The cold has come! It was so mild for so long! So as usual we're a bit underprepped. This year it’s not digging out my winter coat I’m worrying about, but making sure the Bear is warm when she goes on her regular toddler rampages. She doesn't seem to mind her little hands being cold, but of course it's all I can do stop myself taping some furry mittens to them. Time to bring out the snowsuit.

As every stressed parent knows, shops are a nightmare with a runaway Bear, so I resorted to Boden’s super soft grey snowsuit - with bear ears, naturally. She seems to like it, judging by her striding out here:

We are struggling with winter skin too. Mine seems easily solved by the fab MOA's Aphrodite facial oil, but the coconut oil I usually use on the Bear didn't work this time. I think she's been licking it off. We've managed to try about 17 new moisturisers, but those I think actually did some good were Burt’s Bees Calming Moisturising Lotion and Weleda’s White Mallow Face Cream. I only bought the Weleda as it was on special offer in the weekly shop, but thankfully a little of both goes a very long way, so they're pricey but good value.

I’m also getting into the winter spirit with food - I'm addicted to squashes at the moment. Handy for baby and for grown-ups. This week I made butternut squash gnocchi in a fresh cherry tomato sauce and the Bear is subsisting on butternut squash in a variety of guises.

I made it with spelt flour and gluten free flour, just for kicks, as I find it can be a bit heavy otherwise. It was a hit with the Co-Captain, who has the appetite of a horse; made me feel just a tad domesticated; and also as it was low-GI, no head-rush or heavy feeling afterwards. #winner! I adapted my version of the gnocchi from a few different sources, and I'll take you through it in my next post so you can enjoy too.