me and mine {january}

Daddy is loving

* getting his annual bonus.

* the beautiful girl starting to say some proper words.

* watching Breaking Bad on Netflix.

* Liverpool still being in the top four. 

* that The Following is back on television.

Mummy is loving

* that our holiday to Center Parcs is booked.

* doing the beautiful girl's hair in bunches.

* the hubby's bacon and leek risotto.

* swimming.

* taking lots of photos.

The beautiful boy is loving

* playing with his animal puzzle.

* going to see a preview of Tinkerbell and the Pirate Fairy.

* telling everybody that he's going to be three soon.

* chocolate coins.

* his new Converse trainers.

The beautiful girl is loving

* talking, talking, talking all the time.

* eating all the leftover Bountys.

* cuddling her dolls.

* climbing up onto the sofas.

* watching Tangled.

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out of the mouths of babes {january}

"Oh no, I broke my fish finger. I want to eat my fish finger safely."

Mummy: "Are you finished your lunch?"

beautiful boy: "No."

Mummy: "Then why have you taken your apron off?"

beautiful boy: "Because I'm being cheeky."

Mummy: "How old are you?"

beautiful boy: "Ummmmmm. On my next birthday I will be three."

Mummy: "But how old are you now?"

beautiful boy: "Big."

beautiful boy: "I've got curry and rice for dinner.

Daddy: "Yes you have. Me too."

beautiful boy: "Yes and Mummy three. And [my sister] four."

Mummy: "What would you like for your birthday?"

beautiful boy: "I would like a bike and a cake with candles to blow out."

Mummy: "What colour bike would you like?"

beautiful boy: "A red bike."

Mummy: "And what sort of cake would you like?"

beautiful boy: "A red cake. And red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. And with candles to blow out."

"That was a bread poo. Now I'm going to make an ice cream poo. It will be delicious."

beautiful boy: "I want to be a daddy."

Mummy: "Maybe one day, if you are very very lucky."

beautiful boy: "Next Christmas?"

beautiful boy: "Can I have a drink please? I'm thirsty."

Mummy: "Of course. Would you like a drink of water."

beautiful boy: "Yes. That'll do the trick."

Mummy: "Now, what would you like to do now? Would you like to go home or go shopping?"

beautiful boy: "I would like to go... SHOPPING!"

Mummy: "Okay, then you shall go shopping."

beautiful boy: "Would you like to come shopping with me, Mummy?"

"I love you Mummy, all the days of Christmas."

"Astronaut Nanny, today we are going to fly into space in Astronaut Mummy's car to see moons and stars and planet Earth."

"I like pants. Pants are nice. And I love t-shirts."

beautiful boy: "We will see Uncle Matt today?"

Mummy: "No, not today lovely."

beautiful boy: "Okay, maybe after next Christmas."

Mummy: "I think you're being a bit of a baby."

beautiful boy: "Yes I am. I'm your baby."

Mummy: "You are. My little baby boy."

beautiful boy: "Yes. And I think I need to sleep in a sleeping bag tonight."

Mummy: "What did you have for your lunch?"
beautiful boy: " I had a sausage roll. And a cupcake."
Mummy: "Do you remember what flavour your cupcake was?'
beautiful boy: "It was chocolate. It was cookies and crumpet flavour."
Mummy: "I think you mean cookies and cream."
beautiful boy: "No cookies and crumpet."

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a place in my heart

There are a dozen moments in my day to day life as a mummy,

which make me want to scream.

But there are easily ten dozen moments that make me want to burst;

with pride 

and with thankfulness 

and with overwhelming love.

The cuddles, the laughter, the unconditional bond.

They are the best payment I could ask for 

for the challenging, important, exhausting and exhilarating job

of being their mummy.

Those two funny, cheeky, sensitive, beautiful little people

are the best thing to ever happen to me,

and the love I have for them isn't something that anyone could ever have prepared me for.

And the best bit of all, 

is knowing that I am their mummy. 

I am theirs completely and utterly.

That job is uniquely mine

and totally priceless.

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him and her {week four}

he has had a week written off by feeling 'not quite right'

but has been adorably cuddly as a result

and hasn't let it get between him and his sleep at least.

she is becoming such an independent and strong-willed little character,

with a new party trick of kissing her dolls

and she just loves to dance whenever she hears music.

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bath time sail boats

We love wooden toys around here.

Really love them.

They are classic and they stand the test of time

and they just generally look lovelier.

We have a home absolutely full of them.

Except when it comes to bath time,

where it seems plastic reigns

. . . until now!

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sixteen months new

You seemed to be right on the cusp of being a real little girl, but not quite.

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me and you {january}

I think that what makes a relationship work

is different for every relationship.

But for me, I think ours is tied up in those three lines.

We are different,

so so very different in so many ways.

But something about those differences can bring out the best in the other.

At times it brings out the worst too of course,

but mostly it opens our eyes to another way of seeing things,

our differences remind us to look at things a different way.

And ultimately, together we can forget the world,

because we are each other's world,

and we've created our perfect world around us; our family.

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him and her {week three}

he is trying desperately (and failing) to assert some authority,

moves his body in different ways lately which are so grown up,

and gets so excited about sofa cuddles with a blanket.

she is a mixture of inquisitive, adventrous and hilarious,

will grab hold and pull us in so tightly for cuddles,

and thinks all food was put on this earth for her to eat. 

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on the cusp

As parents we know only too well

that children seem to grow up really fast.

That in what seems like the blink of an eye;

they go from bump to baby to toddler to child.

I can't speak for any older than that

but I have no doubt that it continues at that rate.

Parenthood feels a bit like you're living your life on a roller coaster,

it's fast, it's relentless, it has ups and downs

and much as you might like it to just slow down a bit,

it won't happen, can't happen,

it will keep racing forward.

17

him and her {week two}

he seems less like a toddler with every day that passes;

full of clever conversation,

grown up mannerisms,

and long limbs.

she is starting to be such a little mimic;

trying to put her shoes on, 

holding a toy camera to her eye,

and copying the noises she hears.

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siblings {january}

Before I even had a second baby

I was fantasising about what it would be like

to see my children interact with one another.

I couldn't wait for the moment I got to introduce my beautiful boy

to his younger sister,

and her to him.

And from that moment on their relationship has continued to amaze and surprise me.

I've been lucky and they've always been really happy in one another's company,

from general interest in the early days,

to saving their best smiles for each other,

to where we are now,

which has to be the best stage ever.

They are really starting to properly play together now

and to entertain one another with the things they do.

They constantly make each other giggle hysterically

and will chase each other around squealing,

until they fall into a crumpled laughing heap.

There are of course moments when she takes the toys he's playing with

and gets a little too into his space.

Just like there are times when he doesn't want to chase her anymore

and she doesn't want to share mummy cuddles.
I think the nature of a sibling relationship
is that there is always a really fine line,
between "oh my goodness, you're fantastic"
and "oh my goodness, you're driving me mad"
but that fine line is part of it's beauty.

And on the most part

watching these two kiddos together is a daily

in fact make that hourly, joy.

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winter wonderland

The run up to Christmas is always a buzz of excitement

with parties and days outs

as well as shopping and preparations to do.

But I think it's nice in all the excitement to have special festive days,

where you can really allow yourself to just embrace the craziness of the season.

And we did that at Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park.

We had a great day;

riding the underground,

browsing the stalls full of artisan gifts,

meeting Father Christmas in the loveliest grotto ever,

seeing amazing ice sculptures in genuinely frosty conditions,

admiring twinkly lights,

eating pretzels

and generally getting excited about Christmas.

music credit: Brand New Day by Kodaline

4

your thirty-fifth month

There was a big birthday looming on the horizon.

1

the most wonderful time of the year

music credit: Little Things Mean A Lot by Little Shoes Big Voice

Last year was definitely the year I fell in love with video.

And I had a permanent smile glued to my face

as I edited this together.

Video captured special moments that would be so easily forgotten;

the minute details of Christmas Day for my little family.

We had a lovely Christmas.

A simple Christmas.

We were all very lucky to find lovely gifts under the tree,

but then,

we are all pretty lucky, presents or not.

So many unforgettable moments from our 2013 Christmas;

the wonder on the children's faces,

the pride at my husband's first Christmas dinner,

the beautiful boy saying "wow, what did you do?" when he saw the presents,

the beautiful girl soaking up the excitement and dancing throughout the day;

the magic of it all.

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him and her {week one}

he is the funniest little guy ever, 

baking and playing kitchen all day long,

is such a very considerate and loving brother 

and absolutely full of kisses and cuddles for his favourite people.

she is looking so incredibly big and grown up lately, 

is an absolute force of nature,

follows her big brother wherever he goes

and is the squealiest little giggler you've ever heard.

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