Long break

Well, we went on our first Family holiday last week to Portugal and I was not too sure how it would go but thankfully it all went ok in the end. There were a couple of things that put us off in the beginning but once we got over that we all got on with enjoying it.

First off it rained for 3 days when we got there but we didn't let that get us down too much and went shopping but unfortunately there is not one decent toy shop to be found in portugal and our promise to Conor to buy him a ben 10 toy became quite impossible to fulfill so we pawned him off with crap toys until we got home and he got the toy he wanted.

Conor also had bad hay fever which we hadn't thought was a problem until now but then we haven't had a decent summer in 3 years so how would we know?! His tonsils swelled up and I thought the poor kid was going to get tonsilitis on his holidays!

Lee had some issues with being with us all 24/7 and him and Conor had quite a few clashes - Conor of course being very moany with not feeling too good didn't help things.

Also, we found the resort a bit disapointing as Lee's brother had been there before and had told us about the kids play areas and we were looking forward to spending time playing in the water around there but they were doing a lot of work in that part of the hotel and these areas were not in use. Now, the weather like I said wasn't great the first few days but it really got nice in the second half of the week and we did get to sit by the pool on a few occassions - all be it never for very long and definitely not for swimming (the pool wasn't heated), but the kiddies pool was nice enough.

It was definitely a learning curve and while at the start of the week with the bad weather and Conor not feeling well we were both swearing we would never go on holidays again, by the end of it I think we changed our minds and would definitely consider going back.

Eoin was an absolute star the whole time, he was great on the flight, slept pretty good the whole time we were away with no teething problems and loved being in shorts and barefoot. He was trying to pull off his jumper when I put it on him yesterday - I think he likes short sleeves, hopefully we will get some nice weather so he will get more use out of his t-shirts and shorts.

Both of them still white (as am I mostly) but I would hate for them to get sun burnt so slapped on the suncream constantly!

Definitely on e of the highlights was our trip to Zoomarine, a water theme park with a dolphin show and aquarium. The dolphins were absolutely amazing!

So, all in all a good time was had (eventually) by all. I think we will go again now that have done it once we are a lot wiser and would hopefully be able to make it easier on ourselves the next time.

Happy Birthday Eoin!!!!

Well my baby is 1 year old today! It has been a wonderful and very fast year. This day last year I was staring down in wonder at the beautiful new born baby I had just delivered into this world and today I am staring down in bewilderment at the nutcase that is the centre of our worlds (as is his brother). I am so happy that we have him in our lives, he is such a happy bundle of joy that he improves all of our lives just by being there. It hasn't all been easy, he suffered from colic early on which was tough on him and us, I felt so helpless and my heart broke for him every evening when he would get a bout of it. After that things were pretty good, just the odd cold or cough and a couple of chest infections over the winter but he kept smiling through it all. His teeth have caused him quite a lot of pain but he is still easily distracted and never is a smile or giggle far away.

He has learned a lot in his first year and true to his rogueish character delights in finding ways to get up to mischief. His favourite past time these last few days is opening drawers and presses and pulling everything out! Drawer locks are being purchased this weekend!!! I have finally got him to start giving me kisses which he finds hilarious and leans in with a big open mouth.

All in all I have to say I have thoroughly enjoyed Eoin's first year and I truly hope he has enjoyed it too!!