First Family of Four Picture

Introducing the new McCulloch Fmaily complete with all four human members.

Willow the cat and Milo the goldfish may follow later!

Summer's nearly over.

As we have not gone away for a summer break apart from one night to North Wales, Emily and her daddy have been 'camping' in the back garden. It is not really camping, but reading books and eating snacks in the tent! She let Joel in for a little while but was quick to remind him that this was her tent and that she was camping with daddy.We have been to Tatton Park today to go on the 'roundie' I really love carousels, the music the painted horses and the history that goes with them. Emily just likes going round and round!

Little Acorn... wow a big tree?As the summer comes to an end, (J was back in school this morning) we have had a great time. We have spent a lot of time inthe garden, going to parks, swimming, walking, farms, the library, shopping and lots of puzzles and playing. We have had a great 5 weeks together, it is such a bummer that J has to go back to school, but someone has to earn the money!

The McCulloch Men

All action girl

Day out at Dunham Massey...

...with Fifi Flower Tot, Joel and all the McCulloch clan.

And one of the little 'oiled' man today, (his skin is flaking off as he was more overdue than we thought!)

Nice Days, sleepy days

Less bruised

Joel looked much different yesterday and his little face is less swollen. All is well at our house.

Joel Alexander McCulloch

He has arrived. On Sunday 17th August at 9.29 pm. He is 52 cm long and was 7lbs and 12 oz heavy or light! He is so great and it is amazing to have a son, a brother for Emily and grandson for our parents, a nephew and cousin for our siblings and nieces and nephews and little boy who will hopefully grow up to make a mark in this world. He is so fab. Thanks be to God.

Four weeks down... two to go.

Emily has found the joy of singing!! Some may say the joy of speed talking in a high volume. This song rings through the rooms of our house continually throughout the day! She has no awareness of tempo or of her right and left but it makes us laugh! Enjoy

We have had a busy week, lots of fun things to do when you are due to go into labour any day! We have been to the park, swimming, the farm, to Manchester on the tram to see the big roundie (Manchester Wheel) playing in the garden, baking, painting, sticking, gardening and shopping. We have also been to the clinic as Emily fell at the park and cut her head in 2 places.

No glue needed, just a sticky and magic water, not forgetting the Calpol and kisses. The bump is going.

Scones we made for breakfast this morning... there are none left and not a lot of banana bread left either!

A new swimming suit. She will now swim on her own and not cling on to us. ( Not me as my suit doesn't fit now either!) Her kicking is good but as for her arms, well there is a lot of work to be done if we were pushy parents!

On baby watch.. well there is nothing to report, we are still waiting and getting fed up as it really feels restrictive. I am at the midwife on Tuesday, maybe something will happen then but I am either 6 days late or 1 day late depending on the 2 dates I have been given by the hospital. Either way we need this baby to come soon as my skin is sore and I don't think it can stretch much further.

Anniversary

Yesterday Jamie and I celebrated our 8th Wedding Anniversary. We can't believe in many ways that 8 years have gone by, but in other ways we know where the time has gone. Great holidays, new jobs, 4 cars later, 3 houses later, a fabulous two year old and another child about to arrive any day, laughter, tears, success and failure; 8 great years have passed and now we embark on another year together.

We went to Manchester Airport to see the planes land and take off. Emily is obsessed with transport at the minute, she went on a train and a bus last week and yesterday she enjoyed splashing aound in the puddles watching the airplanes.

Keeping hands warm in the wonderful August Weather with hot chocolate.

Concorde.

Do you like my new airplane?

Daddy made caterpillar pancakes for breakfast, she ate it all apart from the head!

On baby watch?... still nothing to report, maybe tomorrow I will be thin again.

Happy Anniversary to Greg and Sara... 8 years today.

Happy anniversary to Lucy and Mark... 1 year yesterday.

Happy anniversary to Esther and Eifion and Lucy and David 5 years this week.

What a lot of anniversaries! What a great thing to celebrate, happy marriages.

Schools out for summer and until May 18th for ME!

Yes... I have finished work and maternity leave will begin when baby is born. The hospital estimate the 10th August, for me I think the 15th.

We have been to North Wales and Llandudno and enjoyed the seaside there for 2 days. Now we are back at home enjoying the back garden and the sunshine of Stockport.

We still have a long list of small and bigger jobs to do on the house, we are trying to do them a, when we have time, b, when we have the money, c, when we have the energy and d, when Emily is sleeping. Jamie has painted the nursery and hopefully blinds and curtains are going up tonight!

We went to the cinema to see the new Batman last night, it was good, but I think it is too voilent to be a 12A. Heath Ledger was great, I am not sure if he would be an Oscar contender if he was alive, but he did a great job. I liked the line 'what doesn't kill you makes you stranger!' I wonder does it?

This week it is jobs to be done, catching up on bills and paperwork, cleaning and stocking the freezer just in case baby arrives. I am feeling much better, the antibiotics have cleared up my infection but I now have a chesty cough. Back to the midwife on Friday to see how progress is going with new baby, maenwhile lots of TLC with our growing baby who tells us every day she is a 'big girl now'.

We still think of her as our little baby!

School Holidays, birthdays

Jamie is officially on school holidays now, Emily has finished for the summer at Sarah's and I have 3 days left before maternity leave! Thanks be to God!
On baby front, we have 3 ish weeks to go, we looked and sorted through Emily's clothes to find first size and any white or yellow bits and bobs. (There are pink ones to but we don't know the gender of baby so we will have to wait and see!) My bag is packed and nappies are bought. Jamie hopes to paint the Nursery in the next week or so and put up curtains. The jury is still out on names, J has a favourite and I have one too, but sadly they are not the same.

It is my baby sister's birthday tomorrow, happy birthday Emma. I know you are not a baby anymore as you have 2 babies of your own, but you are still the little one of the family. Happy birthday Squeezy!

Also, happy birthday Dad to you for Tuesday. I am not trusting Romanian post so you will have to wait for the 'bespoke' art work from Emily in August.

To you both, we love you and hope that the year is full of smiles and laughter.

Time has flown by.

Emily celebrated her 2nd birthday on Friday. We can't believe that we have been blessed with her in our lives for two years. We know that all parents think that they have the greatest kid and we join with them in thinking that about our daughter. We find her funny, chatty, active, mischievous, remorseful, shy, extrovert, animal and music lover as well as just herself. We are aware that God has given her to us and that we have a responsibility to ensure that she grows to love him and love people as he does.

Just awake, with bed hair!

Giving baby Annabel breakfast, (thank you Auntie Anne and Uncle Jim)

She had a great birthday weekend with 12 of her friends and her new cousin Lucas, Deirdre and Andrew her local Godparents, joining us for a teddy bears picnic (indoors because of the rain).

It dried up for pass the parcel al fresco.

Phone calls from Auntie Sara, God mother in Canada, messages from grandparents on holiday and in Ireland, cards from cousins 3 weeks old, parcels from Australia, Belfast, Scotland and other places, she had the lot. Lots of cake, (J and I made it!)

cards ( of which everyone is a wow and she wants them down off the mantle piece at least twice a day to look at the pictures and count them)

smiles, tears, laughter and presents. A great home birthday party, it's a shame she won't remember it, but we will.

Pin the nose on the bear (or on the bear's tummy!)

A big red tractor from Granny and Grandad, food for the shopping trolley and a dr's set to see if dad is poorly!
Emily is well and healthy, growing and developing all the time. We love her deeply and are very proud of her and await to see how her life unfolds, knowing that God is watching over her. Thanks be to God.

Visit to Belfast

Emily and I have been to Belfast to meet our new nephew and niece. We had a great time, the journey was great, I was anxious travelling with a 23 month old on my knee at 33 weeks pregnant. It was lovely to see Emily playing and being nice to her new cousins, she has had some practice with Lucas and it won't be long until a sibling arrives.

We had fun with grandparents playing in the garden, fun with cousins, playing and eating birthday cake, fun with uncles finding frogs in the garden, fun with daddy in the airport and fun with family being family.

Sam is growing and is doing well, it is nice to have two nephews now and Lilah reminds me of Emily when she was little, it was great to hold new born babies again.

I thought I was in labour on Saturday night so I psychotically ran around looking for newborn baby clothes and got them washed. We also built the pram and have been practising with Emily in it. We took the rails off her cot and have made it a bed in preparation for her new bed arriving. But no ... I was not and am not in labour and am patiently waiting over the next 5 + weeks for baby to arrive.