The MADs and My Beautiful Twins

Recently my blog was shortlisted for a MAD (Mum and Dad) Blogging Award.  Two, actually – Goblin Child has been shortlisted in two categories, Best Baby Blog and Best Blog Photography.  It’s a huge honour to reach the final in just one category, particularly for a blog as young as mine, so to be shortlisted in two categories is nothing short of amazing.  I am  simply delighted to see my little blog doing so well, and more than a little astonished – if you voted for me, THANK YOU, from the bottom of my heart.  And please, if you haven’t yet, vote for Goblin Child in the final in the Baby and Photography categories.

The twins had gone to bed by the time that the MAD Awards finalists had been announced but this was a big deal so Kirsty and I woke them up.  We sat them down on the sofa and impressed upon them the importance of this news, that the voting public thought that they, Balthazar and Lysander, might be the best babies.  We told them that the next voting stage lasted three weeks and that any funny business – unpleasant nappies, excessive dribbling, screeching in the supermarket for no apparent reason – might affect the number of votes that they received.  They didn’t say much but they gazed at us with solemn eyes as they nibbled their fists, and we think that they understood.

Blogging is cathartic for me.  So much of parenthood is entirely out of your control.  I need to be able to document it, to express it, to have the memories to look back on later when I can barely remember how small my twins were or how light they felt in my arms.  And photography – that’s always been my escape.  Through my blog I’ve immersed myself in a community of like-minded parents, individuals who, like me, seek to document their children’s existence and experiences, to share their adventures.   People who have been unfailingly supportive toward me as I navigate motherhood.

Making the finals in the MADs has also brought new traffic to my blog, new readers, new potential comrades.  This post is for you.  This post is to introduce you to my reason for blogging, to my biggest reason for existing, to the moment that turned my life on its axis and sent it spinning counter-clockwise.

Meet my children.  My twins.

Balthazar and Lysander, born 16.01 and 16.03 on the 30th October.

Balthazar Octavian Percival.  Zaza.

Small and quick, agile and determined.  Incessant.  Unstoppable.  Misanthropic toward strangers.  Loves his mamas.  Ticklish.  Master of fish faces.  Afficionado of hummus and olives.  First to crawl.  Upside-down bat baby, prefers to be dangled  Favourite game: to be tossed in the air.

Lysander Edmund Odysseus.  Sasha.  Plumpkin.

Champion sitter; first baby to stay upright on his bum!  Loves to cuddle.  Generous with his smiles and laughter.  BAD case of Resting Bitch Face the rest of the time.  Flirts with everybody – including the television!  Major foodie.  Favorite game: Boo.

You can also see my ‘third child’, my firstborn, but given that this is mostly a parenting blog and these are parenting awards I shan’t introduce her here.  You can learn more about my girl on her page though!

Documenting their childhood is my passion.  One day I hope to be able to share this blog with them, for them to read my words, to know how much they were loved from the very, very start.

In the meantime, I love sharing them with you.

My Two Mums and Goblin Child have made it to the finals in the Mad Blog Awards!  We would love it if you would vote for us to win in the Best Baby (Goblin Child), Best Family Fun (My Two Mums) and Best Photography (Goblin Child) categories.