A first birthday, Easter, Sharing a room and other big adventures

Oh dear, it's almost been a month since I last blogged. We've been rather busy and exciting grown-up things have been happening with my little ones.

Of course the big event was Logan's first birthday. My little monkey had a little party with a couple of friends over the day before and a nice family day of presents and cake and cuddles and playtime on the big day itself. He is getting much better at opening presents now he's had some practise and ripped the wrapping paper off happily. His favourite presents by far were his cars - my little boy is a definite fan of cars! The Brio train set will be a lasting present though and Lyra enjoys playing with it too. The cake went down very well and I was quite happy with how it turned out. I will have to find other excuses for making & decorating cakes after David's birthday on Saturday has passed... Really hoping I get a chance to decorate his cake on friday!

Last weekend was Easter, which is always a big family thing with us. In a change to our usual tradition we went to spend the saturday and sunday at my parents' house with my sisters and Genni's boyfriend Simon. It was a lovely relaxed affair with lots of yummy food and chocolate, an Easter Egg hunt and even a board game on Saturday evening! Lyra and Logan adore my family so it was great fun and I even had a little time to rest myself :0) I really miss my sisters now they have both moved away and am very glad we are so close that we all make an effort to keep in close touch.

I took the weekend off from my diet but have been back to it for the past couple of days so hoping damage limitation will mean my hard work isn't all undone!!! I have now lost over 2 stone and weigh the same as I did at 17/18. I aim to lose another stone by the summer so fingers crossed I can keep up the motivation.....

Another couple of very recent steps forward involve bedtime - Logan spent last night sharing Lyra's bedroom for the first time and Lyra finally agreed to say goodbye to her dummy over the past few days! Sleep wise it went fine, Logan woke twice but Lyra slept through it and he settled back down again. In fact it was the first night in a while that he hasn't come into our bed until morning (6am!). A bit of a nuisance for me to go in there when he wakes as it's more effort but it does mean I have to get up and of course I will continue to be the only one that gets up in the night for him... but then it does mean I wake up so I don't wake in the morning to find he's appeared in bed with us and I have sleep amnesia! Lyra has relinquished her dummy in exchange for a Princess Giselle (Disney's Enchanted) wedding dress in her size. She was shown the dress and given the choice - dummy or dress - & chose the dress as she has lusted after it for weeks and weeks. To be honest she's not had her dummy for a few nights recently so was more receptive but I'm thrilled as I HATE dummies. She only had it from age 2 because we had a couple of "just in case" dummies we were getting ready for Logan's birth and David said she could "look after them for the baby". Yeah right, big mistake; she's been addicted ever since!! Never mind, it's gone now & I'm very happy.

I'm now officially on sick leave from work due to my continuing pelvic problems. These are being investigated further this month so I may even get a proper diagnosis & prognosis so I can make some work-type decisions. I've made 2 pieces for my Etsy shop and will put pictures of another on there to demonstrate a customisable project.... will be useful for Christmas money!

David is making an aluminium E111 blaster piece by piece and is continually upgrading his stormtrooper armour. He's 33 this weekend and I've hardly bought him any presents as he's been a bit awkward about letting me know what he wants until this week. i'm trying to make him something too but that's not progressing well because he's always there when I get a chance to crochet!

OK, I think I will do separate photo update posts because they are always a faff with text. I think I'm going to have to set up my own website soon and possibly have a little shop on there too...... save Etsy fees!

My 3-year-old....

Yesterday my little princess turned three and I can hardly believe it;
where on earth has that three years gone?! She has grown from a
beautiful, stern eyed baby who was too interested in the world to sleep
to a gorgeous, strong willed, clever little girl who can recognise her
name written down, counts to 16, sings the alphabet song, makes up
games where she is going to work or shopping or being a mummy, says "I
love you" to her family frequently and with feeling, loves to help
cook (especially cakes!) though eating isn't her thing, is as dainty
as a little pixie but rough as a tomboy with her daddy. Lyra is
protective of her baby brother then runs away with his toys because
she wants them, has a wicked laugh and a very earthy sense of humour
(it's all "poo" "boobies" "bottoms" etc!), can use a pc, iPhone and ds
with ease, insists she is a big girl but is heartbroken every time
mummy leaves her at preschool (which she soon recovers from) and wants
"some boobie milk" when she feels poorly or sad. She is bossy,
independent and imperious at home and with family but shy and quiet,
watching but hiding from questions at preschool. She loves peppa pig,
tinkerbell, scooby doo and harry potter. She is obsessed with her
dummy even though she didn't have one until a year ago, when she
obtained the one we had 'just in case' for Logan. She drives me crazy
and melts my heart, she is so precious to me I would do anything for
her and her happiness. She wails and stomps like any child her age but
is open to reason and doesn't ask "why" ALL the time at least. Her
speech and vocabulary are amazing, she is so sharp she picks up on
everything and I worry she will be too clever and find it hard to deal
with.

I love her. That, most of all.

Hello there!

Wow it's almost NOVEMBER!! How on earth did that happen?!
Goodness I've been so lax about updating on here. It gets to a certain amount of time since the last post and it becomes even more work to post as an update on everything feels required!! I'll do my best with some brief snippets of the most important people to me....
Logan is now 7 months & 1 week & getting incredibly grown up. When nappy free ha is crawling a little, otherwise he is successfully bum-shuffling a reasonable distance and can pull himself up onto his knees. He will drag himself over to me & then start climbing up my leg sometimes when he wants me :o) He's also eating loads & growing loads too, he has a new highchair so he can sit at the table with us for meals and have finger foods/ try to chuck everything in arms reach on the floor. He's a typical male already; loves food, bashing things, being noisy, music & technology. At the moment he's not sleeping well & is being very clingy due to developing another cold after just recovering from croup and teething (still totally toothless). He has also learned to nod & finds it very funny as it's kind of a whole body nod and says lots of "words"; dada, mama, blabla, baba, & something that sounds a lot like "Lyra".


Lyra is doing very well too, she is not crying when I drop her off at preschool any more & is pretty good at helping with Logan too. As ever her speech is fantastic and she comes out with the funniest things. The other night she said to david "shh... listen. It's the winds of change" (which apparently go blurbleurble) If I say something she disagrees with I get a quick "no no no" in respionse (a mannerism directly pinched from me) & she will make up songs about Logan who she calls "Loganberry". She also loves making things and we make cakes a couple of times a week, is always on the go & has daytime naps almost never (except for when she is ill like now)

I've been busy with my crochet I've made 3 pigs, 1 chicken, a sheep, lamb and ram & all but legs of a fresian cow for Logan's crochet farmyard christmas present. I've also made Lyra a little princess doll and 1/2 simon's hat. I have plans for putting patterns & tutorials on my other blog as I'm very impressed with my little animals that I worked out all by myself....

We've done really well with our christmas shopping already & have very little left to buy for the children (the big ones!) David bought me an iphone recently (another reason for my silence as cannot post from it!) so I'm LOVING that.

What with everyone's colds, new carpets meaning I have loads of sorting to do still (lovely new carpets though!) I'm just about treading water & feeling a bit low but hopefully acknowledging it will help me to do something about it. I must confess I'm scared of the idea of getting PND again, very scared that I already have it in fact. I really should phone my Health Visitor who is lovely but I don't want to admit defeat but I'm crying more than I should. Just 6 weeks ago I was the happiest I have ever been & I really want to be back there. Guess SAD doesn't help - very yucky weather at the moment.

David has been trooping again (& I didn't even tell you about his first troop!) & loved it again, I'm so torn as I miss him because I feel I hardly ever see him now but he loves it so much that he's happier & reacting to my lows better... I want him to be happy as that will ultimately be best for us both & of course because I love him.... & he does love his trooping :o)

OK I must find out how to update here on my iphone, that will lead to more regular updates I feel!!! until next time ttfn xxxxxxxxxxxx

potty training update...

Well what can I say, Lyra has amazed us all. On wednesday & thursday (days 2 & 3) we had accident after accident & I became pretty disheartened about the whole toilet training thing... then on friday she agreed to use the potty in the park (!) for both a wee and a poo, loved my reaction & was so proud of herself that there were no accidents that day... & in the afternoon when David came home we heard the toilet flush upstairs. Lyra had been for a wee on the toilet & flushed without any prompting! well to cut a long story short we've not had an "accident" since thursday & she has usually been willing to sit on both potty & toilet. She's pretty well aware of when she needs to go & can hold it for ags. She is more resistant when we suggest going unless she fancies doing it for the novelty but we're getting tthere & I;m so proud!

Potty training!!

Today has been a real breakthrough day for Lyra in terms of toilet training. After weeks of resisting the idea of even having no nappy on she agreed to have knickers on (sparkly bright pink winnie the pook ones to be precise). First wee was on the floor outside BUT second wee was in the potty with NO prompting at the time & she pulled her knigckers down herself. Another (tiny!) wee folloowed later and then the piece de resistence - a poo in the potty just before daddy arrived home (again with no prompting - I walked int he lounge to find her sat on her potty doing a poo). She's been so proud of herself & it's been wonderful to have a chance to really really praise her for this without too much stress. Zero to potty trainedin one day! ok it's just day 1 but we shall see how it goes for the rest of the week. I also managed to get her into pull up nappies (aka "special night time pants") for bedtime, which is something she has always refused so I'm hoping nappies will now be out of the picture. Not looking forward to having to carry a potty with me at all times but hey that stage will pass soon enough & I'm so incredibly proud of her.
In other news, I had my progesterone coil fitted yesterday afternoon & was very nervous but it didn't hurt a bit & I've only had a tiny bit of spotting. Could something in the downstairs department really be straightforward for me?! who'd have thought it? Logan is being gorgeous & lovely as ever, thought he heatwave we're suffering at the moment is making him a bit restless & he's not slept much today. Fingers crossed for a good night's sleep then! Our new washer dryer arrived this afternoon -after 10 days with no washing machine I can't wait to have clean clothes & some order to the house again! it's so quiet night time laundry is an option too so may even make some headway tonight.
What a good day it's been!

With playgroups & general mumminess t's been a pretty busy week so I've not had much of a chance to update on here... The washing machine finally packed in terminally last sunday, an hour or so after we had ordered a new one to be ordered this coming Tuesday so the dirty laundry is currently reaching critical mass. Fortunately there are only 2 days before our new washer-dryer (wit 5-year guarantee!) arrives & this week is meant to be a nice one weather wise so we should be able to get through the laundry on Wednesday & Thursday.
Logan is becoming more and more strong, he can now roll back-to-front and loves kicking & batting toys on his play arch, row-row-row your boat & of course his favourite kissing game! he's such a good little boy, though 6pm is now becoming his sleepy time & he has a problem making it through to bath time. Usually he has one big morning nap, a big-ish afternoon nap & a few cat naps in between. Not been in cloth nappies this week due to washing machine situation!! Really can't wait to get his nice nappies out again.
Lyra has really been in the wars. After her head injury a week last friday she now has a black eye from knocing her cheek on the guard of the bed the other day & a bruise on her forehead from falling over with Rebecca & bashing her head against a radiator... Oh & on Tuesday she had washing powder on her hands & rubbed it into her eyes. poor little thing, it makes me want to cry to look at her. People will think we beat her! On a more positive note she went swimming with David this morning in her new wetsuit & it kept her warm enough to stay int he pool for over an hour - she had a brilliant time and even swam by herself (with float jacket & armbands) without getting too worried & really loved it. Then she had a great time playing with Rebecca and Toby this afternoon (while Logan dozed on Uncle Peter).
It's my mum's 60th Birthday on Wednesday. I already gave her her present of a wii fit & wii console but am so glad I spent a bit extra as she, dad and Daniella have used it loads - mum & dad have each used it more in about 4 weeks than I've used mine in over 2 months. They are all very competitive about it and dad is getting more gentle exercise than he's been able to in years. the balance board is out on the floor most of the time!

My sister Genni came to spend a bit of the day with us today, which we spent at the park & productively picking elderflowers to make into elderflower cordial (currently steeping in the kitchen but already tasting lush - I licked the spoon!) Genni fell through a window at our Godmother's house the other day & seriously cut her arm - a 30cm piece of glass was sticking through it & she had to have 21 stitches. Lyra went a bit funny after seeing the injury & didn't want to talk to Genni for a little while but that passed (& meant Genni could cuddle Logan in peace). She did recover from this very quickly & on the way back from picking the flowers was laughing hysterically at Genni as she pretended to eat some of the flowers we had collected.
Logan has been very chatty,in fact he has been all week - gurgling away cheerfully while being pretty clingy at the same time, weird combination. He's very contented but really likes to be cuddled lots but will be put down, which Lyra never would be.... He does complain but is happy for a while, I'm happy doing a bit of baby wearing most of the time but sometimes Lyra really needs my attention without him but he's pretty good. & so gorgeous, sweet & scrumptious I don't really mind that he wants so many cuddles!!. He does lovely baby kisses at the moment, which basically consist of him turning towards me when I'm kissing his cheek and opening his mouth over my mouth. occasionally trying to gum me & smiling beautifically & cooing sweetly. Such an adorable thing for him to do! He also loves splashing in the bath & really concentrates on splashing with his arms & legs, looking really intense but happy.

Lyra : "I want to eat a slug"
Me: "No you don't, that would be disgusting"
Lyra: "I want to taste a slug aswell, it will taste like milkshake"
Hmmm... better keep an eye on her in the garden so she doesn't eat any milkshake-flavoured slugs!!!
Apparently "Boobie is so nice, I love boobie. it tastes like milkshake" So everything tastes like milkshake, I do hope my breastmilktastes nicer than slugs though!!!

Aren't children funny..

Lyra is really becoming a proper little madam, but she really makes me laugh. For example,
yesterday i put a basket of laundry on her trampoline to make it easier for me to reach when hanging it up. She suddenly went "I want to go on my trampoline, no mummy don't put the laundry on my trampoline." so ok, i took it off & she got on the trampoline & said "naughty mummy, it's Lyra's trampoline not mummy's trampoline" & she PUSHED me (in an "oi" type of way if you know what i mean!) She's really into imaginary play now & will give me imaginary things all the time, if I'm looking for something I often hear a little "I found it mummy!", turn to her hopefully & 9 times out of 10 it is literally nothing - an imaginary item that she passes to me. This age is so sweet, but so demanding!
Logan had his first imunisations yesterday, poor little lamb (he DOES make funny bleating noises, I swear it's from David's welsh ancestry) - he was inconsolable after the 2nd one & screamed loads more than Lyra did at hers. Even after I managed to calm him down, when he eventually accepted my nipple to nurse, his little face kept crumpling & his eyes filled with tears. Luckily he didn't have any ill effects other than grumpiness (another trait from daddy! lol!) & has been his usual cheerful self today., he's such a happy little boy I find it harder if he's sad!

David has taken Lyra to playgroup without me this morning, it's the first time she's gone anywhere without mummy since Logan was born 9 1/2 weeks ago & she was NOT happy that I wasn't coming!
My tax credits were lesst han I expected when i checked my bank account this morning so i had to phone up with an estimate for my salary for this year. I'm not working for most of the year as on maternity leave so really wish thy had taken this into account but they didn't even ask the question, just asked about last year on the renewal form & I was working then, SILLINESS!

About my family

OK this is my blog but it's about my family so I should probably introduce the members of my little family who my life revolves around -----

David...... My wonderful husband is a project planner for a manufacturing company & wishes he wasn't. He's such a big softy that if money was not an issue I'm sure he would be working with children or animals. He loves IT & fiddling with computers is his main hobby, when there's nice weather he enjoys cycling, flying RC gliders and going for walks with us :o) We met in Uni through our mutual friend Wade in 2000 when I was in my first year & he was in his final year, have been together since October 2001, were married on 14th may 2005, bought a house together 3 months later and are pretty much made for each other ♥♥♥

Lyra ... our beautiful daughter, born on 28th January 2007. She's a very wilfull 2-year-old at the time of writing this & always wants her own way - often getting it! Despite this stubborn streak she is fantastic & a very sweet, polite & caring little girl - we get lots of pleases & thankyous & she likes to do tings that make us happy - the pride in her face is priceless when she does something by herself or something to make us smile.... With strangers she can be shy but does warm up eventually (once she has stopped hiding). I know most parents say this but even my Health Visitor has commented on how incredibly bright she is - people tend to think she's 3 rather than 2. Her speech & grammar are better than a lot of adults, she can count to 20 & recognises a lot of letters already. I have the feeling she will be a lot of hard work one day!!!

Logan ... our gorgeous baby boy who arrived in our lives on 20th march 2009 is currently 2-months old (9 weeks & 3 days to be precise). He was 3 weeks early but has more than made up for being "just" 7lb 7 at birth & is already in 3-6 month clothes! He's a very smily, laid back baby but does love his cuddles (especially milk-fed mummy cuddles) & will complain loudly if they aren't forthcoming when he "asks"