Things that make me happy

I’ve been reading a few blogs lately where people have written about the things that make them happy, or things they can't live without. So I thought I would jump on the bandwagon and write about the things that make me happy:

*Cuddles from my boys. Ethan’s are spontaneous and always accompanied by an “I love you” which melts my heart. Tyler’s cuddles are given sparingly so when I do get one it is very special (it must be an age thing, because Ethan was the same when he was that age).

*Being alone in my house. It doesn’t happen very often, but when it does I like to just walk around or sit upstairs in my new bedroom looking out the window and enjoying the sound of silence!

*Scorched almonds. Ever since I was a little girl, they have been one of my favourite treats. My late Grandad adored them and was always given a box (or 2 or 3) for Christmas, Father’s Day and every single birthday. I remember he always had an open box of scorched almonds in his desk drawer in the study, and when we visited I would often go and sneak a couple when nobody was looking! Now we have scorched almonds every Christmas.

*Reading my favourite magazine. Be it Little Treasures, Slimming, Up2Scrap, NZ Home & Garden or the good old NZ Women’s Weekly.

*Swimming or snorkeling with my hubby. We don’t get to do it much anymore but pre-kids it was one of our favourite summer activities. Of course we still spend lots of time at the beach but it is difficult to swim properly when you are holding a slippery child! Last time my parents babysat for us we went snorkeling at Little Manly and then had dinner at the local Indian restaurant.

*Scrapbooking, although I hardly ever get time for this anymore. I suppose I could do it in the evenings instead of watching TV but I usually have ZERO functioning brain cells by the time I get home from work. I have my eyes set on a whole uninterrupted Saturday of scrapping sometime this year.

*Watching DVDs on the couch with Rob. We don’t get to the movies much these days but I enjoy watching movies at home with him almost as much as going out.

*Choc Sultana Fruit Slice from Snack Right. This is my all-time favourite “healthy” snack food! Only 2 Weight Watchers points for 3 slices, and it completely satisfies my 3pm sugar craving. I have tried in vain to find other healthy snack foods containing chocolate that actually taste good, and failed. But this is a winner!!

*Reading thrillers. The more plot twists, the better! My favourite authors are Jeffrey Deaver, Lee Child and David Baldacci. I like other novels as well but there is nothing better than a really good psychological thriller.

*Body Balance, my weekly yoga/pilates/Tai Chi class. I’ve only been going to this class for a few months, but I really love it. I have a long way to go before I will be any good at it, but I can already feel myself getting stronger and more flexible. My goal is to one day be an instructor. Mind you, this is a VERY long-term goal. Like 10 years!

*Strawberries from Craigie’s Orchard in Kaukapakapa. Many times we have jumped in the car and driven all the way out there just to buy strawberries, and polished off a whole punnet on the drive home. They are my absolute favourite summer fruit, and I have never tasted any as good as Craigie’s!

*Survivor. I have watched every single season of Survivor, except the very first one (I guess I didn’t know what I was missing at first). And I will continue to watch every single season of Survivor until they stop making it.

*My Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. He is my reason for living.

Crazy Frog ....

.... following on from the birthday party post, it seems not every parent on the planet has been subjected to Crazy Frog yet! I'm in shock. So it is my duty to enlighten you.

from Wikipedia:
Crazy Frog is a character used in the marketing of a ring tone based on 'The Annoying Thing', a computer animation created by Erik Wernquist. Marketed by the ringtone provider Jamba! (known as Jamster! in some markets, such as the US), the animation was originally created to accompany a sound effect produced by Daniel Malmedahl while attempting to imitate the sound of a two-stroke moped engine. The Crazy Frog spawned a worldwide hit single with a remix of "Axel F", which reached the number one spot in the UK, Australia and most of Europe, although relatively unknown (aside from a few internet pop-up ads, and several commericals) in the United States. The album Crazy Frog Presents Crazy Hits and second single "Popcorn" continue to enjoy worldwide chart success. The Crazy Frog has also spawned a range of merchandise and toys which were very popular for Christmas 2005. Negotiations are also underway for a TV series based on the character.

If, after reading that definition, you would like to subject yourself to the torture that is Crazy Frog, you can purchase the music here: http://www.crazyfroghits.com/

Having said that, I'm going to have to buy the Crazy Hits CD for my boys, because they just LOVE to boogie! And I love to watch them :-)

Birthday parties galore!

Ethan is nearly 4 years old. He is getting to the age where birthday parties become very, very cool. It actually started last year, when he turned 3. We decided to have a proper kid’s party. By that I mean a party where children are invited, not adults. And we had it at an indoor playground.

[A bit of background info: for my boys’ first birthdays we had what I call a parent’s party. One with lots of adults and a few token children. These parties are mostly for the parents’ benefit, to commemorate making it through a whole year of less sleep, endless washing, feeding, changing nappies and loss of a social life. Ethan’s second birthday was also a parent’s party, simply because he didn’t really have any real friends of his own. But by the time he turned 3, he had friends. Kids that HE chose to be friends with, as opposed to the children of adults that his mummy and daddy knew, who are practically forced to be friends because of their parents].

Ethan’s 3rd birthday was pretty cool, but I can see that this year birthday parties are going to be even better. Because now the friendships go both ways. And that’s a big deal.
On Saturday, Ethan went to Emily’s 3rd birthday party, which featured Andy the Magician. Then yesterday, he went to Cody’s 5th birthday party, which was at Monterery Park Railway and the theme was “Crazy Frog” …. you know, that annoying blue singing frog that kids just ADORE.
I will never forget the look on Ethan’s face when he came home from preschool a couple of weeks ago clutching his invitation to Cody’s party. He said “mummy, you don’t know what I have behind my back” and then flashed the picture of Crazy Frog in front of me. He was just about bubbling over with excitement. “It’s Cody’s birthday party!!” he cried, “and I’m going!”

Well, the parties were a hit!!
The magician at Emily's party was pretty impressive. He actually turned a balloon into a live bunny rabbit! I'm sure all the parents are still wondering how he managed that. He had the kids in fits of laughter, and they were all completely engaged in his hour-long show. I hate to think how much it cost to hire him, but he sure was entertaining!!
There were so many children at Emily's party (I counted 20, there could have been more), but they played together so well. Emily has lots of outdoor play equipment, and it was a beautiful day, so the kids played outside while the adults sat around chatting.

Rob took Ethan to Cody's party. Cody's brother Devon is just one day older than Ethan, and Ethan & Devon are practically joined at the hip. They ran around Monterey Park like little squirrels, being chased by their dads. Eventually Rob and Jeremy gave up running after them and just let them run around unsupervised! Tsk tsk. Anyway, the kids rode on the train and looked at the models and the classic car museum. A real boy's day out. Rob said Ethan had a great time, but he didn't want to play "pin the willy on the Crazy Frog" ... the mind boggles!

There was a pretty hilarious incident that Rob told us about when they got home. Apparently after Cody's Crazy Frog cake and party food had been put away, Rob found Ethan & Devon coming downstairs each holding a piece of cake. Ethan said "Look, Daddy! It was a Bob the Builder cake!" .... Rob was a bit puzzled at first, but then realised that the boys had wandered in on another birthday party and had waited in line for some cake, which an unwitting adult had cut for them!!! We had such fun asking Ethan "Whose birthday was it?" and him saying "I don't know! But not Cody's!!!" and then cracking up laughing :-)

You know what? Even with all that sugar (oh, the sugar) and hype and excitement, Ethan was a really good boy this weekend. He did me proud!

Which famous person do you look like?

Oh my goodness, I *love* this website!!
http://www.myheritage.com/FP/Company/tryFaceRecognition.php?s=1&u=g0&lang=EN

It applies Advanced Face Recognition Technology to your personal photos, and then cleverly tells you which famous people you resemble most.
After registering (it’s free), you upload a photo of yourself and after a few seconds you get the results.

I used this photo of me:
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a308/honeybumble/dscn1271resized.jpg

And here are my results:
64% Liza Minnelli (I can live with that, she’s pretty spunky for an old gal)
59% Monica Lewinsky (well, she’s a little on the heavy side, but she has a pretty face)
53% Barbra Streisand (this is a tad offensive, I didn’t think my nose was that big)
52% Keira Knightley (yippee, could there BE a bigger compliment?? My head is swelling!!)
51% Juliette Binoche (she’s beautiful and French, need I say more?)
50% Isabelle Adjani (another French actress, good trend happening here …)
OK, now it gets weird and creepy:
47% Daniel Radcliffe (I’m sorry, I do NOT look like Harry Potter!)
43% Anthony Kiedis (what the ???)
And now it gets really good again:
42% Courtney Cox (that’s what I’m talkin’ about!)
41% Elisha Cuthbert (she’s the chick on “24” for those who don’t know)

Because Tyler was also in the photo, it came up with results for him too. He is:
66% Shirley Temple (must be all those curls!!!)
55% Gwyneth Paltrow (um, the eyes, maybe?)
46% Zhang Ziyi (I don’t know who she is, but she’s Asian!! Hello?? Does my baby look Asian to you?)
45% Kirsten Dunst (why are these all GIRLS?)
43% Sania Mirza (well, she is quite masculine looking)
43% Christina Ricci (cute I suppose, but still a girl)
41% Judy Garland (more girls, what is going on here?)
41% Katie Holmes (okay, Tyler REALLY needs a haircut)

Tyler's operation

Tyler had his operation this morning.
It went well, and he is fine. He was extremely grumpy right before I took him down to theatre (probably because he hadn't eaten anything for more than 15 hours, and he had been woken up while it was still dark so we could get to the hospital on time (7am).
He was also very grumpy when he came out of the anaesthesia, but once he had eaten 3 biscuits, some yoghurt and knocked back two cups of water, he was almost back to his normal (albeit sleepy) self!

Even though I knew what to expect, I still broke down in tears when they put him to sleep. Like last time, I had to hold him on my knee while they held the gas mask over his face. This time he struggled against it in a bad way. But he didn't need as much gas today because the procedure only took 5 minutes.

We got home around 10am. He slept all the way home in the car, but woke up when we got here. So he just sat on the couch with me and watched Blue's Clue's for about half an hour, then had some more food and went back to bed. He slept for about 2.5 hours and just woke up. He seems to be "back to normal" and is having more food! He has been pulling his ear a little bit but doesn't seem to be in pain. The surgeon said he won't need any drops or antibiotics, and we are to go back and see him in 3 weeks.

I'm glad it is all over now, and hopefully we won't have to deal with any more nasty ear infections. And I expect we'll see a huge improvement in his speech now that he can hear better.
Thanks to all those who have been praying for him, or just thinking of us.

Just got this in an email from my Dad ....

He sent it to me & my sister. I thought it was so sweet!
(sorry the quality is not great ... I had to copy and save each one as a .bmp file so I could upload them onto photobucket)

20 things I love about my husband

Today is Valentine’s Day, and as such I have been inspired to write this post.
20 reasons why I love my husband. Why I limited myself to just 20, I’m not sure. Probably because I would be here forever if I didn’t stop somewhere.

1. He is so even-tempered. He hardly ever gets angry or depressed.
2. He says what he means. None of this guesswork us girls are so famous for. If I ask him a question, he will answer me truthfully. If I say “Are you okay?” and he says “Yes”, he actually means Yes!
3. He does more than his fair share of housework and looking after the kids. He does the dishes most of the time,which makes me so happy because I HATE DOING DISHES! He vaccuums and dusts. He hangs out washing. He folds washing. He bathes the kids every night. I can probably count on one hand the number of baths I have done since I become a mum! It has always been “daddy’s job” in our house.
4. He is so patient. I have much to learn from him.
5. He never forgets our wedding anniversary or my birthday.
6. He loves me more than I ever imagined another human being could love me. And he loves me despite all my insecurities and failures.
7. He is one of the kindest people I have ever met.
8. He tells me I am beautiful, even though I’m far from it.
9. He is a wonderful father. He plays hard with the boys. He takes them to the park, the beach, bike riding. He takes them to Story Time at the library. He reads countless books. He pretends to be Buzz Lightyear.
10. He gives me time to do the things I enjoy. He takes the boys out sometimes so I can scrapbook or work in peace. He lets me sleep in at the weekend, even though we both get up at 6.15 on weekdays.
11. He inspires me to be a better person.
12. He has a great smile.
13. He is my best friend. Has been since I was 17 years old.
14. He is a man of God. He has served the Lord with his gifts for so many years in lots of different areas – Youth Group, Music Team, Kids Church. He still gives so much time and energy to Kids Church and I am proud of him for the awesome job he does.
15. He puts the toilet seat down every single time he uses it. And it only took me a few weeks to teach him that after we got married!
16. He is a great (but very messy!) cook.
17. He watches girly movies with me. He sometimes chooses them himself because he knows I like them.
18. He puts up with all my “issues” – my opinionated viewpoints, my PMS, my obsessive-compulsive personality, my anxious tendencies, my verbal diarrhoea, my pessimistic attitude.
19. He does the Winsor Pilates DVDs with me.
20. He treats me with respect. Always. He never disrespects me in front of other people.

I know I am so lucky to have Rob in my life.
Sometimes I think back to the days when we were just friends, and I wished it could be more. Two years after I first realised that I was falling for him, I found the courage to tell him. I can still remember that conversation, when he told me he also felt the same way. His Grandad had died that morning, and he was staying the night at our house because he didn’t want to be home alone. We had stayed up late talking.
I remember him saying that over the past few months he had been praying for somebody special to share his life with, someone who could laugh with him and cry with him. He told me how much it meant to him that I had cried with him that afternoon, and only a few days earlier he had been given a photo of the two of us laughing together on the holiday we took with our friends that summer. He felt that those two things were an answer to his prayer.

We’ve been together from that day on. We got engaged about 14 months later, and after a year-long engagement, we were married. Rob was almost 26 and I had just turned 21. On May 1st, we will celebrate our 7-year wedding anniversary.
I can honestly say the last 7 years have been the most wonderful 7 years of my life. We’ve had some hard times, but we know we will always be together. I just can’t imagine my life without him.
Rob, I love you. Happy Valentine’s Day, honey.

Friday didn't get any better ....

Tyler's ENT appointment was at 3pm in Takapuna (~40 min away). We left just after 2pm because I had to stop for petrol on the way, and I needed extra time to find the Specialist Centre. And I hate to be late.

The first 10 minutes of the car trip were great. The boys were actually holding hands in the back seat, because I told Ethan that Tyler had really sore ears and might need to have an operation. They looked so cute sitting there with their hands stretched out across the middle seat.
But then Ethan let go of Tyler's hand. He said it was "too hot and wet" to hold any longer.
This was followed by screaming and crying (from Tyler) for the remainder of the journey. Despite my pleas for Ethan to "please hold Tyler's hand ... just for 5 more minutes?!"

I found the centre relatively easily, and we got inside at exactly 2.55pm. I went to the reception desk to announce Tyler's arrival, only to be informed that I did NOT have an appointment. She checked a few times and then said "Oh, I remember now. It was your husband who rang. He was going to check with you about the day/time and then ring back. He obviously forgot to ring back."
Rob had made the appointment on Wednesday, after ringing me at work to check the time would be okay. I did have a very fleeting thought that perhaps he had forgotten to ring them back, but I was 99.9% sure that he would not have forgotten (sure enough, when I rang and checked with him he said he had definitely confirmed the time).
I made it infinitely clear that the appointment definitely had been confirmed, and that I had travelled all the way from the Hibiscus Coast and was not leaving until I had seen Dr Bodenstein. Thankfully the receptionist seemed to take pity on me and said she would just have to fit us in.
Then she tells me "Oh, and Dr Bodenstein is running SOO late today. There are 4 people waiting in front of you."

What????

I then endured ONE HOUR of waiting with a screaming toddler. Ethan was very well behaved, and sat and played with toys without complaining. But Tyler did not want to play with toys. He wanted to run around. He did not want me to stop him from running around. The receptionist kept offering lollipops. I told her Tyler had never had a lollipop before, and she said "well, why don't we introduce his first one right now?" so we did. He demolished it in less than 2 minutes, and then the screaming started again. Her solution was to offer more lollipops! I politely declined and said something about too much sugar for one day. But of course she still managed to give 3 lollipops to Ethan.

We finally got to see the doctor at 4pm. Tyler was a perfect angel while he checked his ears but then the crying started again when the doctor and I were trying to talk. So everything was pretty rushed and I didn't get to discuss things as much as I would have liked.
Dr Bodenstein said the decision was mine (as to whether or not to go ahead with the surgery) but that whatever decision I made would be the right one! He did say that considering Tyler's history, he would be inclined to intervene. And he said the fact he is getting nasty infections in the middle of summer makes him wonder how much worse things could get in winter, especially now that he is at preschool.

So we decided to go ahead and get bilateral grommets. The surgery is scheduled for Wednesday morning at 7am. I'm taking the day off work (or most of it, depending on how I feel on the day). We'll take Ethan with us, I know he'll be well behaved and it is not a long wait (about 1 hour after the operation). Please remember Tyler in your prayers. I know the operation is very simple, but it is still a general anaesthetic and I have vivid memories of last time ... holding Tyler while they held the gas mask over his little face, hearing him moaning and feeling him go limp & floppy in my arms. It was the worst part of the whole thing, but at least I know what to expect this time.
It still won't be easy for me, so while you are praying for Tyler, you could say a prayer for mummy too.

It's one of THOSE days ....

.... and it's not even halfway through yet! So far this morning:

I dealt with rude people at the supermarket.
Tyler started crying not long after we got there, but I only had to get a few essentials so I kept going. He has sore ears at the moment, and he was really tired. Some horrid man actually told him to be quiet! He was walking past us in the opposite direction and he rolled his eyes, made a "tsk tsk" sound and then turned back and said "oh, shush!!". I was in too much shock to respond. He's lucky.
Then we got to the checkout and I accidently bumped into the lady in front of me with Tyler's buggy. She turned around and glared at me, and said "owwww" in a whiney child-like voice, while clutching her leg dramatically. I apologised profusely, but she just kept glaring. So I looked her straight in the eye and said "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do it." She just walked off in a huff. The checkout lady Ruth (who I worked with for 3 years and know very well) had watched the whole thing and said "Don't worry, she's nuts." I promptly burst into tears and let everything out! I love Ruth!

I scoured the entire shopping mall for a Batman Cape.
I did not think it would be such a mission. The $2 shop and The Warehouse do not sell Batman Capes. They sell all kinds of costumes, including pirate outfits, princess dresses, viking hats and wigs. But no capes.
So I thought I could make one from some black material. Good idea, but do we have a fabric shop at the mall? No.
Then I decided to make one from a black satin tablecloth runner. It actually makes a really good cape, and Ethan is now a very happy boy. At the moment he is wearing his Robin Mask that he made at preschool yesterday, with his new Batman Cape. I asked if he was supposed to be Robin and he said "No, Robin has a green cape." Then I asked if he was supposed to be Batman and he said "No, Batman has a different mask." So I don't actually know who he is, but he looks cute.

I changed 3 dirty nappies.
Gross. But alas, pretty normal for Tyler.

I said "no" 5 times to a really deserving charity.
This bothers me immensely. I do not like saying "no" when people are collecting money for a good cause. But we already give money on a regular basis to 4 different organisations, and we simply cannot afford to give to any others.
Today at the shops I had to walk past the same stand (Feed the Children) 5 times. This is partly because of the Batman Cape expedition, and also because I have a 3-year-old who needs to use the bathroom at the other end of the shopping centre. I don't know why the people who man the stands have such terrible memories, but every time I walked past, the guy jumped in front of me and began their speech. I had to say "you've already asked me [2/3/4/5] times". Saying "no" to a good cause is so much harder when you have to do it so many times!

This afternoon I have Tyler's ENT appointment, which will involve driving 30-40 min with 2 bored children in the car, sitting for ages in a waiting room which may or may not have interesting toys & books for the kids to play with, subjecting my poor baby to weird tests from a strange doctor he has never met, and then driving home in rush-hour traffic with 2 very tired and grumpy children in the car.

I'm not expecting my day to get a whole lot better.

Tyler's ears

Today we got some bad news about Tyler’s ears.
He had an ear infection about 3 weeks ago and it hadn’t cleared up before we went on holiday so I ended up giving him a second course of antibiotics while we were away (the doctor had given them to me just in case). But even after the second course of treatment he was still pulling on his ear and grizzling quite a bit.

Rob took him back to the doctor this morning to see if things had improved, and there is still a lot of fluid behind his ear. The doctor said it is probably Glue Ear. He has to go and see an Ear Specialist on Friday (I’m grateful that we got an appointment so quickly) to talk about getting grommets (tubes) put in. This is only Tyler’s second ear infection, but both times they have been difficult to treat and this time the glue ear could affect his hearing. The doctor thinks he should get grommets now because he is just starting to talk and glue ear can lead to quite severe speech development delays.

I’m not worried about him having surgery. I’ve been through that before. He had an operation under general anaesthetic when he was 4 months old due to recurrent urinary tract infections from birth. It wasn’t much fun, but at least I know what to expect. And I know that Tyler recovered quickly from it.

What I’m most worried about is that the specialist may just choose to “wait another month or two” rather than do something about it straight away. I hope he will listen to my concerns – the fact that ear infections seem to really bother him (unlike Ethan) and take ages to clear up, that he is just learning to talk, that he has been on about 6 diffferent antibiotics in his short life, including a 3-month period of antibiotic prophylaxis to prevent further urinary tract infections while we waited for his surgery.

I know there are much, much worse things that could be wrong with my child, but nevertheless I hate it when he is not well. For someone so young, he has had to deal with lots of infections and I don’t like thinking about how many antibiotics he has taken.
But I’m trusting God. Please say a prayer for my baby and for our appointment on Friday. I will post an update when I know more.

Holiday pictures

There are lots of pics, sorry! For some reason the text doesn't come out properly when I type directly under each photo, so I'll do some explaining first:

1. Tyler with his Auntie Leah. Note the big surf and ominous looking black clouds in the background!

2. Tyler "surfing" on the boogie board!

3. My mum took this photo after we had taken the kids down to the beach for a kayak, only to discover a huge swell (see first pic). We ended up taking them kayaking the next day, and they both loved it.

4. We stayed in a house, but the tent was up for our friends. Ethan really wanted to sleep in it, so we let him just for one night. He loved it (and slept great)!

5. Ethan & Ty playing in the sand.

6. Ethan sandboarding with Daddy.

7. Tyler sitting in his favourite deck chair. He really liked the pink one, lol!

8. Ethan & Jo playing *his* version of Rummikub. I think he called it "3 pigs and a wolf", but don't ask me how to play it!! And yes, he is wearing pink sparkly nail polish ...

9. Grandad and Tyler playing swingball.

10. My sweet little Ty.

I feel pretty...

As I mentioned in my previous post, Ethan didn't want to leave Hahei so he stayed an extra night with my parents. I forgot to share our conversation:

Me: "Guess what, Ethan? You can stay here one more night with Nana & Grandad! But Mummy, Daddy and Tyler will be going home today."

Ethan: "But you're pretty, Mummy, so I don't want you to go."

Collective response from the 8 other adults listening to our conversation: "Awwwwwww"

Back from Summer Holiday

We've just spent a week in Hahei (one of the most beautiful untouched beaches in NZ) and got home on Sunday afternoon. We had a wonderful time away, the boys just loved being "on holiday" and spending long hot days at the beach. We live by the beach but it was special to go somewhere different and really enjoy the carefree summer days. It did rain 2 of the 7 days we were there, but luckily we had taken toys, books & the DVD player!!!! LOL.

My parents and sister came on holiday too. Almost every summer we go to Hahei with them, and we always invite another family to come with us (not always the same family). The house we rent down there sleeps 13 people, so there is plenty of room for extras. This year we invited our best friends Phil & Jo, who are expecting their first baby in a few weeks! They stayed for 5 days, and then our family friends the Allens came down for the last long weekend. There were 10 adults and 4 kids on the last 3 days, so lots of fun was had by all!!

Tyler and Ethan had to share a room with us while we were away, something they are not used to doing. But both of them slept great the whole time and didn't wake each other (or us) at all. It was stinking hot one night and I hardly slept at all, that was the only night that Ethan was restless and kept saying "mummy, it is taking too long to be morning" at 2, 3, 4 and 5am!! Poor little guy. Daddy and Tyler slept through it all :P

The boys spent heaps of time swimming and playing the sand, and they both went kayaking with daddy. Tyler is a real water baby with no fear whatsoever, while Ethan is much more cautious and needs a bit of encouragement to get involved. He did love the water though. Hahei is known for its big surf and a couple of days the waves were just far too big for the kids to really go swimming (we usually carry them out into the deep water but the waves were even crashing over us and we had to dive under them most of the time).

Ethan actually stayed down in Hahei with Nana & Grandad for an extra night (they came home on Monday afternoon). Rob and I had already decided we would come home on Sunday, but that morning Ethan said “I don’t want to go home” so I cheekily asked Mum & Dad if he could stay the last night with them! It was actually quite hard for me to leave him. On the way home (3.5h drive) I realised that I had never been that far apart from Ethan before. He has stayed overnight at my parents’ house but we’ve always been just 5 minutes away. It just felt strange to be so many miles away from him …. It was really good to see him again the next day :-)

I’ve got tons of photos but haven’t had a chance to download them yet. I will try and do that tonight and post some pics.