2 years.

Wow the last year has gone quick. Jacob had only just started walking this time last year. I was about to become pregnant. And Jacob was stable. So much has happened and although Jacob is back to having treatment, I know in another year from now things will probably be completely different again. Jacobs check up last week was a tough one again. He was an absolute sobbing wreck when I collected him from recovery after his EUA. The one good thing that happened this time was Jacob had fallen asleep before his turn to go down to theatre as he was second to last this time. He has never been that far down the list so I knew it was going to be hard. As soon as we got in the car in the morning, he was asking for a banana. He has a banana as soon as he gets up every single morning. Then when we got to the hospital, he was asking for juice. We managed to keep him entertained most of the morning with a ball, and we got to see Skylah again, who we met during chemotherapy. So they played together all morning, which was lovely. Jacob dosed off just before he was called to theatre so I carried him down as carefully as I could so he didn't wake. He jumped when they put the mask on him but then went straight back off to sleep. It was so much nicer than the crazed animal climbing all over me session we usually have. Jacobs consultant came to see pretty quick afterwards and explained he needed to give Jacob alot more cryotherapy as there is a little bulge on the tumour and it hadn't responded as well as they'd hoped. Absolutely gutted again, but it's just another bump in our road. It's so awful seeing Jacob in pain. He's older now and just cries so much more and is so much more aware of everything. The nurses could see he was clearly struggling to manage, so they gave him some oralmorph. Which totally wiped him out. He slept for about three hours and we aren't allowed to take him home until he is awake and has eaten and drank something. We ended up getting home around 4.30pm. My sister looked after Alba which was brilliant so Jacob had Rich and me all to himself at the hospital. And it was definitely a two person job this time, I was incapacitated under a sleeping toddler so Rich was my slave haha. I really missed Alba though, I've never left her for that long but she was in good hands! Plus, my nephew adores her so I knew she'd be okay. He constantly says "hello baby girl!" to her. He was devastated when he first met her and she wasn't Spiderman. We'd told him I was having a Spiderman baby and when he saw her he said "Char Char, I thought you were having a Spiderman baby?" I've never felt worse for lying to a child.
The distraction of Teddy meant Jacob wasn't quite so emotional that night or the next day as they came over to keep him entertained. I'm not good enough anymore. Jacob just says "I want to see Teddy!"

 Jacob and Skylah-Mae sightseeing.

Sleepy boy. 

Last week also marked the two year "anniversary" of Jacob's diagnosis. I absolutely dread it. It's also Rich's birthday on the same day, so I spent more time trying to think about that. We made birthday cards for him and I managed to get a painted footprint from Alba! Although Jacob saw this as a pass to paint her himself. I managed to stop him before any paint made it onto her, but stopping him from running around covered head to toe in paint and wielding a pot of red paint proved impossible. So I gave up and let him get on with it. It's washable paint, so I'd deal with it later! Jacob refused to wear clothes for the rest of the day. Another thing I dealt with later.

I've been trying to teach Jacob how to count for a while now but he just is not interested. I've always counted when carrying him down the stairs or if we are out and about, he just does not care for it. He says "1, 2, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6." I'm sure he will get it eventually. I remember helping teach Teddy to count using those foam number mats. But Jacob would rather throw the mats around than count. Any tips?! He has really come along with his speech though which is brilliant. He can say so many things now, asks for his lunch, tells me what he wants, tells me when something's wrong. It makes this parenting thing so much easier! He's due his two year check soon which I'm looking forward to. Our health visitor Claire is amazing and has given me some brilliant advice over the last two years. And she was there on the phone straight away when Alba was born and came round to see us. I rang her so many times in Alba's first few weeks when we were dealing with the reflux/colic issues and she was always one step ahead of me, ready with the prescription for her milk or booking a doctors appointment for her. Alba is due to be weighed this week, I'm so intrigued as to what she weighs now as she was 12lbs5oz 4 weeks ago and she has definitely grown a lot since then. She's officially in 0-3 month clothing which Jacob didn't wear until he was around 6 months. And size 3 nappies! Jacobs only in size 5's! It amazes me how different babies they both are. Both in looks and how they are. Obviously I know it was a different situation with Jacob as he was poorly and had trouble gaining weight but I think he would have been little anyway. I was a total bag of bones until I was about 12. Then the carbs found me. Haha. I've noticed how different Alba is with holding herself and her head up. It must be that extra chunk helping her out! Another big difference, actually HUGE, is Alba sleeps through the night! She has her last bottle normally between 8pm & 9pm and then sleeps until around 6. Not every night is like this and she has had a few where she's woken up and wanted feeding, but this is absolutely amazing regardless. I think every mum will agree that you don't ever feel like you will get a full nights sleep again when you've had a baby, but hopefully soon these nighttime wake up calls will be a thing of the past!

A few pics of what we've been up to recently...

We went to a couple of fun days in our local park with Jacobs friend Darcie. (Her mum is actually one of my friends but I don't think that counts after the kids are friends...haha.) 

 Not a great photo, but this was the red paint fiasco...

 Big girl napping in her cot. (Which Rich finally built after me nagging for 3 weeks!)

 Chalk and Cheese. How cool is Jacob's T-shirt?! Its from Next.

Cheeky chops.

The naughty step.

We have hit the terrible twos. I'm sure of it. Tantrums galore. We originally started the naughty step around a month ago, but Jacob seemed to enjoy it and purposely do things he shouldn't so he could sit on it. Novelty?! Well that wore off after a week. And I hear that the offending child should sit there for same amount of minutes as their age. So we've been doing around 1 and a half to two minutes. Well I sincerely hope he learns quickly because those two minutes feel like two years. We've gone with the stopping crying before being allowed to come off also, but normally after the two minutes and telling Jacob to stop crying, he's normally pretty good. He does seem to be learning slowly. If I say "do you want to go on the naughty step?" He shouts "No!" And tends to stop whatever roguish thing he's doing. Obviously this isnt the case every time. Especially after some chocolate buttons or something nice and e number filled.
A few people have said to me that Jacob can probably sense the changes happening which explains the sudden change in naughty behaviour. To be honest, I'm sure all kids go through this trying phase and I'm just going to deal with it the best I can and my way. And if that doesn't work, then I'll just be a ragged mum of two constantly shouting at my toddler to no avail. But let's hope not!

Jacobs eating has gone a bit up the wall too, he's decided he no longer likes bread or any of its friends. So wraps, crackers, bagels, rolls, none of it is suitable for lunch anymore. He's taken to grazing most of the day but I try to stop him from eating anything from about 3pm so that he eats a full meal at dinner time. He's never been a fan of what I call "oven" dinners, so chicken nuggets, fish fingers etc but he will eat most other things. And the other day he ate a real sausage! Not one of the processed mushy ones in beans or spaghetti, a real sausage! Haha. I was so pleased because he's never really eaten real meat on its own. So ham, roast chicken, mince etc. If it's in something such as a cottage pie, pasta dish or a chilli for example, he will eat it but not a chicken breast or ham sandwich, but that could also be the current bread avoidance too! I hear this I quite common around Jacob's age so let's hope it's a phase.

Jacob seems to be coming along so much with his his speech, it is so funny listening to him ramble on. He says "yeah" now but in a little American accent and it is so cute. And he has finally started to call me Mummy!!! I have been "Char" for forever and I hated it! Now he calls my sister Char Char, which is what my nephew calls me. I cannot believe he will be two in less than three weeks. It's gone so so fast!

The weather has been lovely here for the last couple of weeks, so we've spent most days outside. We also went to feed the lambs at "Pets Corner" which is a little petting zoo near our house. It was lovely, although Jacob did try to kick the little lamb in the head. Everything is "goaaaaall!" at the moment. He is so into football already, Rich is very pleased!!

We went to a new playgroup last week at a church in our town. It was recommended by my friend Fran, so we went along. It was 10-11.30 which is perfect for us as Jacob normally naps around 12.30ish now. They have an hours playtime, then "tidy up time" which Jacob actually participated in, then they have snacks and then finish with singing. It was honestly the nicest playgroup we've been to so will definitely go again.

I have noticed Jacob has developed a bit of a nervous "thing" I guess is what to call it. When people are making a fuss of him, he tends to cover his right (artificial) eye. Its only been the last couple of weeks and he's even doing it to my mum who he sees all the time. We've not made a deal of it as I'm hoping it's just a little thing he is going through, but I am worried that it's because he knows it is different. Rich said he doesn't think so as he is so young, but I'm not sure! We will see how it goes!

I'm going to do a separate pregnancy post I think as its taken me nearly a month to write this one so I'll never get done otherwise. Worst blogger ever!!!!

Sickness, Fevers & Food

So I caught the sickness bug...what a horrendous thing to have when pregnant. Lady Wright was obviously very hungry, and the idea of food was enough to have me hugging the toilet again. Thankfully I only felt really horrendous for about 36 hours and by the Saturday night I thought I was ready for food again. Hell no. To be honest, I ate possibly the worst thing, a fry up. I really, really craved it! My stomach was not ready for that amount of grease. So I spent the next two days in agony and unable to eat again. By Tuesday last week I was feeling so much better, so I went nuts with my Dettol and bleach. Whenever anyone is ill in our house, I become a bit of a germ freak. Everything gets stripped, washed, bleached, the lot. This did nothing for my sciatica. So I spent all Tuesday night crying about how uncomfortable I was. It was a tough few pregnancy days! Rich was a massive help though and Jacob was no trouble at all which is always a bonus.

We had a couple of play dates last week which was nice for Jacob. He is so funny with other children, although sharing is still a bit of a tricky spot. I did read that children don't understand the concept of sharing until they are four years old, so I'm guessing as long as we teach them now, they'll get it themselves eventually!

We also had a sleepover with Teddy and my sister at the weekend as Rich was going away for the night. It is such chaos when the boys get together, all toys come out, Teddy wants to play Play-Doh, Jacob likes to eat play-doh. But they get on really well which is lovely and its been nice for there to always have been someone else there for Jacob. And I think Jacob has learnt a few things from Teddy too. 

I've finally got everything for Lady Wright's hospital bag. Well, except the actual bag, but I'm ordering that next week I think. I just need to decide if it's definitely the one I want! I think I'm going for the double pocket Cath Kidston one, mainly because it looks pretty huge and I'll be carrying two children's worth of stuff around in it. I had a Cath Kidston one with Jacob and loved it. I was sad to stop using it but once they're not having a new nappy every two hours or bottles, you tend to just fill them up with junk. Much like a handbag!
I've started to get my hospital bag ready too, I don't know why but I feel much less prepared this time so doing all these things a bit early is making me feel a bit better. When Jacob was born, we were in hospital for nearly a week after as he had jaundice and required photo therapy and his bloods weren't quite what they needed to be, so Rich ended up having to bring me more pyjamas and clothes most days, he didn't do too badly but as we had just bought a new washing machine and he didn't know how to use it yet, I was quite mismatched by the end of the week. So part of me wants to over pack almost in anticipation of a long stay, but then at the same time, I don't want to jinx it as I really hope we are in and out pretty quickly. Especially as we will have Jacob at home too. We still haven't left him over night so I'm absolutely dreading it! Hopefully little lady will arrive in the middle of the night and then I'll be home that afternoon. Fingers crossed!

Jacob had a new eye last week, but to be honest I am so disappointed with it. He hasn't had one since October so I was really looking forward to it as his current one was looking really small. His prosthetist hadn't quite noticed how much he had grown, so she over trimmed it and it actually looks worse than the last one in my opinion. She has ordered another one and attempted to make a mould too so he should have another one in around six weeks. I was gutted when we left. But Rich said "they can't be perfect every time!" which I guess is true! I haven't got a very good photo of his new eye, mainly because it isnt very good! But here's a couple of photos since he had the new one. The only good thing about it is that it hasn't been as weepy. Silver lining I guess!!

Jacob has had a fever on and off for four days now, and a little rash to go with it. It looked viral to me but today it went a bit too red and sore looking for my liking, and being Good Friday, no doctors were open so it was off to A&E. We were seen really quickly, but as soon as we arrived and explained his symptoms, one of the nurses looked really concerned and asked if he'd always had a squint. Which he hasn't, obviously if you know him, you know its his artificial eye. It was really great that they'd picked up on it straight away though as she said with a fever for no apparent reason they'd want to get it checked quickly. My friend is also a health visitor and she says she is so much more in depth when asking parents about their children's vision now and any concerns with their eyes. I'm so glad how much more aware of Retinoblastoma everyone seems now. I had never ever heard of it but because of Jacob, so many people I know, now know about it. Anyways, the nurse said Jacob has just a viral rash and just to keep an eye on it. But you can never be too sure! And with it being chicken pox season and scarlet fever doing the rounds, I'd rather be safe that sorry! He advised Piriton for the rash, and when I told my sister this she just said "he will sleep well tonight!" Apparently it knocks them out. So we shall see! I would be excited for a full nights sleep if I didn't have a baby bouncing on my bladder causing countless nighttime trips to the bathroom!

Poorly pants flaked out on the sofa.

I feel like all I think about these days is food, especially since spending 3 days starving after getting sick. I have become OBSESSED with smoked salmon. My friend Fran made me a smoked salmon salad last week and since then it is all I've wanted to eat. I've had it about 3 times with scrambled egg and granary toast. I heard you're not supposed to eat more than two servings of oily fish a week, but I'm not a massive meat eater and I'm thinking it can just replace the however many servings of red meat you're supposed to have! At least that's what I'll tell myself. I have gone on a little bit of a health kick with food as I was eating just crisps and chocolate and cakes all day, no actual meals which is no good for anyone. So I did a healthy shop and have actually been really good. Rich doesn't really eat anything "healthy" so it has meant making separate dinners a lot, but I have felt so much better for it. Although, yesterday I went to Alec's Restaurant in Brentwood with a group of friends for lunch, and I can honestly tell you it was the best meal I've eaten in my whole life, naughty, but delicious. I had 3 courses, and I honestly couldn't eat anything else until today. They served canapés and bread when you arrived, then I had mussels to start, an unbelievable cod fillet in soy sauce and spring onion glaze with creamed spinach and dauphinoise potatoes for main and an amazing chocolate mousse for pudding. I'm actually dribbling thinking about it again...

Have a great Easter weekend! 

Toys R Us Takeover & Happy Birthday Tommy!

After the horrendous start to the week, Jacob seemed back to himself on Wednesday, thank god! He was so good all day, and really funny. He has become such a little character now. It's nuts. It's so hard to believe that he's nearly 16 months and so independent. He's started to say a few more words this week too, a favourite being "touch" as he points to trees and flowers. When we walk Lex, our dog, he just spends his time shouting "touch!" And reaching out for the trees. It does make the dog walk take a little bit longer than usual, but his face when he grabs the leaves is hilarious, so I don't mind!

In December last year, a guy named Alan did a sponsored swim for Jacob. We thought the money would be going to CHECT, but he actually raised the money for Jacob personally which was amazing. So on Thursday, we raided Toys R Us! Jacob ran around like a crazy little toddler, exactly what he should be like in a toy shop! Ever since we found out we were having a boy when I was pregnant, Rich was obsessed with getting our son the Audi R8 battery powered car they've had in Toys R Us for ages. Originally, he wanted to get Jacob an iPad, but I really didn't want him to have one, at least not yet. Or for a couple of years at least! He enjoys being outside and playing with his non-tech toys so much, that I don't want that to stop. Not yet!
So we got him the car, which was for age 3 and up but Rich is determined that he'll have him driving it by the end of next week, (yeah right!) the parking tower to go with his Toot Toot Drivers set, a Henry Hoover so hopefully he doesn't care for mine anymore and a My First Thomas the Tank Engine as he has taken a bit of a shine to Thomas and friends recently! We also got him a plastic table and chairs as he has gotten a bit stressy about being strapped into his booster seat and won't eat much, but now he can sit there and get up and move around as he pleases, he's eaten much better!

Jacobs friend Tommy turned one on the 11th September, so we went to his birthday party on Saturday. It was lovely for all the kids to get together as its quite hard with everyone's schedules. Chloe, Tommy's mum, hired soft play equipment for the kids and it was brilliant! They had this little ride on rollercoaster thing and all the kids loved it. Although Jacob preferred climbing up the slopes as opposed to sitting on the cars. Because of the party time, Jacob missed his afternoon nap but did really well! He totally flaked in the car on the way home but because it was already 5.30, I didn't really want him to nap as he goes to bed at 7pm. NEVER WAKE UP A NAPPING BABY. He was so grumpy! Didn't want his dinner, but ate nearly a whole punnet of strawberries! He went to bed at around 6.45 as he was so grumpy, and woke up at 7.45am this morning! (Obviously a few dummy wake ups!) So he's been super happy this morning, so far! I'm having a dinner date with some of the work girls tonight, so hopefully he's a good boy for Rich! 

 They look like a little bunch of old men! The birthday boy in the middle! 

Jacob and Roman having their party food picnic. 

Where has my son gone?!

Since Sunday, it is like Jacob has been replaced with a different child. He has been so grumpy and clingy and totally of his food (still). He is normally always so happy, but since Sunday afternoon we have had tears and tantrums aplenty. And I am exhausted. He has just gone down for a nap after a slightly better morning than the last 3. We've been up at 5am, throwing milk across the living room, screaming blue murder at the front door because he wants to go out. Bringing me his shoes because he wants to go out and dragging me to the back door because he wants to go out. The only thing I have taken from all of this is that he obviously hates me and wants to move out. He now knows to take my hand and take me to where he wants to go. And if it isn't the front or back door, it's to the cupboard under the stairs where the hoover lives. Because he is totally obsessed with our Hetty the Hoover. But if I turn it on, all hell breaks loose. It has been very hard the last few days, and by no means am I complaining, but we have been quite lucky to have a happy, sociable boy pretty much all of the time. So to have Jacob clinging to my legs and hanging off my tshirt has been quite difficult. I can normally do the washing up or make a cup of tea or clean up after lunch, but the last few days, this has been totally impossible. So my house looks like a bomb has gone off, there is porridge all over the walls, Wotsit dust all over the sofa and juice all over the floor. By the time Rich gets home from work, I am climbing the walls. I haven't even bothered to turn off cbeebies when Jacob finally settles for a nap. I actually went back to sleep yesterday for half an hour because I think I may have cried had I not caught up on a few winks. A few of my friends are having similar troubles with their little ones at the moment and they are all very close in age. So it may be a phase, or it may be a coincidence! Originally I thought it was teething and he had the nice big molar through at the end of last week, and it might still be, but it has certainly been a testing few days. We went to Jo Jingles on Monday as it has now started up again after the school holidays. I was very close to not going as Jacob was so miserable but I thought a change of scenery and some socialising might do him some good. We met my friend John there with Darcie as they are little Jo Jingle's buddies. He was still quite clingy and didn't really go off to play on his own like he normally would, so I spent my time being pulled around by my finger and in the ball pit with him. And let me tell you, there is no glamorous way to climb into the ball pit at Wild & Wacky. Jacob didn't really participate in Jo Jingles except for when the maracas came out. Otherwise he was trying to escape through the door. He did eat all of his lunch though which was the first time he has finished a meal for about a week. He has been totally off his food again, only eating his fruit still. The Innocent smoothies for kids have proven a good buy though, as he has been inhaling them. So that's something! 

 Possibly one of the only (half) smiles from Monday...

Ball pit buddies.

 Grumpy guts in his awesome hoody from Next.

Smoothie monster

We had quite alot of laughs and smiles this morning and he even ate all of his porridge, by himself with a spoon! So I'm hoping Jacob is feeling a bit better now. I did start to panic a bit as he wanted his hand held everytime he walked, that his vision in his left eye may have changed and the tumour has started to grow again and affect it. I'm pretty sure that's just my mind going into overdrive. But when he's normally so happy, I do really worry when he is so unsettled. Everyone just says it's kids and he's just coming into himself and seeing what he can get away with. So I am really hoping that's the case. At 15 months, this is definitely the hardest but also the most fun age so far. He is so so funny at the moment, and doing new things everyday. This morning, he actually drove his Toot Toot Drivers cars around the track and he has also started to try to build his Mega Bloks. I've also started to let him use crayons and we have managed to keep it on the paper so far! Oh, and in his mouth obviously. I freaked out but Rich assured me they are non-toxic. So all I can expect is some multi-coloured nappy contents! 

Another new trick he's learned recently...dunking!

Jacob the eye removal expert.

The title says it all really. Jacob has become a pro at removing his eye. He's learnt that he can stick his finger in it and it doesn't hurt. Which is officially a nightmare. The best one so far was when we were at Lakeside Shopping Centre and people were looking at him a bit peculiar, and as a lot of people don't notice his eye unless we tell them, I knew he'd done something. So when I looked into the stroller, of course he'd gotten it out. He is so good when he has it taken out now, he just sits there so I just put it back there and then in the middle of the shopping centre. I can do it without Rich having to hold him still which has made me much less worried about him getting it out when Rich isn't home now. 

I'm sure it's the start of what will be some interesting stories to tell when he's older.

We haven't been to a big shopping centre like Lakeside since Jacob has been able to walk and gotten so demanding! He was really good and was quite happy to sit in his stroller. We did let him loose in the Disney store which was quite funny. He went straight for the Jake and the Neverland Pirates toys then became quite attached to a Minnie Mouse hoover. He went absolutely nuts when it was time to put it back and to leave the shop. Full blown tantrum central. We are really trying hard to ignore them because we have noticed that he checks if we are looking at him mid-tantrum. I think he must be getting to that extra clever, button pushing, what can I get away with phase. 

We had dinner in Wimpy just because it was easiest, and Rich is absolutely obsessed with Wimpy. I cannot remember the last time I had one, and I didn't really rate it to be honest. Jacob didn't seem like much of a fan either as most of his dinner ended up on the floor. The waitresses didn't seem to mind though as he gave them his "butter wouldn't melt" face. Definitely getting smart!

Jacob had a lunchdate with my friend Francesca's little boy Roman this week. They spent the day waffling away to each other in baby language while we sat catching up on grown up stuff. (Gossiping and moaning about being tired!)

Wimpy!

We had a wedding to go to on Sunday in Oxford and it's the first time I would ever be leaving Jacob for such a long period of time and being so far away. I have been so nervous about it, so much that I really considered not going. And since he's been able to remove his eye, it's really made me realise that he is a bit different to other children, and it isn't a case of someone just babysitting.  They need to know what to do if he moves or takes out his eye. If it gets lost, what one do they put in. So it does make me really nervous. Jacob spent the afternoon with my mum and stepdad, which he's never done before so I was a bit worried about if he'd behave. But mum said he was really good and she really enjoyed it. Although she was absolutely knackered afterwards. Then Soph had him for dinner and bedtime. She stayed at our house with him until we got home as we thought it would probably be best as he's never stayed away from us so may not have settled. We are going to try him staying out the night but only when we are round the corner. We had a really lovely time at the wedding, and it was really nice to go out just Rich and me as we still haven't really had a night out just us two. We got home at 2am and Jacob was awake at 4! I didn't really drink because I knew I'd be up early with Jacob. I was naughty and brought him into our bed at four, he went back to sleep until six but then it was party time. I've been at total zombie all day today. We had a little play date today with Jonah and Eva. Now Jacob's walking, it's so much funnier to watch them all together. Although, towards the end of the day, Jacob started to hit Jonah and kept laughing when told "no." I have no idea where he has learnt this from, I'm hoping it's a phase and that he doesn't realise that what he is doing isn't very nice. I know he is being very testing at the moment and trying to see what he can get away with, so we are trying to set boundaries. We are trying the distraction technique at the moment and just moving him away from the situation or whatever he may be doing that he shouldn't be. Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

Just us two. It was so strange to spend the whole day without Jacob. I love getting dressed up to go out, but my god, I hate wearing loads of make up! I couldn't wait to get home and scrub my face. A true sign of motherhood I'm told!

September is global Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, it is so important for people to know the signs of childhood cancer. I didn't and if I had, Jacob may not have lost his eye. So if you follow me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, you can expect lots of statuses and pictures so please share them if you can! 

Playing out.

Since Jacob was a few weeks old, Rich sometimes takes him out on a Saturday morning to meet his friends for breakfast. It's lovely for them to do that together and it also gives me time to get ready and wash my hair (which doesn't happen very often!!!). Jacob is petrified of the hairdryer so I have to either do it when Rich is at home to distract him or if they go out. Rich's friends from work are doing the challenge of a lifetime and canoeing from Fort William to Inverness to raise money for The Childhood Eye Cancer Trust on behalf of Jacob. The charity have done so so much for us as a family. They are really amazing and is wonderful that we have friends that recognise this too and want to give back. So Rich was meeting them on Saturday to see them off as they were leaving on Sunday. Rich and Jacob had a daddy and son day most of Saturday as I was a little worse for wear after meeting friends for drinks on Friday night. (By worse for wear, I mean totally incapacitated. It's shameful.) I felt so awful as I'd hardly seen Jacob all day but it was so lovely for him and Rich to spend the day together without me and have some quality time for just the two of them. I made a point of doing his bedtime routine which I look forward to and we obviously read Dear Zoo again. 

Sunday I felt much better, still a bit delicate but nowhere near as awful as Saturday! It was back to mummy mode. We were up at 6.30 which is good for Jacob! Better than the 5am starts we've been having some mornings. We were going to Aaron and Lou's for dinner which I was really looking forward to as we don't really get out for dinner very much. With Jacobs routine it can be quite difficult sometimes. I've gotten him into such a strict routine from when he was tiny that if we deviate from it at all, all hell breaks loose. It's my own fault but you learn! Jacob absolutely loved Lou's garden, it was huge so he had loads of room to roam around.

Jacob started to take lots more steps again yesterday! He seemed to have just given up, but my best friend Adele bought him a pair of Vans trainers for his birthday which have only just started to fit and they seem to really help with his walking, plus he looks so cute in them. 

LOST!

Such a poser. 

He's getting so grown up, it breaks my heart.

Dinner time. He LOVES corn!

Mondays is normally Jo Jingles day but it's finished for the summer holidays. So today we decided to go to Ashlyns Farm Park in North Weald which is just down the road from where we live. Laura and Jonah came along too. It is so lovely there. They have a little farm shop where they sell all fresh produce and jams and stuff. I was good and didn't buy anything, mainly because I always end up throwing fridge fulls of food away because I forget what I've bought and then it goes out of date. They have a little farm trail that you go round, with loads of little animals and Jacob is absolutely obsessed with animals. And then parks and soft play areas for the kids. We even managed to get a few photos of Jonah and Jacob together which is difficult because they are both so go go go all the time. We went for lunch afterwards, and Jacob doesn't normally eat well when we are out, another routine thing I think! But he ate all his lunch today and then started on Jonah's! We've got a busy week this week so today was the only day that we could really go out and do anything fun for Jacob. And it was a really nice day. 

Making friends.

Best pals. 

Picking up chicks at a bar...

If you would like to sponsor our friends for their canoe challenge, you can at justgiving.com/jacobscanoers. Obviously I don't expect you to but if you have a spare few pounds then feel free. CHECT are a truly amazing charity that have done so much for us and other families like us. Thankyou :)