Rio :)

Watching your children grow up is truly amazing. I've watched countless firsts for Rio and have begun that journey again with Niall. But that doesn't stop me being amazed by my little first born every day!

We've started potty training. And so far it is going extremely well! Proof that you should only do it when they are 100% ready not when other people think you should. Even if they send products or make hinty remarks! I saw his face light up with sheer confidence after his first wee on the potty and my heart melted, and eyes filled with tears when he said 'I'm doing it mummy, i'm actually doing a wee this time'. (As opposed to sitting trying his hardest to force one).

He is obsessed with Frozen and we have watched it every night since christmas, bar one when we watched Nemo instead. At first it grated on me, I'd beg for other films but now I see how much it has bonded us. How he snuggles close and says 'your my best friend'. How it is creating memories.

We recently bought him a farm/stable yard set and his imagination astounds me. He'll happily play away for hours and I happily sit with Niall watching him for as long.

We've been given a few 'write and wipe' books and although he is abit young he enjoys trying to learn to write like his cousin Annalise. He can write his name, but it is pretty simple when you think of it as 'curved line, line, circle'.

I'm going back to work within the next month or so and I really will miss just hanging out with him everyday. We're closer than ever and he really is the best big brother!!

Getting organised and bouncing back!

Before Christmas we told ourselves that we was only buying what the kids needed. We still have everything from when Rio was young so Niall didn't really 'NEED' anything but we thought he should have a few things that were 'just his', none the less. We told others to do the same but come Christmas day we soon realised that no one had stuck to that, ourselves included, damn you pre Christmas sales! Amazon lightening deals has a lot to answer for in our household.

Finding a home for all these toys posed as a problem. All the toy baskets/cupboards were full and I had to stack everything in the corner of Rio's room. (Never a good thing with a toddler, you will come back into a room of complete chaos!). So we headed to Ikea and upgraded Rio's bed to one with storage.

The basket space in pushchairs seems to get smaller with every new design. For shopping we rely on bag hooks but where was I going to fit the new beakers etc he was bought now that we have started weaning? Its already mission impossible finding anything in our pram bag, how was I meant to find spoons in there? Teething gel? With a buggy organiser that's how!

This particular one is by Maclaren  , yes folks they are bouncing back! And not only with storage solutions like this, look at their latest lightweight buggy! I love how bottles are to hand and everything else is viewable.. no more lucky dips!

As a public transport user, I know that these are very handy to have. There is nothing worse than being asked to fold down your pushchair only to struggle collapsing it because of everything you have had to shove underneath!

How did I not have one of these with Rio?

Niall at 6 months

Christmas and the New Year soon came and went. Before I knew it, it was the 3rd of January and Niall was turning 6 months old. When I think of it like that, it doesn't feel too bad, but when I think of it as half a year old it feels like time is just whizzing by me.

He loves rolling over, but currently prefers to just do it the one way. It's now at the "keep still your getting poo everywhere", stage when I change his bum. He's still in size 4 nappies. And an array of clothing sizes from 6-9 to the odd 18-24 depending on the store. We haven't got him weighed since 18 weeks so I have no idea of his weight but we plan on doing so soon so that we can install his 0-4years car seat.

He loves to shout 'dada' when Craig goes out the room and still giggles at everything Rio does/says. Its the most adorable thing to watch, and the very reason we chose to have another. I love their little bond.

He's cut his first tooth and has a few more pushing under the gums so I expect that he will be like Rio and have quite a few in succession.

Over Christmas he went through the 'fussy feeding' stage, as they become so aware of everything around them. And for a few weeks, would only feed if I sang 'silent night' to him. Thank goodness that one is over, as I did worry I would be sat on a bench in the summer still singing away.

We've also started weaning but are currently taking it quite slow as he isn't always that interested.

His eyes are still two different colours.