It's time

The plan was always that once Caleb grew out of his Moses basket, he would then go into a cot in his own room. Since we moved house in October, his room has pretty much been filled with random things that we hadn't yet found homes for yet. Not to mention the fact that the room needs to be painted. So, I was actually pretty pleased that when he moved out of his Moses basket, he moved into his cot. In our room. I wasn't quite ready to let go of my baby boy just yet! I quite like having him sleeping beside me and I always look over at him just before I go to sleep, to appreciate his gorgeousness! I also love the mornings. Luckily Caleb has always been quite a good sleeper and he never wakes up too early. It's always so lovely to be woken by the sound of him chatting away to himself and blowing raspberries. We'll both stay in bed, talking to each other and playing until we decide to actually get up. So when Seth suggested that it might be time for Caleb to move into his own room, I must confess, I was a little sad. Okay, I cried. I know, I'm pathetic, but I really love having him beside me. Plus, this stage seems to have come around so quickly, he was only just born, he can't be going into his own room already! We began to clear the things out of his room so that it would finally actually become his room as opposed to the spare room with stuff in it! Seth did most of the clearing out, I mainly just sat there, keeping him company, I'm helpful like that!

He has had a few nights in his own room now. He doesn't seem to notice any difference and he is more than happy to be in there. I have adjusted surprisingly well. Our room seems a lot bigger, albeit a little empty without his cot there. I go in every night to see him before I go to bed but I don't think there is anything wrong with that!

Lancaster

It's been almost a year and a half since Seth and I moved from Lancaster. We spent the first two years of our married life there (Seth was there for three years at university) and we made some amazing friends during our time there. We had been planning on going back to visit for a while but due to various things, we hadn't yet gotten around to actually going! So a couple of weekends ago, we finally went back up there. We stayed with our good friends, Anna and Phil. Anna is amazing, I love her to bits and we get on so well. She is pregnant with a little boy and has 10 weeks to go until her due date. I am so excited for her! I hope that having Caleb there for the weekend didn't freak her out too much :).

On Saturday, we went to the Crook O' Lune with our other good friends, Richard and Ruth (Ruth is Anna's sister), their children and Guy, Anna and Ruth's brother. We pretty much love their whole family. It was a beautiful, albeit freezing cold day, but it was so lovely to be out in the countryside appreciating the scenery. The walk was fun, it was a bit muddier than any of us had anticipated and the pram wheels were fairly caked in it, but at least it wasn't me pushing it through the mud, ha ha! Thanks, Seth! We had a wonderful time. I should have taken pictures really, I had my camera in my bag but I completely forgot while we were there, and indeed for our whole time in Lancaster! Oh well. Here are some from google images instead. I put the picture of the bridge on here because it always made me smile whenever we drove / I ran past it, it made me think of an upside down ballerina en pointe. I'm weird like that. And yes, I did say that I ran past it, I used to go running almost every day when we lived in Lancaster and I would often run along by the river. I would always try to outrun the cars on the other side of the river. Nine times out of ten I managed it. Not because of my amazing speed but for the most part, they were stuck in traffic.

This is an aerial view of the Crook O'Lune

The Millennium Bridge in Lancaster. 

In the evening, the boys went out to play cricket and we had a girls night at Anna's, along with our friend, Angela. We had hot chocolates, chocolate fondue and a good old girlie catch up, it was so lovely, it felt like I had never been away, I love those girls. Ruth told me that evening, that her son, Hyrum had asked if he would get to play with Seth and I again and when Ruth said that we would be there at church the next day, he had said, "oh good, everyone will be SO happy to see him!". Bless him, he's such a lovely boy!

Church on Sunday was nice, it was great to talk to people that we hadn't seen in ages. I was thrilled that some of the primary children remembered me from when I taught them, I was pretty sure that some of the younger ones would have forgotten me, but they hadn't. I've clearly scarred them for life :). I'm so glad that we finally made the trip to Lancaster, being there reminded me of how nice our time living there was and I am so glad that we made such lovely friends.

Merry Christmas!

I know that it's a little belated, I'm behind on blogging because I was too busy enjoying the Christmas period with the family so I am playing catch up now!

We were with my Mum and Laura for Christmas and the few days leading up to and after Christmas, then we were at Seth's family's for New Years. I know that some couples with babies are more than happy to spend Christmas Day with their own little families, but for us, it's all about being with everyone and so for that reason we headed "home" for Christmas. It was Caleb's first Christmas and he got lots of lovely presents! More than anything though, Caleb was loving being able to spend so much time with family. He loves people and is always full of smiles for everyone.

Such a cute boy!

Family photo

Three generations

Caleb wearing his top his Auntie Lin bought him

What's Christmas without a crown??

Smiles with Laura

Laura slumped on the floor in a food coma on Christmas Day

Caleb rocking his new hat from Grandma

Hanging out with the cousins

and hanging out with the ginger cousins

Watching Kung Fu Panda with Uncle Luke

Caleb's first game of Scrabble. We played two games that night. I won both. Just saying.

I took way too many photos over Christmas, as I had to make sure I properly documented Caleb's first one. We had a wonderful time but it was also really nice as it brought back memories of last Christmas, when we told our families that I was pregnant. It really doesn't seem like it was all that long ago and now, Caleb is here to enjoy Christmas with us.

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas!

Christmas in London

I really love London at Christmas time. I know that a lot of people find the crowds and the hustle and bustle off putting and would rather avoid it when it is mid-December but I love it. Last year Seth and I fully intended to go into London to soak up the Christmassy atmosphere and to see the lights. But then we left it too late and I ended up being ill on the Saturday that we had intended to go. This year I was determined that we would go into London. It was Caleb's first Christmas trip into London. He had been before when the olympics were on and he was only around 3 months old but I thought he might enjoy it more this time!

We took Caleb's pram with us, which was an adventure, going up and down stairs at the tube stations. Thank goodness for Seth who was able to carry it! We probably shouldn't have bothered taking it really as Caleb was in the baby carrier for most of the time. He loves it as he gets to look around and be a part of everything. London may have the reputation of being an unfriendly city and I'm not sure if it's because people were feeling the Christmas spirit but everyone we walked past smiled at us. Having a cute baby in a little bear snowsuit definitely helps, I think!

We walked along Oxford Street and Regent Street to see the lights and then we headed to Covent Garden, which is probably my favourite part of London. It's such a great place to people watch and I love the shops there too! The decorations there were beautiful and it definitely got me into a Christmassy mood. I'm really glad that we were able to go there this year.