Ok, I admit it. I am a senior citizen at heart. Well at least when it comes to visiting old houses. I hadn't really noticed until I convinced hubby to go to the Government House open day in Melbourne a few years back. We were literally the only people under 50 years old lining up to get a squiz inside the beautiful old estate.
So I was pretty excited to realise there was going to be a CHOICE between historic houses to visit on our way back from the weekend in Birmingham. Jackpot! Thinking long and hard about the decision (yes, I am a dork, I know) we decided on Baddesley Clinton because who doesn't love a medieval mansion complete with moat and its own chapel on site?
But despite my extreme excitement the real winner of the day was Austin. Or he would like to think. He's at the stage now where everything is a test. Testing me, testing his limits, testing life in general... Yep and the results are in. He is definitely king of the castle (or at least King of Baddesley Castle). How do I know? Because:
- he can’t walk through a gift store without clutching on to a toy for dear life, using an unbreakable ninja grip until mum pulls out five pound to pay
- he will happily sit and play with the pebbles in the mud and not budge regardless of how many bribes you throw at him (fruit, crackers, biscuits, chocolate… yes, we were pulling out the big guns at the end)
- he walks over to you for what you think is a cuddle but once ‘up’ points in the direction he would like to be taken (go forth woman! Faster, faster!)
- he smiles at the person standing next to you until they smile back because he’s learnt way too quickly that’s he’s pretty damn cute
- he has the cheekiest little laugh when he runs away from you because you’ve said its home time
- he sits in his ‘throne’ (car seat) post castle expedition and snoozes while the grown ups have whispered conversations around him
Not long now until he has all of his toys bowing to the new king!