shop online....

Well the weeks are counting down now, I kind of thought I had lots of time 6 weeks back as I imagined there would first be 'summer' well that didn't exactly come! There was the new niece; mmm well she has arrived and then there is school for mini1, aaarrrgghhh she starts next week, so after that the next 'big' event is arrival of little boy bop (yes he is quite a dancer at least that is what i'm experiencing... he has some moves!)
Anyhow I've been checking out some more online finds and I just want to share these fabulous online stores and some of their lines, three are here for starters, I'll be sharing more soon.....

Laurette



Histoire

AM.PM

Welcome new niece....

and well done sis!
So I'm late posting this...in fact a week late I was hoping to post along with all the lovely news of cuddles and excited cousins, pictures and tactile news, but no!
We are seeing the second week of what feels like quarantine, almost 2 weeks ago it all started with A&E, since then we've had, breathing issues, lack of sleep, antibiotics, then last night Mr Loveliness walks in with the flu shakes! So you get the picture we haven't had a real welcome party to our new niece/cousin.

What is really sweet though is that 'O'the new big sister is very proud of her baby sister and has taken everything on board....enjoying the many (other) visitors along the way.
My sister opted this time for a hospital birth after having quite an ordeal last time. I'm thrilled to say that this time although it was still a very loooong labour following being induced she did have a natural (assisted) birth and with getting the right care for her she is now fully enjoying being new mum again and this time with the right prep and expectations of breast feeding she is going great in that area too.

Well to round off until our visit i'm thrilled to report that mum baby and family all well just a little tiredness now setting in.
New baby details....
* Female
* born at 39 weeks + 6 days
* on 16 Aug 2012 time 9.36pm
* 8lb 10oz

Here is baby......

These few words can have an assortment of reactions. When I told mini1 2 and half years ago that she'd be getting a new sister she was fine but then at just 2 years old herself I don't think she fully understood.  I find this time round very different, minimini1 now 2 years old is very much mamas girl and prefers mama over almost anything (except chocolate!) so she is showing similar reactions as what I experienced first time around, but I suspect on arrival she could be very different. Mini1 now however is four and very curious, upset at times but not about having an additional sibling but at the fact it is a boy, I think I've mentioned before as far as she is concerned the baby is a girl and she'll be called lovely!
I'm finding 30 weeks with a visible bump that the chats about baby are easier, there is something they can see ' the bump '. As with many topics there are amazing books out there and we ourselves have played with baby dolls but what I came across recently tops all this.
The very talented Fridas Tierchen. The new doll in the collection is this wonderful pregnant mama who has a bump, bump/baby comes out, baby is swaddled and popped into a sling. The simplicity, play and imagination is perfect for little ones and a great tool for explaining in a fun way how things are going to go. I think a trip to the online shop is to be added on the to-do list and there are some great fancy dress masks on there too, so possibly presents off baby to his new big sisters!

oops sorry!

We've had a lovely family weekend including an amusing mishap!
Okay so it was most amusing for me but I was oh so sorry......
This morning as I was just prepping breakfast; croissants and fruit salad Mr Loveliness came downstairs and handed me a pair a clippers saying "can you just check the back and tidy me up?" he was referring to his head as he wanted me to check the back of his hair line/neck. Without too much thought I did the small amount of trim that was required and then without thinking I asked him to lean his head back and started to randomly shave into his head?! Obviously he quickly turned and said/semi yelled "what are you doing?" Honestly I wasn't sure, no idea why I was doing it or what I was doing. I really wanted to apologise as I just couldn't believe what I'd done, I blame the bump and tiredness. Oh but the hair a great big square chunk taken out of the side! "Oh dear, chuckle chuckle" was all I could manage. This evening I look over to Mr Loveliness and am quite getting used to the grade 1 or 2 head look he has been kind of forced to support. At least it is summertime and hair grows back pretty quick.....doesn't it?

Remember me dolls

Following on from yesterdays post here are the pics as promised. When we were deciding on our farewell teacher gifts we did think about doing individual dolls that looked like the teachers. Mini1 though thought that this would be better..... dolls that look like her so that the teachers will remember what she looks like when she has left. I like the idea and biased as I may be I'm sure doll or no doll those who know mini1 will always remember her.
The added fun part to this was chopping up lots of letters and picking out the correct ones to spell names, Mini1 then picked the doll that she thought the teacher would like best.

eventful morning followed by farewell and hello makeries...

What a morning........
Post office visit for all the order that have piled in over the last 48 hours (smiley face)
Followed by what felt like supermarket sweep, why?
2 year old decided to kick, scream and have a major tantrum when I got her out of the car seat, continued to do so as i wrestled her into the trolley (with 4 year old hanging on the side) and screamed 'stuck...out' all the way around. I decided to approach this with an 'it's not happening' attitude as there really was not much I could do apart from give in to her and go home, frankly this was not an option.
The little one was one thing piercing me but more so was the interference, comments and raised brows of the grandparent generation, the raised eyebrows were further raised when they looked at the 4 year old (who was being very well behaved) in her full fancy dress attire and also the 'bump'.
Well all returned to calm once we got back in the disco, radio 6 on and homeward bound :)
On arrival home, minimini1 had a run round the garden with the hound before popping her up for a nap whilst mini1 and I designed and made farewell gifts ready for her last afternoon at day nursery which is fast approaching....photos to follow
We also had a little makery session with a mini family mobile-esque creation for baby, photos of this one also to follow....
Mr loveliness just arrived so off to prep lunch, be back later with pics x