A pretty perfect day

We had such a lovely day today that I just had to post! Brett was in London for work this morning, which meant he had to leave at the crack of dawn and he won't be home till very late tonight. Emma has been a bit difficult recently - she is teething a lot (does it ever end???) and signs of the terrible twos are kicking in. She has some days when all she wants to do all day is watch TV or breastfeed, and if I try to get her to do anything else she gets really narky. She had a really good night's sleep last night though.

We were up and about early, and at 8.30 we went out in the rain to the playground. OK, it wasn't raining when I left the house, but it started about 30 seconds later! Of course the place was deserted in that kind of weather (and at that crazy time in the morning!) so we had the run of the place. Emma loved it. She doesn't really like to go on anything, but just to run about. She started to look a bit cold after a while, so I popped her in the sling and we went on the swings together. She really loved it, and started to go for a little snooze.

At home, we played sticking stickers in her magazine, tearing up the magazine into little pieces, tidying up games, trying on silly hats, singing stupid songs, taking funny photos... it was just a very sweet silly day.






























We had no disagreements or tears at all! Well, apart from a tiny bit when this happened...



We had macaroni cheese for dinner, which is always a huge favourite, and then a huge portion of eton mess which was given to us by our lovely neighbour Marie. It was so messy, we had to use the big Christmas bib! Thank goodness she is using a spoon now! Emma was tired out this evening, and went to bed with no fuss at all.















So, no special occasions or anything like that... just a really nice day. We haven't had one that good in a while, so hopefully tomorrow will be just as good. :-)

What a princess!

We were at a christening last weekend. Em was in a shockingly bad mood for most of the day due to lack of sleep, but it didn't stop her looking like a little princess! My brother Sam bought this dress for Emma for her birthday back in February, and this is the first excuse she has had to wear it. Shame the pic is of her back, but it is better than nothing.

London Summer Sling Show

Wow it has been a while hasn't it. Life with a mobile toddler suddenly seems very busy! Emma has gone from cruising round the furniture being too scared to let go, to running about like a mad thing in just a few weeks! She did have her first nasty tumble the other day though, and is now sporting a rather unfetching graze on her nose. I am sure this will be the first of many. :-(

Emma had her first trip to London yesterday, to the Summer Sling Show. It was great - we drove to Shepherds Bush and took the tube from there, which she really loved. Her face lit up every time we got to a station! She was very well behaved.

The sling show was great - loads of stalls, and I met lots of people that I chat to on forums which was lovely. Here are a few photos...

Meeting Beatrice from Didymos. This was quite exciting! :-) I was gearing myself up to sell the wrap I am wearing here, but Beatrice was very sweet and seemed very happy to see Emma fast asleep all snuggled up in there. So now I think I have to keep it!















Trying on a Grisefanten mei tai in the park.

























Lunch in the park... lovely, although Emma did almost have her first taste of cigarette butts. I managed to get it off her just in time!















Trying a colibri mei tai in the park. These aren't made any more, which is such a shame because I think this is the most comfy mei tai I have ever tried on!

























Trying a Vatanai Pamir wrap. This is the last wrap on my wish list, and now that I have tried it on for real I reeeeeeeally want one! It might not look that fancy, but it is so beautifully hand woven, and it has the exact right amount of stretch and bounce to it. It was insanely comfortable, and Emma loved it too!






















Back at home again, Emma had her first taste of profiteroles! They were (as expected) a big hit!

Lake District

We have just got back from a wonderful holiday in the Lake District! We stayed for a week in a cottage in Glenridding, at the edge of Ullswater.

Here is a selection of photos for your viewing pleasure.

My uncle Bill came over for a day, as did my cousin Jen and her family. It was lovely to catch up with them. Bill brought a play tent for Emma, which she really loved and spent most of the holiday in! It became a bit of a hidey hole for toys, books, remote controls, etc. Bill was pretty dismayed when he found out we had come all the way to the lakes with no walking boots or waterproof coats. We rectified this very quickly though, and I ended up getting an enormous waterproof that went over both me and Emma! Lucky we did - it rained a lot during the week. It didn't stop us having fun though.

On one of the dry days, we took a walk suggested in a book we had borrowed up Glenridding Dodd and over Sheffield Pike. The book described it as "steep at first"... but that actually should have read "death defying!!!" It was sooooo steep on both the way up and down, and really hard work. It was totally worth it though - the view was wonderful. If the weather had been better we would have done a lot more walking because we really enjoyed it.

We also visited Ambleside, Windermere, Lakeside, and lots of other places. We managed to fit a lot into just a week! Emma really enjoyed herself and...

... she finally started to walk on her own!! I am so proud of her. My little baby suddenly seems so much more grown up. I guess this means I should buy her first pair of shoes now!

Dog!

Emma is normally a bit a chatter box, but just baby talk rather than real words. She does quite often say something that sounds like "book" when we look at picture books together, but it is more of an "ook" than "book"! And she always calls herself "baba" when she sees herself in the mirror.

But I turned the TV on just now, and there was a puppet dog singing a song. Emma went straight up to the TV, bounced up and down, and shouted "dog, dog dog" over and over! Now please don't tell me that was just coincidence!

Lots to do

Wow we have been busy lately! We went over to the Netherlands to visit my Dad for a few days which was brilliant. We managed to catch up with some friends (but of course not everyone - isn't that always the way!) and spent a lovely day at the beach.

Emma is really enjoying all the sunshine, and is growing like a weed. She still (still!!) isn't walking on her own, apart from the odd few steps here and there, but to be honest I like it like that. (Don't grow up too fast!!) She is into everything at the moment - the world is a big place and every nook and cranny needs to be investigated!

I have been really busy recently. Its funny - when I stopped working I was worried that I would find full time motherhood boring. But how wrong could I be! I feel so lucky to be able to do it this way, and to be honest I have never been busier! As well as looking after Emma, I am working on a few websites, and the garden is taking a load of my time up (in a good way!) I don't seem to have a lot of news to blog about at the moment. That doesn't mean that life is boring in the slightest - we just seem to have settled in a nice rhythm.

We had our June Oxford Sling Meet last week, which was really lovely. Photos are up on our website here!

And finally, here are a couple of photos I managed to get at lunch time today. Em always manages to get her bib off while I am not looking. Not such a great idea when she is eating tomatoes!!

Happy Birthday Mum

We have had a lovely family weekend. My Dad and brother came to see us on Friday, and it was the first time they have seen the new house. We went into Oxford for the afternoon, and had a wonderful time. On Saturday we went to stay with my Mum because it was her birthday this weekend. The whole family was there, and it was lots of fun to see everyone. Emma enjoyed being the inevitable centre of attention! My brother took some great pictures of us.

Naughty face:














Dancing in the garden:














Family portrait:














Looking at flowers:























Big blue eyes!

What is it about a hat?

We have been taking full advantage of our gorgeous garden and all the sunshine this week! I was in town with Emma a few days ago and realised I had not bought her a summer hat yet. So, I popped into one of the kiddies shops on the High Street and came out with a little pink number. What is it about children and hats that makes them so sweet! :-)

Emma is not completely comfortable being out in the garden yet. She doesn't really like to venture beyond the blanket, and if I show any sign of moving away she gets very upset. I guess these are her first little steps into the big wide world.

Speaking of steps... she did some all on her own a couple of days ago! She is getting more confident about standing without support, and is now sometimes able to take a few steps. She has a little walker that she wizzes around the house with, but she seems to really enjoy playing games where she stands and lets go of my hands at the moment.











































And here she is being very helpful, and unpacking the shopping and tucking into a courgette. We were running a bit late with dinner, so I guess she thought she would just help herself! :-)

Fabric Fairy

Yesterday, the postman came just as I was heading out of the door to the La Leche League meeting, so I took it all along with me. I thought there was nothing exciting - a couple of bills, and what looked like a sling donation for the Oxford sling library that I am helping to set up. So I just shoved it all in my handbag.

Anyway... when I opened what I thought was the sling, I was in for a heck of a surprise. It was in fact a yard of fabric that I have been after for ages. It is out of print and hard to get hold of, especially in this colour. With it was a little note saying it was a present from the fabric fairy!! I have my suspicions about who sent it to me, so if you are reading this thank you so so so much. It put a smile on my face all day to think that there are such lovely people out there!

Here it is, with its little note!

Small news

I have entered a competition to win a free Ergo baby carrier here:

Cross your fingers for me!

Wildlife park

We had a great day out at the Cotswold Wildlife park today. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, so we took full advantage of it. Emma really enjoyed herself, but her favourite part of the day was messing around in the park rather than looking at the animals! She is growing up so quickly now. She is getting more and more confident with standing, so I guess she will be walking on her own very soon. Mind you... I have been saying that for weeks!

Photo overload

OK... it has been a while, so here are a few great pics of Emma that Brett and I have taken over the last few weeks.

Forget April showers - we had April snow!

I was so pleased on Sunday morning when I opened the curtains to see everything covered in snow! It snowed on the day that Emma was born, but I haven't seen any since then. It was surprisingly warm outside, so it didn't last long. But I did get a chance to show it to Emma before it all thawed. She was not quite sure what to make of it!!

Breakfast chat

I mentioned a few times that Emma is very "talkative" at the moment. Here she is having just finished her breakfast the other day. She also does a bit of a little humming song that she does when she is tired or bored. Her hair looks a bit weird because she had wiped banana in it. Her bowl is also on the floor, as is her bib. She finishes off the conversation she is having with herself by sneakily throwing a bit more banana onto the floor. She has taken to doing this to get attention - usually when she wants a drink. I am trying to tackle it, but Emma is winning the battle at the moment!

All moved in!

Phew - we did it! The move is over. Four boxes are left to be unpacked - mostly books, but I have run out of shelves. (I wonder how they all fitted on there in the first place!)

I was sad to leave Godalming, and the beautiful house that we were in, but this new house is great for us. We have plenty of room, and a fantastic garden. Roll on summer! It is so much lighter than any other house I have lived in, which makes such a nice change. Emma seems to be settling in really well. She has been so good about the move - she hasn't had sleeping problems, and seems to think it is all brilliant. Its like we are on holiday, but we brought all her toys with us! (Before you ask, she is still not walking on her own! But she is chattering to anything that will listen! Everything is nana this and nana that at the moment!)

I am starting to find my way around Abingdon now. It is a small town - just the right size for me - and it is easy to get to Oxford on the bus if I want to do proper shopping. Tomorrow I am off to the Oxford slingmeet, and then hopefully will be going to an NCT group later in the week. Brett started his new job today, and that seemed to go well. :-)

Anyway, now that we are back to normal, I will start doing more frequent posts and photos again soon. :-)

I wonder if I am feeding her enough?

I heard lots of squeaks of joy coming from the kitchen just now, and found this:

Sometimes I wonder if I am feeding her enough! (She only just had lunch).

Off to the shops for more bread we go then.

Lovely mum!

I had such a nice day today. Brett was in London for the day, so my mum came over. We had planned to go out somewhere, but the weather was rubbish. My brother Sam (see upside down pics from a few days ago) and his girlfriend Sarah popped in for a bit. Emma thought that it was great to see so many people!!

On the BLW side of things (because it has been a while since I did an update about that) Emma had her first go at pesto today. She absolutely loved it! Another favourite these days is raisins in little boxes - the Sunmaid ones that everyone used to have in pack lunches. (Or was that just my family!!)

I finished yet another sewing project off yesterday. I chopped up a wrap, and turned it into a mei tai. I am so pleased with it - it is super supportive in a front carry, and really quick to put on for a back carry. And even better - here is my mum to model it for you! (I love this photo).

And here is a rubbish photo of Emma and I to show the reverse colours. I am really so pleased with this carrier. I feel like going and chopping up a load more wraps now!!

The postman's been!

We had a lovely post day today. Loads of nice post, and no bills! New sewing machine needles for me, a music thing for Brett, some info about our new house, a rental DVD, and a new wrap all the way from Norway!
I took some sweet photos of Emma while I was opening it...

hmmm - what could this be?































ooooo - another silk blend wrap for the collection? mmmm - soft and snuggly! (I am going to have to get some of these dyed at some point!) Yeah yeah - to the untrained eye they may all look the same, but trust me - one has flowers, one has babycarrying women, and one is a really fancy schmancy weave! :-)
















Sooooooo comfy! I am really happy with it!
















ETA - This cardi seems to be featuring rather prominently in Emma's wardrobe at the moment! I promise, I do wash it sometimes too! :-)

Upside down

Good news - we found ourselves a lovely house to move to in Abingdon. OK, so it is not quite as beautiful and unique as our Godalming house, but it has lots of space and a great garden. It is close enough to walk to the centre of town too. So now the packing commences... I am really not looking forward to this! (I can just see Emma unpacking the boxes as fast as I can pack them!!)

Emma is still not walking on her own, but is cruising around the furniture quite happily. She looks like she could walk on her own if she realised that it was a good idea, but she always seems to want to hold on. It will come in time. Her new favourite game is hanging upside down. She sits on my knees and flings herself backwards. It is a bit disconcerting if you are not expecting it (or when she starts doing it while she is in the sling... in a shop... full of people staring!!!) but she giggles insanely and seems to love the way the world looks the other way up. Here she is in action!
















And here she is having fun with my brother Sam. :-)

And so it begins again...

For those of you who don't know yet... we are moving house again. Brett has taken a job in Oxford, so we are frantically house hunting in order to move before he starts on 1st April. Blogging is taking a bit of a back seat at the moment for obvious reasons, but I will still try to post from time to time. Things will be back to normal soon after we move I hope!

xxx

Thanks, but I will do it myself

I have been really trying to encourage Emma to use a spoon at the moment. However, the only thing she will use it for is yogurt. I normally load the spoon with yogurt, and give the spoon to Emma. Then, she either picks the yogurt up off the spoon and licks her fingers, drops the spoon on the floor, splats it down on her tray, or just eats it. She is getting better every time though!

Another recent development is a new favourite game of putting stuff in boxes. I keep finding little toys inside her stacking cups, and she has a noah's ark with loads of animals to put in it that she got for her birthday which she adores.

So, I thought I would put these two skills together. I loaded the spoon with yogurt, and gave it to Emma. She ate the yogurt, and wanted to give the spoon back to me. But I told her to put it back in the pot, and she did! She can't reload the spoon yet, but it is a big step in the right direction.

Its funny how such little things make me so proud!

Another sewing show off

Brett got me a shiny new sewing machine for my birthday. I finished my first project today! It reverses to teal silk with a pink hood. It is super comfy, and I am really pleased with it.

Slingmeet

Here are a couple of pics from the last slingmeet, courtesy of Lorna! :-)
It was a lovely meet - great people, beautiful babies, and loads of slings to play with!

First up, I got to try on a beautiful Violet and White indio. It is a wrap I have loved the look of for such a long time, but it is so hard to get hold of. It was all the soft and lovely snuggliness that I thought it would be! Suits me doesn't it! Shame that I have missed the boat for Christmas, birthday and valentines day. Maybe mother's day?? (Brett - are you listening?)

Sorry for Emma having a finger up her nose! It seems to be her favourite thing to do at the moment!























And here is a stash pic from the table! :-) I should have counted them!