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Bump Day. 17 weeks down.

A Topshop order has been placed out of necessity. Waistbands aren't feeling that comfy right now and I had to get the jeans in black too so I actually had something to wear to work. In the meantime this genius trick with a hair band will have to do.

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Sitting on the sofa, knit knit knitting away at the baby’s first blanket, wearing new PJ bottoms from the ever reliable M&S. One pair of my slouchy pants had become not so slouchy round the belly so purchasing some new ones was a must. And can I just say how I’m loving buying clothes in a bigger size and not having a freak out about it. Instead, I’m totally embracing it. So my belly needs more room, who cares? B certainly doesn’t. His current favourite pastime? Listening in to see if he can hear what’s happening in this ever expanding tummy of mine and whispering a cheeky hello. We’re hoping for signs of a response sometime soon.

These are some of the bits I've made for bub over the last few weeks. I'd quite like some of the orange boots in my size actually...

ps. Check out the Happy Circus giveaway on Em's fab blog The Beetle Shack for your chance to win some knitted treats of your own.

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Bump Day. 16 weeks down.

For the first time this weekend I’ve felt like I actually look pregnant and not that I’ve just been on a cake binge. We’re both so excited to see the belly getting rounder by, what seems like, the day.

This afternoon we had an appointment with the midwife and heard the heartbeat for the first time. Everything's looking good and, once again, the baby was jumping all over the place so the midwife had to chase it around.

I think it might be a boy.

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Ah bump pictures. How beautiful you are and how broody you have made me over the last year. Now our own little bump is forming (actually it's not so little, a growth spurt appears to have occurred over the last few days), we’re excited about documenting it grow and grow until we get to meet who’s inside come the middle of winter.

There are so many lovely serious of pictures out there to get inspiration from. From the simple beauty of these to the absolute coolness of these. And while I’m sure you’ve all seen this amazing series, with sweet notes written to bub along the way, my favourites are the ones pictured here, of Anna and Jodi.

We’d love our bump pictures to be snippets of our lives throughout this beautiful journey. So, we’re going to capture the growing belly every Sunday, as we count down another week, doing whatever we happen to be doing. Out and about or pottering in the garden, cosy sofa time or lazy mornings in bed. And one day we can look back, as we squeeze our child, and remember these amazing times.

ps. Congratulations to the always inspirational Jodi who’s bub Poet Winter is now out of the belly and cuddled tightly in her Mama’s arms. Some treats are on their way to you by way of the postlady xx

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You could say that getting pregnant, and hence being too tired to sort out ANYTHING, is not necessarily the best plan when you’ve just moved house. OK, so there aren’t many boxes left to unpack, but the walls remain bare and pictures are still leaning against the wall, the sideboard and bookshelf tops are still empty and the towels in the bathroom are still perched on the window seat rather than stacked neatly on the shelves we still need to put up. To be fair, B’s happy to get on with a lot of it, but the boy’s all too aware that I have a very specific idea of how it needs to be done and that it’s just not worth doing until I say so.

So enough is enough. That’s right people, it’s time to write a list. When something needs sorting, a list can never fail you and I think this one’s gonna be a goody. By which I mean long. Very, very long.

Here’s a couple of things topping the Must Do Soon section…
1. Print off some wedding pictures to complete the collage type thing I started about 8 months ago.
2. Print off some pictures of all the gorgeous kiddos in our lives to update the ones that are now pretty old. They’ve all grown at least 6 inches since those were taken.
3. Work out where some of the furniture in the living room and kitchen should go. Right now a few pieces look rather plonked.
4. Get some curtains up in the bedroom. B is not the right person to be woken up at 5am by light pouring through gaps in the shutters.
5. Find a few more random picture frames to complete the photo wall I’ve been planning. Luckily this shop provided some awesome vintage postcards to be included and today I finally found the perfect little plate to hang too.

And that’s just the beginning. Bigger things include finding new-to-us, mis-matched dining chairs to replace the rather horrid ones we bought for our first flat four years ago and saving a bit more money to finally buy a laptop so we can get rid of the ugly computer and computer table from the living room.

There’s only one problem. While I think it’s slowly leaving, the sleepiness is still there. Hanging around. And just thinking about this list makes me need a nap. Perhaps I’ll tackle it tomorrow.

Pictures from The Selby. Always inspirational and a website/book that has taken many a spare hour from me.

ps. I promise a little bump picture soon…thank you for such sweet requests to see how it’s coming along x

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An awesome weekend, despite the cold and rain.

A few bits bought for the bump as it grows (loving elasticated waistbands) and some stripey socks for some teeny feet. Because you’re never too young for stripes.

And some fun in the park yesterday, between rainy showers. It’s impossible to keep those boys still enough for a non-blurry picture, but that’s part of the fun. Less than a month until we’re all living under one roof for a week of good times on the beach. I can’t wait to see those beautiful faces for seven days straight. And listen to all the amazing thoughts they have on the world.

The latest? How did the baby get in my tummy and when is it going to jump out…

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After seeing these pictures of this rockin’ mama, I’ve been craving colourful jeans. And lucky for me, good ol’ Topshop comes up trumps again with these maternity styles. I’m going to try and avoid buying any maternity clothes if I can, and stick to rocking the bump in the way I would my previously flat(ish) tummy, but I may have to make an exception for this one teeny purchase.

And talking of the ever so cool Em, look out for our little collaboration over at The Beetle Shack soon. I’m really excited to be involved with one of my new favourite blogs. I mean, have you seen how cool she wears her hair? And how cute her kids are? And how many amazing things (that I'd actually quite like to steal) are in her house?

Such a fun weekend ahead. Went to see Harry Potter tonight (doesn't compare to the book, but still a whole bunch of awesomeness), holiday shopping tomorrow with some pretty cool people and a roast dinner at my Nan’s on Sunday. Yummy. Hope you guys all have an awesome time and the rain stays away for all those people in the UK currently staring at the most rubbish Saturday weather forecast ever for the middle of July.

(Oh, seem to have a thing for brackets in this post. Clearly too tired to punctuate.)

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The house is currently full of baby-related crafts. Seriously, I have about four projects on the go and a whole host of booties ready to toast those teeny feet in the middle of winter. And with everything I make, it all becomes more real.

This afternoon my Mum and I got started on a quilt we chose the fabrics for last week. B and I bought her quilt-making tools for Christmas and she wanted to finally put them to use. This bub is going to have handmade pieces galore, with Mum already finishing an olive green cardigan and starting on some knitted leggings, and my Grandma apparently knitting away on something too. Pretty impressive (and awesome) considering they all only found out about this little one two weeks ago.

I’m also pretty excited about a crochet blanket my Great, Great Nanny knitted for my Nan that is apparently resting in the attic somewhere. I’ve never heard or seen of such a thing, but it was apparently used for my Great Nan, Nan and Mum. I’m hoping it might get resurrected for the next generation too and I can get my hands on it for the bub.

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A few more yummy treats from the garden that we’ve enjoyed over the last few days. Well, the strawberries came from the garden of a family friend, but same difference. Home grown goodness. Especially when eaten with the most awesome chicken pie ever made and a bowl of vanilla ice cream.

ps. any budding photographers who bought a fancy pants camera and are still rather baffled by how to use it properly (moi?) should shimmy over to Cori’s awesome blog. I printed this poster off on Friday and spent yesterday being enlightened by just how fantastic my camera really is. About bloody time.

pps. these photos were taken before said discovery. But hold on to your hats for some pretty snazzy pictures. Mmmm, maybe I’m getting a little carried away...

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Oh Etsy. How I love thee and all the awesome treats you offer. My latest discovery, which to be entirely honest I’m almost reluctant to share, is Little Reader Vintage. Whitney has such a great collection of vintage for babes and kiddos that it’s hard to resist. Especially when they come in the shape of the teeny overalls, corduroy booties and crochet blanket that I bought.

And when technically (technically) these aren’t items for me, I can purchase them all guilt free. Right?

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Park life on a cloudy Saturday afternoon. Apparently cloudy is as good as it's gunna get this summer. And tonight the rain sets in. Rubbish.

Oh, and like my new bag? I've been searching for a rucksack for ever. A bag that will actually fit my enormous camera in. And the lovely people at Topshop designed just the thing I've been looking for. I haven't spent money in a high street shop like that for yonks. But I figure it'll double up as a pretty nifty baby bag soon so I could justify it. Again and again to B, just so he knew what an awesome purchase it was.

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Thank you for all your lovely and sweet comments. Our hearts are full of happiness right now and it’s been so awesome to share our news with everyone.

We had our 12 week scan on last Saturday, and everything is looking as it should so far. The strong heartbeat was obvious straight away, despite the fact that Baby was doing a head stand to begin with. After the midwife subjected me to lots of tummy shaking (a risky task with a full bladder) Baby finally settled in a position, with its legs crossed and hand at its head, which allowed the midwife to measure it and confirm our due date. It was the most unreal and beautiful experience. And we wish we could go catch a glimpse every day. We have to wait until we’re 20 weeks for our next scan though, so hopefully the summer will sail by problem free and nice and quickly.

At a rather impromptu BBQ that evening we announced our bit of news to our families, and plenty of celebrating followed. It was the most brilliant weekend.

So now the journey really begins. After finding out more than 2 months ago, we’ve been keeping our fingers crossed everything goes ok. Whilst dealing with the most extreme exhaustion I’ve ever felt and daily 5am to 2pm nausea. Feeling sick has mostly passed and I’m hoping the sleepiness subsides soon too, plus there’s a bit of a bump developing already. ALREADY!

And through it all the boy has been the best husband a girl could ask for. And will be the best Papa a baby could ever dream of. I just know it.

This is a recent charity shop purchase; we’re determined to keep on track with buying second hand for the bub. And why the hell not when you discover a find like this.