1st Birthday

It gets said so often but I really still can't believe they are a year old. The time has flown by but this blog and our iPad full of photos helps us keep everything fresh in our minds. It's fun looking back at the earlier blogs and photos and seeing just how much Carl and Ella have changed in a year.

1st Celebration - The Boresjos and Copperdells

On the Saturday before their birthday, Nanna, Grandad, Uncle Chris, Auntie Catrin and Cousins Anna and Katie met us at the Harvester in Old Windsor for a birthday lunch followed by Nanna's birthday cake back at home.

We dressed them up in lovely clothes which were later going to get covered in cake!

After perusing (or should I say playing peekaboo with) the menu, 

Ella and Carl had a children's meal between them. They behaved very well and ate most of their food.

Back at home they were entertained by their cousins

before being seated for cake, candles and the Happy Birthday song. Just look at the expression of intense concentration on Carl's face. He knows that Nanna cake is right in front of him and nothing else matters!

Two birthday cakes, one made of chocolate and one made of courgette (which sounds strange but was really yummy) were made by Nanna. Both went down very very well with everyone.

2nd Celebration - Babies, Friends and Godparents

The next day, we had both sets of Godparents, a few friends and their children round to the house for the baby party. It was lovely, crazy chaos. Again we dressed them up in smart clothes

Again lots of lovely people came to help us celebrate their birthday

And again there was lots of lovely cake, candles were blown out and a round of Happy Birthday was sung

Special entertainment was provided near the end of the party by Daddy with his special guitar.

Think everyone had a good time...

and two people were definitely ready for bed by the end!

As were we!

3rd Celebration - The Big Day Itself

The actual birthday began with cake for breakfast (and why not?)

followed by cards and presents being opened

We went to Odds Farm for the day. It was the first visit there for all 4 of us and we thoroughly enjoyed it. A slightly rainy Tuesday meant that there were very few other people there and we made the most of the breaks in the rain to see the outdoor areas. Indoors we enjoyed feeding the sheep and goats. Carl found it hilarious when they tried to nibble his toes!

They also had their first real experience of soft play at Odds Farm. We stuck to the 'under 2's' section this time but there was plenty of fun to be had. Ella in particular took a real liking to the wind machine. She loves the breeze in her hair when she's outside anyway so this seemed made for her.

Later that day, presents were played with

and finally Birthday Pyjamas were put on before bedtime.

4th Celebration - Nanny Maureen and Uncle Danny

We had a lovely lunch across the road at The Toby Carvery two days after Carl and Ella's birthday with Uncle Danny and Nanny Maureen. Unfortunately I can't seem to find any photos. Perhaps we were all too busy talking and playing with them. They were thoroughly spoiled of course and they loved the attention. They must have thought it was a very exciting week all in all having so many friends and family visit and give them wrapping paper to play with!

Final Celebration - Aunty Clare and the Walsh boys

A couple of weeks later in half term we had our final visit of the birthday season when Aunty Clare, Uncle Maurice and the four Walsh boys came up from Dorset to visit. Again I don't seem to have any photos unfortunately. We had a bit more cake but this time it was a Halloween cake.

The Best Year Ever

Thank you to ALL the lovely friends and family members who over the past 12 months have visited us, supported and encouraged us, laughed with us, cried with us, sent cards, gave us gifts, came bearing lasagnes and shepherds pies, babysat, entertained Carl and Ella, changed nappies, made bottles etc etc  Thank you all for being there for us and continuously reminding us of how lucky we and our much loved, wonderful, beautiful children are. They and we are blessed to have you all in our lives. It's been an AMAZING year; thanks for being part of it (and for still reading this blog!). We cannot wait to see what the next 12 months has in store.

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11.5 months update (bit later than planned!)

Update on Carl's medical situation

We had great news at Carl's recent doctor's appointment. His chest now seems to be clear and he appears to be in good health generally. The doctor was happy for Carl to go back to groups and nursery, although still to avoid anyone with known infections.

I can't tell you how glad I was to hear that. 4 weeks without socialising much was really, really tough. We had some playdates and met some friends individually but it's lovely to be able to return to our favourite groups.Being able to go back to nursery on Mondays is also very welcome and gives me a chance to get things back on track at home.

Within a couple of days of going back, both Carl and Ella had streaming noses and lots of sneezing etc. but the brilliant thing was that they both dealt with it in the same way. Previously something like that would have knocked Carl for six and he would have become clingy and lethargic but not this time. I think the break has really given him time to build up some strength and now his immune system is doing a good job.

Back at nursery

Both Carl and Ella were really happy to go back to nursery. We popped in a few days earlier to see everyone again as it had been quite a while and although Carl had a small moment of shyness, he quickly got back into his stride. Ella was in her element. She sat on the mat and was surrounded by other children in no time and was happily laughing with them.It made it much easier then to take them in the following Monday and leave them for the whole day without worrying.

Movement and general development

Carl's commando crawl which has got him through the last couple of weeks got faster and faster and has just been replaced by a more 'normal' crawling style. Here's a picture of his Great Nanny Dot at the age of almost 92 showing him how to do it properly!

He suddenly out of nowhere got confident with standing and began pulling himself up on anything to hand, furniture, our legs, walls, toys etc.. He has more confidence than skill so ends up falling a lot but seems to have a rubber head and just rolls over and gets back up. When we hold his hand he walks along with us and enjoys playing with walker toys very much. We often find him standing up in his cot in the morning and standing at the stair gate which goes across the playroom door.

We were beginning to think that Ella was just going to skip the crawling stage and move straight to walking but just ten in the week before her birthday, that changed. Tentative crawling one evening led to full blown crawling (not commando style either) the next day. I actually think that it was Ella that taught Carl the correct crawling position!

Within the same week as she learned to crawl, Ella too was pulling up on the furniture and on our legs and just loves to be on her feet. She's not quite as adept as getting to the standing position but would happily stay vertical for hours if she could. She doesn't fall as often as Carl but she cries each time. Sometimes she just brushes against something but cries. I think it's more the shock than anything physical. It's been lovely for Ella to know that she can come over to us if she wants/needs to of her own accord. She comes over for cuddles now and often happily sits on our laps for long cuddles which she didn't used to do. 

We have a camera running in the playroom and it's interesting watching them play when we aren't in the room. Most of the time they play nicely together and far less hair pulling goes on these days thank goodness but there are occasional spats. They often copy each other which can be cute to see.

They tend to follow each other round the room and of course the most interesting toy in the room is usually the one the other is playing with. Carl often snatches Ella's toys away from her but now that she can also crawl, she is gaining more confidence in snatching toys back or moving away. Once we enter the room, the play generally stops as both babies crawl over at speed and fight to climb up onto us. We therefore try to balance the time between being in with them and helping them with walking play etc alongside staying close by but being out of the room to encourage them to play together.

Birthday blog to follow soon.....

11 Months Old - Birthday Countdown.....

Not long now until our little babies become a year old. It's mad how quickly time flies by.When I look back at the early entries on this blog and see how tiny they were in SCBU, it feels like just a month or so ago.

Carl Medical Update

After our holiday we got some blood test results back for Carl. It seems he has some immune system issues which would explain why he keeps on getting sick and takes a long time to recover from the illnesses. It also showed his vaccinations hadn't worked properly so he needs to redo these. The doctor has advised us to keep him away from infection as much as possible for a month to give his immune system a chance to recover and start strengthening so no nursery, no groups and avoiding anyone known to be ill. In addition he's taking preventative antibiotics and will probably be on these all winter.

So far, so good to an extent. He seems to have avoided any major viral infections but has had some stomach bugs. Nowhere near as bad as it previously was though and he's full of life and energy for the most part. It's hard not going to our usual places and it was hard not being able to see our nephews/cousins when they were here due to illness but if it helps then it will have been worth it. We see the doctor again near the end of September and I'm hoping to get the all clear to return to normal life again after that.

General Progress

Carl

Carl now weighs 8.31 kilos / 18lbs 5oz. He is just under the 25th percentile. He is looking healthier and far less scrawny these days. He has learned to 'crawl' so is able to work his way around the ground floor of the house as he likes.

It's not a typical crawl but more like pulling himself along on his belly but he goes very fast. He exerts lots of energy doing this and also in trying to pull himself back into a sitting position from lying down. You can see the effort it takes and I joke that he's going to have an incredible 6 pack of abs soon. He loves standing up but obviously still needs our support. He is looking as if he will try to hold on to furniture in the not too distant future too.

He has begun taking the loaded spoon from me and feeding himself with it and is doing very well at that. We've noticed that he may be left handed as this seems to be the dominant one although he does use both for feeding. Carl holds his bottle totally by himself now which makes milk feeds so much easier as I can give him his and rest him against a beanbag while feeding Ella.

Ella

Ella now weighs 9.0 kilos / 19lbs 13oz. She is just under the 75th percentile which is a huge achievement considering she was hovering around the 9th for so long. She won't be in 9-12 month clothes for much longer so I need to get on and sort out the next size up very soon. She has teeth coming up and coming down and has some bad teething days at times.

She is getting more confident with floor play now and doesn't just stay seated anymore. She goes onto her tummy and rolls between her tummy and her back very well. She can get around the room this way quite easily. When on her tummy she pushes up on her hands very well but doesn't seem able to move forwards. She can turn a complete circle though so this is very helpful for selecting the toys she wants to play with now. She seems very frustrated that her brother can crawl but she can't yet but I think this is really spurring her on to try.

She doesn't like to take the loaded spoon and cries for me to do it. When I hold out she does eventually do it but cries a lot so I think she's just not ready.

She doesn't like to hold the bottle herself either. She is very independent in lots of other ways but wants to be fed still.

Ella loves to clap. She claps along to the clapping parts of songs like 'Wind the bobbin up' and always claps at the ends of songs and when she sees something she likes. She is also very partial to the baby she sees in the mirrors around the house and can happily sit for ages chattering away to that baby!

Playroom

We have finally finished moving Dan's office out into the garden and converting his old office into a playroom for the babies. I am so pleased with it and they seem to love it too. We bought foam floor mats so it's a much softer landing for falls and bumps and we've been able to put lots of bigger toys out which we couldn't do when we just had the space between the sofas. It's perfect timing too now that they are becoming mobile. Uncle Danny arrived with a walker recently which they're enjoying sitting in and we were given a pop up tent which acts like a secret room for them. We had a playdate today with the lovely Poppy and her mum, Rachael and it was so nice seeing them all playing in the room so well. At the moment I'm sitting on beanbags but a small sofa has been ordered which will be a bit more comfortable and also act as another guest bed if needed.

The babies do play together well most of the time but sometimes it can be a bit too much of a rough and tumble. They love each other to bits and that shows physically at times. Carl loves to pat Ella and stroke her hair but Ella is far less gentle and tends to grasp Carl's hair and pull hard. He screams very loudly but never moves away from her even after she's let go. The word 'no' is being used quite a bit these days and they are definitely starting to have a sense of what it means (I think!)

Carseats

We have just made the move to the next size up in carseats. We went for the Britax dualfix as these can be both rearward and forward facing, should last until they're about 4 and can turn around so we can buckle them up facing the door before spinning them round which is much better for our backs. They seem very comfortable in them and they came with huge mirrors to see the driver through. Hopefully the last big expense for a while...

Trip to Sweden

We had a fantastic time in Sweden. The babies did incredibly well with all the new experiences, I got to meet some more members of Dan's family and see more of the real Sweden and Dan got to catch up with loved ones after a very long time away.

The Flight

This was the thing I'd been most nervous about but in fact the flight itself went really well.

We woke the babies up at 4:30 am to get the 4:45 taxi for our 7 am flight. They didn't make any fuss and in fact seemed quite chilled out to be up that early and going to a strange place.

It was a bit tricky at first at the airport with all the bits and pieces we had with us but once we'd checked in the suitcases and car seats, things weren't too bad. We went through the airport with the babies each in single strollers and just three items of hand luggage between us. We were able to pick up some formula and baby food at Boots air-side which was very convenient and everything went well.

Once on board, Ella decided to have a bit of an ongoing whine which worried me a bit as I felt sure the other passengers were thinking negative thoughts about being stuck with whiny babies. She turned out just to be thirsty and stopped whining as soon as she had some juice to drink. Take-off was fine with no ear issues. We made sure to have juice and dummies on hand for take off and landing.

Carl fell asleep fairly soon after takeoff with Ella following suit a little later. We actually managed to eat the meal despite having a baby on each lap and all in all it was a really pleasant experience. The staff on board were lovely and very helpful.

Copenhagen / Bridge to Sweden

We landed at Copenhagen airport for our extremely brief visit to Denmark and I believe it must be the worst signposted airport ever. There were no directional signs for anywhere. You only found the sign when you were at the place you needed to be directed to. We somehow found the car rental desk despite this and got our car organised. Then  made our 5 minute walk (our only Danish time) to the car park to pick up the BMW estate they gave us. Once we'd figured out how on earth to fit everything in it, we were off. Dan did well with the Krypton Factor luggage and buggy positioning challenge!

Driving on the wrong/other side of the road posed almost no issues and within about 5 minutes we were crossing the Oresund bridge which connects Sweden to Denmark. It's a beautiful bridge and takes a very long time to cross, not surprising as it is 16km long. It's a stunning piece of architecture.

Sweden

The drive from Malmo to Ronneby where we were staying was lovely.

The babies slept for quite a bit of it and I got to see the Swedish countryside. For Dan it was somewhat of a trip down memory lane. The last time he drove here was sadly for his grandmother's funeral but this trip was in much happier conditions. We were both really looking forward to being able to introduce Carl and Ella to their Swedish relatives. We stopped in a small town called Bromolla for lunch which had a lovely lake.

It was a really hot day but despite Dan's suggestions, no swimming took place. This was mainly due to how much hassle it would have been to find the swimming stuff in the full car boot.

Ronneby Brunn

We stayed in a lovely hotel in a family room which was large enough for two cots and had a curtain to divide the room in half. This was perfect as we could partition the room off once the babies had gone to bed or whenever we wanted them to nap in the daytime. We unpacked the essentials then, as the weather was glorious, we went for a drink on the terrace followed by dinner at the hotel's restaurant.

The babies were incredibly well behaved at dinner despite having got up at 4:30am that day. We even had another hotel guest come over to us to say how well behaved they were and how cute they were chattering away to each other. Proud parents moment.

The hotel was lovely. It had a spa which both Dan and I had a turn at using on our own during the week for some well deserved RnR as well as a huge outdoor fun pool complex which we didn't use but hope to return to one year when the babies are older. It's a very large hotel and it did take quite some time to walk from our room over to the restaurant for breakfast each morning.

It's set in a lovely park, Ronneby Brunn which we explored on the Sunday and had a Japanese garden, its own lake and all sorts of other beautiful features.

All around the park are outdoor barbecuing grills for public use, very civilised.

It was an incredibly warm day. Here's a picture of Ella after Daddy applied suncream all over her head.

Visits to the local area

We made good use of the rental car to visit some places from Dan's childhood, some places which his mum grew up in and places generally of interest to his family history. It was lovely to see these places which I'd heard so much of over the years and to finally have a sense of the area. For Dan, it was very special to relive childhood holidays and revisit places he hadn't been to for a long time. This is the old water tower that Dan and his brother used to walk up to from his grandmother's flat. 

Ronneby

We saw the house his mum grew up in which is a beautiful house in the historical quarter. We also went to see his grandmother's flat where they spent many summer holidays.A highlight here was the church in which Dan's parents got married and also where Dan was baptised. It's a beautiful church with an interesting history. Inside it is very dramatic and quite breathtaking.

 Less sentimental revisits included the local ICA Maxi supermarket where we bought some Swedish things for Carl and Ella, some chocolate from Dan's childhood and had the best meatball and mash of the week! We puzzled over the punctuation in the name of the smaller supermarket in town though!

Saxemara and Svanevik

Of special mention were the trips to Saxemara and Svanevik. Svanevik (Swan Bay) is an archipelago with a number of houses. It has water on both sides and is extremely scenic. Dan's grandfather on his mum's side grew up here and old censuses have his family resident at 2 different house numbers over the decades. It's also the name Dan's parents gave to their house here in Maidenhead so it's a name I know well. It was wonderful to see the original Svanevik for me. 

Saxemara church is where a number of Dan's relatives are buried and a graveyard he has described to me in the past. We visited the grave of his grandparents on his mum's side and paid our respects to Karl and Elin with Carl and Ella.

It is a truly beautiful spot with a view of the sea and incredibly peaceful.

Karlskrona

On the last full day, we also visited Karlskrona, the nearest main town. It consists of a series of interconnected islands and has sea views at every turn. We stopped to look at the harbour and actually saw a submarine moving around. We assume it was a Swedish submarine, as opposed to a Russian one :-) We also paid the obligatory visit to the statue of Rosenblom, whose story can be read here - The Tale Of Rosenbom
The babies have become quite used to eating out during this holiday, as even breakfast was in the hotel restaurant. They are now experts at perusing menus and sitting well in (of course IKEA) high chairs.

Family Visits

The highlight of our trip and indeed the main purpose of the holiday full stop was the visits to Dan's relatives. I was delighted to meet the people I had heard so much about. Dan was over the moon to be reunited with them and Carl and Ella were happy to be made such a fuss of.

Firstly we met Dan's aunt, Siw, her husband, Lars, their son, Martin and his partner, Frida at their home in Ramdala.

We were given such a warm welcome by them all. I was nervous as I couldn't speak Swedish and Dan was nervous about whether his Swedish was too rusty. In fact we all communicated wonderfully. Dan's Swedish  was absolutely fine and he was able to converse for the entire afternoon, even having political debate with his uncle! I was delighted to find out that Frida spoke great English and so I was able to have conversations even when Dan was in full Swedish flow.

Dan's aunt, Siw was utterly lovely and looked so much like my mother in law, Ulla.

The babies may even have thought they were at Nanna's house. It was lovely to be welcomed into a traditional Swedish home and have a delicious meal with lovely people. I was amazed to see a graduation photo of Dan on the wall too which made us feel at home despite being many miles away. We spent quite a few hours there inside and outside in the garden and Carl and Ella were given fantastic presents from everyone.

Secondly at the weekend we were delighted to be able to visit Dan's other cousin, Mikael and his partner, Cina at their home in Jamjo.

Once again we were given a wonderfully warm welcome and Dan's Swedish was put to good practice. Again, I was delighted to find out that Mikael and Cina could speak English well and so we were able to have conversations in both languages.

We were treated to a lovely barbecue as again the weather was beautiful and Carl and Ella were very excited to be there and to meet Mikael's cat.

We are hoping to meet up with all of Dan's relations again and more frequently if possible, both in Sweden on our future holidays or here if they would like to visit us.

It was a really successful trip which all of four of us enjoyed. We definitely want to make it more of a regular destination in future years. I think it's very important for Carl and Ella to know about their Swedish heritage and for Dan to have the chance to catch up regularly with his family. Think I had better start learning some of the language......