Goodbye 2013!

2013 has been such a good year for me. I started writing this blog on 14th Jan 2013 as a way to look back on C's development. I cannot believe how far it has come and I can't fathom why people keep coming back for a read!

C was only 4 months old at the start of this year so 2013 saw lots of "firsts", sitting up, standing, walking, etc. and I'm so pleased that I have been able to document them here. 

We even had my 21st birthday, C's 1st birthday and the announcement that Chris's sister is expecting a baby in May so I will be an auntie!

I'm so grateful for my wonderful family and we really have had the perfect end to this year...<3

I can't wait to see what 2014 brings us. 

Happy New Year, everyone!

Would You Like Free Money?

No, I'm not pulling your leg! I love saving money wherever I can. I have lots of store loyalty cards like Boots Advantage, Superdrug Beauty, Nectar etc, and I save up all year until Christmas time then I can use those points to buy presents.

A few months ago, my blogger friend Helen from Mummy to the Max introduced me to a website called InstaGC. 

InstaGC literally means 'Instant GiftCards'. You can complete tasks like, listen to the radio, watch videos and download apps in order to earn points. When you've earned your points, you can exchange them for vouchers to use in places such as: Amazon, Asda, ASOS, B&Q, Groupon, iTunes, Rixty, Skype, Starbucks and The Honest Company.

I always redeem mine for Amazon vouchers and I recently bought my other half World War Z on DVD, absolutely free!

I definitely recommend everyone sign up. It's so worth it. You can sign up for your own account here.

Happy earning!

Merry Christmas!

Hello everyone! I just wanted to stop by to wish you all a Merry Christmas! I hope you have all had a great day and got spoiled! 

Chris, unfortunately, had to work 2pm-10pm on Christmas Eve so C and I went to Chris's mums for the evening. When Chris got home, and we made sure C was in his "big sleep", we started playing Santa. Luckily, I had all the smaller presents wrapped to Chris just built the bigger ones. It took him about an hour and a half to put the Fisher-Price Ballapalooza up! I couldn't wait to see his face the following morning. 

Morning came and Chris and I woke up at 6.30am. C would not wake up for love nor money. Chris even sat him up to put his dressing gown on, carried him downstairs but, nothing! I took this time to get myself dressed and as Chris has two younger brothers (5 & 3) he headed round the corner to his mums to watch them open their presents. 

Chris came back and we ended up being able to wake C up. At first, he didn't really clock on about the fact that all of these presents and toys were for him and as he was literally just awake, he had a bit of a cry. Once he got over the shock of being woken up, he was fine and ripping paper everywhere!

We headed to Chris's mums for a lovely Christmas dinner and settled down at home in the evening watching the Mrs Browns Boys and Father Ted Christmas Specials! Perfect end to a perfect day. 

Ella's Kitchen & The 1st EVER Mini Queen's Christmas Speech

Whilst the nation enjoys the traditional mid-afternoon Queen’s address after tucking in to Christmas dinner this year, little ones across the country can tune in to enjoy an alternative message created by baby and toddler food experts Ella’s Kitchen.

The very first mini Queen's Christmas speech has been created specifically for tiny tots to enjoy and is set to be broadcast online on Christmas Day.

From the birth of royal baby Prince George to the nation’s favourite subject, the great British weather, the unique speech provides a kids’ perspective on the year’s news stories.

Delivered by mini monarch Grace Dawkins, the Christmas broadcast also contains a selection of special messages and highlights from the Ella’s Kitchen Facebook and Twitter community, celebrating the achievements and tiny triumphs made by little ones across the country.

Paul Lindley, Ella’s Kitchen founder and Ella’s Dad comments: “Christmas is a very exciting time for little ones and we wanted to make it even more memorable by taking a much loved Christmas tradition and giving it our very own Ella’s Kitchen twist.

“We hope little ones across the country – maybe even baby Prince George – enjoy watching our mini Queen’s Christmas speech and who knows, maybe it will even become an annual occurrence!”

You can watch the mini Queen’s Christmas speech when it airs on the Ella’s Kitchen Facebook page at 3pm on Christmas Day (25th December): www.facebook.com/ellaskitchen or via YouTube: http://bit.ly/1drsnMh

C at 15 months

C is now 15 months old! I can't believe how quickly the months are flying by and soon enough it will be his 2nd birthday! 

This month he his first nose bleed! I woke up one morning and C was still asleep. I noticed some stains on his pillow but I didn't quite click on to what they were. I woke him up and realised that there was dry, crusted blood in and around his right nostril. Poor boy! It didn't harm him at all but it did frighten me a bit!

You can kind of see a little bit of blood. Not the best picture - sorry!

He had a horrible cold his month and that's when the tantrums began properly. He would drop down onto his knees, throw his head back and scream. The tantrums would happen over literally anything but thankfully, he's feeling better now so less tantrums! 

He's learned how to climb up onto the sofa. It's so funny watching him cock one leg up and push himself forward. Becoming too toddler-like for me!

The biggest things he's learned is to walk properly. He went to Clark's to get his first shoes and now there is no stopping him. He much prefers walking to crawling - thank God!

When we give him hugs, he pats our backs and he's constantly giving kisses and saying "mwah!"  He even puts his hand to his mouth and pulls it away to blow kissss too. 

He had his first ever hair cut! Chris's sister is a hairdresser so who better to do it? We just went to Chris's mums and she cut it while he stood and played. Not a peep out of him! He did scratch at his ears though. 

Probably Chris's proudest moment - C is a black metal fan. Chris was playing music through YouTube and C began dancing and head banging!