Steps: 

• Daily average = 11,085
• Best day = 19,648
• Worst day = 4,797 

• A trip into town with an old school friend and Isabella in the buggy the long way round via both piers and Concorde 2 = 14,000 steps (managed to get everything on my shopping list as well as decent exercise, a good catch up and sunburned shoulders)

• 3 children’s parties (including Isabella’s 1st birthday), a BBQ and the NCT Sale this week have meant lots of fun times (and tired children) but no that many steps on the pedometer

• On Wednesday we revisited the nurse for an end-of-challenge health check. I have lost a couple of kg in weight which is to be applauded but I suspect this is more a combination of less clothes (jeans were worn first time round) and a natural shedding of baby weight rather than due to the extra walking
• Charlie (dressed as a ‘princess fairy’) and Isabella (exhausted after playgroup) accompanied me for this and we were filmed by ‘mummy Charlie and Colin the cameraman’ – can’t wait to see the takes!
• Charlie is the real star of this walking family and he has yet to reach his 3^rd birthday. He has embraced walking as a way of life; he has no concept of getting in a buggy himself and has not once complained of being tired or bored or wanting a break. He only asks to be carried if he thinks that there is something exciting that he cannot see from his level! He has definitely lost weight too given the additional exercise that he has been doing (alas I didn’t think to weigh him at the start to quantify this but his shorts from last year now hang loose at the waist). I truly believe that all toddlers have it in them to walk decent distances but it is a painfully slow process on occasions and plenty of time needs to be set aside to get from A to B allowing for the myriad of distractions that one encounters en route
• As for Isabella, she has definitely gained weight over the challenge, as well as teeth, and at her 1^st birthday health-check on Tuesday was about as heavy and long as a girl can be. She has yet to take her first steps but it won’t be long now and then the fun can start all over again…
  

Steps: 

• Daily average = 7,168
• Best day = 13,927 (hurrah, the sun!)
• Worst day = 4,511 (rain stopped play on 2 days) 

• My only walking (big step) highlight this week was a trip up to the Martlets Hospice to hand in a cheque for my sponsorship money for their Midnight Walk (£415 in total, an amazing sum reflecting how much we value the invaluable work that they do). Unlike the previous time I did this walk (for the first mini-challenge), this time it did only take 30 minutes to get there including time spent chatting with other mums I bumped into on the way. I went home via the Hove Library centenary celebrations where Isabella patiently listened to the mayor and then discovered the delights of pulling rows of books off the shelves in the children’s library = 9,000 steps
• Other non-walking highlights include a couple more visits to Hove Library to join in the centenary celebrations (face-painting and story-telling one day, fan-making another, as well as book borrowing of course!), the end-of-term sports day at Charlie’s pre-school (where every child was a winner) and Charlie’s visit to the barbers (alas the golden curls are gone; he is no longer mistaken for a girl) 

• My worst stepping day was Monday when the nasty rain forced me to do the school run in a car (had Isabella been in a better mood, I would have chanced the buggy, but she was obviously feeling a little under the weather already)
• Once again we had a fantastically lazy Saturday joining up with my brother’s family to spend the morning at Mile Oak Farm Fair followed by an afternoon at the Stoneham Park Family Day (both events were great fun and the sun warmed us through in the afternoon so much that I was reminded of the state of my pregnancy with Isabella at last year’s event on my due date)
  

Steps:

• Daily average = 13,644
• Best day = 22,967
• Worst day = 4,132

Highlights:

• A trip into town with Isabella in the buggy to buy a girl’s 3rd birthday present, almost bearable first thing on a Monday morning = 9,000 steps (why were there so many school-aged children milling around with their mums that day?)
• A late afternoon stroll to Marroccos got no further than the Lawn café beach when Charlie spotted the sand at low tide, so we dived down the pebbles and ended up paddling (or skinny dipping in the case of Charlie) and getting sand between all of our toes, Isabella included = 2,000 steps (a kind gent took pity on me and helped me drag the buggy back up to the prom)
• To catch up with a girlfriend we took an hour’s stroll along the prom before school pick-up pushing our girls in their buggies = 4,000 steps
• Whilst the weather has been fine I have been here, there and everywhere and have not used the car at all for shopping, rather I have made several trips home via the supermarket with laden buggy instead (a funky patterned shopping trolley will be my vehicle of choice when Isabella outgrows her buggy!)

Lowlights:

• My worst stepping day once again was a fantastically lazy Saturday spent at a friend’s house to celebrate her daughter’s 3rd birthday, with 10 children running around in the gorgeous garden whilst the adults enjoyed the great barbeque (Charlie stripped off again for the paddling pool whilst Isabella grazed on daisies)

Steps: 

• Daily average = 9,664 (just not good enough)
• Best day = 14,770 (thanks to the mini-challenge)
• Worst day = 3,852 (definitely not a problem with the pedometer!)

• Aside from the usual comings and goings, there were 4 highlights to my week, 3 of which did not involve walking (namely having some sash windows refurbished so that they actually open whilst making a soothing shushing noise, selling an unwanted item through the Friday-Ad to a lady who was thrilled with her purchase and watching Charlie have a pony ride for the first time)
• The only true walking highlight was brought about by the mini-challenge

• Walking has been put on the back burner this week as I have had workmen at home for 2 days and Friday’s inclement weather spoilt plans for an afternoon Marroccos outing
• My worst stepping day was a fantastically lazy Saturday spent with my brother’s family at my nephew’s wonderful school fair (Charlie set up camp alongside the toy stall and cheerfully played with the items for sale for most of the fair whilst Isabella put whatever was at hand in her mouth)

• As I understood it, the mini-challenge was to use the ‘Local Walks’ pages JourneyOn website to identify an appealing walking route and then find a willing walking companion to help check out the route and provide meaningful and witty comments on the walk and perhaps take a decent photo of the stepper in question en route to prove that the walk had been completed as instructed
• As I understand it, my efforts and those of my walking companions may not have fulfilled the above criteria, but we had great fun trying 
• I chose a South Downs Way walking trail for the area of Mile Oak; the 3 ½ mile standard route looked about right for Charlie’s little legs (I ignored the 3 references to stiles, given Isabella’s preferred mode of transport in the all terrain pushchair!)
• For a walking companion I needed someone who would be free during the week, inclined to own a pair of out of town shoes and be able to help lift an occupied buggy if necessary – I chose my dear friend Christopher and hoped that he would not stand me up at the last minute for work reasons
   
• At the allotted time the doorbell went and I was confronted by Christopher sporting a pair of polished brogue shoes – he had been under the impression that walking with 2 young children would not be off road – so we made a detour to his house for proper walking boots
  
• I was familiar with the start of the walk as we are frequent visitors to the gem of Mile Oak Farm and we had done some walking there as a family when I was pregnant with Isabella
  
• As the track continued up hill we suddenly found ourselves surrounded by cows and a couple of calves who did not bat an eyelid at our being there
  
• It was by then fairly windy on the Downs so I took Charlie in hand as he hates the wind blowing his hair onto his face and Christopher was a natural at pushing Isabella’s chariot
  
• After a mile we turned right towards town and had another mile’s trek along a pitted path in the direction of the Foredown Tower – not ideal for buggies, but Isabella seemed to relish the bouncing about (To quote Christopher: "I keep chuckling at the image of Isabella unfazed

Steps this week: 

• Daily average = 12,857 (that’s more like it!)
• Best day = 16,087
• Worst day = 10,858 (yes, met the target EVERY day this week)

Highlights:

• There and back to Charlie’s new pre-school twice = 6,000 steps (a good start to the week which inspired me to make a detour to Boundary Road clocking up another 4,000 steps just for fun!)
• Short jog with Isabella in buggy along seafront (admittedly I had to walk a bit on the way back, but it felt good to have gone a bit further this time) = 6,000 steps
• Stroll around the lake at Brooklands with Charlie and Isabella thrilled at all the fluffy ducklings and sygnets despite the insistent drizzle that came from nowhere = 3,500 steps
• Walking to and from Playgroup, via the ever-welcoming Hove Library and home via the bank, with Charlie and Isabella munching on baguette to keep spirits high = 10,000 steps
• A glorious day spent at Shoreham’s Beach Dreams (part of the Adur Festival), the highlight for me being snooping around art shows on 3 of the riverboats = 6,000 steps
• A wonderful afternoon spent at the Springwatch Festival in Stanmer Park, the highlight for Charlie being the samba band made up of animals (follow that fox!) = 6,000 steps

Lowlights:

• Yet again, main supermarket shop done by car though it did mean that I could buy lots of ice-cream and give a lift to a friend who was trying to work out how to get a pergola home on her buggy!

• The lawnmower finally packed in

Mini-challenge:

• When I first read the challenge for this week (basically, to ‘get famous’ and encourage others to read the blogs and comment on them) I was filled with terror at the prospect of having to approach complete strangers and immediately batted an email to Janette for help
• After a lengthy telephone conversation (thank you Janette) my panic had subsided such that I was able to make a plan
• Everything about the 10,000 steps challenge involves a nice round 10 so<

• Daily average = 10,667 (or 6,596*)
• Best day = 15,308
• Worst day = 4,919 (or 0*)  

• Finally stepping out of the house on Bank Holiday Monday afternoon in wellies to support the Hove Lions Carnival (we all loved the joke–telling shepherd and dogs herding geese and ducks and Charlie tried out the fire engine for size)
• Watching Lazy Town at the Theatre Royal, feeling very lazing with all that madcap behaviour on stage but glad to hear that Sportacus calls apples energy food (fell in love with the actor playing Pixel - what a mover!)
• Day out with 3 school friends and their children for a long-overdue reunion, meeting the latest addition (6 week old George) and latest acquisition (new house in West Sussex)
• Wandering on the Downs from Devil’s Dyke through a herd of cows and calves, with a picnic lunch as a reward

• Being half-term this week, of course the weather has been hugely unpleasant or indifferent
• *Have discovered that with sufficient time and interest a toddler can reset the reading on a pedometer, which accounts for a zero reading one day and a negligible reading on another
• Given the lack of steps recorded this week, I did not bother to wear the pedometer on Saturday for the drive to and from Horsham only to sit in a friend’s garden and enjoy a long lunch (the most exercise I had was scooping Isabella up just before she put another piece of greenery in her mouth)

I took time this week to observe Charlie’s stride and have concluded that for every one of my steps he does almost two and rarely does he walk in a straight line! 
Steps: 
• Daily average = 12,036 (up 25% on last week!)
• Best day = 18,415 (2 decent walks)
• Worst day = 6,996 (largely spent at home)

Highlights:
• Walking to and from the superstores at the old Goldstone Ground, with Charlie excited at the prospect of a new fishing net (as it happens he had to make do with a shared packet of chocolate buttons) = 6,000 steps
• Short jog with Isabella in buggy along seafront (very windy heading into town) = 4,500 steps
• Late afternoon stroll along the seafront to the lagoon with Charlie and fishing net (only managed to dredge up a teaspoon and various algae) and then along to Marroccos for yet another delicious ice-cream = 7,000 steps
• Walking to and from Playgroup, taking in BabyBoogie in the glorious environs of Hove Library (Isabella was utterly taken with Nora who runs the session) and home via all the great charity shops in George Street, with Charlie on the hunt for new plastic animals = 10,000 steps
• Visit to the gem of Mile Oak Farm Shop to feed the farm animals (the chickens were not impressed with red cabbage, but one of the goats seemed quite taken with it), and then for a mini-tour of the fields opposite with Charlie playing spot the cow pat and Isabella bouncing around in the buggy (had to take her out and collapse buggy to get through a kissing gate!) = 2,000 steps

Lowlights:
• Yet again, main supermarket shop done by car though it did mean that Isabella could ride on the trolley and nibble on dried fruit
• Have spent bits of days decorating and gardening and climbing a ladder doesn’t seem to record that many steps!

Mini-challenge:
• To walk a journey that I would normally make by car, I chose to go to the Martlets Hospice Warehouse on Old Shoreham Road to pick up my t-shirt for the sponsored Midnight Walk
• This is one of those journeys that is actually much longer by car as the railway line needs to be crossed somehow
• According to the JourneyOn website, a return trip by car is 5.38 km taking some 14 minutes at a cost of £2.34 creating a carbon footprint of 1.08 kg
• Whereas a return trip by foot is only 3.06 km (3822 steps) taking some 38 minutes, expending 180 calories at a cost of £0.00 creating a carbon footprint of 0.00 kg
• During our trip we stopped both ways to watch trains go over the tunnel alongside Aldrington Station (remarkably frequent which is great to maintain the interest of a toddler), bumped into a friend with her children who Charlie ran around with for some half hour (much to Isabella’s amusement), shared an ice-cream and visited Stoneham Park (yet more friends to catch up with, despite the after-school crowd having mostly gone home)
• In reality, my return trip with Isabella in buggy and Charlie on foot was 6,000 steps, took almost 3 hours and cost me £1.00 in ice-cream (but I didn’t use the car!).

• Jog with Isabella in buggy along seafront to and from swimming lesson = 5,000 steps (and that doesn’t even include all the strolling around the changing rooms and wading in the training pool!)
• Door-to-door delivering of Christian Aid Week envelopes, with Charlie as my willing helper = 6,000 steps
• Late afternoon stroll along the seafront to get another fabulous ice-cream at Marroccos, with Charlie running around the beach huts and telling me the colours of their doors = 5,000 steps
• Walking to and from Playgroup, via all the great charity shops in George Street, with Charlie leading the way = 8,000 steps
• Glorious day out at Lancing College Farm Project feeding the alpacas and the wonderful Woods Mill fishing for newts, both buggy and toddler friendly = 7,000 steps (half of these with Charlie on foot, the rest were just me retracing my steps to get a step count as my pedometer had come off my belt!)

• Main supermarket shop done by car as weather was unpleasant and, with 2 young children, a buggy with a raincover leaves little space for purchases
• Friday’s commitments meant using the car to fit everything in
• Most of Saturday spent helping out at a pre-school fair, so little chance to clock up the steps myself despite walking there and back, though my children had great fun at a garden centre