Goodbye 2022 / Hello 2023 💛

Christmas suddenly feels like a long time ago now that we’re well and truly into 2023. But here we are looking back on December and the festive period via the very many photographs I inevitably took 😅

So in my blog post at the beginning of December I expressed my childlike wish for snow and as you can see we did in fact get a snow day here! We made the most of it and went sledging which was fun although Jethro didn’t seem to think so:

We didn’t stay out long as we didn’t want his little nose to freeze off so we ended the snow day by watching Miracle on 34th Street whilst snuggled up under blankets (even Juniper joined us).

Remnants of snow lingered for a few days:

Sophie the giraffe joined the family 💛 a bargain find (second hand but unused) to try and satisfy Jethro's relentless desire to chew everything:

Another mushroom for the decoration department, and the colourful, chocolatey birthday cake I made for Ed:

🎉🎂 26 🎂🎉

Fell in love with this Richard Scarry illustration 🎄

Some new art on the walls...a Japanese scroll and Jethro's hand and foot prints: 

I painted my nails, and Juniper decided to venture back into the cot (she uses it more than he does at the moment haha):

The baby is learning to hug...aggressively, involving hair pulling and face scratching 😆 but I'll take it:

The newest member of the congregation, Henry (a very good boy) + a post-church charcuterie board featuring chocolate coins:

Admiring Auntie Ellie's Christmas decorations, and some sweet lights on a walk nearby:

On the 23rd of December we headed off bright and early (ish) on our first long journey with a baby. The drive to Ed's family in Kent took most of the day but Jethro was a dream and slept a lot of the way. The car was full to the brim with baby gear and we just about managed to squeeze ourselves in too. 

Happy baby when we stopped for lunch, and some french Haribos for an afternoon snack:

On Christmas Eve Jethro attended his first Christingle service and a little toddler offered her tinsel hairband for him to wear:

Christmas pjs for the whole family (Jethro is unimpressed):

Our little elf all dressed up for church, then eyeing up my Christmas dinner:

Watching the King's speech, and having a go on the piano:

Later on in the afternoon we went out to walk off our lunch and let Jethro have a sleep in the pushchair, it was his first time seeing the sea! Although he probably didn't see much of it being all bundled up as he was:

Cosy Christmas evening (you know you're all grown up when you wait all the way until the end of the day to open any presents 😆):

Jethro enjoyed trying to eat the wrapping paper...

The next day we set off to the beach to watch the annual Boxing Day Dip - we didn't participate, brrrrr ⛄ It was probably the most people (and dogs) that Jethro has ever seen in one place and he was a little bit overwhelmed I think!

That evening we went for another walk and caught a beautiful sunset 😍 I couldn't stop taking photos! 

Baby in the big bed:

I brought 3 knitting projects with me on this week long trip and I'm glad I did because I ended up working on all of them! This hat for Jethro was surprisingly quick to make and soo cute 😭 we wanted something to keep his ears warm and I found this simple pattern amongst my stash. The pompom is a fun addition but when I'm carrying him in the sling it goes right in front of my face which isn't very practical haha.

We were determined to take Jethro onto the beach so he could put his feet on the pebbles for the first time. We met up with Ed's old friend and walked along the pier, he couldn't get his head round the fact that Ed is a dad now 😆

Big Deal sky.

Some delicious Christmas pudding on our final evening:

Our journey home began in the pouring rain which made packing up the car quite a soggy job. But before long we were off, equipped with leftover turkey sandwiches and a big flask of hot coffee (thanks to our new Thermos Christmas present!) We'd had such a lovely holiday and we were sad to be heading home, it was so nice for Jethro to spend time with his grandparents and to meet other members of his family for the first time! Lots of special memories to treasure ❤️

Goodbye White Cliffs 👋

Another of the knitting projects I finished whilst away was this little pair of pink socks for my littlest sister! There was a bit of guesswork with the sizing but I was happy to see they fit just right:

After getting home from our trip we then had a second Christmas at my mum's house on New Year's Eve! It was fun to make the celebrations last as long as possible 😄 As you can see Jethro was blessed with multiple hats for his first festive season 🐻🐑

Stepping into 2023 as a yellow banana (in new socks and slippers too) 🍌🍌🍌

We hadn't planned to keep the baby up to ring in the new year but he woke up about quarter to midnight so we had the pleasure of his company to watch the countdown and fireworks on the tv:

Now we're parents we can't cope with such a late night, time for a New Year's Day family nap:

And finally, we rounded off the celebrations with a big family get together at the grandparents' (now great parents'!) house, lots of food, catching up, and the impossible challenge of trying to get a group photo with everyone smiling 😆 There was a spectacular sunrise that evening:

That's it! Our Christmas and New Year all wrapped up 🎁 and that was just a small selection of the photos I took hehe. The fact that this post has taken me so long is a testament to how much (and how quickly 😭) Jethro is changing at the moment, he's spending much less time asleep and instead is in need of constant entertainment! But there are lots of happy giggles now and he has even started trying different foods...more on that next time!

Before I go here's the books I read in 2022, if you're interested:

Belated Happy New Year! 🎉