So the time has come, and Parker has had his first tastes of food! He has been showing the signs of being ready for a few weeks now - learning to sit, able to pick things up and put them in his mouth, and even stealing our food haha.

He's also been waking A LOT during the night, and eating a whole lot more in the day too. We know these aren't always signs of being ready to wean, however we decided they must have been for Parker... having 5-7oz of formula every 2/3 hours was a bit excessive haha!

Tuesday the 12th at exactly 23 week,s we started Parker's baby led weaning journey. We know he's still a little under 6 months, so will only be starting slowly at first, and then introducing more in a few more weeks.

We started off with simple porridge so he wasn't too put off by any strong flavours. I made it a little thicker and then loaded the spoon to give to him. The second he saw it, he launched himself forward and instantly took the spoon to his mouth! The 'yum yum' sounds soon followed and you could tell he was loving it (especially when he cried as the spoon was taken away haha).

I cannot believe we're at this stage already! I wanted my little boy to stay a baby forever, but it looks like he's taken matters into his own hands... like a true baby led weaner!

The Siblings Project | January 2016

I love taking pictures of my two little monkeys together. Indiana is now at an age where she's becoming extra loving and caring towards everyone, including her little brother Parker. So I thought this monthly project would be perfect for us to start.

I wish I had joined in since Parker was born last august, but honestly I just kept forgetting! So I'm going to cheat and add a photo from each month I've missed, as well as one from January (I hope that's ok?).

L-R: August - September - October - November

December

The bond between these two grows each day. Parker is truly mesmerised by his big sister and is constantly watching what she's up to. She's the one who can make him giggle the hardest and always gets his biggest smiles too. So here they are in January at two and 5 months old.

This week Indiana turned to her brother and declared "I love you very much Parker!", and then gave him the biggest kiss I've ever seen. What a lucky mummy I am. Let's just hope this love continues and we don't have too much sibling rivalry haha.

Ightham Mote | Days Out With The National Trust

Despite the miserable Winter weather we still managed to make it to another National Trust property this weekend! Ightham Mote is a 14th Century moated manor house in the heart of Kent. Built nearly 700 years ago it's full of history, walks and beautiful sites to see. Unfortunately as it was raining so much a lot of the walks were closed, as was the house (it's completely closed in January and February).

Indiana had an absolute whale of a time regardless though. She's really into puddle jumping and exploring at the moment, so these places are the perfect location to go! She can literally just run around to her hearts content, without us worrying that she's going to run off or go somewhere she's not supposed to.

The rain didn't stop us having fun either. Parker was snuggly in his pushchair, with the rain cover and footmuff, and we all had coats on. At one point i think we were the only people wandering around in the rain!

Unfortunately I didn't manage to get many decent pictures this time. Not only did we not want to get the cameras wet, but Indiana was having far too much fun exploring to pose haha. I'm excited to go back when it's warmer (and maybe a bit less wet) to explore even more though!

We did also vlog our day out so definitely make sure to head over to my YouTube channel to see a bit more of the place! Including lots of puddle jumping... not just from Indiana either!

When we thought it was time to dry off we headed to the cafe for lunch. Indiana had a little kiddy lunch box which included a sandwich (she chose cheese over ham), raisins, a shortbread biscuit, juice (she chose apple over orange) and some stickers - all for £3.95 which we thought was a really good price. I love finding children's meals that don't include chocolate too; so this was a winner in my eyes!

Jack opted for a sausage bap and I had a jacket potato with beans and cheese. Both were very yummy and great portion sizes. Jack's sausages were gigantic, but luckily Indiana was on hand to help him haha. Again these were reasonable prices - especially considering for a little bit less you could get a sandwich on it's own!

Parker's 5 Month Update

5 months old. How is that possible already?! It honestly feels like I've blinked at completely missed the newborn stage, and I really wish I could turn back time and saviour it even more. Parker turned 5 months on the 4th January (at 21+6 weeks).

I haven't had him weighed since 19 weeks, but he was a healthy 15lbs 8oz then - he actually jumped up a percentile and is now following the 50th. He's filling out his 3-6 month clothing really nicely now. Although I'm not sure how long it will last as it's all getting quite short for mr long legs. We've had to move up to size 4 nappies too as he was leaking every morning.

Milk wise this boy is a hungry boy. We switched to hungry baby milk in the hope of holding off weaning until 6 months. He's currently downing 8oz bottles every 3/4 hours so it's not actually made much difference! Especially as this is day and night. Sleep seems to have fallen off of his to-do list as he really isn't a good sleeper anymore. He's waking around 1am and 5am for milk at the moment, but it changes constantly. Naps are also a nightmare and you really have to get him to sleep at the right moment or it doesn't happen haha.

Development wise however he's blossoming. He can sit for around 10 seconds unaided now which he enjoys. He's very close to rolling back to front and we reckon it'll happen any day. He can twist all the way round (which looks so uncomfortable), and then turn in circles if he wants to. He grabs toys, blows raspberries, picks his toys up and pulls them towards him and makes a whole lot of noise!

He can full on giggle now which is the most beautiful sound, and is at his happiest when standing. He can actually stand just by holding your hands now; his legs lock in place and he's very strong! We've been using the Jumperoo a lot more recently because of his love of standing - he went straight to level 2 as he's so tall!

Everything, and I mean everything goes in his mouth. He has this habit of grabbing your face and launching himself at you to eat it haha. He's teething something terrible but still no teeth yet. We're using a combination of teething gel, Anbesol liquid and teething toys to help - he also has an amber anklet but I'm not sure it's working for him.

If you follow me on social media you'll know he is also suffering from a throat infection right now. He's pretty miserable, doesn't sleep and just wants cuddles. Hopefully his antibiotics kick in soon! The infection seems to have flared up his eczema which looks so red and sore. He just can't catch a break poor boy! This has made him hate being put down even more, so tummy time or even just laying on his back is out of the question.

Have a look what Indiana was up to at 5 months old, it's crazy how different they are!

Bodium Castle | Days Out with The National Trust

If you've followed us for a while you'll know our love for The National Trust. One of our New Years goals this year was to make the most of our passes, and get to as many places as possible with the kids! So on New Year's Day we visited Bodium Castle for the morning.

Bodium Castle for us, is on the way to Hastings. It's a 14th century castle set in the heart of the countryside with plenty to explore! We obviously visited in the Winter so couldn't take as much advantage of the grounds, but Indiana had a whale of a time splashing in puddles and exploring the castle.

There are spiral towers to climb which we did attempt with both children but soon regretted haha. They're VERY steep so not suitable for carrying children up. Jack did go and explore by himself and he said the views were fantastic. Hopefully next time I'll go up and see too!

Guided tours by costumed characters are free of charge, where you can learn ever more about the castle and it's history. This wasn't really for us, but there were lots of other people there listening. Maybe something to enjoy without a toddler running around, who wants to just find the big puddles haha! We were going to end our morning with lunch in the sweet little coffee shop, however it was completely full! Another thing for us to try on our next visit I think.