What a lovely bank holiday weekend!

I think we got a bit carried away with Thomas starting preschool in a weeks time and went to Crawley to buy him a new bag, drinks bottle, joggers that will be comfy and easy to wash and then discovered his feet have grown so new shoes were also added to the list...he was so excited to be shopping...especially as he has a Lightening McQueen rucksack that is almost as big as he is from his all time favourite movie - "Cars"!

Fink and I pondered whether to buy the T-Shirt or Sweatshirt that goes with the Preschool and I've started to explain to him that Mummy will be leaving him with his teacher (Nicole) and then going home and he replies 'Thomas play with trains and cars, then mummy come collect me'. Having only left him with close friends or family thus far, it's going to be really hard walking out and leaving him there (especially as he will probably cry), but its all good for his independence and I consider myself very lucky changing career and being able to watch every step of his development since birth.

Late Saturday afternoon, a very tired, overexcited little boy fell over a toy train and hit his head on a dining room chair. Catching the bit just above the eyebrow, it bleed quite heavily so a trip to A&E was called for (thankfully we live so close and can walk there!). Here our wounded soldier, given some butterfly plasters and a Lion shaped sticker for bravery and was then discharged.

Sunday and Monday have been a lot more relaxed...we've almost cleared the spare room and the next phase will be stripping wallpaper ready for the new little one...exciting times!

Thomas is going to be a big brother!

So, the best present you can give your little boy...... a brother or maybe even a sister... Yes, our household of three will become four at the end of Jan 2012 (Lets all hope this one isn't 5 weeks early too!). We are all very excited and Thomas can't wait to be a big brother... already cuddling/kissing my tummy and saying 'Love you baby'... he is simply going to be the best big brother in the world and we are thrilled to be having another baby!

Today (24/8), I heard our babies heartbeat for the first time... Words cannot describe the overwhelming emotion you hear when the midwife puts the doppler onto your tummy and you wait the few seconds whilst she locates the heartbeat... then before you know it you hear an incredibly fast "whosh whosh whosh whosh whosh" .. my eyes fill with tears, relief and happiness... then close as I imagine our little baby inside my tummy growing ready for the outside world!

We've had a stressful 17 weeks as my pregnancy has been so different to Thomas. Without going into detail, I've had the most terrible sickness and have only just managed to overcome this in the last week. Never ever before have I felt so helpless and poorly, unable to curl back under the duvet as Thomas needs me to be strong and life needs to remain as normal as possible for him. Today, everything seemed to fall into place... we heard the baby, the midwife confirmed everything is absolutely perfect and I'm beginning to get the pregnancy glow! *quick lets get out and enjoy it and hope its lasts!*

Watch this space as we'll be posting pictures, updates and lots more posts from me, Flyingpops over the next few weeks as I document the pregnancy! For now, I'm just sitting enjoying some of the blog posts Fink wrote when I was pregnant before with Thomas (named MJ then!)

Be careful what you say!

Two weeks ago, I put Thomas into his hooded jumper, pulled up the hood and said 'Now you look like a hoodie thug!' He found it really funny and couldn't stop laughing... Then in the rain this morning, I got out his coat, did you the zip and he was pulling at his hood... then turned to me, smiled and said 'Thomas hoodie thug!'

So, just a nice gentle reminder that we all need to be very careful what we say around him in the future!

Thomas goes into a 'Big Boy Bed'

Now I'm two, Mummy and Daddy have decided its time for me to move into a big boy bed! I'm very excited when they tell me I'm getting a "Thomas the tank engine" one but then have to wait all week for it! On Saturday Mummy goes into my bedroom, makes a great big mess pulling out all my toys, gets Daddy to move furniture around and then it looks so much bigger and I eagerly await the new bed, due on Sunday....

5.30am Sunday morning, I wake up very early as I'm excited and I'm very lucky as Mummy buys me a new duvet and pillow when we go shopping...

When I get home, we have to take them out of the wrapping very quickly and then test them out for size in the covers Uncle Keith got me for Christmas...I then practice going to sleep in the living room....

Then I leave Mummy and Daddy with lots of poles, screws and they make a mess whilst I go to play with my friend Lovely Louise for a bit!

When I come back, my room has been transformed and there is a new bed waiting for me!

You can see how Happy I am as I put my head down, then roll around in the new duvet...

I cuddle my teddy, then discover that it really is a Thomas the Tank engine bed, with a special holder for my cup!

I'm far too excited to go down for a lunchtime nap and spend all afternoon playing in my bedroom, cooking up a storm in my toy kitchen and making Mummy pretend coffee... After a delicious roast dinner, relaxing bath, episode of In the Night Garden and short story, Mummy takes me to bed. At first, I get up lots and try to turn on the lights (but Daddy took out the lightbulb!) and after 15 minutes, I'm happily snoring and dreaming of my new bed...

Mummy and Daddy wonder how tonight will go and what time I'll wake them up in the morning.. we'll have to wait and see!

Flyingpops'Links

OK, so its Friday links time and I've only had time to find one.. but I found it very funny!

Enjoy!

http://storify.com/rhodri/your-awful-dates-in-140-characters

Thomas has Two parties to celebrate being 2 years old!

So, with Thomas being 2 and us having lots of family and friends, we decided to have 2 parties on the same day... 3-5 for toddler friends... 6-8 for family and friends...

We had prepared lots of lovely toddler friendly food including Bagel snakes, egg toad stalls, cheesy feet and a few tasty treats that make it a party (including party rings and cheese balls!)

Thomas got his wish to eat cake (and not being used to cake, the sugar rush that followed afterwards!)

All the toddlers made hats with Lovely Louise, ate lots of food, smeared even more into the carpets and played happily in the garden in the Play house, sandpit and on the ride on toys... Thomas loved celebrating with his mates, couldn't quite take in that everyone was here together and when we all sang 'Happy Birthday' to him, he smiled as we all sang his name, then said 'No'. There were absolutely no tears/tantrums until it was hometime when the over excited little ones, just didn't want to leave! (and we fall onto the sofa for 10 mins happy that it was such a success!)

But, no rest for the hosts as a few of us tidied up, hoovered the crumbs, and got ready for party number 2.... where an excited Thomas was insistent on wearing his new PJ's from Brenda! We didn't take many pictures at this party, but celebrated with close friends and family who all enjoyed Chilli, Jacket potatoes and Birthday cake...

Thomas was literally asleep on his feet as we put him to bed at 9.30... and he collapsed into bed after a fantastic day knowing full well what a birthday entails ... he had happy dreams until gone 9 the following day and Fink and I were wide awake at 7 and actually went in to check him a few times as he has NEVER slept till 9! (and Sunday morning was present time as there were even more to unwrap!)

Thanks everyone for all your help, presents and making it such a special day ;o)

Thomas 2nd Birthday by Flyingpops

I absolutely love reading back through Fink's blog and often treat it as a diary, reminding me of birthdays, holidays and am very guilty of saying, "We must blog about that when we get home" (but never get around to doing so)! However, life has been fairly busy over the last month, and Fink hasn't had a chance to blog, so as a dutiful wife and having only ever posted a handful of times, I thought I would try and help record a few recent events...

So, rewind your Hermione Granger time travelling clock and meet me back on the 6th August...Thomas' 2nd Birthday!

Initially, Thomas didn't really understand what a birthday was...he was a little confused as his friend Hugh was 2 a week earlier and we had celebrated with cake and presents in the park. When asked if it was going to be his birthday, he always said 'Huga Mooga birthday' and 'cake', yet as the event approached and my excitement built he could definitely sense something was happening...At one point, he really thought inanimate objects like a cement mixer, tractor and recycling trucks had a birthday too (sweet!)...

So, I set about filling the house with homemade posters, banners, blew up balloons and wrapped all the presents. I'm really not sure who was more excited, but when Thomas went to bed on Friday evening, he definitely knew there would be a birthday, presents, cake and a party the following day!

When we all woke up on Saturday morning, there was a large stash of pressies waiting for our special boy...

As soon as he woke, I lept out of bed and we all raced downstairs excitedly... singing Happy Birthday and doing lots of cheering!

Thomas quickly learnt to open the big ones first, was taught to shake, smell touch and then tearing open paper (something I love to do myself!)

And loved trying out his new helmet and arm, elbow and knee pads for the scooter!

Then, with presents open it was time for Thomas to enjoy a special treat breakfast of Cheerios, watched Cars on DVD, then completely exhausted from the excitement, fell into bed at about 11 o'clock giving us plenty of time to start chopping, grating, chilling and preparing for 12 toddlers all due at 3pm..