Dear Annika - you're one!

Dear little Annika,

It is SUCH a gift to be writing this birthday letter. I thought my baby days were long behind me... but the Lord knew our (not so little!) family wasn't complete without you. What a wonderful journey this has been. From the moment we found out you were on your way, we have cherished every moment. You are truly loved... I'm not sure there's ever been such a doted on baby. Your big siblings are all besotted and would do anything for you. You reward them well - with funny faces, giddy giggles and beaming toothy grins. It is a joy to have you as part of our family, and it is a privilege to find myself taking this Mama ride for the fifth time round.

Dear Elias - you're 7!

Dear Li-Li,

Our super flexible, football-loving, Harry-Potter-mad bundle of fun. You are sweet natured, sensitive and kind bundled up in a flurry of activity and boyish mischief. You are the epitome of an oxymoron - gentle, yet wild - fun, yet serious - cuddly, yet active... you have ridiculous depths to your brain and often startle your Papa and I with the kind of questions you come out with.

You surprised us with an early arrival 7 years ago (6 weeks early - eek!) and you've been surprising us ever since!

Happy Easter // Me and Mine in March

What a lovely, jam-packed weekend, celebrating the life-changing news that Jesus is alive! SO many special moments which I want to record here properly as the week goes on, but in the meantime I just wanted to say HAPPY EASTER to you all, and to sign off on March before we welcome April!

Me and Mine in March - my lively, fun-loving, slightly crazy crew.

World Book Day // Better Late than Never!

A little late to the party, but didn't want to let our first World Book Day with Annika pass us by without documenting it - I also LOVED the kids costume choices this year! They chose well!

I was on the ball for a change! Usually our costumes are thrown together a bit last minute as all my creative attention has been on Heidi's parties, but this year we had her party a little earlier, and the kids came up with their ideas well in advance, so for once, I was actually on it!

Life round ours // A Weekend Documented

A few years ago, there was a blogging photo project that I took part in every month called the #homelifeproject - I've assumed its disappeared now, as much of the blogging world has evolved and changed and moved itself onto other platforms, but on Friday afternoon, as the children were going about their different after school activities, I remembered it and the joy of documenting the ordinary, very small, insignificant scenes that are actually the moments that make a life.

I miss that.

And so I decided to document again. Just this weekend, to pick up my camera a bit more and not ask for poses or highlights - but just document the every day ordinary...

FRIDAY

Heidi's Escape Room Party - The Circus Medrano Challenge!

Time is flying by at force at the moment, and its hard to believe that two weeks have already passed since Heidi's 11th birthday party! It was such a fun one though, and while I've been a bit lax sharing the birthday parties in recent years, I didn't want to miss this one!

Whatever the Weather // On Sleeping Scandi Style!

 

In Norway, with very little exception, babies sleep outside in nature. It's a beautiful tradition which has stood the test of time, and which I first adopted on our first trip to Norway as parents back in 2011, when Ava was just nine weeks old.  I was a new Mama... still in the overwhelmed stage but definitely out of the initial "shock to the system - life is changed forever" phase. I was eager to learn and very aware of my own cluelessness and was desperate to do a "good job". I read every book I could get my hands on, devoured motherhood blogs and podcasts and soaked in conversations with more seasoned mothers than myself.

So when I rocked up in Norway, and friends and family began encouraging me with all the benefits of outdoor napping, I bundled my 9 week old baby up, laid her in her pram, put the raincover over her and parked her outside the kitchen window in the drizzle!