A picture is worth a thousand words - Canon EOS 200D Photo Challenge

A picture is worth a thousand words.
Never has a truer statement been made.
And it's a philosophy that I live by.
Yes I'm a words girl. I live for writing. But I also live for photos. Photos have the ability to bring back so many memories, create new opinions, endure feelings. Photos... they're my jam.

And I'm a Canon girl, through and through. Ever since my university days when I would hire out a DSLR from our media rooms to do my photojournalism course.

Although a fujifilm was actually my first ever DSLR camera of my own, it was a cheap buy from a friend, and my heart wanted a Canon. So I saved up and bought my 1100D.
It's lived a very good life, even surviving a four foot drop from a bookcase (thank you cat!) and has toughened up with a toddler too!

But now I'm upgrading, and I've been put to the challenge by Lifecake and Canon, to truly road test the brand new Canon EOS 200D* and show you how each photo is worth a thousand words.

All about that park life

Oh I do love a little park trip. 

We try to get outdoors as much as possible, and this can include simply going to our local park. 

Some of my best childhood memories are from playing outdoors and specifically the park. One that really stands out is Higginson Park in Marlow, Bucks, which is the town my Granddad lived, and we would visit the park every time we went to see him. It was pure happiness for a kid. And that's what I want for Henry as much as possible.  

Crafts with a baby - they rarely meet the expectations

I always imagined how life would be with a little one, especially when I was pregnant. 

Of course, like any expectant mother (or father) I focused on all the positives like cuddles, first steps, playing together and crafting together. 

Now the latter of these is what I want to focus on today. 

Honey and Bee's at the Farm

One of the things I've loved most about being a parent, and especially a parent of a one year old, is filling our weekends with trips and new experiences. 

I've had quite a few comments recently that we're quite a social family, and always seem to be off doing things, and I am seriously OK with that. Getting outdoors is one of my favourite things to do, and I really do think it's a big contributing factor to how Henry is so chilled, he isn't cooped up too much. He's given lots of space and fresh air, and lots of opportunities for learning. 

A couple of weekends ago we decided to head back to one of our new found favourite places, Manor Farm, (we went there for the first time for Henry's birthday) for their Honey and Bee weekend. 

Recipes for the whole family - The Flavour Led Weaning Cookbook

Our weaning journey has been a pretty great one.
I never realised how much fun meal times could be.Yes I love food and love to experiment with new foods and dishes, but nothing quite compares to seeing your little try and love new foods.

However, sometimes it can be really difficult to make a meal that suits everyone at the table and that can be made relatively quickly and easily.
That's where the Flavour Led Weaning book* comes in handy. It's a healthy guide to introducing your little one to different flavours and textures.

Once in a life time - it might not be enough

This is a post I honestly never thought I would write.

And it's been sat in my drafts for quite a while now.

So I'll jump straight in.
We turned down the opportunity of a life time. A once in life time kind of thing, that we are unlikely even to get close to again. And I'm going to share it with you (be warned, this is going to be a long'un!).

A swimming update - six months in

It would be fair to say that the favourite part of our weekly routine is our Tuesday morning swim class.
I first wrote about our swim classes back in the early days, when Henry was around seven months old.
Now we've been attending class for six months,I wanted to give you a little update on our progress, why it's so important, and our must-have products and tips to make classes easier.

A caution - this post contains lots of super cuteness involving this gorgeous lion poncho* - which I will be talking about a lot towards the end of this post!

Is your home ready for a little walker?

The last couple of weeks have seen our little crawler start to take his first steps.
Everyday he is getting braver and letting go of furniture more and more, and taking more steps with every try.

It's an unbelievably exciting time but also a really nerve-racking time too.

With new movements and development, comes more exploring, and of course, the realisation that maybe our house isn't completely child-proof! You only need to sit on the floor and get down to their level to see your living room/kitchen/staircase how your little one sees it, and all the opportunities for exploration your home provides.

As with any exploration, you need to be prepared, and as safe as possible.

If you're little one is anything like ours you'll probably have been baby proofing for a while now, but we're now stepping up our game a little more with our very nearly walker, with a little help from Fred*. 

Lavender Fields

I'm not sure much can beat a sea of purple in the middle of a field!

It's the season for the flowers, and in particular, lavender. If you've been about on Instagram you've probably seen the influx of lavender field photos, and I'm here to say I love them, and let the purple sweet scented spam continue for ever! (can you tell I'm not entirely over the blossom spam of March?!)

So on Sunday we headed out to our local Lavender Fields, and to be honest I have ZERO regrets. Not only to Henry nap the entire way there (about an hour), he was good as gold too, plus I got a shed load of beautiful new photos that I'm obsessed with!

Summer Breakfast Juicing

After the roasting us Brits got a couple of weeks back, I got really in the mood for Summer, and Summer means lots of refreshing fruit.
I actually think I go through my healthiest phases during the Summer. I eat less, drink more water, eat more fruit and salad, and get outside more.

However with being a parent, I don't have as much time as I used to for prepping food and making fancy dishes.

One of the best ways I find to get lots of fruit in, plus help stay cool and refreshed is with smoothies and juices. Especially homemade ones where you know they aren't packed with extra sugars. Plus this is something you can share with kids too either as a drink, or frozen into ice lollies or fruitsicles and they have no idea you've packed them full of vitamins.