29 August , 201628 August , 2016 - Sarah 7 Comments

Living Arrows 35/52 (2016)

It’s not been the best week since my last Living Arrows post. Gabe has been ill again (of course he has, he went to nursery) – it started with a cough and a runny nose but we had two nights when his temperature dropped to 34° which was a bit worrying.

We ended up calling 111 on Wednesday night but they didn’t seem to think there was anything to be concerned about, and neither did the GP when we saw him the next day. On Thursday night though Gabe coughed himself sick which I think triggered a reflux flare and he couldn’t keep anything down for about 24 hours. He was awake from 11:30 pm until 3 am and it was only when I took him out in the car that he finally fell asleep.

He’s been quite grumpy the last few days but has had some mega-naps and seems to be keeping his milk down again. He’s hardly eating any solid food though and it will probably be a while before he properly gets any appetite back.

He did start saying mama this week though which is very cute, although I’m under no illusions that he is actually referring to me when he says it.

On top of Gabe being poorly Toby’s behaviour has become quite challenging in the last few weeks – we have definitely entered the threenager stage! I think we’ve had it easy with him up until now, the terrible twos never really materialised for us but Toby is just constantly pushing boundaries these days; refusing to do as he’s asked, ignoring us when we tell him not to do things, running off, crying about everything…the list goes on. I know this is just par for the course but it’s so frustrating when he just blatantly ignores things, or does the exact opposite of what he’s been asked.

I know he’s having to process a lot of changes at the moment too; new house, new nursery, new routine and I do try and think about that when he’s running off in the supermarket, or knocking Gabe over for the tenth time that day but it’s just so hard not to be cross and shout at him. Hopefully things will settle down a bit when he gets more settled and used to the new way of things.

He’s still his same sweet, funny, cheeky, happy boy a lot of the time though. I mean just look at him…it’s hard to stay cross with that face.

22 August , 201622 August , 2016 - Sarah 9 Comments

Living Arrows 34/52 (2016)

It’s been a busy week here – hence the lack of blogging that’s been going on! Toby and Gabe had their first full days at nursery on Tuesday and Wednesday and both had a great time by all accounts. On Wednesday it was Gabe’s first birthday. I did feel a little bit guilty for sending him to nursery but he was none the wiser and we got chance to open presents in the afternoon when they got back and Barry was home from work. On Friday we went to a new baby and toddler group near my parents’ house – it was definitely good to get out and start meeting some new mums and kids. On Saturday Toby and I went to Manchester for an event with Dyson and Currys PC World that I’ll be telling you more about soon, and then yesterday Barry’s parents came to visit to bring Toby and Gabe’s birthday presents!

So you can see it’s been a pretty hectic week. On top of that Gabe and Toby have both been taking ages to get to sleep every night and then Gabe has been waking up again about 11 pm. With all of that I haven’t had a lot of time for blogging, even though I’ve had loads to write about. I’m hoping I might manage to get a few posts written while the boys are at nursery this week and start catching up a bit.

We finally gave Toby his main birthday present this week too – we didn’t want to give it to him before we moved only to have to put it into storage and him not be able to use it so we waited until Gabe’s birthday to give him his new balance bike. He was so excited to get on it but I think it’s a bit harder than he thought it was going to be – lots of practice is going to be needed!

Gabe’s picture this week was taken whilst he was exploring his new birthday presents. He’s looking very happy here but it’s been a bit of an up and down week for him. I think he must have another tooth on the way because he’s hardly touched any solid food for the last few days and he sleep has been quite rubbish again soon. Here’s hoping it doesn’t last too long whatever it is!

15 August , 2016 - Sarah 5 Comments

Living Arrows 33/52 (2016)

It’s been a busy week of getting used to life in our new house and new town now that Daddy has gone back to work.

Both boys had two settling sessions at their new nursery last week and will be starting properly tomorrow. They’ll both be going for two full days and if I’m honest I actually can’t wait! Having had them both at with us all day every day for the last month I have realised more than ever that I need some time away from them if I am going to stay sane!

I think nursery will be good for them too – especially Toby. It’s hard for him being at home all day because we have to try and fit things round Gabe napping, and at the moment that also means that he’s got to be quiet when Gabe is asleep because the bedroom is right underneath the living room. A couple of days of being free to play and run around and make as much noise as he wants will hopefully be good for all of us.

It will be good for Gabe to have somewhere totally safe to play and explore as well. At the moment I feel like I am constantly telling him not to touch things or taking stuff off him. How is it that babies can spot a wire or cable from across the room but have no interest in the 50 toys that are in front of them?

I was trying to take some product shots for a review the other day but Gabe just wouldn’t keep away from the box – it’s a good job he’s cute!

Toby’s picture this week was taken yesterday when we went to another of our numerous local garden centres – I don’t think any of us expected to see this bear there though!

15 August , 201615 August , 2016 - Sarah 3 Comments

Siblings // Toby and Gabe in August

There have been a lot of big changes for Toby and Gabe since I wrote last month’s Siblings Project post; we’ve spent three weeks living with Grandma and Grandad, moved house, and now the boys are sharing a bedroom. So far they haven’t really disturbed each other that much – there have been a couple of times when Gabe has woken Toby up with his crying in the night but usually he goes back to sleep pretty quickly. I can’t wait for their bedroom to be properly finished so I can share it with you.

Toby still gets frustrated with Gabe quite a lot and isn’t always very good at sharing but we are seeing more glimpses of the relationship I hope they will have in the next year or two. Toby is still Gabe’s favourite person and they’ve had a lot of giggles together this month. I think you can see in this picture that they are really starting to look alike too – especially their eyes and noses. Maybe once Gabe has a bit more hair, and a few more teeth, they’ll look more alike.

They are even starting to play together a bit now, and Toby seems to be realising that he can show Gabe how to do things and Gabe will understand.

Gabe just wants to do whatever his brother is doing these days – even if that is getting in the soft toy basket and being buried by teddies!

8 August , 20167 August , 2016 - Sarah 8 Comments

Living Arrows 32/52 (2016)

First up I just want to say a big thank you to everyone who linked up last week whilst I was hosting Living Arrows in Donna’s absence. I really enjoyed reading all your posts.

Last week we finally moved into our new house and we have been unpacking boxes since. It’s nearly all done now but we’ve still got a lot of organising to do before everything is where it should be.

This week’s Living Arrows photos were taken before we left my mum and dad’s house. I’m not sure what Toby is doing with his face in this picture but I love how the wind is catching wisps of his hair and making them fly round his head. He really is due another haircut soon though – it’s right down in his eyes again so he can hardly see out from under it!

And this picture of Gabe was taken in the garden when he was giving me a lovely cuddle. I’d say that 90% of the time Gabe just wants to be on the go and crawling around the floor getting up to mischief but he does like a cuddle too and he gives a really good cuddle, properly snuggles in and often really clings round your neck too. It’s lovely when he treats you to a proper one…

2 August , 201621 December , 2017 - Sarah 2 Comments

Me & Mine // A Family Portrait (July 2016)

Well July has been quite the month for us. On the 15th we moved out of our house in Scotland and we have been living with my mum and dad in Blackpool since then. We completed on our new house on the 25th but then the removals people couldn’t deliver our stuff until today. So we’ve used the time to decorate Toby and Gabe’s new room and do some jobs (with a lot of help from my dad!) and hopefully after a bit of unpacking we’ll be able to move in by the end of the week.

I’ve not written a huge amount about the new house so far – until last week I had only seen it in pictures so I wanted to reserve judgement until I saw it in person! There’s lots of decorating to be done and we’re going to complete redo the kitchen, but it’s going to be brilliant once it’s all done and until then it’ll be pretty good anyway. I’m hoping to do plenty of posts as we sort the rooms out and hopefully I’ll be able to share Toby and Gabe’s room in a few weeks.

The boys have both coped brilliantly with the move so far. Obviously Gabe doesn’t really know what’s going on but he’s been managing pretty well and even slept through the night for the second time in his life the other day! Toby has been fantastic too – he’s been loving hanging out with his grandparents and especially helping my dad in the garden. He’s been sleeping well too so I’m hoping that continues once we move to the new house and he’s sharing a room with his brother!

This month’s family photo was very last minute (so last minute in fact that we only took it yesterday) and was taken in my parents’ back garden. We’ve got a bench in our new garden and I’m planning on taking next month’s photo there and then taking a family picture in the same place every August. I wanted to do it this month but we just didn’t have chance and seeing as we haven’t even moved in yet I thought I’d leave it until next month.

So anyway, here it is…a slightly out of focus picture, with three quarters of the family looking at the camera, at the end of a very stressful month.

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

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!

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…

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