Me and Mine July

July has been a month for juggling - working out how to do everything with a small person firmly attached to me.  It is our second me and mine as a family of 6 and we are all a little more in focus this time! July has been packed full of birthday parties and has seen Dylan and Archie break up for the summer holiday.  We have had enough sunshine that I am leaving the month with happy memories of four weeks spent outdoors.

We are finding our feet as a family of six and with a little bit of winging it and a lot of teamwork things are getting simpler.  These photos were taken in the woods where we spent a lovely afternoon eating a picnic and exploring.  We each wore a baby on our front in slings and a back pack on our back and the bigger two wandered with us.

The month Mama is loving snuggly newborn cuddles, listening to the boys singing to their sister, days out with the whole family and all the birthday cake we have eaten this month

The bloke is loving collecting Pokemon, introducting Dylan to computer games, eating at the Carvery when we can't be bothered to cook and ice cold Coca Cola.

Dylan is loving playing minecraft, counting down to his birthday, lazy mornings in his pjs and playing in the sea.

Archie is loving having his big brother home from school, singing twinkle twinkle to his baby sister, pointing out numbers everywhere we go and playing with water in the garden.

Finn is loving walking along just holding one finger, unravelling the tin foil in the kitchen, cuddling baby Cora and playing in Grandma and Grandpa's garden.

Cora is loving milk, cuddles, her first bathtime and being in the sling.

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Me and Mine - November

You can probably guess by the fact this is a bad quality phone selfie that November has gone by too fast and we have left things until the very last minute.  This was just before we started getting the boys in their pyjamas tonight.  I didn't want to miss a month though, and I realised my camera battery was flat so this is us, this month.

I can't tell you much about what we did in November, but I know that it has been pretty busy.  November is always a bit of an awkward month, with the coldness of winter but not yet the sparkles of Christmas and we have had more illness in the house than ever before (evident in Finn's rather sorry looking eye) . I never seemed to get on top of anything this month (- blogging, the washing, the housework . . .) and there was more time spent on the sofa than any other month.  

This is us, a little blurry, stuck with terrible lighting as there barely seems to be any daylight left and all looking a little tired. 

This month Mummy is loving going on a photography course, watching Prison Break on Netflix, giant Warburtons Crumpets and hiring a cleaner.

Daddy is loving his new computer screen monitor (apparently he needs two), taking the boys to London, Fallout 4 and watching Dylan learning to read so well

Dylan is loving writing sentences for us to read, learning songs for his school Christmas play, playing advent calenders with his toys in preperation for next month and seeing his little brothers at the school gates.

Archie is loving dressing himself every morning (usually in shorts), snuggling under blankets on the sofa, Henry Hugglemonster and calling everyone Booboobutt (The book with no pictures).

Finn is loving raspberries and alpro yoghurts, being able to reach more things without falling over, being in his own bedroom and chewing Duplo bricks.

I can't wait for December although I am not even nearly ready to say goodbye to 2015 yet.

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Me and Mine October

This month I left the photo until the last minute, before realising that we would spend the end of the month apart and have no chance to get a photo. Luckily I had this one that my sister took of us earlier in the month in my parent's garden.  The bloke seems to be missing the top of his head, but this is us.

I think Dylan was holding on to my hand and jumping, Finn was busy eating his fingers and Archie has obviously seen something worth pointing at!  I am rocking a rather fetching pair of slippers that I keep at my parent's house.

October has seen Dylan start full time school and the little two and I have found a new routine.  The weather has become well and truly autumnal and the dinky one and I have escaped for some sun in the middle of it all.

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Me and Mine September

September has been such a busy month, with a long weekend down in Cornwall, a week away in Denmark and Dylan starting school!  Despite the fact we have done so much, it seems to have disappeared pretty fast and whilst October is a little quieter, there is still plenty going on as we adjust to full time school.

These photos were taken right at the very beginning of the month, and whilst I intended to take some more nearer the end, September has just been so busy that it hasn't quite happened.  We were in Cardinham woods at Badger Forest school, the boys were in their element with all the mud and water to splash in, the bloke was warm and snuggly with a small person attached to his front and I loved watching my little family so happy.

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Me and Mine August

August hasn't quite gone to plan.  We have spent most of the month avoiding civilisation as all three boys caught chicken pox and not at the same time.  We spent the best part of one week in hospital and we have certainly got our moneys worth from our Netflix subscription.  That said, we have had a lovely month too.  It is our last month of freedom before school so we have been very relaxed with bedtimes and therefore had more lay ins than usual.  We celebrated a 4th birthday and then a 28th, we have enjoyed playdates with friends, days on the beach and lots of picnics. These photos are from a picnic dinner at a local park, we stayed out until past their bed times exploring and enjoying the last of the sun.

Next month is looking very busy, so having a quieter August was probably for the best.  We are preparing for the first of the small people to start school and I am desperate for August to never end, as I don't feel ready (even if he clearly does!).

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Me and Mine June

June has been the month it turns from Spring to Summer, and it really has this year.  We started the month tentatively digging out our shorts and we have ended it by optimistically packing away our jeans.  We have spend most of the month outdoors - picnics at the park, ice creams on the beach and anything in between running around in the garden.  

These photos are pretty last minute as always, this was two days ago, when we popped to Whitstable for the day - a local seaside town with a pebble beach as opposed to our usual sand.  The town is full of beautiful boutiques and stalls selling fresh fish.  The boys don't need their buckets and spades here, it is amazing how long they can entertain themselves with just pebbles and the sea!

Archie really wasn't interested in having a photo taken

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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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Me and Mine March

March has been manic, but it has seen us bringing home the newest member of the family, Finn.  The first half was spent apart as Finn and I were in special care and the bigger boys at home and since we have been reunited, it has been about adjusting to three small boys and life as a family of five.

We weren't going to attempt anything too ambitious this month, and this photo sums up March pretty well.  There have been lots of cuddles, more time than usual spent on the sofa, and I have looked exhausted throughout.  We have been together though, learning about one another and we have done it smiling (especially Archie!)

This month Mummy is loving having all her family together under one roof, managing to get all three boys to nap at the same time, cuddles on the sofa with all three of her babies and eating proper food again after 3 weeks of hospsital cuisine.

Daddy is loving Peppa Pig cake for his birthday, having Mummy back home to share the childcare, building Dinosaurland out of cardboard boxes with Dylan and the warmer weather.

Dylan is loving gardening with Daddy, watching Blaze on Nikolodeon, having cake in the hospital cafe and proudly showing off our new baby.

Archie is loving having Mummy home again, taking his lunchbox to nursery, singing Twinkle Twinkle to Finn and telling people to come here 'RIGHT NOW'.

Finn is loving having mummy's milk again, snoozing on Mummy's chest, the chatter of his brothers and being out of the hospital.

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Me and Mine November

November has been a different month, with Dylan and I having some much needed time together and the bloke and Archie having theirs too.  When we combine this with plenty of rain, days where we just don't want to take a photo and the fact that I am feeling a bit under the weather at the moment, it meant we woke up this morning realising we hadn't taken a photo this month.  

For that reason, three of us are in our pyjamas, and we are having a lazy Sunday morning, as we had to split off this afternoon for different parties again.  This month has seen the temperature drop, and our weeks have involved so many more snuggles on the sofa, stories on the bed and films in the afternoons when we all need some quiet time.  My camera was balanced precariously on the stand as I can't find a missing piece and the light isn't great.  I look tired and ill and Archie has stickers in his hair - This is our November!

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Me and Mine - September

This month has been much quieter than the last, but we have just got home from a wonderful week in Rome, and so we had to get a family snap whilst we were there.  Unfortunately due to being a bit disorganised, we didn't manage to get one until the very last day, and we had to rely on an American tourist and my phone, as I had forgotten to take my camera charger away with me! Obviously we aren't all looking and/or smiling, but Archie isn't one for conforming anyway.

Mummy is loving feeling pretzel moving, exploring a new country, having one on one time with Archie and cheesy mash.

Daddy is loving the way Archie says Daddeeeee, spending a whole week with the boys on holiday, his new umbrella and the fact our caravan had a coffee machine.

Dylan is loving eating ice cream every day on holiday, going to preschool (especially if he gets to eat lunch there), the Explora museum in Rome and his new shoes.

Archie is loving bossing people around, babies, splashing in the giant pool on holiday and chasing pigeons (whilst quacking at them).

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Me and Mine - August

Considering all the family events we have had this month, we should have managed a family photo, but the reality is that August has been manic and this was a last minute family selfie this afternoon on my phone.  August has seen Dylan turn 3, Archie celebrate his half birthday, my 27th Birthday and the announcement that we are pregnant with our third baby.  We have enjoyed time off together, day trips out and plenty of fun.  August has been an exciting and exhausting month.

Daddy is loving folk week, having some money in the bank, the start of the football season and Archie turning into a little chatterbox.

Mummy is loving showing off her expanding bump, going for walks with the children without a buggy, Salt and vinegar chipsticks and watching Bones.

Dylan is loving summer club at the nursery, a day out at the zoo with his Aunty NatNat, reading everywhere we go and wearing his wellies.

Archie is loving being out of the buggy more, shouting at people, talking all the time and books.

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Me and Mine - July

Last July was swelteringly hot, the evenings were sweaty and it felt like summer was going on forever.  I remember watching it out the hospital window, consoling myself with the strong rays I was protecting my children's skin from.  We missed a whole month of sunshine, of being outdoors and this July we have tried to make up for it.

Our days have been spent outdoors as much as possible, with plenty of mornings at the beach, picnics at lunch time and afternoons in the park.  We have spent lazy evenings eating fish and chips out of paper cones watching the children build sandcastles on a deserted beach and if we need some quiet, we have driven motorbikes round the garden, enjoyed bbq's and played with the sandpit.

One evening we met a local photographer down at the local beach, and she took some lovely photos of our little family, capturing us now.  My not so little toddler who is excited and ready for new adventures.  My slightly crazy 17 month old, who would spend all day in the sea and loves to roar, and the bloke and I, enjoying the best side of the place where we grew up, and where we are bringing up our family.

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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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