A message from Emma

Photo update

It has been a busy busy week. Emma had a cold last week, and this week she picked up a nasty cough from somewhere. I guess it is just the time of year, but I really wish I could take it all away from her and make it better! She has been very sweet about it though. She will sit and play for a while, cough a bit and get upset, but try to be brave because she wants to carry on playing. She is such a good girl!

My Dad visited from the Netherlands last week too. It was great to see him - I kind of miss living so close to him! Emma was, as always, pleased to see him and had lots of fun showing off her new skills - bashing toys together (alot!!) and standing up and making baby steps when I hold her hands. I will try to get a video of it at some point!

On the BLW front, things are continuing to go well. We have finally managed to fit breakfast into our daily schedule! I was trying to give porridge to Emma (because it is my favourite for breakfast) but she was having none of it. However, she does like oaty cheerios with a tiny bit of milk on them to make them more squishy!

I gave her cous cous for the first time the other day. I made it with tomatoes and courgettes in it. It was so funny! I have never seen such a mess! She ate loads of it by squashing it together, and shoving as much as possible in her mouth at once. When she was bored with eating, she decided to pick up big handfulls and blow it. The dining room looked like a cous cous bomb had gone off! I managed to get one photo during the meal. What you can't see is that she has hidden most of it under her bib!
















Another new lunchtime favourite is scrambled egg on muffins. It is perfect, because it is so quick to make, and I love it too!
















And here are a couple of other random photos. As most of you know, I don't use a buggy very often. I probably only use it once or twice a month because I prefer to carry Emma in a wrap. But the other day I had an appointment, and was running very late. It was a long uphill walk, so I thought it would be easier to take her in the buggy. I was very wrong. The pavement slopes to the right for about three quarters of a mile, so by the time I got there my arms were killing me!! And for the first time in 8 months, I had left the house without a sling! (I normally have one stashed in the bottom of the buggy). Emma was not overly impressed by the buggy or her big pink fluffy coat.
















And to round things off, this is just a photo of Emma looking cute! :-)

















OK - that is three blog entries in one day. I think I am off the hook now!

Catherine has a new toy too!

My new Pacifica wrap from Kati Wraps arrived this morning. I am so happy with it! Purple and turquoise make such a good combination! I know I know - it only seems like five minutes since Earthy Rainbow arrived. But this one is a different length, and better for back carries. (Unfortunately, Emma is feeling poorly again though, and is on back carry strike). And it is a different colour. Do you get the impression I am trying to justify this in some way??

All I need now is a green wrap, in an even shorter length (4.1m or 3.6m), with a fringe, and then I will have reached stash nirvana. Santa - are you listening?

Earthy Rainbow will always be my favourite though. The pictures from our visit to Cornwall really show me how lovely it is!

Right - that is enough of me going on about wraps for one day! Here are some pictures to show off the new one!

See how it matches Emma's eyes:

















Showing off both the wrap and Emma's lovely hat:

















And proof that Pacifica definately passes the snuggle and sleep test!

Emma has a new toy

I am sure that Emma is going to be musical!! Every time she hears the music from her singing turtle, she looks up and does a little bouncy dance. She even does it when she is just sitting on her own, and I play the video for her. So cute! :-)

Family resemblance

Am busy busy busy at the moment, so the blog is (once again!) not being updated as often as I would like. But I had a little thought this morning about family resemblances that I thought I would share.

Obviously, Emma looks quite like me. Our eyes are rather similar, and our cheeks too. She also looks very like Brett. With him it is the eyes too (I can't tell if they look like mine or his most of the time!) and definately the nose.

People often comment that my sister (Anna) and I look very alike. So therefore it follows that Emma should look like Anna. Well, here is a picture:

















Same cheeks, same eyes, same nose! I think that Em looks more like Anna than me!!

Forgotton Broccoli

I have said it before, and I will say it again. Broccoli is (in my humble opinion) one of the most vile foods known to mankind. And to make it even worse, it makes everything near it smell and taste like broccoli too. Don't even get me started on how it makes other veg cooked in the same pot taste. Trouble is, Emma loves it! Because of my broccoli loathing, I don't tend to cook it very often. I mean, why bother cooking something that you have absolutely no intention of eating? One of the best things about baby led weaning is that you can feed the baby whatever you are eating. :-)

So anyway... I was thinking today that Emma has not had much in the way of green veggies recently. I eat a lot of peas and beans, but they are too small for her and I worry about her choking. For dinner tonight I cooked chicken in a tomato and courgette sauce with pasta. I gave the same to Em, but also boiled up some of the dreaded broccoli for her.

I wish I liked it as much as she does! I don't know what it is about it that she loves so much, but I suspect it must be the colour. It certainly can't be the taste. But I get the feeling I am going to have to come to terms with this dislike, get over it, and cook it more often! Here she is trying to get two bits in at once!

Better now thanks!

Brett did a really nice roast dinner today. Emma was feeling much better, and tucked right in!

I mentioned earlier that Emma had gone for a nap on her own for the first time the other day. Well, my success was short lived. We are right back to nursing, rocking, coaxing and snuggling to sleep. Oh well! In some ways I like it. Having her fall asleep in my arms is always lovely. But it would be nice if she could manage it on her own too, so I need to keep on trying!

Colds

Things have been a bit quiet around here recently, because Emma and I have been suffering from colds. It has put Emma right off her food, and she has been so bunged up that she was struggling to breath. I am happy to say that she is getting better now though, so normal blogging service should be resumed very soon.


In the meantime, here is a cute picture of Emma in the new hat that my mum bought for her! :-)

Poor head

Emma bumped her head yesterday afternoon. She had a good old sob for a couple of minutes, then forgot all about it again. She was very clingy all afternoon though. When Brett came home from work, she really wanted a cuddle. I just had to post this picture, because it is so sweet.

What is the point?

Yesterday, I thought I would be a bit more creative with Emma's dinner. I had some "flash mash" (mashed potatoes with parmesan and spring onions) left over in the fridge. So, for lunch I added some tuna and some cooked mashed carrots. Then I formed them into tiny fish cakes, coated them in breadcrumbs, and fried them in a tiny bit of olive oil. They were absolutely lovely!
















However, Emma had other ideas, and turned them straight back into mash again. So all the faffing with forming nice cakes, coating in breadcrumbs and frying them was for nothing. I might as well have mixed it all together and dumped it on her tray! Oh well - should have known really shouldn't I! :-)