Me and Mine January

This is our second year joining in with the Me and Mine project and looking back at last year, watching our baby become a toddler and our toddler a little boy, I can't wait to document the further changes as our four becomes a five.  I am not due until March and I have a feeling our little guy is pretty comfy where he is, but I become full term during February, so January is the last month I can definitely say we are a family of four.

January has flown by, with the post-Christmas haze, Archie starting nursery one day a week and me growing at quite a considerable rate.  Our weekends have been mostly lazy and we have found ourselves back in a rhythm, but the cold weather has not kept us at home.  We have had quite a mild winter so far, and we are yet to see snow, so we headed out to the park with a friend earlier in the month to capture our family exactly as we are now - funny faces and all.

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Me and Mine December

As the year comes to an end, I am so happy to say that we made it a whole year of our photography project - one photo every month of our whole family.  Whilst the little changes may go unnoticed in everyday life, they seem to add up when I look back on the year.  

Archie started 2014 as a baby with wispy blonde hair but he ends it a cheeky toddler who has had too many haircuts to count.  I thought Dylan was so big back in January but I see how much he has grown and changed with preschool and more growth spurts than I thought possible.

The bloke is still mostly the same although the other side of 30 now and I . . . well I am growing outwards at an impressive rate and have had my fair share of changes too.  I wrote yesterday about our year, with all our me and mine photos, but here are this months,  taken on Christmas day in front of my parent's tree - just as we did last year.  

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A Little Look at Christmas

My camera only came out a couple of times over Christmas, we were too busy laughing and eating that it was the last thing on my mind.  Our Christmas was spent with family, a day with mine and a day with the blokes, and then back to mine again.  We ate two turkey dinners, plenty of cake and our fair share of cheese too.

Dylan and Archie were surrounded by loving relatives and gifts and we are currently readjusting and having a bit of a Christmas comedown as we head back to eating a normal amount, chocolate being a treat and having some quiet time and TV again.  Our Christmas was magical, funny, delicious and special.  It was our last as a family of four and I can't wait to have four special guys in my life to share it with next year.

Dylan really got the idea of presents this year and wanted to open everything under the tree no matter whose name was on it.  Archie had fun but once he was done, he point blank refused to open any more.  Father Christmas had strategically placed the satsuma at the top of their stockings, and once they unwrapped it, both boys decided to sit and eat that before moving on to anything else.  When you let a one year old peel his own orange, it takes quite a time! 

Here are a few snaps from the day ( - I only remembered to get my camera out in the first place because Dylan had such fantastic bed hair)

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Staying In

I am really good at getting out and about with the boys, and despite not having a car, I am not afraid to take them anywhere.  Everyday we are at the park, the beach, a baby group, the shops or out on a play date.  I want them to grow up having a natural childhood and we spend as much time as we can outdoors whatever the weather.  After a busy week followed by an even busier weekend though, I decided it was about time we had a day IN.

It is not often that we slow down the pace, forget about routine for a little while and just go with the flow but that is what we needed to do for a little while.  No structure, just a calmness that our days often lack.

It reminded me quite how much I love playing. Sitting on the floor doing Duplo with Dylan, singing silly songs to Archie and crawling round the house being the tickle monster.  Little things that put a big smile on my childrens faces also put a big smile on mine.  No distractions, travelling or friends, just our family of four all together.

It was a beautifully hot day and we set out blankets and the paddling pool in our little garden.  We got out Dylan's teepee, his mini motorbike and a football. We didn't bother getting dressed all day and we didn't care.  We had a BBQ outside followed by frozen frubes as ice lollies and chocolate & marshmallow stuffed bananas slowly melted on the coals.

We spent the day just being us, just being together and I remembered how much I love their company; my three boys.  My boys love their busy social life, seeing new things and exploring their world, but they also love spending quality time with our undivided attention.  They love playing with their toys, helping cook dinner and just being a family together.

Rather than vowing to do more, my new resolution is to have more days in, days where we just enjoy each other with no distractions.

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6 Months In

Half a year has passed since Archie entered the world and things have certainly changed.  Whilst I still have a lot to learn, I feel like I have the 'mother of two' thing pretty sorted (for now at least).

This month has been full of change and Archie seems to have grown up almost overnight.  As well as competently rolling all over the place (and quite often across the room), the little man is now sitting unaided.  He loves to play on his tummy but since he found his balance, he is happiest on his bottom and I tend to put a V cushion behind him to soften any falls.  He loves his new view point and watching the world go by.

We have also started weaning, and after an uninterested start, Archie is now incredibly interested in food and desperate to get at anything we are eating.  We started with a mixed approach but are finding that he much prefers the baby led style.  He has moved quickly and this week we are introducing the third meal.  His favourite food is breadsticks and he seems to prefer vegetables to fruit so far

Archie has moved out of the crib next to my bed and is now comfortably settled in his very own room.  He is out of the moses basket and so has his day time naps up there as well if we are in.  He seems quite happy in his cot and as much as I miss him being right there next to me, it is also lovely to reclaim our bedroom and not spend my evening creeping around by phone-torch light.

Generally Archie is a pretty happy little chap.  He loves having his nappy off and is the most smiley when he is naked.  He is definitely teething now and we don't leave the house without our trusty companion Sophie le Giraffe.  He is still comfortably fitting in his 6-9 month clothes but I don't think it will be too long before we are reaching for the next size up.  He is still such a mummy's boy and happiest in my arms. 

Despite the introduction of solids, he still wants to breastfeed often and nights usually include a 3am and 5am feed, with him generally coming into our bed for the second as he won't settle back in his cot.  Sometimes he still adds in a 12pm feed too but not as often anymore.

This month has been the most difficult with both the boys and Dylan seems to be struggling with the concept of gentle.  Sometimes I think he is just over excited, but other times I think he lashes out for attention.  Most of the time he just wants to talk or play with 'Bubba' and he loves blowing raspberrys on his tummy to make him laugh.  I remember very clearly what it was like to have a younger brother, and I am not expecting it to be plain sailing but I am hoping this is just a little phase.

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