Happy 1st Birthday Eduardo!

Cuddles with mummy 

His birthday cake was banoffee pie, made by me :) 

The best big sister - genuinely excited for him to see his cake & presents!

Blowing out his candle

With his auntie Erika

Playing with the present we got him - they both loved it!

Devouring his birthday cake :)

Exactly one year ago this little boy stole my heart. Before giving birth to him I never could have imagined myself with a boy...I've always been a total girly girl and when we found out we were having Emilia I was so relieved and excited! I'd always wanted a girl to dress up in pink & bows, do girly things like play with makeup, take her shopping and get mother-daughter mani pedis. I grew up the oldest of three sisters so I honestly didn't know very much about boys. To tell the truth I had little to no interest in finding out either, as I'd always imagined them to be rowdy, messy, smelly creatures who only cared about cars, sports or playstation games. So when we found out Eduardo was a boy as much as I was happy to have one of each I was also scared and apprehensive about how on earth I was going to be a mum to a little man. 

I cannot tell you how wrong and ignorant I was about everything! Boys are JUST as much fun as girls...for one thing dressing them is amazing and opens up a whole new world of options! I never realised just how much fun picking boy clothes was - it is equally as fun as girls' stuff! Eduardo loves planes, trains and car noises, he likes getting messy and dirty, he wants to get into everything and it's actually the sweetest thing in the world to watch because it reminds me of his daddy whom I love to pieces. 

Another wonderful thing about having Eduardo is that he is so affectionate and a total mummy's boy. I have a strong bond with Emilia and she will come to me for comfort when she needs it or is feeling scared but she is also fiercely independent so you feel like you really need to work for her hugs! But Eduardo is a cuddle monster...no matter what I'm doing he will always lean in for a hug, a kiss or even start climbing my legs just to be close to me. It's so amazing to me because as a child I was more like Emilia so I feel like I "get" her whereas Eduardo took me by surprise. And I can safely say as a mummy I appreciate it very much :) 

This past year has been a big one especially with our move to the UK and settling into family life with two small children. I can honestly look back and say I'm proud of everything we did but I'm also a bit sad that it's over. First birthdays are always emotional for me (I was the same with Emilia) because it marks the end of breastfeeding which is a huge bond between mother & baby. But this time round was even more bittersweet as I'm pretty sure that this will be my last baby so a part of me doesn't want him to grow up and I'm clinging to every moment! 

Happy 1st Birthday, little man. We are so lucky to have you <3