A rollercoaster of all things amazing

Once a week, for the past three years, my Grandson and I have been lucky enough to spend a full day together, exploring, creating and teaching each other important stuff, such as where to find the best snails, how to turn sticks into magic wands and how to pronounce very long dinosaur names without tying your tongue in a knot ...

We have laughed together, chatted together, argued together and snuggled together. We have worked out how to spin ourselves dizzy without being sick, how to swing to the moon, how to build convoluted train tracks to exciting destinations, how to paint ourselves from head to foot (actually that was just Toby!) and how to bake lopsided cakes. We have eaten a zillion fish fingers, danced carefree 'Groovy Moves', chased crazy wheelbarrow races, immersed ourselves in heaven only knows how many hundreds of storybooks and watched the garden grow in the minutest detail. We have splashed, stomped, swished, wiggled and stretched, then curled up, vegged in front of the tv and cuddled. We have listened, watched, tasted and touched ... prickles, fur, squelchy mud, berries, bark and undefined smelly slimey stuff.

We have tried not to go shopping because that's boring ... unless it's to the toy shop.

We have tried not to be grumpy, unless we are very tired ...

... and we have tried to be kind.

We have grown together, discovered the world together and had more fun together in those three years than any fifty-something Nana could ever have hoped for. 

In a few short months, it will be time for this amazing young man to begin his pathway through school and I will miss our time together more than I can say ... but first we have the whole Summer to splash and chase our way through with Toby's little sister, my gorgeous Granddaughter Izzy. Then September school will mark an important turning point for Toby, but also a fun new beginning for Izzy and Nana, as we take toddler sized steps into our special time together.

Being a Nana is a rollercoaster of all things amazing and a ride I wouldn't miss for the world!

:-)

A Tweedy Summer

I received the most beautiful piece of Harris Tweed from an independent weaver on the tiny Hebridean island of Scalpay recently. A soft stripe in the prettiest of muted pastels, with a beautiful summery sea green stripe running through it. I thought would be absolutely perfect for a Summery Tweedy Ted!

I love these fresh colourful designs woven by local independent weavers on traditional looms. I think they are very exciting and am looking forward to introducing more of them in my Tweedy Teds range. 

I so hope you will enjoy them as much as I am!

:-)

Artie

It is a quiet time of year for teddy bear collecting, so at the moment, I am simply enjoying days with family, walking my dogs and creating an occasional teddy bear when the mood takes me, as I countdown to our Summer holiday.

11" Artie

I finished this little one yesterday, it was a beautiful day, so I sat in the garden to knit his jacket while the roses started to bloom in the sunshine. There are definitely worse ways to pass a few hours! 

I popped Artie onto my website last night, so if you would like to know more about him, please pop over to:

www.allbearbypaula.com 

And of course, if you would like to adopt Artie or any of his friends, I would be very happy to hear from you!

:-)

Update: Artie has been adopted.

Flamingling!

We celebrated my Granddaughter's first birthday with a fabulous 'family and friends' flamingo themed party, in the park last weekend.

Mummy and Daddy with their birthday girl

Little Izzy and her younger guests had a super time playing on the grass and chasing around, while the adults enjoyed picnics and chat in the sunshine. 

A birthday toddle for Izzy and Nana

It was a lovely relaxed way to celebrate such a special occasion.

Birthday bubble fun!

And since the top photograph was taken at her party on Sunday, Izzy has celebrated her first year by walking independently! Way to go Izzy Woo!

Celebrating Izzy's birthday with my kids ...

 Izzy's Daddy and her Auntie.

I know I say it often, but my goodness time flies fast these days ... I'm sure it was only yesterday that I was celebrating first birthdays for my own children and now, in the blink of an eye it seems I have two beautiful Grandchildren, both with their own official birthdays!

Wishing you a lifetime of love and laughter Izzy Woo, 

With a sprinkling of fairy dust whenever you most need it,

the strength to always be kind and gentle,

... and the determination to keep taking those perfect little steps forward.

All my love to you,

forever and ever.

Your Nana.

xxx

Being Nana

My Granddaughter will celebrate her first birthday in a couple of days, which means it will soon be time for my daughter-in-law to return to work ... and in turn, that means Nana will soon have not one, but two cheeky little pickles to take care of each week.

We had a trial run this week ... both Toby and Izzy came to stay with me for the day, while Mummy went back to work for some pre-return training. It was a lively day with two under fives as you can imagine (!) but we had heaps of fun together and I loved my time with them.

My mother visited us in the afternoon, so we took a walk to the playground and played on the swings and slides. Mum loved spending time with her Great Grandchildren and it was clear they enjoyed playing and chatting with her too.

I am so happy we are able to create special moments across the four generations of our family. I didn't have long with my own Grandmothers as a child, so am determined to offer as much time as possible to my own Grandchildren ... and luckily for Toby and Izzy, both Nana and Great Gran-Gran are fit, active and have eyes in the backs of their heads, so can share plenty of fun and mischief with them!

:-)

Happy Birthday Betty!

Wishing my little Betty Boo a very Happy 4th Birthday today!

I think Betty is possibly the most joyful pup on the planet. She has such an amazing zest for life and is always eager to play and cuddle. She is gentle, loyal, loving and a lovely sister to our older Golden Retriever Polly. She hears the rustle of a ginger biscuit wrapper from one end of the house to the other, brings me my slippers at dinner time and gives the softest of ear kisses when I least expect, but most need them.

Puppy Betty, 8 weeks old.

In her four fun filled years, Betty has never been grumpy and has always been the sweetest of pups with other dogs. She has very worked hard at her obedience classes and is always a good girl.

In fact, I couldn't be more proud of my little Bets! She is my self-appointed personal assistant, organising my day with a gentle nudge, or soft lick on the back of my hand whenever she thinks I ought to be doing something else. She knows my daily routines inside out and back-to-front and is always nearby, waiting for our next task. She loves her walks, runs like the wind, then flies back to me at the peep of my whistle ... (or two peeps if we are in squirrel territory!)

I am so very proud of you, my sweet little girl.

Happy Birthday Betty Boo!

xxx

Wilber and the weekend

I thought Verity looked a wee bit lonely while she waits to be adopted, so now she has a rather charming young bear to keep her company! 

Verity and young Wilber are both 11" tall

Both Verity and Wilber are now available to adopt, so if you would like to know more about either of them (or both!) please pop over to my website:

www.allbearbypaula.com

Wilber

In other news, my weekend flew by in a blur of mundane grocery shopping, dog walking/grooming/playing ... and sitting in a horrible traffic jam on Sunday morning, when I should have been having fun with my youngest dog Betty, helping my sister to train her new rescue puppy! Such is life sometimes ... at least the skies have been blue and the sun lovely and warm!

:-)

Update: Wilber and Verity have been adopted.