On 25 January, Andrew and I celebrate 21 years as a couple. I think I can safely say that the last 6 months has been the most exceptional of that time considering the arrival of little Ioan.
It’s he who I blame for my poor organisation in planning our celebratory weekend away, which was supposed to be a cottage by the seaside. As I failed to book anything, we decided to take advantage of Andrew’s parents’ hospitality and visit Treorchy.
We enjoyed a beautiful day in Carmarthen with our little man, visiting the home of Dylan Thomas, his gravesite, followed by a drive along the coast to Saundersfoot.
The weather was spectacular and we ended up eating our lunch al fresco without even our coats on. I really recommend the Dylan Thomas boathouse – although the house itself is quite small and you would be able to walk around it in 20 minutes, the cafe in the basement is just gorgeous – the staff are so friendly and the homemade food is just delicious.
Andrew had Welsh rarebit with coleslaw and leek and mint chutney (something I am going to try and make myself):
I had a Welsh tea – homemade bread and cheese; bara brith; and Welsh cakes:
And then kisses from our little boy:
Ioan in fact managed to enjoy the day without tears, despite the arrival of two front teeth:
And a rather brisk breeze blowing in at him and his dad on the beach.
As our actual anniversary falls on Burns night, we’ll be celebrating with haggis, neeps and tattoos, and then my mum is going to babysit on Saturday so that Andrew and I can have a nice meal together without the little one – as wonderful as he is, it’s nice to have some time just the two of us.
For the rest of the week, I am planning the following:
- Tuesday – pork stew for the three of us (Ioan’s first taste of meat)
- Wednesday – haggis, neeps and tattees, with Cranachan for pudding (just the neeps and tatties for Ioan)
- Thursday – I’ll be out with Jo for her birthday, so Andrew and Ioan can have a boy’s night in
- Friday – cod lyonnaise for the three of us from Gina Ford’s weaning cookbook
- Saturday – celebratory meal while Granny Annie babysits
- Sunday – slow roasted lamb shoulder with potatoes
Weaning with Ioan is going brilliantly, so he’s going to start sharing meals with us as often as possible. As he can now have dairy, he and I will be having cauliflower and broccoli cheese for lunch this week. As you can see from the picture below, he is enjoying feeding himself:
And he likes a nice swig of water with his meal too:
Beautiful photos and looks like you had a lovely time. Cheese on toast looks scrummy!