As a parent, the first time your child does something is really exciting. Sometimes those things are big milestone type things such as: the first smile; the first rollover; the first word; the first step and so on, but sometimes they are much smaller things. Maybe the first trip somewhere or the first time they eat a particular food.

In the first year there are so many ‘firsts’ you loose track. You are taken on a whirlwind journey as a parent. You begin the year with a tiny helpless newborn that you are feeding through the night and the year ends with a toddler who can feed themselves, walk and talk!

Our two youngest children had cake for the first time on their first birthday, when they took part in a smash the cake shoot which looked a lot like this…

Of course, as exciting as all those ‘firsts’ in the first year are, it doesn’t stop there. As your children become bigger and stronger and more independent they try new things by themselves. it might be balancing without you holding them, it might be climbing higher than they did the week before, it might be jumping off something that a few weeks ago you were lifting them down from.

A trip to the park is a great way to observe some of these things and watch how your children are developing. It can be hard forcing yourself to take a step back, but when you do, you suddenly realise they can do so much more than you thought they could.

Sometimes you take a trip somewhere and suddenly think this is the first boat trip, plane journey, train ride etc. These are exciting ‘firsts’ for both parents and children, assuming parents don’t have a fear of any of those things, otherwise that can make it a bit more tricky. Here are the two younger boys on their first boat ride – a trip on the Mersey Ferry in awful weather, but it didn’t matter as they were dressed for it.

Holiday periods are great for ticking off a few firsts. We’ve had quite a few of these recently and what made them so special is that none of them were planned, they all just happened and we sort of realised afterwards. One of our little ones just started throwing himself into all sorts, like this, the first roller skate! The skates were too big but the helmet fitted just fine and off he went. So brave, so confident, so grown up.

This is the face of a little boy on his first donkey ride. Excited didn’t really cover it. He queued so patiently behind all the other children but wanted to ride this specific donkey. I thought he would sit on and suddenly want to get off, but no, off he went on his own without anyone holding him. How did my baby get this grown up this fast? Pass the pause button please someone!

Not content at just riding a donkey, he had to have his first pony ride in the same day as well. I think as a horsey person myself this was as big for me as it was for him. He’s been saying for ages “when I am big boy three I am going to ride a pony”, like he’s got his own toddler bucket list or something. Well, he’s managed to tick this one off before his third birthday now. I think he would have liked to just ride around and around on this little guy all day.

When little ones are developing their skills there are lots of firsts. We started our children on scooters before bikes to help develop balance but then the little boys have had balance bikes as they have got a bit bigger. Things like learning to ride a bike take time and practice and those are the ‘firsts’ that take longer to develop. Of course, there’s not just the first time they ride a bike, there’s also the first time they fall off a bike – a first of my own that I still remember!

With all these things it is so wonderful to take a step back and watch children figure things out. As parents, we naturally go to help, to teach, to show our children things, but sometimes they learn the most from figuring it out all on their own.

Petits Filous is celebrating ‘firsts’ with the introduction of ‘My First Petits Filous’, a low sugar, vanilla-flavour weaning fromage frais, designed to introduce children to fromage frais from 6 months. The main ingredient is milk and all ingredients are 100% naturally sourced, so parents can rest assured there are no artificial colours, flavours, sweeteners or added preservatives. Not only is My First Petits Filous delicious, it has calcium and protein to help children develop strong bones from an early age and the low sugar content reassures parents that their child will maintain a balanced diet during weaning.

Petitis Filous pots are ideal for children learning to feed themselves and be independent and these new low sugar pots are very welcome. These are great any time of day as a snack or dessert and you can even use them when cooking and baking with little ones, or even just mix them up with strawberries for a yummy dessert.

What firsts have you celebrated recently? We would love to know!

This post is an entry for BritMums #PetitisFilousFirsts Linky Challenge, sponsored by Petits Filous.