2013: My Year In Review

January

January was a pretty important month for me - it was the month that Sparkles & Stretchmarks was born!

I had previously run my blog as "Make Up, Movies & More"...a beauty and film review blog that I wasn't great at keeping up with.

But at 28 weeks pregnant, morning sickness had FINALLY stopped kicking my arse and I was feeling back to my normal self again - I needed a creative outlet and wanted to document what was left of my pregnancy, and so Sparkles & Stretchmarks was started!

I'm so glad I changed the theme of my blog as I haven't looked back since - I don't think I've ever enjoyed a hobby as much as this and I never would have imagined that less than a year later I'd have this amount of followers and hits and have made so many lovely new friends in the blogging world!

And to have had some of the opportunities I've had from a hobby I love so much has been truly a blessing!

February

February saw ups & downs....the major down being that I was rushed to hospital via ambulance when I collapsed on holiday with my family in Torquay. 

I was diagnosed with gallstones and was kept in hospital for a few days, which was rather horrible as I was 33 weeks pregnant and Jon was still at home in Liverpool so I was on my own....Luckily they decided it best not to operate due to the pregnancy.

The ups included more scans to measure the growth of the baby, meaning we got another little snapshot of Bean....see above! 

March

March was a very exciting time as my due date was April 4th but knowing I would be having a c-section meant the baby would be arriving at the end of the month!

We started March with a 4D scan courtesy of my Mum which was a great experience.

And of course....the 26th March was the highlight of my year life!

Tyne William Henry was born!!

April

April was a very exciting month! We spent it getting acquainted with our lovely little Tyne, as well as celebrating his first Easter when he was just 5 days old!

And at the end of April, we celebrated Tyne's christening day with our lovely family & friends....

May

May was a pretty quiet month spent just enjoying the summer days with our lovely baby boy, spending days out in various parks and taking endless photos!!

June

June was the first "holiday/event" we had as a family with the arrival of Fathers Day, when we enjoyed a nice family meal out together.

We did a lot of that in June actually...we certainly made the most of summer days out!

Unfortunately June also saw the passing of my lovely Nan. 

I will always regret that Tyne didn't get to meet her - she had been very unwell with Alzheimers disease for a very long time, it had been at least 4 years since she'd recognised me and I always found it really hard to see her that way - I ummed and ahhed for too long over whether or not to take Tyne to visit her in the nursing home (after experiencing some other residents being very handsy with my nieces when we went to see her I just wasn't sure about taking such a tiny baby in...), and she passed away :(

I so wish I'd just taken him to meet her once.

July

July was our last month living in Liverpool, so we made the most of enjoying life in the city while we could.

During July we decided on a house to rent in Devon and during the last week of the month, Jon headed there to get the place ready for Tyne & I to join him later...so we had a couple of weeks on our own living at Nanny & Gagands house.

August

August was the big moving month for us! The month that we all moved in to our new home in Devon...

It was a big adjustment but we settled in well pretty quickly.

We also had our first night away as a family of 3, spending the night in a caravan in Cornwall!

September

September was a big month for Tyne - he became a big cousin to my lovely little nephew Kier!

As much as we love Amelie & Lottie, I think it's nice for Tyne to have another little boy around and just 6 months younger than him too!

September is also my birthday month, and my first Mummy-Birthday was absolutely lovely!

October

October was a very fun month, we had lovely days out to places like Plymouth Aquarium.

We also went on our first proper family holiday in October - our night in Cornwall in August gave us the taste for it, and we had a 5 day break in Hendra Holiday Park in Newquay!

And of course, it was Tyne's first Hallowe'en! We went to Bygones victorian museum for a spooky day out, had fun at Soft play and of course did a little trick or treating!

November

November was of course busy with preparations for the upcoming holiday season, but it was also Tyne's first bonfire night!

We spent the night at Aunty Laura's enjoying a firework display and having fun with sparklers...all very exciting!

December

And finally, my favourite month of the year, December!

Of course this month has been filled with Christmas fun!

From Victorian evenings in town, to visiting Santa (twice!) and of course...the big day itself! 

Tyne's first Christmas has been so magical and one we will always have lovely memories of.

And so as the year draws to a close I'm filled with so many fond memories....2013 has truly been a life changing and amazing year for me, absolutely the best year of my life so far.

I am looking forward so much to 2014 and watching Tyne grow & learn everyday.

What's been the highlight of 2013 for you? If you've done a similar post, please link me to it!