5 Reasons to Book a Family Activity Holiday to the Azores.

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Off to the west of mainland Portugal lies a collection of nine volcanic islands, collectively known as the Azores.  They are not as popular yet with tourists as other areas in the country but they offer a unique charm and so many exciting activities for families and the more I read about the area, the more I want to pack a suitcase and hop on a plane!

Here are 5 reasons I want to plan a family holiday to the Azores.

1) The islands have such outstanding natural beauty , each one bright green and bursting with fauna.  The natural parks including the magnificent Ribeira dos Caldeirões Natural Park look breathtaking but it is the volcanoes that can be seen in places like Furnas and the caves and tunnels of lava that would attract my children who are incredibly fascinated by these things.  You can walk through Gruta do Carvão the longest lava tunnel on the islands.  The Azores boast some beautiful tall mountains and you can visit the black sand beaches

2) Being built on volcanic land, the Azores have hot springs across the islands and their mineral rich waters are perfect for taking a dip in.  For more water filled adventures you can go lagoon snorkelling at the Vila Franca Islet which sounds incredible and you can't forget the Atlantic Waters that surround the islands and are well known for the possibilities of spotting dolphins and whales.  Seeing a dolphin in the wild is something I would love to do one day and family activity holidays to the Azores tend to include the opportunity to do this, maybe even snorkelling alongside them!  Whilst we are talking about the water based reasons to visit the islands, you can't forget Caldeira Velha waterfall in Caldeiraes national park which you can go for a swim in!  My children are drawn to water (as am I) and a holiday filled with so many possibilities would be wonderful.

Credit : Futurismo Azores Adventure

3) When we plan our travels we try to avoid places that are too busy when we can.  The children all love the opportunity to make friends and chat to other people but we don't like to be too crowded and cramped and the Azores are so much quieter as a tourist destination than the Algarve and other well known parts of Portugal.  The uniqueness of this experience is definitely a big draw for us as we love to discover new places together.

4) Nobody can get bored on an adventure holiday and the number of experiences available in this area is extraordinary.  From snorkelling with dolphins, to walking through lava tunnels and exploring the black sandy beaches of Santa Barbara, no two days would be the same and there is bound to be something amazing for each member of the family.  Other activities possible on a family activity holiday to the Azores include jeep tours, botanical gardens, viewing the oldest remaining tea plantation and factory in Europe and visiting a pineapple farm. I love the idea of really getting to explore and know an area and there are plenty of opportunities to try the local cuisine which is very important when visiting somewhere new!

Credit : Futurismo Azores Adventure

5) I love to know the history of where I am visiting and everything about the Azores is fascinating.  The geographical history of how the islands were formed is really interesting and the way the islands became home to the current inhabitants is something I want to read more about.  The islands got more popular over time and the waves of immigration mean the area is rich in culture and cuisine.  Originally they sent some sheep out to get the ground ready for people and it slowly built up over many, many years.

The Azores area is full of excitement and adventure and I think it would make a wonderful destination to visit as a family.  It is definitely going on our travel bucket list for in a few years time when the little ones are old enough to keep up with it all! The temperatures are great with little variation throughout the year and not too hot that it gets uncomfortable  and the area is full of merged cultures as people have settled on the islands at different times and from different areas.

Have you visited the Azores?

Credit : Futurismo Azores Adventure

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The Sony Xperia XZ1 - Initial Review

Blogging is what started my love for photography and when I look back at the photos from my early posts, I can see just how far I have come.  The cluttered backgrounds, odd angles and blurry limbs of a little Dylan feel like a lifetime ago and taking photos has become not just something I do to illustrate a blog post, but something I do because I love to.  I love taking the perfect shot, capturing just the right moment and learning more about using my camera. 

My DSLR is usually my camera of choice, but it is big and bulky, a pain to carry around and I can look quite odd when I pull it out my bag and start snapping away.  I need a phone that can take a good photo, photos that I want to share on social media, display on my blog and capture all those imperfectly perfect moments that aren't going to wait for a big camera.

We are testing the new Sony Xperia XZ1 which boasts brilliant camera techology alongside easy to use android technology (I am most definitely an android girl). It has lived in my pocket and my hand this last week whilst I get used to the camera, the features and the fun slow-motion videos you can make.  

We recently visited a little local soft play which has a (closed) theme park behind it so I stopped to take some photos of the little two running around outside.  It was a bright place but the day was dull and the sky was dark.  I love how well the camera captures the colours and more importantly how well it captures the moment.

One of my favourite features so far is the predictive photo taking.  Before I have even pressed the shutter the phone has taken a couple of photos and when I browse back through I can choose my favourite from the bunch. It means I am less likely to miss a sweet cuddle or the way they hi5. 

The phone camera can be used in either auto or manual, and this coming week I am going to be playing with the manual features a bit more.  These photos are all in the automatic setting so I just point and shoot, and they haven't been edited at all.

Having a phone with a great camera is important to me as it allows me to get in the photos more too.  Whilst most people are a little scared when I hand over the 'big camera', they are confident to point and shoot with a phone and it means I can get in the photos more too.  I want my children to be able to look back and see me in their childhood and I love these photos of me and my baby girl that my sister took on the Sony Xperia XZ1

What I really wanted to see is what makes this phone better than my other one, which is also a top of the range model of another brand.  Pretty much all phones now can call, text, browse the internet and host a huge range of apps and games.  Most of the features that get updated are things that I would be content having an older model of, but the camera is really important to me and the reason I upgrade every time I am able.  

In video mode on the Xperia XZ1, you can tap a little icon above the stop/start button which adds a slow motion clip into the recording.  It makes a tiny moment expand into five seconds worth of footage as it records 960 frames per second and you can do this as many times as you want during one clip.  I have so many ideas to try with this, but here is our very first go.  Again this video has not been edited other than the very start being cut off and I have uploaded it directly from my phone.

So far I am really impressed with the Sony Xperia XZ1 and whilst I won't be hanging up my DSLR, I am enjoying having a great little camera in my pocket.  

I will be writing a full review of the phone next week!

 I am working with Sony on a paid collaboration but all thoughts and opinions are completely my own.

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Five Ways to Bond with Your Baby

Cora was born into a big family, she has three big brothers that demand my time and attention and where I would spend hours cuddled up with my first newborn, things aren't that easy with the fourth.  Finding different ways to keep the wonderful bond between us is a priority and I still find time every day to just enjoy her on her own, even if it does mean that I don't get much (any) time to myself.  There are little things we do each day that keep us close, that are just between us and I love how bonded they make me feel with my new baby.

Babywearing - Cora wants to be close to me at all times, understandably, and I want to keep her safe.  Her brothers adore her, sometimes a bit too much so keeping her with me makes sense.  As well as using a sling to make getting out and about easier, we also use it in the house.  She is settled when held against my chest, I have two hands free for her brothers and we can have skin to skin.

Breastfeeding - Cora is exclusively breastfed which means that as soon as she is hungry she comes back to me.  I didn't feel like my bond was any less with Finn when I had to bottlefeed him, but I find there to be something so precious about breastfeeding and knowing how reliant she is on me and me alone.

Co-sleeping - Co-sleeping works well for us.  It enables me to get some sleep and Cora to feel secure.  She sleeps the first stretch of each night in her crib and then comes in with me for the rest of it.  It feels so natural to keep her close at night and it means we both get more sleep!

Baby Massage - When the boys all go to bed, the house suddenly goes quiet and it is a great time to have some special time with my baby girl.  We love baby massage as a way to reconnect after a busy day and it keeps her skin lovely and smooth too.  The skin to skin contact releases the love hormone Oxytocin which helps us to connect and bond (I have some Huggies wipes handy for change time. Gayle Berry, Infant massage & baby yoga expert says“Nappy changing offers a special time to bond with your baby as you have the opportunity for eye contact, touch and to talk together. Reducing artificial smells in the products you use means that baby can recognise your special scent which encourages the bonding process and is kind to both you and your baby’s skin”. They are made with 99%  pure water and completely free from nasty chemicals such as alcohol, phenoxyethanol and parabens.  To find out how HUGGIES® Wipes naturally care for your little one’s skin visit www.huggieswipes.co.uk to find the full range. )

Bathing together - Until she is big enough to go in with her brothers, Cora comes in the bath with me.  We both love the calmness, the opportunity to have skin to skin and being able to feed her and comfort her if she needs it.  I would love to take her swimming one day too and we have plenty of HUGGIES® Little Swimmers® ready with the new Disney© Pixar Finding Dory characters on.  You can pick them up in the baby aisle or visit www.littleswimmers.co.uk for tips and advice. HUGGIES® Little Swimmers® is inviting families to “Get set, splash”, inspiring them to enjoy fun in the water with their little ones, giving them the confidence that they’ll be protected from any little accidents

I feel like my bond with Cora is as strong as with any of the others.  She gets so much of me, but she has three big brothers to love her as well.

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5 Reasons I am Looking Forward to Breastfeeding Again

This is a Sponsored Post by SMA® Nutrition

In the lead up to Cora's arrival I was feeling a mixture of nervous and excited. I knew that things were about to get very busy, that life with a newborn is exhausting and draining in every sense and that I will truly understand the term 'hands full' as I tackle life with four aged four and under. I also knew how amazing it was going to be, how the adrenaline makes you feel on top of the world, how precious those early days are and how perfect newborn cuddles are.


I breastfed all three of the boys for varying lengths of time and I am breastfeeding this little lady as well. In fact, it is one of the things I was really looking forward to, for many reasons.


1) Everyone wants newborn cuddles to touch their tiny toes, sniff their little heads and marvel at how small they are. I know family and friends will want to take the baby off me to hold, but once she starts crying, it will be straight back to Mama. Breastfeeding means it is only me that can feed her and settle her, that it is me that gets to enjoy those moments of calm, watch her fall asleep milk drunk and hold her close.

2) Breastfeeding is easy - not always at first, but once those early struggles have passed and things fall into a routine, it becomes so easy. There is nothing extra to pack in an already bulging changing bag, no problems if you decide to stay out later and the knowledge that you have everything you need somewhere that you really can't lose!


3) The knowledge that I am providing my baby with the very best start in life. The first 1000 days (pregnancy through to her 2nd birthday) are so important and my breastmilk adapts to my baby's needs providing her with the right amount of essential proteins she needs to grow and stay healthy. Protein in breastmilk is vital for growth and development and is the foundation for their cells, muscles, brain and other tissues I still find it amazing that my body makes all of this on demand! The World Health Organisation recommends exclusively breastfeeding for the first six months as breast milk has been proven to support an appropriate rate of growth as the level of protein in breast milk changes as your babies grow. When babies grow at an appropriate rate it can reduce their chances of becoming overweight and obese later in life.


This video from SMA Nutrition shows the importance of protein in breastmilk

4) The extra calories having a newborn is exhausting and cake is one of the best ways to get through it. Breastfeeding mamas get an extra 500 calories a day which makes me feel so much better about all those extra biscuits I will be eating! It also means that the inevitable 'mum tum' shrinks a little faster, although I know with four pregnancies under my belt it is just a part of me now.


5) Savouring those moments, knowing that it won't be long before she is running around and not needing me so much. Knowing that whilst I am feeding my baby there is nowhere else I would rather be, that I am doing the most important thing I can be. Being able to stroke a tiny cheek, watch little fingers curl, little toes wriggle, a little body warm against mine. Being forced to slow down and appreciate the moment, exactly as we are, savouring the baby days.


I know that things may not stay easy, but it is something worth fighting for and I am enjoying every moment of breastfeeding my baby girl.

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Pure Love

This is a paid advertorial for WaterWipes

Every morning since Cora was born, we have done the first feed of the day in the same way. After a long night of feeds and nappy changes and restless sleep, I take off my pyjama top and her sleepsuit and we snuggle up together, her skin against mine. On the chillier mornings we pull the duvet around us, on the warmer ones we just lie there together, enjoying the slow pace, the quiet of just us two and the feeling of skin to skin. It is one of my favourite parts of the day, a way of connecting before the madness of the school runs and a noisy house.

There is no better way to wind down after a busy weekend than with those same special skin to skin cuddles and Sunday night is hairwash night for the boys and bath night for my baby girl and I. Her first baths are always with me, so that we can have skin to skin, relax and unwind together. We cuddle and feed and enjoy the calm of her brothers being in bed. She would probably fall asleep on my chest in the water if we stayed in any longer.

I read about the wonders of it during pregnancy and all of my birth plans have stipulated immediate skin to skin. I can only imagine how cold and scary the world is after nine months in the womb and the familiar sound of my heart beating, the reassurance of my warmth and smell and the closeness to milk has offered them comfort, and continues to for weeks and months. With Cora we stayed together for hours having our first skin to skin cuddle, there was no rush as we were at home for either of us to get dressed and it felt natural and perfect.


Skin to skin can regulate baby's biology and is evidence of how our bodies continue to care for and nurture our children long past the nine months we spend growing them. In this wonderful video 'Pure Love' from WaterWipes  they show how being on their mama's chest can regulate baby's heart rate, body temperature and oxygen levels as well as keeping them Calm.




Us mama's have super powers and alongside the fact we give birth, can sustain a baby for months with milk our bodies make and of course those magic kisses that heal any wound, we can also regulate our baby's biology purely through the power of skin to skin contact.


Our mornings will continue to start with skin to skin cuddles and our weeks will continue to end with them.

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