A long time between takes...

Walking with Nain

Well it's been a an extended absence from me and much has happened in past 9 months. Where to start?! Firstly, my husband and I took Molly to Wales and the UK in November last year to meet her grandparents.  It was an adventure to say the least. My in-laws live in the magnificent region of North Wales on the island of Anglesey. It truly is magical countryside. Molly adored her Nain and Grandpa and was spoiled rotten.

Outside the Doctor Who Experience - Cardiff

We even got to spend a few days in Reading catching up with friends. On our way back to Anglesey we did a detour and took Molly to the Doctor Who Experience in Cardiff. She was swept away with excitement, as were Jon and I  hahaha! She shrieked in horror when a full sized Dalek came at us but once it was over she was quick to say she wanted to do it all over again.

Britain's Smallest House - Conwy

My hubby and I got a day to ourselves and went to the cinema to see Skyfall. We had lunch beforehand, at which point I told my husband that I thought I might be a little 'late', at which point he smiled and we rushed to the nearest store to get a pregnancy test. I did the test before we went into the movie and low and behold we were expecting baby number 2! Jon was overjoyed, he couldn't stop smiling and crying. He said to me, "I got Bond and a baby in one day!"...that's a true man hahaha! So we got to share our news with Jon's family first this time which was lovely and so exciting. We took Molly to see so many wonderful things, including Conwy Castle and Britain's Smallest House. One of our favourite places was my brother in-laws home in Conwy. He and his fiance have a farm with pigs as well as many other animals. But one piggy in particular was loved by all. He name was Polly and she was the piglet that snuck out so none of the other piglets saw and got let into the house. She would sit on the couch with us and the dog. Now as much as I loved Polly, my heart truly belonged to Tessa the Staffy. She was a delightful animal and Molly and I fought over who loved her more. It was a wonderful time and ended far too quickly.

Polly the pig and Sushi the cat

Goodbyes are never easy and saying goodbye to my husbands parents and family was a difficult task. With heavy hearts we said goodbye and boarded our planes....yes plural. So we had a 2 hour drive to Manchester first then a 30 min flight to Heathrow where we had a 4 hour layover and then we flew to Hong Kong and then on to Sydney. Now flying with a 2 year old is never going to be easy, but with our two year old it was one of the worst experiences of my life. My morning sickness kicked in a day before we left so I was in fine form. Molly actually did fairly well on the flight to London and then slept for most of the flight to Hong Kong, however she woke about 2 hours before we landed and was not in a good way. She just wanted to sit with me, however we were gearing up to land and she had to sit in her seat with a seat belt on. She screamed and screamed no matter how much we tried to calm her down. At one point a younger gentlemen sat behind us shouted "for God's sake, be quiet!", at which point my husband asked him if he wanted a smack in the face and also asked "do you have a 2 year old?" and the other guy responded with "No", to which Jonathan told him to shut up with a few other choice words. I was beside myself. Molly was distraught and crying, I was crying and my husband was in protective daddy/hubby mode. Needless to say the gentleman was moved on the continuing flight to Sydney. Many passengers told us that my husband had done the right thing by speaking up and that the other gentleman had been way out of line. This somewhat settled our nerves a little. Landing in Sydney was a huge relief.

Molly, Tealk and my bump

So 9 months later I am sat here writing this feeling like a walrus, however I have been lucky this time round and haven't gained nearly as much weight as I did with Molly. I am 36 weeks pregnant and Molly is going to have a little sister. My emotions are all over the place, and panic stations have been reached. Molly has become increasingly clingy with me, to the point where she won't even allow the cats to sit on my lap. She has also begun throwing Olympic gold worthy tantrums. Jonathan and I are both the youngest in our families so we don't really know how Molly must be feeling with the impending arrival of her baby sister. I worry that she will feel cast aside. I have been so consumed with her that she may feel left on the outer and that makes me so sad. We will do our best to make sure that Molly is as involved as much as possible. I know that we will love our girls with all our hearts, but it really is a terrifying thing embarking on the journey of having another child. More than anything, I want my girls to have a special bond. Having a sister has been one of the greatest and most rewarding gifts in my life. My big sister was always a hero in my eyes and still is. I rely on her for advice and for her shoulders should I need them to cry on. I still recall being at my aunt's funeral and Alisse and I standing by each other the whole time, just holding each others hands, knowing that she was there to hold me up when I needed her most. I want my girls to feel that love. I know that there will be arguments at times, but I want them to have each others backs. I want Molly to inspire her little sister to be just as great as she is.