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.