1 Year On | Logan

Major Milestones

Logan's not quite walking yet but he's not far off it. His maximum is 9 steps on his own. He will quite confidently take 4 or 5 steps on his own to get from 1 place to another but anything more and he's a little scare. He will walk around for ages just holding on to someone's hand and he's now really good at holding onto just one hand. When he is outside on the grass he loves to run. He will hold onto a hand and he want's to bound away. Its so cute to watch. I think as his confidence on his feet grows the walking will get stronger and stronger.

Talking

As most babies his age he can make loads of sounds but I'm sure when he does say most noises he doesnt really mean anything by them. The only words I think he can say and understand their meaning is Mama, Dada and Hiya. He's not a big one for repeating words, if I say 'can you say Mama... Mama...Mama' over and over again he just looks at me like I'm an idiot. I always have this stupid worry that I don't talk to him enough or I don't read to him enough and that he's never going to pick up words and he won't learn to speak well but I think it's just one of those stupid irrational things that mums worry about. We try and read to him lots, though story time isn't part of our bedtime routine (it doesn't fit in at the moment) We are forever singing to him and talking around him so hopefully he will start picking up words shortly.

Favourite Toys

Toot Animals | Thats Not My... books | Make-up Brushes | TV Remote

Need I say more?

Attitude

The majority of the time he's a delight, apart from the times he's being an arse! If he is grumpy it's usually first thing in the morning but when he wakes up from his morning nap then he is right as rain. He has the odd day (like today) where he can be a bit if a whinger all day but thankfully those days aren't too often.

He's pretty strong willed which makes me slightly worried that he might be one for tantrums when he gets a little older. If he's playing with something he shouldn't be and you take it away from him or move him away from whatever it is he will through a massive strop. I am already trying to explain to him why he can't have/do whatever he has been doing but who know's if he understands any of it.

Likes & Dislikes

Yay

Rough & Tumble (typical boy), Being thrown about like a maniac, Buddy the Horse, Pulling Minerva's whiskers, Waybuloo, Horsey Horsey, Swings, Peekaboo, Watching Mummy & Daddy kicking a ball about, Eating, Opening and shutting any doors of any sort. 

Nay

Sitting still, cuddling on the couch, sitting in his pram for too long, wearing shoes, sleeping past 7am, 

1 Year On | Routine

For a very long time Logan's routine was set in stone and I could pretty much predict what he would do in a day but the past few weeks it feels like our routine might be starting to change. This is just a boring home day when we dont have anything planned. If we have anything planned for the day then the timings don't change much but the where and what might change slightly.

Wake up: This is usually either 5:30am or 7am depending if Gavin's working or not. Its difficult leaving our flat and not making a noise. The front door is opposite Logan's room so when Gavin leaves for work super early in the morning it's pretty much guaranteed Logan will wake up. Thankfully on the days Gavin isn't working it means we can appreciate a bit of along lie.

7am - Bottle. This is still a bottle of formula. If you want to see what we are doing regarding Cow's Milk then click here Cow's Milk When & How. He will always have 7oz without much fuss.

9am - Porridge. He always has porridge for his breakfast. I've never tried him with any other cereals like Weetabix. I don't really want to when the porridge works so well for us.

Usually he will have a nap after his breakfast and his nap last between 1.5 and 2 hours.

He won't always go for a nap straight after his breakfast, in which case I'll give him a bottle of 7oz of formula at 10am and then put him down for a nap.

12pm - Lunch. This will usually consist of 2 slices of toast and fruit, usually banana's or pears which are his favourite. Sometime's I'll give him spreading cheese, jam or a soft cheese on his toast, all of which he loves. Other thing's i'll tend to give him for his lunch are, cold meat slices and cheese and tomatoes, a mixture of different fruits and vegetables like steamed carrots or peppers.

If I need to run any errands then I tend do these after his lunch, between his lunch and bottle is when I have the longest to do anything. If I don't have any errands to run then I'll try to take him out a walk in his trike or his pushchair or we will go to the park round the corner to play on the swings. I get really anxious if I don't get him out the house at least once a day, but now that Winter is over and the weather is getting a little nicer a day in-doors is very rare.

2:30/3pm (depending on if he starts to get tired again or not) I will give him another bottle. This is cow's milk, if I think he's really tired then I'll heat it up a little and it usually means he goes down for a nap a little easier.

3pm - I'll try and put him down for another nap if he's tired enough but he doesn't always sleep. If we are out and about anywhere then he'll usually sleep in the car on the way home.

5pm - Is always dinner time. The 2 things that never change are dinner time and bed time. For his dinner I give him a whole load of different things. Lunches are usually quite samey but dinner could be anything. More often than not we try to have dinner as family but if I'm working or Gavin finishes late then he will have something on his own. Mince dishes seem to be his favourite for dinner. He enjoys Bolognaise, Burgers, Meatloaf, Chilli, Fajita's, Curry, Shepard's Pie and Tuna & Pasta (it's surprisingly really hard when you actually have to list the things your baby eats!)

6:15pm - Is usually bath time. He has a bath most nights, there is a rare occasion when he's been bathed the night before and he's stayed relatively clean that day that he doesn't get a bath but he gets a bath every other night without fail.

7pm - BED TIME! Again without fail bed time is 7pm. Usually we read a couple of books in the living room, daddy gives him his bottle, brushes his teeth then I put him into his sleeping bag and we both put him down to bed. Very rarely does he make a fuss and he babbles away for 5 or 10 minutes then it's radio silence and he's asleep.

As I said, he is getting to the age where I think he might start to drop his afternoon nap which means I'll move his morning nap to a little later and see if we can survive regularly on one nap. At the moment Logan doesn't seem to keen to be dropping any bottles any time soon, my boy loves his milk. I'm in no rush to get him to drop bottles and am pretty happy to wait till he is ready to let them go.

The Line By Ale | Review & GIVEAWAYs

When Alessandra from The Line by Ale Mulcahy got in contact and asked if we would like to sample some stuff from her Etsy shop I jumped at the chance. I'd seen the handmade little people clothing on her Etsy site and on her Instagram and I really loved the cute designs.

The leggings were coming all the way from America so I had to wait that little longer for them but when they came I was over the moon. The leggings are so soft and feel so comfy. They are really well made and put together, you really wouldn't think they weren't made in a factory.

I absolutely love the patterns I picked. I love the Stag's with the glasses, they are quirky and go with pretty much all of Logan's t-shirts, and Gavin likes them because 'they look Jägermeister-like....) I stepped out of my usual comfort zone the stripey pair but I just loved the lime green moose and it's always good to step out of your comfort zone isn't it? These leggings go really nicely with a plain white shirt.

The leggings are nice and light so are perfect for the summer weather. They fit really well, and although they are leggings they aren't too tight and have a bit of breathing space in them so Logan looked really comfy in them.

I really adore both the leggings by The Line by Ale and will definitely be going back for some more when Logan grows out of these ones.

Check out The Line by Ale Mulcahy and if you would like to be in with a chance of winning $25 for you and a friend to spend at The Line by Ale then check out my Instagram for a special competition.

www.Instagram.com/tinybabysocks

What Not To Let Your Child Do When A Grandparent Is Around

1. Let them play with anything they shouldn't

Now I'm not talking knives and stuff but if Logan wants to chew on the lid of my moisturising cream then I'm going to let him chew it. What's the point in upsetting him when it isn't going to do him any harm. Until the day he learns to unscrew the top, then I might stop letting him chew it. My mother on the other hand see's everything as a potential choking risk and avoids letting him anywhere near my moisturising cream.

2. Give them anything bigger than a 5p to eat.

Logan has a lovely habit of trying to fit every price of banana in front of him, in his mouth. Hence he is limited to 3 pieces at a time. But even 3 pieces is too much for my mum. If I had a pound for every time she's asked me 'has he got too much in his mouth' I'd never need to work again. In truth, yes he probably does have too much in his mouth but how else is he going to learn?

3. Let the pet anywhere near them
I know this has more to do with the fact she is my pet and not my mums and my mum doesn't know her enough to trust her completely. She is always so edgy when Logan gets 'too close' to her. What she fails to see is the cat is shit scared of my tiny human and runs away from him the first second she can.

4. If they're going to fall, let them fall

Again, I don't mean I let him fall off the couch or fall in front of a car or anything but my mum and my mother-in-law are 'hoverers' it started when Logan began to pull himself up on the furniture and I can see it continuing till he's at least 7. I'm pretty happy for him to toddle about on his own, I'm also pretty content to let him fall down a few times, 

5. Call them anything derogatory.

Sometimes my child is a turd. Don't misunderstand me, I love my child to death. He is the reason for my existence but sometime he can do everything in his power to annoy me and piss me off and on those occasions he is a turd. I once told him to stop being a turd in front of my mother and I thought she might have an aneurysm.

Do your parents or partners parents do anything ridiculous? Are they far more uptight than you or are they the opposite and more laid back than you? I'd love to hear your stories, let me know!

BOOTD | 1st Birthday

Logan's birthday was a wonderful day and I think he really enjoyed himself. He looked super cute so I thought I would show you what he wore on the big day.

Shirt | Trousers

Although I only bought them over 2 weeks ago the website doesn't 

have the same exact items but these are the closest match.

His whole outfit was from Next and came to less than £30 which I thought for an important outfit was pretty decent. I loved the trousers with the braces. I think braces on little boys trousers look so cute however they are pretty impractical so I think when he wears the trousers again, I'll take the braces off. The shirt was a great fit and washed really well, so I think it will last for a long time.

Cows Milk | When and How?

Up until your baby is one year old they should be drinking breast milk or formula. Cows milk does not have enough iron in it, so giving them cows milk as their main drink before this could leave them short of nutrients.

Once your little one is a year old she should be getting enough iron through her meals each day. Meaning you can begin to give her cows milk instead. You should always give her full fat milk as this includes vitamins that are not included in other milks like semi-skimmed or 1%.

How you begin to introduce the milk is entirely up to you. I would advise not going cold turkey on the formula to cows milk. If your little one doesn't love the cows milk you could be giving yourself more problems. I think slow and steady wins the race with this one. Giving them it in a soft spouted or lidded beaker is perfect but if your baby would still rather take it from the bottle and the teat then carry on until they are more eager for a different cup.

To ensure your baby is still getting enough nutrients from the milk it is advised that they should have a minimum of 350ml or 12oz of cow's milk per day. As and when they have these ounces is completely up to you.

So far we've been giving Logan one bottle of Cows Milk a day for the past week. It seem to be going well. We've replaced his 3pm bottle with Cows Milk. The first time he had it he only drank 3 ounces, but once he got a bit more comfortable with it he began consuming more and now he's drinking about 5 or 6oz's. Now that he's a bit more used to it I might swap out his 10am bottle for Cow's Milk.

With all that being said it is not necessary that you stop giving your baby formula milk all together. If you are breastfeeding it is recommended that you continue breastfeeding for as long as you can but there is no guidelines to tell you you must stop formula feeding after 1 year. There are nutritionists that believe that any animal milk (cows milk) does not give your little one enough nutrients and vitamins a formula milk does and the nutrients that it does give are harder for their little bodies to absorb.

So our plan for the foreseeable future is to keep Logan on two bottles of Cow's Milk in the afternoon but his morning and bedtime bottles will stay Formula until he naturally starts to drop them himself.

How and when did you introduce Cows Milk and did it work well for you?

12 Month Update

A year ago, we welcomed Logan

A baby of our own.

Nervously and sleepily,

We took him to our home.

We figured out the nursing.

This goes how? and where?

We were told there would be crying,

And how to show we care.

A year has gone so quickly,

Yet we have learned so much.

We've felt a love so strongly,

In a baby's gentle touch.

His laughs and smiles. 

His pouts and tears.

Wow! He can get so mad!

But we wouldn't trade a minute,

As a thankful Mum and Dad

Without getting faaaar to soppy and far too cheesy this has been, obviously and without a doubt the best year of my life. In the last year I have been deprived of sleep, privacy, regular showers, a social life to speak of, a summer holiday, shopping spree's and a whole bunch of other stuff but none of it matters. I have been shown unconditional love, I have been needed, depended on, I have breastfed for 8 months and it was one of the best decisions I've ever made. I burst with pride the second my little man was handed to me a whole year ago and I haven't stopped bursting with pride since. He has amazed me almost every day, the way he has thrived and learned and conquered this world. I have cried uncontrollable tears of happiness over his first laugh and uncontrollable tears of frustration when I couldn't understand why he wouldn't sleep but I wouldn't change a second of it.

My darling Logan, I love with you all my being and I will continue to love you forever more. You are truly the apple of mummy and daddy's eye you beautiful little boy.

Hidden Gems In My Cleaning Cupboard

Who thought there would be a time where I would be blogging about cleaning products but hey ho. I thought I wuold share with you my kitchen must haves when it comes to house work and cleaning.

1. Zoflora Disinfectant

My first one is a new find and it is this Disinfectant by Zoflora. I was kindly sent this by a company to try and I really like it. The first thing I noticed was the smell. Its really crisp and fresh and more aromatic than the usual bleachy smell. The only thing with the smell is if you use too much it is really overpowering. But as you only need to use a little at a time then you shouldn't have the problem. A little goes a long way. It works wonders in the bathroom and leaves the suite looking shiny bright. Its great for cleaning the bathroom suite, taps, the floor, tiles, shower trays, anything. You name it and it will leave it looking brand new in seconds.

2. Stardrops Power Cleaner
I discovered Stardrops during one of those random conversations at work and a colleague told me I had to try it and it's one of the best products. Where I would tend to use Zoflora in the Bathroom, I use Stardrops in the kitchen. When we first moved into our flat the area above our hob and the extractor fan was really greasy. The cupboards on either side of the fan were really sticky and thick with grease (bowk, I know) so when my colleague told me Stardrops would do the business and it did. I applied some neat to a cloth and it wipes through the grease no problem. I can alwayas find it in B&M Bargains for 89p so its a bargain too!

3. Microfibre Clothes
For a long time I thought Microfibre clothes were only really good for dusting, that was until I wet them! Turns out you can use them for everything. I use them to dust, to clean the kitchen surfaces, to clean dishes, to clean the bathrooms and clean windows (not all the same cloth I might add!!) Why did I ever think they should be kept dry?

4. Baking Soda.
There is not a thing that baking soda cant clean. Usually mixed with vinegar or bleach, I use it to clean my stainless steal sinks, unblock plugholes and it's the best oven cleaner I've came across. My kitchen is never without a tub of Baking Soda.

Do you have any other must have products in your cleaning cupboard? Any DIY tips you can share with me? and why is the cupboard with the cleaning products in it, the one cupboard in the kitchen Logan desperately wants to get in?!? Thank the lord for Baby Gates.

Master Bedroom | Moodboard

 Headbaord | Rug | Bedding| Mirror | Light | Candle | Ottoman | 

In our new bedroom I want to keep the decor to a minimum, my thoughts so far are we will paint on feature wall, Grey and leave the rest of the walls white. I will carry on the grey theme into the bedroom. These are some of the things I want in our new bedroom, something's like the rug and the headboard I already own. Other's like the mirror, are way out my price range (£250!!!) so I will need to find a cheaper alternative, but this gives you an idea of what things we will be furnishing our new bedroom with and maybe give you a little inspiration.

The Spring Tag | 2015

I was tagged by my beautiful best friend Kirsten from Fergie's Fashion Fun do to the Spring Tag. I really love Tag's because I think they're like giant quiz's and I love quiz's!

1 . What three colours remind you of Spring?
Green, but a nice pastel green, yellow and pink. I guess any flowery colour.

 2. What is the first thing you add to your Spring wardrobe?
Cardigans. I love when the weather gets a little warmer and there isn't as much need for my huge big winter jacket. I really love this one from Topshop

3. What is the first item that you ditch from your wardrobe to make it more Spring-like?
My big winter jacket. Whatever big jacket has seen me through the winter always get pushed to the side, but never too far away because you don't know what the beautiful Scottish weather is going to do next #SnowInApril

4. What are your ultimate nude and bright lipsticks?
My current favourite Nude is Blankety by Mac. I think it goes really well with my skin tone and doesn't wash me out like some Nudes do. I'm also really loving Revlon's Coloursburst Lip Butters at the moment, the formula is lovely and the colours are gorgeous and perfect for Spring.

5. What is your signature Spring fragrance?
I'm not usually a fan of Gucci perfume but their The Flora Garden collection is delicious. They are really fruity and a perfect scent for Spring.

6. What do you add or drop from your skin care routine?
Always SPF. I make sure my morning moisturiser and foundation always have added SPF.

7. Do you change your hair up in Spring?
Not usually, I've just dyed it recently though I went darker so I wouldn't say that was very spring-like.

8. Are there any exciting beauty releases that you can’t wait for?
There isn't anything that I am eagerly awaiting at the moment.

9. What are your three favourite nail colours for Spring?
My favourite Spring shade for a while now has been Essie's Mint Candy Apple. It's a lovely pastel mint colour and its always my go to Spring Shade.

10. Who do I tag?
Amy TheSmallestofThings
&
Jenna TinyFootsteps


xx

REVIEW | V- Jewellery Personalised Bangle

I am a sucker for anything personalised. Anything with my babies name on it is a winner for me. So when I saw a friend on Facebook had bought a cute little bangle with her little boys name on it I thought 'I have to get me one of them'

V-Jewellery are an independent jewellery maker based in England. They make hand made pieces of jewellery, from necklaces to rings to bangles and even key rings. They make all different items some of which can be personalised. The pieces are really affordable and make perfect gifts, to yourself or your other half, a best friend or your mum. If you don't want a personalised piece then they have loads of fabulous items with lovely quotes if that's what you want.

The ordering process was really simple if you just take the time to read the information provided on the website. I ordered through the website http://v-jewellery.co.uk but you can also order through their facebook page https://www.facebook.com/VJewellery.With.love.by.Vicki. It was really simple to detail what I wanted on my bangle, what colours I wanted and what I wanted it to say. One aspect I really like about the process is, once the item is made, they post a picture of the item on their Facebook page which allows you to see it, check for any mistakes, before it gets sent to you. So when it arrives you know it will be perfect. Their current turn around time for personalised pieces is 1-2 weeks which I think is really reasonable considering all items are made to order. 

When the bangle arrived I was delighted. It looks exactly how I wanted it to. It is really well made and the engraving is super, it's really clear and fits the size of the metal perfectly. I opted for Logan's name and his date of birth with little feet print in between but it can say anything you want within 22 characters and they have a fantastic amount of little characters that you can add on, stars, love hearts, paw prints etc.

The metal is easily bendable and isn't the most durable. I would recommend being pretty careful when putting it on and taking it off because I imagine if you bent it too much it would snap pretty easily. It does recommend that you don't put the metal under too much stress. So I won't wear mine every day because I'd hate for it to snap.

It makes a perfect gift for a new mummy or maybe a sentimental price to remember a loved on. Take a look at their Facebook page for all current offers and price list.

What To Put On A Gallery Wall

Something I've always wanted to have is a Gallery Wall. We've never been allowed to put any pictures on the wall in our flat because we weren't allowed to make any holes in the wall other than what was already there so its restricted our decor quite a bit, that an we weren't allowed to change the colour scheme from cream and white (can you understand why I'm excited about moving)
I always loved the idea of a gallery wall because I think it's a really cool way to display a lot of pictures and little bits and pieces.
Pinterest has become my best friend again, I spend hours searching for Gray Carpets, Roller Blinds and Gallery Walls.

Photos
Predominately I want our Gallery Wall to have pictures. Since Logan was born I've used the Free Prints App to print photo from my phone. Their service is great, each month you get 45 free standard size prints, you only pay £3.99 for delivery (which is half price for your first order!) You can also order bigger sized photo's which are really reasonably priced. So for the past 10 months I've ordered 45 photos, and a few extra bigger ones of any extra special photos. Now I used quite a few at Christmas to make presents of my mum and my mother-in -law but as you can imagine I have A LOT of pictures just asking to be hung up.

Prints
A quick search on Etsy and I am inundated with beautiful prints. I love the idea of having a few prints of special things. I love the idea of this love heart map from PaperArcadia

My initial thought was we could chose the place in which Gavin and I had our first kiss or something super romantic like that, but seeing as we were 13, in a friends garage, for her birthday party, I thought that probably wouldn't look too romantic (we were 13 OK, you can let me away with it right?!?) So maybe we would need to think about the location we would have, but I think it would look lovely.

I have a tattoo really similar to the third feather on the side of my leg/ankle which Gavin bought me for my birthday a few years ago so I really love this print. Its simple yet beautiful from DecorartDesigns

I could probably make a gallery wall of Harry Potter pages and quotes alone. I really like this piece from PeregrinVintage, although it's from Harry Potter its still really relevant to a new house.

Another tattoo related one would be this print from BWPrints. I have this quote from 1 Corinthians 13 in Hebrew on my ribs. Its a really meaningful quote and I would love something this simple on our gallery wall.

Hanging Signs

My go to place for ornaments and hanging signs is always Next. I absolutely love Next's Homeware department and Erin and I can spend ages trawling round and round looking at cushions.I have two ceramic plaques that I would like to hang on my gallery wall but I think a few new pieces wouldn't go a miss (any excuse to go shopping really!!) I love little signs like this that talk about Love and Home and stuff (aww how romantic)

I know we are still in very early days but I like to be prepared. I will be doing a lot more Homeware and decor posts in the run up to our big move and once our Gallery Wall actually starts to take shape, maybe I will do a tutorial on how we did it and what we used etc. Let me know if that would be something you would like to see.

Our Big House News

It's not something I've spoken about much recently because I'm not quite sure I believe its happening yet but:

We are moving house!

There, I said it. Its out, I cant take it back. 

We are moving back closer to our parents, out of our rented 2 bedroom flat which is getting a little too small for us, into a proper 3 bedroom house with a front and back garden and 3 toilets and my own front door and stairs and all the things I've ever wanted. 

Currently we live about a 20 minute drive away from both our parents. Our new house is going to be, as the crow flies, a 3 minute walk slap bang in the middle of both our parents house. I think this is a great thing, Gavin is a little dubious. Something I'm super excited about it is I'll be back living two minutes away from my best friend!

It's a new build house so currently it looks like this:

But its gone from nothing to this in less than three weeks so I don't think it's going to take them log to get it up. They've told us it should be ready in June but I wont hold my breath because I'm sure they'll come up against a fair few problems in the next 3 months.

So as always I have started my lists, thankfully we don't need to much in the way of furniture but I want a few new pieces and I have loads of idea's around decor so expect a fair few house posts.

If you wan't me to do any specific posts about what it's like buying a new build house or closer to the time what its like moving house with a baby then please let me know.

First Birthdays

I think, as with everything in motherhood, there's a lot of pressure and expectations surrounding first birthdays.

As the name rightly suggests it's a FIRST birthday, your baby is never going to have another one. Once the first is over then it's on to the second and the third, you will never get that elusive first birthday back. They might never have another birthday that they will 100% never remember... Well actually you might get another one or two of those ones but you will never get another one where they will have completely NO IDEA what is going on. 

Logans birthday is only 4 months after Christmas but I'm pretty positive he doesn't remember that so it will be another day where friends and family shower him with gifts and he is more interested in eating wrapping paper. Though hopefully this time he won't have that horrendous cold.

Say we were to have a party and book a hall, and entertainment, we would need a caterer, declarations, balloons, invitations, party bags, a guest list! I mean he doesn't even have friends. I have friends that have children, there are children he interacts with at Playgroup but they're not his friends. He doesn't need them or want them, hell he probably doesn't even like them! He tolerates them when they play beside him, but if they have a toy he wants then he'll cause them bodily harm to get that toy back.

At one, Logan has the attention span of a teaspoon. He has a big red fire engine that makes lots of sounds that he can play with for about 15 minutes on a good day, other than that he plays with something for a few minutes. So I have a corner full of toys that he works his way through to keep himself amused, would I bring them all to the party? Because I'm sure if I didn't he'd get pretty bored. Add in the fact that every 2 hours of Logan's life something happens, wether that's a bottle or a meal or a nap, he has a decent schedule that I am not mixing up for one day to then suffer for the next week because he miraculously forgets how to nap because he missed 2 in one day and for a day that in two weeks time, he won't remember. 

I'm not judging anyone for having a first birthday party for their little one. Probably if I/Logan had more 'friends' then i'd consider it, but right now everyone that I want to celebrate Logan's first birthday with us can fit in my living room. It might be a tight squeeze but we'll manage it. He can call the shots. He can nap when he wants, he can eat when he wants and he can eat whatever wrapping paper he pleases and I won't have wasted my bank account to let him.

11 Month Update

11 MONTHS OLD! I honestly think Logan should still be like 4 months old! How is it possible that the best day of my life was a whole 11 months ago? I know every mum says it but it is so quickly how fast time passes the moment your little baby is born.

I've been saying for a the past month that I thought he'd be walking by the time he was one but considering it's only 4 weeks away I'm a little unsure. He is great at cruising around the furniture and walking with his walker or his toys or his high chair, or just anything that he can get around with, and he's taken to pushing himself off the couch and standing on his own for a few seconds then he either falls on his bum or clings back to the couch. He just seems pretty reluctant to try any steps on his own. I guess at this stage he knows he can get everywhere quicker if he just crawls. I'm sure one day he'll surprise us and try that one step on his own but for the moment I'm not sure it will be before his birthday.

Even over the past few days his speech seems to be coming on well. Last month I wrote about my uncertainty over wither he knew what he was saying when he was saying 'mama' or 'dada' but this month I'm sure he does. He doesn't specifically shout on either of us when we are in the room with him but when I'm at work he will spend most of the day saying 'mama' and when Gavin's at work he spends the day saying 'dada' as if he's looking for us. He seems to be understanding a lot more of what we are saying too. He understands 'No' and if I sit on the carpet and ask him if he wants to play Row Your Boat he will come and sit in between my legs and give me his hands.

We had a few iffy days in the middle of the month where I though he was trying to drop his morning nap because he wasn't always sleeping then if he did he wasn't tired enough in the afternoon for his second nap so I tried to phase out the morning nap and bring his afternoon nap forward by and hour but then he decided that he didn't actually want to drop that nap and has went back to napping twice a day. They're fickle little things aren't they!

He still has 6 teeth, 4 at the top and two at the bottom. I'm sure he's teething again,. Although his mood has been pretty fine he is dribbling again non stop so the dribble bibs are back out! It looks like the two on either side of his top four might be close to coming through but he still only has the two front ones on the bottom and the other two don't seem to be making an appearance any time soon. Hopefully they'll appear with no problems *I wish*

REVIEW | My Buddy Box

When My Buddy Box got in contact and gave me the chance to review one of their boxes I was a bit dubious as to whether I'd use it or not but I thought I'd like to give it a try. Like Wales, Scotland now also has a minimum charge for single-use carrier bags in a bid to tackle Scotland's litter problem, so I thought the box would be handy to take the weekly shopping instead of carting around a million Bag's For Life.  The picture that accompanied their email was of a wicker/reed basket that I thought looked a bit old fashioned and more like a picnic basket, not something I'd take to ASDA with me to pack up my shopping. However when it arrived I was blown away with how cutesy it looked.

I'll admit I didn't do any research into the product before it arrived, so assumed they just had one kind of product, the one I'd seen online when actually they have loads of different designs to suit everyone.

The consumer has already been educated into the 'Bag for Life' concept of shopping - MyBuddy Box is the perfect answer to those regular customers visiting the store by car and particularly appeals to the 'heavy' shopper.
A rigid stackable box when open, it folds flat into a convenient, compact lightweight 'briefcase' for carrying or storage. Using the principles of origami, it folds down and is held together by self-fastenings.

I've used it for every supermarket shop since getting it. I had quite a lot of canned goods/jars on top of all the usual stuff, shampoo, baby food, vegetables. I was slightly worried that the box wouldn't be able to hold it all because it's really light. But it did without a grumble. 

Admittedly I still had to use a few bags for the super heavy things like milk and juice and I kept my eggs and bread in a bag of their own but the box is great for all the rest of the 'stuff' (I'm never sure how I manage to spend so much in the supermarket) I love it so much I'm considering buying another one.

I think it's perfect for anyone who drives to their supermarket and perfect for a busy mum who has more than one think to concentrate on when packing their shopping away.

To have a look at the range of MyBuddy Box's visit their fantastic website www.mybuddy-box.com. Join them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/my-buddy-box and on Twitter.com/mybuddybox. MyBuddy Box have been kind enough to give free postage and packaging to any of you who wish to purchase a box. Just use code: BABYSOCKS at the check out.

*This product was sent to me by MYBuddy Box for the purpose of this review. All photos, thoughts and opinions are my own.

Mothers Day Gift Guide

With my first ever Mother's Day fast approaching on Sunday March 15th I thought I would do a Gift Guide for great presents for first time Mum's.


Chocolate

Chocolate is a fail safe present. There are very few mothers in this world that wouldn't appreciate a nice bit of chocolate on Mothers Day. Hotel Chocolat are my favourite 'fancy' chocolate brand and they have this super stylish and tasty box of Mother's Day Chocolates for only £22. You can even personalise the gift with a Message Card and have them Gift Wrapped. I definitely love the sound of Salted Caramel & Praline. Yummm!





Flowers
Now usually I'm not the biggest flower fan in the world (I'd rather just have the chocolate) but I wouldn't say no to a beautiful bunch of flowers on Mother's Day. This gorgeous bunch from InterFlora are pretty expensive at £44.99 but my goodness they are beautiful! I love the simplicity of this white bunch. A lovely bouquet of flowers can really brighten up a room and do wonders for your mood, especially in this cold and dreary weather we're having at the moment. I think when it comes to flowers its 'go big or go home' You might as well spend a bit extra to get a really beautiful bouquet.





Jewellery

You can get some gorgeous peices of jewellery but I think for Mother's Day its best to go with personalised. You can get her a beautuful necklace of pair of earrings for any birthday or earrings. How about getting her something to remind her of the little beauty she gave birth to. I came across V-Jewellery on Facebook and I love their designs. They make personalised rings, bracelets and key rings with any personalisation you want.



Sound Wave Print

This is so far up my street it's practically my front door! In fact right now I'm trying to think of a way to ensure Gavin buys me this Personalised Song Sound Wave Print from Handpicked Collection. I absolutely love the idea of this unique gift. You could chose any song in the whole wide world. You could chose your child's favourite nursery rhyme or a song that means something to you. For a Mother's Day gift I would probably chose 'If It's Magic' by Stevie Wonder.






Sunrise Print

Another seriously beautiful and sentimental gift would a print of the sunrise on the day your little one was born. NotOnTheHighStreet.com have this wonderful picture which depicts the sunrise on your special date. the give you a choice of between 5-10 pictures or the sunrise on a beach in Cornwall from different angles and times. You get to chose your preferred image frame and the end result is stunning. It's a pricey gift at £105 but I think for your first ever Mothers Day it would be a beautiful gift.





What has your best Mothers Day gift been? Or is it your first ever Mothers Day? What would your perfect gift be?

Last Week I...

For last weeks collage I really struggled to get 9 different/interesting photo's of what we did in the week. So you're not getting 9 photo's you are getting only a few.

I was working quite a lot this week, and the day's I wasn't working was spent doing all the mundane things like washing and ironing and food shopping. 2 of my day's work were spent at my mums. On both occasions Logan managed to climb from the bottom of my mums staircase to the top. Being in a flat we don't have an stairs for Logan to climb so I was quite intrigued to see if he would manage it. I really like spending the day at my mums, it feel's like I get a bit of time off from being a mummy for a little while because my mummy is there to help me with everything else. Mothers (and Mothers-in-law for that matter) can should never be undervalued! Both of mine are a godsend and I'd find life a lot harder if I didnt have them.

It's a short one this week, but I guess that's just life.. Let me know what you've been up to this week. Check out my best friends Erin's week over at www.erins-choice.blogspot.co.uk

Weaning Essentials

Now that we're quite far into our weaning journey I thought I'd give you my top 5 Weaning Essentials. There are a lot of things on the market these days to help you through the nervous and scary journey into food with your little on. Here are some of the things I found really useful.

Patience -  I know its not something you can physically buy but its something any mother who's been through weaning will tell you, you need. Wither you're trying Baby Led Weaning or Puree or a mixture of both you need to let your baby explore and learn in their own time. Its not something they'll get over night. However it can sometimes get quite frustrating when they're taking their time. Just be patient.

1. Cow and Gate Friends - Cow and Gate have really been a savior for me. Not only is there 5 Step Weaning plan really useful, a review of which you can find here, but they have also created these great

 pouches of simple vegetables to get your little one accustomed to vegetables. Start with one spoonful of a simple vegetable and let your baby learn about the different tastes.

2. Food Processor - At first I tried to puree my own foods without a food processor and it was bloody hard. Then my mum miraculously found one in her cupboard that she gave us and it made everything ten times easier. It was super easy to blend everything right down and as our journey progressed it was easy to slice, dice and grate any ingredients I needed.

3. Freezer Pots - these are essential if you're making all your food by hand and freezing them. I started out with a nifty little tray that we got from our Health Visitor, I ended up buying 4 packs of these little tubs from Tesco. They hold a great amount and are perfect for freezing and a lot cheaper than some of the weaning specific ones you get.

4. Bibs - We tried a few different bibs before we settled on these from Babi Pur. They are a similar design to the popular Tommi Tippee ones with a food catcher at the bottom, but these are much easier to work with and Logan didn't hate these round his neck. They are also really easy to keep clean.

5. High Chair - There are a million and one different makes and models of high chairs out but its essential that fits for you and you're little one. Being pretty sparse on space, we chose one that folds down pretty slim and easily cleaned.

6. Good Equipment - It's an in-joke between Gavin and I that I have good equipment (something quite a few nurses told me in the hospital when I was breastfeeding ;)) These spoons have joined my list of good equipment. It's good to have something soft tipped to help your little one to learn to pull the food off the end of the spoon without damaging their gums or teeth.

That's my list of weaning essentials, is there anything you would add to the list? What's the one item you would advise any new parent, on the start of their weaning journey, to get?

REVIEW | Cocoa Brown Tan

Cocoa Brown Tan are a relatively new and in my case unheard of, fake tan brad from Ireland. When they got in touch and asked if I would like to try their product I jumped at the chance.

Being a new mum (its been 10 months, can I still call myself a new mum?) anyway, being a mum I don't get to spend the same amount of time on myself as I did in my pre-Logan days. Tanning was something I loved doing because I love having a tan. I love the little confidence boost ot gave me. Due to the lovely Scottish weather my skin is naturally quite pale and I loved having that glow and it always had to be fake for me. Iv'e used a sunbed once in my whole life and I didn't enjoy the experience and didn't like the idea of the damage it was doing to my skin so a fake tan was the safest option for me.

The Cocoa Brown tanning range was launched in November 2012 and has had unprecedented success ever since. Marissa, founder of Cocoa Brown has developed the brand to include a ‘wardrobe of tans’ including eight sister products to suit different types of tanners and non-tanners alike!

Gentle Bronze is a gradual tanner which if applied every day will build up to a 'gentle bronze'. Iv'e used a gradual tanner before because I really like the idea of them. I like that you they dry in quick and you don't have to sit around like a naked scarecrow waiting for it to dry. I really like that it's gradual, so you don't need to go from being a snowman to an oompa-loompa over night. Something I didnt like about the gradual tanners I've used in the past is the smell. I know all Fake Tan's don't have an overly great smell (though I'll admit I quite like it) I always found the gradual tanners to be even worse smelling. I also felt that they were pretty patchy on drying. So they'd be relatively dark in patches and in others it didn't look like I had any tanner on. So I was keen to see how this one would work. 

My first thought was, it smells pretty nice for a tanner. Initially, on application it doesn't have the biscuity smell although once it starts developing the smell does return. It's super easy to apply and dry's really quickly. I'd recommend applying it with a tanning mitt because it leaves a pretty funny pinky/brown colour on your hands even if you do wash them immediately but a mitt is definitely not necessary because the colour changes into a more tan colour pretty quickly. 

The results were pretty fantastic. The tan developed really quickly and a lot quicker than I thought it would being a gradual tanner. After applying it after my shower in the morning, by the next morning I was a pretty lovely tan colour. Really pleased with the results and at a bargain £5.99 I'll definitely be repurchasing.

I'd highly recommend for mummies-on-the-go or anyone with not a lot of time but want a lovely healthy looking glow. Check out the Cocoa Brown website www.cocoabrown.ie/

x

Last Week I

Monday saw in impromptu visit to ASDA to get Logan more vests in size 12-18 months (Shock horror) Some of his 9-12 month stuff is definitely too small for him, but not all of it so I refuse to admit he's gone up another size.
We went out a lovely walk on Tuesday, even though it was pretty cold and Logan moaned for most of it, it was nice to get out the house with a mummy friend.
Logan's been enjoying pulling some hilarious faces lately, some ugly, some completely adorable. I thought this one was particularly cute!
Thursday saw a rare day off together for Gavin and I so we decided to take Logan to the soft play area. Logan had an absolute ball. I think we can safely put a cosy coupe on his birthday list. Needless to say he was knackered once we left and looked like a burst couch in his car seat on the way home.
Friday saw the launch of the much anticipated (by me and Erin especially) Fifty Shades of Grey. We are HUGE fans of the book and we had a mate date all planned round the film. We had a great dinner at Nando's even if it did involve Chicken Roulette (guess who was the unlucky Extra Hot victim!!!) I think we both expected too much from the film so felt a little let down but we're going again this week to see if we like it any better a second time round.
Lastly I thought I'd include a surprise (ha yeah right) picture of my beautiful cherub :D

Check out Erin's week! Erin's Choice

What have you been up to this week? Leave me any links to your weekly posts!

Next, H&M & Zara HAUL

I started buying Logan's next wardrobe a little early because, now I'm back at work, we aren't quite so skint as usual. So to celebrate our new found affluence (who am I kidding, were not that much better off, just a little) I'd do what I enjoy more than buying myself new clothes and buy Logan new stuff!

H&M

Chambray Shirt £5.99 | Similar Top - £4.99

Socks £3.99

I really liked this shirt and top combo. I've never bought anything like this for Logan before because I think it looks pretty grown up but I love them and now that he's up and about I think this will look super cute on him.
From the moment Logan began attempting to pull himself up on the furniture, I started looking for grippy socks. I know it's best to keep them in bare feet, which I often do but we have wooden flooring in our living room and I didn't want his little tootsies getting cold. I looked in loads of places and couldn't find any but then came across these in H&M. They are perfect and sit really well on his foot. They also come in white & navy.

 ZARA

Star Top £3.99 (Sale) | Motorbike Print T-Shirt £6.99

Cross Leggings £5.99 (Sale) | Chinos Lined £6.99 (Sale)

I was a bit disappointed with the quality of some of the Zara stuff I've had recently. I felt that the leggings didn't wash well and shrunk quite quickly in the washing (I didn't shrink them, I promise) and some of the tops looked as if they'd been worn 100 times when really they'd only been worn 4-5. Even so I still went in for a wee nosy and came away with a few items that I found in the sale (I don't mind a top that doesn't wash great if it was only £3.99) The only thing not in the sale was the Motorbike Print top, my dad has motorbikes so I thought he would appreciate it. I guess I bought it more for his enjoyment than anyone else's.

NEXT

Dip-Dye Daddy T-Shirt £5.50 | I Love My Mummy T-Shirt £5

Three Pack Navy Spaceship Sleepsuit £16

Monkey Face Crew Jumper £11

I've kind of shied away from Next recently because I felt I was getting similar stuff elsewhere for less money but it turns out Next's quality can't be beaten.
I have never really bought Logan many slogan t-shirts before, I'm not really sure why. I think, in my head, I thought I didn't like them. However recently I've seen more and more little guys on Instagram with slogan t-shirts and I think they look soooo cute so Iv'e decided Logan shall have some and  I couldn't resist these 2 in Next.
Iv'e preferred putting Logan in proper sets of pajamas now he's a little older but sometimes, especially after bath night, I like him being super cosy in a Sleepsuit and I loved this 3 pack.
And who could resist this little Cheeky monkey jumper!