Today my daughter turns 21 and I couldn't be more proud - Happy Birthday darling

My daughter was born during the afternoon of Wednesday 13th December 2000, having been due on 1st December!  I was taken into hospital on the Tuesday to be induced but as it turned out, I went into labour that night and she was safely delivered sometime after lunch, it was all a bit of a blur to be honest!  I remember I had a student midwife who was delighted to have completed her first natural delivery! 

My parents were at home looking after our son and my husband arrived at the hospital about 6 am to be met with me in a wheelchair heading urgently to the delivery suite. There had been high winds and a storm overnight and I wasn't keen for him to travel until it calmed down!  I had quite a relaxing evening on the maternity ward watching Peak Practice, having a bath and taking paracetamol for early labour pains!!!

As the birth went smoothly, we were allowed home the same day.  Emily now is a very petite young lady, but as she was overdue she was quite a chubby baby for the first 6 months!  But she was so easy going, so laid back, slept through the night at about two weeks and has never really given me any challenges at all!  I remember friends saying, you wait, she will get her own back during her teenage years, but she never did!

Emily age 20 at The Coach, our favourite lunch spot in Marlow!

My little girl has always been 'a ray of sunshine' she is beautiful both inside and out.  Her petite statue, belies a feisty determination, a confidence and wiseness beyond her years, she has the sunniest of dispositions but don't upset her or you will be met with disapproval!  We have never fallen out, not properly anyway, we can be grumpy with each other, then laugh about it ten minutes later!  She is truly my best friend and yes I know that we are not supposed to be besties with our children but for us it works.  She knows I am 'mum first' but I rarely need to pull rank!  I love how we can talk about anything.  I love how she includes me with her friends and all the news and gossip of what they are up to!

Emily is known for her tiny size and her amazing curly hair!  Fun fact, when she was younger it was always her dad who did her hair for her, he seemed to have the knack for taming her curls!

Below: a chubby baby, a cute toddler and then lots of curls and a sunny personality!

My sister and I were pregnant together and Emily's cousin, Imogen is 7 weeks older, they have remained the best of buddies!

When Emily was about 11 years old she told me she wanted to be 'a mummy like mummy' when she grew up.  As lovely as that was, and I am proud to have remained a full time, stay at home mum, I felt I needed to encourage a little more ambition!  And so she developed a love for children and an interest in child development and from about the age of 14 had decided she would go to Norland College to study for an Early Years Degree and become a Norland Nanny (the famous uniformed professional Nannies).  Not being naturally academic I know this has at times challenged her but she is now in her final year at Norland College in Bath and doing amazingly well!

From being incredibly homesick, to negotiating university life during Covid, to her London placements she has faced each milestone with her usual determination and quiet ability to just get on with it.  I have watched her mature and grow these last three years and she really is going to be a fabulous Nanny.  But she is also going to be an asset to anything she decides to do, the world is her oyster I guess and I am excited to see where she goes next and what she ends up doing.  One thing is for sure,  I won't be far away!

Love / hate brother / sister friendship! But when Alex thought he'd lost her on the ski lift, all. hell let loose and he made it his mission to find her!

Celebrations for Emily's 21st include a trip to Covent Garden to enjoy the snow, the decorations and the lights, pizza with me, her dad and her big brother and a wander down Oxford Street to look in the Selfridges windows and enjoy the Christmas lights.  She has organised a party for her friends and family - including her 84 year old Grandpa - who won't be left out despite his vulnerabilities for Covid!

Her and I celebrate our birthdays in the same week, her on the 13th. and me on the 15th so we tend to enjoy each others plans and it all blends together so our week will include lots of Prosecco, eating out, shopping and a trip to the cinema to see West Side Story!

Below: selfie fun, with dad, with grandma and grandpa and of course with me!

​We've made a lot of memories so far Emily, here's to many many more!  Special times like our weekend in Paris, our trip to Turkey with all the cousins, laughing at me running to see you on my first visit to Bath (secretly filming me), trying to move that chest of drawers and get it upstairs in the new student house, the highs and lows of our Sri Lanka trip, teaching you to be a patient blog photographer, finding shoes small enough, buying matching Veja trainers ,,,, I love that the first time you had too much to drink was with us at a family party, you were funny!. I am not so keen on your hangovers though!  I remember once losing you in Daniel's department store in Windsor, you were simply in the next aisle playing with the baby dolls - but I had several minutes of absolute panic!  You are an accomplished little skier, we loved our ski trips to Morzine, more to come we hope.  But caravan holidays, buckets and spades, paddling in wellies and BBQ's on the beach still win!

Below: our girls weekend in Paris, we had so many laughs, including why I decided to pose at St Pancras like I was desperate for a wee!

On holiday in France, and one of my favourite photos of my daughter!

As this is a personal post, I make no apologies for the heavy photo dump!  My blog is still my space to write about my life, thoughts and family!

Below: helping at a school in Sri Lanka, cuddling Katy our older Westie, getting her golden ticket to study at Norland College.

A night out in London with her best friends from university and me!

​Happy 21st Birthday Emily!  Let's go have fun and celebrate, whatever form that might take under the current circumstances!  I love you!

Mummy xx

Big brother, little sister! Lunch at Cliveden for Alex's 24th birthday.