Me and Mine: A Family Portrait in June

Friday, June 30, 2017 Permalink
Katy, John, Max and Ben sat on bench at Polesden Lacey

It still seems slightly surreal that just 3 days after my last Me and Mine post, we welcome our newest family member, baby Ben! June has flown by in a blur - introducing Ben to Max, paternity leave, tears, tantrums, but, ultimately, so many amazing moments that I'll treasure forever. Ben is an absolute dream of a baby - he sleeps well (as well as you can expect from a newborn anyway), and is remarkably laid back. He's been such a surprise too - he's so different to his brother! Where Max is all blond hair and blue eyes, Ben is dark and already it's clear that he takes after me in his appearance. When you look back at some of ...

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When your high needs baby turns into a pretty awesome toddler

Wednesday, June 28, 2017 Permalink
Max jumping out from behind bushes and laughing

I've said so many times how difficult I found that first year of motherhood. I remember coming home from the hospital, dazed and pretty terrified at having a brand new baby that we were responsible for. And that daze pretty much continued for the first six months in the same way - a blur of sleep deprivation and crying (both from me and from Max). He would cry when he was hungry, he'd cry when he was put down, he'd cry when you were changing his nappy, and he'd cry when he was tired (which was most of the time, as he didn't exactly embrace the concept of sleep). I'd spend those lonely nighttime hours desperately searching on my phone to ...

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Living Arrows 26/52

Monday, June 26, 2017 Permalink
Max walking towards the camera with arms outstretched

You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth – Kahlil Gibran   One of Max's favourite games at the moment is to pretend to be a 'scary ghost' - he'll cover himself in a blanket and walk around with his arms outstretched, shouting 'ghost!'. He's started doing it with or without the blanket - I love this shot as he stumbled towards me shouting "I a ghost Mummy!"    

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My second birth story - quick, dramatic, and amazing!

Tuesday, June 20, 2017 Permalink

It was two days before my due date and it felt like I had been pregnant forever. The past few weeks had been so uncomfortable, and the last week I'd been having on/off contractions which had me thinking "this is it!" every time. But they'd never build up to anything and I was starting to be convinced that I'd be going way past my due date. It was a Saturday morning, and I was so pleased to have John home with us. He works in London, and is at least an hour and a half away, so I'd been really concerned that if things kicked off quickly then he might not make it. And those last few weeks of pregnancy with ...

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Living Arrows 25/52

Monday, June 19, 2017 Permalink
Max throwing stones into pond

You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth – Kahlil Gibran   Last Friday was the last day of my husband's paternity leave, so we decided to pull Max out of nursery and head out for the day. He'd requested a trip to a 'big garden', so we got in the car and made the trip down to Mottisfont to see the roses in full bloom. But the absolute highlight for Max was throwing stones into this little pond in the middle of the rose garden. If that's not a face of pure joy I don't know what is!    

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10 Cheap Summer Things to Do in Surrey with a Toddler

Thursday, June 8, 2017 Permalink

I'm so grateful to live in Surrey - there are so many wonderful spots to explore right on your doorstep. When the summer hits it's amazing to get outside and enjoy the sunshine, but there's no need for it to cost lots of money - there are so many great places which cost nothing (or very little) to enjoy.   Stoke Park Paddling Pool, Guildford   When the heat ramps up there's no better place than a paddling pool, and the one at Stoke Park in Guildford is great - lovely and clean, and newly refurbished last year. Perfect for toddlers, as there are no deep bits at all, and with a good area around it for parents to sit and chill out. Arrive ...

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Teach your child to tolerate delay… out in the garden… amongst the fairies!

Tuesday, June 6, 2017 Permalink
crocus fairy ring

I'm really pleased to welcome Carly from In the Flower Shop I Saw for my guest post today. If you've not seen her Instagram account, please do check it out - if you're a floral fan it'll be right up your street! Carly is talking about ways to get your children outside and involved in the garden, and has some beautiful ideas....   As a child I remember playing outside...playing outside a LOT! As old as this makes me sound I can think back to the days where entertainment was created by simply looking for that lucky three leaf clover in the grass, picking daisies to make a simple, yet enchanting chain and dead-heading roses (sorry Mum!) to squish and squash and make a ...

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Living Arrows 23/52

Monday, June 5, 2017 Permalink

You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth – Kahlil Gibran   When it comes to key moments of childhood, is there anything bigger than meeting your younger brother for the first time? I have to admit I was more than a bit nervous about how Max would handle a little brother, but he has been an absolute star the last couple of days and he is already so good with him - his favourite phrase is "sooo cute!", and he is being such a great help in fetching nappies, trying to calm Ben down when he's upset, and is (almost) managing not to shout all the time! I heard him walking down the landing this morning to ...

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Welcome to the World Baby Ben!

Monday, June 5, 2017 Permalink
Baby Ben close up

I'm so pleased to introduce you all to our newest family member - baby Ben! Ben arrived with us at 14.54 on Saturday 3rd June and we couldn't be happier to meet our newest family member. I'm sure I'll be sharing more on the blog shortly, but for now, just a brief photo of those squishy baby cheeks!

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The Pregnancy Diaries: Week 38

Friday, June 2, 2017 Permalink
38 weeks pregnant bump shot

38 weeks pregnant and I think it's fair to say I'm so ready for this baby to arrive now! What's going on with the baby He's pretty much fully formed at this point and is just putting on weight now ready to make his arrival. All his organs are working, and his lungs will just be making their final developments ready for birth. His eye colour at birth will be decided now, although blue eyed babies can still often change to brown within their first year. It's strange, but it's one of the things that I'm most curious about with this baby - Max is such a blond, blue eyed boy, while me and his Dad are dark, so I wonder what his ...

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