I'm still standing

So much to do so little time!

I have been willing Christmas on for the past few weeks now and now it is nearly here and I feel like I am reliving my youth through Eden. I cannot tell you how excited I am, although my daughter is only one and doesn't know what is going on. I heard someone say once that the best thing about being a parent is reliving life through the eyes of your child and I definitely get that. Thinking about Christmas takes me back to when I was little and how magical the whole experience is. The excitement on Christmas Eve and finding a full stocking at the bottom of my bed on Christmas morning.. leaving a mince pie and drink on the mantle for Santa. It is all these little traditions that I am excited to relive with Eden, at least once she is old enough to understand.. I really want to give her the best memories of her childhood.

I got a fabulous black Christmas tree and decided to go with a black and silver theme.. I am quite pleased with it.

 We have all been so sick for the past week or so. Eden had her 12 months jabs which seemed to knock her for six, and at the same time my husband got the flu, followed by myself. thankfully I have done most of my Christmas shopping so don't need to worry about going shopping while I am unwell. Poor Eden has a week of being well and then seems to pick another illness up in nursery. I am praying for a healthy child on Christmas Day!!

Eden has developed so much over the past couple of weeks. It fascinates me the way she has a little plateau and doesn't really develop for a little while, and then BANG she is like the little genius child. It's crazy. For example Eden would not stand up on her own, she would crawl about and put her arms up for me to get her then the other day she just started climbing up on the furniture as if she had done it forever. At the same time she started dancing - not just her usual rocking back and forth, this a real effort to dance, and totally comical. She is at that stage of copying everything and learning really quickly, and I love it.

Laters,

Shel x

A little late

Well I haven't been around at all lately. How bad is that? I have wanted to but I have been busy with work, baby etc etc etc... I think I need to manage my time a little better, but hey I'm back now :)

I can't even really say that anything interesting or amazing has been happening as it has been really quite since Eden's birthday. All I can say is, right now I am SO excited for Christmas... I put my new tree up tonight but I haven't taken a picture of it yet. It's black and 6ft tall and I decorated it with lovely pearl and clear beads, and black and silver baubles. I really love my new tree :)

So Eden is doing really good and nursery is going from strength to strength. She really seems to be starting to like it, although it doesn't feel like that when she cries as we leave her - having said that I know that the tears stop after we go which is a good thing as I think she is finally starting to have fun there.. that is all we want afterall. One thing that I have noticed is how much better she is doing now with strangers and she is turngin into a really friendly baby.. such a change ti when she was younger and she would cry at strangers. I guess the daycare really is helping her to mix and feel comforatble with people.

Still we don't have any signs of Eden walking. I have to say she is a bit lazy. I don't think it is the fact that she doesn't know what to do becasue we have tried getting ehr holding the walker and she can do it as long as we guide her I think she just thinks it is less hassle to just scoot around on her knees. Only last week did she start pulling herself up on her feet holding onto the couch, and she has only done that a few time. I guess she will do it in her own time.

Today was fun. We went to visit little Esme who is a little over 3 months old. It just made me realise how quickly babies grow when I saw her sat next to Eden.

Life truly is a miracle.

Nite all,

Shel x

Summer - where did you go?

Oh, Summertime where did you go? Feel like I blinked and Winter is coming again.

Eden's first Summer was a real washout. Why are Summers so rubbish in England. I want to put her in sandals again and cute tops because I love those chunky, chubby baby arms and legs, and those little sausage toes. I love thoes toes...

 Having said that, my favourite month of all is Autumn.. the trees turning golden, more cooler and comfortable.... crisp walks in the park.

Christmas next!!!! :)))))

Shel x

Photoshop Play

I was browsing my hard drive and remembered these super cute pictures I took last week.

My mum had been watching Eden for me, and when she brought her home it was cold out so she wrapped her in a blanket and popped this hat on her to bring her to the door. I thought she looked soooo adorable and luckily had my camera to hand and got a few quickfire snaps. They turned out kinda blury but still, I have had a little play around and ran a few actions through them and am in LOVE with them.

spot the bogey!?

Funny how sometimes you get the best results on the spare of the moment.

Nite all,
Shel x

Photography baby

Yesterday I went to take some photographs of the gorgeous Kaiden. 8 months old and the same size as Eden. What! - such a cute, big boy!

Kaiden, like Eden is of mixed race, both English and Chinese. It was nice for Eden to get together with another little eurasian.

Well I didn't think he was going to play, but we got there in the end :)

 

 

 

I mean come on, how adorable is this little boy!

 

Love this! Look at Eden's face, she looks suitably unimpressed.

Have a great day!

Shel x

1st Birthday Video Montage

Eden's First Birthday Video from Michelle Ho on Vimeo.

Party Pictures

I have so much that I want to write about. Things that have been going on recently, work, nursery, crawling and her big 1st birthday.. but I am tired and working tomorrow so for tonight pictures will have to suffice.. night all x

And now I have a one year old

Well now, I have a one year old. How did this happen? Did I blink a miss the past year?

Wasn’t it just yesterday I was nursing you in my arms with tears in my eyes, amazed at this perfect little thing we had created.

It was on Christmas Day you gave your daddy your first perfect gummy smile. 6 weeks old and the ultimate Chrismas gift.

How can my little angel change so much and grow beyond recognition in just 12 short months! I will miss my baby – but I am excited to meet my toddler.

I love you more than life itself “ding ding” – and always will.



xx

Photofreaks Photo Challenge - Best Photo Ever Taken

I am really loving the idea of this weeks photo challenege over at Photofreaks blog.. but my oh my what a struggle! I have so many pictures that I love, many of which are "technically" not great, but they hold special meaning to me.

Anyhow after a lot of thought and indecision here is my submission:

I mean seriously, could he be any more adorable?

I took this picture a few years ago and this was the first time I had ever seen this boy, and I will probably never see him again - but if everyone could feel the joy that this little guy is feeling I think the world would be a much happier place.

Shel x

Being productive

I mean seriously, I have not had the time or inclination to get online!

Having no laptop -I have really been struggling to get up and sit at the computer, it was so easy and convenient with the macbook on my lap.

So I have been busy the past week, and a little stressed, totally consumed with thoughts about Eden's nursery, her upcoming birthday, Christmas.. you get the jist - mind working over time. I have also been struggling with sleep deprivation and the babys constant demand for my attention.. and if I am completely honest it has all been a little overwhelming.

Thankfully Eden is MUCH more settled at her nursery now and is napping well while she is there. I have been really thankful that my husband has been dropping her off there because I can't deal with the crying when I leave her. Having said that today I took her in and thouht I would hide outside to see how long the crying lasted for.. would you believe within about 20 seconds she had stopped! I think it is harder for me than her!

Well I have been birthday planning but I am going to do a seperate blog about that because it may go on for quite a while!!

So I feel like my blogs are not complete without a little visual loveliness so here is my fix:

This picture just cracks me up.

THis is too quick but it is late and I am tired and I am off work now for a few days so I can indulge in writing more then, but for now  I REALLY need to go and catch up on my blogs!

Laters,
Shel xx

1st Halloween

It turns out that my hard drive on the Macbook has died and I have lost all my data... my data being all of my most recent pictures of Eden.. thank god I put some of my favourites online. Lesson learned and never to be repeated :(

On a brighter note Eden had her first Halloween yesterday. We went to the Liverpool Lantern Carnival which was pretty magical for the children but a PAIN with a buggy - so many people.

Well here is Eden's contribution to the festivities... and yes, she hated it.

She should have been going to her nursery party in dress up on Friday but she was teething and very cranky so we had to give it a miss, plus she HATED the feel of the material in her costume. Can't blame her, I think she knew I was exploiting her hahaha!

Nursery has settled down over the past couple of visits, we have shortened the length of time she spends there and building it up again slowly, to full days. I am pleased she is beggining to bond with the staff a bit more so I'm really hoping things work out well.

Well I am trying to build up my Photoshop Action set a bit and at the moment I only have access to Elements and Photoshop 7 (sorry to bore any non PS people!) so I am not very happy with what I get from my photos but nevermind there are more important things in life!!

Under 2 weeks to go before baby girls birthday YIKES!

Nite,
M x

Daycare Dilemas

So the last couple of days have been really crap.
Lack of sleep, teething baby, and nursery issues have all be on the go and then I look at my wage slip and am like “wow is there any point in working, seriously?”

I feel like I am sending my daughter in to a place she hates and then paying obscene amounts of money for the privelidge Why is childcare so expensive?

On Monday it felt like we had taken two steps back with the baby. I knew she would be a bit touchy as it was her first day back at nursery after being on hospital as she had been of for 3 weeks. What I didn’t expect was for them to ring me in work after an hour to come and collect her, she was inconsolable 

I think it doesn’t help that she was prodded and poked so much in hospital she has a bit of an issue with strangers at the moment. I get the impression she thinks they are going to stick a needle in her or something and after a few other niggling issues I have at the place I was all ready for throwing the towel in on Monday… it felt like she will never settle there. I have spent the last couple of days wondering what to do, thinking maybe she would be better with a chilminder rather than in a big daycare place? Or maybe it was just a bad day and well, she is teething. I am so lucky that my mum is off work for the next few weeks so we decided to try her again on Tuesday and see how she goes, just for an hour or so. Thankfully she was good as gold, ate breakfast, playing etc… it looks like she is bonding with one of the girls, a blonde girl and I think in Eden’s head she maybe associates the long blonde hair with mum.. not sure but it seems that way. I’m still not 100% happy but as long as Eden continues to improve and seems ok there is no point pulling her out. It would mean going through all the upheaval again and I don’t want that for her.

Today wasn’t so bad. Wednesday is the only day I drop her off and I always dread the tears as I leave. I still feel really guilty. Suprisingly there where fewer tears and when she saw her blonde carer she was good as gold – this is a relief. On Friday they are having a Haloween party for the babies and children and eden is going dressed as a witch...so adorable!

I still have no laptop so no photos (ggrrrrrrrr) but heres hoping 

Have a good day!

Shel x

First Birthday Video Montage

PC Problems and Birthdays

So this HAS to be a super quick post because I have a very unsettled baby upstairs :) I am so stressed because my macbook has gone caput, and you guessed it - it has been a while since I backed up my photos/videos.... stupid stupid girl. Luckily many of my recent favourites are here on my blog podtd but most of them are reduced to web quality which is not great for printing. I aint gonna beat myself up about it until I know for sure that I have lost them. I am hoping that a friend of my husband can fix it, I mean he works in I.T. so hopefully can sort it?? Fingers crossed for me please so that I don't lose my stuff.

I couldn't bring myself to upload any photos tonight without tweaking them.. All my Photoshop actions are on the Macbook too, along with my Photoshop and I have lot's of new pictures of Eden but I know I won't be happy uploading them without any editing.

So I had a birthday on Tuesday, and my first as a mamma and it somehow felt poignant as my first birthday being a mum. I was so happy to share the day with my little family and we spent the day in York. Eden was soooo well behaved, she impressed me so much, eventhough she was in and out of her pram/carseat she is such a little trooper.

Oh oh oh - I have ordered the BEST decorations for her upcoming birthday. I found some cool Hello Kitty stuff online. I swear I hardly gave my own birthday a second thought but I am just overcome with excitement for Eden's. I have still have such vivid memories form the day she was born that I know I will be pretty tearful on the day.. I will have to upload my idea board when I have a little more time.

Just remembered that my hard drive is connected so there you go, my blogs don't feel complete without a little visual loveliness.... eden (left) on a playdate a while ago.

 

Nite all!

Shel x

Yes, I have an 11 month old

Wow, another month.
So many new things learned, a little less baby and a little more toddler. 4 weeks until birthday time!

Things Eden has learned this month:


1. Dancing (or rocking back and forth at least)
2. Mimicking actions to nursery rhymes
3. Trying to wash her hands with a wet wipe
4. Crawling (better late than never!)
5. Wiping her mouth with her sleeve :)
6. Head on mums lap for cuddle time


I am sure there are probably a heap of other things that I can't for the life of me remember right now but you get the jist of it. I am excited for all these new things and how expressive Eden is becoming now. She has this new thing where when it is near bedtime if she hears her dad come in she sprint crawls over to me so that he can't take her to bed it is so funny.

I took some pictures yesterday for Eden's 11 months:

Super cute or what!!

Shel x

Hospital Stay

So I can only apologise as I have been completely out of the loop for the past couple of weeks.

Eden has been in hospital.

Looking back it feels like the last bunch of blogs I posted where just about Eden being sick (again) and it is true she seemed to have been battling one sniffle after the other. Well last Monday after I collected her from nursery I could tell she was quiet and looked a bit off colour. By the time we got home and I lofter her out of her pram she was burning up, that was at 4pm ish.. then she wouldn't have a nap and was getting hotter. So I gave her some infant paracetamol in the hope it would bring the temperature down.. it didn't.

A little while later she had a febrile convulsion Thankfully I had read on the internet that a rapid rise in temperature in babies and young children can cause a fit so I kinda new what was happening - however I was absolutely terrified.

I cannot tell you how I kept my cool, how I rang the ambulance, how I answered the door. Seeing my poor baby still, foaming at the mouth, whimpering is something I hope I never have to see again. I called my husband, and my mum from the ambulance. Later I was told she had another one while in the ambulance but thankfully I didn't see it.

We spent 4 days in hospital while the doctors did an array of tests, the most serious of which where to check for possible meningitis and involved a lumber puncture - thank god they came back clear.
Poor Eden was pumped full of antibiotics through a canular and after a couple of days her temperature stabilisied. I do not know how parents cope with seriously ill babies, my heart goes out to them.

To cut a very long story short it turned out she had a really nasty viral infection and we are just grateful it was not a more serious illness. Amazing how quickly the get better though as she is cruising around now as if nothing ever happened. Still, even now she has a runny nose so we are keeping her off nursery until she is 100% better. In a way, especially now I wish she didn't have to go back there ;(

So no photos for now, but having said that today is Edens 11 month old birthday!!! I have decided to decorate the house for her 1st birthday, a few people can call around on the day if they want to as we simply do not have the room for a party so we will just keep it informal.

This baby girl deserves something special after all she has been through.

Later,

Shel x

Anfield Tour

Eden is sooo much better now which was great because we had such a busy weekend. Saturday we went to a friends wedding of which I still have a ton of photos to edit.. and then yesterday we went to Liverpool and did a tour of Liverpool football stadium. It's not really my bag, but I had gotten my husband the 2 people tour a while ago for fathers day.. it was fun though to dress Eden up in her football jersey but hard work trekking her around in and out of her pram and carrying her (she is soooo heavy!) anyway she was very well behaved so I can't grumble.

After all that fun would you believe that I have caught this weird bug that my daughter has had.. I started feeling ill while we where out but I haven't felt great for a while now, well by the time we got home I was feeling pretty grim and came out in the rash that Eden has had.. not good, especially when I have a 10 month old to care for. Well at least she will go back to nursery tomorrow and I plan to stay in bed and recuperate.

Nite all,

Shel x