Me and Mine in December

December has been full of ups and downs but we have some great memories to accompany the less great ones.  There has been plenty of sickness and a broken bone (Finn) but there was also a girls trip to Budapest and all the excitement of Christmas so I am going to say it was overall a good month.  

Of course December ends the year and usually I do a big round up of everything that has gone on here, but I have to admit that after the past couple of days in hospital with Finn, I am not sure I have the energy for that so I will do a quick summary before I add our favourite things for the month.

It was the year Dylan started junior school, left old friends and made plenty of new ones.  He found a love for art and computer games and I am sure he grew far too fast.  Archie broke his collar bone and showed us all just how resillient he is.  He moved into year one and still gives the very best cuddles.  This was the year we applied for Finn's school place, the year he started wearing glasses and big boy pants and the year he broke his finger.  Cora stopped speaking in words and started using sentences.  This was the year Cora left behind babyhood, moving into a big bed, big pants and travelling everywhere on her scooter.  It was the year we took them to Disneyland alongside other holidays and trips like skiing, a music festival and glamping.  It was a year of fun and trying to have more one on one time and I have high hopes for 2019! 

In December I loved getting away for a 3 day break in Budapest with Cora, watching the children's faces on Christmas morning, playing card games with my family on Christmas evening and going in the thermal baths in Budapest.

Ed loved Christmas eve drinks with his friends, watching Star Trek Discovery, having boxes of Christmas chocolates in the house and how hard Archie tried to be nice in the lead up to Christmas.

Dylan loved the Christmas Fair at his school, having a sleepover with his friend, getting Cozmo the robot for Christmas and Christmas tree chocolates.

Archie loved the Stretch Armstrong he got from his Uncle and Aunty for Christmas, a big end of term party with his friends, showing off his cuddling abilities and watching YouTube videos of other people playing Roblox.

Finn loved watching Spirited away (many, many times), the fun afternoon he spent at a&e (he genuinely had a great time!), watching the Santa tracker on Christmas eve and his new train tracks that Father Christmas brought.

Cora loved travelling on a plane with Mummy, her vet kit that Grandma and Grandpa bought her for Christmas, taking Bella dog for walks and having all her brothers at home for the holidays.

I will definitely be carrying on our me and mine tradition into 2019 as I love having so many family photos to look back on! We can't wait for whatever it has in stock, although if nobody can break any bones next year that would be great!

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Me and Mine in June

I completely forgot that June was coming to an end so it is going to be a squeeze getting this post published in time but we managed to get a photo all the way back on the 27th.  We were clearing up Cora's birthday party as the light was fading and my Mum (who was helping the most!) offered to grab one of us quickly.  They are far from perfect but they are ones I am going to remember.

June has been full of sunshine and it really felt like the begging of summer.  I feel like there are times where we take the beach for granted but I am determined that this year won't be one of them and we have spent mornings, afternoons and evenings down there.  This was the month Cora turned 2 and I officially admitted she is now a toddler rather than a baby and the month we started preparing for a super busy July with all the end of school activities!

This month I have been loving mornings at the beach when we have the place to ourselves, home made iced coffee, a childfree day shopping with friends and playing football.

Ed has been loving a weekend at Download festival, bbqs in the garden, all the football and spending time with Archie.

Dylan has been loving after dinner beach walks, ice lollies after school, learning about the problems with plastic at school and preparing for his end of school play.

Archie has been loving our glamping trip away, riding a horse for the first time at his friend's party, being Kindness Champion at school and water play in the garden.

Finn has been loving having a bouncy castle in the garden, ritz crackers, watching people open Kinder Eggs and jumping at any excuse.

Cora has been loving her birthday party with all her friends and family, her new mermaid themed bedroom, looking after her 'baby' and her new yellow scooter.

It has been a great month and I hope July is as full of laughter!

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Me and Mine November

We actually had our Me and Mine photos taken near the beginning of the month, which isn't very representative of a month where I have felt ridiculously disorganised.  November has felt pretty manic for no real reason and my to do list is growing faster than I can tick things off.  It has been a lovely month though, full of Autumnal colours, hot drinks, cosy knits and snuggly afternoons.

My friend Kylie (Newport Photographic) took our photos and I just love how they captured us in Autumn.   I say it every month, but getting all 6 of us in the frame is a real challenge! 

This month Mama is loving having her little sister around, Carvery Sunday lunches, Black Friday shopping and getting my slippers back out again.

Daddy is loving getting back to the gym, playing Fifa, going out more with friends and how interactive Cora is.

Dylan is loving learning about festivals, school trips to the park, having a sleepover with his cousins and making sticker charts for his brothers (and then rewarding them all day with stickers).

Archie is loving learning songs for the Preschool Christmas show, playing in the eco-garden and coming home covered in mud, baking with Aunty Nat Nat and scooting through puddles.

Finn is loving Blaze and the Monster Machine, climbing on everything, Puddle splashing in his wellies and cuddling Cora

Cora is loving being able to roll, bathtime, sleeping in Mummy's bed and being tickled around her neck.

I can't believe we are already going into December, this year has gone so fast and December is going to be busy with Christmas shows, parties and of course the big days (we are celebrating Christmas twice as my sister is going away for the big day).

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Me and Mine May

May has ended with a wonderful weekend for us - my Dad turned 60 and we had a family picnic followed by a garden party to celebrate.  We all stayed at my parents' house and these photos were taken yesterday on the way down to brunch in our favourite seaside cafe.  Last minute as ever, but we did it!

May has been a month of tiredness, tidying and time together.  Whilst I am convinced that June's photo will still feature the five of us, I will reach the 37 week 'full term' milestone during June so there may be an extra little person to squish into the shot.  June is about preparing, no longer living in denial that things are coming round quick and of course enjoying the last bit of time just as we are now.

I don't feel like May has been a particularly eventful month for us, but we have enjoyed the sunshine, time together, days out and mornings at the beach.  We have lived at our own pace and enjoyed our family.  

This month mama is loving her new Saltwater sandals (yes, yellow goes with everything), spring cleaning the house, watching the boys play together outside and seeing the extended family for a big picnic this weekend.

Daddy is loving his new car, the excuse to have a sticker book again, playing rounders at the family picnic and Indian take aways (He seems to be having more cravings than I do!)

Dylan is loving wearing his school shorts, sticking stickers in his new football sticker book, ice cream at the beach and our day at Paulton's Park

Archie is loving that it is warm enough to sleep naked, The George pig dinosaur ride at Paulton's park, looking for the letter A everywhere and throwing stones into the sea

Finn is loving climbing - on everything and anything, being sung to, his first ice lolly and eating sand at the beach.

 It feels crazy that this may be the last family photo as we are now, I am enjoying my tribe of boys, watching them grow and bond and play together and whilst I can't wait to welcome this little girl into our lives, I could happily press pause for a while and just be us a little longer.

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Folk Week Festivities Part 1

As a family, one of our favourite weeks of the year comes in August.  A local town holds a folk week festival and the bloke always books the week off work so that we can enjoy the sun, music and time together as a family.  The boys love the atmosphere, they love sitting in a pub garden with a glass of juice listening to music, they love running around at the bandstand pulling some pretty impressive moves and they love jingling their bells and escaping to the beach when the day gets too hot.

We eat ice cream every day and mini donuts if we can fit them in too.  We stay out late (well late for them), and take them home when they are ready to drop and we have picnics every day in one of the little parks.  

We are so thankful to live so close to the sea and to have such wonderful events on locally.  I took some photos over the first couple of days - Archie being the wild child he is, Dylan recovering slowly from a week of illness and Finn - pretty much always smiling

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Just the Three of Us

Our lives seem busy, without me really being able to explain why.  Playdates, play groups, picnics in the park, people to see and places to be.  For two days a week the boys are in childcare whilst I work and for at least one day every week we have an extra toddler whilst I look after a friend's little boy.  At the weekends we enjoy time as a family of four and it is lovely having two of us around to do the parenting.

That doesn't leave a whole lot of time with just the boys and I, and after an extended maternity leave where we spent nearly a year just the three of us, we are still adjusting to the changes.  The time I do spend with my children is all the more special because of this.

We don't do anything particularly exciting, and that is what I most enjoy.  No day trips, long journeys or big days out.  We stay close to home so that we can enjoy each other's company.  We play at the park, we walk into town to pick up some groceries and have a cake at our favourite tea rooms, we play with playdough on the dining room table or we have a picnic in the garden.  

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Me and Mine - May

May has been a month of family, with lots of days out and long weekends.  The sun has shone and the heavens have opened as the sky fights between spring and summer but the warmer months are in sight and we are getting excited about the possibilities.

Our May photos were taken at a family picnic last weekend, when we realised it was our last chance before the end of the month.  We had worn ourselves out with rounders and football,  enjoyed the seaside air (and the wind that comes with it), and caught up with family from all over the country.  We were tired and happy, unprepared but together.

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When the Sun is Shining

There are days where even the best of plans can be ruined by the great British weather and those ever trendy ponchos are on standby even in August.  There are also times when everything comes together though, where the sun is on our side, the wind is low and the back up plans can stay just that, and this weekend was one of those.

After Saturday's showers, Sunday gave us beautiful sunshine and with a big family picnic planned it could not have been better timing.  Aunts, Uncles and cousins came from all over and the boys were in their element with green space, sea air,  picnic food and plenty of entertainers.  

We met in 'the dip', a dipped park on the sea front and played rounders and football, enjoyed ice creams and blueberries and had more fun than you can possibly believe with a stack of cones.  We took two exhausted boys back to their beds at the end of a perfect day.  

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The May Bank Holiday

After such a late Easter, the May bank holiday seemed to come around all of a sudden, but I was definitely not complaining.  Bank holiday weekends are all about family for us and we got to spend time with both sides this weekend as well as enjoying time as our little family of four..

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Me and Mine - April

April was an exciting month for us, and we began it 1600 metres above sea level in a little ski resort in Puy St Vincent.  These photos were taken on the third or fourth of April as we were on our way to enjoy some French Cuisine.

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Easter Eggs

For us, Easter is much like Christmas.  Family plays the biggest part, with a huge roast on the main day - Yorkshire puds, cauliflower cheese and roast turkey followed by a homemade crumble.  The day is characterised by jokes with siblings, doting grandparents and very worn out children.  We chat, we eat, we play card games into the early hours and we definitely consume more than our fair share of chocolate.

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The little things mean a lot

I have had the song with the same title stuck in my head for weeks now. I love the sweet tune and the beautiful words. It sums up my view on the world so perfectly. The little things really do mean a lot.

It is the bloke bringing me a drink of water when I have forgotten one,even though he has already sat down.

It is my busy toddler stopping for a minute and asking for a cuddle from his mummy

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A New Dynamic

Up until quite recently, Archie has been a baby, Dylan a toddler.  They have loved each other, cared for each other and enjoyed having a brother to spend the days with.  Dylan was the active one, bringing toys to Archie, entertaining him, looking out for him.  Archie is now well and truly mobile, comfortably cruising the furniture and crawling on his hands and knees.  He is climbing the stairs, exploring every surface and toy and causing mischief at every opportunity! 

The dynamic has changed, it is no longer a one sided show, but the boys are learning to play together.  They sit with the same toy pressing buttons or moving the characters around.  They follow each other, they giggle together playing their own little games. Archie is becoming a toddler before my very eyes.

The dynamic is always changing and it won't be long before Archie is the dominant one.  His personality is cheekier, his will stronger and I foresee all kinds of fun as they grow up together.

There are two sides to these changes though, and of course Dylan still needs his space.  He has puzzles to do, lego to build and books to read without a little brother trying to chew the pieces.  He wants to spread out and get stuck in like he used to, but Archie has other ideas and this can cause some obvious friction between them. 

 I haven't yet come up with a solution for when they are both demanding of my time, and they still nap together in the afternoons leaving me no one on one time during the days.

Mostly though, the changes are exciting to watch.  Archie is learning to play, and Dylan to share.  They are entertaining each other, growing a friendship and I have more and more moments where I can sit on the sofa with a cup of tea and just watch them smiling and playing together.  I knew that having the boys so close together with only an 18 month gap would have its advantages as well as its challenges and seeing the boys together now both are so clear.

I feel like they have the best gift ever in having a sibling to share their childhood with, a constant companion and playmate but there are times I just want to split myself in two.  Mostly though, I am finding this stage exciting as we grow alongside one another as a family.

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A Family Christmas

Christmas is full of sparkle, lights, good food and gifts but the most important part is definitely family.  I have grown up with big family Christmas, generations all coming together, joined by board games and Quality Street and this year was no exception.

This year was Archie's first Christmas and he loved tucking into some turkey, lots of attention and crawling and cruising round the room.

Dylan really understood a lot about Christmas and was very excited that Father Christmas had come to visit.   He was loving the fact that every room had chocolate in it although he may have eaten his body weight in apples!

This year the rule was Christmas jumpers, the cheesier the better and everyone joined in.  I got a great opportunity to put my new tripod to good use.  

The boys were utterly spoilt (as were the bloke and I) and we are lucky to have so many thoughtful friends and relatives.  Uncle Oli bought them a slide and both boys had fun playing on it over the 2 days we were staying with Grandma and Grandpa.

Christmas was everything it should be, full of fun, love, chocolate and card games.  How was yours?

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Aunties

I am lucky enough to have lots of amazing aunties in my life.  I grew up in a very close family and I want the same for my boys.  I want them to have relatives to play with, learn from and turn to and they are very lucky to have a special Aunty in my little sister.

Aunty NatNat loves
the boys and they love her too. She doesn't live close by any more but we love an excuse to go and visit her, and when she comes down here for a few days.

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Summer Family Fun

The cosy pyjamas are out, rain covers are reunited with pushchairs and shopping for wellies is on this week's to-do list.  Autumn appears to have arrived and I am looking forward to crunching through red and brown leaves and snuggling under blankets with hot chocolate and Disney movies.  Our summer was eventful with a month spent in hospital but the memories I have come away with are priceless.

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A 90th Birthday

Family is so important to me and I feel incredibly lucky to come from such a big and loving one.  I have lots of Aunties and Uncles both close and far, and although my grandparents are sadly no longer around, I do have a Great Aunt who celebrated turning 90 this week.

Cue a big party, cousins, cupcakes and baby cuddles.  The party was held at a relatives house and their beautiful garden had a gazebo full of goodies to eat, chairs and tables for chatting and plenty of space for the little ones to run around.

Uncles and cousins kept the children amused with giant footballs and a pinata filled with sweeties, and everyone enjoyed a good catch up.  We gathered from all over the country, and my Aunty from Australia even managed to time her visit so that she could be there.  There are not many occasions that bring us all together but 90 years is a pretty impressive achievement!

Growing up with such a close extended family was an amazing experience and I really hope that my children get to benefit from having so many wonderful relatives around too.  Dylan loves seeing his great aunties and uncles and playing with my cousin's children (and grandchildren).  Archie had other babies to sit and chew things with and I got to eat 6 different deserts(the sign of a good day)!

It happened to be my birthday on exactly the same day but my 26 years is nothing in comparison to the 90 that my great Aunt was celebrating.  It was lovely to spend the day with the people that are important to me though, those that have known me my whole life and who love and care for my babies.

I hope that my Aunty had a birthday to remember and I hope that in 64 years time I can get quite as many loved ones together to celebrate my special day too!  I hope that my boys grow up surrounded by people they love, and that they learn the true importance of family.

My Mum and her Aunty

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Our Family, Right Now

This is our family, right now;

Mummy Likes:

Summer dresses

Days at the beach

Sweet and salted popcorn

Hearing my boys giggling together

Daddy Likes:

Time off of work

Bahlsen Jaffa Cake biscuits

Teaching Dylan to walk again

Cold beer on a hot day

Dylan Likes:

Singing '10 little monkeys jumping on the bed'

Strawberries

Playing with water beads in the paddling pool

Showing things to 'Bubba'

Archie Likes:

Breadsticks

Having his tummy tickled

Being carried in the sling

Standing on his feet.

Today will only happen once, this part of our lives is fleeting, 

so this is just a little reminder our family, right now.

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How Summer Should Be

Summers shouldn't be spent inside, and certainly not in a hospital.  The days should be long because we see so much sun, not because they drag and there should always be ice cream.

Now we are free, we are enjoying the beautiful weather with picnics in the park, afternoons at the beach and paddling pools in the garden.

Suncream is applied, suncastles are built and shells are washed.  A mini milk lolly stops being a treat and fast becomes a necessity to keep cool.  Hot feet paddle in the cold sea and Mummy braves swimming in the waves.  

Bags of scotch eggs and strawberries, and a big stripy blanket.  Swings, slides and stickers for those of us who can't run around at the moment.  More suncream, more ice creams and more fresh air.  

Days with friends, days with family and days spent playing in the back garden.  Water beads, paddling pools, painting and playdough.  Homemade ice lollies whenever the mood takes us, with washing drying on the line as we play.

Laughing, splashing, butterfly spotting and of course dining al fresco. Sandy toes, hooded towels and yet more ice cream.  Wearing just a nappy (the children, not me), strolls along the seafront and fish and chips on the beach just because we can.  

This is how summer should be, this is our August. 

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