me and mine {september}

Daddy is loving

* riding the big slide at Center Parcs.

* a lovely day at the zoo for the beautiful girl's birthday.

* FIFA 15.

* reading Pirlo.

* taking the beautiful boy to preschool.

Mummy is loving

* that the beautiful boy is enjoying preschool so much.

* a fantastic holiday with our friends to Center Parcs.

* girly one-to-one time on preschool mornings.

* buying the beautiful girl's winter wardrobe.

* watching The Vampire Diaries.

The beautiful boy is loving

* going to preschool. 

* singing 'Brothers and Sister' by Twin Atlantic.

* wearing his new wellies with his pyjamas.

* riding flumes like a daredevil at Center Parcs.

* telling his own stories at bedtime.

The beautiful girl is loving

* being two years old.

* her new nesting dolls, especially the ones she's named Mama and Cilla.

* asking "Are you okay?" whenever anyone or anything falls.

* putting her toys to bed and saying "night night, sweet dreams".

* when her big bro comes home from preschool. 

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me and you {september}

Him and me,

we're different.

So so different.

"I really don't understand the way you think sometimes" different.

He's a neat freak, I'm untidy.

I always look on the bright side, he's a negative nelly.

He's logical and a realist, I'm creative and a dreamer.

We really are sunshine and rain different.

But different works for us.

We see things differently sometimes,

but we want the same things in life.

And the best things happen

when we are side by side.

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him and her {week thirty-nine}

he is such a fascinating little guy,

especially now he's started coming out with things he's learned at preschool,

but he's also having a "push those boundaries" phase again,

where he seems to think he is in charge.

she is two and really not a baby anymore,

she's gradually getting used to mornings without her big bro around,

lots of new little toys for imaginary play are helping,

and she's especially liking all the mummy time it gives her.

5

her second birthday

On Sunday 21st September 2014 

our beautiful girl turned two,

and we were sure to give her the best second birthday a girl could ask for.

8

happy second birthday beautiful girl

And just like that...

another year gone.

Our baby girl is two,

and really not a baby at all anymore.

The past year has seen you totally blossom,

from a crawling, babbling baby

into the walking, talking little lady you are now.

With every single day it seems like more of your personality shines though,

and you really are such an adorable and funny little character.

You're such a mixture of independent and needy,

gentle and sensitive but crazy and tough,

a girly little ballet dancer with a love of fairies

and also a cheeky, troublesome little monkey with a fearless daredevil side.

And I am totally enchanted by every little bit of you.

You are my ray of sunshine.

A source of so many smiles and laughs.

Just about the happiest little lady I've ever know.

You completely light up our world.

I love you with all my heart my lovely beautiful girl.

Happy second birthday.

xxx

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him and her {week thirty-eight}

he is now a preschooler,

and he couldn't be happier about it,

he runs out with a big grin each day asking when he can go again.

she is so incredibly cheeky and funny,

with her daddy's naughty eye twinkle

and her mummy's flighty but independent streak.

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den fun

Making dens was one of my favourite things to do as a child;

it's such simple, classic fun.

And the apple didn't fall to far from the tree,

as my children love them too.

I hung a canopy net for the children
and then let them add whatever they wanted to the inside.

Chuck in a few pillows, your favourite cuddly toys and a few books,

and they are guaranteed an afternoon of entertainment,

as am I, as I watch from the sides with a big wide smile.

We were also lucky enough to be sent a Monsters Inc Soft Pal by Phillips to incorporate in our den,

which added another dimension of fun to den building;

just as the excitement of the den was winding down,  I drew the curtains,

and it became a dark den, lit up by the soft glow of a cuddly night light.

You can enter a competition on the Phillips Facebook page,
to win a den building pack and other great den prizes.
All you have to do is build a den, have lots of fun, and share what you get up to wit #myden.
Check out all the details on this link.

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fun with friends

Holidays aren't always that much of an actual break when you have small children.

You can't switch off, even for a second, 

because that tends to the second that they find trouble to get themselves into.

But from having a few holidays with our friends now,

it's definitely a good way of spreading the load a bit;

the children have built in entertainment,

and there are more adults too which means you can get precious moments off every now and then.

We've been on a few holidays with our friends the Ellisons now,

and when we are together, something just clicks.

We all get along swimmingly,

there is always a lot of laughter and fun.

And I know we all feel lucky to have found each other,

and to have another family that we can share these memories with.

It's just so easy to have fun when we are together,

and I know this won't be the last of our holidays together.

This our second trip to Center Parcs together

and it's really just reaffirmed our love for the place.

It's the perfect spot for an exciting family holiday,

especially when you have water babies like we do.

Nobody was ready to come home,

and I think that the sign of a truly brilliant holiday.

You can see my video from last year's trip here
it's scary how much the children have grown in that time.

Go and check out Katie's blog because she's posting about our holiday today too,

there's another little video to be enjoyed there too.

16

oh the places you will go

12

him and her {week thirty-seven}

he is such a total daredevil water baby,

who would spend all day every day riding flumes if he could,

and has no fear whatsoever at climbing enormously tall climbing frames.

she has an absolutely exploding vocabulary of late,

refers to herself as "cheeky baby" when she's doing something she shouldn't,

and likes giving us heart failure by climbing up on the furniture and shouting "jump".

1

farewell to the summer

It's been an amazing summer,

full of sunshine and adventures,

and generally enjoying each other and the great outdoors.

Just thinking about what an amazing few months we've had,

makes me smile from ear to ear.

It's been beautiful.

And we finished it in style!

If you've followed any of our summer fun,

you'll know that the seaside has played a big part,

and that being at a beach is our happy place.

You'll also know I'm a teeny bit in love with a beach hut.

So we rented one,

a perfectly pink beach hut,

all ours,

for the entire day.

The sun came out to play,

and we said goodbye to an amazing summer

in the very best way possible.

13

siblings {september}

Something has really changed between these two over the last month or so;
they have become a real team, a little unit of their own.
I think its because as they get older, their age gap seems to get smaller,
as they become more equal and enjoy things together more.
And it's just the most amazing thing to watch
as they have these beautiful and spontaneous moments all their own.

In fact we don't even always get to witness these moments,
as the two of them choose to go off and play together away from us.
They love playing in their bedroom together,
and listening to them giggle and play makes me realise
just how separate their friendship is from me.
We may have given them each other,
but what they have isn't something that their daddy and mummy get to be part of.

19

him and her {week thirty-six}

he is so ridiculously excited about starting preschool soon,

especially the fact that he has special t-shirts to wear,

and he can be found with his nose in a book a lot of the time.

she spends her whole day walking around with little toys in her hands,

that's when she isn't being a total daredevil and attempting to scale the furniture,

or saying "mummy" in the cutest way and before asking for a biscuit.

3