Our first holiday as a foursome

We've just got back from our first family holiday as a foursome, little F's very first time away.  We went to Cornwall, one of my all time favourite places, and stayed at Retallack Resort and Spa, near Padstow.

We were pleasantly surprised at how luxurious our lodge was. The beds were so comfy, there was plenty of space for M to run about, and the kitchen was really well fitted, with every utensil provided and the luxury of granite worktops.

Mummy and Daddy's bed was sooo much more comfy than my travel cot!

We had plumped for a lodge with a private hot tub in the decked outdoor space, and this didn't disappoint either.  We used it most days, and M absolutely loved splashing about in it.  This was how M and I spent Mother's Day afternoon.



Guarding ice creams against the greedy seagulls at Padstow

Catch of the Day at Stein's Deli

As the weather was pretty kind to us (although it was still quite chilly, being March), we managed to spend a bit of time exploring the local beaches.  We bought M a bucket and spade and a fishing net and went off to Watergate Bay, to build sandcastles, kick footballs, furtle about in the rock pools and climb the rocks.  It was a little too cold for F, so we couldn't stay out too long, but it was great to get some sea air in our lungs. 

We had a great meal at the Watergate Bay Hotel one lunchtime.  What an amazing hotel this is!  I've definitely got this one bookmarked for some time in the faraway future for me and the Two Boy Daddy.



Delicious food at the Watergate Bay Hotel

Aardman's various animations are a real favourite in our house so we went to Land's End for the Shaun the Sheep Experience.  It was fun to see some of the real props and sets, and to get some silly photos next to the characters.


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We also tried out the King Arthur exhibition (which was not pushchair friendly and very scary for three year olds!) and the 4D film about dinosaurs.  F was a little unsettled and I was trying to breastfeed him while my cinema seat was lurching about, air was being puffed up from the floor and bubbles were landing on us.  Talk about extreme breastfeeding!  We had to leave the other two to it.  M was a little difficult though on this day (I think we'd left it too long before we had lunch), so our visit to Land's End ended with everyone feeling irritable, but we soon got our holiday moods back on.

We also spent some time in St Ives, which is a special place for me and the Mr, as it's where we spent a lot of time on our very first holiday together.  We retraced our steps and salivated at all the restaurant menus where we can now no longer visit! M bought a cuddly Elmo with his holiday money, and was most proud when he handed over his money to the shop assistant.



St Ives: our special place

This holiday saw F take his first dip in a swimming pool.  As we expected from his enthusiasm for bathtime, he really enjoyed the pool and being led about in his yellow boat.  Two Boy Daddy and I got a treat: we had a massage each included in our holiday booking.  I asked a firm massage, and my goodness, I had to stop myself from squealing out, but it did feel nice to have a bit of pampering.

On our last day, we met up at Mawgan Porth beach with some friends of ours who live in Cornwall.  They have a little boy who is 16 months younger than M; the two of them really enjoyed spending some time together on the beach.  We all had a lovely lunch together afterwards.

Holidays mean different things when you have children.  They're not about relaxing, as you still have to entertain, sort out meals, wash up, bathe and clean them, and you don't have all your usual resources at your fingertips.  F did not sleep very well all week, so we were pretty tired.  But we will have some very happy memories of our first holiday as a foursome, and look forward to visiting Cornwall again before too long.