The Ordinary Moment // These Two

These two are the closest in age out of my children.  There is 16 months between them, but when they were little it felt like less.  Finn had a difficult start and took longer to meet some of his initial milestones which meant he was still very much a baby when Cora arrived.  They grew up together and they have had a special relationship since very early on.

As toddlers they were so close but things inevitably changed when Finn started school and the age gap between them seemed to grow hugely in that year.  Now they are both at school in year 1 and 2 and I can see such a difference between them but when you get them away from it, their special relationship is still there and they can be the best of friends.

I like to take just the two of them out sometimes to encourage it. With the bigger boys around, Finn is desperate to be one of them, but when these two are on their own, they play so well, they encourage and share and are back to being the best of friends.  We love the woodlands but to get to a decent sized area we have to drive quite a way, so we visit this tiny woodlands in our town to play amongst the trees and set up our swing.  

I loved listening to their conversations, watching them play and connect and be close again.  The age gap between them looks bigger than ever as one is shooting up at an amazing speed and one is growing much more slowly, the academic gap grows with school but I hope they will always have a special relationship as brother and sister.

These pictures are from a little trip out this week.  The bigger two had friends over so I took these two out for a few hours, to the tiny woods and then the park and I realised how much I missed time with just them.

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Finn and Cora's Shared Bedroom

We have lived in our house for nearly 4 years and this is the third change to this room as we try to work out the best way to use the space.  It was originally a shared nursery for the little two, it then became Finn's room alone with a king sized bed taking over most of the space and now, with Cora's room repurposed into an office, and us becoming more aware that neither Finn nor Cora like sleeping in a room alone, I have tried to create a unisex shared bedroom for them.

Finn is 6 and Cora will be 5 next month.  I wanted a room that gave us options, storage and space, and that could grow with them.  We are limited by the fact we are in a rented house, but we decided to go for one feature wall which could be repainted if we decide to move.  I chose a fun design from Murals Wallpaper and they gifted us the mural.  I liked this one as I could pick out different colours for accessories and it wouldn't be outgrown.  The room is small but I love how it adds colour and fun.

I bought the bunk beds and kallax unit from Ikea and Finn already had the white Ikea chest of drawers.  As well as the kallax boxes on the bottom row, I found the fun crates at The Works and loved how well the colours co-ordinated with the room.  Both children have their own set for storing their 'special things'.

We were sent the most beautiful Picca Lou Lou pompom garland from Luna and Cash and it is so incredibly soft.  I need to put some proper hooks on the wall for it.  I love the rich colours and it looks great above their bed.  They also sent a beautiful Fabelab animal cushion which matches the bright mustard on the wall and is taking it in turns between the children at the moment!

The four prints I bought from Desenio, and the wooden dolls house and make up set are preloved toys from friends who had outgrown them. The cosy corner is made up of things that were in Cora's room before, purchased from a variety of stores.  I wanted to reuse as much as we could.  

I wanted the bedding to be as easy as possible, so I bought coverless duvets that can be washed and tumble dried as they are (it might sound lazy but to me it sounds genius!).  I bought them from Fine Bedding and got the matching pillow cases (unfortunately they have to be removed from the pillows before washing).  They are wonderfully soft and they have slept well in them.

I love how their room has come together.  It is colourful and Fun and the space works well for sleep and play together.

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Finn and Cora at 4 and 5

As babies, Finn and Cora were so close.  Their bond was special from the beginning and once she learned to walk, they were more like twins, her desperate to be as big and capable as Finn, he lazy enough to let her keep up.  They potty trained together, they came out of a cot and into a bed at the same time, they started hitting milestones at the same time and they looked after each other, communicating in their own way.  Of course they squabbled too, but their bond was special and sweet.  

Finn started school last year and immediately things changed.  Not only were they suddenly apart for the majority of the time, he was learning and growing without her, making new friends and carving out a new side of his personality, one that was different and separate to us.  Suddenly we didn't know everything in his life anymore and the age gap between them stretched back out again, him growing so fast, her left behind.

This year Cora started school, one year behind Finn and desperate to be there with her big brother.  He was so excited to show her his school, to teach her how lunchtime works, to help her find her way in the playgrounds and I wondered whether it would change their ever evolving relationship again but of course Covid had other ideas and they are not allowed to mix at all at school as they are in separate bubbles.  

I have no doubt that Cora will start catching up with Finn and as they get older the age gap will seem smaller again.  I hope their friendship and bond stays though.  It is constantly changing as they grow and I find Finn can fight with her, but the moment someone else gets involved he is so protective of his sister.  He is so much taller than her, that the 16 months can look much bigger from the outside.  They are busy at the moment, developing their individual selves at school, making their own friends and their own decisions after sharing the same friendship group for so long and I hope that having the continuity and consistency they get from each other at home gives them confidence in new situations.

I never intended to have these two so close together but I am so glad I did.  It felt like I had two babies for a while as Finn wasn't walking yet when she was born but now they have similar interests and needs and they have a best friend at home.

Finn and Cora are both wearing Frugi clothing here which was sent to us as press samples

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Two and Two

The children are all really close in age, when Cora was born I had 4 aged 4 and under but the biggest age gap is in the middle.  They have always fallen into two pairs really, the bigger boys and the little ones (who until recently were referred to as the babies). Archie grew up faster to keep up with Dylan and the little ones seemed to even out somewhere in the middle, acting more like twins at times.  They have an amazing relationship most of the time (although they are more than capable of fighting too) and sometimes at the weekends now, we end up splitting the children so they can do different things.

These little ones still need to run around, they need fresh air and freedom and they are easier to handle outside the house rather than in it.  The older boys, whilst still only 7 and 8 can cope inside for longer and enjoy quiet time to do their Lego or play games.  Ed and I are very different here (which works well at these times) as I would always rather be out, and I opt to take these two usually and go exploring.  He loves being at home and has the patience for Monopoly with children which I am definitely lacking! It feels strange having such a gap in what they want to do when they are all so close but it is lovely having the opportunity to indulge them all too and we make sure to spend time as a family as well.

These photos are from a recent weekend where we drove to a different beach to normal armed with a bucket and a ball.  We walked around the town and stopped for pancakes with Grandma, their Aunty and cousin and played out until dinner time.  We had a wonderful day and I loved being out with them.  The bigger boys had an afternoon of board games at home and maintain that they had more fun! 

I know that this age gap grows and shrinks, that it may get bigger before it gets smaller again and eventually I will have four teenagers but for now I am enjoying being able to spend time with them in pairs doing the things they love.

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The Ordinary Moments - At the Park

I have fallen behind a bit in documenting our lives on here, sharing the photos I take and those moments I want to look back on.  Instagram is so easy to use but one picture never seems enough and I love taking my camera out and taking some proper photographs.  I want to start sharing a post each week (possibly each fortnight) with more photos, more ordinary moments again. 

This series is from a Sunday walk to the park after a lazy morning watching TV and snuggling under blankets.  These two needed a walk and were desperate to test out their new (gifted) Reima boots which are both waterproof and machine washable (a very good thing as these are messy children!).  They insisted they didn't need proper coats and they wanted to match again (both are wearing all Little Green Radicals clothing, some gifted, some bought), their favourite thing at the moment.  We live so close to the park that it is easy to pop over to and it really helps wake me up when I am feeling lazy and wears them out.  The wooden obstacle course has finally been reopened after a few weeks being out of action and they are both getting so confident hopping along the stepping stones and walking along the balance beams.  

The sun was getting low in the sky even though it wasn't even 3pm when we arrived and the sun shone through the park keeping us a bit warmer.  The park was empty most of the time we were in there, other children probably doing nice warm festive things but for us it felt the perfect balance to the indoor activities and Christmas fun.  We had already opened advent calenders and written cards that morning and now they needed to run off some of the energy. The day felt much more balanced and there were lots of giggles.

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What the Kids Wore - Raspberry Republic

Although it is still very much jumper weather, I am getting excited for summer and starting to buy bright clothes ready for the beach.  The new Raspberry Republic collection is full of colour and I love the funky designs, as do the children.  As soon as Dylan spotted Finn's t-shirt with rollerskating papayas he asked if I could get him one the same and Cora and I had great fun spotting the pink dolphins on her Samba skirt.  The collection is called Viva Brasil and is available at Little Footprint .

We had a little trying on session followed by a balloon game and I took a few photos of the clothes in action - full on bouncing, spinning, falling over, mid giggle action.  The t-shirt has plenty of growing room (this is age 5-7 on Finn who is 4) and the samba set is age 2-3 on a petite nearly 3 year old.  I love the outfit for the beach but the skirt is great for now with a long sleeved top and tights as well (see the last couple of pictures).  We were sent these items from Raspberry Republic but I have already bought some of the new collection as I love these bright colours on Finn especially and they are so much fun for the summer.  Everything is made from organic cotton and is super soft as well as holding the colour well (we have bought past season bits that we love too).  If you want outrageously fun designs which are like nothing you have seen before then check out Raspberry Republic!

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