So the wrapping paper (that took over 10 hours of mum-time, 2 rolls of sellotape, and cost £20 just to be thrown across the floor) is in the recycling bin, the meat from the Christmas dinner has been consumed (we managed a total of 7 sandwiches with it), and the house is tidy again - yes, Christmas is over.

I’m not sure Dexter understood what was going on but he’s now surrounded by new toys playing quietly on his tummy. Naturally with a 7 month old - most of his toys were soft, but we did buy him some wooden ones to get to grips with in a few months time. He also got tons of clothes and some dvd’s all of his own (thanks to some competition wins). As suspected, he loved all the paper too! At one point I was horrified to discover that Craig was literally fishing bits of paper from his mouth.

As is so often the way with a large family - Christmas was chaotic. We spent the weekend before at (my) Dad’s which was really lovely. We stayed in a hotel due to Craig’s allergy to their cat which was pretty eventful to be honest (more on that later as it deserves a blog post all of its own) - Craig and Di got a little tipsy and it was great to relax and let the others make a fool of themselves for once. Dex coped with the travelling really well and was his usual smiley self - hopefully we can host next year so we can return the favour.

Christmas Day was spent with Craig’s mum and dad. The highlight has to be getting a whole 15 minutes of hysterical laughing out of Dexter. Craig’s mum had one of those singing Christmas toys that move and jiggle across the floor - Dexter seemed absolutely amazed that a toy could move on its own and couldn’t stop screaming - I’ve made a mental note to get one in the sale.

Boxing Day meant our turn to host and we had mum and my brother over. Craig surpassed himself with the food and everyone had a good time.

All in all it was a great first Christmas for Dexter and I can’t wait to do it all over again (hopefully with a little brother or sister for Dex if all goes to plan).