Catching up

I'm quite terrible at updating, but when I do, I feel compelled to fill in the gaps. So, from my last post in August to New Year's, this is what happened:

September -

I went for a walk over the beautiful heather-clad moors with my parent's dog and managed to lose my phone somewhere over a few square miles. Oops.

Theo got a package in the mail from Brazil - it included an Avai football strip, which he adored.

We also discovered that Theo is almost big enough to properly ride the toy tractors in the Gardens.

The Autumn leaves in the Gardens were very pretty.

We made lots of homemade marshamallows. You cannot believe how amazing they taste compared to store-bought. Not having a candy thermometer put me off making them for a long time (I really should get one) - but, as long as you know your soft, firm and hard ball stages, it's not too difficult.

Hallowe'en! Oh, I love holidays. Theo dressed up as a vampire, I - a crow, and we made a spooky cake. My brother bought fireworks for the Guy-Fawkes/Hallowe'en/birthday mash-up celebration, and Theo was sufficiently awed. We also carved six (!) pumpkins and discovered that roasted butternut squash and pumpkin tastes absolutely divine when sprinkled with roasted pine nuts, blue cheese (mozzarella or stilton - but not one that's too overpowering) and maple syrup.

November - 

It was my 28th birthday and Theo was adorable. He gave me kisses and hugs in bed and then insisted on making (i.e. putting the teabag and sugar in a cup!) me a cup of tea for my present. In the afternoon, we went for a quiet walk in the woods.

My mum had a major fieldmouse problem in her house. She laid traps and caught 10 within the first 3 hours! She even discovered that one had made a home in my dad's old boot. The mouse had seemingly made itself very cosy - stockpiling the dog's biscuits and a collection of nuts and bolts. So, for my mum's birthday, we baked a tongue-in-cheek "cheesecake", overridden with mice! The chocolate cake was filled with pop rocks and orange-chocolate.

December -

We were very excited for Christmas this year!

We were promised lots of snow - but none arrived! We were quite disappointed, having prepared ourselves to go sledging, build igloos, and make snow angels. Despite this, we had a surprisingly busy month. Theo played the role of Joseph in his first school Nativity - and was the loudest singer by far. We visited Santa at the Gardens and as we came out of Santa's log cabin, it snowed for about ten minutes... perfect timing! We baked a Christmas cake with an igloo and polar bears on the top and generally had a great Christmas - except for being sick! Theo and I both came down with the most awful cold on Christmas Eve, that lasted for weeks. Theo had already been struggling to get rid of cough from a previous cold, so the poor boy was absolutely exhausted on Christmas day. He just kind of lounged around pitifully, watching The Gruffalo and playing with a calculator - which he found even more exciting than any of his gifts. Theo sure does love numbers!