April in Pictures

  

I'm late with this as usual, but April was the month when Spring finally arrived, with blossom on the trees, daffodils in a vase and washing blowing in the sunny breeze. I paddled in streams with my wellies on, made my first ever coffee and walnut cake and had a lovely lunch date with my two boys. Oh, and there was lots of baby cwtching too.  

Images from my Instagram 365 Project.

May

May is all about the frugal, as my maternity pay has gone plummeting to peanuts. But I relish a budgeting-style challenge: I am the queen of picnics and entertaining kids for free, and as Wilf is point blank refusing to take a bottle, the cinema trips and dinners out I thought I'd be considering by now are a no-go.

The garden is a disgrace and needs sorting. I want to be like Alys Fowler, with a fabulously haphazard edible garden, but I'll probably just start with a few peas and courgettes for this year.

And at the end of the month, the Snail turns six with a bouncy castle and BBQ party in the garden (please come out sun, please). Then we are off to Harrogate for a bit in half term, where I'm definitely up for my al fresco Betty's tea and cake at Harlow Carr gardens, and a cheeky visit to the baths.

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Wilf having a nap under a shady tree.

Molly carrying a bucket of sea water to pour in a hole that she dug.

 

Gwen is never happier than when she is messing about on a beach.  

Joining in with Che and Fidel. 

A Very Welsh Weekend

We have had such a beautiful bank holiday weekend. Oh how much better everything is when the sun shines - especially here in Wales, where we do get our fair share of rain.

Not only have we had three days of glorious sun, I've also been staycationing at three of my very favourite places in Wales. 

My school friend H is getting married soon, so on Saturday I dropped in on her hen weekend (with a certain little baby who won't take a bottle in tow) at a beautiful old house in the Brecon Beacons. I caught up with some of my oldest friends (and met some new ones), drank lots of tea, had a lovely long walk down the Brecon canal, then a leisurely lunch in a pub. On the way home, I drove through the mountains in the sunshine with Wilf asleep in the back and Dermot O'Leary on the radio, and stopped off to take in one of my favourite views in the whole world.

On Sunday, we headed for the beach late afternoon - our favourite at Southerndown, where we had lemon drizzle cake and coffee in the walled gardens, then headed down to the sea to splash in the waves and build things out of sand until the sun went down. We put some very tired children to bed with tangly salt-water hair, sand in their toes and the smell of sunshine on their skin.

And today, off to visit my family and a trip to Dare Valley Country Park, a place that's really special to me. A place where I toddled around as a two-year-old, learnt to ride my bike, spent summer holidays by the lake, went on a camping trip with Girl Guides, did my first ever photography project... Now my children love this place too.

Sunshine + cake + beach + good friends + mountains + family = pretty much the most perfect of weekends. I'm off to bed with a few extra freckles and a big smile on my face.

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Wilf pulling a very funny and very cute face.

I had to bribe Gwen with a small chocolate to sit still for these. 

This is how I found Molly sitting yesterday evening - naked, wrapped in a blanket and sitting under an umberella. She did it again today.

Joining in with Che and Fidel.

Wilf is Five Months

Dear Wilf,

You are one noisy boy. All day long, you chatter away, most of the time really loudly. In the middle of the night you wake for a feed, then when your belly's full, you lie between me and your dad for at least half an hour just shouting to yourself. You blow a lot of raspberries. You make noises to attract our attention so you can give us one of your big dribbly, gummy grins. 

This month, you have found your laugh. It is utterly delightful. You chuckle and guffaw your way through many a thigh squidge, belly raspberry and underarm tickle every day. You find a bit of loud 'Boo'-ing quite hilarious, as well as being lifted up really high in the air.

You can grab all sorts of things these days, most of which you drop or bonk yourself on the nose with. Your favourite things to grab are the metal bowl from the weighing scales (although you're not so keen on the clattering noise it makes when it falls) and whatever book I'm trying to read to the girls at bedtime (or if you can get hold of the bookmark you'll have a good old chomp on that).

Apart from that, it's baby business as usual. Lots of milk, naps, furious leg kicking, dribbling, cooing and generally being a big bundle of gorgeousness. I'm so glad you're here.

Lots of love,
Mama
x

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Huzzah - finally got one half-decentish shot of all three kiddos together.

Joining in with Che and Fidel.

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Wilf likes to put his hood up and have a good old sleep in the sling.

Molly is looking for trolls in the pipe. 

Gwen is having a rest (she was actually sulking about something that escapes me now). 

Joining in with Che and Fidel.