Baby J's Christening

Today my little man had his christening. It was a lovely day, but although it had been booked for months it seemed to come upon us all at once and I was making decorations up until the last minute!

My mum's friend made a cake for him, so I took the theme from there and used baby blue decorations and bought a tablecloth and paper plates to match. After putting out a 'help' plea on Twitter the lovely Annee Apple offered to design some printable bunting for me, which I gratefully accepted. Lucy at Capture By Lucy then told me of a quick tutorial to make paper pin wheels. These were so easy to make, and although a bit fiddly in places I was quite pleased with the result. Compared to H's christening my decorating effort was a bit minimal, but that is often the way at the moment.

J was christened at our local church, the same as H was christened at, with the lovely vicar who walks them around the church, introducting to the family. Everyone then gathered at our house for food and chat. I thought our house was a good size, it turns out if you throw 30 people in the mix its a bit of a squeeze! Trying to serve food and drinks was a challenge, but it was a lovely afternoon and J got some very thoughtful gifts.

The best part, though, was seeing my little man all dressed up (along with Grandad!)

Choo Choo!

A couple of days ago I met up with an old school friend - Leyla from This Day I Love. It had been 14 years since we last saw each other, a lot of water had gone under that bridge and a lot of things had changed in each of our lives. And yet 14 years later, here we are, both married, both mummies to two and nine month olds, both blogging and both a lot happier than we were last time we met. It was a reunion I went to with trepidation but also excitement. Leyla was the girl who, when I was at my lowest, saw me and offered her hand and despite what followed between us as teenagers, it's always been a moment I haven't forgotten.

I needn't have been concerned, it was like time hadn't passed. She was still as chatty, friendly and silly as she'd always been and I could see she was still that girl who was there for me that day. And her girls are beautiful!

We had a lovely day at Kirklees Light Railway, riding the train there and back and then playing in the park area afterwards. Of course there was lots to catch up on, and in between chats we oo'd and aah'd with the girls (and Baby J!) over the passing countryside and animals we all and enjoyed having a closer look a the 'choo choo' afterwards. Then the children all enjoyed the park and Baby J had a go on a swing for the first time. As with most things, he had a giggle at the ready and a happy smile!

It was a lovely day and the sun even bestowed us with its presence.

This Day I Love new possibilities!

Our Sensory Bath

The other afternoon I was at a loss as to what to do. We have been stuck inside a lot lately with the weather and it was still very cold outside. With H coming down with a cold herself I didn't want to risk it getting worse so we had to remain indoors. It was bath night that night so I wondered if there was something fun we could do there.

It didn't take me long to find lots of sensory fun you could have whilst having a splash! I stumbled across Multiple Mummy's blog and found she had written a post about fun with her children in the bath, inspired by a blog I have not previously read, Growing a Jeweled Rose. I'm not quite sure why I haven't seen this blog before as it has an endless supply of messy play activities and there were several bath ideas.

I decided to go with coloured water and some painting with coloured shaving foam. I dashed upstairs to run the bath and quickly made up the shaving foam. Mr H only had blue shaving gel in the cupboard so unfortunately the colours didn't come out quite as well as intended (many were a bit of a murky orange/brown), and my red food colouring was a bit rubbish so the water was orange rather than red, but never mind. I added some colour-themed toys and we were ready!

Baby J loves his baths so any kind of water-related activity is fine by him. H ought the idea of painting on the tiles and not getting into trouble was fantastic and happily 'painted' away on some palettes I'd made out of coloured paper and stuck to the wall. Baby J meanwhile enjoyed sucking on the painting sponges and splashing about next to her!

 

I'd also filled an old shampoo bottle with blue water and, once I'd washed Baby J, I handed this to H to keep her occupied whilst I got him dry.

I showed her how to squeeze the bottle and she had fun watching the water change colour (the orange water then turned green instead of the intended purple so my gathered colour-related toys went out of the window!

Little H really enjoyed this bath time especially that she could paint so freely (I'm rather a particular mummy so messy paint has not been attempted yet). She keeps asking for the paintbrushes every time she has a bath now!

So there we have it - a boring afternoon turned into a colourful water world of activity!

To My Babies

Dear Little H & Baby J

It has been two years and two months since between you, you first changed our lives. Those 40 hours, which seemed so long at the time, now seem such a long time ago. A time when we were not mummy and daddy, but just us, preparing ourselves for our new roles. Back then we were living in California, in a three bedroom apartment and a long way from home. That time in America gave us a chance to enjoy our time together alone and get to know each other that little bit more as well as confirmed for us how happy we were with our lives at home in England. It also changed us in one significant way - it brought you to us.

We had been waiting four long years for you, Baby Girl. We had even come to think that you weren't meant to be ours and were starting to prepare ourselves to never be parents. It turns out you were there all along, biding your time and waiting until we were ready to be the best the parents we could be. Waiting for the time when we were at our happiest, strongest and most stable. Before then I don't think we were ready, and you knew this, so gave us time.

What you brought us was the happiest of moments. You were such a good baby, slept well, fed well and had the cheeriest of manners. You filled our hearts with your sunny nature and despite the terrible twos, this has never changed. You charm everyone with your beautiful, sunny nature. My favourite time of day is snuggling next to you and singing your favourites - 'Twinkle Twinkle', 'Baa Baa Black Sheep' and 'How Much Is That Doggy' - as I tuck you in.

As we sailed along as a threesome, you had other ideas, Little Man. You were a cheeky surprise that we were thrilled to discover. After only nine months since the arrival of your big sister, and two months after we returned home to England, you decided to shake things up. And that cheekiness can be seen every day - in your smile, the way you sneak up on your big sister as she plays (much to her discernment) and the way you giggle when we play peekaboo. That dimple-filled smile peering over your cot on a morning is hard to resist. You made our family truly complete.

So here's a little note to you my babies. To let you know how precious you are to us. How you fill every day with wonder. And how we wouldn't be us without you. I promise every day to tell you I love you, to make sure you are secure and happy and keep a little piece of you in my heart with every step I take.

All our love, darlings, now and forever.

Mummy & Daddy


Why Bother?

I have blogged on and off for almost two years now (my first post was dreadful and still makes me cringe!) and in that time I've written 244 posts, met many online friends and discovered lots of great blogs. Yet in all that time I still feel new. I still feel insecure about my blog and whether anyone is interested in it. Sometimes I tweet and get no replies, which makes me wonder if I'm just talking to myself. There are so many huge blogs out there, bloggers with thousands of followers who get hundreds of tweets sent to them, offers of great products and have a readership which I could never imagine.

Call me shallow, but I am envious of those bloggers. I am sure it hasn't come overnight and they've worked very hard to establish those readers and followers, but to me it just seems that I am not as good. I read so many great blogs and try so hard to write words just as powerful, just as interesting or just as funny. I never feel like I succeed at any of those things, though, and I increasingly feel like a very small fish in an extremely large ocean.

So then I get to thinking, why do I bother? Why waste my time blogging when I could be spending time with my children, reading or doing other things I love? Why talk to an empty room?

However the last week has made me rethink things a little. A fellow blogger lost her little girl. It sent shockwaves through the blogging community and I think we all took a step back and considered what we would do in that situation. A few days after it happened the blogger tweeted that she was looking back on her old blog posts and remembering her little girl through those posts. That's when I realised how important my blogging is to me. It is a way for me to keep each day alive, a memory. One day when my children are older I will be able to show them what we did and they will be able to understand just how much I love and cherish them.

So I have decided to make more of an effort to record my babies and their lives, even it is mundane. Even if it is soppy. Even if I think nobody is reading. If I keep in mind the reason I blog, every time I touch the keys I will realise why I bother.

A Week In Photos #6

For Matilda Mae

 

 

Playing with friends

 

 

Watching the snow

 

 

Exploring

 

 

Fun with Daddy

 

 

Sleepover at Grandmas

High Street Holly

Today's High Street Holly is all aout things that go pop! Bold patterns are a big trend for the coming months and when I spotted this hooded pinafore in Next I coudn't resist it. I am a sucker for dungarees and with a modern twist and a contrasting top or pair of tights I think these are really bright and funky. To finish it off is a first every pigtail, but with obligatory hairclip to keep that unruly hair at bay.

A Week in Photos #5

Zzzzz



 

Bath Bum!

 

 

Glasses be gone

 

 

Grandma comes to stay

 

 

Mum stayed on an extra day to help me out



 

Weekend away



 

Posing in Bakewell, glasses free!