1st Football Trophy

A Busy Night.

Last night was the Firework Display at Hucclecote Rugby Club.

It was the first time we'd taken Daniel to one of these and he really enjoyed it. I'd quite underestimated the amount of people turning up to the event as in the end it would have been quicker to walk than to drive!



There were hundreds there and the display was really good, lasting for about 25 minutes with a huge bang at the end! Daniel was clinging on tight at times while the fireworks exploded away.

A Busy Morning.

Then this morning Daniel had his first football training session with Hucclecote Youth Football Club Under 5's.

Nine children were present with the session running alongside the under 6's. They were given basic dribbing skills from side to side and then from one end of the small pitch to the other - then scoring some goals which they obviously all enjoyed.

Daniel was probably slightly slower with the skills than some of the others but took care to dribble round the markers that were set out rather than just running past them. In the end there was a little match which was good fun and a nice way to finish the session.

The coach huddled everyone around and said that each week there would be a trophy awarded to the player who impressed the coach the most. All the children had done really well but you can imagine how chuffed we were when he said Daniel was the winner for the first week for listening and doing everything he asked. Now he gets to keep the trophy for a week before taking it back next Saturday.

It was quite emotional to be honest, seeing my little boy do so well and get recognised for what he did. I was so chuffed for him.



So here's the trophy & obviously he's really enjoyed it - I think he'll be going back somehow!

Daniel Big Pitch

Daniel On The Big Pitch

Daniel went to see Jack play football last Sunday so I could show him football being played properly. He watched for a while but then wanted to play with the ball we'd brought. Still only 4 and a half, we ran, passing the ball, from one end to the other (on a full size pitch) with him scoring the goal - it was very impressive from the little man!



Above: Danny Boy scores a goal of his own!!

He's growing up so fast at the moment, here's a great pic I took up at Crickley Hill in the first two weeks I had off work when he started school.

Treetops Nursery

TreeTops Nursery, Hucclecote

I just wanted to give them a shout out and to say thankyou for a great 3 months Daniel had with them before he started school.

He learned more and was stimulated way better than at his previous nursery where things had become very disorganised and stale. The move was the best thing we did and 3 months later Daniel was as prepared as possible for school life.

He really enjoyed his time there - we actually looked into Treetops years ago but they were too expensive at that time. When we enquired after AllMyFriends decided to close we found their prices were marginally CHEAPER!

The staff were great - we would happily recommend them to anyone and they are head and shoulders apart in quality from All My Friends (formally Tiddlywinks).

Treetops Nursery

TreeTops Nursery, Hucclecote

I just wanted to give them a shout out and to say thankyou for a great 3 months Daniel had with them before he started school.

He learned more and was stimulated way better than at his previous nursery where things had become very disorganised and stale. The move was the best thing we did and 3 months later Daniel was as prepared as possible for school life.

He really enjoyed his time there - we actually looked into Treetops years ago but they were too expensive at that time. When we enquired after AllMyFriends decided to close we found their prices were marginally CHEAPER!

The staff were great - we would happily recommend them to anyone and they are head and shoulders apart in quality from All My Friends (formally Tiddlywinks).

2nd Week With Dad

Second Week Of School

I've been saving a treat for Daniel when he finishes school at Midday this week. On Monday we went down to Ballyhoo which he loves and and a bonus was pretty quiet. Cue another two hours of relentless running around and also a slight panic when Daddy temporarily loses his car keys in the ball-pit!

Yesterday we went up Crickley Hill again, walking through another differnet path in "The forest" and playing football in a strong wind. Whilst on the top about 13 "Red Arrow" type aircraft thundered past making such a loud noise Daniel nearly fell over!





Today I took him to "Sizzlers" where he had Toad In The Hole and virtually had the lot! Not to mention the ice cream afterwards!

At the moment he loves school and seems to have plenty of friends, some of whom he still doesn't know the names of! This time has been so good for me, I've loved being around him more often, chatting with other parents at the school and sharing these long afternoon's.

I wish I could do it more often.

Daniel Goes To The Fulham Game With Dad

First Day At School. Second Time At Villa Park!

Wednesday 2nd September 2009 - 1st Day At School

Nearly four and a half years - just where have they gone exactly? On the Tuesday before I took him to MagicLand in Cirencester so he could have some fun before all the seriousness of school began...

Daniel started his new school on Wednesday morning. We took him down and waited outside his new classroom where the school had a clever way of getting the children in quickly to avoid any major tears.



By lunchtime when I went to pick him he already had dirty shoes and trousers! That was within 3 hours! Having this deliberately booked 2 weeks has been great for me as I get to take him in and collect him too. Initially he only goes until lunchtime then in a weeks time he'll stay till later before starting his "normal" hours from the beginning of October.

On Thursday his new school jumper arrived and it fitted perfectly. So many people are saying how old they feel when they see these pictures!



Daniel In His Second Match At Villa Park

Fair play to those concerned at Villa Park - they laid on plenty for the kids before the Fulham game, enough even that a 4yr old didn't get bored. Thanks to a mate who ended up with a spare adult&child ticket we ended up seeing the Fulham game which we weren't planning on doing 24 hours earlier!

He had his face painted, visited the three mascots, Hercules Bella & Chip and had some photos with them. He had his picture with the Peace Cup in the Villa Village and then we all headed off to the indoor area where he ran around and kicked a few footballs - he sweated like mad in there!



The game was OK - Fulham never managed a single shot. The early goal was important and almost missed by us as Daniel decided he needed the toilet right at kick-off time! Luckily we were virtually back at our seats when it went in. Daniel enjoyed the cheering and clapping but I reckon he thinks the PA system is too loud!



He really enjoyed his day with his friend Jack.



A welcome 3 points and then a drenching on the way back to the car! Daniel didn't mind though as he'd had a great day at the football with his Dad and his friends - 10 minutes into the journey back he was fast asleep!

Daniel Is Four!

Happy Birthday Daniel - You Are Four!!

5th May 2009 - Four years on!



Daniel has had loads of presents and got to enjoy his birthday with his friends at nursery and then with us at home today. The photo above shows him wearing his new away kit and blowing out his four candles on the Spiderman cake - Many gifts were Spiderman related but his big present was being taken to his first Aston Villa game against Hull last night.

I have to admit to being a little nervous of his reaction bearing in mind how old he is - I thought he'd get bored and maybe play up a little, especially as by kick-off time he'd normally be in bed or be close to going to sleep.



He did way better than I thought. By half time he was still wide awake, clapping along and helped his Dad celebrate John Carew's goal. We were sat in Row B of the Upper Trinity so the view was great and it was fairly quiet up there - so ideal for him. He tired during the second half but by the end had a surge and was wide awake again cheering the final whistle and walking back to the car with me.

So even if he ends up supporting someone else for whatever reason he'll always have that first game etched in stone! I must also say a huge thankyou to IanB for pointing me in the right direction of contacts at Villa Park. Sheila Maybury was fantastic and got my Mum a parking space at very short notice in the Villa Village as the days of her walking any sort of distance are gone.

May 4th 2009. Aston Villa 1 Hull City 0: Goalscorer - John Carew. Att 39,607

I thought we did pretty well for 75 minutes. We created some good chances and Myhill certainly kept them in it - then for the last 15 minutes we began to look like a side who'd forgotten how to win. Suddenly from offering nothing, Hull looked like they'd nick something.

I was amazed Heskey came on for John Carew. The situation was made for NRC to come on and sit in the midfield to tighten everything up - I think we dodged a bullet somewhere there. Anyway, that's four games for me this season - Stoke City and Slavia Prague away - CSKA Moscow and Hull City at home. Can you spot the link in those games?

If I'd been more I reckon Big John would have 30 goals by now!

The Conservatory

The frame, roof and windows are now all in and the builders are back tomorrow to level the floor off. Then John, our builder, will be back to plaster and finish the room and electrics off. Daniel thinks it's great fun! I'd be laughing too if I wasn't paying for it!

Thomas Land 2009

Thomas Land At Drayton Manor 2009

Daniel loved his surprise visit to Thomas Land on Thursday. His excited sqeals when he realised where he was made it worthwhile in an instant.

Being nearly four and much braver than last time, he went on everything - including eight trips on the "Troublesome Trucks". It was sunny and not busy at all due to the kids being at school so we could go on everything as often as we wanted to. Which was nice!

We sort of insisted he looked at the other parts of the park too, so he saw some of the animals including the tigers, penguins and monkeys. He went on the cable car ride completely unfazed by the height and seems to have little fear when it comes to the rides.

Everything reverted back to Thomas though so that's where we finished up. The video below shows our trip on the "Troublesome Trucks" and how much he loved it.



We left about 3.30 after having "one more go" on all the rides - safe to say Daniel was asleep within minutes for the return journey.

Conservatory 2009

We've decided to go ahead with our addition to the house, I mean you can only worry about money for so long - so we decided f*ck it. The builders were only here for a few days and the job was done - now the glass will arrive next week. Here's a photo of Daniel sitting on the bricks.



He likes his new sun hat, I decided to buy one too so he took to weraing it more easily!

Daniel On Terence

Football Time

Daniel - Football In The Back Garden

Total Wipeout

Total Wipeout

Daniel's favourite thing on TV at the moment, so much so we have to keep an episode in the Sky+ planner as he tends to ask for it most days!

He will set up courses around the living room that he can jump over and will also wear my boxing gloves and re-create the "sucker punch" part of the course which usually involves hitting me and making me fall down!



During Total Wipeout, contestants are put through a series obstacle courses and challenges. After each one, a certain number of them are eliminated from the competition. After the fourth, the fastest of the remaining three competitors around the course wins the game and cash prize.

So far only three contenders, Jo and Carole from episode 5 and Kierron from episode 7,have managed to conquer the Big Balls.

Like I say, Danny Boy loves it - so much so he even remembers individual names and what they did during a particular episode!

His Dad may have to apply.....

New Pics

Daniel's First Visit To Villa Park

Last Sunday we went to the Corner Flag restaurant for some Sunday lunch courtesy of my Mum! We had a decent lunch and then wondered round to the Holte End where we took some more photo's before heading off to the Holte Pub.

Daniel finally got to see what Villa Park looks like inside and out and even said "Wow" when he saw the view from inside. He'd seen Whaddon Road before and when asked which ground that was he keeps saying "Aston Villa"! He tried hard to remember all the new names and things he was seeing for the first time. We had to laugh when we asked him later to remember the name of the stand we walked up the steps to - instead of saying "Holte End" he replied "Was it the toilet"?!




We watched some of the Everton game but it had been a long day for the little guy and he soon fell asleep for the journey back while we listened to our exit from the FA Cup. He seemed to enjoy his day and now I'm wondering whether to bring him for a pre-season friendly or something like that. It would be interesting to hear other parents stories of taking their children to games at this sort of age - he'll be 4 and a bit by the summer....

It was a good day as I hope tomorrow night will be as we head back up again for the CSKA Moscow game.

Other pictures from the day..........

February Snow

Daniel Loved The Snow!

Danny boy has really enjoyed playing in the snow. He's been leaping around the bed at 6.30am in delight when he's realised that the snow has come and he'll be playing in it later!

On Friday it was at it's worst here and it took me 75 slippery minutes to get the 5 miles to work. Daniel on the other hand was busy building snowmen and throwing snowballs. On the Thursday I did manage to get home for a half hour play out the back but Friday was much worse so we had to wait till I got home before any more snow action!



These pictures were taken on the Thursday. This morning though was very cold and more dangerous on the roads - later on we took him for a walk and an opportunity to run through yet more snow. We are forecast more for next week....

My First Ground

Daniel's Visit To Cheltenham Town

Today we had to pop over to Whaddon Road first thing to grab some tickets for the Doncaster FA Cup game. The day's game with Millwall had been called off the night before due to freezing conditions and we got there just before the ticket office opened.

We took a couple of photo's as this was Daniel's first proper visit to a football ground as he was fast asleep when we were outside Villa Park a few months back!



After noticing an open gate we asked if we could nip in and show Daniel the inside and were told that was fine. To be fair there was no-one outside the ground except us anyway! The pitch was covered in frost and a third of it was covered by a huge black cover - we told Daniel where his Grampy normally sits and then went back out to get the tickets sorted.

I was slightly surprised you had to be a "fan member" to buy tickets in advance although it does save a few quid on buying them on the day of the game. Anyway, the form only took 2 minutes and that was sorted. I initially wondered if they were worried about Villa fans coming down as purchasing a ticket for the Donny game gives you a reasonable chance of getting one for the Villa game if Town win.

Anyway, local postcode so no problems - I'm desperate for Town to win this one as it would be a dream tie for a lot of Villa fans down here who obviously have connections with The Robins too. I never thought I'd see Town play the likes of Leeds & Leicester in League games but playing Aston Villa at Whaddon Road would just be something else.



Daniel seemed to enjoy seeing a football ground and I can't wait till he's old enough to go to a game with me!