Winter woodland walking

Hasn't the sunshine been glorious this weekend? We thought so and made the most of it by traipsing up to the woods this afternoon. Chilly but so, so lovely. We found lots of little dens to explore and various muddy puddles to splash in although that was mainly J!

Runnin' on empty

There are days you just can't wait to be over. And that's fine. But when one of those days rolls into the next and the next and you find yourself wishing the weeks away? That's not fine. So, this week I've made a real effort to fill up on some good stuff every day - a Bible chapter every morning and some of my book before bed. None of the externals have changed - a teething baby feeling poorly after her immunisations, an energetic toddler, a workloaded husband, a bad back etc etc. But I've been stronger, more peaceful, found more joy and been a little bit more patient!

My baby girl

She's currently on my lap, the girl with the lovely baby feet, fascinated by her hands and the owner of her first pair of shoes. I would say the proud owner, but she seems rather oblivious to them although not oblivious to my fingers which she has just managed to get in her mouth and start chewing. Judging by the gurgling, I'd say she's pretty pleased about that! 

Playdough and pain

Playdough has been the highlight of each morning for the last week or so for the lovely J. As you can see, he has become adept at spiking with a fork, poking with his finger and cutting with a knife - quite furiously it seems, judging by the blur in the background! And, while his sister is still a joy, she is teething and a Nurofen/Calpol combo has become our very good friend. 

Leeky garden

While we lament the non-success of our first veggie patch, the leeks have done well. It is rather delightful, of a gloriously sunny autumn day, to walk to the bottom of the garden, lose the soil and add a delicious something to the meal you're preparing. 

Hearts and flowers

It's a simple activity, I lay out a heart-shaped tray of ice cubes, a muffin tin and a tea towel. Together J and I pop the hearts out and he fills up the muffin tin, then puts them back in the heart tray. And then back again, making a couple of puddles on the floor!

And all four of us walked to the top of the hill at Blaise to find the folly open and so we walked up, up, up. Sadly, the photos from up there are rubbish... BUT once we got to the bottom, J went a-runnin' and noticed some yellow flowers. We naturally began collecting them, as you see. 

Embracing autumn

The intrepid little people and I went conkering. J embraced it wholeheartedly, even signing 'ouch' when he accidentally touched the spiky outside! (While E slept through the whole thing!) We collected a big bowlful and carted them home with us. Where Warren happily harvested a lovely crop from our apple tree. I guess it's time for soup, leaf-kicking and pumpkins!

Time to transition

We've had some big changes around here, or at least the changes are being initiated! E is dropping her middle of the night feed, much to my delight, but we're no longer seeing eye to eye about the swaddle which is less delightful for us both. But she is doing so brilliantly milk-wise. And the lovely J hit 18 months, so I've begun potty training, although it's more accurately described as potty association training. He now has his nappy changed standing up in the bathroom rather than lying down wherever we happen to be! And he sits on the potty each time, while we sing the potty song. 

Snippets of our day

 

A couple of moments from our weekend. E's first nappy change of the day, while the sun streams gloriously in. And J climbing on E's windowsill to get a better view of next door's chickens.

A drink or two

 

As the glorious sunshine came streaming through our lounge, I happened to notice the mark my lips had left on my glass of water. Shame I only managed a rather grey shot, which doesn't highlight the mark! It was on a different day... By which point I'd moved on to a hot chocolate too!

Getting wet

What to say....? J loves water. More, more, more. And then some more!

Toddler tasks

A couple of highlights from J's week. He's taken to putting on our shoes and walking around in them, here he is in daddy's. The other day he put on Warren's walking boots which you'd think a 17 month old would find too heavy to walk in, wouldn't you? Well, he walked around the house, lay on the sofa and then lifted his legs up over his head and back down again! 

J has also discovered the apple tree in our garden. This apple he reached and pulled down on his own, had a few bites, left a few more bitemarks and then moved on to other things... Toddler life!

Scars, trainers and stretching

Oh, I've been looking forward to this post for months! Last week I had my 6 week check and my brand new c-section wound is healing nicely so off for a jog I went. One of my key priorities for the next year is to rebuild my core through Pilates (below) and get moving through running. The running has been a good, gentle beginning but a beginning nonetheless. For months now whenever I've seen a jogger I've felt a twinge of the green-eyed monster but now I'm one of them again - and (relatively) soon I'll begin to feel like it!

our weekend

I have been looking forward to the Balloon Fiesta for months. So, on Friday we got up at 5am (well, I was already up!), got everything ready, hit the road and arrived at Ashton Court at 6am. It was then we were told that the balloons weren't going up. Sad face. But that was before we'd paid the £15 parking charge. Happy face. Hence, if you'd have walked past Blaise Park at 7am, that's where you'd have found us. The climbing frame was all ours! Drinking hot chocolate and eating brioche; what a healthy start to the weekend!

And then Sunday was my parents' 40th wedding anniversary, in honour of which we all congregated in the Wye Valley, most of us wearing red. Here my niece hands out my auntie's excellent idea: DIY pavlova. Meringues, cream, raspberries. Assemble. Consume.

Hmm, that sounds like a really unhealthy weekend...!

Tricky weeks and ice cream

Sometimes tricky weeks result in a lack of creative achievement. (Or, in fact, any achievement!) But sometimes they also culminate at the park, having walked through the woods up to the folly and back down to ice cream and the playground. Phew!

Considering colour

Yesterday I was at the supermarket where the nail varnish caught my eye and the two on the left jumped into the trolley. Their colour led me to consider my normal, every day choices - as you see, gloriously monochrome! (Well, there is a slight variation...) Having said that, I also have other nail varnishes because sometimes only a bold splash of colour will do!

Growing

Warren has been very excited about his new venture, The Veggie Patch. Sadly, the slugs are equally committed to its destruction. The only thing not to have been savaged by the slug onslaught is the sweetcorn which is reaching for the sky!

This week I rotated various toys and books for J, bringing out the marble tree he hasn't seen for a while. I kept the marbles in a plastic bottle which he could shake but not open, so it didn't matter if he wasn't directly supervised. On Monday morning he reached for the marble tree and bottle, opened it in no time, sending some marbles cascading across the floor and others were placed straight into his mouth. Silly me! A twisty lid is now no challenge whatsoever to him! (The marbles are now in an egg cup out of his reach!) 

Warren's sweetcorn is growing almost as quickly as J can turn his hand to something new; E is doing a sterling job of consuming plenty of milk and getting plenty of sleep, resulting in her steadily growing body. I, on the other hand, am smaller than I was a couple of weeks ago. Thankfully!

Toys

I spend a LOT of time thinking about toys. How to organise, what to buy, what to set aside for a while, which books to purchase, which books to order from the library, what activities to make happen, how to juggle the budget. It seems to take me a long time to translate what I observe in the ever curious J into tangible, chewable things to put in his hand. It often feels like an uphill struggle, one at which I'm doomed to fail. Is this how it's always going to be?! 

(E's first cuddlies - a zebra from Aunty and a rabbit from grandma.

I didn't know there was a grey and white theme!)

Snapshots

It's Friday - the day when I normally post - but, alas (although, perhaps, unsurprisingly?), I had nothing prepared. So, I thought I'd snap what I could and see what I ended up with ... 

Sorting out the washing looks a little different as the piles mount up around a sleeping E.

J stands on the table precariously near the edge as I sit feeding E.

It's lovely to lie in the garden of a summer's afternoon, but a sudden gust of wind can be surprising!

Their first feet photo! Yay! The first of many I hope...

Welcome!

This week we welcomed our lovely daughter into our little family. I don't think there's too much to say except that she's healthy, she's lovely and - above all - she's here. She's a delight to us already, as is her brother who has welcomed her with joy and gentleness. 

Thankful, thankful.

A different kind of getting ready

 

My idea for baby's room was our hand prints on canvas; my idea for J was foot prints in two frames. The canvas is done (apart from baby's hand prints, of course), as are J's foot prints (apart from baby's, of course). What remains is to spray paint the frames with primer and then green. Do I have enough time left for such a multi-staged task or will baby have other ideas?! 

Getting ready

Packing a bag for baby, getting clothes ready, packing a bag for me, clearing the room, washing sheets for the Moses basket. I've really appreciated these practical preparations, time to get excited about the new arrival. The last few months have been hard for us as a family, couple that with all the busyness that accompanies caring for a growing toddler, and I've found it hard to connect as much with this pregnancy. But, in these small acts of preparation, I connect. I get excited. Getting ready for a real person; a person I'm looking forward to meeting, a person I'm looking forward to getting to know, a person I'm looking forward to loving.

Dear J

My dear J,

We got up early the other morning and came downstairs; I sat cross-legged and you sat on my lap. You wandered off to open cupboard doors (that you're not allowed to) and pulled out the pyrex jug and then brought me a fabulous drum, banging it with a big smile on your face. I put the 'drum' in front of me on its side, as you stood close in front of me, and I gently pushed it. We watched it roll along the floor into the kitchen and I watched you smile, laugh and do a little dance. We then rolled it together a few times, you pushed it, walked after it, gave it a little tap with your toes and then brought it back to start over again!

You are so precious to me and I want to remember and treasure these little moments together. 

Love,

Mummy xx

PS - I really, really like the way you say "ocksss!" (socks).