The Me and Mine Project is something that I’ve wanted to join in with for ages - the idea is that you take a photo each month of your whole family, and then end up with a lovely set of photographs that capture your family as it grows. This month we finally got our act together and purchased a tripod, so it was family photo go-time!

June was dominated by our holiday to Tuscany at the start of the month, and that’s where we managed to take our family photos. We climbed to the top of a steep hill at Fiesole, a little hill town which overlooks Florence, so we had the most spectacular views over the Florence skyline.

 

 

As you can see, Max took a little while to warm up to the idea of taking photos! But by the end he seemed to have really cottoned on to the idea and in the afternoon even prompted us to take a photo - sitting us down and arranging us. It was only when he started saying ‘cheese!’ that we realised what it was that he wanted! Sadly the photo itself leaves a little to be desired - it started to spot with rain just as we set up the camera, and then the tripod slipped just before the timer ran out, so the photo is wonky and all round a terrible picture - but I’m keeping it anyway as it’s such a great little memory!

 

 

Max completely embraced the concept of being on holiday. He loved being able to spend so much time with his Daddy, and he adapted really well to a slightly later bedtime, and ate lots of different foods. We were also very brave and didn’t take the pushchair, so we were really impressed by how much walking he did (although suffice to say that I feel my arm muscles are developing a treat!)

In contrast, adapting back to home life has been more difficult. He’s been more clingy than usual, very upset when Daddy leaves for work in the morning, and back to being upset when I drop him off at nursery. He’s also more difficult to get to bed, and has taken a liking to waking up at 5! I can totally relate to his frustration - after a pretty perfect family week all together, it seems harsh to be dumped unceremoniously back into normal life. I also miss the holiday - I love being a parenting team. John is a fantastic Dad, and I’m very conscious that I’m a better Mum when he’s around - I’m more relaxed, less anxious, less snappy, more the parent I want to be.

But I’ve settled back into life at home and we’ve got back to a more normal routine. I’m trying to make the most of the beautiful gardens we have in our local area, and we’re managed to get out and about and explore those (when it’s not raining of course!)

I’m hoping that July has some better weather in store for us! We have lots of plans for meeting up with friends, and it also contains my birthday.

I hope that this is the first of many Me and Mine posts - I need to get better at working the tripod and the timer function though!