Back again!

Well, darling Baby Kay, we have had a very busy Easter weekend, and this is the first chance I have had to post to your blog since last Thursday. I can't believe it has been nearly a week; the time just whizzes past and all of a sudden we are halfway through another month.

We have had a lovely extended weekend - Daddy was off work on Monday and Tuesday, and having the 3 of us together all day was just perfect. On Good Friday we just had a quiet day together, and dropped in some chocolate Easter bunnies to R&N next door. Saturday was bright and sunny in the morning, so while Daddy played golf you and I went over to Moygashel to meet Nanny and Grandad for lunch. They had great fun pushing you round the lovely Linen Green stores, and feeding you your strawberries and bananas at lunchtime. You even tried the lasagne with some success - I prefer that you have what we are having rather than carrying the little jars with me, because so many places are funny about heating up your own food if you ask them! You're wonderful about trying most food anyway so it isn't a problem!

On Sunday we went to church, and this week you managed the entire service without having to be slipped quietly (or more usually very noisily!) out the back door! You were just starting to get a bit pipped at the last, but a lot of loud singing in the last hymn covered it up! On Monday we had a quiet family day together again, just puttering around the house - we called over to the bowling green for the opening barbeque and to watch the little competition they were having. Daddy isn't planning to bowl this year, but I am hoping to get out for a few games on a Thursday if I can squeeze my way back onto the Mid-Ulster league team - will have to get some practice in though, I haven't thrown a bowl since I was 12 weeks pregnant with you!!

Today we headed up to Newry to the shops, which were busy and loud and packed with people up from the South keen to take advantage of the great exchange rate! We didn't last long, and came home having just got you a few little pairs of summery leggings for the (hopefully!) summery weather that should be coming down the line.

You are fast asleep now, and I am just going to make me and Daddy a cup of tea and enjoy the last of our weekend with Daddy before he goes back to work tomorrow. Sweet dreams my little princess x x

Waiting for lunch!

What do you mean 'upside down'???

Shouting, part II....

Well, darling girl, we still have lots of shouting today, but I think that under the cover of the singing at Jo Jingles this morning you managed to get most of it out of your system. You were pretty well contained until about 4.30pm and then were a little bit wired until bed-time - but you are bathed, fed and fast asleep as I type so all is quiet for the meantime.

I have had some really good advice from Jaime and Sara, and thanks to an inspired birthday present from Prairiegirl teaching you more signs is the way to go. I tried 'please' with you, and while you just looked at me and didn't give it a try yourself it seemed to surprise you enough to stop the shrieking! I suspect you thought I was trying to tickle you out of it!

And strangely, as we are starting to learn signs, and you are finding your voice, you also said your first clear 'non-baby' word! I think you said it by accident, and I am fairly certain you don't realise that it means what you think it means - but you can now say 'Duck' quite clearly, and have said it several times to prove the point. And, true to form my darling, you are also refusing point blank to perform on cue - so I am the only one who heard it, and I think that Daddy thinks I imagined it!! Oh well, there's always plenty of time tomorrow to practice for him getting home from work!! Love always, precious darling x

Smiling and shouting, lots of shouting....

Darling Baby Kay, today has been quite mixed here - you have had lots of smiling and laughing and toddling along behind your little block truck and walker (with Mummy holding you from behind!) There has also been lots of shouting. And I mean LOTS of shouting!

This is a recent development - you were doing it a little bit on and off over the weekend and I wasn't sure what it was all about. You make this high-pitched, shrieking noise and stiffen your arms, with your brows down and waggling your hands about with your fingers pointed - just as if you are having a meltdown about something someone has said or done. If you are pointing at something you want to play with and I don't guess right and bring you something else we get the shriek and the point. If you are on the floor and it is time to be standing up, we get the shriek. If you are finished with your lunch instead of just refusing your spoon which is your usual form, we get the shriek.

I am trying to breathe deeply and ignore the fact that the noise goes straight for the fillings in my back teeth. I am trying to tell myself that you are frustrated, and that once the babbling starts to form words, and once you are on your feet yourself that the shrieks will subside. Having said all that, those little roaring red cheeks today make me suspect that another tooth is on it's way! I am hoping that when you get up tomorrow morning you'll have forgotten how to make that noise!!

Sweet dreams little darling x

Palm Sunday

Darling Baby Kay, today we headed off to church together for Palm Sunday. You were pretty good for the first half hour, but we had to slip out during the prayers because you had decided that you'd rather go to Children's Church instead! You are by far the teeniest person there - all the rest are at least school age - but there are so few families with small babies that it doesn't warrant a creche - so we just joined in with the children who didn't seem to mind to much!

After church we went back to the farm with the rest of the family. You had great fun pulling Jack's tail (Auntie D's cat!) and instead of high-tailing it out of the house he just kept snaking back and forward through your legs for more. You were thrilled!

After your nap we headed out shopping - Debenhams had a 70% sale on some of their children's clothing, so we used it as a chance to pick up some wee things for you for the summer. Once again the highlight was being in the trolley, and posting pieces of paper through the bars at the front to see if we would pick them up for you! You have gone to bed tonight tired and happy and hopefully all set for the coming week!

So many people left comments about your little wooden teether that I decided to post a picture of you with it. You are having plenty of fun with it for sure - her name is Mary-Lou (according to the packaging!) and as well as a bit of chewing the beads at her hands and feet your favourite things are to suck the string that comes out of her head, or make her jump up and down like a marionnette and swing her around you head..... I am hoping that you don't hit yourself with it, but I think it is inevitable. She seems fairly robust and up for the challenge!

Looking forward to this, Holy Week, and all that it brings us, as I remember not only all it stands for, but also labouring away on Good Friday, and Saturday - before you were born on Easter Sunday. This will be a real week of thankfulness and appreciation.

Show and Tell Friday!

It seems like such a long time since I did Show-and-Tell Friday - a really wonderful feature that Kelli presents each week. So I decided that I would use our little shopping trip today to join in.


My show and tell are this little pair of beautiful pink shoes that I bought today for my darling Baby Kay - her very first pair of shoes. She has some wee soft slippers that she tootles about the house in, and a gorgeous little pair of soft leather slip-on ones for keeping her warm when we are out and about, but now that she is whizzing about in her walker, and start to tentatively wobble up and down a few steps along the edge of the sofa, it was time to get her the real deal.

The girl in the shop was very helpful, and even though Baby Kay was far more excited about the tissue paper coming out of the box she was very patient about being measured and having several different ones tried and tested. The shop even take a commemorative Polaroid picture for you and put it in a little card as a keepsake of getting your first shoes!! I have no idea how long Baby Kay will wear these - all my friends tell me that shoes are the most expensive things they seem to have to get for little ones, and to expect to have to replace them with alarming regularity - but these special ones will be going in her keepsake box for her once she outgrows them!

Who knows, I might have started a life-long love of shoe-shopping in my little girl already!

Happy Friday to everyone!!

Number 7 and counting...

Darling Baby Kay, well the dribbling for the last few days was not in vain. We have another tooth - a back one on the bottom that you can't seem to keep your fingers away from. And coincidentally you got another belated birthday present in the post - a wooden teether from our friends in New Zealand!

I have never seen a wooden teether before, and I have to admit I had my reservations about it, but the details on the box explained it was a Kiwi institution and totally safe. Just as well really, because you love it! And given that your preferred teething toy before it arrived was any one of your wooden blocks that you could get your hands on, perhaps it's fate that your new wooden teether was on it's way to us when you need it most!