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!

Logan had his second immunisations yesterday & I was relieved that he reacted a bit less hysterically than for his first jabs - of course he cried but then calmed down again rather than screaming for 10 minutes! David had stayed home so that I could concentrate on just Logan so we went swimming in the morning - Logan's first time. It was a bit too chilly really so Logan couldn't properly enjoy it but he didn't mind it. Tuesday mornings are baby splashabout sessions so that's a handy thing to know! Lyra stilkl dong really well with ehr swimming, we're so proud of her at the moment (just wish she would settle to sleep better at night!)
Lyra has been doing fantastically with her toilet training & has had 5 days in a row now with no accidents whatsoever. Of course we're still having to remind her regularly but she also asks for teh potty/toilet when she needs a wee so I'm really hoping accidents are few and far between now...
I'm in the process of making a crocheted Zombie for Genni as as graduation present (braaaains) & am hoping that I'll be able to make Daniella a pachycaphalosaurus for completing her A level & (hopefully!) getting into UCL to study Paleobiology.... I've only just got into crochet & I made a mushroom before this so perhaps slightlyambitious, we shall see though since the zombie is going well!

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!