20 Today

Today is Claire's 20th birthday - no longer a teenager! We now only have one teenager left in the house ;o). Birthdays here always start with present opening first thing in the morning but Claire kindly let Emily sleep in a little later than she would normally because it's still school holidays. Jon had arranged to work from home so he was also here to see Claire open her presents.

The cupcake balloon was a big hit! Claire likes to open the cards first and then starts on the presents.

She had really enjoyed Doctor Parnassus when she saw it at movies and was glad she got the DVD.

Showing the mobile phone charm she got for her charm bracelet.

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We normally go out for dinner as a family when it's someones birthday but as Claire is going out with friends for dinner tonight, the family went to Prezzo for lunch. As always the food was delicious (but I forgot to take any photos!)

Jon toasts Claire with his coke.

Emily

Sarah and Hugh

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We hadn't been home long before it was time for extended family to come round for coffee and cake.

Jon brings in the birthday cake

Tyler was on hand to help blow out all the candles ;o)

We've had lovely weather for the last couple of days and are making the most of it, so we sat outside to have our cake.

Tyler has such an active imagination and spent the afternoon happily amusing himself (and anyone else who was prepared to listen)

Alyssa was looking very cute (as always) and happily sat on her great grandmothers lap, chewing her hands ;o)

Look at that smile - she's such a happy little girl!

In this photo Tyler was showing me his potion to make it warmer. One of his imaginary games - as well as working on a building site, dusting a sattelite, swimming in the sea and I'm sure there a few more this afternoon. Love a child with an imagination!

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Claire is now getting ready to go out for her Cowboy themed dinner - I believe she'll be wearing a stetson, checked shirt, jeans and boots! Enjoy the rest of your birthday Claire. We love you lots xxxxx

I can now reveal ....

Claire

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= I'm going to be a grandma

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Remember the unexpected news I mentioned a couple of weeks ago - this was what it was :o). Claire found out that she was pregnant, which hadn't been part of her plan at this stage but these things happen. It took her a little while to get used to the idea but she is now excited, happy and looking forward to being a Mummy! We'll have a baby in the house this Christmas :o). We're not sure of her due date yet but think it'll be towards the end of November.

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Thank you to those of you who contacted me and said they hoped everything was well. Everything is fine and we're all excited about the new addition. As you can imagine, there's a lot of baby talk in our household these days. Claire's first midwife appointment is on 20/04/10 and her first scan will be organised then. After the scan we'll have a better idea of when the baby will be due.

xx

Cousins

We went round to Mum and Dad's on Monday morning before Simon and the boys headed back up to Yorkshire to Simon's Dad's. They were getting a flight back to Chicago from Manchester on Tuesday morning. Mum and Dad always enjoy seeing Simon (and any of the family who may be over). While we were there I realised I hadn't taken any cousin photos - unfortunately Hugh isn't included because he didn't come with us and Simon was leaving straight from my parent's house. As I've said before, Henry and Emily are the same age and Richard and Claire are too.

Why is it they all relax and enjoy each other just as they're about to leave? :o(

It was such fun having the boys here and we look forward to seeing their sister, Helen in May.

I love that it doesn't seem to matter how long it's been since they last saw each other, they always enjoy getting together. I just hope it's not too long before we see each other again.

xx

London (Photo heavy!)

On Sunday Simon and I took the boys up to London to do the touristy bit. Emily had been going to come with us but woke up full of cold and decided to stay at home :o( . We opted to go on the open top buses as that gives you an overall view of London and you can hop on and off as you want. As it was, we stayed on the bus most of the time getting off where we wanted to walk the rest of the way. Richard and Simon on the bus with Trafalgar Square behind them.

They were just about to change the guards over but the bus couldn't stop long enough for us to see it.

The London Eye

Big Ben

Simon taking a photo of Big Ben seen through the London Eye

The London sky line

Top of St Pauls Cathedral

St Pauls

Tower Bridge

Close up of one of the towers

The Tower of London

Henry, Richard and Simon with the Tower of London in the background

Henry standing next to one of the lions in Trafalgar Square

Henry and Richard at one of the fountains in Trafalgar Square with the National Gallery behind them

Walking towards Admiralty Arch at the entrance to The Mall, leading to Buckingham Palace

This statue of Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother is about half way down The Mall

Looking down The Mall towards Buckingham Palace

One of the guards at the entrance to Stable Yard Road

Walking towards The Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace

Simon and the boys in front of the gates of Buckingham Palace

In front of Buckingham Palace. The Union Flag was flying at the Palace which meant that the Royal Family was not in residence. When the Royal Family are in residence the Royal Standard flies.

From Buckingham Palace we walked back to Victoria Station to catch the train home. Richard took the opportunity to do some drawing on the train, while Henry was happy to listen to his music and watch the passing scenery.

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After our day in London, we arranged to order pizza in for the children while Simon, Jon, Deb and I went out for a meal at the local Thai restaurant. A more relaxing way to end the day :o)

Jon, Deb and Simon

xx