Georgia & Bobs

This bank holiday weekend has been absolutely amazing! Our besties (aka Bob's Godmother and Godfather) Bear & Matt came to stay with their gorgeous little Georgia. With just 6 weeks between them the pair of them have almost become inseparable!  Wherever Georgia went, Bobs followed and vice versa!

It's also amazing how much you can cram into a Bank Holiday weekend too! The Booths didn't arrive until 12 noon on the Saturday so we gave the kids some lunch in the garden and then they both went up for a nap so we could all enjoy some lunch of our own and a good old natter. Then we walked round to the park in the village.

The weather was a bit drizzly but it was just so nice to all be together and get in some fresh air. The kids played for ages on the swings and just charged round.

On our walk home we stopped off at Gill & Derek's for a cup of tea in their garden and a little play in Bob's favourite red and yellow car. Before we knew it we were all in the full swing of the Hokey Cokey.....a party is never too far away when Bear's around! Bobs was loving it, like literally falling over with laughter!

That night Chris cooked us a nice chillie and we had more of a good natter before being up early

with the kids the next morning. On the Sunday it was glorious sunshine so it was off to the Splash Pad in Brintons Park for us with a picnic! Georgia absolutely loved the splash pad - Bobs was not so sure. He's always loved swimming and bath time but he seems to be going off water a little bit now. I'm not sure if it's the coldness of the water, or the shock when other children splash him. Anyway the little tinker decided he loved it if I went down the slide with him, so it was me being the one to land in the big puddle at the bottom!

We all came home so the kids could have a nap and then later in the afternoon popped to De

Beers for an ice cream and the kids had a play outside.

Just everything was perfect. The bath times together, the story times, the kids sitting at the table banging the table for their breakfast...it was all magical. I wish they all lived closer. Can't wait for our next get together.

A sibling in heaven

I don't think there's anything more exciting in life than seeing those 2 lines on a pregnancy test that shows you a whole new human being is on the way! When we tested for Bobby I had no idea I was pregnant. I just thought I had trapped wind! I had bought some jelly babies, wind relief and a pregnancy test on my way home from work after feeling sick and was literally in shock seeing the result! Happy shock of course, but still that amazing disbelief.

This time round I just knew it. Literally from Day One I said to Chris I was pregnant. I did a test which of course was way too early and came back negative. Then another test a week later, and another a week later and then finally on test 4 or 5 it came back with the positive result. A little brother or sister for the Bobster with a due date of 12th November. So very exciting.

I told my closest friends, and my family, and booked in with the midwife. I planned my maternity leave, made a list of jobs to do to help prepare like get their name down early at nursery and so on. I adjust my training sessions to ensure I didn't over do it. I started drawing plans for the spare bedroom and how that would become the new nursery.

I think all I've ever wanted in life was to be a Mum. I never stopped to think that along the way nature might have a plan of it's own.

Sadly the pregnancy resulted in a miscarriage which was just the most hideous time of my life. It was a threatened miscarriage for a few weeks..... I think hope can be a very cruel thing. I'm not sure I'll ever forget that chapter of my life, or the hopes and dreams and plans that little baby brought.

We'll try again and hope that a little rainbow baby can be welcomed into our family. I just felt this was too significant a thing to not write a short blog about. I may not be a mum of 2 (yet), but I am certainly a proud Mum to Bobby and this will make me hold him a little tighter, for a little longer and tell him I love him a little louder.

New Home

We're in!!! What a whirlwind that was! Bye bye Windermere Way, Hello Bolas Avenue!

Chris and I had been talking about moving on and off for years but it was never the right time. We've always kept an eye out in Hartlebury which is the village where Chris grew up and where he works and where his Mum and Dad live. But the property has always been so expensive and there hasn't been that much choice. When I was away for a weekend in Chester in July for Deva Divas Chris text me to say he'd looked round a show home at a new building site (Taylor Wimpey) in Hartlebury and that he thought we should reserve one. When he watts app'd me the pictures I agreed it looked amazing and started to envisage us already living there!

As soon as I got home we contacted Purple Bricks and got ours on the market. One viewing (I might add....led by me!) and we had secured ourselves some cash buyers and the full asking price. The rest as they say is history! I can't believe how quickly the time flew by and the weekend we got back from France, we were hurried into our new home!

4 bedrooms with one en-suite, a main bathroom, a downstairs loo, a family kitchen/diner with separate lounge an office and a nice little garden was everything we'd dreamed of! It will take some time to make it our own, but for now we're all very happy here!

Adventures in Wales

I had never heard of Mumbles before Hannah invited us to go and stay. My geography is pretty terrible anyway and my guess of it being 45 minutes away was a little inaccurate (more like a 3hour drive) but oh my goodness was it worth it! It's absolutely stunning! We managed to time the drive pretty well as Bobs and I instructed at Buggyfit on the Friday 10-11am and then drove straight from there which meant that Bobs had a nap from about 11-1230pm. Then we stopped for lunch at Starbucks which he absolutely loved...and then just another 90 minute drive to arrive at our destination.

Will and Hannah's house was lovely with such incredible views. We were so well looked after and made to feel so welcome and Bobs enjoyed exploring somewhere new! The Friday we just went for a little walk to get our bearings but this somehow ended up with Bobs crawling across the sand and beach into the distance making a right mess! He was absolutely loving it! When we got back we'd brought half the beach with us! It was no wonder Bobs slept well that night (he's not the best of sleepers in his travel cot). Then we were up early doors on the Saturday for the Swansea Bay Park Run. Unfortunately on this occasion Bobs couldn't join in as it was no buggies allowed so thankfully Will took on

childcare duty whilst Hannah and I ran as fast as we could to burn off last night's fajitas and wine! I was really chuffed with how I ran clocking 21:34.

After the run we had the chance to go for a little walk round Mumbles town itself which was beautiful. There are so many nice cafes and little shops. We also had an explore round the castle which was fun but a little tricky with the buggy! The Saturday night it was nice to chill after our days adventures and then with the big drive ahead on the Sunday we decided to just leave for home in the morning so we could get back to see Daddy.

It's safe to say the seaside....and in particular Mumbles....was a huge hit with Bobs. We can't wait to go again.

The Duo Normand

It's times like this that make me realise the only important thing in life is family. Spending time with my family away from the day job and the house work and the rat race is just simply awesome!

Chris and Phil had a big task ahead of them to try to retain their title at the Duo Normand in Normandy France having won it back in 2012. Although they've done nowhere near the training that they used to do, they now have lots of little eyes looking up to them!

The set up in France for a family holiday is ace. We went with Phil, Zoe and their kids Natalie & Elliot and also Andy, Caryl and their son Dyfan and then Andy O who was a Lone Ranger who had to put up with all of us and the kids!!!

The house was the same one we've stayed in a number of times before and it's just so big and spacious but better than that is all the safety and outdoor space it offers to the kids with a lovely big garden for them to explore, a swing, a play barn type thing and best of all a wheelbarrow....."Introducing Wheelbarrow Fit!"

Bobs was as good as gold the whole trip and really enjoyed having the time around the other children too. In future years when he's at school we might not be able to take him to France during these dates so it was great to make the most of it this year!

Oh and I probably should say, that Chris and Phil did win the event again! By something crazy like 6 seconds! I can't say the kids enjoyed the waiting around for the podium that much at the
end but nonetheless we're super proud of them!

Heartache and promises

I made a promise to Bobby to love him always, no matter what. For me, so far, it's been incredibly easy to fulfil that promise. I have never faultered, never waivered, never questionned, never doubted. I just have this heart that is so full of love that it might explode!

But I also made a promise to protect him. Protect him from harm, from hurt, from anything unpleasant. It breaks my heart a little bit that I can not fulfill that promise. Last week Bobby had his 12 month jabs; 4 needles (yes 4!!!) in his legs. What's worse was that I didn't go with him as I was working so my Mum took him. I felt terrible! I was consumed by guilt that day, frantically texting Mum to see how he was. Thankfully my Mum is amazing and took photos of Bobby on the swings and enjoying his day with her after the jabs so all seemed to be OK, but it can make him feel pretty rough for 2 weeks afterwards so he's been extra cuddly lately.

He's also teething really badly. I actually think there's a molar on it's way through as he couldn't get his thumb any further back to munch on!!! It must be so painful for him!

Then to top it off we fell up the stairs. I lost my footing whilst holding Bobby and we fell forwards. Of course I couldn't put my hands out to break the fall as I was holding Bobby so his head slammed into the edge of a step and it was the worst possible timing as we'd just had the carpet pulled up. Oh my God did he scream, and how I cried! What a horribly hideous day! We went straight to A&E and I still cried as I rocked him, how useless I was at keeping my second promise!

But it wasn't all heartache over the week. We had some pretty fabulous times too especially going to 2 birthday parties on Sunday (one was 1-3pm and the other 3-5pm - couldn't have timed it better if we'd planned them ourselves!) Bobby is pretty oblivious to other children at this stage - but does love dogs!! And he did find a random wooden garden toy that he played with on repeat over and over again.

We also enjoyed a lovely day in Bewdley with Bobby's Nanny Neen. Mum and I sat and had a cuppa whilst he climbed a hill, and then rolled down it. To us, it would literally be 2 steps, but to him it must have seemed so steep. We had a chuckle as he tried to crawl down it - his little legs had to move so fast so that he didn't face plant! For me, these are the best times with my son. The times that we just find joy in simplicty. Right there with a cuppa, and a hill. And although I can't promise to protect him, I can promise him that he will always be my world and I'll do my very best for him.

Bobby's First Birthday

Happy Birthday Bobby xxx

What is a one-year-old?

A one-year-old 
is so many things,
a tiny discoverer of butterfly wings,
a hugger of teddies,
a sweet sleepyhead,
and someone to dream for
in bright years ahead…

A special new person
who, right from the start,
has a place in the family
and, of course, in your heart.

And, just when you think
that you’ve learned all the things
that your dear one is
and the joy that they bring,
a hug or a grin
comes with such sweet surprise
that love finds you smiling 
with tears in your eyes!