To try and combat Elvis’s shift in daytime naps, I tried to fill up the first weekend of a new routine with fun activities. On the Friday, we skipped swimming due to a severe nappy rash that I thought chlorine might irritate, we went to the local playpark with a friend and her son with a picnic lunch. On the Saturday, we spent an hour in the local library reading books and on the Sunday we headed to Southsea for loads of fun!
Now, the naps! Oh, my. So, on a weekday (Monday to Thursday), Elvis finishes nursery at 1 and naps from near 2 until about 4. This sees him well until bedtime. On the three days of the weekend, well, he has started fighting an 11am nap and then getting too tired by bedtime, but there’s no time for a second nap. So I decided that I would shift his 11am until 1pm and with hubby at the football on the Saturday, I decided to try it.
The first weekend worked.
So, our trip to Southsea, we spend Sunday’s with Nanny and still wanted to despite the change in routine and we all trekked down to Southsea with a free museum as our aim. We never quite made it there!
We had a lovely little walk on the beach were Elvis loved playing with the tiny pebbles (we came home with shell in his shoes!) And he was amazed at the sea, just staring at it. It was so funny watching him try to walk on the uneven pebbles, especially on the slight uphill parts!
Then we aimed for the free museum which has butterflies still in season, but got distracted by a playpark. We bumped into a mum and daughter from swimming and Elvis decided to climb up the bigger kids’ climbing frame. I followed and then Daddy got there in time to help Elvis go down the bigger than usual slide. Well, it would have been fine if Daddy had caught him. None of us were expecting that speed and Daddy wasn’t ready as a shocked Elvis landed on the woodchip! We quickly took him to a smaller slide – one I didn’t have to climb!
Then it was time for the free museum, until Daddy suggested the local model village. None of us had ever been before at all and it doesn’t cost that much. Elvis was supposed to pay the child rate as he’s walking, which I thought was quite off really, but they let him off the £2 as he’s quite small. Yeah, he’s one! I found it quite off-putting that we should have paid for him because under-3s tend to go free everywhere. Except the model village.
We happened to go when they were fixing up some of the model train lines so there weren’t as many trains chugging around as there normally would be. A lot of the greenery qas overgrown, weeding was needed for certain and maybe some of the trains could do with replacing or painting. I mean a lot of the little people could do with a paint, I guess the buildings could, too, but we also visited at the end of their season (it’s only open in summer and possibly Christmas) so perhaps it all looked far better a few months ago. But the little buildings were lovely, I think I expected it to be a bit more… interactive? Although I don’t know how. I guess, that’s because I can remember loving my little dolls and such, building villages for them (I so badly want a doll’s house!)
Elvis enjoyed wandering around it. I think he really enjoyed climbing up to the model castle and looking out over the sea. There were also a few little indoor rooms with toy collections and Elvis loved the doll room (bodes well for me to win the argument over buying him a doll for Christmas). Depending on the newborn situation at the beginning of next Summer, I am definitely up for visiting again and gauging how much the 2 year old enjoys it.
However, a mini trip to Southsea for the beach and play parks are a definite as long as the weather’s okay obviously! Especially as we didn’t spend any time at Canoe Lake which was right next to where we had lunch!
~ P
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