Today did not start well. I anticipated having a well earned lie-in and then enjoying a delicious breakfast accompanied by the giving of a lovely mothers day gift & hand-made card. Instead I hear Martin practising his viola in the room very loudly for an hour in the room below me, followed by him going to collect Eleanor and finding that she'd taken off her nappy and dawbed poo all over her cot, toys, sheets, and dropped little parcels through the bars on to the rug. Her hands were completely encrusted and it truly upset me to be so brutal with her in the shower to get it off, whilst Martin cursed upstairs in her room. She has done this before, but her taking her nappy off is becoming a very regular occurrance and it's just NOT pleasant.
After a quick bit of research on't'net I decided a couple of things. Firstly, that I was going to take one side off her cot and make her room a little more play-friendly. This I did, after removing all the more precious/ delicate books and breakables. We will see how she gets on tonight.
Secondly, we're going to shop for a potty tomorrow. It's not something that I'd thought about getting until she was at least two, but evidently, many toddlers who continuously take their nappies off are trying to tell mum & dad that they are ready. Hmm. This is not something I'm looking forward to.
However, the delightful trip we took to the seaside yesterday somewhat made up for the terror of today. We went to Hornsea, which is by far my favourite East coast destination. It has the nicest promenade I've seen - quite modern and (usually) very clean. The beach is a nice mix of pebbles and sand and Eleanor LOVED it. Most of the day was spent collecting stones in her bucket and carrying themfrom place to place. Martin rolled his eyes when I made her a little boat - it was nothing compared the masterpieces my brother and I used to create as children, but she liked it all the same!

