Living Arrows | Daddy and Iris

'You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth' Khalil Gibran.  

So these posts are supposed to reflect childhood and as always I want to be an honest blogger so the gushing post about fathers day that I wanted to write is actually a post about the "I don't want you Daddy" phase that Iris is currently going through. 

Living Arrows | Best Friends Forever.

'You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth' Khalil Gibran.  

Now the lockdown has been lifted a little we've found ourselves getting out and about a bit more. In the early days of the quarantine we didn't venture out at all and with the lovely weather we had throughout May we were more than happy just playing in our garden but as time has gone on we've missed our visiting routine. 

Living Arrows | Climbing Trees

'You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth' Khalil Gibran. 

 I haven't written anything on the blog for a long time and the thing I have genuinely missed the most is these Living Arrows posts. It's so nice to take some time out to look over the pictures from the week and choose one that reflects Iris enjoying her childhood, now more than ever. 

Living Arrows | Bright Sunshine-y Days...

'You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth' Khalil Gibran.

Thankfully the weather has drastically improved and we've been spending every spare second outside, playing and sorting out the garden borders. 

Living Arrows | Rain Does Not Stop Play

'You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth' Khalil Gibran.  

It's been 3 months since my last Living Arrows post and I can't quite believe the difference in Iris. She seems to have grown so much both physically and mentally. She's no longer a baby and is now a fully fledged toddler. She's learning to speak with such ease and clarity it really does amaze me. My favourite words this week have been dinosaur and mammoth. Like most people the weather has kept us indoors this last week so we've been doing a lot of indoor play and I've discovered some amazing play accounts on Instagram. 

Living Arrows | Freedom

'You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth' Khalil Gibran

When it comes to children I think freedom can be a confusing thing. Does too much freedom create unruly children? Does too little create timid children afraid to reach out? I don't have the answer but I know that throughout my childhood my mother managed to achieve a near perfect balance of freedom.

Living Arrows | Blood Isn't Always Thicker Than Water

'You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth' Khalil Gibran.

This is Iris with my mum and my mum's husband. He's been in our lives for about 7 years now. I was an adult when he entered my life and because of that I feel like I can't refer to him as 'my dad' but in all the ways a girl could need her dad this man has stepped up. He's been there for me through thick and thin. He's held my hand throughout a fair few mental health challenges, he's listened, he's talked and he's understood but most importantly he has embraced my daughter with a love that goes beyond the boundaries of 'mum's husband'. He's her Papa...he's our Papa and we'd be lost without him.

Living Arrows | Fun With Ben and Holly

Fun with Ben and Holly? An interesting title considering the look on Iris's face. She doesn't exactly look like she's having fun! This is one of my favourite ever pictures of my daughter purely because her grandparents had been telling me for weeks how much she enjoys 'the ride outside Iceland' and when I finally got round to seeing it myself this is what I was met with.

Living Arrows | There's A Toddler On The Loose!

'You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth' Khalil Gibran. 

Back to blogging and back to our favourite post, our weekly Living Arrows photograph. A link up sharing a snap shot of life as a child and what better celebration of childhood than a family party where you get to put on your best party dress, your fancy new shoes and you get to strut (and I mean strut!) your stuff on the dancefloor.

Living Arrows | Finger (and face, arms, body and toe) Painting!

'You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth' Khalil Gibran. 

In my mind this was going to be a lovely Pinterest worthy parenting moment. In reality the photo above shows Iris gagging from the paint she just ate. It's made a good photo but ultimately this wasn't the calm, methodical painting session I imagined, partly due to Iris being a little young and partly due to my completely unrealistic expectation!  

Living Arrows | All The Fun of The Fair

'You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth' Khalil Gibran. 

The fair's in town! When I was a teenager the fair was the place to be, we spent hours stood around the waltzer making eyes at boys. I have such fond (and rather cringey) memories of the fair and now I get to add a new set of memories as a parent!

Living Arrows | Welcome To The Fun Palace

 'You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth' Khalil Gibran.

This week's post is yet another one featuring our local library. I've always loved the library but since having Iris I've discovered so much more that it has to offer and i'm astounded that it's mainly free or amazingly affordable. These photos were taken at the annual Fun Palace that tours hundreds of places across the UK.

Living Arrows | We are all so tired.

'You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth' Khalil Gibran. 

This week's Living Arrows is sponsored by caffeine! I am not exaggerating when I say that these last few weeks have been hellish. Iris has always been a fantastic sleeper, even in the newborn days we would get 4 hours of uninterrupted sleep at a time so it's been quite a shock to the system for her to turn one and suddenly stop sleeping!

Living Arrows | Another Day...Another Dog Photo....

'You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth' Khalil Gibran. 

Puppy + Child + Wash Basket = Too Much Cute.

Living Arrows | My Big Boy Turns 8!

'You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth' Khalil Gibran. 

This weeks Living Arrows is a special one as it's dedicated to my other child (no, not Daddy!), this week is all about Ian. My big man is turning 8, not that he knows it! He is still very much a puppy at heart. He bounces around the house and greets all people with an enthusiastic jump, lick and fuss. He maybe looking a little grey around the edges but his personality hasn't aged since the day I brought him home.

Living Arrows | One Year Old

'You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth' Khalil Gibran. 

This week's Living Arrows is a thought provoking one. It was Iris's first birthday and I anticipated a glorious collection of photographs celebrating a glorious weekend of activities. We had a family day on her actual birthday, just me, Iris and Daddy. Then we had plans to go to the football match on the Saturday and then we were having a party with all our friends on the Sunday. In my mind it was going to be 'Insta-fabulous' but in reality the photos are largely just blurry smudges and nothing like the perfection I expected.

Living Arrows | Finding My Feet

'You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth' Khalil Gibran. 

So here we are. Stood up. Putting one foot in front of the other and getting scarily close to walking independently and i'm not ready. Where did my baby go?

Living Arrows | All Aboard

'You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth' Khalil Gibran. 

What a wonderful way to spend a summer's day! Iris is so lucky that her great grandparents own a boat. This week's picture was taken during Iris's first trip aboard the boat and she absolutely loved it!

Living Arrows | Safety Day at The Library

'You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth' Khalil Gibran. 

Last week as we headed to the library for our regular book choosing we noticed things were a little different. We'd clearly arrived in the chaos of an event being set up. We spoke to a lovely memebr of staff who informed us that the library was hosting a safety day where lots of local organisations would be helping raise awareness of safety issues such as the correct installation of car seats and highlighting the work of the emergency services. It sounded like a fun, educational event so we nipped to the nearby park for a play and a picnic then headed back when it was all set up.

Living Arrows | A Girl and Her Dog

Ian and Iris- The Terrible Twosome

'You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth' Khalil Gibran. 

This photo perfectly sums up our summer. No, not the pouring rain but the closeness of these two trouble makers. Wherever one of them is the other is never far behind. I spent months of my pregnancy crying and panicking that the dog wouldn't get along with the baby and I'd be forced to get rid of him. He was my first baby, my first experience of someone needing me completely, my first taste of responsibility and the first time i'd experienced that motherly love. The thought of having to give him away haunted me throughout my pregnancy, even though I knew he was a kind soul I worried that he'd be jealous, feel left out or just hate the new arrival but I was wrong. We've got the opposite problem, they love each other too much!