See a snapshot of our week! Life with kids can make time and memories slip through the cracks. So here is where we will write the story of the joys with our family.
Monday...
Started off the week as usual. James woke up at 8:30pm and we just read in bed. A package arrived and it was the advent wreath I ordered! Finally! For some reason, James just seemed to enjoy looking out the window. I was able to clean a bit until James went down for an early nap.
When he woke up we went to our friend Pare's house to feed her cat. Pare was out all day and she wanted to make sure Vesper was cared for. So we headed over there. James helped me measure the right amount of food and then we sat and waited for Vesper to come close. James was so good at being patient and getting down at eye level. He was so excited to see her! After a long while, I heard a knock at the door and I got spooked! It turned out to be the delivery man but I wasn't warned beforehand and was caught off guard. We headed back home after that because I almost peed my pants with how scared I was haha!
James went down for a second nap. When he woke up we had our dinner and then played around all evening. James has finally got hang of how to turn his water dispenser on! He also made sure Matt got a good workout before bedtime haha!
We did our nightly Advent (I love the new wreath!). He then paraded around the house in my flats. We eventually got under the covers and read until he fell asleep.
Tuesday...
As the last day ended so we began it with reading haha! We read so much until we got out of bed.
We headed into town to delivery some letters. Once we did I realised I forgot my phone haha! Oh well! James and I chased pigeons for ages and then he led me into Eldon Square. We would stop and stare every so often at everything around us.
We eventually made it into Fenwick. James absolutely loved the children's floor. We spent forever there just going from toy to toy. He wouldn't let go of the Jellycat Kara Kangaroo he picked up! It was so cute how much he loved it! I would have bought it but when I looked at the price tag I told him it wasn't ours to keep and he handed it to me. Just for being so obedient, I would have loved to get it for him but after all the Christmas shopping we need to be super frugal for the next 12 days until Matt gets paid again haha!
Being in the shop with him did help me see some toys that he would find so much joy in so I made sure to write them down. When James asked for his coat again we headed out. Sadly there were no pigeons outside to feed because it was raining so we headed over to get some pizza. James just loves this pizza so much! Then we caught the bus home. James always tells me to go sit in the very back with him. I think it might have to do with feeling the turns better haha! Once we got home I was so happy to know the time again! James went down for his nap.
It wasn't long before he was up and at it again. We just played around all afternoon. The cutest moment was when he discovered on his own that his trousers had pockets!
I got to call my mum briefly and wish her a happy day... Today is Day of the Immaculate Conception! And my mum being called Inmaculada always said it was her day. (Although I don't seem to understand how Mary conceived on this day but had the baby 3 weeks after or even in April...). It's a fun little day to celebrate my mum because of her name haha.
After Matt clocked out we went to the shop to pick up a few things. James was super helpful because he took everything in his trolley! He is such a big helper.
Then at home, we continued playing with his wooden tracks. Since he has an enveloping schema he loved it when I put his Grimms Cave and rainbow over the tracks. He played with this for a good 20 minutes!
We then had a delicious Paella in honour of the holiday today. James loved it!
In the evening I got busy cleaning while Matt and James played. James came over to help me with the laundry for a bit then was back to playing. I love watching my boys together. Then I joined in on the fun and headed to bed after doing advent.
Wednesday...
In the morning we did our reading in bed and a package arrived! It was the Nativity set I had ordered for James from Spain. He seemed to have loads of fun with it especially bringing over all the animals to watch baby Jesus.
We then worked on his fine motor skills by threading cheerios onto sticks. He loves the activities that we do that are edible... I do too! We then taped the bubble wrap that came with the package that morning onto the floor. This was a great activity to get him running and jumping. He even enjoyed colouring on it. At lunch, we headed out to the post office and as soon as we were back James napped.
In the afternoon James was back to saying his favourite word "happy" over and over again whenever I asked him how he was feeling haha! Matt had some church meetings so James and I continued to play throughout the evening. His favourite song (well nothing will trump "Holy" by JB) is If Your Happy And You Know It. His eyes light up each time I start singing it!
When Matt was done we had our dinner and then we were back to playing. I quickly cleaned as Matt and James played and then I joined in. We had our advent devotional and then headed off to bed. James wanted to read a million books before finally going down for the night. I love his love of reading.
Thursday...
I did a bit of reading until James woke up a bit past 10am. After having breakfast we got ready to go out to the park to meet Cyrus. On our way out the door, we found a Christmas card from Matt's grandparents. James was obsessed with one of the cards (they are phenomenally hand-painted by them!). He took the card all the way to the park! It was really cute. Also, I tried to tell him to smile with me for a selfie and immediately he looked away off to the distant... It made me laugh so hard.
It was so fun meeting up with Elena. When it was nearing James's nap time I told him we had to go. He refused unless Cyrus came along. It was so lovely to see that James loves Cyrus. I love seeing him make friends. We did, in the end, make it home but James did shed a few tears.
After his nap, James and I just played around the house. His activity of the afternoon was dragging the suitcase around the house. Eventually, he toppled it over and then would get on and off it. I love seeing him in his cycle of activity.
When Matt finished work we headed out to go collect our shopping. We got a new alphabet puzzle from the shop (to see if I can bring back his interest to it). We also brought back some birthday hats that I will be using for our DIY Star Boy hats for St Lucia day. James loved wearing all evening. After an evening of play we all went to bed at the usual time this week of 11pm.
Friday...
I was so looking forward to that morning. I was meeting up with Jeanny at the park. But before we headed out we got a package. Out Luciacrown arrived just in time for St Lucia Day (13 December). It was so fun putting it together and James loved how the lights turned on and off.
We met up with Jeanny just outside her house and made our way to the park. James loved just chasing Maksy around. We got some croissants for the boys and they loved it. Eventually, we made it to the park. James headed straight for the hidden paths that he loves. Then they played football together. Or at least tried to. Maksy kept kicking the ball away and I would have to go fetch it. James soon just played football on his own (he loved kicking it into the puddle and seeing the effect it would cause)
I got to cuddle with baby Maja for a bit but it was a bit difficult... she doesn't cuddle... she bends outward? The strangest thing! She does it every time she is held! We were super lucky to see a bunch of squirrels around gathering nuts and acorns. They would get super close.
We got back at 4pm and James went down for a late nap. He woke up just before dinner time. And after dinner, we headed to Sunderland. We head about a Christmas Winter Trail and wanted to see what that was! Well, James really enjoyed the lights they had up. It kept him busy for a while as he would run around Santa's boot and the giant Christmas Tree. We then ended our trip with some £2 pizza from Dominos. AS soon as we got home we got ready for bed.
Saturday...
Matt was really looking forward to the weekend sleep. Well, I think it is safe to say that it was one of the worse nights that we've had this year (2019 doesn't count because almost every night was the worse haha!). Not only did James go to bed late but he woke up extremely early after a night full of breastfeeding and screams. But we survived. He actually fell asleep an hour after we got up while Matt was walking him. While he slept I cleaned the house and even got the bathroom deep cleaned. James woke up right as I finished (so no free time for me haha).
Since it was pouring out we went to Eldon Square for the morning trip. I needed to pick up one last gift for a friend and so we made a family trip out of it. We went to James's favourite toy shop and let him have his fun. He wasn't as energetic as he usually was but I think it was due to the rough night. On our way home we got some McDonalds and then James went down for his nap.
He woke up quite late which is what we expected due to his rough night. After dinner, I got to talk to my sister and my mum. It was so nice to catch up with them and to feel connected to my family (or the females in my family haha!).
Then after the calls, we played around with James the rest of the evening. We had hoped to go to bed at a decent time and that the rough night from before was a one-off but we were wrong.
Sunday...
Another terrible terrible terrible night. I really lost my cool in this one but luckily Matt was there to support both of us (I had a migraine and was crapping bad due to my time of month... now you know haha!). Once James was officially up, Matt got up with him so I could get at least 1 hour of uninterrupted sleep (which I didn't get all night). He and James watched our ward sacrament meeting while I dreamt about it since I could hear it haha! Once I was up we had breakfast and then had our family sacrament. James then went down for a nap.
He woke up 30 minutes later... ugh. He was crying so much and it was impossible to put him back to sleep. All he wanted was to be cuddled and walked. Just like when he was a baby... he must be going through some sort of development that is causing him stress and pain. So I walked him for about an hour. Then Matt took a turn while I had lunch and showered. James finally got the energy to read with his dad and it was so nice seeing them together.
At dinner, James still seemed kinda tired so I prepared for an early night. We celebrated St Lucia's Day with our crowns/hats and sang some songs (watch this video to see how beautiful they celebrate it!). Then we had our advent. I got into bed with James at 7pm while Matt got ready for the night. (Spoiler: Terrible night but James got up the next day at 9am still.)
And that was the end of another week! This week started out slow and by the end, we both have bloodshot eyes. But that is how the joys of life come packaged... with a bit of bitterness and challenge. We are so excited to have one more week home before the holidays. Hopefully, James gets back to his usual self (and us as well haha!). Have a lovely week!
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