Visit your local garden centre with your baby

If you are looking for a free outing with your baby or toddler I can recommend visiting your local garden centre. If you live near Kingsley (near Bordon)in Hampshire, then the Country Market is a great to visit (http://www.countrymarket.co.uk/location.htm).

Country Market has a number of different shops in one place and is really worth a wander round.

They have aquariums filled with amazing fish that would rival Portsmouth Aquarium for sure. There are also huge goldfish in open tanks that you can get very close to. They have a wide variety of stock for you and your little one to look at, I have never seen anywhere quite like it.

While you are there it's worth also nipping into the pet store to say tweet tweet to the birds and wee wee to the guinea pigs and then, later, having a wander round the garden centre to admire the plants.

If you fancy it they also have a lovely coffee shop upstairs with comfy sofas and toys to keep your baby or toddler amused. I have to admit that it is a little on the pricey side, so I don't go there often, but it is nice to sit in there with my mum pals.

(I will add a photo once the snow and slush has gone).

Our visit to see the geese and ducks

I wrapped B up well mid morning and tucked him into his cosy pram. We then diced with death crossing the icy road and walking along the slippery footpaths to get to the pond which is nearby.

I thought it might be nice for Benjamin to see the geese and ducks, but on the way there he protested and then fell asleep....ho, hum, perhaps I might show him this photo tomorrow!

On the plus side I had a nice walk in the sunshine :-)

Shopping and talking your way to baby's eloquence

My mum friend, Becky, told me that the more you chat to your baby the more eloquent they will become when they are older. With this in mind last Thursday we were running short of a few things so I decided to focus on this while we went shopping to Sainsbury's.

Have you tried talking lots and not getting any response back?...It's very difficult. In the end I resorted to making broom broom noises, playing BOO and giving him a rice cracker to munch on! :-).

I will let you know how he turns out!