Waiting....

Well it's the end of January and I'm here waiting on my new arrival... I've now gone overdue and as I went 11 days overdue with Little R I think I'm in this for the long haul. I'm trying not to crack up, to be patient and enjoy this calm time before the baby arrives but that's easier said than done! I'm going to attempt a quick blog post and just write about what we've been up to in January as it's been a busy enough month. 

The main even for us after christmas is Little R's birthday. This year Little R turned two. We had a little party low key party with some little ones the same age (two children of friends and his cousin of nearly the same age and his baby cousin - 8 adults and 4 children and 1 baby which was quite enough thank you!).  It was really lovely, tiring but lovely and Little R had great fun. His first bowl of jelly which went down a treat. And I made a birthday cake - victoria sponge with lemon curd, fresh cream and raspberries and a lemon cream cheese icing...

After a lot of searching online I decided to make a two to stand on the cake. I got the idea from here but had to tweak it slightly as I don't know if you can purchase almond bark in Northern Ireland so I used white chocolate. It took me 3 goes for it to work and as I wanted sprinkles on the back I decided to do the number two in 2 halves and then I stuck them together with more melted white chocolate. I was really super pleased with the result.

The main things Little R enjoyed was having his little friends to play with, using the Thomas the Tank Engine tablecloth (massive on his little toddler table but the little ones didn't care) and Thomas the Tank paper plates (train mad that child), blowing out the candles on his cake and of course getting presents (which helped the come down after Christmas!). 

It was a lovely affair but tiring for a 38week pregnant Mummy. Little R and I did this after everyone left...

 Much like the rest of the UK we had some snow but only a little. Little R was super excited especially after watching The Snowman on repeat over Christmas. So when it first snowed we went out for a chilly but thrilling walk...

I have also been busing myself with some crafting. My sister (who I didn't think liked crochet!) requested a crocheted blackberry cover and although I had a fair few projects on the go I couldn't refuse...

I've also been making some hearts as inspired by Attic24...

I have also been working on a blanket for the new arrival which I'll show you after the baby makes his/her debut!
I've been enjoying lots of flowers this month... my overwhelming love of tete a tete and hyacinths really began when i started onto this blogging malarky. I mean I always liked them but now I feel I just have to have them in my home in January to help the bareness after the Christams decorations have gone. And getting some bargains has really helped too... 30p for the last tub of hyacinths thanks to eagle-eyed D! 

The above hyacinth are now flowering and smelling lovely and we have lots of other bargain pots about the house but I am too tired to go on a photography expedition to capture their blooms sorry! And although it was D who found the bargains for me he can't stand the smell but he's very kindly putting up with it, the lovely chap that he is, being heavily pregnant might have something to do with him giving in to my whims!! I've also been doing a little baking to pass the time and Little R has been great at helping and eating...

The next event in January was my birthday and although people have said that your birthday goes out the window when children come, D has always been very good at celebrating my birthday and for that I feel truly lucky because I LOVE birthdays. I LOVE cake. I LOVE cards. A wee pressie is a nice bonus but I am a simpleton and don't require much (although I should admit I was totally and utterly spoilt with what D and Little R bought for me, you will see...). The day started off with all of us in bed having breakfast...

The next bit, of what is in that little package is really magical and special to me...

Some of you might recognise the beautiful little box, if not it's from the super duper, wonderfully talented and inspirational Emma from Silverpebble. My lovely other half had been planning this for months (after listening to me blether on for months, the poor man) and he ordered a commission from the wonderful Emma. Would you like to see...

It's a beautiful necklace inspired by nature and my little boy.  Underneath the main necklace is Little R's fingerprint. Honestly I don't think I have loved an object more in my whole, entire life. The craftsmanship is just amazing. And the fact that I can wear my little ones fingerprint fills my heart with such joy. I can barely bring myself to take it off when going to bed but I really don't want to break it, so I have to be sensible and I put it on my bedside table at night.

I just love it so much and am so delighted and humbled to think of my husband and this wonderful jewellery maker discussing their ideas for this necklace, just for me. 

I have worn it everyday since and honestly I will never tire of it. I am a very lucky and happy Mummy and Wife. D has already got something planned to add to the necklace when the new baby comes and I am so excited by this. And it didn't end there, D also made a rather splendid birthday cake for me - a rather delicious and moreish ginger cake. Little R, getting the hang of birthdays rightly, helped me to blow out the candles...

Very red cheeks on my little one... seriously can we have the eye teeth now before the baby comes... Little R has been tortured with these teeth for too long and I just want them to come... now please!!! I was also treated to a new Cath Kidston mug, the latest country living magazine (a new addiction of mine) and some beautiful cards. My lovely friend Dr T has a stamp fetish and she sent me a set of Alphabet Stamps in the post from Australia. The day ended on a high!

So now I am waiting. I'd like to be able to say patiently but that just wouldn't be true. I am positive that I am doing my poor husbands head in with my moaning but I can tell you that he is being extremely patient, at least someone is!! To be fair I have been knocked for six this week due to a pitiful head cold which has just zapped any remaining energy that I had. I am happy to report feeling a bit better today and more settled and less jittery wondering when the baby is going to come. I am going through a rollercoaster of emotions, excitement and anxiety and nervousness and joy. Mainly my concerns are for Little R and how he is going to react. He has been the centre of my universe for 2 years now and I have loved it all, I just don't want to upset him and I hope that he will love his new little baby sister or brother. I read a wonderful thing online when I was anxiously searching to see what other people felt like before their second baby arrived and one lady wrote the most wonderful thing that I am always going to remember...

♥♥ "Love doesn't divide, it multiplies" ♥♥

Thank you for reading. Thank you to new followers, I'm tickled pink that you want to stop by. And also a BIG thank you to Hazel at Cupcakery. Hazel very kindly nominated me for the Liebester award and I am truly grateful and chuffed to bits. But sadly I don't think I'm going to get the time to pass this on and do a post on this... it has taken me a lifetime to do this post and time is just not on my side these days. So thank you Hazel for your kindness.

Over and out xx