Anna's Birthday

I know it's late, we're been very busy, with Anna, work, being sick and trying to get the house ready for sale.

Anna turned 1.

It was a really lovely day. A minor dilemma, we changed the location because of rain and people found themselves wondering aimlessly around Jell's park while everyone else was at our place.

But none the less, it was a fabulous day, and it was even sunny.

Anna was like a little princess, the belle of the ball. Such a gorgeous little girl she is.

I can't believe she's 1. Wow this year has gone quick. What an (oddly) great year.

A huge thank you to everyone who made it out, and for all the fabulous gifts Anna received, she truly loves each and every one of them. I'm sending out thank you card soon I promise.

I wasn't able to take any photos, so Kortnye took some lovely shots of the day - in which case I'm glad, they turned out much better than I could ever do. Lovely photos.

Happy 1st Birthday My Little Angel.

A whole year.

Anna is turning one next week...

Anna only a week old.

2 weeks old.

Remembering when I was pregnant with her. The total overwhelming excitement. Wondering who this little person is in my belly.
Remembering the first little kick. At 14 weeks. At Dad's house, about 6 in the morning.
Remembering the first time I saw her, a little terrifying, but a euphoric bliss, something only a parent can ever experience.
Remembering her first little smile, and knowing it wasn't just wind.
Remembering seeing Adam cry because she was laughing.
Remembering the first time she crawled. I was the proudest person on earth.
Remembering the first babble, going from 'Agerrrrr' to 'Ca' for Cat, 'Bibibi' for bottle, and 'Dada' and 'Mama'.
A whole year we've shared with our little angel. And what an incredible year it has been. She's the best thing in my whole world.
And now she's turning 1.
Oh my.

Back to work...

No photos today as my laptop has gone on a holiday and I'm not sure when it's coming back.

I started back at work today.

It was really good that Anna started childcare two weeks ago, because I don't think I would have coped very well if today was her first day. She's still rather sick. Over the past few weeks, she's had a nasty cough. Then last week she had a bit of a vomitting episode and a trip to the hospital. Then was told she had an ear infection. Then she got conjunctivitis. Then she's on some antibiotics for the chest and ear infection which seems to be giving her pretty nasty diarrhea. We've had an eventful few days. Anna rolling around in the diarrhea that exploded out the sides of her nappy and all over her cot, on three separate occasions. Her sleeping patters are completely disrupted, she's moody, clingy and just wants to be hugged all day (understandably). So today she was not too enthused about childcare. She's been loving it over the past two weeks, but today, because she's sick, and because she started at 6:30am, she was not impressed with this excursion.

But I had to go to work. Work was ok. As good as a first day can be. The people are lovely, there's a great culture and the environment is pretty lively and comfortable. I'm really actually overwhelmed, not by the work itself, but the fact that I've got myself a pretty desirable position. I don't feel I've worked hard enough to get to where I am. I haven't even finished my degree, and I'm a Marketing Campaign Co-ordinator. How did that happen? I guess I'm a smooth talker.

So, today was long, but good. But I missed Anna so much.This is a whole new element to our already busy life. I suppose I should try and get used to it.

I stare at the photo of Anna on my desk for the majority of the day.

Thank you.

I just want to use this opportunity to say thank you to everyone - it's really everyone that reads this blog.

I'm just looking around my house, looking at photos of Anna and seeing support from my amazing family in some shape or form. The gifts, the stuff a new family need and wouldn't have even thought of, clothes, toys, advice, the nights off, a shoulder to cry on, but most importantly, the love. Anna is a very loved baby girl, loved by many, and I think it shows. She's such a happy little girl, always happy to see you all.

I wish there were better ways of expressing our appreciation than a 'thank you' but the unconditional love, support, patience and understanding Adam and I have received is simply outstanding and invaluable.

Thank you all so much.

Ashleigh, Adam and Anna. x

Our Newest Addition

Since Adam started working nights, I've felt very insecure and a bit scared so I've been looking for a good companion to keep me company and to make me feel safe when Adam's working. And after many weeks of looking, we have finally found our dog!

His name is Cruze. He's a pure bred chocolate Labrador, he's 3 years old, and he's just awesome. He's borderline obese so he's on a strict diet with plenty of exercise which suits us just fine. And he's grown up with kids and other animals so there's no behavioural issues there. We feel very lucky to have found him, and we think it's fate that we now own him as the interest he received was overwhelming.

I found him on the RSPCA website last week, and it had noted 'on hold' which didn't surprise me at all. I was so certain he'd been adopted. But I called up and was told that he hadn't been picked up as yet. I got to the RSPCA as quickly as I could, and when I turned up, there were two families eyeing him off. Instead of standing there and pondering like the other families had appeared to be doing, I rushed over to the admin and put him on hold! I took him for a walk and had a bit of a play, and when we returned back to the shelter there were a further three families waiting to see him. If I had turned up 1 minute later, we'd still be looking for the perfect dog.


So we went to pick him up today. Adam absolutely adores him which is fabulous! And we brought Anna along to meet him too, just to make sure that she was ok with dogs. And she reacted as I had imagined - she squealed with excitement. She was laughing at him and watching his every move. So we felt comfortable to go ahead.

I had done a lot of research on dogs with babies and which sort of dog would be ideal for our family, and Labrador just kept popping up. So I wasn't going to settle for anything less. And we just so happened to find a 3yo (ideal as it's past that boisterous stage) chocolate lab. That sort of thing is just unheard of.

So here he is. We're pleased to introduce Cruze!

We were a tad worried about a few things, dogs can be pretty smelly, and they eat a lot, and labs can shed a lot of hair. But so far he's not too smelly despite not being washed for a while, and he doesn't appear to shed at all. Shedding is based on the individual dog, so he seems to be alright. But out main concern was of course Anna - will she be ok with a dog, what if he knocks her over, growls at her or bites her? These will always be major concerns for us. We've done a lot of reading and have spoken to many dog owners, and we've got a few strategies to protect Anna. Judging by Cruze's temperament I do feel comfortable having him live with us, but I'm never letting my guard down. It's those that do that end up having their children mauled by the family dog. We're also getting some professional help just to make her extra safe.

Anna is going great with him. We're not letting them go near each other, I'm not taking any risks, no matter how placid he is. And he now knows who's boss, I growled at him for going into Anna's room. He wont be going in there again.

We're only one day in but so far so good. I'm looking forward to watching Anna grow up with him. I think dogs are great pets if you find the right one and I really think she'll benefit from it.

Welcome to the family Cruze!

Fun In The Sun.

You've got to love sunny days like these. This winter has felt like it's been a year. So we're soaking up every opportunity to soak up some Vitamin D.

 But you can see how much she loves the outdoors!

Anna experienced her first 'fairy'. She wasn't overly enthused by it. Maybe next year.

Summer's Coming!