your forty-seventh week

You were taking all the excitement in your stride.

Just like always,

nothing seemed to phase you.

Your routine had gone out the window

with late nights,

funny meal times,

days out

and trips away.

But you still smiled

and were as good as gold.

One of your trips out

was a Boxing Day walk by the river.

You grinned like crazy the whole way.

You were enjoying looking at everything

and everyone.

You were taking it all in,

laughing and talking

and leaning forward in your pushchair so you didn't miss anything.

Then all of a sudden

you fell asleep.

Bolt upright in your pram.

With your head flopped forward

and your hat fallen over your eyes.

It was so cute and so funny.

All the excitement had clearly worn you out.

We went away for a few days 

to visit Nain and Taid

and the rest of Daddy's family.

You weren't the normal good sleeper that we're used to

but some broken nights sleep didn't dampen your spirit or ruin your fun.

Nain and Taid couldn't believe how much you had changed since they saw you last.

They said that you were definitely more 'little boy' than baby these days.

All of Daddy's family said what a lovely little boy you were,

which made us feel so proud.

You quite happily went from person to person

and you always had a smile for everyone.

You were spoilt with even more presents

with lots of new toys and books to take home.

We were starting to worry
that we might need a new house in time for your birthday
because you had been so lucky.

Your talking seemed to be getting clearer and clearer
and you were definitely saying 'Dad' now when speaking to Daddy.
You were also saying 'na-na-na-na' a lot now
especially when you didn't like something
and this was generally accompanied by headshaking.
It made us think that you were beginning to get the idea of 'no!'

You definitely knew what 'no' meant when Mummy said it
and generally it would make you stop what you were doing,
particularly if she gave you a frown too.
But you mostly ignored other people saying no to you,
and would often smile or giggle
until they told you a second or third time.

Your forty-seventh week saw the end to 2011
and the start of 2012.

On New Years Eve you went to bed early
oblivious to the excitement.
And Mummy and Daddy had a quiet night in
looking after the cats who were terrified of fireworks.

But just after midnight
Mummy sneaked into your bedroom
to give you a kiss while you slept.
Your first kiss of 2012.

So we celebrated the New Year with you
even if you didn't know it.

On New Years Day we went to London
to see the New Years Day Parade.
And you absolutely adored it.

We had never seen you so excited and so animated
as you were when the marching bands and cheerleaders filed past.
You sat on Daddy's shoulders
smiling at everything.
And when we got you near the front
you were leaning over the railings
and craning your neck to see what was coming next.

You had been our 2011 highlight,
it seemed impossible to think that anything could top it.

A part of us felt a little sad to say goodbye to 2011
because it had been such a special year;
the year we had become a family.
But we knew that 2012
would hold lots of new adventures for us
so were excited to see where it would take us.