A baby boy is born

2019 was a rollercoaster of a year. The most wonderful high of the year came at the end of the year with the arrival of our bundle of love, our third beautiful baby boy.

I just can't believe how quickly the weeks are flying by. Cherishing every moment.

Life as a family of five is bliss and our new addition is all we could have wished for and more. He is adorable and I am totally in love with my new little star.

Pregnancy - ways to celebrate and document a pregnancy

Being pregnant for the third and most likely last time I want to enjoy the time as much as I can. As I had already passed the first trimester of pregnancy before publicly announcing the pregnancy on social media and the weeks seem to be flying by, I want to cherish every moment of this pregnancy. 

So I want to look at a few of the different ways to celebrate and document a pregnancy - 

A new addition.....

I recently shared some exciting news on twitter and Instagram but until now have not written a blog post about it. So with the news being long overdue I thought I best to pop it down on a quick little post.

As the title of this post suggests, our family is growing and we are expecting baby number 3!

A few months ago when my period was later than normal (thanks to PCOS my cycles are irregular so I can never be sure when it is expected to arrive) and a niggling suspicion I thought it might be wise to take a pregnancy test and was delighted when that second line appeared to show it was positive!

Disney on Ice Worlds of Enchantment review

Disney stories and films (plus an enchanting visit to Disney World Florida) are entwined in many memories from my childhood. They evoke thoughts of the people I watched them with and the joy I had and still have in watching them. Winnie the Pooh, The Fox and the Hound, Honey I Shrunk The Kids, The Little Mermaid, Flight of The Navigator, Beauty and The Beast, Fantasia to name but a few. Then in later years Hocus Pocus, Cool Runnings, The Lion King, Finding Nemo and the Toy Story series. Really those titles are just the tip of the iceberg of Disney films that I love.

Fast forward too many years for my liking, now as a parent I get to share my love of Disney with my children. From a young age they have been bewitched by Disney magic. Disney old and new has been embraced by us. Whilst they love all Disney productions they do have a soft spot for the animated films.

Love of photography - #throughmyeyez

From a young age I loved photos and cameras. My Dadcu (grandad) was a keen photographer with all the kit and it was a running family joke that you had to watch what you were up to on family days out and special family events because he was sure to capture you in the act as he always had his camera to hand and was watching everyone through the lens.

Those photos he took and old black and white photographs of family and times before me sparked interest in photography and a sentimental love of photographs to capture special moments in time.

Organising a christening

There are many reasons why a parent might decide to have a christening for their child. Perhaps they are christian and want their child to be raised as a christian too. Maybe they find the notion of being part of the christian community appealing and want to welcome Christianity and the Church into their family’s life. Or the motivation to have a christening for their child is not focused on faith rather it is because they want their child to be blessed to celebrate and show thanks for their safe arrival into the world.

Disney On Ice Celebrates 100 Years of Magic review

Disney is synonymous with magical stories and captivating characters who enchant and delight both young and old.

When Disney’s wonderous stories and characters are combined with high class, skilled ice skating a truly magical and enthralling show is created by Feld Entertainment - Disney On Ice.

Showcasing a number of renowned Disney films, over 50 beloved characters and 30 popular musical numbers Disney On Ice Celebrates 100 Years of Magic combines old classics with recent Disney films for a magical experience.

This past weekend we were delighted to visit Cardiff to watch the show and be transported into the world of Disney.

Bringing the magic of Christmas alive with Portable North Pole Magic Pass

I have always loved Christmas. Since becoming a parent I love it even more. Christmas can be such a magical time and I love that I have a little family to experience it with.

Over the years we have created our own little traditions that we enjoy as part of the build up to the big day. During this magic time of year we love to try to make the whole of December a truly magical, fun and exciting time for the children.

We decorate the Christmas tree with sparkling decorations that include special decorations and baubles that have a little extra special meaning to them such as personalised decorations, first Christmas bauble, and the children’s homemade decorations. We go to Christmas fairs and watch in wonder as the Christmas lights are turned on in the town. We visit Santa in his Grotto and also remember those less fortunate than us by giving new toys to local charity toy appeals. We enjoy our friendly elf staying who has his friends pop by every once in awhile to check up on how well behaved we are, with the visiting elves leaving little jingle bells of magic behind in their wake. We love our traditional Christmas eve box and personalised Christmas books.

To make the magic of Christmas extra special and help bring Santa alive to the children we also include Portable North Pole as part of our family traditions at Christmas.

Mecca's Mother's Day Memories.

 My mum means everything to me; she is my rock always there for me.  She gave my sister and I a brilliant childhood filled with lots of fun, happy and memorable memories.  I cherish the childhood I had that was jam-packed with lots of love, hugs and kisses.  Now as an adult and a mother myself she is my best friend, there in the good times and the bad times. 

Whilst all the days at home filled with adventures outdoors, arts and crafts, baking and play with my mum was lots of fun and are precious memories I particularly loved the holidays she took us on.  Every year we would go on a holiday in the UK and we often visited our family in Hereford, where the picture of my sister and I in the collage was taken, and I have fond memories of the adventures we had holidaying and caravanning across the UK.

Another memory from my childhood that I love is from Easter when every year my mum would create an Easter egg hunt for us, with clues and eggs hidden all over the farm we lived on for us to hunt for and find.  The Easter egg hunt she created for us was so much fun and it felt like a huge adventure searching the farm for clues to find more yummy treats.

Examples of Adorable Newborn Photography.

Whilst we took lots and lots of photographs of Bug when he was a newborn baby I do regret that we never had professional newborn photographs done as they always look so adorable and artistic with beautiful positions and props being used to emphasise the cuteness of a newborn baby but unfortunately we simply did not have the money for a professional newborn photography shoot. 

If and when we are blessed with another baby I would love to get professional newborn photography shoot done and have some adorable professional baby photographs of our new bundle of love to cherish forever.

Newborn photography must be the easiest job in terms of photography, as it must be impossible to get a ‘bad’ picture of an adorable little baby!

However, if you have a shoot booked, or are thinking about booking one, you may want to start thinking about some ideas to make your pictures of your little one even more special. We’ve put together a list of some beautiful photos that illustrate some of the best techniques and ideas often used in newborn photography to get the most idyllic shots of your bundle of joy.

Exquisite poses and positions.

Your designated photographer will be trained in positioning your baby into adorable poses and positions without causing them any harm or even the slightest discomfort. Of course your little one won’t be able to support their own head, so your photography expert will know techniques to help them achieve this pose (and others) safely whilst they snooze the session away!