What a year we've had...
So I think it's fairly safe to say that 2011 has been the most special, eventful, tiring, loving, happy, exciting (and a little stressful) year of my life to date. It has been the biggest learning curve for me, and for us. We have grown from 2 to 3 (and well 4 if you include Alma) have been on holidays, moved house, laughed, cried and laughed some more!
But to break it down a bit here is our year through pictures and posts (if you have the time to read them!)
January
So of course January was the BIG month, the one when Theo was due, and the one where Theo was born (thank god!)
I went from this:
to this:
to this, in (quite a few excruciating, but equally as amazing) hours
You can read about it here
February
This next month was a blur as I really can't remember that much from it! I spent lots of time in bed, staring at our newborn, not sleeping, covered in sick and getting used to being a family. We went for a few trips out and I even took my first long journey by myself up to my mums. Thinking back it was an amazing month, that we welcomed Theo into our lives and had to learn how to become a family and nurture a tiny little being.
March
Theo started smiling at the beginning of March, which was probably one of the best moments yet. We struggled with sleep routines and tried to figure out what was best for us. I think motherhood hit me this month more than any other, I found that feeling of all consuming love and the terror of anything ever happening to my sweet baby really hit me, but I was told a piece of wisdom that has stuck with me ever since;
"Once you have a child - it's like your heart is walking around outside your body"
The weather started to get really nice and I went out for longer periods of time with Theo on walks and to see friends. I guess it got a bit easier from this point, and I was sort of out of the newborn haze!
We also decided for the first time this year to move flat. A decision that in hindsight I wish we had never made!
April
This month we went on a little trip to visit Rob's grandparents by the sea and to have a little break, a very much needed break indeed!
The weather was so nice this month, and we tried to get out as much as possible to enjoy it. I started going to a few classes with some new friends of mine, such as signing, baby massage and rhyme time at the library. It was really great to be out enjoying the weather and finally doing something productive with my time. I really enjoyed this part actually, being able to socialise and enjoy being with Theo at the same time.
We took another trip back to my home town and spent time with family and friends, it felt weird but good at the same time taking Theo back to where I grew up and the places I know so well, which all felt like a lifetime away.
May
This was to be the first time we moved this year, and the second time we moved in a 6 months. Looking back now I really wish we hadn't of moved. It was a nice flat, but wasn't really much more than we already had (and was only 5 doors down the road!) but was quite a lot more expensive. Plus the agency were completely useless and caused us lots of stress. Anyway, we did it and this is where we spent the summer.
This month Theo started to get a lot stronger, and was putting weight on his legs and starting to roll over.
June
We went on more travels this month, over to see my sister for her birthday. It was another chance for family to see Theo, and he was becoming so much more expressive and responsive to people by this point.
Rob made a little video of Theo's life up until that point
I decided that we would try baby led weaning, and Theo had his very first taste of food when we went on holiday. And that's something else that happened, we went on holiday to Spain to see my other sister. Theo got his passport and went on a plane for the very first time! It was good, but very hot and tiring! This month we also welcomed Alma to our little family. We had a few play dates and went out for family adventures
phew June was a busy month!
July
We were still in Spain for the first week or so of July having fun in the sun
Rob and I got engaged whilst on holiday, after we went for a little date
and we tried Theo with some avocado and banana, which was very messy indeed!
I pretty much made up my mind not to go back to work, and Theo turned 6 months old. It really was quite an eventful summer!
When we returned home from holiday Theo decided that he could sit up all by himself!
August
Once again we gallivanted and visited my mum and went back to my home town again..gosh looking back it seems as though we are constantly visiting different places. Perhaps 2012 will be the year where people come visit us more often?
Well my sister did visit us to come to the balloon festival in Bristol, which was loads of fun!
September
In September things seemed to go back to normal after our crazy summer, and I got back into our routine of visiting friends and going on little adventures with Theo.
Theo started to attempt to crawl, which was amazing to watch as each day he got stronger and stronger...
We went on a few family outings and I visited my mum at her new house and went to a country fair
October
Rob turned 23 this month and Theo was ill on and off for quite a bit of it. I think by this point he had finished teething, but it was quite a tough month! Theo turned 9 months, and we decided to move yet again!
The best of all this month is that we went on holiday to Devon. Rob had two weeks off of work and it was wonderful to escape Bristol and lots of stress.
This holiday was so good for us, and was definitely one of the highlights of the year!
November
November was fairly quiet, we found a house to move too and set about packing and sorting. Theo started to walk with his walker
and we visited my mum and went on some lovely walks around Malvern
December
And so we reached December, the month where we moved house for the second time this year, had my birthday and Theo's first ever Christmas!
Theo has started to say recognisable works such as hello, hiya and Alma. If he has a phone or a controller he puts it to his ear and says hiya. He waves goodbye to people, claps his hands, cruises along the furniture and has started to stand on his own and even taken a few little steps towards us. How exciting!
The end of this month was spent visiting family over in Essex. Boxing day was mad and Theo and I were both feeling pretty lousy, but made an appearence anyway. It was great to spend time with my dad and friends frm my home town. One evening I went to the pub without Theo for a few drinks with old friends whilst my dad stayed at home and looked after Theo. It was exactly what I had been needing and it felt wonderful not to think about Theo and just be me for a change!
Anyway, I've had an amazing year, which will definitely be the most memorable for some time to come. I've made some lovely new friends and experienced so much love and kindness from friends and family alike. Thanks for being there with us, and reading the blog.
I hope everyone else has had a good year, and has learnt lessons and have laughed and loved. I'm looking forward to this next one so much, to watch Theo grow and learn even more and of course go on many more adventures!
See you in 2012!!!!
lots of love
But to break it down a bit here is our year through pictures and posts (if you have the time to read them!)
January
So of course January was the BIG month, the one when Theo was due, and the one where Theo was born (thank god!)
I went from this:
to this:
to this, in (quite a few excruciating, but equally as amazing) hours
You can read about it here
This next month was a blur as I really can't remember that much from it! I spent lots of time in bed, staring at our newborn, not sleeping, covered in sick and getting used to being a family. We went for a few trips out and I even took my first long journey by myself up to my mums. Thinking back it was an amazing month, that we welcomed Theo into our lives and had to learn how to become a family and nurture a tiny little being.
March
Theo started smiling at the beginning of March, which was probably one of the best moments yet. We struggled with sleep routines and tried to figure out what was best for us. I think motherhood hit me this month more than any other, I found that feeling of all consuming love and the terror of anything ever happening to my sweet baby really hit me, but I was told a piece of wisdom that has stuck with me ever since;
"Once you have a child - it's like your heart is walking around outside your body"
The weather started to get really nice and I went out for longer periods of time with Theo on walks and to see friends. I guess it got a bit easier from this point, and I was sort of out of the newborn haze!
I also got a really bad eye infection that led to conjunctivitis at some point this month, which was horrible, as that knocked me back quite a bit, yuk it's horrible remembering how bad that was!
April
This month we went on a little trip to visit Rob's grandparents by the sea and to have a little break, a very much needed break indeed!
The weather was so nice this month, and we tried to get out as much as possible to enjoy it. I started going to a few classes with some new friends of mine, such as signing, baby massage and rhyme time at the library. It was really great to be out enjoying the weather and finally doing something productive with my time. I really enjoyed this part actually, being able to socialise and enjoy being with Theo at the same time.
We took another trip back to my home town and spent time with family and friends, it felt weird but good at the same time taking Theo back to where I grew up and the places I know so well, which all felt like a lifetime away.
May
This was to be the first time we moved this year, and the second time we moved in a 6 months. Looking back now I really wish we hadn't of moved. It was a nice flat, but wasn't really much more than we already had (and was only 5 doors down the road!) but was quite a lot more expensive. Plus the agency were completely useless and caused us lots of stress. Anyway, we did it and this is where we spent the summer.
This month Theo started to get a lot stronger, and was putting weight on his legs and starting to roll over.
June
We went on more travels this month, over to see my sister for her birthday. It was another chance for family to see Theo, and he was becoming so much more expressive and responsive to people by this point.
Rob made a little video of Theo's life up until that point
I decided that we would try baby led weaning, and Theo had his very first taste of food when we went on holiday. And that's something else that happened, we went on holiday to Spain to see my other sister. Theo got his passport and went on a plane for the very first time! It was good, but very hot and tiring! This month we also welcomed Alma to our little family. We had a few play dates and went out for family adventures
phew June was a busy month!
July
We were still in Spain for the first week or so of July having fun in the sun
Rob and I got engaged whilst on holiday, after we went for a little date
and we tried Theo with some avocado and banana, which was very messy indeed!
I pretty much made up my mind not to go back to work, and Theo turned 6 months old. It really was quite an eventful summer!
When we returned home from holiday Theo decided that he could sit up all by himself!
August
Once again we gallivanted and visited my mum and went back to my home town again..gosh looking back it seems as though we are constantly visiting different places. Perhaps 2012 will be the year where people come visit us more often?
Well my sister did visit us to come to the balloon festival in Bristol, which was loads of fun!
September
In September things seemed to go back to normal after our crazy summer, and I got back into our routine of visiting friends and going on little adventures with Theo.
Theo started to attempt to crawl, which was amazing to watch as each day he got stronger and stronger...
We went on a few family outings and I visited my mum at her new house and went to a country fair
October
Rob turned 23 this month and Theo was ill on and off for quite a bit of it. I think by this point he had finished teething, but it was quite a tough month! Theo turned 9 months, and we decided to move yet again!
The best of all this month is that we went on holiday to Devon. Rob had two weeks off of work and it was wonderful to escape Bristol and lots of stress.
This holiday was so good for us, and was definitely one of the highlights of the year!
November
November was fairly quiet, we found a house to move too and set about packing and sorting. Theo started to walk with his walker
December
And so we reached December, the month where we moved house for the second time this year, had my birthday and Theo's first ever Christmas!
Theo has started to say recognisable works such as hello, hiya and Alma. If he has a phone or a controller he puts it to his ear and says hiya. He waves goodbye to people, claps his hands, cruises along the furniture and has started to stand on his own and even taken a few little steps towards us. How exciting!
The end of this month was spent visiting family over in Essex. Boxing day was mad and Theo and I were both feeling pretty lousy, but made an appearence anyway. It was great to spend time with my dad and friends frm my home town. One evening I went to the pub without Theo for a few drinks with old friends whilst my dad stayed at home and looked after Theo. It was exactly what I had been needing and it felt wonderful not to think about Theo and just be me for a change!
Anyway, I've had an amazing year, which will definitely be the most memorable for some time to come. I've made some lovely new friends and experienced so much love and kindness from friends and family alike. Thanks for being there with us, and reading the blog.
I hope everyone else has had a good year, and has learnt lessons and have laughed and loved. I'm looking forward to this next one so much, to watch Theo grow and learn even more and of course go on many more adventures!
See you in 2012!!!!
lots of love
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