this little house

an edinburgh christmas

can you believe that that is christmas done for another year?? all that planning, preparation, and excitement, and then it is over in a flash. we've done everything to stretch out the fun though.

christmas eve was filled with friends, family, pasta, drinkies, and of course, christmas pj's. it is not christmas eve without new pj's ;)

sorry, caleb and baby bump, you're parents are cheese balls :)

we had put no expectation on christmas morning, we were fully aware caleb might not be interested in opening presents and might find it all overwhelming. that was not the case at all, his little face as we helped him open his toys was a picture. each toy was greeted with a squeal of delight and immediately looked to us to release it from it's packaging.

anyone else wanting to take a crash course in getting toys out of their packaging and assembling them?? i'll put our names down shall i? ;)

chilling with our christmas ham and cheese croissants, a tradition stolen from michael's side of the family.

this was as close as we got to taking a family picture together. yeah, we need to work on that for next year ;)

stop hugging me, mama. me want to play with all my toys.

we then headed over to michael's sisters for christmas dinner, it was a team effort with everyone pitching in, we were spoilt rotten with lots of beautiful food and drink. it was such a chilled and relaxed day thanks to karen and her husband, iain's amazing organisation. having the largest family they seem to be the default home for all big family occasions which isn't necessarily fair. we just want to say a big thank you to them. we really do appreciate it ♥

canapes before dinner

hands down the prettiest real tree i've seen this year. utter perfection.

karen's gorgeous christmas table

i had been obsessing over these liberty crackers when i saw them in living etc. like a child i squealed with delight when i saw them on the table. a gorgeous treat from michael's mum.

pictures of the tree and table setting? check. pictures of the kids lapping up christmas day? fail.

the clue being the tree and table don't move at the speed of lightening ;)

i did however get a few of this lucky boy getting to play with his cousins toys...

we then wrapped the day up with popping the younger kids to bed and enjoying all the games michael had prepared for us all. each family member had a food or drink task on the day (mine was canapes and pudding), except michael. yeah, he's not so great in the cooking department. the quiz master department however, different story. thanks to liam and ciara, i was on the winning team :)

i hope you all had a wonderful christmas, and we wish you all a very happy new year.

2014, you're going to be a goodin.

Monday, 30 December 2013 Comments: 1

'tis the season for much merriment with family and friends, to consume as much seasonal food as possible (chocolate is seasonal right?!), and to act more like a toddler than your actual toddler when surrounded by all the christmas lights and paraphernalia.

aside from a bout of the vomiting bug (for me and caleb) it has been a glorious, busy december so far.

so what's been happening...

well, this pregnancy is kicking my butt in the tired stakes. i'm tired ALL the time, but i'm happy.

when you're tired one thing you notice is you simplify, go back to basics. i've been less in a hurry to document this month with my camera and more inclined to just enjoy it. to be selfish and soak those moments up just for myself. that's not to say i haven't caught a few moments along the way, of course...

the month kicked off with these two lovely ladies, grandma liverpool and her best friend, visiting us.

what a laugh we had, as you can see from these out takes.

this handsome fella treated me to a little christmas date, while grandma liverpool was up to watch caleb. it was such a special, special night, where he surprised me with my christmas gift early, but that's another post ;)

does anyone else find christmas trees hypnotic?? i swear i lose minutes, hours, days, staring at our tree. each decoration has been collected over time. each one holding a special memory. staring at it across the couch is like taking a little walk down memory lane, and i love that. there are many a happy memory hung on that dear tree.

edinburgh has a christmas tree maze this year. man, is it good, and at night pretty darn magical.

i've never seen caleb so excited or as quick on his feet. he turned the corners a little too fast for our liking which meant a lot of running around by all.

you finish the maze by finding the elf's workshop, where caleb was given a little toy. such fun, cannot recommend it enough for your little ones if you live in edinburgh or near.

my dear friend, helen treated us to a christmas visit. such a lovely few days indulging in all things christmassy. helen is a BIG fan of christmas, like play christmas music in july fan. yes, july. this makes spending some christmas time with helen all the more fun.

oh this little guy has been so much fun this month. his randomness never fails to make me smile and i swear the kid grows cuter by the day (biased much!).

i hope you are all having a very merry december so far. can you believe christmas is just a few days away?!

ahhhh i'm so excited. in many ways this feels like caleb's first christmas, as he is much more aware. i can't wait to celebrate this christmas as a family, this one will be a little bit extra special as it will be our last as three. wow, a fact i am still fully getting my head around.

Sunday, 22 December 2013 Comments: 2

thank you, thank you for all your lovely messages over the last couple of days.

yes we're pregnant!! man, does it feel good to say it out loud. to put it out there.

it's been a heavy secret to keep.

the morning (pah all day!)sickness has been killer.

the joy has been overwhelming, but so has the anxiety.

will everything be okay this time? how will we cope if it's not??

have been the questions rolling on repeat in our minds.

so here we are at 16 weeks, and it feels good. the sickness is all but gone, and instead in its place is a roaring appetite even i'm finding hard to keep up with (and that is saying something), but hey, i'm up for the challenge ;)

the anxiety? it's still there. like an unwelcome guest lingering in the background. i'm learning to ignore it now, i will not have it steal away the joy of this pregnancy. i just won't.

anyway, anxiety is getting its butt kicked by a new kid in town. yes my friends, i'd like to introduce you to....pregnancy hormones, and man are they crazzzzy! my two poor boys ;)

i have to finish up by saying thank you again, to everyone. your support has meant so much to us this year. i'm going to stop there before i'm a sobbing mess all over my laptop. i kid you not. i just want you to know how much it means.

now what can i have for dupper (in between dinner and supper, duh!;)???

Thursday, 12 December 2013 Comments: 8