23 years ago ...

23 years ago our son was finally born :)  By that stage I was two weeks overdue and had to be induced. I remember clearly leaving the hospital and taking him to Jon's office where he was put in his carrycot on the boardroom table so everyone could come and see him.  So, where have all the years gone because ....

this is him today :)

 Poor Hugh got woken at 7.45am (after a late night and on the first day of holiday from work) so that Emily would be able to see him open his presents. Unfortunately, Emily had to print something for school at the last minute and didn't see  him open them anyway!

 However, Alice was on hand and decided she wanted a closer look at what Uncle Hugh was doing

And ended up helping him open a present.  This little lady always puts a smile on his face :)

Hope you enjoy the rest of your birthday Hugh!

Love you xxx



Happy Fathers Day

This morning I popped round to Mum and Dad's to wish Dad a Happy Fathers Day. It was quite funny because as I got to the top of their road, my sister Kay arrived from the other direction :)

 We enjoyed an hour or so chatting with Mum and Dad. Dad got to open his presents and I got to take some photos :) 

 Kay

Mum

One of the topics of conversation today was the fact that it's only one week now until Norma arrives for her holiday :)  We're all looking forward to seeing her again.  When tickets are booked it always seems like such a long time until arrival date but this year I don't know where the time has gone because it hasn't felt nearly as long.  Unfortunately, the three weeks she's here will probably go just as quickly but we won't think about that, we'll just enjoy each day as it comes.

I have a few things planned for while she's over. Emily, Norma and I will be going up to Oxford for a couple of days. We're going to go and find a craft shop I haven't been to before (always a good thing) and I know Norma wants to go up to London at some stage too. 

Hopefully all this will give me more things to blog about :)

xx

As I said yesterday ...

I did say yesterday that I thought these photos might end up on a scrapbook page :)  Last night they were sitting on my desk just asking to be put on paper. This layout only took me 10 - 15 minutes as I had an idea of what I'd like to do with them already. The Bo Bunny Powder Blue Dot paper reminds me of the blue dotted material in Alice's quilt and the black lettering/typing ties in with the black on the rattle and book (letter stickers were Basic Grey Urban Prairie). As for the bumble bee, it was cute and the stripes tied iin with the rattle once again (also from Basic Grey Urban Prairie). 

Journalling reads : You are so cute at the moment we all just want to cuddle and kiss you! You're sitting on your own and today, when we put youon your tummy, you managed to go up on all fours. I wonder how long it'll be before you're crawling. One thing that hasn't changed recently is the fact that you put anything and everything in your mouth, especially the things we'd rather you didn't! Love you gorgeous girl xxx
Age: 2 days shy of 7 months :)        16/06/2011

Too cute!

I just love these photos I took this morning, they show Alice just as she is at the moment. Everything and anything goes in the mouth :o)   Today I watched as she tried to get up on all fours, she did it a couple of times but not for too long. I wonder how much longer we have before she's crawling (and I need a banister fitted so we can put up a stair gate ;o) ).  I have a feeling these photos could be on a scrapbook page soon!
xx

Another week

At the moment it looks like one post a week is about all I can manage. Life is busy and this week has been no exception. 

However, on Wednesday Alyssa came over to play with Alice while her Mummy took her big brother to see his new school. We hadn't been sure how she'd be but she was absolutely fine. It's so sweet seeing the two of them together and knowing that in another year or so they'll be able to play properly :)

Claire brought out loads of Alice's toys, so there was plenty to go around.

Alice just loves other children so she was in her element.

I've been slowly trying to work through things on my To Do list. When we changed the kitchen around I ended up with holes in the wall where the cupboards had been. I had filled them and sanded them and then tried a couple of tester pots on the wall (which I didn't like) then that's how it stayed. I finally painted over the sample patches and today bought a new roller so painting can be completed and the photo frame, that the children got me for my birthday, can be hung up.

That photo frame was another of my projects. It has space for 16 4x6 photos and I have finally chosen the ones going in it for now. I see it as a frame where the photos can be swopped around as and when I fancy, so it could well remain a work in progress!

My Project Life layouts had got a bit behind and I keep forgetting to take photos but, today, I sorted myself out and it's up to date again. I've had to think a bit about how I wanted this to work and for now I want it to be an overall picture of each week. I've let go of the idea that I have to have a photo from each day so now, for some weeks, there may be numerous photos from one day if that's what I want to remember - Cambridge was a good example of one of those weeks. I'm happier now and I've  also made a 6x4 journalling card where I can type everything up in one go and be done with it. It's a work in progress and I won't be surprised if I change things again but, for me, the important thing is to try and stay up to date. No photos of the recent pages as the lighting isn't good for taking photos. I'll try and do that soon.

Finally, I'll end with a photo of  Alice and Emily (taken before Emily went to school). It's not a brilliant shot but the look on Alice's face is just typical of what she's like at the moment - with the little tongue ready to stick out :)

xx

Roundup / Cambridge

I know I haven't posted for a while but we've been fairly busy. I had a birthday towards the end of May which was lovely and I got quite spoilt :)

 I now have my first Grandma mug from Alice 

 Claire and I met my friend Alison for coffee and cake in the morning which gave Ali a chance to play with Alice

 In the afternoon the family came round for (more) tea and cake but I didn't actually take many photos. I did get a few shots of Alice and Tyler - he was so sweet with Alice and such a help with handing out plates of food to everyone. Alice thought it was wonderful to have some little people around.

 Alice loves her Jumperoo and has been getting lots of use out of it - it's certainly been a good buy!

 This little toy has to be part of the appeal - it has material wings which she chews/sucks on all the time.

 Emily's half term was this week and we decided to take the opportunity to go on a little trip. We went to stay with my SIL in Thetford. They moved up to Thetford a few months ago and this was the first chance we'd had to go and visit. The  above photo was taken in our room for the time we were there and Beth was happy to see Emily again :)

 On Wednesday morning we caught the train into Cambridge. I warn you now that there are quite a few photos because we loved Cambridge - it's such a pretty place and the buildings are beautiful!

 One of the reasons we wanted to visit (we had been once before in Winter but it was too cold to fully appreciate everything then) is that Emily has her sights set on Oxford or Cambridge as her main choice of University. She's started looking early to get an idea of the Universities she likes (still 4 years before she'd actually be going to any) and I see nothing wrong with setting your sights on the top two :)

 The next few photos are of some of the colleges - mainly Kings College which I just love!

 Kings College

 Kings College on the left with the town on the right.

 We then went on a punt down the river - this was our punt coming in to the side for us to board. I was impressed that neither Emily or I fell into the water lol!

 I had been a bit unsure about the ride but am so glad we went because it was great fun and our punter gave us a running commentary on the different colleges we passed.

 Can you imagine this being your Halls of Residence? What a pleasure!

 The Bridge of Sighs, named after the one in Venice, which joins two parts of one of the colleges. We were told the only sighs heard were the sighs of relief or disappointment from the students who have to cross over the bridge to get their exam results and then back again.

Once the tour had finished, Emily and I crossed one of the bridges and walked along the opposite bank thinking we would cross back over at the next bridge.

 Unfortunately the other bridges were closed because students were writing their final exams and no tourists could enter so we walked round and back in to town again. It did mean we got to see Kings College from the other side of the river - another photo opportunity :)

 Crossing back into town we got a good view of the wooden bridge. 

By the end of the day our feet were aching and we were exhausted but I would do it all again without any hesitation. It was so nice to go somewhere where everyone was friendly and you felt at home as you walked around (even if you didn't know where you were going!).  Our next trip is likely to be to Oxford so we can have a look around the University there too. I imagine there will be more trips to other University towns in the months/years to come - what a good excuse to see some more of the UK! :)

And I'll end off for now with this photo of our lillies. They really have multiplied and are stunning this year. It's just a pity they don't last very long and will have gone over by the time Norma gets here in three weeks.

Now I've got a lot of blog reading to catch up on. I may not get a chance to comment on everyone's posts but will certainly be trying to catch up from where I left off.  I also have Project Life to catch up on as well - I could be busy this weekend :)
xx