Heavenly...

Honey was chosen to taste test a range of snacks from Heavenly Tasty Organics, a job which I knew she would take very seriously! The exciting looking parcel arrived just before nap time and as soon as she woke up, she tore downstairs to get stuck in (thus explaining the bed head)!

Honey devoured a mango, apple and banana coconut squishy first, it was gone in about 30 seconds and she kept trying to get more out it - a very good sign! Next, she fancied a spinach, apple and kale wafer which also went down a storm! We'll be letting you know how the rest of the snacks are received as soon as Honey has tried them! 

*Although we were given a range of snacks in order to be able to write a review, all opinions expressed in this blog are my own.

Honey wears... Bird top by Mothercare

Snap happy...

One of the things I really wanted to get from this pregnancy (besides the obvious) was lots of photos of the bump, so a pregnancy photo shoot seemed like the perfect idea. We met Sheryl who owns Oobaloos Photography a couple of years ago at an NCT sale, where she managed to get some cracking shots of a VERY wriggly, curious Honey for our family Christmas cards. Since then, she has been featured on numerous photography sites, blogs and in magazines so we felt very lucky that she was able to fit us in for one of her Oobamama packages which includes a bump shoot and a newborn shoot. 

The bump shoot was such a fun experience, we chose to have ours in Pitville Park as it's somewhere we often spend time together and somewhere with a range of different backdrops to show baby brother how he fitted into our adventures before he was even born! We all felt totally at ease as we splashed in the stream, climbed up the stones and  piled on the swing together, with Sheryl snapping away unobtrusively all the while. The hour flew by with only a few Honey strops (freezing feet caused by leaky wellies, tears caused by disobedient bubbles and grumpiness caused by sudden desire for snacks despite an enormous breakfast) and we walked home chattering excitedly about which photos we were most looking forward to seeing (all of them).

Hardly any time later (seriously, this lady is as excited as you are about your photos), we had a link to a private gallery where we could view our photos for up to a week and make short lists to help us decide which photos to purchase. That was the hard bit, but with a range of packages and deals to choose from, we soon had our chosen photos safely downloaded and ready to print and frame! Here are a couple of my absolute favourites, I think they capture how much fun we have when we're out and about and I love the lighting! If you'd like to see more, have a look at the Family Portraiture gallery over at Oobaloos website or better still, if you know us, pop round and view them in situ!

Honey wears... Dinosaur wellies by Tu @ Sainsbury's 

Photo credits to Sheryl Fish @ Oobaloos photography

The run up...

I started maternity leave on Monday and we have already started planning the months ahead. As well as a list of outings and activities we'd like to try with baby brother, Honey has already got a couple of jobs lined up! We will be continuing to work with Child's Farm and have a range of free samples and discount codes on their way for sharing with you guys and we have also been asked to taste test a range of organic kids snacks which Honey is VERY excited about!

We will share our latest pictures and posts on the Facebook and Instagram pages so head over and give us a follow of you want to keep up with what Honey wears...

Facebook: www.facebook.com/stephloveshoney

Instagram: www.instagram.com/stephloveshoney

Honey wears... Striped top by H&M

Monster Munch...

Honey is in the midst of a huge growth spurt, we can't keep up with her go go gadget arms and legs and have had to start bringing out the age 3-4 clothes ahead of time! With this, comes a noticeable increase in appetite, "another snack please" "my tummy is grumbling" and "more breakfast please" are some of her favourite phrases so our surprise package from Nom Nom Kids came at exactly the right time!

The new Nom Noms pouches retain the fantastic double seal but are larger and hold up to 200ml of smoothie, yoghurt or puréed fruit/veg so are perfect for grumbling toddler tummies! The larger, now star shaped, window on the back is exciting for little ones as they can see what's left inside and the new monster design is really fun, Honey calls them her big girl pouches and says that the jungle pouches are now for her baby brother!

As always, we are really impressed with the quality and practicality of the latest Nom Nom product and have spoken to lots of people about them while out and about. They are fab for lunch boxes and picnics, as well as mess free eating at home! 

*Although we were given products for the purpose of this review, the opinions expressed in this blog are my own.

Honey wears... Striped socks by Baby Gap

We do like to be beside the seaside...

When a post about a holiday cottage in North Devon appears in my Facebook newsfeed, I always have a look, but imagine my surprise when not only was this one owned by a family from Cheltanham but it was also just down the road from our favourite camping spot in Mortehoe! Swift emails were exchanged and we were in for a three night stay in celebration of our 4th wedding anniversary!

I fell in love with The Old Water Tower Cottage the moment I stepped through the door, with its open plan kitchen/dining/lounge area (amazing use of space) complete with wood burning stove, with its seaside themed decor and with its cubby hole bedroom. Both my husband and I almost instantly started planning when we might be able to come back!

The cottage sits in the heart of the village of Mortehoe, with direct access to the coastal path via a secret walkway at the end of the garden. It's also a mere couple of minutes drive down the hill to Woolacombe town with its wide array of surf shops, cafes and art galleries and not far from Croyde (where we took Honey swimming) and Ilfracombe (where we visited the aquarium) amongst other places.

Most importantly, there is easy access to a range of beaches which can be categorised using the Honey G Beach Catagorisation System:

Woolacombe Bay: Snow Angel Beach.

This is a beach with fluffy sand suitable for lying down and making 'snow angels' on.

Barricane Beach: Treasure Beach.

This is a beach mainly composed of mermaid treasure such as shells, pebbles, mermaids purses and seaweed. Such treasure can be collected in buckets and returned to ones holiday home to be put on display!

Putsborough Sands: Sandcastle Beach.

This is a beach with sand castle appropriate sand. There are some treasures to be found but these are to be used for decorating sandcastles and are not to be taken back to ones holiday home.

Grunta Beach: Rockpool Beach.

This is a beach made up almost entirely of rockpools. Activities here include glancing in rockpools to check for signs of life, stomping in rock pools so the water comes over the sides of ones wellies and attempting death defying rock climbs.

We always have a great time in this neck of the woods, but finding somewhere so special to temporarily call home really put the icing on the cake this time. We were all a little sad at having to leave and can't wait for  our next visit!

Honey wears... Wet weather gear by Jojo Maman Bebe

Honey's news...

There was something different about finding out we were expecting Baby G 2. The first time round, we were bursting to share our news with family and friends and started spreading the news straight away but this time, there was something very special about having a family secret. While Honey had no idea what was going on at first, it was so exciting to know that she would be the first person we'd tell once things became a little more visible! We also made the decision to let her break the news to our families using a series of photos! This turned out to be easier said than done with a hangry toddler making her own rules and preferring to throw or ignore the sign rather than pose with it, but I think you'll agree that the end results are super cute!

Now here we are in 2016 with due date only 6 weeks away and Honey is already talking about getting her baby brother dressed and changing his nappy, she talks to him, sings to him and helps us choose clothes and toys for him. We've read lots of books written to help toddlers get their heads round having a younger sibling which Honey really enjoys and she's also taken to poring over my Mum and Baby magazines, which is adorable! The latest 'getting ready for baby' activity is a New Baby Lotto game given to us by a friend who has recently had her second child. Honey loves matching up all the baby equipment and activities and it starts off loads of conversations about what life might be like with a new baby in the house!

With only a couple of weeks to go until I officially start maternity leave, compiling the list of awesomeness has begun, so stay tuned to find out what Honey and Baby Baby G wear on their adventures together this year!

Honey wears... Tweed jacket by Joules