Little Chatterbox

As Murray turned 16 months yesterday (how on earth did that happen?) I thought it might be nice to document some of Murray's first words. He has been saying cup (he's not great with the p, but it is definitely there) for all drinks and baw (ball) for all balls, spheres (including concrete ones that are cemented into the ground , but he wants to take them with him anyway!) and balloons for quite a wee while now.

A relatively new word we have is mamama. It is so lovely as he points at me and says mamama. On nights I'm at work, Al says he now says mamama at bath time which is both lovely and sad.

The newest additions are ca (car) when we get back to our car and oof oof for dog. Also I'm pretty sure he is saying dor (door) when he pushes the kitchen door open.

He's very cute. He can point out  a duck, dog, horse and of course a ball in a book. In fact he is really quite obsessed with balls. He's starting to follow instructions too which is fun and exciting to watch!

What a clever little chatterbox!

Helen's Wedding + Family Holiday

On Friday we drove up to Dulnain Bridge a few miles North of Aviemore. Murray of course woke up early in Friday so instead of being able to get the car packed and then put him in the car for nap time, he was a total limpet as he was tired so we had to put him for an early nap and head after he had lunch when he woke. This meant we had 30 minutes of peaceful journey before he started wrestling his seat to get out. We lasted another 30 minutes of us singing nursery rhymes before we stopped at the house of Bruar for him to have a run around and snack. He was a bit better the second half of the journey, but we did find ourselves back singing silly tunes for the last 15mins. The venue was lovely and my sister ad booked us a lovely big room with a sitting area in it so we had room for Murray to run around. The best thing was that the monitor worked perfectly so we didn't need a babysitter on either of the nights. I'm very glad I only had 1 glass of wine though as we woke Murray going into our room at night (midnight) and he refused to go to sleep until after 4am! He was like a ruddy meercat popping his head over the travel cot. I even took him into our bed which I never do, but although he did lie relatively still, if you discount him sticking his fingers up my nose, he just wouldn't sleep. Thankfully once he fell asleep he slept until 8am so we got a few hours at least. In the morning folk had a game of rounders while I had a nap and Al drove Murray around to get him to nap, but to no avail! At least he rested! Then after lunch it was a crazy dash to get ready. My sister looked beautiful and the ceremony was really lovely. The minister was really friendly, but still had a nice sense of occassion. Poor Murray was a bit confused as to why he couldn't come to me at first! It was quite funny during the ceremony, as Murray was getting a bit restless and I knew Al had forgotten to give him snack so mid prayer I was trying to mouth, 'snack' to Al without causing to much disruption!

A Nicholl family shot in our glad rags!

The bride and groom to the left and us. I hadn't realise they were behind us while we were trying to get a family shot. If I had, I'd have got them to join us. I like this photo as if you look down at Helen's feet you can see her gorgeous red shoes peeking out.

My parents and the new Mr and Mrs White.

Dad was all pleased with himself in this photos as he had managed to sneek up on the step so he didn't look so short next to my sister in her KILLER heels. No joke, they were about 6 inches high!

After the ceremony we had champagne and canapes in the bar. I think I just about managed to get a glass in between chasing after Murray! Dinner was at 7pm so we were able to do Murray's bath and bed time as usual and he was out like a light. The meal was lovely. We all sat at 1 big table and it was a really great evening. All the speeches were funny too. After the meal Helen and Ian cut their cake which was made by one of their friend's daughters who is 13. Ailsa did a great job and even did little figures of Helen and Ian skiing on the cake.

I managed to stay up until my sister and Ian went to bed and then we headed off hoping for a good night's sleep, but not before I managed to get a really nice photo of my sis and I. Love you Hel!

It was not to be - again we didn't get to sleep until after 4am. What a killer! Nevermind. Despite the lack of sleep, he really was a good boy, but you could see he was absolutely shattered and a little overwhelmed by all the company and excitement. After another yummy breakfast, the new Mr and Mrs White waved us all off, before they headed on honeymoon themselves.

We had a few mile drive down the road to get to our cabins, but we couldn't get in until 2pm so we got some lunch at the 'Skiing Do' which I hadn't been in for ages - so retro! We then drove around so Murray could nap before checking into our chalet which was lovely. After the previous 2 nights we had decided Murray would be going in the bedroom while we slept on the matress in the livingroom. This worked out far better as Murray slept through until 7am every night! I think on Sunday night i was in bed by 8 and Al by 9pm!

Murray getting settled into the chalet

Mumy and Murray both pooped from lack of sleep - note the mattress propped behind the sofa so we can sleep in the living room and actually have enough energy to enjoy the holiday!

We had a lovely holiday, filled with walks in the Rothiemurchus area which is ideal for small children as it is flat area with the mountains in the background. The views were stunning as it had been snowing on the tops and they were glistening white. I really love this area.

We bought Murray and all in 1 rain suit and oh my gosh, he just looks adorable in it. He was really toasty in general, but poor wee thing, his hands did get really cold out on 1 walk and it brought back memeories of painful hands as a kid. Of course it didn't help that he thought it would be fun to put his hands, gloves and all, straight into a really cold puddle!

Feeling all pleased  with himself as he has just had great fun in the afore mentioned puddle... and then the cold set in....

I love this photo as it reminds me of one my favourite moments all holiday, or perhaps ever. Just after this Murray wander around to my back, pulled my hood over my head, then came back around the front, gently kissed me on the lips and gave me the best cuddle ever! What a lucky mummy I am.

Wedding Bells.

It has been a busy few weeks. Amongst other things my sister is getting married (with about a 6 week engagement) so as her bridesmaid we've had to (oh the hardship) go on a shopping trip (2 weekends ago) to get my dress, shoes etc and organise her a hen party which was this weekend. I booked us hens on a cocktail making lesson which was great fun and then we had a lovely meal and couple of drinks - well i had a couple as that truly does seem to be my limit. No kidding my last 2 drinks I ordered were a coke and a decaf coffee! OMG - I've aged about 30 years! My sister had a good time so that's all that matters. The wedding is this weekend and I can't wait. Al has taken Friday off, so we travel up then and then the wedding is at 4pm on the Saturday. It's a really intimate wedding - 18 adults including the bride and groom, and 8 kids including wee Murray. We have also booked a wee holiday in the area after the wedding. I'm really looking forward to our wee break. We didn't take a holiday in summer as it was too expensive, but actually I think Murray is at a better age to go away with now as he just loves to walk and walk.

Despite not being able to bike, row, recline bike or do anything generally involving sitting to prevent ruining my coccyx manipulation I've done pretty well in terms of exercise and basically aimed to do 4 workouts per week, mainly based around swimming, but as I felt more normal, the x-trainer again. i've been really enjoying my swimming actually and have been averaging 130 ish lengths in an hour (20m x 130 = 2600m) I'm sitting alot more comfortably now so am hoping that I may be allowed back on the bike soon. We'll see what the physio says soon. I can't believe I put up with that pain for 15 months. I can feel my coccyx now where before there was just an empty space! As of last week driving for an hour was still a bit tender, but I can tell everything is settling down. Hopefully the drive North won't be too bad. Time will tell if it helps the rest of my pelvis realign. Patience is a virtue Karen!

Photo and Video Catch Up

Murray is walking BIG time and like his crawling, is developing a serious pace. He is Duracell bunny. He never stops. See below how the idea of sitting in a hammock is his idea of hell and is desperately trying to escape.  It is very difficult to tire him out. He simply has to walk everywhere which at times is v impractical, but the boy won't be argued with! 

I attacked Murray's hair with the scissors, so this is his first haircut.

 Al picked up Murray from nursery the other night to find him dressed in these rather fetching pink leggins! Apparently at snack time when the staff were clearing up all the unwanted fruit Murray took a run for it and shoved a whole handful in his mouth and ran off. He consequently choked on his uber mouthful and sicked up a little! Ah Murray!

And finally a wee video of the wee dude with his new toy. He went round and round and round!

Coming to a Tricky Decision.

Today I came to a decision. I won't be doing my bike race next weekend.

After my last long bike ride I was in a lot of pain again. The downward pressure on my pelvis for that long on the bike was obviously a step too far. I was in really bad pain for a week after and so skipped my long bike last weekend in an attempt to help it ease. In addition I was so tired I keep going a bit dizzy when I stood up, so figured if I rested I'd knock any bugs on their head before they amounted to anything. Unfortunately, despite waking up on Monday feeling less fatigued, while at the gym, my tummy started cramping and well, without going into too much detail, Murray had given me his bug. I managed to stagger through the week despite a bloated tummy that made me look about 5 months preggers and too many trips back and forth to the loo to count. My tummy is gradually settling down although it's still a bit dodgy. I could handle the tummy bug though as I know it would eventually pass and if it was just that I would probably muscle on, but I had physio on Friday and the treatment she does leaves me really quite sore after on a normal day, but, as I was still sore from the previous ride nearly 2 weeks prior, it was jump off the bed pain. So as I am still sore today I have made the decision that it would be ridiculous to do the bike ride next weekend, especially as I have my coccxy manipulation 2 days after the bike ride.

I'm pretty gutted as I was looking forward to both the ride and a wee family trip away, but I cannot afford to put my recovery back. It has taken 14 months to get this far and so I'll just have to be a little more patient. The race will be there another year when I'm not in pain and my health is tip top. For now Murray needs a mummy who is healthy and not in unbearable pain.

Longest Bike Ride + Bad Nights.

It has been another tough week. Murray took a relapse on Tuesday and has been up at 2, 4 or 5am pretty much every night screaming for milk. At least at 2 we got him settled again, but at all the 4 or 5 wake up times, he just cried and cried and cried, so after an hour or so of trying we just got up. I'm hoping this is the bug and not just a bad habit. His nappies are only just improving (scrap that - Al has just changed another explosion) and he's been so incredibly thirsty, so I think it is the bug. We'll soon see.

Despite all this going I have managed to maintain exercise and for that I'm feeling quite smug. Being booked in to the sportive helped with that as I can feel time ticking away. I had wanted to do more cycling/spinning over gym work, but with the bad nights it was just a case of doing whatever got you motivated to go.

Mon: 30 mins pilates; 3 mile hilly walk with buggy; 100 lengths swim.
Tue: Rest (Murray v ill again)
Wed: 45 mins gym + 20 mins pilates
Thurs: 45 mins gym
Fri: 60 min spin
Sat: Rest
Sun: 48 mile bike ride.

Today was my longest bike ride ever and boy did my butt and legs ever feel it. It was a lovely route, but with the lack of sleep this week, a bad time in my cycle and slightly squishy tyres (note to self - make sure they are like bullets next time) I'm not sure if I actually enjoyed it. OK, I enjoyed sections of it, but at about the half way point when I stopped off at a hotel to use a loo, I could have quite easily booked a bed for a few hours, lay down and gone to sleep! Anyway, now that it is done I guess I feel pleased with the achievement. Trying not to think too hard about next week's long ride and the actual event itself!

Next week I think I'd quite like to do 50+ (thinking 55) because the event itself is 65.5 and I think psychologically if I've only got 10 more miles to do it will help. Then the week before the event I'll do 25 - 30 I think. I'm questioning my sanity at this point after that ride. How on earth my butt is going to cope with that length of time in the saddle I have no idea. Why oh why did I think a 65.5 mile first sportive would be a good idea! Never mind the B+B is booked, so we're going and I'll just have to keep pedalling onwards. Just please start hoping for good or at least dry weather, oh and that Murray goes back to sleeping through or I'll fall asleep on the bike!

On recovery news, there has been some positivity. After much complaining about my coccyx pain, it turns out Murray's delivery has displaced my coccyx and it is sitting out and quite markedly off to the left. No wonder it has been sore. Apparently this only usually happens in skinny women - now there's a reason if I ever heard one to eat cake! Anyway all my perseverance in finding a physio who deals with this sort of thing has paid off and at the end of the month she is going to try and manipulate it back into place. If she can't do it that way she'll try under general anaesthetic so fingers crossed the first way will be successful. I'm excited that that source of pain will hopefully be gone or improved soon. I'm trying not to get too excited, but it will be good to not be in pain driving the car or even sitting in a car. Thankfully you lean forward on a bike and take the pressure off the coccyx or if I was in the pain I am in the car, the bike would be a no go too. They hope with the coccyx in line, that some of my pelvic pain will be reduced, but that they will tackle that after. We'll see. It's been a long road with lots of disappointment so like I said, I'm trying not to get too excited. It would be nice to have some pain removed as it can really get terribly tiring. Lots of positive vibes would be gratefully received.

I bought Murray a pair of crogs - mainly because I couldn't find his left shoe the other day (I found it eventually in the pots and pans cupboard - hmmmmmm, I think he's found a new game) but it turns out they're good for putting on over his baby-grow in the morning so he doesn't keep wiping out on our slippery tiled kitchen floor. He thought himself rather clever walking about in them.

I ran an Open day at my centre on Saturday to celebrate our 5th birthday when we received our 5 year certificate. Murray and Al came with me so we could spend time together once I was done. Murray really enjoyed walking around the central table and helping mummy work. The Kip McGrath balloons we had to hand out where an even bigger bonus.

What a Week!

What a week - and not in a good way. Murray caught a tummy bug and has not been very well at all. By 8am on Friday, I had cleared up 2 lots of sick and a nappy that could have been used by the army as a secret weapon to knock out any enemy attack! Most of this week was spent doing the following: pick Murray up as crying to be up; wee cuddle; put Murray down as trying to wriggle out of arms to try play; v short attempt to play; pick Murray up; put Murray down; feed Murray a watered down bottle of milk; put Murry down; try to wash bottle so ready for next feed while Murray sat on floor making very pathetic grizzling sounds (poor thing); pick Murray up.... you get the picture. He seems to be on the mend today and had some proper lunch for the first time in days so hopefully next week will be back to 'normal'.

As a result of the above I haven't managed anything since Tuesday, but quite honestly exercise has been the last thing on my mind. Murray has taken priority and it is as simple as that. Today I've spent the day cleaning (as no housework could be done during the week) and generally getting sorted for the week ahead so that I can get back to it next week. I actually think my body will have appreciated the recovery week as I've been pushing quite hard (for me at the mo') for a few weeks now.

Yesterday I finally signed up for a cyclosportive. I've been mulling it over for a while, but finally bit the bullet. It is in 4 weeks time so it has worked out quite well to have a rest week this week and hopefully I can build up again for the next 3 before tapering for a week. I HAVE to get 2 more long rides of 40+ in the next few weeks and will try and cycle / spin over gym as much as poss. I'm quite nervous as I'm not a good cyclist, but, you've got to start somewhere and it's nice to have a challenge. I just really hope it's dry on the day.