Esther and William’s First Author – Oliver Jeffers

When Esther and William were born I bought them each a book.  Because they are twins I wanted the books to be by the same author and so I chose Oliver Jeffers.  I wanted each baby to have a story chosen especially for them, that could mean something to them all of their lives. I also wanted them to have a story to share.  The three books that I chose are: The Way Back Home; Lost and Found and How to Catch a Star.

Lost and Found was William’s book.  It was first read to him on the day that he was born by his Daddy.  David and I sat by his incubator and shared this story with our newborn son, who weighed in at just 2lb 11ozs and could not open his eyes or breathe without assistance.  We read to our little boy lost hoping that he would find his way, that we would find a way to be together as a family.  Lost and Found is about a little boy who finds a penguin.  Penguins (along with giraffes!) are my favourite animals and I want to pass that on to my children, to share it with them.  The little boy thinks that the penguin wants to go home and the boy does all he can to help him find his way but then he realises that the penguin was not lost at all but was lonely, he didn’t want to go home, he wanted to find a friend.  It is a very touching story about friendship, told very simply with beautiful illustrations.  It explores loss and loneliness which seemed very apt for our William who was all alone in a plastic box when he should have been in our arms with his sister.  It tells how two people can find comfort in one another and help each other along the way.  it is a story of the journey of friendship, through words and pictures it shows the strength and determination of one little boy to help another. We dedicated this to our Mr Strong, our braveheart, our William.  This is a wonderful first story for a little boy.  For our little boy.

Our daughter’s first ever story How to Catch A Star.  I chose this for Esther because one meaning of her name is ‘Star’.  I read her this book for the very first time on the day she was born.  I sat beside her blue lit incubator and read it to my 2lb 4oz baby, who I had known just hours but already loved with all my heart.  This was the prefect choice of story for Esther.  It is about a boy who loves stars and tries everything that he can to find one.  This is a story with the message of never giving up, of doing all you can to achieve your dreams, of fighting for what you believe in, of striving for your goals, of being strong and reaching for the stars.  This was the perfect message for my tiny, fragile daughter fighting for her life in an incubator rather than celebrating the start of her life in my arms.  I read this story with broken voice and eyes full of tears.  My little star was going to need all the strength she would muster and all of our strength too.  This book is so beautifully illustrated I just know that it will be treasured for always for its message and devoured time and time again for its lovely language and exquisite illustrations.  Thank you Oliver Jeffers for helping us give our children such a lovely start to life and the world of literature.

The final book , I bought for the twins to share.  It is called The Way Back Home.  Inside the front cover I wrote:

Dear Esther and William

We can’t wait to show you the way home to our house, your house, your home.  We love you now and always.

Mummy and Daddy

This Oliver Jeffers book is about finding your way home.  This was all we wanted for our two babies, to find a way to bring them home.  This story is about a young boy who gets stuck on the moon with an alien and together they must find a way to get each other home.  It is a tale of friendship and what can be achieved when friends work together.  I hope that Esther and William will be life long friends as well as twin brother and sister and whenevr they fight or fall out I am going to remind them of this book, the first time we shared it and how far they have come.

Oliver Jeffers is a brilliant writer and illustrator of unique and exciting books for children that can be enjoyed by all the family over and over again.

Simple stories with complex messages and meanings, filled with heartfelt love and warmth.

Please, if you have not yet discovered these books and enjoyed them with your children, please do, I am certain that you will not be disappointed. 

Thank you Oliver Jeffers!  Keep writing please!

First Ever Flashback Friday

For the first ever Flashback Friday I am exploring Februarys past.

FEBRUARY 2011

This February has been all about my sister’s wedding.  My wee sis got married to her lovely man, Hugh.  They are now in the US on honeymoon before they return to Oz where they live.  Well done again, wee sis.  So, so proud x

FEBRUARY 2010

February 2010 featured another wedding.  On a beautiful winter day David and I went to our dear friends Rich and Lex’s wedding.  I was about 5 weeks pregnant in this picture and we were not sure yet if it would be twins or not!!

FEBRUARY 2009

February 2009 is when we moved into our house.  It has snowed a lot since we started living here.  It is a perfect house for snow and Christmas.  More about that next Friday as I plan to feature the house again in my Friday Flashback post.

FEBRUARY 2008

This was the month that my parents left for Spain but here I am with my Dad on his February birthday before they left.  It his birthday on Sunday actually, so …

Happy Birthday Dad!!

So there you have it, a little flash through my februarys past.  What will you choose to reminisce about?  What have others chosen to share?  Why not hop on over to Cafe Bebe and begin your own trip down memory lane.

Thank you for a fun Friday meme x x

Cheery Blogtastic Week!

WOW!  Has there really been another week? I feel like I have achieved nothing this week but I am sure that there must be some cheery bits somewhere?!?  Oh yes, yes, yes, yes!

1 – I am now the proud owner of a dishwasher and a washer / dryer!!

This decision to obtain a dishwasher and a tumble dryer is going to change the quality of my life by giving me just a few spare minutes a day to do something for me.  It will mean that I am not searching the house for places to hang washing on a rainy day and that my airing cupboard will not be full to bursting with damp baby gros!  A little luxury!  My first reason for cheer!

2 – William can roll from his front to his back and his back to his front! Tick follows tock follows tick follows tock!

William is on the move.  He can roll around the room now with great groaning effort.  He has realised that by throwing himself around in this way he can travel and get to places he wants to be.  It also means that he can amuse himself for longer periods of time, just rolling!  Esther, not wanting to be out done by her little brother, has started trying to roll today but she is not so successful.  At under 10lbs she is such a tiny little thing and seeing her try to propel herself across the floor with no power or purchase is heartbreaking.  But she will get there, I know she will, and in the meantime I take great delight in her being photogenic.

3 – I have taken some beautiful pictures of Esther this week that I am very proud of

David bought me a camera for Christmas and I am finally starting to get some good results with it.  I adore looking at people’s baby photographs and have been trying to take good shots of my own.  This week I finally feel like I am getting somewhere! 

4 – My blog has reached over 20, 000 hits and I feel like I have made my first blogging friend in TheBoyandMe (Hope that she does not mind me saying so!)

This week my blog reached over 20,000 views.  I know that is probably not a lot in comparison to others but I feel like it is a real achievement for me and it has filled me with blogging confidence and cheer.  This new found cheery confidence has led to me commenting more on other people’s blogs and trying to interact more on Twitter.  Through my endeavours I have found a blog that I love,  http://www.theboyandme.co.uk/, and have started chatting a bit to its author, who seems to be lovely.  Please try and read her blog if you haven’t already as it is brill!  It has played a major part in making me cheery this week!

To see what is making other people smile this week pop on over to Michelle’s blog and join the hop!

Have a great weekend one and all!

At My Most Beautiful – Mother and Daughter

“It’s beauty that captures your attention; personality which captures your heart.”

At my most beautiful
I count your eyelashes, secretly
With every one, whisper I love you
I let you sleep
I know you’re closed eye watching me,
Listening
I thought I saw a smile

http://www.lyrics007.com/R.E.M.%20Lyrics/At%20My%20Most%20Beautiful%20Lyrics.html