Tis the season to be jolly......

So Christmas is creeping ever closer and I am left wondering where on earth did this year go?

In many ways it has been my best year yet - of course we welcomed our second beautiful baby a year ago next week (surreal) and on top of that, I feel that I have exercised some demons and am truly a happier and more content person than I've ever been. I found with the birth of Georgia came a huge amount of stress and guilt over Olivia and the effect it had on her.

This time last year, nine months pregnant and fed up, I was riddled with self doubt and I couldn't imagine in a million years being able to cope with two kids and I also couldn't imagine ever loving another human being the way I love Olivia. To my relief both were unfounded concerns. I recently watched a documentary on tv about post natal depression and it really struck a cord. I suffered with pre and post natal depression when I had Olivia and although didn't suffer the same when I had Georgia, it would be safe to say that in the early weeks I was in a state of despair at times and just didn't believe I could do it. If only I could have looked into the future and seen what I have today, it would have been so much easier. But then having said that, you only truly appreciate the good when you've experienced the bad.

My two girls are such a joy to me. Watching them fall in love with each other this year has been truly amazing. I am so proud of Olivia and how well she coped and adapted to having a new baby blow her little world apart. I am so in awe of Georgia and how happy she is almost all the time, even though she has spent more time being unwell than being healthy this year. It really has been a roller coaster and I can definitely hand on heart say, I never want to do it again! But the biggest revelation to me is how much I love them both - so much and so equally.

I enter this festive season a very happy lady. We have a lovely new home which is more than I could ever have hoped for, a fantastic husband who is still my best friend (despite the two kids, neurotic wife, lack of sleep and almost no sex life that he's endured this year ha!) and of course my little beauties. I am so looking forward to seeing their little faces on Christmas day and enjoying our first proper family Christmas together as a family of four. So I guess it really is the season to be jolly!!!