1 August , 20163 May , 2017 - Sarah 16 Comments

Living Arrows 31/52 (2016)

I have been taking part in the Living Arrows project for two and a half years now; this is my 133rd Living Arrows post! It is the one post that I always do every week even when I’m struggling to find time to blog and there have been a few times when it is the only post I have managed in a week. And so I was delighted when Donna asked me if I’d like to host the linky this week while she is on holiday.

If you haven’t joined in before, Living Arrows is about celebrating childhood. The project originally took it’s name from a poem by Kahlil Gibran, “You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth” and every Monday we share a moment from our week and invite others to do the same as part of this linky.

Each week I share two pictures from our week – one of each of our children – but you can share one or more pictures that capture a moment of childhood.

So if you would like to link up, grab a badge (you can find the code on Donna’s post here) and post around a photo of childhood from the previous week. I look forward to reading your posts and make sure you visit a few of the other posts that have linked up and leave a comment too!

So first up, here’s a few of our favourite pictures from last week…

Very Much So

Odd Socks and Lollipops

Not Just Cake

And so to my photos this week…

This one of Gabe (with photo bomb from Toby) was taken when we got the keys to our new house last week. Both boys loved having loads of space to run around and explore in the empty house. We still haven’t moved in, our stuff is all being delivered tomorrow so hopefully we’ll be able to get things organised(ish) and actually move in in a couple of days.
On Saturday we took a day off doing house stuff and went to the St Anne’s Kite Festival. Toby loved seeing all the kite’s and running around on the beach. I love this shot of him – it’s quite hard to capture a natural expression on camera from Toby these days. I’ll share some more pictures of all the kites soon too.

I’d love it if you linked up your Living Arrows posts too:

An InLinkz Link-up

28 July , 201611 February , 2018 - Sarah 5 Comments

Lions and tigers and dinosaurs at Blackpool Zoo

This is a post I’ve been meaning to write for months! Back in May, after we’d been to Center Parcs, we went to stay with my parents in Blackpool so we could look at some houses. While we were there we took the kids to Blackpool Zoo with my mum. I’ve had these photos sitting on my computer ever since and just haven’t had chance to do anything with them until now!

At the entrance to the zoo there is a dinosaur section and after getting over his initial wariness Toby loved them.

Of course there were lots of live animals too…

Gabe slept for most of the time we were there but as you can see he wasn’t too impressed when he woke up!

Toby enjoyed himself though – he definitely liked the flamingos…

If I’m totally honest, although Toby did like looking at the animals he had the most fun walking along these benches in front of the elephant!

Blackpool Zoo is just round the corner from my parents house and my mum is a member so I’m sure we’ll be spending more time here now we live so much closer. Maybe next time we go Toby will be a bit more interested in the animals and perhaps Gabe won’t sleep the whole time!

26 July , 201625 May , 2019 - Sarah 3 Comments

Weaning with Bibetta and Messy Me // #messisbest

I have a confession to make – I love the idea of babyled weaning but I just can’t stand the mess! I will never be one of those mums who posts a picture on Instagram of their baby covered head to toe in spaghetti bolognese or yoghurt. However, I know that getting messy and exploring food is important for Gabe’s development so I do try and rein in my need to clean up every spill and drip whenever I can. Read more

25 July , 201624 July , 2016 - Sarah 6 Comments

Living Arrows 30/52 (2016)

We are still living in limbo at the moment – it’s over a week since we sold and moved out of our old house in Scotland but we haven’t yet got the keys to our new house. If all goes according to plan we’ll get them later today but then unfortunately it’s going to be another week before the removals company can deliver all our stuff that they’ve got in storage. So until then we’ll still be staying with my parents and hopefully getting some decorating done and giving the place a good clean before we move in.

We’ve been trying to keep the boys occupied while we’ve been staying here and getting out somewhere every day. At the end of last week we went up to Cumbria to meet up with Barry’s parents for lunch and a bit of a walk along the coast. Toby had great fun climbing on the rocks and of course found himself a stick. I’m not sure what he was doing here though; casting a spell maybe?

It’s been hard work keeping a constant eye on Gabe this last week – there’s so much of our stuff everywhere at the moment and of course he want’s to get into everything. His absolutely favourite thing seems to be this crate that we brought with us – it’s full of the kids’ food, snacks and plastic plates and bowls and he just loves pulling everything out. We’ve ended up with quite a lot of broken breadsticks and crushed biscuits this week! This isn’t perhaps the best photo, but I love that it shows what a cheeky monkey Gabe is becoming, or has already become!

The lovely Donna who hosts Living Arrows is on holiday next week and so has asked me to host the linky for her – please do stop by and link up and hopefully I’ll have some exciting pictures in the new house by then!

22 July , 201622 July , 2016 - Sarah 3 Comments

Living Arrows 29/52 (2016)

OK, so this post is mega-late this week because we’re in the middle of moving house, we’re living with my parents, the boys seem to be tag teaming us with their not sleeping, it’s stupidly hot and I packed hardly any summer clothes, and…..just arrgghh!!

Anyway, here’s some pictures of Toby and Gabe looking cute. Hopefully normal service will be resumed soon!

22 July , 2016 - Sarah 1 Comment

Gabriel is eleven months old

I only got round to writing Gabe’s 10 month update a couple of weeks ago so not much has happened since even though this update is slightly late too. Eleven months old seems to have come round very quickly – I can’t believe Gabe is going to be one next month!

We’re still waiting for tooth number eight to appear so there’s been quite a lot of whinging still, and for the about a week he’s being refusing to eat anything much apart from fruit pouches. The last day or two he has started eating again but still no tooth!

Of course the lack of appetite could also be a bit of a reaction to the total disruption to his routine and the heat – since last Thursday we’ve been living with my parents until hopefully we get the keys to our new house next week, so everything has been different for him the last few weeks.

Despite my high hopes for Gabe’s new reflux medication it hasn’t quite been the wonder cure I thought it might be. He does seem marginally more comfortable at night he is still waking up at least a couple of times and often wants to get up around 5 am. Having said that, we have had a couple of nights where I’ve brought him into bed with me sometime in the early hours of the morning and he’s slept until nearly 7 am so maybe the tide is slowly changing…

Gabe is the most active baby I’ve ever seen though so I don’t know how he manages on so little sleep sometimes. He never sits still, he’s always crawling off or pulling himself up. If you try and hold him he’s super-wriggly and often will try and dive out of your arms onto the floor. He is cruising round the furniture like a pro now and doesn’t seem to need to hold on for balance quite as much any more. I don’t think it will be too long before we see him standing on his own and even walking.

He’s loving the bath now too – he’s always quite enjoyed it but up until the last week or too wouldn’t sit in the bath so he couldn’t really do much. He’s decided he’s happy to sit now though so he can play with all the toys and the bubbles. We might even brave trying to give Toby and Gabe a bath together soon.

Apart from the teething and lack of appetite Gabe has actually been much cheerier for the last few weeks. It could have something to do with the fact that we have actually, for the first time in what feels like months, had a couple of weeks where he hasn’t been ill!

That’s about it for this month I think. Gabe is eleven months old and I still can’t believe that next month I’ll be writing that he is one! And hopefully we’ll be all settled in our new house and I’ll be telling you that he’s sleeping through the night…well I can dream right?

17 July , 2016 - Sarah 3 Comments

Siblings // Toby and Gabe in July

After last month’s Siblings post when I was saying that Toby hadn’t been showing much affection towards his brother he does seem to have warmed to him a bit more this month. There have been a few more unsolicited kisses and cuddles, although he still quite often just shouts whenever Gabe comes near him! There have been a few moments when they have almost being playing together though. Or at least both doing the same thing at the same time!

I actually managed to get a few better photos of Toby and Gabe together this month too. These ones were taken when we went out for lunch a couple of weeks ago – don’t you just love their matching outfits?

There are more cuddles appearing from Toby, although Gabe might argue it’s sometimes more of a strangle hold than a cuddle. I can’t wait for Gabe to get a bit bigger so he can actually give him a cuddle back.

Gabe still absolutely adores his brother and always wants to be near him, doing whatever he’s doing (which is where most of the arguments come from at the moment). Toby always says he loves Gabe but for now he doesn’t always show it! I’m hoping that changes though as they both get a bit older…

14 July , 20166 August , 2017 - Sarah 1 Comment

Review: Tots Bots Joules EasyFit Star

When Tots Bots launched their redesigned all in one nappy back in March we were lucky enough to try out the new EasyFit Star. We loved the nappy then and it is still working brilliantly for us – especially on Toby. It still copes admirably with his massive toddler wees and we haven’t had any leaks, even after four or five hours of wear.

When the EasyFit Star was launched it was available in block colours and three prints (Twinkle, Tweet and Treasure). Shortly after the new Rhyme Time prints were added to the range.

And this week Tots Bots are bringing you a fantastic new collaboration with top British brand Joules! There are two new prints available and we were sent the ‘Farmer Joules‘ to try. I’m really looking forward to seeing the other print ‘Annabella Floral‘ too – I reckon my boys could rock a bit of flower print too!

The new Joules prints don’t change the amazing performance of the EasyFit Star – seriously I cannot tell you how much I rate this nappy (and I promise I’m not being paid to say that!) – but they do add to the cuteness factor.

The Farmer Joules print features tractors, hay trailers, cows, ducks, sheep and chickens – Toby loved pointing out all the things you would see on the farm. The velcro, poppers and stitching are red and really complement the design.

Toby and Gabe both seemed very comfortable in their EasyFit Stars – I think they look super cute with their matching bums!

**Disclosure: I was sent the featured products in return for this review. All opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links.

11 July , 201611 July , 2016 - Sarah 2 Comments

Toby is three years old

Toby is three years old today. Can you believe it? My little tiny 6lb 10oz baby, who was only three months old when I started writing this blog, is three!

This is the first time that he’s really understood about birthdays and so the first year we’ve bothered having presents wrapped and waiting for him in the morning. Of course, his favourite thing was the balloon though!

We only gave Toby a few small things today because we’re moving out of our house this week and won’t be in our new house for at least a week so we didn’t want to give him presents that would just need to be put straight into storage.

So anyway, what is Toby like at three years old? He’s funny and cheeky, polite for the most part, prone to crying when he doesn’t get his own way but rarely has a tantrum. He can count to 20 (if you ignore the fact he goes from 13 straight to 16). He knows his full name and can recognise the letter T for Toby. He still loves his muslin blankets and has four on the go at any one time and he still loves to suck his thumb, although we’ve started trying to get him to only have it at bedtime.

He can name all the planets and will tell you that Venus is ‘berry berry hot’, Jupiter has got a big red spot and Saturn has got rings. He knows the names of at least five different dinosaurs and could probably tell you every single character in every program on CBeebies – which perhaps I shouldn’t be quite as proud of! He learns new words every day and we rarely have trouble understanding him these days. I love how I can have a proper conversation with him now, and some of the things he comes out with are hilarious.

He loves anything chocolate and always wants to eat some of my cake, even if he’s got his own. He eats most things, as long as he’s got mayonnaise to dip them in (he may have picked that one up from me!) and we seem to have mostly got over the fussy phase that I mentioned in his last update. He eats a lot and was 102 cm tall at the last measure and wears age 3-4 clothes but he still only weighs 2st 5lb so he’s only put on 2lb in the last six months.

He loves playing outside, especially making giant bubbles, and he’s really starting to get into imaginative play at the moment; building things and making up stories about them. But he also loves playing games on his ‘tiny telly’ (which is actually my Kindle Fire). He would probably play on it all day if he could but we try to limit his time and make sure all the games are at least vaguely educational.

He sleeps in a single bed, and usually sleeps all night. He likes to have three stories at bedtime and fall asleep on my lap. He sometimes wakes up early but always stays in bed until ‘Mr Sun’ comes out on his Groclock at 7:20. Sometimes he sleeps later, it usually depends whether Gabe is being noisy and wakes him up. He doesn’t nap, except sometimes in the car, but if he does it’s a nightmare to try and get him to sleep at night.

He still wears nappies (cloth ones of course) and although he knows when he is doing a wee or poo he has absolutely no interest in using the potty or the toilet. I’m hoping we might have a breakthrough over the summer, although with all the changes coming with moving house I’m not going to push him if he doesn’t want to.

He loves his little brother, and is still the one person who is pretty much guaranteed to be able to make Gabe laugh, but he gets annoyed with him all the time and is still not keen on sharing his toys. We are seeing more moments of affection though and Toby even seems to have started babbling nonsense back to Gabe – I have no idea what they think they are talking about but it’s very cute.

He winds me up every day, and then he melts my heart when he says ‘I ruv you mummy’. My Toby-Bear, my T-dog,my Super-T, my Toby-tobleroney, my baby.

Now you are three.

11 July , 201610 July , 2016 - Sarah 9 Comments

Living Arrows 28/52 (2016)

This is going to be a very short post today – we are in the midst of house moving chaos and today is Toby’s third birthday! Here he is earlier in the week, actually doing a nice smile for the camera for once – he’s taken to either sticking his tongue out or doing a massive cheesy grin whenever I try and take his picture lately so this one makes a change.

And this week Gabe gave us cause to get another milestone card out…

He’s been saying ‘a-da’ for a week or two now but this week it definitely turned into ‘Da-da’. It’s still just a sound to him though – it’s not like he is actually referring to his daddy when he says it!

By next week’s Living Arrows post we will have moved out of our house in Scotland and will be temporarily living with my parents in Blackpool. All our stuff will be in storage until we get into our new house which is supposed to be happening a week later but that’s not looking to likely at the moment. Hopefully my already somewhat erratic blogging will not be too disrupted!

Toby Goes Bananas

A family lifestyle blog