We are all doing really well; Ruby is putting on weight (over her birth weight already) and sleeping lots while Milo continues to be interested in her rather than jealous of her. He likes to give her cuddles, although Ruby is not so sure!
Got a quiet day to ourselves today after a week with parents....really enjoying that but not looking forward to having to reacquaint ourselves with the kitchen!
We all had a lovely Christmas. Milo has been spoiled rotten and can't decide which toy is best - the train set or the fold away fire engine.

Ruby is now settling in at home with the rest of the family. Milo is being an absolute star, wanting to cuddle and kiss her and give her drinks. He has also spent some time telling her the different types of bell noises there are and the rest of the time acting as if she has always been here. We are however assuming that this could all change at any given moment!
Ruby is a little jaundiced and therefore sleepy but other than that she is doing really well and is the most beautiful girl in the world.
Steve and I are a little jaded but are being looked after by Liz and Pete, so are at least able to concentrate on the kids for now.
And on that note I am going to retire.......leaving you with a couple more pics.

The new addition to the aulman family is...a girl! Ruby Aulman weighed in at a whopping 8lb 10ozs and was born at 6:43am today. Both Kate and Ruby are well and are enjoying a deserved rest.

Monday and Tuesday this week saw a visit from the lovely Christa and her gorgeous girl Morwenna. It was really good to catch up with an old friend and get to know her daughter. Milo was rather unsure of Morwenna at first, spending his time being very possessive of his toys and books on Monday evening. By Tuesday morning it was all rosy again and he reverted to his charming self, planting kisses on Morwenna before leaving for nursery.

I have now finished work and am enjoying a bit of time to myself while Milo is in nursery. The bump is (amazingly) still getting bigger and I have to say I am ready for it to be born! Am still waiting to see if the pineapple I ate earlier is going to have any effect......

We had a fab weekend catching up with friends from the Alton area. Wonderful hospitality from Suzanne and Toby (thank you) and great company from them and Dave and Emily. The kids had a ball racing around with Ella's toys and Milo spent a lot of his time seeking kisses from the girls - much success with Ciara but Ella remained elusive.... It was amazing to see the three children playing together; when we parents all met they were just bumps!

Milo has developed rather strong attachments to some of his toys. Among the preferred is this fire engine, which was honoured with a space in his bed recently.....Footballs however have always bee a firm favourite!

Steve, Milo and I had a visit from the Beardons the other weekend. It is fab to be pregnant at the same time as one of my very best friends, Sarah and I are really looking forward to having babies within 2 months of each other. In the meantime, we are enjoying sharing bump stories.....

A few pics of our Sunday afternoon......Milo is particulalry fond of his new shoes.

We had a lovely weekend with friends David, Sarah, Alfie and little dog Tia. Completely neglected to get out the camera, so the photos posted are taken with a phone - apologies for the quality!
Milo and Alfie road tested our new handy pocket sized accessory - a double buggy, bought to accommodate the bump once it decides to arrive. We took a trip into the village to see the local Guy Fawkes competition, missed it completely (in true Aulman style), so got on with the important business of buying wine to accompany the evening meal.
Milo and Alfie started off the weekend not really understanding each other but by the time Alfie left were happily reading bedtime stories and playing football together.
Now we have a beautiful Sunday afternoon to ourselves, Steve has purchased a new garden hoover to combat the increasing pile of oak tree leaves that threaten to smother our lawn....

Sunday 29: We took advantage of the fabulous weather and went down to Winkworth Arboretum, both to see the changing colour of the trees and have a picnic. Notable moments of the day for Milo were seeing the geese and eating cheese sandwiches.....while we took in the beautiful views of the trees (although I have to admit my highlight was climbing the hill back up to the toilets - what an exciting life I lead right now!). Notable annoying point for me was the lady in the loos who decided it was okay to pat my bump as she asked when I am due - why is it complete strangers think they can do that just because you are pregnant?!

Friday 27/Saturday28: Liz and Pete (Gran and Grandpa) came to stay, which gave us the chance to spend Pete's birthday with him. We had a lovely time just catching up, eating and playing both at home and in the park. Milo has a particualr soft spot for Grandpa and kept asking for him once they had gone. Great to see you both, thank you for coming over.

Our recent visit to Cornwall gave us the chance to catch up with Mum, Chris, Loz and Max (thanks for your hospitality!). We had a lovely time playing with the kids, visiting friends and spending time with family.
Max has turned into a little boy since we last saw him; he had his first birthday while we were down there. Milo spent most of his time trying to steal Max's birthday presents, the favourite being a brand new wooden trike. Poor Max must have been quite relieved when we left!
Hopefully it won't be too long before we see everyone again, although it is likely to be once we have a new addition......

This is so humiliating, do mum and dad really have to dress me up?

After seeing a couple of blog spots friends have set up to keep family & friends in touch, we thought we ought to do the same for our globally distributed family! We intend to keep this site updated with little milestones and bits and pieces relating to our family: Steve, Kate, Milo and the ever increasing bump. We hope you use and enjoy it.