Growing up...

Being stuck at home last week with back pain seems to have put me in a reflective mood. A few days ago I met up with an old work colleague who I hadn't seen for a whopping 12 years. So much has happened, so much has changed in those 12 years that manage to seem both such a short and long time ago. 

The last time my friend had seen J, he was just a teeny baby just a few weeks old. This year that little baby will become a teenager. 

He's camera shy these days pulling silly faces every time the camera comes out, hence the most recent photos of him are from Christmas Day complete with his angry birds eyebrows on!

J loves gaming, gaming and more gaming. He loves wearing onesies but in the absence of one that fits him at the moment he's making do with Christmas jumpers as his favourite item of clothing. 

He's mega studious and is thriving at school - a miracle Given his difficulties during his early school years.

Next up, D... the cool, calm and collected chef of the family. At 10 years old he often shows wisdom beyond his years...understanding, caring, responsible. His attitude to his studies has transformed this year with his awesome teachers praising and encouraging his achievements - he's become super motivated.

His patience was put to the test last September when the day after we got back from Dubai and the day before year 6 of school began, he had a mega bad fall and broke his wrist. Wearing a cycle helmet prevented his injuries from being a lot more serious. Despite his frustrations of not being able to ride his bike or do sports for several months after, he actually found ways of doing some of his favourite things like cooking! You can see him cooking with his plaster cast on here! 

We also managed a trip to Legoland as soon as his arm was out of plaster. 

Guitar is his instrument and he was really glad to get back to that. Most recently he's been getting into wildlife photography - a hobby he's been learning along with daddy who's also learning from a good friend. 

And last but certainly not least, Miss T. It was her move to a 'big bed' on Friday night that prompted me to write this update in the first place.

She's been in a cotbed until now and as she turns 5 this year we knew the time was coming for the move. 

When a friend kindly gave us their old mid–sleeper for D we reshuffled his bed into Miss T's room. All it needed was a new mattress. 

Whilst I knew I wanted a good quality pocket sprung mattress for her, I didn't want to spend a fortune because, kids being kids, it could end up with accidental damage at some stage.

I was wary of buying on Amazon or eBay as we've been caught out before with items looking too good to be true (they usually are) but when I spotted a reasonably priced one on Wayfair, I felt confident enough to trust them.

That's where the blogging world really does make an impact on brands - I knew that a blogger I trust (Penny Alexander) has worked with Wayfair and so by association they became a trusted brand to me and hence that's where we bought Miss T's new mattress from. We opted for this pocket sprung mattress and so far it has proved to be a brilliant find. 

It čame vaccuum packed (great innovation!) and certainly upon initial use seems to be great quality and ticks all the boxes. Miss T was excited by moving to a big bed and had a great nights sleep.

She still uses her grobags (I bought the big size that can last up to age 10) - although I don't anticipate that she'll use them up to that age, for now they've served us really well in helping Miss T stay settled at night and not keep getting out of bed as we experienced when J was younger! 

As her warm grobag was in the wash, here she has her lightweight one with an additional lightweight cover too that her lovely godmother made for her for her dedication. 

So that's a little update on my (not so little anymore) family. Something I've neglected updating for far too long on the blog.