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!

Our Christmas in pictures

On Christmas Eve the children snuggled up with Daddy in their new PJs to listen to "'Twas the Night Before Christmas"...



I finished the masses of wrapping we had left to do(!) and piled the presents under the tree... the toy box is underneath the pile!!


Logan woke us at about 5.30 and after playing with him and trying to keep him quiet for over an hour we gave him his stocking (and opened ours) before Lyra came in and joined us at about 7.30 to open hers :)


Everyone got dressed and went downstairs for breakfast (breakfast BEFORE presents of course)


Then the serious business of present opening began in earnest....


Logan wasn't too sure about the opening presents and I think was a little overwhelmed, though he did try to eat the wrapping paper when he did tear a bit off...

OK he does seem rather uninterested in the farm animals I lovingly made for him, however he does play with them (and chews them!) a lot

Lyra, however, was quite a pro at the present opening thing and opened a lot of Logan's too (and ours). This is a little bag I made for her for the kid tough camera that was her main present.

Even Cassie got into the festive spirit and suffered a jingly jangly fluffy festive collar for a little while

And then we generally played, nibbled, cuddled etc etc etc.... as you can see the lounge was rather a state by the time the Opening was complete!

& that was our Christmas day! of course int he run up we had numerous parties, Lyra's first Nativity with preschool, Christmas Eve with my family and so on but that was the day itself, a lovely family time with presents and happy exciteable children. Unfortunately Lyra was poorly and Logan was teething but everyone managed to be in good spirits and we had a lovely day... can't wait until the next one! x

Goodbye 2009... Goodbye to the noughties!

Hello, hello! It's new year's eve night and I can barely believe it, the ups and downs of this year are many and I've certainly fitted a lot in but the year has gone very fast for me... Christmas was lovely, unfortunately the children were both poorly but the presents helped perk Lyra up; I will put up a couple of photo posts to summarise the whole of my busy December but will have to put the pictures on the pc first :o)

So a new decade... At the start of this decade I was in my final year of school so in the midst of a-levels. I went to plymouth uni in September of 2000, meeting the love of my life soon after though it was october 2001 when we started dating as I started the 2nd year of my degree.... In September 2002 we moved in together after a difficult year long-distance, I graduated with a 2:1 honours degree in psychology in 2003 and we moved to Bristol to look for jobs... And in 2004, a couple of months after David proposed (on a gondola in Venice! Who says romance is dead?!) we moved to Taunton... 2005 was the year that we married and bought out first house as soon as we returned from honeymoon. 2006 was one of ends and beginnings; my grandma passed away on mothers day and Lyra was conceived around our anniversary. My pregnancy was difficult and I spend more time throwing up than is fair, the birth was worse though and nearly finished me off.. However Lyra and I both survived her arrival in January 2007 though I found that year very hard I never neglected to notice how beautiful, sweet and clever my little girl was. In 2008 I started a new career when the bank I worked for neglected to have a job for me and made me change contract.. I began work as a healthcare assistant at the local hospital. We decided to try for another baby in the summer and Logan was conceived immediately just like Lyra had been. Logan arrived in march this year and 2009 has been a year of blissful motherhood, despite a few challenges and the anxiety of Lyra starting preschool!!

Every year has brought huge changes to my life and the lives of my little family. I do hope that the next 10 years is a little less testing but I am undeniably happy with my wonderful husband and beautiful children. I am in two minds about returning to work in march, I must admit I wish we could afford for me to stay at home with the children but I do love my job and it carries its own rewards.

As for resolutions? I would like to resolve to be more organised in 2010.. I hope to be able to fit in plenty of crochet and making things for my family and I am so busy that organisation can only help! Perhaps this will be something I can teach myself this year? I want to be more positive and try not to take things so personally too. I do tend to interpret things badly and assume people think the worst of me, which is silly really since it is me who is hard on myself... Finally; I intend to do more exercise and have a generally healthier lifestyle because my pelvis pain has meant that I have done much less than I want to in 2009....

HAPPY NEW YEAR! xxxx

Thankfulness...

I'm so thankful for my family who I
so much

I know I'm in the UK But I reckon it's great to be thankful for what you have.... OK right now I'm very thankful that the children are both asleep after a VERY trying day, that David is letting me sit quietly for a bit and that I have a nice big bottle of Baileys to dip into this evening. However I am mostly thankful for my wonderful family, despite the difficult days. Everyone has those and it makes us appreciate the good after all. We are all healthy, happy and really don't want for much at all. Except sleep. Oh yes that would be good....

I'm hoping Logan's teeth will finally break through soon as he is obviously in pain with them poor little lamb - poor me too as he screams a LOT at the moment & is usually such a happy wee boy. He does find playing peepo hysterical & laughs at his sister doing funny things so much. Baby laughs are so infectious!

Lyra has also been teething! her top and bottom 2nd molars on her left side are finally through (weren't 2 weeks ago) & hopefully the right ones will follow soon. all her teeth came through left side first. She has been very lovely & very trying in equal measures today. She is so good at emotional blackmail & sobs when I leave her at preschool only to stop the moment I leave almost in tears myself. She says "I love you sweetheart" to me so often & thanks me beautifully by saying "thank you for boughting me (XYZ) I love you honey" how heart-melting!

As for me; I saw my ward Sister today after physio (my boss) & have started the ball rolling for my return to work starting with one 12 hour night a week in March as I need to take my holiday first. she has referred me to Occupational Health. My hip is improving slightly. I've not had to use my crutch at all since tuesday. Still hurts a lot but not as bad as last week at least. at least my hands are OK so I can still crochet! I finally put up my pig pattern on Blog 2....

David is still obsessed with Stormtroopers & is off on a troop on 2nd December & he won't be home until 11pm - having left for work at 7.30am. rather sucks for me but he does enjoy it I suppose. I'm not sure about my feelings on the matter at present I must admit.... but i do love to see him so enthusiastic.

& it's not just my little nuclear family that I am thankful for; my lovely sisters who I love so much and appreciate hugely; my parents; the CAT even!! What would life be without such love? I'm a lucky mummy/wife/daughter/sister/friend....... How about you?

October?!

Goodness me, it really is well & truly Autumn now... where did the summer go?! It's most definitely time for an update on us as it has been far too long, I just don't seem to have stopped!

Lyra has been at preschool for a month & is still crying when I leave her & begging me to take her with me but not for so long as at first so it's all progress. She does admit to really enjoying herself while she's there and it's just the moment of separation and the build up to it that upsets her so very much. It's absolutely heartwrenching for me though and pretty tough for her too. I often feel like crying too when I leave though! She is having fewer tantrums recently but is still definitely int he screetching & howling stage of her development, hard to handle when you have a 6-month old who is crying because he wants to be picked up too! She is wonderfully sweet in equal measures though, probably more than she is trying in fact... A couple of recent notable moments between my two lovely babies - Lyra crooning coftly to a crying Logan and saying "I'm here big little dude, I'm here" soothingly & just yesterday "Oh little boy don't cry, I will wipe your tears". She's so protective of him & has been known to chase other children away from him snarling "he's my baby brother!"
Logan is getting so big! Last tuesday at 6 months & a few days he weighed 19lb 1oz. I had been expecting him to have exceeded the 20lb mark though so responded "is that all?" in surprise! He's generally such a smiley little lad but has een a bit more demanding recently due to a nasty bout of croup, which has also seen him waking up coughing dreadfully 5 or 6 times a night. not fun! He's mostly recovered now though and the nice lady doctor that I took him to see was rather taken by him and he was flirting shamelessly with her & jumping up & doewn & asking for a cuddle! We visited her twice and the second visit she really noticed how he was even MORE bouncy & happy than the visit 5 days before as he was recovering. He is well and truly sitting without any help at all, rolls front to back more often now, tries to bum shuffle but gets carried away but can manouver himself a good few feet when he's lying down. He's eating loads & on the advice of my health visitor he's on 3 proper meals a day, lunch and dinner both full protein-based meals followed by pudding. I'm enjoying cooking for him though it's been harder to fit in with my own manic lifestyle!
I've been trying to get the house sorted so that it isn't in a perpetual state of chaos, the Ikea shelving units have arrived and been assembled the toys that are downstairs are in their new toy chest on wheels that hides under a bench, the new carpets will be fitted int he lounge, stairs & landing on monday so I've been trying to get everything together for that, the kitchen has been slightly rearranged and very much tidied, some christmas shopping has been done, I've sorted lots of Lyra's old clothes to sell at the Nearly New sale on saturday, David has been tinkering with his stormtrooper armour & spending time with our lovely new friends Ian and Sophie who are self-confessed StarWars nuts. (full summary to follow in due course!!) I've finally been to the doctor about my painful left hip (PGP still bothering me from pregnancy & getting worse) & I've been given a strong dose of ibuprofen (al i can have while breastfeeding) and been referred to physio pending an appointment, I've also crocheted a cardi for Logan (OK still umming & ahhhing over whether it's going to be a cardi or body warmer) & spent lots of time with my family. Genni has her first interview tomorrow - in London so argh! really hope she gets it as she's starting to feel a bit down because of the whole looking for jobs without feedback thing. Daniella has staerted Uni, had a meltdown & a panic attack & recovered & made friends & really sounds like she's enjoying it now..... Really appreciating my lovely sisters lately & will particularly miss Genni when she moves to London but we will definitely keep in touch..

Well that's a basic summary of some of our stuff, not much but plenty to be getting on with! Will try to keep updated more often but that's not really very likely until everything is a bit more together!!!
xxxxxx

hello!

Hello, hello - goodness it's been a while since I've blogged (over a week!) We have been rather busy, visiting my parents then in Bristol with my lovely sister Genni (staying at our Godmother's) then rearranging/ organising the lounge & sorting the garage while David was off work last week. Normal service should resume from now on....

Our 3 days away in Bristol were lovely, we went to the city farm with my Godmother, popped into the city centre, met up with Jenny & her twins who are 3 days older than Logan (we met online on pregnancy messageboard & she was my texy buddy but we ended up being in hospital at the same time!) & lovely chats - though 3 nights of drinking wine int eh evening followed by very poor sleep due to Logan's teething left me feeling rather hanging by the time we came home (via Ikea!) on wednesday!! It was fantastic spending a decent amount of time with Genni & Jo & Rob, who are very lovely & more like our Aunt & Uncle than anyone else. It was a bit like therapy though & I felt pretty wrung out emotionally by the end as we talked a lot about my childhood - & it was a pretty hard childhood in many ways that I'm not going to elaborate on. Some bits Genni shared in but I think some of it was new to her but it was good to talk it through. I'm so glad that I'm so close to her now, she's like a best friend and a sister in one..

The lounge is looking much better - a large part of the change has been to move one of our large 3-seater sofas out into the garage pending imminent rehoming (we hope!) so it feels very spacious. We're getting new carpets int eh next 3 weeks or so & some storage units ordered from Ikea online so really can't wait for the end of this month in many ways as the house should hopefully feel a lot more together... We did take the children swimming yesterday (more successful than last time as Logan had a mini wetsuit to keep him warm) & I made a huge roast dinner. David went back to work today but we've kept very busy & went to the park this morning & to Hestercombe with Tina & Lindsay & their children. we weren't home until gone 5pm so Lyra was knackered & I had to organise food with 2 screaming children!!

In other news Daniella has sorted her house for Uni - she didn't quite make the grades for UCL so is going to Portsmouth instead so had to find a house as halls were full. She's made friends with a nice young man called Josh who she will be sharing a house with (and 4 other students!). David's sister Vicky has announced she is expecting a baby in May which was rather a surprise as a week before conception her husband had been expressing that he did not want any more children (their kids are 6 & 8), & most important of all to our little family Lyra is starting pre-school tomorrow for the first time!! This will be the first time someone outside of our family has looked after her (Isa & Tom count as family really) so very big step for us. I'm rather nervous but managing to hide it well in front of her!

special delivery.....

David has bought himself a present... can you guess what it is from this picture of Lyra trying out the contents of the package that arrived yesterday....

Yes he finally decided that now is the time to invest in a full set of stormtrooper armour.. obviously!!! Unfortunately there is a little work to be done on the ensemble before I can reveal him in all his glory, ready to annihilate any rebel forces that may happen our way. He still needs his blaster and boots before he's fully ready, but he is so excited by the prospect of actually being able to take part in the comic book event (where several stormtroopers will be making special guest appearances) on 19th September in Taunton that it makes up for any expense - well the amount he's spent anyway....

Logan is more interested in bouncing around in circles, rolling onto his tummy and chewing things...

& has been rather distracted by being a bit sick today - well very sick really any time he wriggles it seems to make him sick poor lamb. He's got a bit of a chesty cough so I think that's upset his tummy a little.

What with Logan's sickness and Lyra's tantrums today has been rather trying, with about 1hr 45mins worth of screaming tantrums from Lyra this afternoon while Logan wailed because his dinner wasn't quick enough because I was trying to prepare everyone else's food too while being distracted by Lyra's howls. I was impressed with myself for keeping calm... We have managed to make time for playing with toys and having afternoon tea from a real fine bone china tea set that I bought the other day for just £5 from a charity shop - bargain as it has 6 cups & saucers, sugar bowl & coffee pot with lid & is a nice Royal Standard set. No matching milk jug sadly, only real negative as I really want a coordinating set. & for that price it's not a worry bringing it out for afternoon tea with a 2 1/2 year old, even if I do ask her to be careful. One cup already hs it's handle broken off so I think we'll just have to make sure we always have it on a table rather than on the picnic blanket as yesterday's breakage has shown! I think it's a lovely tradition to start that she'll always remember.

In the same charity shop I also managed to find a wooden elephant that holds a certain significance for me - it is slightly bigger than but identical to one that I already have - inherited from my grandma who passed away 3 1/2 years ago aged 90. She received it and its 4 fellows in graduating sizes (each grandchild has one, I am the middle grandchild so I have the middle sized elephant) as a gift from my grandfather when he was away in India, carved in a little Indian village.... & I have managed to find an identical one in slightly different wood so perhaps from a different tree. OK the tusks are missing (as are those of the one I already have) and it is slightly damaged from time and poor repairwork on a chip but I'm so happy to have it.How lovely, really - & how meant-to-be....

I've been absent from blog-land for this week because the plague descentded upon our house this week - that's right, Logan demonstrated his generous and sharing nature by sharing his sickness bug with us. I started puking on monday evening, david during the night & Lyra first thing int he morning. Looking after 2 children & a sick husband when unwell yourself is NOT fun I can tell you! I'm pretty certainit's NOT been swine flu because none of us had a fever & it passed so quickly... We're all mostly better now but have felt really achey and washed out ove the past couple of days. David had it worst as he has such a delicate tummy, I felt the most drained though due to breastfeeding and looking after everyone else.... all fun and games!!!

Yesterday my mum & lovely sisters came to entertain Lyra for us, whcih was great. Did somehow mean more housework though as David and I are a lot more strict about tidying up after Lyra has been playing with things so by bedtime Lyra's room was a real state and took a while to tidy. It DID mean that we didn't have to put up with Lyra's constant demands and leaping all over us though and we were able to do things like change the bedding and do laundry, which we weren't at all up to earlier int he week. After mum and Daniella had gone and Lyra and Logan were in bed I also got to have a lovely long chat with Genni, something that's always nicest face to face isnt' it...

Off to make a nice cup of tea now while Lyra watches Balamory and Logan has a nap!

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.

It's been glorious weather today so we took the children to the beach for the first time this year (& obviously Logan's first time ever) with my two sisters & my mum. Logan seemed quite content staring around him with his aunts pulling funny faces at him, though he did need to be fed once before we left to go there, twice ont he beach & as son as we got pack to my mum & dad's.. Felt I had my boobs out all day but then it is hot weather!! Lyra loved it, paddled in the water lots (water was very cold!)& was fascinated by the baby flounder I managed to catch in the net. She ate ALL of her blackberry ice cream & really didn't want to leave but after about 1 1/2 hours we thought it would be best to go back to my parents' house for some shade.

At Grandma & Grandads Lyra had a water fight with Grandad in the garden (she had a hose, he had a water pistol) splashed in the paddling pool & ran around naked while Genni chased after her to get her dressed. A lovely time was had by all generally!

I also have had a couple of parcels to open that arrived for me today, one from the book people (I'm addicted!), 1 with 2 bargain nappy wraps that I bought on ebay & one with some aromatherapy oils that i ordered as part of my attempt to help Lyra sleep better. All in all today has been a good one, really looking forward to the summer!

Lyra & Logan seemed to be conspiring against us last night, David spent most of the night in Lyra's room & I took 2 hours to settle Logan from 2-4am, which happens occasionally. He's usually a good sleeper but not last night! However I was cheered up this morning when some Little lamb cotton nappies I ordered the other day arrived & a bundle of 3-6 month clothes for Logan from Ebay. I'm very pleased with both nappies and clothes as I'm quite enthusiastic about cloth nappies this time around and obviously love baby clothes shopping. There's something lovely about nappies drying on the line... I made a pocket nappy myself the other day & am making another but waiting for the lastin elastic i've ordered before finishing it ... & my sewing machine to behave itself! Think i need to order thicker cotton thread as it keeps getting trapped int he bobbin case.
David's off work this week so after a lazy day yesterday we took Lyra to a local activity centre today, we all had lots of fun (David & I took turns to climb up with Lyra/ sit with Logan) except for Logan who slept throughout!! When we got home (just over an hour ago) Lyra was very tired & insistent on watching Come Outside but Logan was in a very chatty, smiley mood with me, chuckling away at me as I talked to him. He's getting so strong - earlier today he was rolling from his front to his back quite deliberately & got cross when his arm got in the way. He's currently resting against me supporting his own top half bolt upright.. They're both so lovely I can't believe I made them!

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"