My yearly review is a post I did last year and really enjoyed writing. There's something so satisfying about seeing your year laid out into positive moments.
And whilst this year's not been as I was hoping for.. writing this post has reminded me that despite all the tragedy there has been a lot of good moments in 2016 too. Bringing my boy into the world safely is everything I could have asked for and more and so 2016, you've been a horror, but I will always always be greatful to you for that.
& so on to the months..
January
Early January saw us preparing to become a family of four and as my induction date grew closer I began pondering how Lily would take becoming a big sister and ways in which I could prepare her for the change. I wrote an emotional accompying post about spending one on one time with Lily too.Then of course in late January - the 28th to be precise, our gorgeous boy Archer entered the world. & boy was he worth the wait. He was everything I'd been dreaming of and I still remember the exhilarition of having him here. The moment James told me we had a son is a moment I'll never forget.
February
During February we began settling in to our new family set up. I say settle but the month was a rushed blur of newborn madness if I remember correctly. I struggled with breastfeeding but eventually managed to crack it and I also pondered on my labour, I still can't believe just quite how different it was to Lilys. I also began the siblings project which I've really enjoyed doing each month.
March
March came round quickly and I celebrated my first mothers day as a mum of two. It wasn't a great day..some days are meant to test you and this day was definately one of them. And that's what I love about this blog. Because it's own space it means that I can blog about the good and bad sides of parenting and I don't have to pretend like everything is perfect on the days that it's not. I also reflected on being pregnant as a student and how different my life might have been.
April was fairly non eventful. (Oh what I'd give for life to be that uneventful now, ha) I wrote about recovery after birth the second time round and Archer turning 3 months.
May
A highlight of May was the few days we spent in Bridlington with my parents. I purposelly left all cameras behind and the lack of signal meant no social media. And do you know what? it was blissful. The weather was amazing too. Infact the weather for all of May was warm and we made the most of it by going on lots of woodland walks. A trip that stands out is one we took to the Hollies. Made all the more special taking Archer with us as the last time we were there happened to be the day I found out I was pregnant with him. The photos of Lily playing in the blossom that day are some of my favourites too. She was convinced it was fairy dust left by the woodland fairies. I also wrote a letter to Lily about her turning three. I've been so proud of her this year in many many ways.
June
June gave us some more amazing weather and so most days were spent relaxing in my parents mammoth sized garden. I worked with Lansinoh reviewing their electric breast pump and Archer turned four months.
July
July was much of the same. Lazy days and sunshine! We started weaning Archer and discovered that he's a boy who loves his food and Lily broke up from nursery for the summer.
August
August was a good month for outings. I wrote a piece for Wayfair on having a workspace at home which I really enjoyed doing however the last week of the month saw Lily come down with chicken pox. We discovered Newby Hall and it was fantastic. Probably my favourite day of the whole year and I can't wait to go back in the summer. We also returned to Harlow Carr, another one of my favourite places and another great day as well as a trip to Sundown Adventure Land. We hadn't saved enough to book a holiday this year but all these day trips in August definately made up for that.
September saw Lily return for her second and last year of nursery. I was nervous for her because all but one of the children she had started nursery with had left to go to big school and so it would be like starting again for her - fresh faces, having to make new friends etc. But she's been absolutely fine with it all, I needn't have worried. In fact she already has a new best friend called Umar. Kids are so simple sometimes aren't they? haha. Archer also reached a lot of milestones this month including sitting up unaided which made everything parenting wise far less challenging.
I also used September as a bit of a fresh start - Remaking my blog and even changing my blog name from Lily Mae Adventures to Lilypad and Bow so as to include Archer. (New blog, New start) Best decision I could have made as it really gave me a new lease of life when it came to blogging. Infact I'm contemplating changing my Youtube name now too! Along with August September gave me some of my best memories of the year in the form of two amazing trips to Scarborough. The first time was with James' family and it was a great day. Some of my faviourite ever photos of Lily paddling in the sea come from that day. The second trip was with my youngest brother and just Lilypad. We decided literally the day before to do an impromptu trip and I'm so glad we did as it was the most magical day that I wont forget and a perfect way to wave goodbye to the summer holidays.
October
The weather seemed to turn cold fast in October and it was a particularly tricky month but we did manage to have some good moments. We went pumpkin picking and Lily was in her element when James took her trick or treating on Halloween. I wrote a piece reflecting on Lilys last year of pre school and how far she's come. I dread to think how emotional I'm going to be this year when she starts reception! We also celebrated Lily turning four (Yes four eek!) by going to Forbidden Corner and a great time was had by all.
November
November brought more tragedy and feeling uninspired I took a step away from writing and therefore posts this month were a bit thin on the ground. Archer turned 10 months and I wrote my first things my four year old says post, a series I hope to continue in 2017.
December
December was plagued by illness, teething and a whole lot of sleep deprevation. I started Blogmas (and failed..awks haha) but wrote a few posts that mean a lot to me. Mainly this one and also this one. I also reflected on breastfeeding 10 months on and worked with Lighthouse reviewing their AW16 raincoats which were bloody fantastic. We saw Christmas come and go in a flash and now I'm looking to 2017 with high hopes that things will get better, for my family especially.
Happy new year!
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