BLURRED VISION

Teeny - 365

No, it's not your eyes this picture really is that blurred, but it is the only one we have of you from today.  Sorry!

OVER THE FENCE

D - 365

Here you are playing a little game that you, your sister and our next door neighbour have devised between you; playing catch over the fence even though you can't see each other.  I love how this makes you giggle.

KEEPY UPPY

A - 365

ALL PARTIED OUT

Teeny - 365

Today we went to the christening party of one of A&D's school friends.  You had so much fun, but this is what happened in the 10 minute journey home.

A RELAXING BATH

D - 365

RAPUNZEL

A - 365

Despite my suggestions you are adamant about the fact that you are growing your hair and are desperate for it to reach your bottom.

EI-SHA

Teeny - 365

Your brother and sister often poke their head round here to have a chat with the little girl next door and so today you thought you would see what happened when you tried.  You called and called  and called her, but unfortunately she never came.

IN THE BUCKET

D - 365

How much fun can one boy have with a tennis ball and a bucket?

SNUGGLING DOWN FOR THE NIGHT

A - 365

HMMM, I WONDER.

D-365

FLAT OUT

Teeny - 365

It's Friday night which means I get to put you to bed, but today you were so tired that you were asleep before we got there.

BLURGH!

A - 365

GIDDY UP

Teeny - 365*

*Argh!! I don't understand why my black and white photos have recently started to look sepia on Blogger.

COUSINLY SNUGGLES

A - 365

D - 365

SOME NIGHTS ONLY DADDY WILL DO

Teeny - 365

CUSKI

D - 365

All three of you have been given Cuski comforters when you were born.  I've always made sure that, they have stayed in your beds unless we were having to leave you somewhere unfamiliar and then  we sent them with you to make things a little  more homely for you.  Your sister has never been that fussed by hers, but both you and Teeny have been very fond of them.  You don't sleep with yours anymore, but were very excited to have discovered it at the bottom of your bed today!

EEYORE

A - 365

Our friend gave me Eeyore about seven or eight years ago when I was struggling with depression.  In case you were wondering Eeyore wasn't chosen because he was gloomy like me, but because our friend had Donkey from Shrek who I often tried to smuggle out with me, but he couldn't get hold of Donkey so Eeyore was the next best thing.  Eeyore is bittersweet because he reminds me of a really difficult period in my life, but he is also reminds me of some very lovely friends who helped me through that difficult period in my life and so to me he represents hope.  Despite having a gazillion soft toys of your own you love my Eeyore and when I look at this photograph he still represents hope; my hopes and dreams for you.

BOO-BA?

Teeny - 365

No son, that would be your belly!

BOOK CORNER BOOKS

A - 365

D - 365

When we go into school in the morning you get to choose a book from the book corner to bring home with you.  On the days when I work evenings I try to make sure I can sit down with you to do an activity before I dish up the dinner and go up to start work and quite often that will be reading your book corner books.  I am still really struggling with all of the time that you spend at school and my resultant loss of time with you and so I really cherish this little bit of time with you both.

THE FAVOURITE KIND

Teeny - 365

Middle of the night snuggles, like the one you are waiting for here, are my favourite kind; scooping up your sleepy body and having you nuzzle your head into my neck while I carry you into my bedroom is one of the things I will miss the most as you grow up.  I occasionally still manage to get away with those snuggles from your brother and sister and I already dread the day when one of you chooses not to snuggle with me anymore.

COME AND SNUGGLE WITH ME DADDY

D - 365

HAIR TWIZZLE

A - 365

I would imagine that I have mentioned elsewhere on this blog about our little lady's love of playing with hair and so here is the proof; she even does it in her sleep.

COUNTING MY BLESSINGS

Teeny - 365

I look at my beautiful baby boy sat there surrounded by so much love and I cannot help but to be so truly grateful for him and for the three who love him and who would move heaven and earth for him.  How blessed he is to be immersed in such love and how blessed I am to be the final piece in that jigsaw.

MOMMY, CAN WE HELP?

A - 365

D - 365

I don't have time to be precious about the house; I figure that when you are bigger and have left home I will have all of the time in the world for a pristine house and for now I do what I can when I can.  Having said that I do have days when I need to cleanse certain rooms and today was one of them so today while you pottered with Daddy I started sorting the shoes and cleaning the plastics, but then you two came out wanting to help and then cleaning the hall and the porch became much more fun.

EXPLORING LIFE'S PATH

Teeny - 365

FLOWER POWER

D - 365

Here you enjoying Beacon Park, Lichfield.

MAKING DINNER

A - 365

You often like to help me with my jobs in the house and so today you and D made your own dinner.  Granted it was only pizza (using a wrap for the base and some left over veggies and meat that were in the fridge), but nonetheless you were very proud to have made it by yourself and rightly so.

SITTING STILL

Teeny - 365

I have noticed recently that your attention span has grown somewhat and you seem happy to snuggle in with your brother and sister to watch the television for a little while if it is on or to listen to music or to sit at the little table in the living room and play with the toy food.  This is just another reminder to me that you are growing up so fast.  My beautiful baby is slowly disappearing before my eyes and whilst I miss him terribly I am enjoying getting to know the lovely little boy who appears in his place.

SCOOTING

A - 365

D - 365

On Fridays Daddy has to pick you up from school and today was his first Friday.  He doesn't have the car because I need it for work and so you either have to catch the bus and then walk or walk all of the way (which would be a good 40 minute walk for me if I were to walk briskly and so probably more like an hour for you).  The weather was pleasant today and so Daddy suggested taking your scooters for you to ride back from school.  I humoured him, but I actually thought he was crazy to think that you manage to ride them all of the way back.  Oh how wrong was I?

CAN I STAY TOO?

Teeny - 365

You get so excited when the teachers open the doors for us to drop off your brother and sister; I often think you would stay there if you were allowed.  Today Daddy did the school run and, not knowing any better, he took this cheeky photograph of you playing outside before you both left.

DINOSAUR STOMP

My gorgeous big boy.

Today's 365 photo of you was supposed to be a still from a video I took of you doing the "Dinosaur Stomp".  You told me that you do this as a 'Wake Up Shake Up' at school so we found it on You Tube for you to do at home and it was so much fun to watch you and your sister having fun copying the moves.

I played my video of you after I took it and it was fine, but when I came to take a still from it I couldn't get it to play; it seems to have corrupted or something and I am nowhere near technologically savvy enough to know where to start in trying to retrieve it.

So in honour of your Dinosaur Stomp  today I have linked to the You Tube film.

HUNGER V THIRST

A - 365

School makes you hungry.  Your packed lunch is bigger than the lunch you would have at home and then, despite of the fact that we eat dinner only about an hour and a half after we get back from school, you have taken to having a little snack I between.  Thankfully school also makes you thirsty too, thirsty for knowledge and we are all trying our best to keep you well hydrated..

FANCY A DRINK?

Teeny - 365

SO PROUD

A - 365

D - 365

Bless the three of us so proud of your achievements at school; A of your pink star, D of your Angry Bird's writing and colouring and me of how hard you two are trying at school.

PROFILE

Teeny - 365

19:33

A - 365

D - 365

I find you two being at school emotionally exhausting, you two, on the other hand, find it physically exhausting.  Three minutes after Daddy put you to bed I came in to give you a quick kiss and this is how I found you.

DADDY SNUGGLES

Teeny - 365

I can't even begin to describe how much you love this man; it is off the scale.

FIRST DAY AT SCHOOL

A - 365
D - 365

How did this happen?  How did you two get old enough to go to school?  In spite of the fact that you have both, at times, driven me mad over the summer break I am just not ready for this moment; this day has come around far too quickly for me.  Today was hard, but I know that I will be feeling it so much more tomorrow when I am not at work and have too much time on my hands.

MIND READING

Teeny - 365

"Oh no it's all over my face mommy" he says as he holds his head in his hand.  "It should actually be in my belly." 

 

Ok, so you are too young to have said all of that, but I know that is exactly what you are thinking.

I FORGOT (AGAIN!)

A - 365

D - 365

Today was yet another day when I didn't get round to taking photographs during your waking hours. 

 

Now that  I am working 31 hours per week, more than half of those hours during the evening, (and you will be at school all day from tomorrow) I am finding this 365 project more challenging than ever.  The photos are nowhere near the standard I had hoped they would be by now and I just don't seem to be able to find the time I had wanted to play with and practice photography and teach myself more.  My standards for this project have lowered dramatically over the months and now managing to a blog a photo of each of you more than a few times per week and to take any kind of photograph using anything that takes a photograph at some point before midnight each day feels like a massive achievement.  We will, however, discretely gloss over the masses of photographs that I have on the laptop that I haven't even found the time to blog yet!

 

Anyhow...onwards and upwards!

BRUSHING UP

Teeny - 365

Despite the fact that that you have lots of toys to play with this is how I found you this morning; trying to sweep up with my grotty old dustpan and brush.

CATCHING UP

A - 365

D - 365

Now that the four of you are getting older and having to spend more time at school/nursery you will not be getting to see each other as much as you would like so while your daddies were playing with their toys out riding their motorbikes today the four of you (not to mention us mommies and your little brothers) got to have a lovely catch up.  The fun didn't stop there though; when the daddies came home we all had a lovely dinner together.  I really couldn't think of a better way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

UNCHARTERED TERRITORY

Teeny - 365

We are down to around one booby (or booba as you call it) per day now; usually at bedtime on the four evenings I don't work and mid morning on the days I do my evening hours.  It is extremely rare for you to fall asleep at the breast at bedtime now though and on the odd occasion that you do, like today, I wonder whether it will be the last and it sends me on a train of thought about where our breastfeeding journey is heading. 

 

I am well and truly into uncharted territory now you see; by the time your brother and sister hit 15 months they really weren't very interested in feeding from me anymore and, if I am honest, probably hadn't been for a while.  I am so thankful that our breastfeeding journey is still going and I think I would quite like it if you and I could get to your second birthday, but I am not sure how I feel personally about anything beyond that.  I am not at all against "extended" feeding (I do hate that phrase though, why is It extended and not just normal?), but our breastfeeding experiences are very personal to us and as happy and unphased as I am by seeing somebody feeding a child beyond their second year I just don't know I would feel about actually doing it myself. 

 

We shall just have to wait and see where this road takes us I suppose.