Me and Mine in October

October has been a strange month weather wise.  There were days when we brought out the shorts and t-shirts and spent the afternoon at the beach and then there were days where we wondered where the thermals were as we bundled up with coats, hats and scarfs. We had a family photoshoot and in my head it would be beautifully autumnal, not as bright and sunny as it turned out! It does mean that we are organised with our Me and Mine photos for once though and I love them!

I have spent less time blogging than normal, but more time with friends, reading and as a family and I enjoyed slowing down for a bit.  November is looking pretty quiet which is nice and I am hoping to spend some quality one on one time with each of the children over the coming weeks.

This month I have loved seeing Les Miserable in London with my mum and sister, family days out over half term, a night out with my friends eating delicious sushi and hearing how happy the boys are at school during parent's evening.

Ed has loved seeing Dave Gorman on stage, taking Archie rock climbing, watching tv for the first time in years and halloumi fries.

Dylan has loved going to the theatre with his Uncle Oli, sleeping over at his best friend's house, crafting with Grandma and writing his Christmas list.

Archie has loved a bowling party with all his friends, going to see Smallfoot at the cinema, school trips to the beach and playing Reading Eggs on the computer.

Finn has loved going swimming with Aunty NatNat, a soft play party with his friends, late afternoon trips to the beach for dinner and going back to playgroup whilst nursery were having a teacher trainer day.

Cora has loved having her brothers home for half term to boss around, scooting everywhere and anywhere,  reading as many books as she can fit in before bed every night and a halloween party with her friends.

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Me and Mine March

I started the year so much more organised than I finished the last one and I managed all of two months before I gave into disorganisation once more.  March has been the month I tried to catch up again, mastered the to-do list and completed failed at the elusive work/life balance.  

Generally it has been quite quiet with more quiet weekends close to home than anything else.  The bloke had a birthday and we had a lovely Mother's Day seeing my Mum and Dad and my brother and his family - these photos were taken on Mother's Day in my parent's garden.

We are all ready for the two weeks off school which start this afternoon and whilst we have few few concrete plans we are looking forward to some spontaneity and family time. 

This month

Mama is loving getting her sandals back out, lighter evenings, eating creme eggs and brunch outside at the beach cafe.

Daddy is loving his new coffee machine (something that seems to come up far too often), Finn's crazy personality coming out more, cuddles with Cora whilst she still feels like a baby and a big night out with old friends

Dylan is loving doing Easter crafts at school, playing games on the X-box, choosing his own sweets at the newsagents for film night and playing Mummy, Daddy and baby zombies at school with his friends.

Archie is loving building 'battle bots' with his Lego Duplo, dodging lasers and crocodiles on the walk to preschool, not having to wear a coat everyday and his new bunk beds.

Finn is loving playing peekabo with Cora, being out the buggy walking more often, singing the Tiny Tim turtle song over and over and counting things.

Cora is loving having breakfast every day, practicing her pincer grip (mostly on my skin), playing with duplo and playing peekabo with Finn.

And finally, to sum up March here is what a real family photo look like - not a single person looking at the camera!

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Me and Mine April

April has absolutely flown by in a whirl of hospital appointments, soft play afternoons and nursery runs and I didn't even realise the month was ending until today.  Luckily, we have taken two sets of family photos this month, and as I couldn't choose which to include, we have both.  The first set were taken down the beach over the Easter weekend.  Every Easter sunday we visit my parents, and always end up taking a stroll after dinner along the seafront as they live round the corner.  The other set are from the day we dressed up as superheroes, and I love how random they are! They aren't the best photos as I forgot that I had changed the settings on my camera, but they make me smile.

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A Little Look at our Year

2014 has been an exciting year, with plenty of Surprises.  We leave it with the same number in our little family as when it begun, but not for too much longer.  Our baby has become a toddler and our toddler a preschooler.  A job change, a pregnancy a promotion and some amazing experiences have shaped what we take from this year, but looking back I see smiling faces, wonder in a little person's eyes and a year I want to remember.

January was mild in weather, and we were enjoying the simple things in life.  I went back to work after over 11 months of maternity leave and Archie was happy to spend one day every week with his Grandma whilst I did.  

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My Little Family in July

This year, I have been busy capturing our life as a family of four.  I have been taking part in the Me and Mine project, which sees us taking a family portrait every month, to record the little changes and get everyone in the frame.  I have loved taking part, and in an effort to really capture the essence of our family, we turned to a photographer last month to capture those candid shots when we are just being us.

I shared a few in the July Me and Mine post, but I wanted to share some more, just because.  My family means everything to me, and I am so proud to show them off.  (I apologise for the photo overload)

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Me and Mine - March

Another month is ending and it has been one exciting month! The bloke celebrated his 30th birthday and we spent 5 days on a family holiday to Butlins.  My flip flops came out of hibernation and went quickly back into the cupboard as we jetted off early Mother's Day morning to France, where I am now in the snowy mountains getting ready for our first ski lesson in the morning!

This month we had lots of family time and have managed to take a few family photos, but these are from our trip to Butlins last week - I couldn't pick just one!

Mummy is loving - The grandparents babysitting, water slides, time alone with Dylan and body butters

Daddy is loving - the excuse to be a grumpy old man now he is 30, coffee, being the only one to get a question right at quiz night and a battle game on his phone.

Dylan is loving - choosing his pants every morning, going on holiday with Grandma and Grandpa, meeting Billy Bear and mush (baby food pouches)

Archie is loving waving at everyone, climbing in and out of the buggy, pasta of any shape or variety and going on the fairground rides.

So here we are, our little family in March!

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Me and Mine - January

After being inspired by the linky 'me and mine', I decided that this was the year we make sure to capture our family, as the boys grow from baby to toddler and from toddler to preschooler.  This year the bloke will celebrate turning 30, and every month I want to capture the subtle changes, capture us right now.  

My very thoughtful sister arranged for us to have a location photoshoot for our Christmas gift and we had a lovely time in the local park with Sharina capturing some beautiful images.  We were lucky that despite it being January, the sun shone and the boys were not too grumpy.

This month Dylan is loving reading letters at every opportunity, wishing everyone a merry Christmas and going out without the pushchair a lot more.

Archie is loving climbing on the sofa to get the remote control,  mash potato and picture books with flaps.

Mummy is loving wearing her slippers, eating biscuits by the tin and when the boys nap together in the afternoon.

Daddy is loving zombie games on his pc, time alone with the boys now that I am back to work part time and cheeseburgers with waffles instead of a bun.

So here we are in January, our little family of four.

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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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