Growing and Learning

It's been amazing watching my wee man recently. It's not because he is reaching these major milestones but it's because now he is really involved in what's going on in his little world. I guess that in itself is a major milestone for him. It's little things like watching him trying to put his shoes on himself because he is ready to go out and putting them on brings him one step closer to this goal. He will climb, duck, crawl, run to get what he wants. Reaching for your hand because he knows  that's a good way to get something a bit too difficult for him done. At the park now he can go down the slide all by himself...weeee! The way he is so sociable and caring with others in his own little way. He'll do silly things again and again because he realises it makes you laugh. He'll do anything again and again if you give him a big clap for doing it so well the first time. How he gives his mummy and daddy a hug just because he can is of course a favourite. The best bit of course is being a part of it all with him. Watching him explore and grow and learn I am doing a lot of growing and learning myself. There is something special about seeing the world through the eyes of a child that I can't find right words to describe it. It's exciting, fun, nerve wrecking, tearful, frightening, joyful, fulfilling, endearing..........

The Friday Song Choice

When Family Visit: In Pictures

This year my son has been really lucky and so have I really. We have managed to see so much of our family, for me it's been nearly 3 years and for my son well he is meeting lots of family for the first time. Having a child has really made me miss having family close by. He loves seeing his grandparents, aunties and cousins and after a first few unsure minutes gets them quickly involved in his antics. Often I get usurped and I enjoy the little bit of freedom and get to enjoy just watching him play and laugh with others and of course take lots of pictures. His aunty and her family came to visit Glasgow for the first time, met my wee man for the first and it was such a blast. We miss them so much already that I promise myself another 3 years cannot go by!

We played at the park

                                           

We played at home

We explored further afield

and We visited museums

PEACE OUT!

The big decision

So a lot has been going on in my life lately...a journey of change I like to think of it...one for the better hopefully. At the beginning of this year I felt like I was drowning and at least now I may not be swimming I'm at least floating with my head above water. The past two weeks I have felt a bit flat and for the first time nervous of really talking about it with anyone. The old feeling of wanting to hide from the world and let people know what was really going on crept over me again. I have been on sick leave for several months now and I think from the beginning I made the decision that I was not going back. It's a big decision to make with so many implications for my family that while a weight lifted from my shoulders as soon as I made it other feelings came and sat right back on them. Sometimes though I have to remember that being a mum and a wife does not just mean taking care of my family it also means taking care of myself. It's pointless being an emotional wreck as it does not help anyone and definitely not myself. So yesterday after two weeks of procrastination I finally did it, I posted in a resignation letter. By the end of July I will officially be a stay at home mum. I know I want to go back to work eventually which means that I am at an incredible stage of this journey where I get to take a break and really think what I want to do...start afresh. I will have a long holiday in August with my boys and then hopefully September will be full of promises. I guess some people are envious of such things, being able to start anew and I know I can use what's happened as an amazing learning experience. I guess that is what I have been coming to terms with over the past two weeks. The part of me that just wants to brush it all under the carpet and pretend like it never happened. The important thing now for me though is that I am able to acknowledge when the negative feelings start to take over and find the best way to move away from them instead of just ignoring them. So this morning I got up took a shower and finally felt ready to face the day.

Holding hands

From when he was small my wee man has always known there is someone there for him, caring for him, holding his hand.

The theme for Sticky Fingers: The Photo Gallery this week is hands. Why don't you go check out some more variations on the theme.

Peace and Quiet

So when the wee man is about there is not much peace and quiet in this house. Nana calls him her little prince and I said more like my little savage...she did not take too kindly to that one Lol. As his Aunty puts it he's just busy. So I was trying to think when is it really peaceful in this household with the wee man IS about and when he is NOT sleeping...it was a hard challenge. Bless him though he does have his peace and quiet moments even if only for a few seconds.

 I'm linking up with See it Snap it Love it over at Dear Beautiful Boy.

Messy

As we enter into the world of solo eating there is nothing better we like to do than make a mess. Every bit of this is intentional as he sticks his hands in and spreads the yoghurt all over the tray. It tends to be more art than eating and possibly a lot more fun than it should be! By the expression on his face it's all over way too soon.

I'm taking part in See It Snap it Love it over at Dear Beautiful Boy.

Happy Father's Day

A Father is such a special person. My hubby is certainly no exception. He has given so much of himself to this family that if anyone asked me what the meaning of father is well I would just have to name hubby. Today is a great day to remember all the special moments between father and son and enthuse about the many more to come.

The Friday Song Choice

Family storytime with the Scottish Youth Theatre

We are always looking for fun things to do with the little man as staying at home can sometimes become rather stressful for mum and dad as he decides to sweep through it like a little tornado. Getting out and about is the best way to keep him entertained, happy and you never know hopefully tire him out. Of course with the Scottish weather sunshine is never a guarantee so inside options are useful. It was only walking through the merchant city the other day that we saw a flyer for Family storytime with the Scottish Youth Theatre. It is advertised for under 7s, a rather wide age range I thought but what the heck we would give it a go. It's Aesop's Fables Season, every two weeks, Saturday and Sundays and tickets cost a fiver but the under 2s go free. As hubby says 'It's not his kind of thing' so we treated it as a mummy and son bonding session while he sat in a cafè with coffee and cake. I noticed very quickly on arrival that my little man was really the youngest there but I hoped for the best. Actually we got the best from the beginning right until the end of storytime. Our story was the Lion and the mouse. The dramatisation of the story was really great and they get the children really involved throughout. Being able to use your imagination is key so I'm not sure how much he was getting on that side but I guess it's never too early to start. I was happy to just sit and watch with the little man but he was much happier going up and being involved in his own little way. Granted I had to help him out a little bit but no one seemed to mind. At the end you got to explore all the dress up material they had with them and of course this was my son's favourite part as he was eager to have a go with them from the start! It was a quick hour and we do intend to go back!

Surprise

There is nothing like a good old game of peekaboo to get giggles out of my little man.

Check out some more surprises over at Dear Beautiful Boy.

The weekly walk: Loch Katrine

Ok so the title of this post is possibly ambitious...one due to the Scottish weather and well two due to us just maybe flaking. The plan though is that every weekend we go somewhere and do a walk with the little man. If it happens I promise to blog it if it doesn't hopefully I have a really good excuse why it didn't. So this week was the beautiful Loch Katrine easily a great day out. It was the little man's first time to experience a great boat ride on the Sir Walter Scott.

You can decide to just go to Loch Katrine and do the boat ride which is a great morning or afternoon out. They offer a 2 hour or 1 hour boat ride on the loch with beautiful views. Of course my little man was not too fussed about the scenery, he was much more interested in watching the engine in action, looking at the waves the boat was making and just well wondering around.

The two hour boat ride stops on the other side of the Loch at Stronachlachar and it is here that we began our 5 hour walk around the Loch back to the Trossachs Pier. It was a mighty walk and well needless to say we were pretty shattered at the end of it. We have a back carrier which we used and hubby did mention that this length was his limit! The road was maybe not as flat as we thought it would be with there being lots of ups and downs but the weather was mainly dry and actually sunny in bits with beautiful views that distracted us from the pain. We both felt the better for it really and the little man got loads of fresh air and enjoyed being out and about. There is the option to cycle and I guess it is no surprise that that is what everyone else was doing so maybe we might choose that option next time.

Jamaica Jamaica!

So we did it...survived a short flight from Glasgow to London, waiting 5 hours in the airport and a long haul 9 hour flight to Jamaica. Thankfully at the end were 2 smiling grandparents and a cute nephew who my son took straight away! I can only share with you the positives about visiting Jamaica as well Jamaica is home. There were really NO negatives anyway other than having to experience it all without hubby. Nana (my mum) kept saying that hubby will be upset as my son tried new and different things. Like when he tasted ice cream for the first time at Devon House in Kingston...yum! In the two weeks while we were there I got to watch my son grow. He really found his feet over the two weeks and was happy to run us all around in circles. He got to try new surfaces in bare feet and learnt to be comfortable in his first pair of sandals. He never let the heat bother him really other than drinking lots of water and I personally think he appreciated wondering around with little to no clothes on. The best part though was getting to play in the water. It's pretty impressive how a little bit of sunshine, a bucket of water and some toys can amuse a 15 month old. We had plenty of opportunity to go swimming and he jumped straight into the pool. The grandparents were pretty impressed with his bravado. Then of course there was the sea. Having nothing to go on I had no idea how my little man would react but sure enough he pretty much ran straight in, sat his bum down and started playing happily with the sand...a true beach bum! Then there was time to spend with family and friends and I loved how social he was able to be and you could tell that others loved it as well. He met his great grandma and impressed everyone with how happily he was to actually sit still in her arms for a few minutes, like he knew he had to take care. She is 102 after all! Now we are back well rested and of course well tanned...did I mention he also got his first proper haircut (not just a hack job by mum or dad) at the salon. He really is my big boy now.