So a Saturday is usually a day of Gym Bobs in the morning and then swimming in the afternoon, with a little fun along the way. However, as I went to load the little man into the car, I could not find the car seat. Lyns had taken it to work!!! Not that I could be annoyed as I have done it time enough, even on three consecutive days in one instance. This meant that James and I had a bonus day together to do something. Bundling him into the buggy while he was still in the mood to go out, we headed to the bus stop.
Now, James it not shy when it comes to speaking about what he sees. As we were getting onto the bus he had a quizzical look on his face and was unusually quiet. I did not think anything of it. However, just after we sat down, his little voice rang out across the bus, "Daddy, why does that lady have a hairy face?". He had spotted an old lady who, to be fair, was sporting an impressive white beard. Luckily she had not heard, but there were a few laughs from the people sat around me! I was mortified.
After that, the rest of the trip was uneventful. We arrived in York in time for lunch. I gave James the choice and he chose fish and chips, one of his favourites. We found a fish and chip shop, James had fish goujons, five good sized pieces of fish, and I have a small fish and chips as I am trying to lose a bit of weight and get fit. My fish was a good size, but as I unwrapped I thought they had forgotten the chips, alas no, the fifteen chips that I had were hidden under the fish. By the time James had had his share, the James tax as we call it in our household, there were only the scraps left for me. At least he is helping me cut down. It was very pleasant sat in the Minster Gardens eating our lunch. It is somewhere we go quite often when we are in town and eating a picnic lunch.
Touch my fish daddy and lose a finger
The winner of the biggest mouthful is ...
How much can one little boy fit in his mount?
After we had eaten lunch we went to have a look around the Castle Museum. James loves exploring in there, especially the victorian street. There is so much for him to do and to see. He cannot take it all in. Because we were late into town, we did not have a huge amount of time as Nana and Grandad were coming for dinner. As we are YMT card holders, it does not matter if it is only a short visit.
This time, the first place we stopped for a look was the room that shows some of the fashions through the ages. James was not so much interested in the clothing, rather the cat walk which he loved running up and down.
Catch me if you can
Next it was onto the victorian street. Instantly I could tell James has visited here far too often recently as he knew how many carriages there are and took me to see each one in turn. Every time though, I think he finds something different to look at. Today he was intrigued by the toilets.
"What's down here daddy?"
The other place James spent a lot of time today was in the prison cell. He loved opening and closing the big iron gate.
I wonder if they do childcare...
The last bit we looked round today was the World War One display. I always find this very difficult as James asks what happened to all the people and wants the memorials reading out to him. Very hard to explain to a toddler the concept of death, so we tell him that all the people have gone up to the stars. Lyns has a lovely way of remembering those who are no longer with us and every time she sees a robin, it is granny coming back to see us. James knows of this so as I read all the names to him, he looked at me very seriously and told me that all the people would be going to see their families as a robin so that they could see them again and then they would not be sad. You have got to marvel at how simply a child sees the world and how amazing it is to start experiencing the world again through them.
It was then off to play in the trench tunnel and the hollowed out tree.
Trying to hide in the hollowed out tree
By now we had run out of time. Back to the buggy, onto the bus and home. James saw none of this because, as soon as I sat him in the buggy, he had fallen asleep. Half an hour later we were home and I was enjoying a drink whilst James had a snooze. Another successful day of wearing him out done.