Me and Mine: A Family Portrait in July

Monday, July 31, 2017 Permalink
Katy holding Max and John holding Ben, stood in lavender fields

I can't quite believe that it's been a whole month since our last Me and Mine post, but the calendar says it has, so it must be true! We're definitely settling into life as a family of four now and getting into the swing of things a bit more, even if the days are passing by in a bit of a blur! Our photos this month were taken on my birthday, when we decided to mark the occasion by taking a trip to Mayfield Lavender (you can read the full post here). It was a bit of a fail as far as family photos go - call it baby brain, but I seem to have lost the 'foot' which attaches the ...

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Living Arrows 31

Monday, July 31, 2017 Permalink
Max looking up at camera

You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth – Kahlil Gibran   A bit different to my usual 'on the move' photos of Max. We were out exploring a new garden at West Green House Garden yesterday and the rain meant we all spent a good portion of the time huddled under our big umbrella. I looked down at Max, who was staring up at the sky and just thought this was such an interesting angle - one I see him from a lot, but not one I tend to photograph, as I tend to get down to his level normally. But it captures his expression so perfectly.  

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Sleep Tight with Ollie the Owl from The Gro Company

Sunday, July 30, 2017 Permalink
Ollie the Owl from The Gro Company

I've been a big fan of The Gro Company products since we first started using their Grobags with Max, so when I was offered the opportunity to road test their latest product, Ollie the Owl, I was really keen to see what it had to offer. It's a well known fact that white noise often acts as a calming influence on babies, replicating the sounds that they would have heard in the womb. White noise was one of the only things that calmed Max, so we rarely went anywhere without our white noise app on our phone, or Ewan the Dream Sheep. But the unique and innovative feature of Ollie the Owl that ranks him above any of these other products is ...

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Sharing the Blog Love - Showcase 55

Thursday, July 27, 2017 Permalink
Sharing the Blog Love - Blogger Showcase

It's good to be back! A big welcome to our weekly #SharingtheBlogLove Showcase. I've really missed catching all of your posts (although I've had my hands pretty full!) so it was lovely to read through them all over this last week and ease back into things. If you're new to #SharingtheBlogLove, these are mine and Laura's favourite posts from last week's linky. As part of the linky we'd like you to choose one post from each showcase post (one from mine and one from Laura's) to head over to and leave a comment to show them some extra blog love. It's always lovely to take a look at our featured posts this week and see how many extra comments they've had from you guys! Burnished Chaos Diggerland ...

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#SharingtheBlogLove #55

Thursday, July 27, 2017 Permalink
#SharingtheBlogLove

I'm so pleased to be back on board with our weekly #SharingtheBlogLove linky! A huge thank you to the wonderful Laura at Five Little Doves, who did a wonderful job in hosting while I took a little break. I couldn't have asked for anyone better to take up the mantle. It's good to be back though - I really enjoyed reading your posts from last week and getting back into the swing of things. There were so many posts I could have chosen to feature in the showcase, so I promise you have some good reading ahead of you! I hope you're enjoying the start of the summer holidays - although it's been a really wet week where we are and I ...

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A Visit to Mayfield Lavender Fields

Tuesday, July 25, 2017 Permalink
Max running through lavender towards red phone box at Mayfield Lavender Field

We first visited Mayfields Lavender Field last summer. It's somewhere that will always be a bit sentimental to me - the day before we visited I discovered that, just two weeks after discovering I was pregnant with our much longed for second child, I was having a miscarriage. I'd wanted to do something nice that day with Max, rather than sit at home, so we headed out to the lavender fields and walked amongst the sea of purple, just breathing in the scent and chasing the bees. We returned this year on my birthday. A strange visit in a way, holding in my arms our five week old baby; the baby who wouldn't have existed if that other little life had ...

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Living Arrows 30/52

Monday, July 24, 2017 Permalink
Max and Ben lying on fluffy rug, with Max touching Ben's nose

You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth – Kahlil Gibran   I love this quick snap I took earlier this week. I'd popped Ben on the rug to take a quick photo and Max lay down next to him and just tapped him on the nose, exclaiming "Bop!" I'm not sure Ben was quite as pleased with it as Max was... I'm sure there will be plenty more moments like this over the years!    

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A Trip to Polesden Lacey

Wednesday, July 19, 2017 Permalink
Max running through the rose arbor with pink and white roses in bloom

We live fairly close to Polesden Lacey National Trust in Surrey and I've visited it quite a few times over the past few years. I love the gardens - the snowdrops are lovely in early spring, there is a beautiful display of peonies and allium, and the long borders are spectacular in summer. But the real highlight is the walled rose garden. For some reason I've never managed to visit before while the roses were in full bloom, so this year I made it a priority to get there in June while they were looking their best. We had a fairly brisk look around the rose garden, as Max was determined to race through, but there was enough time to take ...

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The Hazy Newborn Days

Tuesday, July 18, 2017 Permalink
Ben at 1 week old, swaddled

It's been four weeks since Ben arrived and despite having been through the baby rollercoaster before, it still turns your world upside down. One minute your baby is just a concept, and the next he's here and he's a real being. Just like that your heart is filled with so much love for this tiny person that feels like both a complete stranger and like someone who's always been part of your life. People will tell you it's an emotional rollercoaster, and I can't think of any other word that describes it quite so well. At no other point in my life have I been so happy and contented one minute, and in floods of tears the next. We've struggled with ...

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Living Arrows 29/52

Monday, July 17, 2017 Permalink
Max in lavender field, surrounded by sea of purple flowers

You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth – Kahlil Gibran   Last weekend we visited the Lavender Fields at Mayfield Lavender, in what is becoming an annual tradition for us. Max was in a really good mood and loved running through the lavender, completely unphased by all the bees buzzing around! Something about the look on his face in this photo really grabbed me - he's looking so much older these days, and this photo seems to capture both the little boy, and the more grown up version at the same time.  

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