Back again!

Well I haven't been gone long so my aim to blog more is going well for now!!! I managed to do some scrapping last night and completed two layouts, I'm going to try and remember to photograph them tomorrow and then upload. I'm hoping to get another couple of layouts done over the weekend but think I need to get some photos printed out first.

At the weekend we went for a walk round the local Nature Reserve. It was so cold and windy but nice to get out - poor Flynn went to sleep after moaning a little at the wind! Here are a couple of photos:

I've also had a little photo shoot but it didn't quite go to plan! I managed to get a few good photos of Flynn but then he got a little unsettled. Didn't really get any good ones of Ethan and Ethan and Flynn together. Ethan just couldn't keep a straight face and Flynn was just too hungry so going to have another go this weekend to get one of them together. Here are a few of Flynn - he pulled some funny faces as you can see, he also sucks his fingers and hands a lot so was good to get photos of that:

Here is the best one of Ethan:

The blogger spell checker isn't working so if there are any funny spellings, that's why LOL

Layouts

Here are some layouts as promised! Some are quite recent ones from the past couple of weeks and some I did towards the end of last year but never uploaded them.



Birthday morning: This is Ethan on the morning of his birthday.
Electric scooter: Ethan trying out the electric scooter he got for his birthday - he had so much fun.
Used: Bazzill CS, Sweetwater PP and embellishments, Making Memories buttons and letter stickers, Heidi Swapp number letters, Imaginice flower and brad and Autumn Leaves stamp.



Missing tooth: Ethan lost his first tooth a few days after his birthday, he was so excited and put his little pot with his tooth in under his pillow.
Goose fair: Even though I was 8 + months pregnant we still went to Goose Fair, there was no way I was missing out! I couldn't go on any rides with Ethan but there was plenty of food to sample etc.
Used: Bazzill CS, Sweetwater PP and twill, American crafts letters, arrow and flowers, Making Memories buttons, Imaginice flower and Scenic Route label.



Brothers: This is Ethan with Flynn just after Flynn was born - holding him for the first time (I just need to add some jounaling).
Used: Crate Paper, Bazzil scalloped CS, American Crafts letters and Imaginice flower and brad.
Fast asleep: Flynn just looks so adorable when he is asleep so these are a few of my favourite photos of him asleep.
Used: Studio Calico kit.



Home: These are pictures taken just before we left hospital, I was so excited to be going home.
Photo Shoot: Katy took some photos of Ethan and Flynn for me and these are my favourites.
Used: Bazzill CS, October Afternoon PP and jounaling cards, American Crafts letters and arrow, Imaginice flowers and Creative Cafe buttons.

These are 3 of the Christmas layouts I did. The first 2 are Ethan and Flynn's visit to Santa which Ethan especially loved - he stood and talked to santa for quite a while. The 3rd is Flynn's 1st Christmas day which just needs a title adding - I thought I'd upload it now though!

Used: Bazzill CS and brad, Sweetwater PP, stickers and embellishments, American Crafts letters, Scenic Route letters and labels, Prima flowers, SEI buttons and a couple of embellishments from a previous Jenni Bowlin kit.

I really need to blog more

I really do need to find the time to blog more. At one time I was managing to do it almost daily and really need to get back to doing it at least a couple of times a week. That might become a little easier soon as Flynn is now going to sleep earlier now so getting a little bit of time in the evenings.

Flynn is growing fast, I can't believe he is 14 weeks already - where did that go! He is doing new things all the time too and is such a happy little boy. At the moment he is loving music (being sung to), being spoken to, massage and his musical toys. He laughs and smiles lots and even rolled onto his side the other day!

I'm managing to get some scrapping done which is great as I have lots to do of flynn plus Ethan's. I'm not overly pleased with how some are turning out but at least I'm getting them done. I'm enjoying having the Studio Calico kit and looking forward to the next one, it looks lovely.

Here are a couple of photos of Ethan and Flynn and I'll try and remember to get my camera out tomorrow and photograph some recent layouts.

Ethan having fun playing in the conservatory.

This is a photo of Flynn when he was playing with his friends, he loved having the other babies around.

Flynn posing for the camera - shame his eyes are almost closed!

Flynn in his sit in baby gym, he loves it although he'll love it more when he figures out how you press everything.

I thought.....

.....I'd have more time on my hands with being on maternity leave but it's not the case! The days go so quickly between taking Ethan to school then picking him up. Then some days he has activities after school, like reading club and computer club. Then there is everything else I do such as baby massage, post-natal group, exercise class, meeting friends etc. There are also Flynn's appointments for his injections and to be weighed. So I definitely don't have much spare time just chill at home - maybe soon!

I have to take Flynn for his second injections in a while and I'm just hoping he is not as unsettled after as he was with the last ones. He was very good when they did them last time and just cried after each of the two injections.

Tomorrow morning I'm meeting with a few friends who have babies too. I work with them and we are all on maternity leave at the same time. We haven't met as much as we'd have like with it being Christmas but hopefully now get together a bit more. Then in the afternoon I have the exercise class I've started going to which is held at the local hospital by the physio department. It's really good and great to get back exercising again.

I've managed to get a few layouts done over the past week or so which I'm really pleased about. It's great to be scrapping again and I have so much to catch up on. I have been using my Christmas Sweetwater papers for my Christmas layouts which mixed with last years Christmas kit is working well. My first Studio Calico kit arrived last week too so I have managed a few layouts with that, I'm just looking forward to doing more. I've kept the layouts quite simple and used a similar layout design for both Ethan's and Flynn's to save on time and help me catch up. I'll try and get some of them photographed and upload them - its been a while since I uploaded layouts :)

What else we got up to.....

Warning - lots of photos!

We enjoyed a walk along the canal and through the local Nature Reserve about a five minute walk from where we live. It was really cold but perfect weather for an afternoon walk. We really don't make the most of what's on our doorstep but I'm going to try harder this year especially when the summer comes. I can walk with Flynn whilst Ethan is at school and in the holidays Ethan can bring his bike or football. Here are a few photos from our walk:









We went to London for the day in between Christmas and New Year. Ethan hasn't been before so we thought it'd be nice to take him so he could see the sights. As you can see from the photos we had a lovely day and we were able to visit the main sights - London Eye, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Harrods etc. Ethan really loved going on the tube though and it was one of the highlights of the day. He enjoyed going on the Metro in new York but didn't get to spend long on there like he did on the tube. We finished the day with dinner at Pizza Express and a little shopping in Knightsbridge. Here are some photos from the day:










New years Day I had a family party. We usually go to my Grandma and Grandad's on Boxing day and get together with all my family. It is a lot of work though getting it organised and the food done etc so i did it this year but on new Years day. It was great and everyone had a lovely time, I'll be doing it again next year.


Here is Flynn getting a bit of sleep before the party - I love this photo of him.


Ethan enjoying the party food and Ethan with Flynn at the party.


Flynn catching up on sleep during the party - I think he looks so peaceful here.


Flynn spends a lot of time smiling now and it's lovely to see. It's especially nice to see him react to us and his favourite musical toys. Here are a couple of photos of him smiling.

Christmas

Well it's been a while since I posted but I'm going to try and get back into blogging on a regular basis - well when Flynn gets into a better routine in the evenings! We have had a lovely Christmas and kept very busy.

This is Ethan and Flynn visiting Santa the weekend before Christmas. Santa spent quite a while talking to Santa telling him what he would like and that Flynn would like some presents too :)



Christmas Eve Ethan watched a movie (Polar express) with John whilst i got last minute wrapping done! Then it was bath time and getting everything ready for Santa. I got the plate you can see in the photo just before Christmas and Ethan was able to write on it (it wipes off ready to use next year). We also put Santa's mince pie, beer and the reindeer's carrot's on there.



Ethan helped Flynn open his presents Christmas morning and was very good at showing Flynn them. In the photo Ethan is opening one of Flynn's presents from his stocking and showing it to him.



This is Flynn in his Christmas nightwear - a My First Christmas baby grow and hat. He only wore the hat for the purpose of the photo LOL - he looks very cute.



This is Ethan after opening his bike that Santa left in the conservatory for him. He was so excited when he saw Santa's snowy foot prints under the backroom curtains leading to the conservatory. He tore the wrapping paper off with such excitement to reveal his new bike.



Ethan enjoying Christmas dinner, there was so much that we had left overs on Boxing Day too.



Flynn playing under his new baby mat/gym that he got for Christmas. He absolutely loves it and smiles away at the toys above him.



Flynn fast asleep after a busy Christmas Day opening presents!!!



I will post more photos in the next few days of what we got up to over Christmas.

New toy

Last Christmas John got me an IPOD Nano which I love and use all the time in the car. For a while I've wanted a speaker set for my Nano so that I can listen to my music whilst in the house. Finally I got round to ordering one from Amazon after lots of research looking at reviews etc. It arrived last week and is just fantastic, the sound quality is amazing and it's quite small. It also charges my Nano and connects to my PC so updates my Nano with my new songs etc. Needless to say it has been on non stop and will get so much use :) Here it is:

Smiling

Finally caught Flynn smiling on camera and here he is:

Not the best photos but I have plenty of time to get more!

Ethan and Flynn

Here are some photos of Ethan and Flynn that Katy took for me at the weekend. I wanted some really nice photos of them both so Katy came with her DSLR and snapped away. I'm going to use a couple to give family at Christmas and to put on the walls at home. Here are a couple of my favourites:

Thank you Katy.

Conservatory

Here are a couple of photos of the conservatory with the outside finished. Not sure if you can see it from the photos but the left side has a higher brick wall with small windows along the top.

The plasterer came yesterday to plaster the conservatory and it's looking great. It just needs to dry out then John can start work. The list of things to do is: painting, skirting, window sills, lay flooring, fit light, fit window between kitchen and conservatory and move in the furniture :) There sounds a lot but it won't take long as it's all new and straight walls etc and will be done for Christmas.

It's going to be such a great space to have especially for the children to play in. I'm going to have a small unit in there for them to have a few of their toys in. Also in there will be a sofa and the dining room table.

Will post some more photos soon.