2 years ago...

today, at this time I was more than likely still in a bit of a daze and in 'mothering mode' as I had just had my very first newborn baby put into my arms at about 07:50am that morning.... My 'new born baby' is a walking talking adorable little boy, who is starting to express his mind i.e. his favourite word is 'No', and his feet are so much bigger, I cant stop staring at them, trying to recall the baby feet that I once held. And tonight as you were sleeping and began to cry in your sleep and I held you against my chest and stroked your forehead, I remembered that it wasnt that long ago that you were being breastfeed by me, and now you ask me outright for your juice or your tea. 
We had a bit of a party to celebrate Josh's second birthday with a noddy theme ..Josh loves Noddy. Probably because I did as a child (and no I dont think Noddy and Big Ears are gay...how ridiculous!...and whilst I have read that Enid Blyton was a bit eccentric I loved all her books). Pictures of the party will follow but I wanted to record a message for Josh on this blog on this his second birthday:

To my darling little Joshie (as you are fondly known)
2 years have gone by of your life, so quickly to us, and I trust God that you will have many more years ahead. May you be blessed, may you know that you are loved dearly by me, your dad and your sister. May you understand that as your parents we aim to guide you, teach you and love you - that you wont always like us at a certain (teen)age, but know that we are determined to raise you to the best of our ability with morals, values and to instill in you a character of strength, hope, kindness, gentleness and empathy to other human beings and creatures alike. Being a mom is the hardest thing I have ever done and at times I wonder am I doing enough, could there be more, I should have done that, but no one or nothing here on this earth could love you more than I and your dad do.
So Happy Birthday .. there will be more to come and we plan the parties, we buy the presents, but the most important thing to me is celebrating your birth!
Love Mum and Dad
xxx

Joshua's Birth Day: 24th March 2008

Parties

Parties Parties Parties are all around us... Joshua went to a party on the weekend in this sweltering heat ... 38 degrees on Sunday.. the poor parents. The kids were hot and bothered, the birthday boy was crying and miserable, and the jumping castle lay there untouched. It was just simply too hot to move never mind jump. It was Joshua's friend from his creche and Sarah, Veronica and Steven's daughter was also there .. Josh, Matthew and Sarah are the 3 musketeers apparently. Though Matthew was in the 'its my party and I'll cry if I want to' mood.
But parties are all around at the moment, and most importantly to me .. Joshua's 2nd Birthday,  and on the top of my to do list as my 'little' boy is turning 2 so I am in full party planning mode. Phew it is hard work and finding the time now that I am a working mum again is tough. His theme is going to be Noddy as he absolutely loves Noddy so I being the organizer that I am had already bought a few things for the party whilst I was still on maternity leave. Now it is just sorting out the finer details like party food / following up on rsvps, getting ingridients for goodies, packing the actual party packs etc. and then the set up on the day. It reminded me of Josh's birthday last year when I was already 3 months pregnant with Hannah - who on Joshua's birthday will be exactly 6 months. It was not the best party I felt hot and bothered and nauseaus and as is the case running around trying to talk to everyone there, see to my child and ensure there is cooldrink/food replenished etc. This year I am going to make a concious effort to be more with Josh on the day..sit with him, play with him and to hell with those needing another glass...go get it yourself..lol that is so not me but I will try :-) . my lasting memory of Joshua's party was me throwing up 5 minutes after everyone had left, mostly due to all day sickness but also due to the running around and stress of the day. You see I am a stressor, I am getting better at it though and learning to let go a lot but I am a perfectionist and like things to go ..'just so'.
So this birthday Josh's second I am planning to enjoy and although I am hiring some stuff from a party place have always believed in doing some home made stuff, you know those party things we had as children.. the racing cars with jelly tots for wheels, ice cream cone upside down clowns, all those yummy home made goodies... so hopefully I will get the energy to do that and attempt a couple of things.Any relatively easy 'bakey' thing ideas that have a relation to Noddy would be appreciated.
I cannot believe he is going to be 2 .... sigh sigh sigh .... Father time just marches along and us mothers grasp at the time like 'sands through the hourglass'. 
Here are some pics of the sweltering party which was a combination of Winnie the Pooh and Soccer ... Our saving grace, Clive Steve and I was the ice lollys that thank goodness the parents had stocked up from Gattis. Note to self: go to Gattis and stock up just in case!
x