Wednesday 27 July 2016

Review: Mothercare Madrid Car Seat

I'm not going to lie, the world of car seats is a minefield to me and when it came to choosing Ava's next seat I was stumped. There are so many seats out there, each with different features and ranging from budget to eye-wateringly expensive. We plan to buy a new car soon, and didn't want to spend a fortune only to realise the seat wouldn't then fit in our new car but unfortunately we couldn't keep Ava in her infant carrier much longer. That girl has got to be sitting up and seeing what is going on in the world!
 
 
 
With that in mind, we eventually settled on the Mothercare Madrid Combination car seat, which retails at £90 (but was a steal at £45 when we bought it!). This is a group 1 seat which is suitable from birth to 18kg (approx 4 years) and can be either rear or forward facing. With new guidelines coming into force requiring children to rear-face until they reach fifteen months, I knew I wanted a car seat which would allow this, and then further use once Ava is ready to face forward. The seat has a five-point safety harness, with individual harness tensioners for added safety and extra deep side wings for impact protection. It also reclines on it's own axis, and has three positions.
 
The installation instructions are my biggest gripe with the seat- they are rubbish! There are no words, just pictures which are quite obscure and hard to make sense of! I ended up watching a tutorial on Youtube, and googling for further explanation. As a result, the seat took much longer than anticipated to install but I think this would easily be fixed if they just added some text to the instructions! This isn't an isofix seat, so the belt does obstruct your way when getting the child into the seat. At the moment this isn't a problem as Ava is small enough to fit through the top gap, although when she's bigger I'll have to put her in from the other side. Saying that though, by that point she will probably be ready to forward-face and there wont be an issue, but keep it in mind in case you maybe also have another car seat at the other side.
 
 
 
Once (finally) in, the seat does feel really secure and looks protective. The cover is well padded and seems comfortable, and there is a removable insert and headrest for younger babies. I will say though that the seat is very upright, so personally I wouldn't use it for a newborn. Ava has just turned 8 months, and has been sitting up confidently for about 2 months so it is perfect for her, but I'd be hesitant to use it before six months. At the moment we are rear-facing, and I can only get the seat to recline into one position, but Ava has fallen asleep a few times and it's been perfect- her head doesn't fall forward which is something I worried about. The side wings are perfect for this too as sometimes her head will fall to the side slightly, but these support her and prevent it from falling too far. I am looking forward to trying out the rest of the recline positions once we move to forward facing, although it'll be just my luck that she stops napping then!
 
 
 
I think the seat looks great too, and definitely more expensive than the £45 we paid for it! It is also available in red (although be aware that I've seen this in real life and I'd definitely say it is pink). The cream insert can be separated, and the whole cover is removable so can be washed if any accidents occur. So far, both Ava and I are loving the seat, and she is thoroughly enjoying being able to sit up in the car. I actually wish I'd moved her a little earlier and saved myself some moaning car journeys!

Pros
- Price
- Can rear or forward face
- Can use from birth if required
- Removable, washable covers
- Five-point harness, easily adjustable straps
- Deep side wings
- Comfortable
- Reclines ( three when forward-facing)

Cons
- Can only recline once when rear-facing
- Instructions difficult to follow
- Seat belt causes some obstruction when putting baby in
- Bulky (base also takes up some of the middle seat)

Sunday 24 July 2016

My Sunday Photo: Monkey Baby

As you can see, Ava loves nothing more than climbing- especially things she's not supposed to. Stairs, couches, toy boxes, bumbos... you name it, she'll attempt it! Just look at that cheeky grin! This one is going to be trouble!
 
 
 
 
 

Friday 22 July 2016

Bump Journals, Wedding Songs and a New Job | #LittleLoves

This week summer finally arrived in Scotland! In true Scottish fashion, we got one glorious day followed by three days of thunder, lightening and torrential rain so I guess that's that. I'm not holding out much hope for a proper summer- bring on Winter I say!

 
Read
I've been giving my Bump to Birthday journal a much needed update this week and went back and read it all from the start. My pregnancy feels like forever ago and I'd forgotten so many of the little details. I'm so glad I had everything noted down to look back on.
 
 
Watched
Very late I know, but we are finally up to date with Game of Thrones! In our defence, we only started watching it a couple of months ago so we've got through the whole lot pretty fast. I love a spoiler but D doesn't, so I was keeping my mouth shut for soooo long about the end of season 6. His face was worth it though!
 
 
 
Heard
Ava's new favourite song is 'Fixer Upper' from Frozen so we've had that on constantly. She dances and waves her arms about the whole time it's on, super cute!
 
 
 
This week I've also been listening to possible wedding songs for the ceremony and have narrowed it down to two which will be shared in due course!
 
Made
I've been continuing with my baby finger food mission and have made banana bread, sweetened with apple juice rather than sugar. It was a definite hit with Little Miss!
 
 
 
Wore
Hmm nothing very exciting unfortunately! With this heat Ava has spent most of the week in just her vest, and me in shorts and a strappy top.
 
And lastly...
I got a new job! I'm not sure if I've mentioned before, but I went back to work on a self-employed basis when Ava was 6 months old but it simply didn't work. Shifts were coming up last minute, some up to 70 miles away and I was having to chase companies for my wages! It was very all-or-nothing, and I hated it. This job is closer to home, with set hours and is part-time, so I'll still have lots of time to spend with Ava. A massive weight has been lifted off my shoulders, and I'm so looking forward to having some work-life balance.
 
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Wednesday 20 July 2016

A Mummy Update: 9 Months On

I am now nine months post C-section, and physically I'm feeling pretty good. As you know, I had an emergency section which thankfully went as perfectly as it could, and I've been left with no lasting issues. My scar has healed well, and has faded to light pink so I'm happy with that.



As I mentioned in my three month update, I gained 3 stone during my pregnancy. By the end of February I'd got down to 9st 12lbs (10lbs above my pre-pregnancy weight), but this has now crept back up to 10st 3lbs. Argh! Ava started sleeping through the night in March, and it has become our routine to treat ourselves to tea and cakes once she's down for the night at 7pm. We have also got engaged, so have had far too many celebration meals, cocktails and treats. I'm mad at myself for letting my weight creep back up, but to be honest I've been enjoying the past few months too much to care. Now the time has come to really do something about it though, and I'm lucky that D is joining me on my health quest so hopefully I should have more willpower! My aim is to be back to my pre-pregnancy weight for Ava's birthday in October, and to keep it off until after our wedding in May next year!

The stretch-marks are fading on my tummy area quite nicely, but are still vivid on my legs. The tops of my thighs I'm not bothered about as I don't tend to go around showing that bit off (!) but the ones of my calves have been bothering me, especially with the recent nice weather. I've had to wear maxi dresses as I'm too self-conscious of that area. I've started using Bio-Oil to see if that makes a difference, although I did use it all through my pregnancy and still fell victim to the stretch-marks. Hopefully by next summer I'll be able to wear shorts, as I don't think a maxi-dress will be the most practical item to run about after a toddler in!

Emotionally I'm the happiest and most content I've ever been. I feel so lucky to have an amazing daughter and fiance and I genuinely feel like I've got everything I ever wanted. I'm so enjoying this period of my life, and just wish I could stretch it out forever. I returned to work in May, and I am hating it. Obviously I have Mummy Guilt at leaving Ava, but I know she's well looked after by family and she actually doesn't give two hoots when I leave which makes it much easier. However, the work-life balance is simply not working for any of us. At the moment I'm self-employed, and it is causing so much stress when shifts are cancelled, come up last minute or get moved miles away. On average I'll be out of the house from 6am-8pm to work a seven hour shift because of the amount of travel, and it is completely knocking Ava's routine out of the window. On top of that I'm having to deal with companies paying me late (or not at all!) and it's just not worth it. I'm very lucky that I only have to work a couple of days a week, but the overall stress is awful and beginning to impact on our family life. I'm now on the hunt for a part-time job much closer to home, even if that means turning my back on my degree. For me now my family is much more important, and thankfully D is supportive of that. Wish me luck!




Monday 18 July 2016

Meal Plan Monday


Last week's healthy eating bid went well, as it always does at first- but this week will be the real test to see if we stick to it! Baby A has started to eat more of our meals, so this has given me the encouragement to plan healthy baby-friendly dinners that we can enjoy together as a family!

This week we'll be having:

Monday
Cod with tomato and chorizo baked eggs
 
Tuesday
Chicken and broccoli pasta
 
Wednesday
In-laws for tea
 
Thursday
Spanish rice and prawn one pot
 
Friday
Beef stir-fry
 
Saturday
Sweet potato mac and cheese
 
Sunday
Cottage pie
 
I've made the mistake of writing this in that hungry hour before lunch so I must dash for a snack haha!
 
 

Sunday 17 July 2016

My Sunday Photo: Chocolate Cake

This is a face that says 'No Mama, I simply cannot manage lumps of fruit as they make me gag but that chocolate cake will go down just fine!'
 
 
 
 

Friday 15 July 2016

Love Island, Winter Weather and Pizza Pinwheels | #LittleLoves

This week hasn't been very eventful I'm afraid! The weather here in Glasgow is still woeful so we've been stuck indoors most of the time. All three of us have had the snuffles this week too, resulting in lots of snuggle days on the couch!

Read
Ava has taken a real interest in her books lately and will now happily sit still and be read to. We have implemented a new bedtime routine with her being settled and sleeping in her own room, and we now take the time to read some stories right after we put her into her cot and this makes her lie still and soothes her off to sleep. Her favourite story at the moment is 'Night Monkey Day Monkey' by Julia Donaldson as the story rhymes and flows easily whilst the pictures are wonderful to look at.

 

Watched
The Love Island final! I'm so glad that Nathan and Cara won, I really wasn't keen on any of the others as genuine couples but the series as a whole has been totally addictive. What am I going to watch at night now?!

 

Heard
I've recently switched my car radio over to Smooth as I was sick of hearing the same few songs over and over again on other channels and I've been loving listening to some golden oldies! I'll admit I've been driving down the motorway singing at the top of my lungs a few times this week!


 

Made
These puff pasty pizza pinwheels (there's a mouthful for you!). I'm trying to get Ava onto more finger foods and maybe replacing one meal a day with proper solid food so I've been researching and trying a few baby-friendly recipes. They turned out ok for a first attempt and seemed to go down well with little miss!

 

Wore
I adore this little blouse from Primark, and it was only £3.50! I've been saving it for a sunny day as it bares the whole arm but it seems like summer is never going to arrive so she has been wearing it with a cardi on top. Fingers crossed for some brighter weather soon!

 

And lastly...
After a busy couple of weeks I'm so looking forward to slowing down and spending some proper quality time with Ava next week. We have a few activities planned, but other than that I plan to just slow down and take things easy with lots of playing at home, seeing family and taking trips to our local park (if the weather permits)!

 

Wednesday 13 July 2016

Ava's 9 Month Update




And just like that my baby has reached nine months old! This past month has been a huge one in terms of development, and we have seen a lot of changes in Ava. I'm still not sure of her weight as our clinic is only on once a month for two hours and I keep having things on that day.We are still using size 4 nappies and they're fine through the day but I might need to switch her to size 5s for night-time as she has woken up damp a couple of times in the past week. The majority of her clothing is now 9-12 months, although she can still get away with a couple of smaller items, especially tops and jackets.
 
This month we've both had another cold and Ava suffered with a particularly bad cough, which kept making her sick so we had a fair few unsettled nights and lazy couch days but she has bounced back perfectly now.


 
Ava's eating has come on leaps and bounds and she is now confident with lumps and finger foods (at last!). We are doing a mixture of spoon feeding and finger foods at each meal now, as she wouldn't eat enough on her own to feel full but I'm quite happy with that. She has dropped her 2pm bottle in the past couple of weeks, so now has 7oz upon waking in the morning, 7oz at bedtime and a dream feed at 10.30pm of around 4oz. I was a bit worried about her lack of milk but her friend seems to have dropped his afternoon feed as well so maybe this is what they're meant to do? In any case she has dairy throughout the day in the form of cheese, yoghurt and milk in cooking so I think she's doing just fine. She seems perfectly happy without it anyway, and still goes down for her nap no bother- phew!
 
Speaking of naps, we are now down to two a day but they are so much longer than before, which is blissful! Ava will now nap from around 9-10.30am and 2-4pm, whereas before she would only go down for a half hour at a time. Night-time has been a bit up in the air recently, as she has now moved into her own room and her big cot! It's taking a bit longer to settle her in the evening because of this, but once she's down she sleeps as normal until about 6am. Because of the late nights, she's still been pretty tired at 6am but refuses to sleep any longer, so we've had a few highly strung mornings recently! Hopefully she'll get used to her new surroundings and start to settle quicker soon.
 
 
 
Developmentally, we've had lots of firsts this month! These include cruising, being able to get up and back down easily (before she'd stand up but be stuck like that), walking with the aid of her walker, giving spontaneous kisses, saying 'Mama' and 'hiya,' clapping and climbing the stairs! Watching her develop and learn so much has been amazing, but extra tiring because we are having to chase her constantly. It's so much fun though, and I can't wait to see what she gets up to over the next month.

Monday 11 July 2016

Meal Plan Monday

This week we are embarking on a healthy eating regime in a bid for me to lose my final stone of baby weight! My main problem is snacking and eating far too much cake at night, so our dinners wont be changing drastically, although I have tweaked them a teeny bit.



This week we'll be having:

Monday: Salmon, quinoa and broccoli
 
Tuesday: Sweet potato cottage pie
 
Wednesday: In-laws for tea
 
Thursday: Venison steak, rice and ratatouille
 
Friday: Chicken curry and cauliflower rice
 
Saturday: Tuna pasta bake
Some form of cake (if I've been good!)
 
Sunday: Roast chicken with an appropriate portion of mash, veg and Yorkshires!
 
I'm planning to make a big pot of soup for my lunches and maybe even get my workout gear on and do some exercise. Did you see that pig flying by there?!
 
 

Sunday 10 July 2016

My Sunday Photo: Park Life

We first took Ava to a park to try the swings when she was around six months, but she wasn't a fan. She enjoyed sitting in them and watching the other children play, but would freak out if we gave her a little push. She's quite a timid little thing, so I think the motion scared her a little but after a few visits she has slowly improved and is now loving them! Now we just need some better weather so we can take advantage of all our local parks!
 
 
 
 
 
 

Friday 8 July 2016

Nostalgia, Indulgence and Dream a Little Dream | #LittleLoves

This week D has been off work and we've had lots of family time which has been lovely. The weather hasn't been good to us, but what else is new? We're used to it living in Scotland!


Read
Thanks to Daddy being around, I've had more spare time than usual so I've actually managed to start a book. I got 'Dream a Little Dream' by Giovanna Fletcher at Christmas, and I've really enjoyed her other novels so I was excited to start this one. Based on a woman whose dream crush appears in real life it promises to be a romantic chick-lit which is my favourite genre! I'm about halfway through at the moment and would definitely recommend!
 
 
 
 
Watched
Now that we have Netflix I've taken to indulging in a nostalgic movie whenever I have the chance. This week I've watched The Parent Trap and the Lizzie McGuire movie and I'm not in the slightest bit ashamed!
 
 
 
 
 
Heard
Thanks to said movies above I've had far too many cheesy movie soundtracks on whilst cleaning.
 
 
 
 
Made
Not much at all! We've eaten out an awful lot this week, but if you can't do that when on holiday when can you? Next week we are starting a healthy eating regime so we've made the most of our last week of freedom!
 
Wore
This dress from Next is one of my favourite ever outfits of Ava's. Unfortunately I think this will probably be the last time she wears it as it seems to be getting shorter and shorter each time!

 
 
And Lastly...
As I mentioned, next week marks the start of our healthy eating regime and I'm hoping to find some willpower to do some form of exercise. I still have just over a stone of baby weight to get rid of, and I'm determined to do it before her first birthday!
 
Have a lovely week!
 
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Thursday 7 July 2016

Ava's 8 Month Update

Eight months old! And what a month it has been- crawling, talking and teething!
 
 

I still haven't had Ava weighed at the clinic, but I did weigh her myself at home and she's around. I know it's not particularly accurate, but it gives me a rough idea. She is still wearing size 4 nappies, and 6-9 month clothes, although I have had to move her into 9-12 month leggings since she's Little Miss Long Legs!

Weaning is still going great, and she seems to be getting better with lumps and finger food which is a huge relief. I was worried that by using purees at the beginning that I'd put her off learning to chew but she has grasped the concept now. I can't think of anything she dislikes at the moment, and she'll happily sit and eat three main meals and several snacks throughout the day. She is loving toast at the moment, as well as cheerios, strawberries, bananas and baby biscuits. As before, she is still loving her main meals to contain meat- she's a proper little carnivore, although she'll make the exception for cauliflower cheese, which is still her absolute favourite!
 
 
 
We seem to have settled into a routine of getting up around 6am, napping at 8am, 11.30am and 3pm and going down for the night at 7pm which is working quite nicely! Naps are still only lasting around 30 minutes though as madam is just too nosey and can't bear to miss anything.

As I mentioned, Ava started crawling on the 31st May at 7.5months old! Now there is no stopping her and she is a little speed machine. She is so pleased with herself and it's hilarious to see. Other milestones include kneeling up, putting in her own dummy, gives kisses when asked and finally being able to handle her own cup. She adores being around other children, and especially watching older kids running about.

The first tooth has come though as well this month and I must say that it caused minimal fuss! Ava has been wearing an amber teething necklace for the past few months, and I'd highly recommend it! Obviously I can't say for sure whether it worked its 'magic' but it certainly doesn't hurt to give it a go!

Wednesday 6 July 2016

Ava's 7 Month Update



After months of effort we have finally mastered rolling! Ava first rolled from back to front on the 26th April and hasn't stopped since! Nappy changes have become very tricky indeed! She can now roll and get herself up on her knees ready to crawl, but hasn't quite worked out how to move haha. She is sitting very confidently, and never spends any time on her back. Sadly she has started to outgrow her jumperoo as she hates being contained in any one place. The jumperoo was our trick to allow us to have dinner in peace, so we'll have to think of a new tactic fast!

I haven't had Ava weighed recently, but I can see she's putting on weight so I'm happy with that. She is still comfortably wearing 6-9 month clothing and size 4 nappies. She is now only having 3 bottles during the day (7oz) and a dream feed when we go up to bed of a couple of ounces.

Weaning is going fabulously and she absolutely loves her food! I don't know what I was so worried about! Ava is now on three meals a day as well as two snacks, and we're doing a mixture of mashed food and baby-led weaning. Now she's nearly seven months we have introduced meat and dairy to her diet and she loves both. Favourite meals at the moment include cauliflower cheese, salmon and broccoli risotto, spaghetti bolognese and lamb hotpot. At first, I made all of her food from scratch, but as her palate has become more accustomed to complicated flavours we have started to introduce some jars and pouches to allow her to try out new flavour combinations.

Ava is still going to bed at 7pm, but has started waking earlier due to the light mornings and we've had a couple of 5am starts. These don't benefit anyone though as we're all still tired so we have bought a Gro-blind in a bid to get her to sleep a wee bit longer. We had planned to move her into her own room in April during my OHs week off work but I couldn't bear to part with her! She hasn't outgrown her Snuzpod yet, so I'm just going to keep her in that for as long as possible and then move her. I don't want to leave it so long that it will cause problems, but at the same time I don't want to let her go!

Tuesday 5 July 2016

Ava's 6 Month Update

April 2016
 
Happy half birthday little one!




At 25 weeks Ava weighed 16lb 3oz, and is becoming such a little chunk! We moved onto 6-9 month clothing soon after she turned 5 months, and are still using size 4 nappies.  Her hair is beginning to lighten and has become super thick on one side! My gran is always saying that she must have been lying in the womb on her thinner side and that's why the hair is slower to grow there!

We started weaning at 22 weeks using vegetable purees and it was most definitely the right decision! I was so hesitant about it and had actually put it off for a couple of weeks despite feeling that she was ready but I wish I'd gone with my gut now. The change in Ava was almost overnight- she had become pretty fussy in general (probably because she was hungry but didn't want milk) but is now SO contented and happy, it's unbelievable. Her first taste was baby porridge at breakfast, but she wasn't keen so we switched to giving her a cube of veg puree at dinner time. At the moment she dislikes anything green, but is loving sweet potato, carrots, parsnips and turnip. We are just about to introduce a second meal each day and see how we get on. We are still giving five bottles a day, but the mid-morning one is reducing slightly each day.

Now, we don't know if it's coincidence or not, but after weaning for a few days Ava started sleeping through the night! We have also started getting her down earlier at night, and she is currently sleeping from 7pm until around 6am. The night feeds didn't bother me (I secretly loved those sleepy cuddles!) but it's wonderful to have a couple of hours in the evening to just chill and spend some time as a couple again. Ava is still napping 2-3 times a day, but only for around 30mins each time. We can't really complain though seeing as she's down all night!

She has managed to roll from front to back a couple of times, but I think that's just determination as she hates tummy time! She is still trying hard to get from back to front, and is very nearly there. She is sitting up fairly steadily now though, and is happy to use the playmat again as long as we don't lie her down on it! Now that she's sitting, we no longer use our Angelcare bath support, and she sits in a proper little seat instead. This causes a fight when I'm washing her hair though- it was so much easier to rinse off the shampoo when she was reclined in her support!

What were your little ones up to at six months?

Sunday 3 July 2016

My Sunday Photo: The Big Girl Seat

This week Ava moved into a Group 1 car seat and is loving it! The infant carrier was restricting her view, and she was desperate to sit up straight in it which was causing stressful journeys if we were in the car alone! We settled on the Mothercare Madrid seat which can be used from birth to four years, and either rear or forward face. I'll do a full review on it once we've given it a proper go, but for now munchkin seems very happy!




Saturday 2 July 2016

Ava's 5 Month Update

March 2016
 
Five months old. How is that even possible?! I swear it was only yesterday I was five months pregnant!



Ava turned five months old on the 13th March, and at 20 weeks (2nd March) she weighed 15lb 7oz, placing her in between the 50th and 75th centile. She is still wearing her 3-6month clothing, although I think we'll have to move her up to the next size soon, especially in leggings. She clearly doesn't take after her mummy with her long legs!

Milk-wise, we are offering five 7oz bottles in the day although she seems to have gone off milk completely and each feed is a real battle. She was ill at the beginning of March, so I'm unsure whether it's due to that, or if she's looking for something else. For that reason I'm thinking of starting to wean her a teeny bit early because I just feel like she's hungry but not being satisfied by milk. Sleeping is just the same as the last couple of months- down at 9pm and up around 3ish for a bottle and then straight back down again with naps roughly every 2hrs after waking throughout the day.

As I mentioned, we had our first proper bout of illness and it was bloody awful. Poor little miss had an ear infection at 20 weeks and ended up on antibiotics. These quickly cleared it up but the first couple of days when she was in pain, lethargic, not eating and sleeping constantly were such a worry- especially as we didn't know what it was and if it was something more serious. Thankfully she's right as rain now and we'll be able to recognise the symptoms right away if it ever occurs again.

Developmentally she is working hard at sitting and rolling, although hasn't quite mastered either yet! She is raring to have some more freedom though and gets so frustrated if she's left lying on the floor or playmat for longer than two minutes!

What were your little ones up to at five months?

Ava's 4 Month Update

Tomorrow our little munchkin will be four months! I remember it feeling like an eternity to reach four months pregnant, yet this last four have just whizzed by! She is getting so big now, looking at her newborn pictures make me so emotional!


I haven't managed to have her weighed this month as the clinic was on right after her injections and she just wanted to sleep, but I did a quick estimate with our scales at home and I reckon she's around 14lb 1oz, keeping her on the 75th centile. We have moved up to size 3 nappies this month, and she is comfortably fitting her 3-6month clothing.
Feeding wise, we are now on a 4hr schedule. I was finding she wasn't properly ready after 3hrs and was wasting a lot of milk, so we started leaving her a bit longer and she's now draining 7oz at a time. We also switched to the stage 3 teats as she seemed frustrated while feeding and would lose interest quickly and these seem to have done the trick nicely.
In the past few weeks Ava has become much better at napping through the day, and we now have a bit of routine going which allows me to get on with some things. The house is looking marginally better on a day-to-day basis! Usually she will sleep for 45mins at 9.30am, an hour at 11.30am and two hours at 3pm, although I do wake her from the last nap so she's ready for bed. The 4 month sleep regression has hit us at night unfortunately, and she will very rarely sleep through now, but can only stay awake long enough for a couple of ounces of milk. We've had a few awful nights where she's been up four or five times and will only sleep in my arms. Of course, she only does this through the week when it's always Mummy's job to get up! I think her teeth are contributing to this, so I'm going to try an amber teething anklet on her and see how we get on.
She seems to have moved past her clingy phase thankfully, and will quite happily be held by anyone although she does still look to make sure I'm there. She has become really cheeky in the past month and has learnt to blow raspberries and takes her dummy out to throw it away when she doesn't fancy going for a nap! She is also squealing and shouting to get her point across! She is very close to sitting up unaided and rolling from back to front. She has let out a couple of sniggers lately, but we are still waiting eagerly for a proper giggle!
She's definitely fallen out of love with her playmat and I can only manage to get her on it for five minutes at a time so I think that will be packed away soon although she is obsessed with her Jumperoo! We now put her in that at dinner-time and can actually eat together. She has also become more co-ordinated with her toys and will grab them and bring them to her mouth.
This month will be a big one for her: she is off to her first sleepover at Gran's while we go to a wedding. I'm dreading it already, although I know it'll be good for both Ava and us. We are also going to start swimming with her next week and I have her booked on to a few baby groups to cure her mid-morning boredom.

Friday 1 July 2016

Wedding Planning, GoT and Princesses | #LittleLoves

Friday again, and the start of a whole new month! As you can probably guess I'm giving the whole blogging thing a try again, and aiming to be more organised so that I'm actually able to work on it consistently, and not let it fall by the wayside! Let's see eh?

Read
 
Nothing! I haven't read a book since before Ava was born, which is most unlike me! I really have to get back into it. I have spent numerous hours on the Scottish Wedding Directory for ideas though- does that count?
 
Watched
 
Lots and lots of Game of Thrones. I know, we're very late to the party! I had no interest in it at all but D has recently finished reading the books so we started watching- now I'm hooked! We're on Season 5 so aren't too far behind!
 
Source: www.hbo.com
 
Heard
 
Ava has recently started to enjoy the Frozen soundtrack, so we've been listening to that when we're in the car.
 
 
 
Made
 
My very first swiss roll! And it turned out very nicely if I do say so myself! I've also 'made' lots of plans- blogging, working, meals etc. General organisation really!
 
Wore
 
Princess capes!
 
 
 
And Lastly...
This week D is off work on holiday and we can't wait for some family time! Hopefully the weather is good to us. I'm also hoping for a few long lies too by the way (I know you're reading this)!
 
Have a lovely week!
 
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