Birthday Cards, Victoria Sponge and a Pickle Hipflask #LittleLoves

The weeks are flying by so quickly! It feels like it was Bank Holiday Monday just two minutes ago and now we can say we’re already pretty much half way through June. Almost. We’ve got some busy weeks ahead too as LPD will be working hard hog roasting most Saturdays, and there a few local events I’m excited about going to – like the Guide Dog Centre Open Day! Before then though, my Mum and I have a very special treat booked for Sunday: a spa day. I absolutely cannot wait, and you can bet your bottom dollar that it’ll feature in my next #LittleLoves post… but let’s save that for another time. Here’s what I’ve been loving the past fortnight:

Whilst I haven’t had much time to read for pleasure, I have spent a lot of the last week reading the kind words and well wishes on lots of birthday cards! I’ve been a bit overwhelmed actually with how many people have thought to send Pickle a card. He really is surrounded by the most wonderful of people.

It’s been so manic the last couple of weeks that I’ve not even had time to read many other blog posts – which is a real shame as I love being a bit nosy and reading what other families have been getting up to. Hopefully now that things are starting to calm down again, I’ll have some more free time in the evenings to catch up on what I’ve missed.

I’m really getting into watching parenting videos on YouTube at the moment, and my absolute favourite vlogger is Katie from Mummy Daddy Me. If you’ve not come across her work before, where on earth have you been?! She’s a ridiculously talented photographer and video maker, and her honesty and openness is really inspirational. She’s currently uploading a video to her YouTube channel every day in June so now is a perfect time to hop on over and get to know her a little bit if you haven’t already. Her recent Dubai videos have made me want to plan a trip there – how cool do the theme parks look?!

Not sure I could stand forty degree heat though… Maybe I’d be better visiting in the Winter season!

Sadly, I’ve been hearing a lot of coughing and crying in the last few days and Pickle has been a bit under the weather. He’s really not ill very often and on the very rare occasion that he is, it completely throws me. He’s never been one to cry very much, and I’m just not used to it. I know all parents must feel this way when their little ones are poorly, but I feel so helpless and useless – especially when he just doesn’t want a cuddle or to be held.

So rather than his coughs being the sound I’ve loved, the times that he has laughed have been all the more magical. On Wednesday night, he spent a good ten minutes absolutely giggling his little head off having a play with LPD. They were rolling around on the floor together, blowing raspberries on each other and Pickle even started doing this weird belly-flop wrestling type move on him! I honestly don’t think there’s any better sound.

I wouldn’t describe myself as someone who ‘loves’ baking because I don’t do it enough to warrant that claim – but when I do find the time, I quite enjoy whipping up a nice treat to eat. Even though it would have been so much easier (and probably cheaper!) to have bought Pickle a birthday cake from the supermarket, I really wanted to make one for him. I didn’t do anything fancy or novelty – I just prioritised making a cake that had lots of fruit on top as he can’t get enough of strawberries and blueberries.

Typically, I didn’t get around to baking until 10pm the night before his birthday, and then realised I didn’t have any baking powder. Fail. A quick phone call to my Dad, and I was driving round to my parents to borrow some from them! Phew – thank goodness for living so close. I didn’t even get chance to assemble and decorate the cake until our family guests had arrived to eat it! But I’m really pleased with how it turned out, and it seemed to go down quite well – even if it was quite difficult to cut and eat. I think Pickle quite enjoyed his first birthday cake too…!

Even though my body shape has probably changed the most dramatically over the past year meaning I have the best excuse to keep going clothes shopping, I’d much rather spend what little money I have on clothes for Pickle than myself… but I did treat myself to a new top specifically to wear for his birthday and I LOVE it. It was only a cheap little top from Primark but the style and colours are totally my bag.

This is also a great chance to further show off Pickle’s birthday outfit. Look at those braces?! I don’t think I’ve ever really dressed him in a shirt before, but I think I’ll be doing it more often now. This lovely outfit was sent to us by The Essential One, and if you’ve got a little one to dress and haven’t shopped there before – do yourself a favour and check them out (and if you haven’t seen it already, I’m currently running a competition until Sunday 18th June to win a children’s party outfit from them, along with some other party supplies!). I LOVE their stuff, especially the sleepsuits. And… an accidental twinning outfit with LPD! Ha ha ha…

Big shout-out to Pickle’s Auntie Sol for this next item… she spotted it online and told me about it as potential Father’s Day present for LPD and as soon as I saw it, I knew it was perfect! A PICKLE hipflask! It’s from the Ashby & Brant range by the British Belt Company and you can find it on Not on the High Street. They do lots of gorgeous hip flasks and other items that would make perfect gifts for all the special Dads and Grandads in your life.

I mean… it’s just amazing, isn’t it? We seem to be slowly collecting items that are Pickle related – including the most amazing glittery pickle Christmas tree bauble. If you happen to come across any Pickle items you’d think I’d like, please do let me know about them! I’m a sucker for anything novelty.