I have never really thought of the reason why I blog, it is just something that, one day, I decided to do. I once saw a post on Facebook saying 'I've become a mum so I have started a blog', and that pretty much sums me up.
Part of the reason I do it is because of the fact that my family is scattered around the world and especially for my Yaya, who is at the age that means she isn't really an IPhone fan, but is more than capable of looking at Facebook and I can really tell how much she appreciates it. I also think that she thinks I'm famous because of my youtube videos, ha!
Another reason is that I am and always have been a busy body. Don't get me wrong, I do like to relax and watch TV but even then I like to be looking on the internet, meal planning or looking at holidays that I want to go on. My friend Kirsty, who is sadly not with us anymore, used to say that I always have 101 things to do, which is very true!!! I took a year off for maternity leave, which I loved but I needed to find something new as a hobby that I could also do with Jackson being around.
I have to admit, the main satisfaction I get from blogging is not only have I got a hobby, I have these amazing memories to look back on. Why don't you write and not share I hear you say? Basically, it makes me do it and gives me deadlines to get posts done by. I think up titles or topics and make myself write about it - if I wasn't doing it for a blog, something else would surely get in the way and I would never get them done!
The whole reason that I chose to write this blog was because I was looking at my stats, something I really don't look at very often, but I was wanting to see which were my top 5 post and the one that was amongst them was an open letter to Jackson, when he was 14 months old. I read it and cried, I cried because not only do I write about how much I love him but also I cried about what I had forgotten about. His smile that used to greet me when I got him up in the morning (I am now greeted with either a bogey he wants to give me or him telling me he's done a poo, which I am sure will be another memory I will cry about in the future. I also forgot about his crying when he teethed, something at the time I wanted to forget but now I remember the cuddles and naps he had on my chest, when he needed comforting.
Thank you so much for reading my little blog posts and for commenting and sharing.
Love Sophia xxx
Tuesday, 23 January 2018
Thursday, 11 January 2018
Florence's 11 month update
Dear Florrie,
Another 2 months have flown by and you'll be turning one next month!!!!
You had your first sleep over with Yaya this month, who told me that you and your brother were so good! I went back to work too and you've adapted so well to the new routine.
You also started swimming lessons again, which we had stopped while I was training for my new job.
Your Gigi came to visit and we had your first Christmas, which was so special. We all spent the week in Hensol, Wales, and had an amazing little holiday together. You did become very attached to Dada while we there though but it was lovely to see your bond grow.
For the lead up to Christmas, we went to see Santa at Odds Farm, had many Christmas parties and also had an early 'Corbitt Christmas' with the rest of the family, for which, just like the real day, you were spoilt rotten!
When we were on holiday, we also celebrated my 30th birthday, which you and your brother got me loads of amazing prezzies for! A few days after coming home, we saw in the New Year at a friends house, where you were so well behaved.
Milestones
You now have 8 teeth, which we see all the time as you are always smiling.
You have taken a few steps now - you can stand by yourself very well but need to work on your walking.
You also don't stop talking - you say mama, dada, bubu and baba... all the time!
You have finally started eating properly, which the dogs are very disappointed about, haha! You are now completely on formula too, which I was very upset about but I love that other people can feed you now.
Your favourite toy is the kitchen that your Dada and I got you and your brother for Christmas, although your favourite thing to do is mess it all up, haha!!
Routine
8:00am - Wake up
8:30am - Breakfast - porridge, toast and banana
9:00am - Get dressed and play
10:00am - Nap - often in your carseat as we go out
11:00am - Wake up
12:00pm - Lunch - sandwich thin and cucumber
12:30pm - Play
1:30pm - Bottle
2:00pm - Nap
3:30pm - Wake up and play
5:00pm - Dinner - some of whatever I make Jackson
6:00pm - Bathtime
6:30pm - Bottle
7:00pm - Bed
You sleep all the way through which we are very happy about!
Weight
You had a few months where you didn't put on any weight and even dropped a tiny bit but this month you put some on, yay!!! You weighed 17lbs 1oz and are now on the 9% line. You are pretty much completely in 9-12 months clothes, although some 6-9 months still fit you very well.
Love you so much but you need to stop growing up so quickly!
Another 2 months have flown by and you'll be turning one next month!!!!
You had your first sleep over with Yaya this month, who told me that you and your brother were so good! I went back to work too and you've adapted so well to the new routine.
You also started swimming lessons again, which we had stopped while I was training for my new job.
Your Gigi came to visit and we had your first Christmas, which was so special. We all spent the week in Hensol, Wales, and had an amazing little holiday together. You did become very attached to Dada while we there though but it was lovely to see your bond grow.
For the lead up to Christmas, we went to see Santa at Odds Farm, had many Christmas parties and also had an early 'Corbitt Christmas' with the rest of the family, for which, just like the real day, you were spoilt rotten!
When we were on holiday, we also celebrated my 30th birthday, which you and your brother got me loads of amazing prezzies for! A few days after coming home, we saw in the New Year at a friends house, where you were so well behaved.
Milestones
You now have 8 teeth, which we see all the time as you are always smiling.
You have taken a few steps now - you can stand by yourself very well but need to work on your walking.
You also don't stop talking - you say mama, dada, bubu and baba... all the time!
You have finally started eating properly, which the dogs are very disappointed about, haha! You are now completely on formula too, which I was very upset about but I love that other people can feed you now.
Your favourite toy is the kitchen that your Dada and I got you and your brother for Christmas, although your favourite thing to do is mess it all up, haha!!
Routine
8:00am - Wake up
8:30am - Breakfast - porridge, toast and banana
9:00am - Get dressed and play
10:00am - Nap - often in your carseat as we go out
11:00am - Wake up
12:00pm - Lunch - sandwich thin and cucumber
12:30pm - Play
1:30pm - Bottle
2:00pm - Nap
3:30pm - Wake up and play
5:00pm - Dinner - some of whatever I make Jackson
6:00pm - Bathtime
6:30pm - Bottle
7:00pm - Bed
You sleep all the way through which we are very happy about!
Weight
You had a few months where you didn't put on any weight and even dropped a tiny bit but this month you put some on, yay!!! You weighed 17lbs 1oz and are now on the 9% line. You are pretty much completely in 9-12 months clothes, although some 6-9 months still fit you very well.
Love you so much but you need to stop growing up so quickly!
Love Mama xxx
Monday, 8 January 2018
Florence's 8 Month Update
Dear Florence,
Wow what a whirl wind the last 2 months have been. We all went on a family mini-break in somewhere near Oxford, where we stayed in a really cute little cabin on a farm and you were such a good little girl! We all ended up sleeping in the biggest bed ever most nights, which was so lovely for your dada and I, getting to have cuddles with you and your brother. Shortly after our little holiday, I then had to leave both you and your brother for a whole week, which was so hard but it was all for the family!! I am starting a new job, which I think will give us the best work/family balance, and had to go on a training course for it. When I came back, I heard all about how you were so good for your Dada, Yaya and Grandma.
Straight afterwards, we got to go on another holiday to Spain too! You absolutely loved the beach but you ate so much sand that you were pooing it for days, haha!!!
Milestones
We have missed a few months of updates, but you are now crawling, pulling yourself up and down and you have 6 teeth.
One of your favourite new things to do is scream at such a high pitch! Every time you do it, Jackson turns to you and says 'wow', which cracks me up!! You also say 'bubu' and apparently 'mama', although I haven't managed to hear it in real life yet - Dada's got a video of it.
We mainly do baby-led weaning, as you just don't seem to like spoons!! You love toast, grapes and peas. Occasionally, I can get you to eat porridge but some days you're too independent for a spoon.
You have really started playing with toys too and you love when we get the ball pit out. But you also really enjoy playing with the dog toys, which isn't so good!! I have to make sure that they are out of reach all the time!
Routine
7:30am - Wake up and boob
8:30am - Breakfast - Toast and banana
9:00am - Get dressed and play
10:00am - Nap - often in your carseat as we go out
10:30am - Wake up and a bottle
12:00pm - Lunch - Sandwich thin and cucumber
12:30pm - Play
1:30pm - Bottle
2:00pm - Nap
3:00pm - Wake up and play
5:00pm - Dinner - some of whatever I make Jackson
6:00pm - Bathtime
6:30pm - Boob
7:00pm - Bed
You generally sleep through the night, although sometimes, at about 11pm, you wake for your dummy.
Weight
You weighed 16lbs 2.5 oz at the last weigh-in. You did really well this month, jumping up to nearly the 25% line. You are pretty much completely in 6-9 months clothes.
Love you so much and I love seeing you grow into your own personality!
Mama xxx
Wow what a whirl wind the last 2 months have been. We all went on a family mini-break in somewhere near Oxford, where we stayed in a really cute little cabin on a farm and you were such a good little girl! We all ended up sleeping in the biggest bed ever most nights, which was so lovely for your dada and I, getting to have cuddles with you and your brother. Shortly after our little holiday, I then had to leave both you and your brother for a whole week, which was so hard but it was all for the family!! I am starting a new job, which I think will give us the best work/family balance, and had to go on a training course for it. When I came back, I heard all about how you were so good for your Dada, Yaya and Grandma.
Straight afterwards, we got to go on another holiday to Spain too! You absolutely loved the beach but you ate so much sand that you were pooing it for days, haha!!!
Milestones
We have missed a few months of updates, but you are now crawling, pulling yourself up and down and you have 6 teeth.
One of your favourite new things to do is scream at such a high pitch! Every time you do it, Jackson turns to you and says 'wow', which cracks me up!! You also say 'bubu' and apparently 'mama', although I haven't managed to hear it in real life yet - Dada's got a video of it.
We mainly do baby-led weaning, as you just don't seem to like spoons!! You love toast, grapes and peas. Occasionally, I can get you to eat porridge but some days you're too independent for a spoon.
You have really started playing with toys too and you love when we get the ball pit out. But you also really enjoy playing with the dog toys, which isn't so good!! I have to make sure that they are out of reach all the time!
Routine
7:30am - Wake up and boob
8:30am - Breakfast - Toast and banana
9:00am - Get dressed and play
10:00am - Nap - often in your carseat as we go out
10:30am - Wake up and a bottle
12:00pm - Lunch - Sandwich thin and cucumber
12:30pm - Play
1:30pm - Bottle
2:00pm - Nap
3:00pm - Wake up and play
5:00pm - Dinner - some of whatever I make Jackson
6:00pm - Bathtime
6:30pm - Boob
7:00pm - Bed
You generally sleep through the night, although sometimes, at about 11pm, you wake for your dummy.
Weight
You weighed 16lbs 2.5 oz at the last weigh-in. You did really well this month, jumping up to nearly the 25% line. You are pretty much completely in 6-9 months clothes.
Love you so much and I love seeing you grow into your own personality!
Mama xxx
Thursday, 4 January 2018
Florence's 6 Month Update
Dear Florrie-Lu,
This month has been all about getting back to normality after our lovely holiday. We also had Dada's birthday, for which we had a little party and both you and your brother were so good. You only tend to nap for 20 mins at a time but on your Dada's birthday you slept for 2 solid hours!!! Dada also had a few days off around his birthday so we took you both up to London to go to the Natural History Museum, followed by a walk through Hyde Park.
Milestones
So far, you have pretty much been exclusively breastfed but you recently had 2 bottles of formula with your Yaya. The first one was because we all stayed over at Yaya's house so your Dada and I could have a child free night in London! In the morning, your Yaya even let us have a lie in! The other time was just when I had to pop out for a few hours. Both times you were so easy going with it and didn't seem to mind at all!
The biggest step this month is that we have started weaning you. You recently began to have less milk and you seemed more and more interested in food, so I thought I would start a few days before you turned 6 months old. So far, you've had pureed carrot, broccoli and some melon and broccoli as finger food. I am planning on doing a mixture of purees and baby-led weaning, like I did with your brother. You seem to be enjoying it at the moment but I forgot quite how little you would eat at the beginning.
We have had a few bad nights when you wake up wanting your dummy quite a bit but generally I would still say that you are an amazing sleeper!!
Routine
7:30am - Wake up and feed
9:30am - Sleep
10:30am - Wake and a play
12:30/1:00pm - Lunch
1:30pm - Feed
2:00pm - Nap
2:30pm - Wake and a play
4:00pm - Feed and a nap
4:30pm - Wake
6:00pm - Bath
6:30pm - Feed
7/7:30pm - Bed
You're still waking at about 4:30am for a feed.
Weight
I got you weighed bang on 6 months and you were 14lbs 8oz!! You have done amazingly this month and you have gone back up to the top end of the 9th percentile. You are still wearing 3-6 month clothes but I have washed your 6-9 month bits so you can start wearing them soon.
Love you loads!
Mama xxx
This month has been all about getting back to normality after our lovely holiday. We also had Dada's birthday, for which we had a little party and both you and your brother were so good. You only tend to nap for 20 mins at a time but on your Dada's birthday you slept for 2 solid hours!!! Dada also had a few days off around his birthday so we took you both up to London to go to the Natural History Museum, followed by a walk through Hyde Park.
Milestones
So far, you have pretty much been exclusively breastfed but you recently had 2 bottles of formula with your Yaya. The first one was because we all stayed over at Yaya's house so your Dada and I could have a child free night in London! In the morning, your Yaya even let us have a lie in! The other time was just when I had to pop out for a few hours. Both times you were so easy going with it and didn't seem to mind at all!
The biggest step this month is that we have started weaning you. You recently began to have less milk and you seemed more and more interested in food, so I thought I would start a few days before you turned 6 months old. So far, you've had pureed carrot, broccoli and some melon and broccoli as finger food. I am planning on doing a mixture of purees and baby-led weaning, like I did with your brother. You seem to be enjoying it at the moment but I forgot quite how little you would eat at the beginning.
We have had a few bad nights when you wake up wanting your dummy quite a bit but generally I would still say that you are an amazing sleeper!!
Routine
7:30am - Wake up and feed
9:30am - Sleep
10:30am - Wake and a play
12:30/1:00pm - Lunch
1:30pm - Feed
2:00pm - Nap
2:30pm - Wake and a play
4:00pm - Feed and a nap
4:30pm - Wake
6:00pm - Bath
6:30pm - Feed
7/7:30pm - Bed
You're still waking at about 4:30am for a feed.
Weight
I got you weighed bang on 6 months and you were 14lbs 8oz!! You have done amazingly this month and you have gone back up to the top end of the 9th percentile. You are still wearing 3-6 month clothes but I have washed your 6-9 month bits so you can start wearing them soon.
Love you loads!
Mama xxx
Wednesday, 3 January 2018
Our 5 year anniversary
For our 5 year anniversary we took the kids glamping (back in September).....
Love Sophia xxx
Tuesday, 2 January 2018
My 30 favourites from this year
It was my big 3-0 this year and what an amazing year this has been. It's been one with a lot of changes for me personally and also as a family. I haven't blogged in ages but that is one of my New Year Resolutions - more on that in another blog coming up!!! I have put together 30 of my favourite things from 2017, which was hard to focus in on 30 things alone!!
1. I started this year being heavily pregnant and I'm grateful for having a healthy pregnancy.
4. Gigi came to visit, when Florrie was a few weeks old, to meet her first great granddaughter. Not many people can say that they have 2 great grandchildren!!
6. Jackson's birthday fell on Mothers Day, so we celebrated Mama's day a week later and we had a lovely day out.
8. We had easter Sunday, round my mum's with all the family.
11. We took the kids to their first festival, 'Rock the Moor' in Cookham.
16. And of course, seeing my sister and Andy get married was a massive highlight. Jackson was a page boy and Florrie a flower girl.
18. Chris and I celebrated our 5 years of marriage and we couldn't be happier!!
19. With the kids being so young we chose to go away the four of us for our anniversary, so I hired a cart in a middle of a field. Call me crazy but it worked brilliantly and it was so much fun. It was lovely seeing Jackson playing outside the whole time!
21. We went to Spain with a couple of our friends and had such a lovely time.
23. I completed my Waterbabies training in record time and started actually teaching, which I am loving!
24. This year I have also started running and I participated in the Santa Fun Run 5k.
25. I saw my gorgeous niece, Olivia, in her first Christmas play. She was a star and she did so well!
Love Sophia xxx
1. I started this year being heavily pregnant and I'm grateful for having a healthy pregnancy.
2. With Jackson, I ended up having a C-Section, so with Florrie I wanted to have a natural birth, mainly because I wanted the recovery to be better (not that it was that bad with Jackson but it is still surgery and you do have to get a lot of rest). Amazingly, I managed to achieve this and I was right about the recovery, it was so much easier!!!
3. We had a beautiful, healthy baby girl, Florence Lucy.
4. Gigi came to visit, when Florrie was a few weeks old, to meet her first great granddaughter. Not many people can say that they have 2 great grandchildren!!
5. My baby boy turned 2, how did that happen? And it now wont be long until he's 3!!!
6. Jackson's birthday fell on Mothers Day, so we celebrated Mama's day a week later and we had a lovely day out.
7. We celebrated my baby niece's 2nd birthday and just like with Jackson, I found myself asking, how is she 2 already?!!!!
8. We had easter Sunday, round my mum's with all the family.
9. Before Florrie was born, we booked a cheeky Centre Parcs trip and it did not disappoint, it was so much fun to spend time as a family of four.
10. Chris and I had our first proper date night since Florrie arrived and we went to Tom Kerridge's 'Pub in the Park', a pretty amazing first date night!
11. We took the kids to their first festival, 'Rock the Moor' in Cookham.
12. We went on holiday to Greece. Unfortunately, Chris had to stay back for a few days but joined us later on for just under a week.
13. Florrie's underwater photo shoot - I loved this and the photos were brilliant, apart from one where she looked drunk, haha!
14. We celebrated Chris' birthday by all going up to London together.
15. Florrie and I went on my Sister's hen party, she may have been the youngest hen ever!!!
16. And of course, seeing my sister and Andy get married was a massive highlight. Jackson was a page boy and Florrie a flower girl.
17. After coming back from a swimming lesson with Water Babies, I emailed the office saying that I wanted to join the team. A few weeks later I had started my training.
18. Chris and I celebrated our 5 years of marriage and we couldn't be happier!!
19. With the kids being so young we chose to go away the four of us for our anniversary, so I hired a cart in a middle of a field. Call me crazy but it worked brilliantly and it was so much fun. It was lovely seeing Jackson playing outside the whole time!
20. With the Waterbabies training, it also included a whole 7 nights away down in Devon. It was a decision that I did not take lightly but I was so proud of myself!!!! It was so difficult leaving the kids and I missed them so much but I learnt tons and definitely grew as a person, which sounds cheesy but true.
21. We went to Spain with a couple of our friends and had such a lovely time.
22. When Florrie was 8 and 1/2 months, I stopped breastfeeding. My goal was to get to 6 months and I exceeded that.
23. I completed my Waterbabies training in record time and started actually teaching, which I am loving!
24. This year I have also started running and I participated in the Santa Fun Run 5k.
25. I saw my gorgeous niece, Olivia, in her first Christmas play. She was a star and she did so well!
26. Chris and I took the kids to see Santa at Odds Farm and this is the first year that Jackson has really got into the whole Santa fun!
27. We were away for Christmas so we did a 'Corbitt Christmas' with the family at our house. We cooked the whole Christmas dinner and exchanged early presents, which Jackson was grateful for of course!
28. We went to Hensol, near Cardiff, for Christmas and spent a week in a giant house with all of my family. It was so lovely to be in one place all together.
29. And of course the actual big day itself was brilliant. Spending the morning in our pj's, playing with all of the kids' presents and then all of us cooking dinner together was really special.
30. My birthday was pretty amazing, I got spoilt by all of my family and friends!
Love Sophia xxx
Monday, 1 January 2018
2018 goals
Looking back at my 2017 goals, it seems forever ago that I made them. This year has gone by in a flash!!!
2017 goals:
2017 goals:
1. Have a good birth and a healthy baby - I had a C-Section with Jackson and I would love to have a natural birth this time but my obvious main priority is a healthy baby, so I will go with whatever the professionals tell me is best. - I managed a natural birth with NO pain relief at all!!! The recovery was nothing compared to last time which is the main reason that I wanted to go down the natural route, so I am very pleased.
2. Take a family holiday aboard; Chris and I will be celebrating 5 years of marriage this Summer and we want to go away as a family of 4 for the first time! - We had a few holidays this year so in the end we went away in the UK for a few days, which was just as amazing.
2. Take a family holiday aboard; Chris and I will be celebrating 5 years of marriage this Summer and we want to go away as a family of 4 for the first time! - We had a few holidays this year so in the end we went away in the UK for a few days, which was just as amazing.
3. I love writing for my blog, which is something I never thought that I would do. However, I would also like to focus more on the other side of the blogging world and hopefully take it to the next level. - So, after having a baby, going back to work and then having to re-train my blogging, I have actually taken a massive step back and I am soooooo missing it now!!!
4. Vlog more - I want to video as much as possible when this baby is little and show how Jackson goes from an only child to a big brother! - Same as above unfortunately.
5. Lose the baby weight for Chloe's wedding - it doesn't give me long after baby is due (about 6 months) but I just want to do my best to get back into shape! - I didn't lose all of the baby weight but I'm getting there. One hobby that I did start this year was running and I ran my first 5k event in December.
My goals for 2018:
1. As I mentioned, I have started running, and this year I want to get up to running 10k.
2. Get back to blogging/vlogging. I'm not sure what exactly has happened but with work and the kids, I have lost a bit of my 'me time', which I would normally spend writing & filming posts.
3. We have started to think about it, but I want to properly look in to moving house, whether that just means saving more or actually making the big move.
4. Once a month, I want to minimalise one room. I don't think that we have too much unwanted clutter but we are beginning to max-out the space we have at home!
5. This is a big year for Jackson as he's starting pre-school. We are yet to make the finial decision on where & when but it's a big step, so I want to make sure that we have some one-to-one time together. Even if this is just an hour on a Sunday or most nights reading bedtime stories together because before I know it, this year will fly by again and we will be choosing schools by that point.
I'm also going to do a self improvement year for 2018. Each month, I am going to set myself some mini goals, hoping that after each month, the goals will become habit and I'll stick to them. For example:
I'm also going to do a self improvement year for 2018. Each month, I am going to set myself some mini goals, hoping that after each month, the goals will become habit and I'll stick to them. For example:
- Exercising 5 times a week
- Styling my hair each day
- Drinking 2 litres of water each day
- Ensure we go outside to play each day (even if it is jumping in puddles!)
Some will be unrealistic to continue throughout the whole year but I think if I do it for a whole month, then it will start to become 'normal' in my general routine.
For the month of January, I aim to do 10,000 steps per day.
What are some of your goals for the New Year?
Love Sophia xx
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