Cute new PJs

An old bag for an old bag?

Thanks to a recent tagging by my friend Heather I find myself blogging about my bag fashion. I remember when I would search the department store for the smallest bag available- the kind that would barely fit my driver's license, lipstick and a few twenties. These days it seems like I cannot find a bag big enough to fit all of the little necessities mommyhood requires.

Luckily, I found a great fossil bag for $180 about 2 1/2 years ago at Macy's. I initially bought this for work- it was big enough to fit my laptop, notes, a book and research, but still small enough to fit under the seat in front of me on the plane. These days it hardly ever has work in it. Instead you'll find wipes, shoes, socks, pacifiers, toys, drink cups, snacks, my keys, phone and wallet... in fact this post reminds me I need to clean it out.

It's held up really well and I would definitely recommend the brand- the leather is nice wearing and practical... well sort of... I have a suspicion it is contributing to my aching shoulder and back (or that could be Liam). Liam has a little backpack for daycare that I keep an extra change of clothes and nappies- this tends to be close at hand in the car. And sometimes I dust off one of my nice Coach bags or a little clutch, but this is rare.

Liam's 1 year check up

I took Liam to get his 12 month injections and check up today. We arrived quite early to avoid too much traffic. I brought along his little lap top and some animal crackers to keep him busy. He was so cute dancing around the doctor's office and performing for everyone. He was giving the other patients big smiles and laughing loads. He weighed in at a big 10.9kg (24lbs) and measured at 82cm (32.3 ins) in length. I'm not sure which percentiles he is in, but he's normally around the 97th. He was walking all around the room and babbling and talking loads to the health visitor, which she was very pleased with. I tried to explain to him that he was getting a shot in his leg and it would hurt for a little while. He only cried for about 10 seconds when the needle went in. He was very brave and I gave him loads of hugs and kisses afterwards.

I still can't believe how big he's gotten and how much he has changed. This day last year, he was only 1 month old. What a difference a year makes!

Christmas with the Reynolds'

The Christmas holidays were lovely and quiet this year. Although we had everyone up to our house for Christmas dinner, we mostly stayed in doors just enjoying the company of our friends and family. Liam is still a little too young to understand all the fuss and bother. He's not in a rush to get to bed at night in order to wake up early to open presents. He's not in awe over the Christmas tree (just wants to take off all of the ornaments and put them in one of his boxes). He doesn't really get Santa, he's just happy to go sit with anyone. Here is is official Christmas photo with Santa- forgive the darkness as I had to scan it in.
We didn't go overboard with presents. Liam got tons of toys and clothes for his birthday- just 2 weeks before the holiday. We bought him a few bigger toys, a couple of small toys, smaller stocking stuffers and some more clothes (I'm still not sure when he'll get a chance to wear everything!) I also hit the sales after Christmas to pick up more bargains for him... more clothes! He really enjoyed ripping the wrapping paper off of the presents. We got him a Fisher Price Geotrax which he won't really be able to use until the summer or maybe even his next birthday. He has so many toys for 12-24 months, that I had to get him something a little different (plus I got it at a brilliant price).And I picked him up a cute little robe to wear around the house.

Looking like a little elf...

"Okay mom, let's eat some bananas!"You can kind of make out his new teeth in this one- 3 on the top!

I know this is a little mean, but I couldn't resist putting his long curly hair up in a little pony tail!

I went all out for dinner and made everything from scratch. Oliver helped with the turkey and made the roast potatoes, but it was all me for everything else. Stuffing, cranberry sauce, herb butter, wheaten bread and cheesecake for dessert. The cheesecake was a bit of a disaster, but edible- need to get a better recipe... suggestions are welcomed!