• Lose weight - Within the past year I have lost two stone and I'd really love to add another 3 to that list. I put on a lot of weight when I was pregnant and then Post Natal Depression added to it and made me comfort eat my way to pregnancy weight again. To drop those 2/3 dress sizes will make me not only more confident but I might actually be in family photos!
• Save money - I want to be thrifty. As of January 1st I'm only going to buy the essentials, try and use coupons and bonus points (boots cards etc) to pay for my luxuries. Max doesn't need any more toys or clothes and unless I lose the weight I don't need any more. With the ambition of saving for a deposit on a house I really need to curb my spending! The only exception is my replacement Macbook when I finally agree to do the payment plan at Scott's work. 
• Spend more time with Max - I find that we are all caught up in the whirlwind of work/uni/housework that I don't get to sit down and fully appreciate the time being a parent. I am pulling Max out of nursery half the week so me and him can do mum/son time together and go visit the farm, go to the park and do arts and crafts with him. 
• Travel - We are aiming to do a £9.50 sun holiday together, me and Scott are having a weekend in London and we want to go up to Scotland again. We want to take Max to as many places as possible 
• Be positive - I find it hard some days to be positive. I have a wonderful family, a job that I love and everything I could want but the sadness sometimes takes over. I want to be happy and I want Max to have a happy mum. 
• Simplify - I want to condense our possessions. We are moving to Portsmouth in October and we need to be able to move swiftly and easily. I also hate all the clutter I live in so I want to spend some time reducing what we have so we aren't overwhelmed with everything. 

2012 has been a difficult but rewarding year for me. Here are some highlights/things I'm thankful for.

•  Mama has a degree!!!I graduated University! I now have a degree in Commercial Photography. This was probably the worst, yet best thing to happen. I had such a horrible time in my final year of my degree. Lecturers are really hard to work with when they have no respect for you and think you should drop out and offload your child onto as many people as possible. The amount of times I ended up in tears because of the things I would be told by the lecturers. But I did it, I got the piece of paper that said I've passed and all the panic attacks they gave me were worth it to flaunt it in their faces that I could do it. 
• Family Holidays
  This summer we went to a festival for our summer holiday. We spent a lovely 4 days at Camp Bestival in the heart of Dorset and I LOVED it! It had a great range of things for kids which Max enjoyed (especially seeing the Gruffalo) and then a good mix of things for parents. I particularly enjoyed Breakfast with Henry Rollins. It would have been lovely to have had more friends there with us but it was nice to get away from the day to day runnings of our lives. (I even met Russell Kane!)
• Scotland
  This year we had the chance to go to Scotland and stay with one of my closest friends and her family. It was probably one of the best weeks of the year. We had such a blast and I wish that I lived closer so I could see her more. The kids get along like a house on fire and there is a definite bromance with the men! I adore Jess and her family and I can't wait to see them again, for the meanwhile I have to suffice with skype, texting and facetime!
• Gigs Galore
  Mcfly, Frank Turner and Alexisonfire were some of the few people I saw and loved again this year. Especially Alexis as it was their farewell tour. When I was younger going to gigs was something I did weekly and now its more something I do as a treat. it was all well worth it and I can't wait to star taking Max to gigs with me.
• Big boy bed!
  Max got his first ever proper bed this year. Something that scared me more than got me excited. Was he going to fall out (yes) was he going to run around his room and make a mess (yes) but he loves it and he sleeps better in it than what he did before. 
• Max turned 2
  Yup, my little baby that I swear is still only 6 months and starting to crawl is now 2 years old. Something that I never expected. Well I knew it was going to happen but they never tell you how fast the time goes. And it goes fast!
• Books, books and more books.
  Working in a bookshop has rekindled my love of reading. It's also made Max love to read books. Through this I was lucky enough to be offered a job to write for Zulily as a book reviewer for their blog! It was so exciting and to this day I still love writing about my favourite books. 
• Goodbyes and giggles
  My best friend moved away to Brighton this year to go to a drama school there. Whilst I'm super happy for her and she's having an amazing time I'm missing her so much. She loves Max and he loves her. I can't wait for her to be back for Christmas so we can spend some time together. 
• Family time
  Since I had Max my relationship with my brother has got a million times better. He loves his little nephew and we actually seem to have things to talk about. He's had a bit of a rocky time with a messy breakup and dropping out of college but he's well on his way to going to uni next year and finding a new love!
• That day I met Olly Murs (and others)
  At work we are lucky to have many authors and celebrities come in and do signings. This year we have had: Charley Boorman, Chris Ryan, Scott Mills (that guy off the radio) Darren Shan, Derek Landy, Stephen K Amos and Olly Murs! To say I was star struck over meeting Olly was an understatement. He and everyone else was lovely!
• Feeling welcome
  This time next year we will be living in Portsmouth with Scotts family. To say they have welcomed me into the family is an understatement. I love them as if they were my own family and I can't wait to spend a bit more time with them and then hopefully move somewhere not too far away. 
• My two favourites.
  Without these two I don't know what my life would be. They are my everythings. 

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love buying shoes for Max! The kids shoes always seem to be more cute and cooler than anything I would buy myself. And I doubt that I could pass off these amazing bright orange numbers as well as my little man can.

I've never actually bought Max a pair of shoes from Clarks (or any other high street kids shoe shop) In all honesty they are WAY overpriced, I've just got him measured there and bought the shoes elsewhere.

Vans seem to be a firm favourite in our home, me and Scott nearly always have a pair on so it was only natural that Max started his collection early!

I find that the kids shoes are so durable, well fitting and comfy (well Max has no complaints) that they are well worth the price tag. Most of the time you can find them in sales or cheaper than the normal first shoes for kids. I also feel that they are well supportive, the physiotherapist that Max went to once about his instep even commented that they were one of the best fitting and supportive shoes she had seen for kids.