Weekend break

It was both The Boo and my husband's birthday's in November, so we decided to have a little celebration break as a family - just the three of us. We went to stay in a cosy cabin in the Blackwood Forest for a long weekend and it was lovely!

I was amazed at the sheer amount of 'stuff' we had to take with us. We are lucky that my husband drives a truck or else we would have needed to hire a van to shift it all. We had to take the travel cot (with a sheet and blankets), the highchair, plenty of The Boo's favourite toys and food on top of everything else. I got so stressed out by it all that I started to wonder why we were bothering, but once we were packed and on our way and The Boo fell asleep before we reached the motorway, I was relaxed and enjoying myself.

We spent our 4 days strolling through the forest, wandering around the local shops, cuddling on the sofa, playing games, eating and watching movies. Just what we needed!

We would definitely go back there again but perhaps invite our family along and the woofers too next time, as they would all really like it. Next summer perhaps? Hmmm!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Autumn walks and cuddles

What glorious weather we had today! I went outside this morning to hang some washing on the line and couldn't believe how warm it was! What a treat.

I invited one of my sisters over for Sunday lunch and it was lovely for us all to gather in the kitchen with the back door wide open, my sister playing with The Boo, us chatting and sipping red wine, whilst I prepared and cooked the roast chicken and Frank Sinatra played on the iPod. (I love to listen to Frank when I cook.)

At the end of another week of my non-diet, I couldn't wait for some comfort food and I enjoyed every single gravy soaked mouthful! The Boo had her own portion served up and chopped in the blender. Thankfully she loves her mummy's cooking and ate hers up greedily. When lunch was over and the clearing up was done, I suggested we all get out into that warmth and take the dog and The Boo for a walk in the park to feed the ducks. It was lovely. My mum and her dog even joined us on our stroll.

The Boo had a lovely time and gave out lots of cuddles. Oh, how wonderful her cuddles are! She gave me her first one earlier this week. I was sitting up in bed with her on my lap, when she just leaned towards me and wrapped both of her arms around my neck tightly and lay her face against mine! I was so moved and blessed to receive such affection from this little girl of mine. I wanted that moment to last forever! I absolutely love her and can't get enough of her!

She's really trying to communicate now. Along with all the pointing, The Boo now talks away in her own little mumbled language and then looks at you as if to say "don't you think?" I would love to know what she is trying to say and I can't wait until the day we start having conversations!

It's her first birthday in just over 5 weeks time. I'd better get my party planning hat on this week! I have a head full of different ideas and questions. Do we keep it low key or go all out as it's her first? Or should we save all the best ideas for when she is older? I think I know what to do. I just need to make a decision and get on with it! We've already bought her presents and are starting to think about her Christmas presents! Where has the last year gone!?

This last week I have been working on a photo book of The Boo's first year. I'm a big fan of photo books! Since we went digital we never bothered to get photos printed unless they were for a frame, so most of the pictures we took sat on the computer or on CD's at the back of a drawer gathering dust and never looked at! I first did one with our wedding photos and loved everything about it. I do mine online and design it myself. You choose the layout and colour themes and put your own pictures where you want them. It takes ages but is fun to do and well worth all the effort. Then hey presto, you have a wonderful book, with pictures that can never fade, be lost or damaged and it can be taken from the shelf and enjoyed at anytime in an instant! Yep, if you have ever considered doing one, do it! You won't regret it. Great idea for a Christmas present too!

Autumn is just around the corner

I love this time of year. The weather is still warm but signs that Autumn is just around the corner are everywhere. The nights are cooler, the sunsets are striking, the leaves are turning orange, flowers have gone and berries are bulging. Blackberries are ripe for the picking and I have inky fingers to prove it!

Blackberries. They always remind me of the end of the school summer holiday and wishing that I had just one more week off! Just the smell of them makes me feel like a kid again. So it was to my sheer delight that I found lots of juicy specimens on my morning walk with The Boo and just happened to have an empty plastic bag with me! And if you're going to put them in a crumble, you must have apples too right? So off I went and scrumped myself some! Yes indeed. I took The Boo to the park, parked her pram on the side of the path, climbed over a number of shrubs and actually jumped up and down numerous times to try and reach the branches to grab those little beauties. Needless to say that some of them came crashing down on my head! I thank God that nobody else was around to witness that. The Boo had front row seats and sat there looking at me like I was crazy!

She's been a bit of a pickle recently. She's been settling down to sleep ok at night, but then waking up in the wee small hours and refusing to go back to sleep. Tonight The Boo went down at 8pm and then woke up at 11. For the last 3 hours or so I've tried standing over her and laying her back down every time she gets up. I've tried ignoring her completely. I've hated myself whilst listening to her cry so much she was almost sick and I've also watched her playing happily in her cot and laughing!! She finally went to sleep at about 2.30am. I'm hoping this is a phase which will pass! At least when The Boo naps tomorrow (or should I say later today!) I have the luxury of being able to crawl into bed to nap too.

Right now I feel exhausted. I feel like a failure that she doesn't sleep through the night yet and I don't know if I make things worse when I give her cuddles and milk to soothe her and get her back to sleep. I remind myself that she's only 10 months old. She's a baby who wants to feel loved, safe and warm when she drifts off to sleep. I don't blame her. I want that too.