Me and Mine - October

Somehow it is the end of the month, and I had forgotten to take a nice photo (yet again).  Luckily we do have one from this month that I can use, from an afternoon we spent at the local park playing in the autumn leaves.

October has flown by, with a weekend away in London for the littlies and I, our 20 week scan and plenty of quiet weeks as well, with Preschool playing a big part for Dylan.  Archie's language seems to be coming on massively at the moment, and he likes to make it known very loudly.  The autumn weather has been mild, and there are constantly leaves stuck to wellies and pushchair wheels as we spend as much time outdoors as we can before it gets chillier. 

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London Zoo

We love visiting London Zoo as there are so many of our favourite animals to see, but trips take a lot of planning! We used the new Journl app to make our day out even easier (and to keep a track of spending!). We timed our visit inside a weekend in the big city which meant we didn't have long journeys either side, and the boys had an amazing day out.

Journl is an online personal organiser, and now an iphone app too.  The website gives you the chance to organise your whole life from to do lists, to budget planning to their handy calender and the iphone app gives you all this on the go.  My favourite aspect of the app was that it helped me keep track of how much I was spending - something that easily gets out of hand! The notes section meant I could pop down handy blog ideas whenever they came into my head too - here is to hoping I actually get a bit more organised now!

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Little Bird from Mothercare

I love Mothercare clothes for the boys,  I still remember walking round when they were little choosing them beautiful outfits which are all still saved for Pretzel.  Our local store never stocked the Little Bird range though, and it has turned out to be one of my favourites.  The boys were sent some clothes and they looks so classic, timeless and most of them are very neutral.

I love them in matching, and Mothercare have fed my little addiction.  Here are some pictures.

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The (Pre)School Run

Dylan started preschool in September, and after three years of living on our own schedule, it was a shock to the system for us all.  We are not a family of early risers, and we didn't like to rush our waking up.  Cuddles on the sofa with milk were followed by a leisurely breakfast, a little play and then dressed ready for our day.  If we had a late night, we had a lie in, if we had nowhere to be then pyjamas until lunchtime is standard!  After three years of living life our way, the preschool routine has set in, and this is it now, quite possibly forever, as preschool is followed by school, and secondary school and work.

As it happens, the little guy adores preschool, and our preschool run is exactly that, a run.  His little legs work hard and run all the way there, eager to see his friends whilst I walk fast with Archie snug in the buggy.  This works quite well as we are usually running late as well!  It is less than half a mile each way so it doesn't take us long at all.

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Two Boys so Different

I knew my boys would be different, I could see it in their eyes from the day they were born, one pair so calm, taking in everything around him eagerly, the others with a sparkle that told us of energy.  As one slept through the first day, the other lay awake - a pattern they followed for quite some time.

We brought them up the same, or as close to it as we could, although there are obvious differences being the younger brother to an 18 month old compared to an only child.  We loved them equally and always will, but they are so different in every way.

Whilst Dylan is much taller and bigger than children his age, he is often mistaken for an older child.  His language is advanced, and his concentration is pretty amazing for a boy just turned three.  He is desperate to learn, whether it be through books or museums, and he is an outgoing but sensitive child.

Archie is pretty average when it comes to size, but is a boy on a mission.  Not one to be strapped down, he is a little houdini and can escape pushchairs and highchairs should the desire take him (and it usually does).  He wants to explore the world physically, using all his senses, and he communicates in his own unmistakeable way.

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Riding his Bike

The warm weather is slowly disappearing, but Sunday saw the sun shining and that beautiful Autumn light bouncing off of the fallen crunchy leaves and pine cones.  We took a stroll down the road after nap time, and Dylan rode his new bike outside for the first time.

He is by nature a cautious child and needs a bit of time to get used to new things (we learnt from his scooter), so after some practice at home, he was excited to put on his helmet and gloves and join the big kids.  He may not be the fastest, but he loved riding down the paths on his new Kiddimoto balance bike.

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The 20 Week Scan

Today was a day filled with excitemement and nerves.  It has been seven weeks since I last saw our little pretzel wriggling on the screen, and the twenty week scan tests for so much more.  We were in the room for about thirty minutes in total, and saw every perfect bit of our little baby, from the hand that gave out a hi5 to the camera (definitely my favourite scan picture), to the four chambers of the heart and teeny tiny stomach.

We were also quite eager to find out the gender (Although I think we had both already guessed)

Our little pretzel was more than obliging and we got to spend the afternoon shopping for our little . . .

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