Hey little monkey

My little monkey….how is it that you’re getting so big… in 2 months and 3 days time you’ll be turning 2, and I remember the day I first held you in my arms like it was yesterday. It feels like we were blowing out the candle on your very first birthday cake last weekend. All the things that you’ve learnt in these (almost) two short years, how your little personality grows each and every day, your sense of humour has us laughing out loud every day, and how you know what you want so strongly already!

The fact is that I simply can’t imagine life without you in it every day, and every now and then I catch myself in pure amazement that you are actually ours, and that we are in fact parents and somehow managed to progress from the days of wild parties, sleeping in on weekends, spontanious outings and all these sort of things that we took for granted without sometimes even realizing it.

Sometimes it’s overwhelming my  monkey, sometimes I stress that we’re not doing it right, especially like this morning when I’m not sure who had the bigger tantrum, you or me… But then there are so many times I go in to tuck you up at night (ok, let me rather say try and get a blanket to stay on you for more than 2 minutes) and the tears just well up in my eyes just because you seem so perfect, innocent and beautiful in every cell of your body, inside and out and I wonder how on earth I could get frustrated when things aren’t going to plan! The very fact that I shouldn’t exactly win mother of the day award so often, only to be rewarded with  all you wanting from me is for me to pick you up and hold you, your love is so unconditional and for that I just thank you from the bottom of my heart.

My promise to you is that we will try harder as parents every single day, through the tough times and the good times. Thank you for reminding us every day that a smile can fix so many things, and just for loving your mommy and daddy with all your heart. We will make mistakes my monkey, but just know that we love you with all our hearts, to the moon and back, and more than the number of stars in the sky. You are a blessing in our lives, now and forever xxx Love you, Mommy x

Week 17 already (18 tomorrow)

Most people I’ve spoken to agrees that the second pregnancy is a little different from the first, I guess your mind is a little pre-occupied with life with a toddler / baby / little person to give the bump as much attention as you did the first. Don’t get me wrong, not a day goes by where I don’t want to acknowledge the miracle that is growing inside me. The weeks are going by so much faster, I can’t believe that I’m 3 weeks away from half way to bringing this little person into the world and we’ll go from a family of 3 to 4…  Thought I would do a post on recording one’s pregnancy, which also kind of made me think that I need to start a few blog posts for this little baby growing inside me – it’s more than likely our last pregnancy and I want to remember every week of it… so, I’m not promising, but I’m going to try and keep a pregnancy journal of sorts here… my inspiration comes from Hannah Mac

Isn’t this a cute and different way of counting the weeks! (Image from 500px.com)

Or this one from Babble if you have an older sibling that’s being prepared for the arrival of number 2

I haven’t quite managed to explain the baby in my tummy to our monkey, and let’s face it, at 22 months it’s going to be a kind of difficult concept to grasp – this photo made me smile, cause it’s kind of what she does when I mention the baby in my tum!

(Image source)

Colourful kitchen utensils

Sorry, not a long post today, but couldn’t resist sharing this quick and easy DIY project with you! How much would these brighten up your kitchen, and soo easy to do as well. You can see how they were done over at Little Bit Funky

Easter treats for you and your little ones

Not sure where I’ve been, but I’m just woken up to the fact that Easter is just around the corner! I’ve been pretty quite on the blogging front so thought putting up some ideas for Easter would be a good start again!

How cool are these dyed eggs from Skip to my Lou. Pop over to see how to dye eggs using food colouring.

Serve these for breakfast on Easter Morning…

(From Singing with Birds)

Don’t forget to have some bunny bait on hand to make sure the bunny pays your home a visit

How adorable are these cookies from The Decorated Cookie (where they explain how these were made)

Make sure your little ones have an Easter basket of sorts to collect all their eggs in… See how this one was made from Small Fry and Co

Download some free Easter printables from Pieces of Me

Make yourself one of these cute Easter chicks… Pattern (and more adorable pics) available for download over at Myrtle and Eunice 

Here’s another very cool tutorial for dyed eggs from Not Martha – this time they’ve actually put sweets inside, so when they’re cracked open there are treats inside… YUM

And last but not least, let’s not forget to teach our kids what the real meaning of Easter is, not just bright and colourful eggs!

A big girl bed!

So I have to be honest, as super cute that all these big girl beds are in the pics to follow, the thought of moving my monkey (21 months) to a big girl bed is enough to keep me awake at night! The thing is that with monkey 2 on the way, I want her to be settled in a big girl bed before baby arrives (I need the cot!). With only 5 months to go, I reckon I can’t leave it that much longer to give her time to settle in… Any mom’s out there with any tips – please feel free to share the advice on a smooth transition, and more importantly how we’re going to keep her in her bed.

Anyway, don’t you think these ideas are cute! Whether they make the transition any easier, I”m not too sure, but cute either way!

Image from Minlilla Veranda 

Can you imagine how excited I was when a friend sent me the website for Nest – a local company that is an online retail store selling a beautiful range of furniture and storage solutions, just for kids!

(Image from Nest)

(Image from Pinterest)

Love the little lights on this bed from Thrifty Southern Living with Brooke

Flowers, especially for you

I haven’t received a bunch of flowers for a little while now, and you’ve got to agree with me, there’s nothing nicer than a bunch of flowers… from the moment they arrive through the door in the hand of someone you love, to putting them in the vase and them brightening up your home for days to come… Thought I’d brighten up this Tuesday with some flowers for you all

Tutorial to make your own bunch of these flowers here.

Now you might not believe me… but this pot plant is edible! You can get the recipe over at Babble

Pop over to All things Simple for this lovely tutorial for this balloon flower.

Cute cake toppers, from Etsy, to brighten any occasion..

Make your own flower baby mobile using this tutorial from Create Loves

Cute party hats for a flower party from Inchmark

Hope you enjoyed the flowers

 

Double Trouble

So yesterday, a fellow Clamber Club mom shared her amazing news that not only is she pregnant, but she’s got two babies on board. How exciting is that news!!!!

Twin maternity photo shoot from Capturing the Moment

Now this picture would be cute just with one baba, but two makes it just that much more cuter don’t you think! Maybe that’s the story of the lives of families with twins?

Knitted hats available from Etsy

How much of cuteness is this photograph from Amarie Photographe

Cute twin baby grows from Etsy

And just for some extra cute photography – image from Flickr

So clever (and brave) Mommy and Daddy’s who make two special people at once… and to Layla’s buddy at Clamber Club who’s going to be such a beautiful big brother, we wish you lots of love and adventures on the road ahead…

(Image from Zimmerman Life Blog)