Sun, Seashells and Sand, Sand, Sand!

Being British, I tend to find that we spend all the cold months moaning about the low temperature and willing the summer to arrive so we can get our white bits out and scare the postman as he arrives with our Casper-esq skin toned legs. (Or is that just me?!) Anyway, as soon as the sun comes out to play, every garden in the Uk suddenly becomes full of life and activity. BBQ'S spring up everywhere, kids can't get enough of the outdoors and the world just seems so much...better...with a bit of sunshine! The longer daylight hours mean the lovely sound of children laughing and playing together goes on long in to the later evening hours, with the occassional expleetive from a Dad who's just failed at a BBQ excercise. Oh, how I love the summer!

As much as we spend all winter (which seems to have lasted forever this year!) moaning about the cold and fantasizing about a sun drenched beach somewhere exotic (not just me on that one, huh?!) the second the novelty of heat wears off-we tend to moan again! I heard someone moaning about the stickiness, the humidity, the heat causing body sweat and I just realised-there is no pleasing the British people when it comes to weather! The second it finally shows signs of summer coming, the moaning begins all over again! *covers eyes in exasperation*

However although not my sons first summer, I am making sure we are enjoying it as if it is indeed his first. He's twenty months old now and so lots of things are first-first proper paddling pool (last year he couldn't walk so just sat in it), first sand pit etc. Thanks to Tesco's genius Clubcard Exchange I managed to buy Josh a sand and water table, some play and and some sand toys. May I say he has not been out of the garden since we got them home!

As with lots of toddlers, Joshua's first experience with sand was a picture perfect moment-a picture where the caption would have read "Eugh *shuddering* WHAT is this stuff?" and a grimace to challenge all others ensued. Quickly he's loved it, and can't stop sticking his hands in it, throwing it, digging it, and the icing on the cake-eating it. Yes my son seems to have a penchant for eating sand. I keep telling him off, and yet I still catch him trying to sneak handfuls of the stuff in his awaiting mouth! No revultion follows, it's almost as if...he likes eating sand. I am very concerned, is this my fault? Is it something I did wrong?!

Also as much as I love to watch him play in the garden in his sand pit, running free in the amazon rainforest (ok, not quite but the tenants who lived in our house while we were away never cut the grass and our lawnmower is stuck in storage-hence rainforest length grass) I can't help but become guarded, awaiting the inevetable re-entrance back in to the living room thus throwing sand EVERYWHERE. I find myself jumping with the speed of an Olympic Athlete from my sofa to the patio doors screaming 'NOOOOO' as Josh looks bewildered (and also covered in sand). It never wors because no matter what I do, by the end of the day I seem to find more sand in my living room, and scattered around the house than is actually in the sand pit. Grains of sand, tiny grains of sand, have become the bain of my life!

Anyway, while I google how to avoid sand sanwiches becoming Joshua's favourite treat and trying to remove sand from my kitchen floor, I will share with you some pictures of yesterday. Enjoy!

Love Chloe xx