Tadhg's first duvet set

Since moving to a cot bed a few weeks ago, Tadhg has still been sleeping in his gro-bag as mom and dad were unable to find a duvet set to match his cot-bed size duvet. The gro-bag makes walking difficult although Tadhg has mastered the shuffle as he makes his way to mom and dad's room in the middle of the night! Finally, mom ordered a Lightning McQueen duvet set online. Unfortunately the delivery was held up with the no-fly zone over Europe caused by the Icelandic volcano.

The duvet set finally arrived on Tuesday. Mom washed it straight away to make sure it was ready for Tadhg's bedtime. Tadhg was shocked to see Lightning McQueen on his bed and happily went to sleep. Mom and dad were happy that he is finally out of his gro-bag and so less likely to trip on his midnight wanderings.

Tadhg gets a slide!

Mom and dad had talked to the other residents in their building about getting some garden toys for the kids and some money had been put aside to buy some equipment. However, the other residents did not seem as keen as mom and dad, so on Saturday they went into Bambule toy shop and bought the biggest slide they could find!

While Tadhg napped dad put the slide together and also erected mom and dad's tent which has been sitting in the basement for a long time. When Tadhg woke up and went to the garden he was thrilled to see the slide and tent and had a great time flying down the slide and then running into the tent.

Tadhg gets a new locker

On Sunday, Tadhg, mom and dad made the big trip to Ikea to pick up some things for Tadhg's room. As Tadhg is more active, mom and dad want to make his room more Tadhg friendly. Tadhg loves Ikea as it's like one big playground to him. Mom and dad picked up a plush alligator toy for the side of his new bed as well as a wooden locker to store blankets, toys and whatever else Tadhg decides to put in.

After a nap, Tadhg helped dad put the locker together. This basically involved throwing the nuts and bolts around and eventually losing the only allen key which came with the locker. Dad somehow managed to put the locker together. Tadhg really likes the new addition to his room and is now able to climb onto it to turn on and off the light.

Tadhg's Superman pyjamas!

On Thursday a package from Canada arrived in the post for Tadhg. Tadhg got very excited opening the box and was dying to see what is inside (his baba always sends him fun stuff from Canada!). The first present out of the box was a new Buzz Lightyear figurine which Tadhg loved (Tadhg is a big Toy Story fan and already has a Buzz Lightyear figurine but it has a broken wing which has been glued back on one time too many!).

Tadhg was so excited with Buzz that he almost forgot to see what else was in the box. Eventually he looked back in the box and pulled out a set of Superman pyjamas! Tadhg is also a big fan of the man of steel. He tried on the pyjamas immediately and especially loved the Superman cape which attached to his back. He was soon running around the apartment singing the Superman theme.

Luckily Tadhg's baba was on the webcam to see all the excitement and allowed Tadhg to express his gratitude.

Tadhg graduates from his cot-bed!

Tadhg has always loved his cot bed and loved snuggling up with his blue bear at night-time. Recently as Tadhg has grown so big and tall, he has started to try to climb out of his bed, so mom and dad decided it was time to take down the cot part of the bed. Tadhg was really excited whilst helping dad take his bed apart. When Tadhg saw his comfy bed without the bars, he couldn't wait to jump onto it and off it, and onto it, and off it.

Eventually Tadhg figured out he could bring his step in to help climb in and out of the bed. Tadhg spent a lot of time "sleeping" in his bed with loud "snores". When it was eventually time to go to sleep, Tadhg walked into bed all by himself and jumped onto his pillow. Mom and dad were so proud to see their little guy climb into bed by himself, and a little sad as he takes yet another step out of babyhood. The new bed must be very comfy as Tadhg slept all night long and didn't wake up until after 7am!

Tadhg's photo shoot

Back in February, mom and dad booked a professional photographer to come over and take some family photos. The first draft of photos arrived this week. Mom and dad had some professional photos taken when Tadhg was only a few months old which they love, but they wanted to get some new ones as Tadhg has changed a little bit since then.

The photographer, Barbora, came over to the apartment with all of her own cameras and lighting equipment. Tadhg was a bit shy at first but was soon running around asking to look at the pictures. Mom and dad wanted a new family shot to match the one they already have and some nice photos of Tadhg.
Tadhg is so photogenic, and a bit of a poser! Mom and dad are very happy with the results and plan to get some photos framed (if they can find room on their walls!).

Tadhg returns to Prague

On Wednesday, Tadhg, mom and dad flew back to Prague after a fun-filled trip to Dublin. It was great to catch up with family and friends in Ireland and everyone was a bit sad leaving. Mom and dad see that Tadhg would have a ready-made circle of friends if they ever more back to Dublin.

Tadhg's first carousel ride

Uncle Eddie read about a hot air balloon festival taking place in Birr Castle over the Easter weekend, so on Easter Monday everyone (including Sheena, Lou and kids) headed down to Birr Castle for the festival. Unfortunately, the weather was not conducive to the big balloons and they were cancelled due to high winds. Undeterred, the intrepid gang traipsed across a muddy field to see what was on offer. Tadhg liked the look of the carousel ride, so he and dad hopped up on an ornate horse named Andrew. Tadhg was fine sitting on the horse when it wasn't moving, but was a bit scared when the horses started racing around and around and around....

After some brief exploring of the castle, Tadhg, mom and dad took a short trip to a nearby hotel restaurant with Tadhg's grandparents and Aunt and Uncle. Tadhg enjoyed running around the hotel but was tiring from his busy morning so mom and dad decided it was time to go back to Dublin. Tadhg quickly fell asleep on the car ride home which allowed mom and dad to stop at a few places and shop for some comfort goods which they can't get in Prague.

When Tadhg woke up, the kids spent the afternoon playing in the spacious play room. Sheena and Lou had organised a babysitter for the evening so the adults were able to get out for a nice meal and a few drinks to get a proper catch up while the kids slept.

Tadhg celebrates Easter Sunday

Tadhg woke up his usual bright and early self on a fresh Easter Sunday morning in Dublin. After an early breakfast of real Irish porridge, Tadhg, Jamie and Millie went on an Easter egg hunt in the huge garden around Sheena and Lou's house looking for the eggs cunningly hidden by the "Easter Bunny". The kids had a great time wandering around the garden together with their little egg baskets/bags and were thrilled each time they came upon a new batch of eggs.

After eating the fruits of their hunting, Tadhg, mom and dad hopped into the rental car and drove down to Tadhg's grandparent's house for the rest of the day. Tadhg was very happy to see his Irish grandparents again and enjoyed the guided tour of the garden from his grandma.

Soon after Tadhg was settled in his grandparent's house, Uncle Eddie and Auntie Maria arrived with more Easter eggs and some presents for Tadhg (they hadn't seen him since before Christmas!). Tadhg was more than happy to get another batch of chocolate eggs but his eyes really lit up when he saw the set of construction trucks! Dad had to immediately take them out so a mini-construction site could be set-up.

After a family Easter Sunday lunch, Tadhg's granddad fixed a racing car which had a broken spoiler. Tadhg was amazed at the whole procedure and enjoyed sitting beside his granddad watching him work. Tadhg had the run of the house and had everyone laughing with his racing between kitchen and living room.

The Easter Sunday movie was Superman who is Tadhg's favourite superhero right now. As Tadhg had never seen it, the whole family sat down to watch the movie together. Tadhg was enthralled to see a live-action Superman for a change rather than the comic book variety.

After a busy and action-packed day, Tadhg, mom and dad drove back to Dublin for the evening. Tadhg was really tired and soon fell asleep after a great day.

Tadhg flies to Dublin

On Saturday, Tadhg, mom and dad flew to Dublin for the first time in 2010 to see Tadhg's Irish family and friends. Tadhg was excited about spending Easter in Ireland and seeing his Irish Grandparents for the first time since since last October. Tadhg is such an experienced traveller now that the flight went very quickly and smoothly.

When they arrived in Dublin, the family rented a car and drove to Sheena and Lou's who were kindly playing host for the trip.

Tadhg bids farewell to Maya

Maya and he family's holiday in Prague was coming to an end, so everyone met up at Tadhg's favourite restaurant, Vytopna, for a farewell meal. The two toddlers loved the trains rattling around the restaurant as always (although Tadhg is not so excited by them any more) and they both had a great time in the play area.

It's a pity Maya doesn't live in Prague still as she and Tadhg get on really well.