MONTHLY PORTRAIT: july

It seems so long ago already, but the memory of these two giggling and splashing and running after in the Cornish sea will stay with me always.

And here's a little video of a morning in July, at the park too. Hopefully a new part of the Monthly Portrait series.

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Josephine: Laughing at Coralie, who was running towards her playing a funny game they just made up. That is heart-exploding love and happiness right there.

Coralie: Cuddles with her unicorns. They make her pretty happy :)

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Josephine: On her last day at pre-school. What a wonderful place that has been for her, for us all. I remember her first day and how emotional I felt. It only seems like five minutes ago, and now here we are preparing for the next big step and school. So thankful for the lovely women who looked after Phiney, and for all the fun she had and friends she made. Looking back to her first day here...

Coralie: Practising her football skills at the meadow with Daddy.

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Josephine: Mid grass fight with Auntie Dora, and in fits of hysterics! I was picking grass out of her hair for days...

Coralie: Those little feet in vintage sandals. Things I want to remember...

OUR HOLIDAY: and finally...

Our last morning on the beach. We watched a seagull catch a crab from the sea and when it landed on the beach the girls chased the bird in the hope of saving the crab! Unfortunately, the seagull was not giving up it's breakfast that easy and kept flying away with it. It's all about the little moments; us chasing a seagull all over the beach to try and rescue a crab :)

I made a little film from iPhone videos I captured while we were away too...you can find it here.

OUR HOLIDAY: coralie

It's crazy to think how much Coralie has grown since our holiday in St Ives last year, how much she's changed.

This year, Coralie was in her element - running around the beach and getting in to all sorts of mischief! She sat on and squished as many sandcastles as she could, and happily sat in the tent eating the whole picnic by 10.30am. While the sea worried her a little to begin with, she took it on and soon enough was happily splashing with Phiney. She loved wearing her little pink jelly shoes everywhere she went, and she chased all the seagulls away. She loved her first try of chocolate fudge (and ate all my stash!) and thankfully she didn't eat any sand (unlike last year!) Her happy place was exploring the warm little pools around the boats that were left as the tide went out, and she excitedly told Phiney about every shell she found. She desperately wanted a horse of her own (like Daddy and Josephine) and so we chose one for her in the fields of the stables, and she fell asleep within minutes of being on our boat trip, despite the choppy and splashy waters.

Coralie's spent the last few weeks asking if we're going "holiday?" today (aka the beach). I think she had a pretty awesome time...

OUR HOLIDAY: josephine

Josephine in the sea; how I'll remember her this holiday. No matter how cold it was, she was straight in there, barely a shudder! Collecting seaweed, jumping the waves, laying in the shallows and splashing as much as she could.

She was so awesome this holiday; barely a cross word and so much smiling and laughter. She ate pizza and ice cream like it was going out of fashion. She collected shells and dead crabs that she found along the shore, and she caught little fish with her new pink net. She climbed rocks and drove a boat; she rode a horse, jumped and jumped on my grandparent's trampoline and spent way too much money in the arcade. She was such a brilliant big sister too, and took that role very seriously; showing Coralie how to do things, encouraging her to take one more step into the sea, holding her hand and building sandcastles especially for Coralie to squish.

Our beautiful Josephine - born to live by the sea, with her mermaid hair blowing in the wind.

OUR HOLIDAY: more beach times...

Even when jumpers and cuddles, and finding refuge in the tent were a must; even when we were the only ones on the beach...there was no place we'd all rather be.