Two in The Morning

Somehow a whole year has passed since I wrote a birthday letter to you on the eve of your first birthday, and tonight I am preparing to wake up and celebrate you turning two.  It seems like no time has passed since last November, but when I look at the pictures I took of you then I see how much you have grown in this last year.

As a one year old you were funny, cheeky, cuddly and determined.  As you approached two you started practicing your tantrums and you know exactly what you do and don't want.  Your language is coming along so much now but I see the frustration in you when we don't understand the word you are saying yet.  All the important ones (chocolate, biscuit, ice cream, chips) are pretty clear, but there is so much you want to communicate that we still haven't mastered and I am looking forward to you being able to express yourself more so we can get to know more about the little boy you are turning in to.

You sleep in your own cot now for at least the first half of the night.  You are absolutely a Mummy's boy still and feel safest with me, but you go to nursery in the mornings and you are settling well.  So much has changed for you this year and you now live in a new house, in a new country without your familiar family and friends, but you have coped so well with the move and you are settling into this new life.  

As you turn two you can walk, run and climb.  You can sing the alphabet song (with some missing letters) and you are forever asking for another book.  I packed a selection to bring out here, but I am regretting not bringing more as I am bored of all the books we have now!  You love being outside, watching Cocomelon (especially the wheels on the bus song), cooking in your toy kitchen and anything to do with a football.  You could spend all day watching the traffic and pointing out every bus, lorry and bike and you get very excited by animals of all kinds.  You are the final piece of our family that we didn't know we needed and you are so loved by all your siblings.

It feels like you are so new still, and like you have always been here.  Sometimes I am excited for you to reach the next stages and other times I miss the baby days but most of the time I try and appreciate where we are now, because you are changing every day, turning from a baby into a toddler and I know it won't be long until you stop saying 'nimp' when you want a drink and those other funny words we love.  

You have nursery in the morning and the others leave so early for the school bus, but we are going to celebrate in the afternoon with a trip to your favourite park and a cake and presents at home in the evening.  Before the fun begins, I need to go and stroke your cheek as you sleep and kiss your head for the last time as a one year old, for when you wake you will be two.

Read more ⇨

Cora Turns Two

Last week my youngest baby turned two and it really felt like we were celebrating the end of the baby days.  We decided to hire a bouncy castle for the day which then escalated into throwing a huge party that lasted all day.  All Cora's little friends came round at lunchtime for a bounce and some cake, and then the boys brought home some friends after school to make the most of the giant inflatable.  In the evening, we had family round from both sides for a bbq in the garden and we kept the bouncy castle overnight so we could bounce away into the night!  I think Cora had a great time, she looked so happy surrounded by everyone she loves.

I know that at this age Cora doesn't really understand birthdays and she certainly doesn't need a party but I love it and having a summer birthday it feels like a perfect excuse to get everyone together too, to enjoy some sunshine.  She had a little nap before the first guests arrived at midday and then stayed awake until the last ones were leaving at 8:30!

Recently she was sent a beautiful dress from Roco clothing which she is wearing in many of the photos.  Unfortunately being a messy toddler still, the dress didn't make it through the day so there was an outfit change for the evening! We love the beautiful silver party dress and she looked like a little princess all dressed up.  

It wasn't easy taking photos without other children in, but I have a few of Cora enjoying her day (and her cakes).  The lovely folk at Party Swan sent us some props - the large second birthday photo board and the selfie frame and we loved snapping away with them!

Cora is walking and running, talking and singing, scooting and jumping and in many ways she is much older than the boys were at the same age (probably comes with having three big brothers) but at the end of the day as she fell asleep in my arms she was still my baby and I know she always will be.

Happy 2nd Birthday Cora

Read more ⇨

The Night before Two

It has come around so quickly, your second birthday,  I feel like I was still saying 'only just one' just a few weeks ago and now suddenly you are turning two and I can't believe how big you are! You are my last baby and you are leaving the baby days behind rapidly. I was reading the letter I wrote to you one year ago today and it seems like so long ago you were that tiny!

Cora, you look so angelic with your blue eyes and blonde hair but it hides the fierce little girl you actually are.  You are so incredibly smart and so determined.  You know exactly what you want and you know how to get it.  You are so full of personality making us all laugh every day and you are so full of sass making us despair at the same time.  We are already dreading the teenage years.

This was the year you learned to talk, to walk with confidence and run.  You are desperate to scoot like your brothers and I think you will love your birthday present tomorrow! You are caring and your favourite toy is a 'baby' doll. I watched you at playgroup as you sat baby in the jumperoo and made its hands push the buttons.  You love playing Hide and Seek too although your hiding spots need some work and you look adorable covering your eyes shouting ' seven, eight, nine, ready not, come!'

One was the year we ditched the daytime nappies and bought the tiniest pants we could find for you.   It was the year you discovered your love for Blaze and the Monster Machines and the year you and your littlest big brother became partners in crime, intent on ruining my house and driving me crazy!

You are happiest with company but you are only really happy if you have your Mummy and she isn't for sharing.  If your brothers give me cuddles, you come up desperate for one, squeezing your arm in between them and me.  You are definitely a Mummy's girl.

Tomorrow marks two years of breastfeeding and we are still going strong! You don't feed so much in the day anymore and you are sleeping through the night, but you still feed every night before bed and every morning before anything else) and often a couple more times in the day too.

Tomorrow we will be celebrating all day with a little party in the garden for your friends at lunchtime and a bbq in the evening with your family.  I hope you have the best day surrounded by people that love you.

These photos were taken by the awesome Wishes and Wellies when she came to visit us this week.

I am loving getting to know you better as you find your voice, watching you grow and seeing the person you are becoming.  Two is going to be such a fun year! But before we start on that next adventure, I want to pause for a moment to remember how wonderful you are right now.  How you waited up for me tonight so you could fall asleep in my arms. How wild your hair looks as you sleep, spread across your pillow, the way you cuddle Chase close.  I want to remember how you wake up unsure of what is more urgent, coming and checking on me, and going to see Finn.  I want to remember how needed I still feel by you in every sense.  The way you angrily say 'self' if I try and help you with something you don't need help with, the way you shout Now with such urgency and your bartering 'Milk first' every time I ask you to do something.  You will never be this small again, the clocks will move forward and so will you but I never want to forget this wonderful stage in your life.

Baby girl, you are more loved than you will ever know

xx

Read more ⇨

Before You Turn Two

As I kissed your head tonight, I thought back to two years ago - a situation I am finding rather familiar as I carry a large bump in front of me, and I remember the excitement, the anticipation, the wonder as you came into the world.  This time two years ago I was clueless that I was soon to meet the boy who would make me the mother I am today, but by the time you wake up tomorrow, it will be two whole years since the first time I held you in my arms and told you I loved you.

This year has seen you change from a baby to a toddler - from a crawling babbling little person into one who walks, runs, jumps and talks.  Every week at the moment we see changes in you as you learn more words and string them together in more complex ways.  Last week we realised that you really did know all your colours now after months of declaring everything to be either yellow or blue.  You have never had a problem communicating what you want, but you are growing up to be polite and confident as you step on to every bus with a 'ticket please lady' (even if the driver is most definitely a man).

Read more ⇨

Archie at Nearly Two

There is just one month left before Archie turns 2, and I see more than ever how desperate he is to be big.  I think it is a symptom of being a second child, having someone more able to follow around and learn from, but Archie is just desperate to do everything his big brother does.

The pair of them are as thick as thieves, and they have a bond I never even imagined when I was pregnant.  They talk in their own language, plot to do things (mostly reach the fruit bowl) and talk and sing to each other as they fall asleep.  They are equals in play, but not in everything.  Dylan is bigger, can reach higher, can talk clearer and can demand easier.  Archie loves having time alone with me when Dylan is at nursery, but asks for his brother often and definitely misses his playmate.

Read more ⇨