introducing baby Griff

My little boy is here. 

He arrived in the small hours of a Monday morning. 

Monday 15th of April in fact.

This time was harder than the last. And I thought second time around was meant to be a doddle... Not always it would seem.

But he's here and he's gorgeous and I'm totally in love. 

And things are going OK. I'm going OK. More than OK. Compared to last time I'm kicking ass.

He loves being held, he loves hearing me sing, he loves staring at my face, he loves being fed. He loves being fed a lot. A lot a lot.

That's babies for you though, eh? Never happier than when there's a boob in the vicinity.  

And I'm slowly emerging from the baby fog. The one that allows your brain to only process thoughts that involve your little person and makes the rest of the world a little blurry, a little out of focus, a little less there. 

I love having an extra person in our family. And Edie loves having a baby brother. She is THE sweetest big sister, her love for Griff is huge already. You can see it in her face when she holds him. 

I feel so lucky. 

I am so lucky.

Lucky lucky me.

X

a photo an hour

Another Sunday's photo an hour. Just a selection of my favorites this time. And this Sunday was a beautifully sunny day which made the photos really enjoyable to take. What a difference the sun can make.

   

A Sunday spent dressing up with Edie, meeting a friend in a local pub, dinner at my Mum's and then a film with David. 

A good Sunday. 

lately, at ours

These last few snowy days have been mostly spent hunkered down indoors. 

We made cookies using this recipe and they ROCKED!

Best biscuits I've ever made (although I admit I haven't made that many). We halved the amounts (apart from the egg yolk, we still used a whole one) and we got two baking trays out of it. 

They've all gone now...

And we've done a lot of slow, cosy, around the house stuff.

So (hopefully) we've seen the worst of the snow and now the thaw can begin. As much as we've loved sledging, snowballing and cosying up with hot chocolates in front of the fire we're ready for some new adventures. 

Our little break from normal routine has been lovely. No school, no work, no popping to the shops for six whole days. Just family, food and play with nothing much important to do. Maybe we needed a little break like that. 

You?

signs of Christmas

We haven't decorated or bought our tree yet (that's a job for this weekend) but the signs that Christmas is here are popping up all over our home...

I had a sweet conversation with my hairdresser last week about the 'magic' of Christmas. She believes in it, and so do I. Can you feel it yet? Is it making your world twinkle a little more?

I really believe that there's something in the air this time of year, and even though I'm dog tired and sleep deprived (little pregnancy moan) I'm still feeling that Christmas glow. Hope you are too!

home in the afternoon

Today Edie was home from school. The house was warm, the kettle was on, we put some Christmas songs on the record player and settled down. I got none of the things done that I had planned but hey, that's life.

Our making session turned out perfectly (but boy do you need eight hands to keep a project under some kind of control with a three year old). It was more fun than I thought you could have with a poorly girl sent home from school. 

I'll be back with more pics of the sweet little project we were working on tomorrow... 

on the weekend- six chickens, a girl and a dog

Edie's getting braver with the chickens now. Although she did wake up twice last night screaming 

'THE CHICKENS!!! THE CHICKENS!!!" 

so maybe there is still some work to be done. They do flap about a lot and they're definitely getting bossier, crowding around and clambering for food. No eggs as of yet. They have a little more growing up to do first. Now that will be an exciting day, when Edie finds her first egg! And the promise is for pancakes. Banana pancakes.

that gorgeous late afternoon summer sun

There is something so magical about the time of day when the summer sun is dipping and the world suddenly turns into a hazy gold.

Time slows down, you can feel a sweetness in the air, a lazy, happy, summer buzz.

Always my absolute favorite time to be outdoors on these hot summer days. 

(hope you're enjoying some sunshine wherever you are x)

Edie being happy = me being happy

I just LOVE those massive toothy smiles! They make my day. 

quick, strip off and open a bottle of wine, the sun's out!

 So the sun has been shining on us all weekend, making us giddy with the joys of spring and triggering off a epidemic of picnicking, afternoon alcohol consumption and bare skin exposure in the UK. It's been wonderful.

you got designer shades just to hide your face and you wear 'em around like you're cooler than me...

 We headed to a vintage fayre on Cardiff's Pontcanna Fields on Saturday and it was a treasure trove of vintage loveliness, happy faces and cake.  

Vintage glasses and sunbeams...  

No wonder vintage people are skinny, these bowls are tiny. Ben and Jerry's? Just the one scoop. 

Vintage hand towels too lovely to wipe your hands on. Use the regular ones first please.

She's still only 2. Love the face painting but the lippy is freaking me out.

  Now, us in the UK can be sure of one thing. Soon enough the cardies and pullovers we so gleefully cast aside the minute the sun peeped out from behind a cloud will be called upon once again and restored to their rightful places upon our shocked and slightly sun kissed bodies. So make the most of it while it lasts, from dawn till dusk if you can. 

 Or just to eat your sandwiches in the park at lunchtime if not.

 Hope your weekend was just as lovely. X 

6 on the weekend

 It was a real pleasure to see the sun this weekend,(hello sun, stick around a little longer, eh?). It truly felt like spring and you could smell the earthy goodness in the air. Beautiful.

 Saturday was busy and fun and included lunch at The Pot. It was SO GOOD! Mine was a salad and it was divine. And that's high praise for a salad I guess. Edie played with the china animals I'd just picked up in the charity shop next door and gobbled up her soda bread and houmous like a good girl.

 A little vintage hunting later and we found this gem. It's now in pride of place on Edie's window sill.

 Sunday = a lot of sorting but finally the 'middle room' is taking shape, at loooong last.

 Next a bike ride in the late afternoon sun, with David's new Schwinn, Edie on her trike and Lola running for all she's worth, ears flapping out behind her. The sky was stunning.

 Then home for a little me-time and the MacBook Pro. Happy with my new print - a sunny one which is apt.

 A happy, sunny weekend. Hope yours was good too.

you've got no chance with a toddler in the room, silly

 Trying to take photos of pretty much anything with a toddler in the house is hard work. 

'Just one minute babe', you keep saying.

 No, no way are they gonna give you that one whole minute. Don't be ridiculous.

 

 And then you give in and just let her be in the photo. 

 So my vintage case shoot got hi-jacked by a toddler. Just like the rest of my life then. But in a good way. Obvs.