Ray Mears

A life-affirming Monday with Audrey.

Packed up our lunches and walked to Stretford to catch the tram to Altrincham. The sky was bright blue and the sun was glistening (is it just me or with the nights getting lighter earlier - are we coming out of this winter dirge!?)

Once in Altrincham we headed to Stamford Park (albeit slowly, gee that pram is heavy these days). Audrey loved having a new park to explore, particular highlights being the acrobatic squirrels and the duck pond.

I let her run free (see pic) and for thirty heart-stopping seconds she went missing behind some shrubbery. It was awful, I could literally hear my heart thumping. But she emerged chortling to herself from a bush as though nothing had happened. Hence the nickname, Ray Mears.

We walked up into Hale and had our lunch in Costa Coffee. Audrey was in her element as they had the same high chairs as ours instead of our boring kitchen, she had a 360 view of the entire cafe. She spent the duration of the meal waving and saying "Hi-ya" to old ladies.

We flew home (it helped that it was downhill) and I was congratulating myself on the timing as it was bob on for her lunchtime nap at 1pm.

And here's where it went wrong. She wouldn't nap. I changed her nappy, she was still awake. I let her cry for a bit, she still wouldn't sleep. She played with her toys in the end. Finally at 2.30pm I gave up and got her out.

Gemma arrived for the afternoon and I broke the news to her that she was probably in for a (not) fun few hours as Audrey hadn't slept.

But I did some work at a local cafe and when I came home, all was eerily OK. Audrey was a little hyper but OK. I even bathed her at her normal time and put her bed no bother. But this was the first time ever that she missed a daytime nap. Don't tell me at 19 months she stopping napping already?!? What would I do without her two hour nap?!?! Oh my.