It's that time again for ARTEFACT MOTHERHOOD - a project shared with other international female artists who are documenting our journeys as mothers and creating memories for our children through our photographs and words. Have a read through mine and then go check out the next amazing artist in our blog circle!

I am so impressed that you Forrest woke up at 6:30 this morning after falling asleep around 16:45 yesterday after our day out at black gang chine!!  Nixie you didn't wake up until closer to 8:00. It's so sweet how much you love where we are staying.  We are on day three of our 5 day mini holiday to isle of wight.  

After breakfast you guys couldn't resist having your big lollipops that you got yesterday.  After getting dressed and ready we went to the beach,  which is only a 5 min walk away!  The views from on top of the cliffs are so beautiful.  Daddy carried you, Forrest, but fell twice due to his converse being too slippery so instead I carried you.  Nixie you were so happy to be going here again after your evening swim last night. Forrest you had already been here too but you were asleep in the wrap having boob the whole time so missed out completely! 

As soon as we reached the bottom, you, Nixie, put on your swimsuit and ran into the ocean. The vision of you running free along the beach has been stamped into my memory,  it was such a beautiful sight!  Forrest you on the other hand were busy drawing in the sand. Nixie you wanted to go for a proper swim so daddy went with you while I stayed with Forrest.  I eventually managed to entice you, Forrest, to come with me to the sea and you were absolutely loving it.  Running in and out of the water giggling away,  you were making my heart sing!  We had a really fun game of playing chase and your little big smile is something I will never forget. Eventually we were all together again and we searched for sea glass,  played in the sand,  drew pictures and had more games of chase and you, Forrest, kept having impromptu dance sessions before heading back to our chalet for showers and lunch before heading back to black gang chine.  We did have other plans for today but you, Nixie, really wanted to go back and haven't been able to stop talking about it so we decided why not?!? 

Forrest, you fell asleep in the car on the way so when we got there and I woke you up you were super groggy but you were not as scared of the Dino's as you were yesterday. This time, Nixie, you were prepared and used my raincoat as a shield from the water spraying one,  the one that scared you, Forrest, so much it made you cry.  Your favourite thing about the Dino's were their tongues.  It's really been incredible to watch you be so brave and be able to do so many things alone this time rather than needing daddies hand.  You absolutely loved Dodo Valley and you couldn’t get enough of pressing the buttons to make them move and you also really loved pirate cove. You couldn’t get enough of climbing up and down the structure and going down the slide and you, Nixie, were so protective of him making sure none of the older kids would bump into him. 

Afterwards you, Nixie, got soaked playing on the pirate ship and the giggles were intense while you tried to dodge and spray the other kids that were there. Forrest you also got wet when you stood in their stream of action but didn't quite know how to react and just stood there but you enjoyed it at least! 

We went to snakes and ladders as you, Nixie, missed out on it yesterday due to weather but I hadn't realised that there was a height restriction and this made you so sad my little Forrest when you realised you couldn't join your sister. Then it was onwards to cowboy town where you were particularly drawn to the carriage and loved hanging out in it determined you had to take your shoes off. Then you both had fun playing in the sand pit and Nixie, you kept running off to go sit on one of the horse statues. I kept having moments where I realised how grown up you've become and how independent you are now. It's really crazy because it seems to just have happened so suddenly! Daddy went and bought you guys some caps to throw which ended up being a huge hit! 

We headed over to the rides just in time before they closed and first we all went on the spinning barrel ride and then you, Nixie, and daddy went on the water slide (you decided against going on the roller coaster even though you went on it twice with me yesterday, you thought it was too scary). You,  Forrest and I stayed behind and ended up going on the barrel ride 4 times,  you loved it, although I actually started feeling a bit queasy becoming too dizzy! We made it over to the water slide just in time to watch daddy and Nixie come down and they had such a great time.  Before we headed back to our chalet we had our obligatory ice cream and Forrest, you chose chocolate but once you saw Nixie's mermaid themed Cornetto you really wanted that instead and Nixie, you were so sweet trying to give Forrest bits of your ice cream on top of his.  You ended up taking turns tasting each other's cones. I just love watching your relationship, it’s so beautiful!

Once we got back to the chalet and relaxed for a little bit we headed back down to our beach. This time I really wanted to make it to the end where the white cliffs are. Daddy had to carry you, Forrest, on his shoulders otherwise we would have never made it since all you want to do is sit down in the sand and draw. Nixie, you were running free ahead of us having the best time. On our walk our search for sea glass continued and we kept finding so many good pieces, it turns out Yaverlland beach is perfect for finding sea glass. It is meant to be a really good place to find dinosaur fossils but we didn’t find any, although I think a lot of that has to do with not knowing what to look for! Next time we come here I’m going to organise a guided fossil walk. When we reached the white cliffs, you, Nixie and I went on an adventure exploring the rockpools. We found lots of sea anemones and were both amazined at all the sea plants present. It really looked like such a lush underwater paradise!! We were both in awe of our surroundings, everything was beautiful, the evening light just added to its perfection! 

Eventually you and I headed back to where daddy and Forret were, we found them having snacks on the picnic blanket. You, Forrest, and daddy had been busy doing a lot of drawing in the sand and running around in circles and playing in some of the rockpools, I guess you really loved splashing in it! Nixie, you had noticed this chalk formation in the cliff that you were convinced were a dinosaur rib cage and we had to go take a closer look, on our way we found some fools gold in one of the boulders and were determined to come back the next day with our chisel! You found a huge bit of chalk that you absolutely had to have, telling me you are a paleontologist and this was something you needed to break more to see if you could find any dinosaur bone. I was super impressed that you actually managed to carry it all the way back to the chalet.

It was getting pretty late and the tide was beginning to come in so we started our slow walk back all the while searching for sea glass. Nixie, you have really gotten into this new favourite activity of ours and kept finding really good pieces! I think this has been my most favourite thing about our holiday so far: us as a family just slowly walking along the beach searching for treasure.

Once back it was time for another quick shower and sandwiches before bedtime. Forrest you feel asleep straight away, didn’t even get a chance to read a story! This was a good thing though because it meant I was able to read to you, Nixie which I haven’t been able to do the last few nights and I’ve missed it! We put the two single beds together so that you, Forrest and I can all sleep together and daddy slept in the double bed in the other room. Once you fell asleep which didn’t take very long either, daddy carried you into where Forrest was and after hanging out with daddy for a little bit I joined the two of you.

Go next to the wonderful artist Leila Balin in our Artefact Motherhood Project to read her post in our blog circle.