Show and Tell!

For my Show-and-Tell this Friday I am going to show this gorgeous Noah's Ark that Baby Kay was given by her God-parents before she was born. They knew I was working through a Noah's Ark cross-stitch for her nursery (which finally got finished just before Christmas, when she was 8 months old, instead of before she arrived!) You can see the cross-stitch here.

This Noah's Ark advent calendar was being sold in a gorgeous (and very expensive) gift shop in our town. I had seen it in there in their Christmas display a few times, but it never entered my head to even ask about it (I am conscious of the adage 'if you have to ask the price then you can't afford it!) nor had I mentioned it to anyone. Baby Kay's Godparents had gone out to do some shopping of their own while they were staying with us last year, and when they arrived back they told me that they had bought their God-daughter her first Christmas present. I was so stunned by their thoughtfulness and generosity - and their kindness for this little girl who wasn't even born yet. It has pride of place in Baby Kay's nursery, on a shelf by her cot at the moment.

It has 24 little doors for treats, or to hide all the little pairs of animals in for a child to bring out during Advent, and rotates on a central pivot so you can turn it around to reach the doors on the back. It is just beautiful to look at, sadly my photographic skills don't stretch to doing the lovely colours any credit. The details on it are just perfect - it is handpainted, and all the animals come in pairs (naturally!) The Noah even looks a little bit like the Noah in Baby Kay's cross-stitch!

And I love the rainbow with it's little doves. It is so bright and pretty and looks so sweet in her nursery.

At the moment Baby Kay is too small to play with it (and probably for a few Advents to come!) but she points at it when you are lifting her from her cot, and then has to be held up to look at it while she makes 'Hmmm... Hmmmm' noises at it! I tell myself that's her recognising Noah and saying 'That's him again!' I look forward to telling her all about the story when she is older, and filling her little Ark with surprises when she is old enough to understand the significance!

Thanks for looking!