It’s taken me a while to get to this – work has been insane over the last few weeks. But I can’t let Sophie’s 8th birthday go unmentioned on the blog!

Unfortunately for Sophie, her birthday coincided with an increase in Covid-19 restrictions in London so we had to cancel her long-awaited horse-riding party and we couldn’t have a gathering at home beyond the four of us. But we still made the day special for her (and have promised a horse-riding session as soon as we are able to!).

Her birthday fell during half term, and while Matt had to work, I had the day off with the kids. With the weather bright, and day trips outside still acceptable, I took the children on a day trip to Brighton to play at the beach.

At the last minute, I arranged to meet my friend Katharine and her daughter there for the day. Keeping it a surprise from the kids, their excited faces at Brighton station when they saw then were priceless.

After grabbing some food, we headed straight down to the beach to play. The weather was dramatic with blue skies, moody clouds and strong winds. It was certainly refreshing after weeks in the city!

The children, of course, spent most of the day throwing pebbles into the sea and running away from the waves (with mixed success. Sophie was soaked within minutes!).

It was perfect for a socially distanced catch up – the beach was so quiet!

It was easy to while away a couple of hours in the sunshine. We even got quite artistic in the sand!

And Katharine and I managed to enjoy a decent catch up while the kids were busy!

We did eventually drag the kids off the beach for a walk up the pier followed by an absolutely delicious ice cream at the brilliant Boho Gelato.

It was a wonderful day and I think Sophie loved every minute of it. We picked up some cupcakes on the way home so we could sing Happy Birthday with proper candles!

It wasn’t quite the celebrations we had planned, but it was still a special day and Sophie loved every minute of it.

Here’s my girl on all of her birthdays!