 'Well, we can see what it is like can't we. We don't have to go again if it is rubbish" so I'm really not sure what the reaction will be when James walks back through the door. It will either be "Never again. All parents do is talk about their kids all the time and Anna doesn't stop still for a second" or it will be 'That was great. Anna loved it and the bacon butty was delicious". I am truly hoping it was the second. I realise that it does feel incredibly strange not to be with Anna at this second in time but I could probably get used to having 2 hours off one Saturday per month!

I have just heard a police siren hurtling down the main road (which is quite close to our house and is the main road leading into Chester from the motorways). As you can imagine with it being such a busy road, that is a fairly common occurrence but I am now sat here thinking 'what if the police siren was heading for the community centre because Anna has decided to do something she shouldn't'. I'm not exactly sure what that would be though - I need to get a grip! What on earth am I going to be like in September when I have 2 mornings of this! At least today I know she is with her Daddy!

Only 40 minutes until they are back.

Waking Up to Lions!

Did we really go on holiday? It seems so long ago but, in fact, it was only 3 weeks ago.

It is shame on me for not writing this blog sooner but I seem to have been so busy, mainly with putting on weight it seems. I actually managed to lose quite a lot in the last few weeks, even continuing to lose it on holiday (which is no surprise after all that cycling, walking and swimming we did on holiday). However, since getting back, it all seems to have gone wrong and I have put on half a stone! It is not fair. Losing half a stone takes months of hard work while putting half a stone on seems to take less than a week! (This has nothing to do with Anna or the holiday but I am having a rant because I just weighed myself 5 seconds before arriving at the computer... never a good idea!)

Anyway, back to the holiday!

We went to Center Parcs again but this time to Longleat. As many of you know, I am a huge fan of Center Parcs. Before having Anna, I would have thought I had arrived in some kind of nightmare if I had gone there. However, when taking a 2 year old on holiday, I honestly can think of no better place to go! I love the fact that you can go to some decent restaurants and they don't bat an eyelid about having a child with you. I love the fact that all of the other families are in exactly the same boat so don't mind if your darling daughter decides to have a tantrum (She didn't but you always have that fear in the back of your head of that nightmare scenario of being asked to leave the restaurant). I love the fact that they have a great selection of food that is suitable for Anna - healthy and organic (but also allowing her to have yummy puddings - it is holiday after all!) I love the fact that you wake up every morning to the sound of birds and, after stumbling out of bed, happen to see a family of rabbits (Mummy, Daddy and several baby rabbits) every morning on your patio, along with several ducks and a squirrel (all of whom were sat waiting each morning for us to emerge from our bed!). I love the fact that you open the front door to your wooden lodge and can't see anything but woodland. I love the fact that there are no cars so Anna can wander around to her hearts content and you can cycle everywhere without fear of getting knocked down (although you do have to watch for fellow bike riders who only sit on a saddle once a year on their visit to Center Parcs and still think they are behind the wheel of their company car!) Above all else, I love the fact that Anna adores it at Center Parcs too and seems to be laughing and smiling every 5 seconds.

I think what Anna loves most is the bike! To have her very own chariot whilst her Daddy works up a very hot sweat, peddling her around the 450 acre site, just adds to her enjoyment. Each morning, we would open the front door and, whilst gathering coats etc, Anna would race to her bike trailer and sit herself down before shouting 'come on Daddy, let's go' at the top of her voice.

One of the highlights of the week was doing a Treasure Hunt. This is where you have 8 teams and you have to find clues, which lead you around a 4 mile course. Each clue gives you a code and the last clue eventually leads you back to the start point. Providing that you have all the clues, you get a different prize depending on where you finish. On our last trip to the Lake District Center Parcs, we finished in 3rd place complete with medals and I was determined to beat our previous best. Luckily, James and Anna knew what was coming so had prepared themselves to just laugh at me when I started to get very competitive and tell them that they 'needed to buck their ideas up and start looking at the map closer' (after I got a little lost!!!). Unfortunately, this treasure hunt course was considerably more difficult than the Lake District. For a start, the site at Longleat is VERY hilly. Everyone who has been had warned us about this but we didn't realise how steep some hills would be. Also, being a much bigger Center Parcs, the course was also a lot longer. However, to make up for it, there were some amazing scenic viewpoints on the way such as a cascading waterfall and a meadow full of wild flowers. However, the best moment of the whole afternoon was when Anna grabbed a branch that was lying on the ground. This branch was huge with a massive clump of leaves at the end of it. It must have been at least a metre and a half long... which Anna decided was perfect for 'whipping' her dad into shape. So there was Anna, flogging her Daddy with the end of this branch and shouting "Faster Daddy Faster". I don't know where she gets it from. I am also proud to announce that we ended up in fourth place!

Anna also adored the swimming. We thought the Lake District was impressive but the swimming complex was amazing. It had the warmest pool outside , set amongst the trees and a Wild Water rapids that took you on a long journey through woodland. It was also great because you could take Anna to the outside pool, knowing that she was warm and also knowing that the air was not thick with chlorine like many indoor public pools. Anna adored it! Since having to give up swimming lessons last year (due to her asthma worries), I thought Anna may have lost confidence in the water but I was wrong! She loved every second and was soon jumping in off the side. The only problem was that 'Miss Independent' didn't want Mummy or Daddy holding her and insisted that she swam off by her self. Even when she tripped and was submerged in water for the briefest of seconds, she popped back up giggling like it was Christmas!

All in all, it was wonderful. The only downside was the journey! To get to the Lake District from our house takes 1 hour, 45 min (when James is driving. If I drive, it takes 5 hours!). Unfortunately, to get to Longleat took 4 hours. We already knew this before setting off and thought it would be fine. On the motorways (5 in total!), it didn't seem so bad but, once on country roads, it seemed to take forever. Psychologically, after 2 hours, I think our brains were telling us that we should be there (as we would be if we were going to the Lakes) so that last hour on A roads took forever. My dad met us at the gates of Center Parcs (Long story which I will say in a minute) and he even couldn't get a smile out of Anna which is unheard of. She was that cheesed off! Fortunately, within 1 minute of getting out of the car and seeing her Nanny and Grandad, she was laughing wildly. The journey certainly hasn't put us off going back because it was so worth it when we arrived but we will be better prepared next time!

So why was my Mum and Dad there? Well, since reaching 'maturity', they have found a new interest - a caravan!! For anyone that knows my Dad, the last place that you would imagine my dad is in a caravan. This is the guy who had hair down to his bum and had to have the latest fashions (still has!)! However, I think my mum nagged him that much that he gave in and, surprisingly to all of us including himself, he actually loves it! I think, because he works so hard 7 days a week and has done since he was 16, to go away in a caravan and do absolutely nothing for a few days is his idea of heaven. The fact that they have a caravan sat on the driveway also means that they have to justify the cost of it by going away a lot more often than they used to which is also another benefit after working 7 days a week for so long.

Anyway, getting back to the story (I am waffling tonight!!), my parents had heard many good things about a caravan site at Longleat, which happened to be directly opposite Center Parcs (they all share the Longleat estate which is huge!). I think they saw this as a great way of going on holiday while also spending a few days with their cherished granddaughter and showing her the joys of the caravan. I think they were also secretly trying to convince me that
1. That the Caravan wasn't that sad (as I often remind them it is!) and I should just give it a try!!!!
2. That taking Anna away with them on holiday would be a great thing and I should let them!!

I wasn't complaining. It meant that we got an extra 2 days of holiday (Centre Parcs holidays are Monday to Friday so it meant that we could stay on Friday night through to Sunday even if we did have to sleep in a caravan!). I have nothing against caravans. I am just a girl who likes my home comforts. I like to have a shower in the morning in my own semi-spacious bathroom and go to the toilet, knowing full well that once I flush the thing, I can trust on technology elsewhere to sort it all out after that!

However, I always knew that Anna would love it... and she did! After all, being in such close proximity to her Nanny and Grandad for so long was always going to be a winner! It is just a shame that the weather wasn't great because otherwise I know that she would have been running round making friends with every other caravan resident within a 5 mile radius!

Anna may have also loved it because the 3 days spent in the caravan were action packed. The first thing we did was go to Longleat Safari park. Both James and I had reservations about it! Firstly because we couldn't imagine Anna having the patience to be in a car for 3 hours whilst travelling at 5 miles per hour and, secondly, because Anna doesn't really like Chester zoo at all so we thought the animals wouldn't interest Anna at all. We were wrong! Due to the animals being allowed to roam free and come up close and personal to the cars, Anna thought this was brilliant. As for going 5 miles per hour, that didn't matter because Anna got to drive the brand new BMW X5. Sitting on her Grandad's lap should have meant that we were safe with Anna 'driving'. However, when Anna kept telling her Grandad to take his hands off the steering wheel because she wanted to drive by herself, my dad didn't want to upset his much cherished granddaughter so did what he was told! We ended up driving all over the grass and confusing all the other poor drivers behind us as well as the animals who gave us strange looks!

Anna's favourite part of the safari park was definitely the Deer. This was where you could buy food and feed the deer. Anna thought it was hilarious that several deer poked their heads fully through the car window and got very close! You would have thought that Anna may have been a little timid at first but of course not. Anna just burst into a fit of giggles and couldn't stop for about half an hour! She even stroked the deer with no hesitation whilst sat on Nanny's lap. I fear that Chester Zoo will never be able to win Anna over after the Deer experience at Longleat.

Another highlight with Nanny and Grandad was going on the boat to see the sea lions. Again, Anna got to feed them while they all 'talked' to her and Anna talked back.

Amongst the other things that Anna did with her Nanny and Grandad (with Mummy and Daddy trailing behind) were going in a huge maze, going on an old miniature train around Longleat (whilst waving her beloved Thomas the Tank Engine Flag), having the biggest ice cream you have ever seen (Anna's new favourite food ever!) whilst not wasting a drop (she ate it so fast that it didn't have time to melt) and also having 2 balloons bought for her (Anna has a slight obsession with balloons!). She already had one balloon but, when we all returned from the toilet, after leaving my dad in charge of Anna, we returned to find Anna holding the biggest balloon that you have ever seen in your life, in the shape of a lion. My Dad is the person who never ever goes into any shop ever! However, he wasn't content until Anna had the biggest and best balloon!

The last highlight for Anna, but one of the best in her opinion, was visiting 'Greendale'. For those of you who don't know, Iggle Piggle and Upsy Daisy are no longer a feature of Anna's life. They have been cast aside for another Hero of the small screen (apart from Kipper who is God in Anna's eyes!). Postman Pat is the new TV programme not to be missed in Anna's world. We even have a postman pat van with Jess and postman pat figures that was given to Anna for Easter and they have to go everywhere with us! Therefore, to visit the Postman Pat village was a dream come true for Anna. Apparently, the day before, my mum and Dad had taken Anna for a walk and, accidentally, they walked past the door which leads into 'Greendale'. Anna heard the music seeping out from behind the closed door and rushed over and started singing the words loudly. She then managed to look through a crack in the door and see the outline shape of Pat himself. 'Pat' she yelled. However, my mum and dad knew that James and I would want to see her face when she first cast eyes on her visit to Postman Pat's world so told Anna that he had gone to bed and they would come back tomorrow. Anna, being very very adorable at times, said 'OK Nanny' and walked away while looking back every so often to make sure that the door was still there, waiting until tomorrow when Anna would return. We did go back first thing on the next day and Anna got to see all the characters and walk through Greendale amongst the houses and shops. I can't really describe her face but it really was magical.

It was an action packed but wonderful and fantastic holiday. Each holiday that we return from, I keep saying that it can't get any better and it does!

As for the caravan, I am still not convinced myself. Don't get me wrong, I had a fantastic time and I can cope with sleeping in a caravan for 2 nights but there is something nice about having a dishwasher and fully equipped bathroom close to hand! Anna loved it though. However, having been in a caravan with Anna for more than 24 hours, I think my mum and dad are now fully aware of the little ball of energy that Anna is and the fact that she doesn't stand still for a second so may need a little more time to prepare before taking Anna away on their own in a confined space like a caravan. Either that or they will have to go on another holiday directly afterwards in order to re cooperate after running after Anna!

However, there was one redeeming feature about the caravan which I did like. The caravan site backed straight onto the safari park so, each morning when waking up, we didn't hear the sound of birds - We heard the sound of lions and sea lions letting everyone know that they wanted breakfast! It was a little surreal to be lying in bed, having just opened your eyes on a new day and hearing the lions roar. I'm not sure what Anna loved more - the sound of the lions themselves or the sound of her Grandad doing the lion impressions, complete with the lion balloon which took up literally half of the caravan! Happy days!

The Princess Anna Diaries

With no exaggeration, I felt 100 times more nervous on the morning of Sally and Ben's wedding than I ever did on the morning of my own. The morning of my own wedding saw me sitting in the kitchen drinking copious amounts of tea and laughing lots. Apparently, my whole family had been warned that they would have to calm me down and 'say reassuring things to stop me fretting'. Instead, I was the one saying reassuring things to everyone else as they all watched me with an astonished look on their face and kept asking whether I was OK, wondering who this strange person was who appeared calm! I really didn't understand what there was to be nervous about. I was marrying the person who I loved more than I could describe (and thankfully still do 5 years later), spending the day with everyone who I loved in the world and getting spoilt by everyone! However, this wasn't my wedding and I could control my actions! Anna was a different story.

Anna, as described in recent posts, does have the ability to be unpredictable if something upsets her or she has set her mind on something which I don't think is a great idea! Throwing a tantrum at Tesco is one thing but doing it in front of Sally's new in-laws and potentially upsetting Sally on the best day of her life was terrifying.

The day before the wedding was promising. Unfortunately, there were no dress rehearsals planned so James and I decided to have our very own dress rehearsal in the living room with complete outfit and holding a feather duster as a bouquet. Anna loved it and looked gorgeous. The only problem came when it was time to take the dress, shoes and shrug off. 'Stay A Princess' she pleaded amongst the sobs. I tried to explain that the special day would be tomorrow when it would be even better with her hair done beautifully and another little princess (Niamh) to play with. Anna was not impressed and she really thought that sleeping in the bridesmaid dress would be the best option. She didn't win!

Despite the success of the dress rehearsal, I still didn't sleep very much as the same old nightmares played and re-played in my head.

On Sunday 10th May, Anna woke up very excited. I reminded her that today was the special bridesmaid princess day but I'm not sure that I had to. Anna was so excited that she refused to eat breakfast (which is unheard of) and got even more excited when she saw her Daddy come down the stairs in his wedding suit. 'Look... Daddy in daddy princess clothes'.

(The photograph is James with the bride - his sister, Sally)

The rest of the morning was spent at Grandad Peter's house (Sally's dad/James' stepfather). Sally was having hair and make up done which Anna was mesmerised by! It also gave Anna a chance to spend some time with Niamh, the other bridesmaid. Poor Niamh did try to practise holding hands and walking in a straight line with Anna but Anna was having none of it. She was far too busy playing with Grandad Peter's phone and somehow managing to get the phone to beep all by itself. It did not help the father of the bride and his nerves but Peter was fantastic and didn't say a word (even if he wanted to).

By the time that Anna had got dressed in her complete outfit and had her hair done by the hairdresser, complete with real roses in her hair (which Anna adored!), she was rather excitable but we did manage to bundle her in the car for the short journey to Mottram Hall.

Unfortunately, by the time that we had got to Mottram Hall, Anna was a ball of excited energy and her very first meeting with Sally's Father-in-law saw Anna running around him in circles while singing 'Just Can't Get Enough'. I did try to get her to say Hello but Anna was having none of it. She literally ran round in circles. It didn't help that we were all now 20 minutes late and the registar was getting itchy feet. I don't think Ben's parents knew what to make of it as they watched Anna run up and down the reception area as though she had just been given a crate of E numbers!

Anna did stop for 2 seconds when we cast eyes on Sally for the first time as she arrived at the front doors to Mottram Hall. She simply looked amazing and Anna agreed. 'Sally pretty' said Anna.

After meeting the photographer, it was time to take a photograph of the bridesmaids with Sally. Anna was having none of that either! There was no way that she was going to stand still for longer than a milli-second. In fact, the entire day was the same story. At one point later in the day, the photographer (who was so lovely and deserved a medal!!) looked at me and said 'Does Anna ever stand still for longer than a second or ever get tired'. I said No! After several failed attempts, I persuaded Sally to have the photo taken with just her and Niamh. We would have been there all day otherwise!

At that point, Niamh's mum looked at me and said' I think we should probably go to the ceremony room and leave them to it'. Ben's dad just looked at me with fear in his eyes and said 'I really think someone needs to stay with Anna' as we looked over and saw her standing on the top of the flight of stairs singing 'Islands in the stream' while spinning on the spot and jumping erratically! Sally looked worried too. 'Will she stand on my dress?'. My darling daughter was terrorising the entire wedding party with her over-excitement! Anna was refusing to hold my hand or stand still long enough to calm down. By now, Peter and Sally had already started to walk down to the ceremony room where the guests eagerly awaited Sally's arrival and poor Niamh was trying desperately to get Anna to hold her hand while looking at me and saying 'she can be a monkey can't she.' I was ready to admit defeat and just carry Anna off to a quiet room to calm her down while the wedding proceeded without us. 'Sally' I uttered, 'I don't want Anna to spoil anything for you. Maybe I should just...'. It was then that Peter looked round and said 'Louise... Look at her. Look at how beautiful she is. No matter what Anna does, she can't spoil anything. ever'. I shut up, mainly to swallow back the tears that had suddenly welled up!

7 year old Niamh and I then devised a plan of attack. 'Right... I am going to hold Anna's hand really firmly. I won't hurt her but I am going to hold her tight and lead her down the aisle' said a very determined Niamh. You couldn't help but be impressed with her optimism. I just wish that I had the same optimism! 'That is great Niamh... but if all else fails, don't worry about Anna. Just follow Sally and enjoy it.'.

As the doors opened to the ceremony room, we were greeted with a string quartet. It sounded so beautiful and was just perfect. Not only was it perfect for Sally's entrance but it was also perfect because it suddenly made Anna stop and listen, just long enough to catch her unaware! Before Anna knew it, Niamh had taken her hand and was leading her down the aisle as I watched from the doorway. Anna was 2 steps behind Niamh as she desperately tried to look at the string quartet behind her but Niamh was determined and kept firm hold. Anna went along with it. By the time that Sally reached Ben, Anna and Niamh were walking in synch behind the bride, both looking completely stunning and beautiful. At that moment, I was the proudest Mummy in the world and confess to having tears roll down my cheek.

(Photographic evidence that Anna did actually get down that aisle behind Sally!!)

It was only when the string quartet reached the final bar of music, just before the registar began to speak, that Anna dropped Niamh's hand and decided to dance back down the aisle!!

The whole ceremony was beautiful, especially the vows that Ben and Sally had created themselves which got the whole congreegation sobbing. Unfortunately, the unlucky peoeple who were sat next to myself and Anna had to listen to the thoughtful and heartfelt words through a constant 'crunch, crunch, crunch' as Anna chomped on biscuits. (Healthy eating was never on the agenda during that ceremony... biscuits were the only thing that was going to get Anna through that ceremony without running amok). Luckliy, the congregation near us were all understanding and did see the funny side.

As soon as the wedding ceremony was over, Anna was out of the big patio doors and into the woodland and parkland grounds of Mottram Hall. After sitting semi-still for 20 minutes, Anna was on the loose. As everyone else drank champagne in the garden room overlooking the grounds, I was running at break neck speed towards the lake as Anna decided that she wanted to take a dip. Luckily I caught her... but missed the champagne! (A special thanks to Anna's Uncle John who took pity on me and decided to look out for Anna and run after her so I could have a rest!) Eventually everyone came outside and I had numerous people approach me to tell me how beautiful Anna looked walking down the aisle and running in the gardens. I, on the other hand, did not look so great after running after Anna for the past 2 hours. In fact, I looked like I had just completed the London Marathon.

It was then time to pose for the photographs. It was never going to happen with Anna. We tried all sorts of techniques. I tried standing behind the photographer pulling funny faces, which amused the rest of the wedding party but not Anna. We tried holding her but she just wriggled free and eventually we settled for letting her stand while we held her hands in the air. I am sure they are not the most flattering of poses for Anna. Unfortunately the red cube will probably appear on every single photo as well. At one point, the photograher called for a group of family members for one particular photo and added 'Can we please hurry on this one as Anna is in it. We don't have any time to spare with Anna'!!

We also had to deal with the bouquet issue. Practising with a feather duster is one thing but the real thing is a different matter. From the start of the wedding ceremony onwards, Anna kept attempting to push her beautiful bouquet down her dress. At first, I thought she was playing Hide and Seek with it and was telling her that it was not a toy. She then pointed to my buttonhole and said 'flowers like you'. She was trying to use her bouquet as a buttonhole. Unfortunately, Anna hadn't realised that her bouquet was massive compared to my button hole and that shoving it down her dress probably didn't look the best! By the time it came to the photographs, the bouquet was looking very worst for wear after being manhandled by Anna and so had to be abandoned!

Later in the day I caught the photographer taking a 5 minute rest and told him that he deserved a medal if he managed to get any good photos of Anna while she was this excited. He laughed and said 'Are you setting me a challenge?'. I laughed and said it may be a challenge too far on this particular day. He replied, 'I can never resist a challenge. I am on a mission'. 10 minutes later, Anna was investigating some leaves. The next thing I knew, the photographer was talking to Anna about the leaf and showing her his camera, describing what it did. Anna was very impressed! He spent a very long time sat on the grass with her, just talking to her and Anna had found a new best friend. After that, Anna was putty in his hands and even sat there and posed for him, saying 'cheese' to the lens and smiling! That photograher really did deserve a medal. He was brilliant with her and I just hope he got the shot (even if it wasn't in the posed ones)

After sitting down, the speeches began. At this point, I had already got a plan. It was meant to have worked! I had bought Anna a brand new 'Thomas the Tank Engine' colouring book, complete with stickers, especially for this moment. For a few seconds, I did actually think it had worked but, as soon as the speeches began, Anna decided to tell everyone how great Thomas was. I was very willing to pick her up and carry her out but just as I was about to, Anna would go quiet and I thought all was well. She would then start discussing the merits of Thomas at key points in each speech. It didn't help that every time someone laughed at Ben's jokes or the best man, Anna thought that they were laughing at her. Anna, being the diva that she is, then thought that she should tell a few more of her own unique jokes if it was getting this kind of response!

Although the meal was gorgeous, Anna missed it after falling asleep throughout the entire meal!

Apart from being dressed in her gorgeous princess dress, Anna's favourite part of the day was the disco! She loved it. I have to say that Jim (Sally's nephew) and Finn (Niamh's little brother/Sally's other nephew) stole the show as they were a fantastic double act and danced in great style. Anna adored watching them. However, she was no stranger to the dance floor either and cut some shapes of her own. 'Poker Face' by Lady Gaga was her favourite tune of the night and she danced to every second of it. She even sang it to herself while falling asleep. I really do think that Anna would have still been there at 2am in the morning if we let her. Even when the dance floor was packed full of people, Anna was in the thick of it! However, it got to 11pm and the disco was getting louder. The room, although not small, was filled with loud sound and I started to worry about her delicate ear drums so we retired to bed. Apparently we missed Abba's 'Dancing Queen' and The Nolans but I haven't told Anna as she would never forgive me from taking her away from dancing to that! (Anna knows 90% of the words to Dancing Queen!)

At 11.30pm (we stayed at the hotel so it fortunately meant only a short walk to our bed!), Anna fell asleep whilst I was reading her bedtime Kipper story (which has never happened before)

So, overall, it was really a beautiful day. Sally was a stunning bride and really did have a warm glow surrounding her (I finally know what it means when they say about a glow that some pregnant woman have!) Anna looked gorgeous and beautiful and was her own unique self.

Congratulations to Ben and Sally and congratulations to Anna too, who made her Mummy and Daddy so very proud!

(Thank you so much to 7 year old Niamh, who looked so beautiful, for getting Anna down the aisle and being so patient with her. I wonder if Niamh would be available to help me in July when Anna has her solo bridesmaid performance. The nightmares are due to start next week!)