Our Day by Design

Holden's tenth monthly photo, taken on the 1st of every month. Holden turned ten months old almost three weeks ago so this post is a little late! November was another busy month with lots of lunches with friends, visits to soft play, toddler group each week, a trip to the swimming pool and Holden also had two birthday parties to attend. It was also my dads 60th so we had a family party at my parents house. We managed to fit in a trip to the cinema while my parents had Holden however that evening we all came down with a sickness bug which was wasn't very nice, especially when Holden got it too. Thankfully it didn't last long and we were able to have a early Christmas night with friends while my parents kept Holden overnight. This was followed by a lovely day out in Glasgow where I met friends and we had our annual secret santa swap, while Holden had a day with daddy. The day we took these photos we also had a meet with our NCT group. ...

Holden's ninth monthly photo, taken on the 1st of every month. Holden turned nine months old two weeks ago. We spent the first two weeks of October still in Perth, Australia visiting my sister and her family. Graham could only get three weeks off work so he flew home on the 5th then Holden and I enjoyed an extra week there. We visited the botanic gardens in Kings Park, the city centre, a national park and found a Holden car for Holden to stand on, all before Graham left! The next week we managed to fit in some shopping, visit Fremantle and Leederville as well as the science centre. However, Holden got conjunctivitis so wasn't himself for a couple of days but thankfully he was much better before we both flew home. Holden was fantastic on the flight home and spent most of the first overnight flight sleeping then enjoyed having a seat to himself on our second daytime flight! We've been a bit quieter since we got back but we still managed a few lunches with frien...

Holden's eighth monthly photo, taken on the 1st of every month. Holden turned eight months old three weeks ago while we were on holiday in Australia. We've only been back for a week and just getting over the jet lag which is why this post is so late. The first couple of weeks of September were a bit quieter than August however we still managed another NCT meet, a trip to the cinema, lots of lunches with friends and some shopping in preparation for our trip. I even managed to have a night with my friends but I really should remember that I can't drink as much anymore! We spent the rest of the month in Perth, Australia and after Holden was a star on the long flights over, we had a brilliant time. I will write a proper post about our trip at some point but we visited the aquarium, the Pinnacles, the Swan Valley winery region, a wildlife park and Rottnest island and we also went on a dolphin adventure cruise in our first two weeks. It has been fantastic to s...

Holden's seventh monthly photo, taken on the 1st of every month. Holden turned seven months old last Saturday. My sister, nephew and niece were here for most of August so after our trip to Center Parcs we enjoyed lots of days with them including trips to the cinema, a children's farm park and a birthday party for my best friends daughter. We got Holden christened on the 12th, at the same church we got married in, with my sister and Graham's cousin Andrew as his godparents. We wanted to have the christening while my sister was still here and all of our family and friends who live near by were able to attend as well as Grahams sister and (now) brother-in-law. The week after that was busy with preparations for Grahams sisters wedding then the rehearsal and dinner the night before. They got married on the 18th in Haddington followed by a reception at the Dalmahoy Hotel and I was a bridesmaid and Graham an usher. We all stayed over at the ...

Holden's sixth monthly photo, taken on the 1st of every month. Holden turned six months old over three weeks ago, while we were both on holiday at Center Parcs with my parents, aunt, sister, nephew and niece. Unfortunately Graham had to stay at home! This post is so so late as we were enjoying a busy few weeks while my sister, nephew and niece were still here. In July we had yet another busy month including more lunches with friends, trips to baby group and the baby cinema, and another meet with our NCT group. I was able to attend the summer day out at my office which involved getting my nails done, a forth cruise then a lovely dinner. Things got even busier once my sister and her family arrived. That weekend I was a bridesmaid at my best friends wedding, which was Holden's first, then Graham and I were godparents at my niece's christening. My brother in law was only able to stay for a short time so we made the most of his time with a trip to the zoo to ...

Holden's fifth monthly photo, taken on the 1st of every month.   Holden turned five months old at the beginning of July. We've had yet another busy month involving lots of lunches out with family and friends, including quite a few trips to Mimi's! We tried the baby cinema for the first time (Men in Black 3 was on) and we've also tried a couple of baby groups with a friend who lives round the corner that I met at our antenatal classes. I visited Jupiter Artland with my mum for the day so Holden got to spend some time with daddy. He also had his third set of vaccinations in the middle of the month then we celebrated Grahams birthday and his first fathers day on the same day by having an Italian lunch just the three of us. Graham also had a couple of stag do's, one in Germany, while we spent time with my aunt and uncle who were visiting from Australia. I also had a hen do at the end of the month which involved laser quest, afternoon, cocktails and my first night awa...

Holden's fourth monthly photo, taken on the 1st of every month. Holden turned four months old over two weeks ago, I really need to get these posts done quicker! This month he had his second set of vaccinations and his 4 month check up, both of which were fine and he was given some books, a cup and his first toothbrush! He attended another birthday party, some pub lunches with family and also went for his first swim which he seemed to like. I also went to a jewellery class with my mum and Holden slept all of the time he was with his Daddy and Grandad. We also enjoyed the sunny weather and were even able to use his parasol for the first time! We spent quite a lot of the month staying at my parents house to help with my back pain, especially when Graham was away on a course. My back is improving slowly but surely with lots of physio and exercises to do at home and we were back staying properly at our own flat by the end of the month. We have also booked our first family ...

Its Grahams 31st Birthday today, on his first Father's Day; Happy Birthday G! This last year has gone so fast with all the preparations for the baby, Holden's arrival and the holidays we enjoyed. We have a busy summer ahead with my sister and her family visiting, two hen do's & the weddings, a week in Center Parcs then a trip to Australia in September which will be our first family holiday! Daddy with Holden when he was just 40 minutes old. This is also the first photo we have of Holden, unfortunately I missed it as I was still in recovery and hadn't met him yet. {His birth story is coming soon.} This is also our anniversary of 9 years together {and 2 years, 10 weeks & 5 days married!} Unlike last year when we celebrated in Marrakech and I was almost 8 weeks pregnant, this year Graham was at a stag do last night so once he got back we opened gifts with Grahams dad then headed out to lunch just the three of us before visiting my parents o...

...we had just discovered I was pregnant!   One year on and gorgeous Holden is here; 16 Weeks & 5 Days old!

Holden's third monthly photo, taken on the 1st of every month. Holden turned three months old three weeks ago. Again, although I did take the photos on the 1st, its taken me ages to get this post done! This month we celebrated our two year anniversary with a quiet dinner just the three of us, which Holden slept all the way through. Holden had his first set of vaccinations which were fine then we spent Easter having lunch with Grandad. Holden did get one egg, which mummy and daddy ate for him, as well as some new books from Granny and Grandad, clothes from Nanna and Grandad and we got him Spot's First Easter book. We attended our NCT reunion and it was lovely to meet all of the other babies and hear all the stories. The next day Holden also attended his first ever birthday party. Unfortunately I've spent most of the month struggling with terrible back pain so we stayed at my parents for most of the time as its easier for me to get out from their house. After seeing a phy...

Holden's second monthly photo, taken on the 1st of every month. Holden turned two months old over two weeks ago. Although we did actually take the photos on the 1st, its taken me ages to get them posted. This month Holden got to meet some lovely bloggers then we celebrated my first mothers day with my parents, having a lovely walk then lunch at the Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh. I was very spoiled and received a spa gift voucher which I'm looking forward to using soon. We've been out and about quite a bit as well, meeting friends for lunch, visiting my mum, dad and Grahams mum at their workplaces, having his first outing in the baby carrier and I also visited my work to let them all meet Holden. I spent the last week staying with my parents when Graham was away with work which was lovely to have some company in the evenings. Holden also spent his first overnight at Granny and Grandads (my parents) so that we could get a proper full nights sleep.   Holden is ...

Holden's first monthly photo, taken on the 1st of every month. Holden turned one month old last Thursday. This first month has gone so quickly and while it has been tiring, emotional and challenging, its also been fantastic and unforgettable; a complete learning curve for our new family of three. I'm not sure what we used to do with our time before he arrived. While there are some days that I don't manage to get dressed, we have managed to get out and about quite a lot, with family and to meet friends. Holden loves his car seat and his pram so whenever we go out he seems to fall asleep straightaway. He's now been to Mimi's bakehouse twice for lunch and slept throughout both visits!   Holden is changing every day and he is now starting to coo and show signs of smiling. He is also starting to enjoy his baby gym for a few minutes at a time and is starting to take a bit more notice of some of his toys, especially the ones that hang over his bouncer. I'm looking...