Little Smiler x

Michael, you are a dream baby! You smile from the minute you wake until the time you go to bed. The biggest, widest most beautiful smile in the world. It has me kissing the cheeks of you every few minutes. You make us all very happy.

The indescribable beauty of real imagination and innocence

                        The more I watch you at play little one, the more I fall in love with you..

“Time it was, and what a time it was, it was
A time of innocence, a time of confidences
Long ago, it must be, I have a photograph
Preserve your memories, they’re all that’s left you”

Bookends, Simon & Garfunkel

The fragility of the older sibling

I had forgotten how incredibly difficult those first few weeks with a new baby in the house are. They are also very special days...but very tiring. I think it was so exhausting because I was recovering and trying to heal myself as well as care for this brand new, fragile little life. I was also very aware that my precious little Grace still needed my attention. She had missed me a lot when I was in hospital and when I came home, so much of my time had to be spent feeding, changing, bathing Michael etc. I could see her jealousy and her worry of where she now stood in this family. She definitely was very difficult to handle until Michael was about 10 weeks old. I couldn't leave her with him for one second. I learned my lesson very early - when he was about 4 weeks old she slapped him, hard. It scared the life out of me. But thankfully, after a few weeks she regained her confidence in how much we love her and she is now very protective of Michael. She includes him in all her playtime activities. And he loves sitting in his bouncer watching her.

It must be love

This is Michael's first day in the world. I love this photo.

It will forever remind me not only of how I looked the day Michael was born but also of how I loved...

Seamus was delighted to have a little son and Grace loved him from first sight. In fact, she loved him long before she ever seen him. She loved him and waited on him with the same anticipation as me and her dad from she found out he was in my tummy. My two precious babies...

Brand new...

On 25th October, my little man was born - Michael. He is so precious. So beautiful. So mine. There is so much beauty in the bond between a mother and her newborn. In a couple of hours I had memorised every aspect of his face. I would have recognised his cry among 100 babies in a room. And he loved the sound of my voice - it soothed him - instantly. He'd been inside - listening, dreaming, memorising. And now he was here and trying so hard to focus on the face of the voice that he knew so well.

                                                   I am so proud of my little bundle.

Donegal 4 Sam 2012

Bump photos

I hardly ever appear in photographs when I am pregnant. I suddenly become camera shy :-) But I am so glad that I do have bump photographs from both my pregnancies. In the photo below I was 7+ months pregnant with Michael. How I couldn't wait to meet him!