Nuby GIVEAWAY!!!

To add the first birthday celebrations I am adding my very first GIVEAWAY! A chance for me to shamelessly ask you to promote my blog through a few social networking avenues and in return I will send you a couple of freebies courtesy of the wonderful peeps at Nuby! WIN WIN! 

Weaning has featured quite heavily on my blog over the last six months. The weaning countdown was a nervy time and I trudged through books, recipes and a world of advice. We went with a Baby Led Weaning approach and everything else was trial and error. 

A friend posted this on Facebook the other day and it reminded me of how weaning has come gone... Kinda up and down and sideways and backwards and around... 

Regardless of the fact it feels like I wipe everything I cook off her chops or off the floor she is plumping out beautifully so the line must be going the right way yeah?!

Then in came a few things that have helped us along the way... Helps when they're cute...

And of course if you're getting food on them you've got to get fluids... And these were my favs...

SO! FREEBIES!! I can give two lucky winner TWO Nuby Grip N Sip No Spill Cups... 

 And one set of these Nuby Fork and Spoon Sets!

 See below for how to enter...

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck and thanks for entering!!! :D

Home...

Favourite things about our new house include; windows low enough for Euna to see the cars go past...

That tree in the background. Must be so old. It's beautiful...

BIG windows mean big light...

And it's already got that priceless home feeling. :D

Celebrating One...

Yes the year has flown and I am thinking a lot about what the year has done to me. Foremost it made me a Mum. A change so big I don't think I remember the version of me that wasn't a Mum. If I do then oddly that version is a less happier me by my memory. Not because I didn't feel happy then but because I don't remember feeling this comfortable in my own skin. 

Essentially being a Mum (by one means or another) means you do two things; you bring a human being into your world and then you care for it. You feed them, water them, keep them clean and warm and there's no question on if you don't because you just do. 

Whatever your path is to and through these things; Pregnancy or adoption. Breast or bottle. Work or stay at home. However you do it, YOU do it. You do it everyday. You make choices. You dig deep and form opinions on what is going to work for your family. You study. And you love so hard that you'll question everything on this earth except the fact that you have to do it all. 

And I take pride in all of that. I do that and I am proud of myself. I look at her and I swell with pride. I swell with pride and like Kryptonite it shrinks everything else that could have the potential to define me in the negative. I swell with pride and I look at the previously insurmountable and think "well I made a freaking person! A freaking awesome person! I can do THAT!" I feel that confidence and failure isn't as fearful. If I failed a course, received criticism, lost a job, was unsuccessful in an interview or was betrayed in any way none of these things could take me as low as once they would have. Because after them all, I still did that.

So in the spirit of UK Mothering Sunday tomorrow read this. If your card is a bit crap and your tea in bed is weak and cold give yourself the gift of well done. Confidence in everything you do because look at what you do! And some fearlessness too! 

Happy Mother's Day!

How Euna rocks a birthday, with pancakes for breakfast...

Presents and cards...

A family trip out...

Party dress was obligatory...

Friends, family and food...

Cake! Of course!

At what point do we stop eating cake by the fistful?

Lesson

Be proud. Celebrate them. Celebrate you.

One.

One whole year. It went a bit like this... 

7th March 2012. About an hour old... First clothes... First kiss... First cuddle... First feed... She doesn't even have a name here...

 1 month... She changes daily...

 2 months... Such a smiler... Finally get her out of baby grows...

Start the blog... Tummy time... Holding her head...

 3 months...

 Swimming...

4 months...

 5 months... (Just gonna watch Usain Bolt win a world record...)

 6 months...

First food...

 7 months...

 Halloween...

 8 months...

 Guy Fawkes Night...

 9 months...

 10 months...

 11 months...

 11.5 months...

Yes my camera takes up half my nappy bag. No there's not a huge amount of point taking it to Sainsburys. I knoooowwwww I annoy everybody with the incessant click click click. Oh but it's so worth it to be able to look at her grow like this.

Happy Birthday Darling Girl!!! xxx

"Crafting" at its finest...

EVERYONE is crafty when making toys is this easy... I kid you not... In an entire room filled with plastic, stuffed and wheeled specimens of our world's toymaker's finest here is my baby playing with a jam jar and a bunch of milk bottle tops... For ONE HOUR. That's right... An entire HOUR. 

Let's call this revolution in homemade, hand-crafted toys The Jam Jar and Milk Bottle Tops 5000. To make The Jam Jar and Milk Bottle Tops 5000 you will need... Grab a pad...

1) A jam jar

2) Milk bottle tops 

I think the rest is reasonably self-explanatory... ;) 

Lesson

Get friends who are child development genius' and teach early years education. Steal their ideas, blog about it and hope they don't come here too often. ;)

My First Sponsor...

Well I'm just going to cut straight to it and admit... MY FIRST SPONSOR IS MY MUM OK?!?!?!!! 
Regardless of relation this is my first real sponsor... The Blue Goose! It's a fabulous online and inshore furniture, interiors, giftware and home accessories retailer.  It's a very family run business. There's my Mum, Julia, The Boss. 

 Also known as Nanny...

My Uncle Jim (her brother) who does all the furniture finishing and up-cycling (yes we're eco too you know)...

 And since going on maternity leave there's ME! I'm running the show on the website, adding products, starting to market us and running the Facebook Page. (Be your best friend forever if you pop over and give it a "Like" and a "Share")...

 Here's some of what we do...

If you think you might be interested in sponsorship with a similar post and button spot to the right comment below with your email address and I'll get in touch! :D