With thanks to Alex and Alexa, who sent us these images for a feature on instagram (I couldn’t resist sharing them on the blog as well!).
It feels like it’s been a long Winter.
Perhaps it is because November and December were so mild. The nights drew in early, enveloping playtime like a blanket, but we treated it as an opportunity for cosy evenings indoors, indulging time on the laptop for the boys. We thought that we were lucky; that it was one of those seasons that seem to slip past unnoticed, a blessed relief. I hoped that it did not foreshadow an unremarkable summer. And then the snow came.
We are so excited to see little signs of Spring; to hear birdsong again, to see golden light through the trees and purple crocuses peering their tiny faces up through the grass. It feels so good to venture outside without jackets; to skip along the pavement without worrying that we might skid on the ice.
The world is thawing. So are we.
At the time of writing this, I am nine weeks pregnant. The baby is the size of an olive, and has lost its tail. I feel nauseated and somnolent; I feel slow, but in a good way. The warmth of the sun on the back of my neck makes me feel giddy; it makes me feel as though time is moving quickly, the seasons changing and bringing with it the growth of our newest little love.
The children have changed so much this Winter. Before the snow came, the boys were toddlers and the girls were babies – or at least, that was how it felt. And now we have nursery-going boys, who draw themselves up and tell us that they are ‘big’, and daughters who speak words – sentences, in Pocket’s case – and who enjoy complex relationships with their brothers. All four are a delight; they bring us laughter and joy.
I wanted to take an afternoon to document us as we are now; a family of six-and-a-dog on the cusp of Spring. I don’t ever want to forget how happy we are right now, how close to each other we feel. I wanted new images for the walls, new 6x4s for the fridge. At the same time, we had promised Alex and Alexa an instagram collaboration and they kindly sent us the clothes below in exchange for a post on instagram, so we took ourselves out on a little adventure to Well Hall Pleasaunce, home of Edith Nesbit, for an afternoon of sunlight and play.
I loved all of the photos so much, I couldn’t not share them on here as well.
