Monday 10 December 2012

Dear Alice - 19/20 Months


Dear Alice,

You are now 19, nearly 20 months old!

One of the biggest changes in you over the past month or so has been your development with words. It would be impossible to list all the words you know - every day you surprise us! You are also starting to put mini sentences together to let us know what you want. I would guess at maybe 100+, with some of my favourite new phrases being "silly sauage" and "it's raining"!

It's brilliant being able to communicate with you more - you also have impeccable comedy timing!

Along with the word development, you have also started becoming much clearer with your numbers, and can count to 10 with a bit of help. You can also identify colours - red, yellow, green, blue, pink, orange, silver, black and purple. However you will only do this when not directly asked!

You love singing songs, which means I am pretty much constantly singing nursery rhymes at you - you love Twinkle Twinkle the most. A few nights ago I put you down to sleep and you sung it to yourself for 15 minutes and I nearly spent all night crying with how adorable you are.

You also love Old Macdonald, however he only ever seems to have ducks and cats...


You have become obsessed with Mickey Mouse and Peppa Pig. You alternate between which one, and sometimes you want both at the same time.

Yesterday we discovered that you love piggy backs, and I have also now discovered that you are VERY HEAVY! We weighed you on the scales and you are over 2 stone.

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Your hair is the most beautiful thing in the entire world. It curls into the most beautiful ringlets and I could stroke it all day. However you do not approve, and would rather spend the entire day looking like a mad scientist.

You have still been pushing your look with tantrums and throwing things, but you are also incredibly adorable, and know fully well how to use that to your advantage. You flirt shamelessly with strangers, singing them twinkle twinkle and blowing kisses.

We moved house last month, after spending months getting the new house ready. I hope you will be very happy here, and we will have lots of fun times. You seem to like it so far - but your room is the best in the house!

We are nearly at Christmas, and I can't wait to have a first Christmas with you where you understand a little more of what's going on. We bought you an advent calender but it ended badly - lots of tantrums and you demanding "more chocolate!". Perhaps next year!

Unimpressed So so cold!!!

Every month I think I couldn't love you anymore, and every month I do! You are incredible Alice.

With love and light xo

Sunday 7 October 2012

Dear Alice - 17 Months

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Dear Alice,

You are now 17 months old! Again, I'm sorry that I've missed a month out but time always seems to just slip through my fingers.

These past few months I've noticed such a distinct change in you, from being my tiny little baby girl, to my little toddler. It's been a strange adjustment to you no longer being a baby! You are also quite big for your age, and we've had to move into 2-3 for a lot of your clothes and vests.

After a hard few months you are now going to sleep loads better in the daytime, and most days having between an hour and 2 in the afternoon. You (most of the time) go to sleep on your own without us having to do anything which is a lot easier than singing or rocking you to sleep!

You have really come on leaps and bounds with your words - every single day you seem to be coming out with new words and sounds. You're also able to say most of them without prompting, and you completely understand what the word means. Just a few of the words you now say - cracker, banana, mummy, daddy, mama, nanny, slide, kitty, pussy, cat, robot, seesaw, swing, slide, park, teeth, shoes, socks, toast, iggle, duck, quack, ball, kick, no, nice, kiss, book, sun, light, nose, eyes, mouth, colour, clock and sorry!

Untitled Seesaw!

You're understanding of words and phrases has also come on a lot. If I say "bedtime" you will get your teddy and sit at the bottom of the stairs. Or if I say "breakfast" you will go and try and get in your high chair. Or if I say "kisses" you will run off giggling and shaking your head no!

You are constantly walking, running, playing and giggling. From 6am to 7pm you are pretty much none stop wanting to play! The first thing you ask for in the morning is "colour" and you love drawing pictures and swirls. You love to go to the park and burn some energy off, and if it was up to you we would be there every day.

Saturday life. Got to wear wellies to draw

You love dancing and singing to music, but have specific tastes. Sometimes you will love a song, then something else will come on and you will shake your head and say no! Maybe I'll keep an eye n your budding music taste incase you spend too much time with daddy...

Alongside all the lovely things, you are also developing a mardy streak! Especially if you've been forced into your pram when you'd rather be running round and making a mess. It's made going out anywhere none child friendly a million times harder! I have my first ridiculously mardy / screamy child in Tesco experience last week. You slammed your head on the trolley to get my attention, and when I got you out for a cuddle you ran off half crying / half giggling.

Kiss me mummy!!! Where's Alice? Oh wait.. In the toy box

You will have complete tantrums and melt downs if I take something off you, or won't give you what you want. Today you only wanted to eat carrots, and if I tried to get you something else you just cried about it.

However, mostly you are incredibly funny and sweet. You love spending time with people and being the centre of attention, making them laugh and playing silly games. It takes me forever to get anywhere as I have to stop and talk to people you have pointed at or sung to!

You are challenging and difficult, but amazing and incredible. Every day I learn more about being a mum, and every day you make me laugh.

With love and light xo

Wednesday 8 August 2012

Dear Alice - 15/16 Months

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Dear Alice,

I'm sorry I missed out your 15 month update - butttt, better late than never right?

You are now 15 months old - and an awful lot has changed round here! We've had a very busy few months and have barely had time to breathe, let alone write on this blog.

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You are now walking like a champ! You started about 6 weeks ago with a few tentative steps, and from that you have launched straight into running round like a complete maniac. It took you a few weeks to find your footing (literally), but you now don't crawl at all and love to chase the cat round. Poor kitty.

Speaking of kitty, you are now talking - but only saying 4 words! We have... kitty, daddy, shoes, and nose. Obviously the important things in life ;). I'm still waiting for mummy, which we say occasionally but I think mostly by accident!

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We also got married!! You were a flower girl at our wedding on the 16th June, and you were absolutely perfect. You danced and cuddled and were just lovely. Your cousin Amelia was also a flower girl and you both looked perfect. I'm so glad that we all now have the same surname and I very much love our little family.

You have also had 2 holidays in the last month - lucky duck! We took you to Center Parcs for our honeymoon and you loved the ducks, bunnies and squirrels. We took you swimming every day and we all had an amazing time. You also had your first overnight stays with grandparents which was very strange for us, but you were an absolute angel!

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For the other holiday we went with your nanny, granddad, and aunty Dayna to Devon for a week. We had such an amazing time as a big family!! You went to The Big Sheep which was brilliant, and you got to stroke lambs, feed the sheep, and bet on sheep racing! We also went to Exmoor Zoo and your favourite animals were the lemurs, the meerkats, or anything remotely "kitty" related! We went swimming loads and you're really getting the hang of your arm bands. You loved having time to spend with everyone and all the attention you received!

In Devon you also developed a new love of parks - slides and swings especially. This made everyone exercise by chasing you round the dangerous park of death! But the smile on your face when you come down a slide is absolutely worth it.

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You're developing so much every day - you now do the signs to songs with no prompting, and try and get dressed yourself / put your shoes on every morning. You recognise more words than you can say, as you sometimes (when you want to!) fetch the item I've asked for.

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You will also play happily with people or on your own sometimes, however we have also now developed the infamous toddler tantrum. I have no idea where it came from, but we now have arched back and screaming if I ever dare to try and make you do something you don't want.

This can be anything from "stop playing with the screwdriver" to "don't walk that way". It's a cross between frustrating, annoying, embarassing, and funny. I am not looking forward to this getting worse!

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But, you are one amazing little girl. You are so lovely and I love spending time with you. I can't wait to watch you grow some more.

Love you more than anything in the world.

With love and light xo

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Friday 1 June 2012

Instagram - May 2012

My life lately according to my iPhone! Follow me on Instagram @evenstarx :)

IMG_4859 Untitled Hen night! Untitled More burgers please! After dinner swim! Picnic times! I want what you've got mummy Untitled Untitled Jealous? Just shown Mitch my #thechase debut on ITV! Bathtime books! Mummy don't make me move! Happy Birthday! IMG_4606 Untitled Nom! Choc chip, blueberry and cherry muffins :)

  With love and light xo

Thursday 31 May 2012

Wedding - 16 Days

More wedding stuff... Even more wedding stuff...

So yeah, I might have forgotten to update in nearlly a month again. And completely missed out Alice’s 13 month update. I'm sure I'll get round to that at some point. Well I’m now and that’s what matters right?

In truth we’ve been really busy with what seems like a million and one things, including the fact I’m getting married in 16 days! How crazy is that? I feel completely under prepared but I’m just trying not to worry about anything – as long as we get married everything will be ok. Someone tell me this is true?!

I'm also trying not to be a complete "bridezilla". I'd never even heard the phrase before, and to be fair, it seems a little sexist. It seems to me that the groom is expected to do sweet FA while the bride frets over what colour ribbon for the bouquets, and where Aunt Gwen is going to sit. Yes I'm worried about stuff, and yes I'm nervous that everything is going to go wrong, and  yes I'm probably going to snap at someone before the end of it! But does that make me a horrible person? Or just someone planning a party with no prior knowledge of anything!

I haven’t really spoken a lot about the wedding on here, partly because it’s not that interesting to most people I’m sure. But partly out of embarrassment – what if I write about how amazing it’s going to be and then it’s rubbish? Or no-one comes? Or all my origami birds get squished? (Seriously – I wake up at 3am thinking about origami and AA batteries. Loser.)

I think part of my issue is the fact I’ve spent too much time on amazing wedding websites (apracticalwedding.com, rocknrollbride.com, offbeatbride.com) and I'm constantly comparing myself to them. I'm not indie enough, or handmade enough, or geeky enough, or beautiful enough. But then I can't compare our day to the traditional wedding websites or magazines, because I'm not traditional enough, or formal enough, or what it really comes down to - rich enough!

Our day is completely different to how I imagined it, partly because I never realised just how expensive weddings were, and are expected to be. At the beginning of planning I sat down and contacted about 30 places I wouldn't have minded getting married. And as the replies started to seep in, I remember being completely and utterly overwhelmed and shocked at the expense of it all. I kissed goodbye to my dream of a forest, or a lake, or any of the images I had in my head! I'd pictured beautiful trees and great food, with an elegant (albeit slightly LoTR) twist! But where had I got these images from?
The media portrays weddings as being a huge affair, but we just don't have the funds for this. The AVERAGE cost for a wedding in the UK is approximately £20,000 - and that is really just the average. We have gone absolutely nowhere near this cost, and still I find myself stressing about the finances behind weddings.

Plus it doesn't help that I have literally NEVER been to a wedding so I haven't got a clue about anything! 
But, we've prioritised things that are important for us. I would rather have more people there, and a simpler (cheaper!) wedding, as I can't imagine having to narrow down just who "deserved" to be there. I would rather have a simple wedding, and not be in debt, and still be able to provide lots of things for Alice. I would rather be able to move house (a story for another post!), than have a massive wedding.

And that's what I have to keep reminding myself. This was our choice. That doesn't mean I haven't had a bit of a sob about the lack of ponies dressed as unicorns and 11 year olds playing the harp while doing the trapeze, but our wedding will still be amazing. I hope.

Anyway, as long as I look awesome - what else really matters?!

With love and light xo

Dear Alice - 13 Months


Dear Alice,

This month you were 13 months old! You are going to have to stop growing soon or I’ll have to keep you in a dark box. (DISCLAIMER - I’m not actually going to put you in a box. Please don’t call Childline)

You have been standing much more this month, although only when you don't realise. I was so sure that you'd be walking by now, as you've been cruising since Christmas, but you are lazy. I wonder which parent you get that off?

You are talking much more, although the majority of it is gibberish! We've just learnt "uh-oh", which you normally say like it's a question!

You take particular delight in throwing all your food onto the floor piece by piece, followed by the "uh-oh". You definitely do not take after your dad in this respect - he would never waste good food.

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It has been beautifully sunny outside, so we've been able to get the paddling pool out and play outside loads. This has led to lots of picnics and parks and splashing and being naked. Obviously only you've been naked - we don't want to get arrested. You absolutely love the paddling pool, particularly getting in and out to make sure you get really muddy, and cake yourself in a kind of suntan lotion / manky water / mud and grass / yogurt paste. It really is delightful.

The cat and you are becoming firm friends, especially when you sit on the cat and stroke her head. She now tries to run away from you but you are quite fast, so she has resigned herself to a sticky cuddle and kiss occasionally.

You keep attempting to drown yourself in bath by lying face down and splashing like a frog. I've given up trying to stop you because it makes you so happy. You still smile at us with a big gummy grin as you have no teeth whatsoever!

Mummy and daddy are getting married in a few weeks, so you and Amelia are going to be beautiful flower girls! Please be good and if you could walk down the aisle that would be great.

You are starting to becoming mardy and throw tantrums. This is not great, as I thought I had a few months before this would happen. If you don't get exactly what you want, we have a complete meltdown,complete with stiff arms and legs and screaming. If you could avoid doing this on our wedding day that would also be great!

We love you more than anything in the world, and you are becoming more and more brilliant every day.

With love and light xo

Tuesday 22 May 2012

Alice's First Birthday

I never really updated about Alice's first birthday, so here's a quick one.

We had a brilliant day, and her birthday fell on the Grand National day. We always have a bit of a family get together for the race, so I just took a cake along to that! My Auntie kindly let us take over her house, and it was just lovely.

Alice obviously didn't have a clue what was going on, but she had fun opening her presents and eating food - what more could you ask for?

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With love and light xo