It's been quite a week

Another tooth, learning to clap, playing in the park, and the first visit to a swimming pool this year!


Too cute!

Princess has had her eighth tooth arrive this week. It is the second bottom left incisor - so now she is "balanced" again. Like the previous tooth there was very little drama, just a week or so of wanting to gnaw on things. It's just clearing the gum-line at the moment, so Milord can't see it without his glasses on yet!

I've been trying to get back into some semblance of a routine now that my beloved houseguests have gone home and Milord and I are over our colds (I caught a mild version of his ManFlu, but luckily Princess was fine). If it is a nice day I will go for a walk once Princess has had breakfast, then do some tummy exercises during her nap. I'm keeping a food diary and trying to keep under 20 Weightwatcher points a day Mon-Thurs, and we're also avoiding booze on those days.

Happily I only gained 1kg while Dad and StepMom were here, so that should be easy to get off again... and then to work on the other 4kg I've been trying to lose for a year!

Often my walks will involve stopping at a playground, as Princess now enjoys the swings and seesaws. There is even a small slide at one park where I can (while straddling the slide) sit her at the top, take her hands and help/pull her down the slippery bit! I think she enjoys it...



Yes, she is in her PJs. It's quite early in the morning!

During the week Princess and I traveled into the City for me to have a haircut. I left her with Milord at his office while I went for my cut, and she charmed everyone! My hairdresser got a bit carried away when I said I'd like my hair a little shorter than usual for summer, but it will look alright in a couple of weeks I hope...

Friday was a stunning day, so I gathered up towels and cozzies and took a walk to our nearest public pool - 45 min away (the nearer one is under reconstruction). First Princess and I played in the super-shallow baby pool, then I took her into the big pool for a little bit. I have taught her to close her eyes and hold her breath when I pour water over her head, and now we are working on her doing the same when "gliding" on her front... She seemed to enjoy herself, but then she got very cold. I felt like a terrible mummy as it took her ages to warm up, even dressed in several layers! I now have a blanket packed in the pool bag!

Yesterday was gorgeous weather again and Milord was keen on a pool visit too, so we headed back to the swimming pool - only to find it closed indefinitely for renovation! Seems it's been leaking badly... so now I have no nearby public pool until the end of November. Eeek. I've just bought a huge paddling pool off eBay!

Today is Sunday, and the weather is filthy. Blustery rain, and lots of it... our raintanks must be filling up nicely. Milord is playing xbox, Princess is having a nap and I am catching up on blogdom. My suburb is having a street festival today - oh dear! If it clears up we may take a walk up the road for a look - there are supposed to be bands, art displays, food stalls etc. I guess it won't be too crowded this year!

Hats!

I bought Princess a couple of new summer hats the other day, as her old ones are far too small. She's pretty good about wearing hats, luckily. I also got a headband that can be used to fancify her hats, or be worn on its own!

Princess Update

First words (by which I mean used in context without prompting):
"vah-vah" = water/thirsty (or anything in a bottle, including sunscreen!)
"ffff" = food ("Are you hungry, baby?" "Ffffff!")
"gook" = book

Princess obviously mimics all sorts of other words, but these are the ones I've definitely seen her use, unprompted, in relation to objects. She does the occasional "Dada!" on spotting Milord, especially first thing in the morning, but is still resisting anything remotely like "Mama"! StepMom was "Gah-gah" (Granny) and my Dad was "Bo" (Grandpa Bob)... but only when they weren't listening! The moment people gather round and try to get Princess to say their name she won't do it!

Princess is still not crawling or cruising, but she can inch-worm backwards (very frustrating for her!) and can roll around the room if she feels like it. She can now get from sitting to her tummy in a controlled manner, and stands very well with a bit of help with balance.

I was getting a little concerned at Princess' lack of mobility, so at her 12 month checkup we were referred to the baby physiotherapist. This is a lovely young lady who basically plays with Princess for an hour, getting her onto all fours, or to sit up from lying down, or to lie down from sitting. Then I go home and attempt the same - to a lot more complaint - for a couple of weeks before we go back again. The physio says she is happy with Princess' progress, which is a weight off my mind.

While Princess is still a sunny, placid baby, she is developing a temper when she can't have her way. She has also decided that pinching Mummy (ow!) is very funny. Luckily she's not biting for effect yet like some of the other babies in my Mother's Group! I'm keeping her fingernails extremely short and trying to ignore the surprisingly painful pinching on my exposed chest and arms, as the less I react the less she pinches.

Our newest communication is blowing kisses... I have got to try to catch it on video as it's the cutest thing! Also, peekaboo using her hands over her eyes when she doesn't have a cloth to hide behind.

What else? We are back to 2 short naps a day, Princess eats anything although I haven't tried her on egg for ages, and her second bottom right incisor has appeared.

Manflu Central

Milord has the lurgy - so far Princess and I seem immune. It is so nice that she doesn't catch every cold under creation any more!

Milord is not a bad patient as such - no whining - but golly he's a bear with a sore head when the meds wear off! (ah, that reminds me ...gets up to feed Milord more cold remedy...)

I have also been re-braining my computer, which wasn't as easy as it should have been. So I've lost a couple of days there!

There was a major storm system bearing down on Sydney since Thursday. A huge cold front up from Antarctica mixed with wet tropical air and swept across Australia, dumping heavy rain with high winds, and was due to hit here yesterday. I was quite looking forward to it as we have a newly renovated cosy little house. I stocked up on wine, snacks and pork roast, and watched the weather channel with interest.

...and... it missed us! Flooding and storms everywhere except Sydney - we had a cloudy balmy breezy day yesterday. I had to go out this morning and thoroughly water my flowerbeds as they were parched (I'd turned off the automatic irrigation in anticipation of lots of rain). It is a bit chilly outside though.

Milord has been parked in front of the telly all day... news, sport, xbox, yawn. Princess plays on the mat at his feet, squawking for attention when her container-of-items-to-fling-around-the-room is empty, or she can't reach something. In general she's the easiest kid to entertain though!

Right, computer is back online. Where's the post about the first words got to...?

Dad and StepMom are gone...

Wah!

I dropped Dad and StepMom at the airport this morning and drove home with a lump in my throat and I'm a bit blue now - not quite the blubbering mess I was after Mom's last visit, but still sad. They seemed to enjoy Australia and are head-over-heels in love with Princess, so they'll be back!

As well as sightseeing the highlights of their visit include: a new tooth, Princess' first words, and her learning to blow kisses! More about that later...

Dad and StepMom were awesome house guests. They bought all the groceries and wine and took over dish washing and clothes-folding (both pet hates of mine). When not playing with Princess they could usually be found reading a book or fiddling on a computer, so were very easy to be around as that's what I tend to do in my downtime too! They offered to babysit as much as we fancied, so Milord and I went out on two Date Nights - our first since my birthday in March!


Their first week had stunning weather - in fact it was unseasonably warm! We explored the Harbour Bridge and Opera House, walked along the river near my house, put irrigation into my flowerbeds, tested my hammock, attended a joint Mother's Group First Birthday party, and walked to the Fish Markets via parkland.




Then Dad and StepMom went to stay with an old friend for a week to give us some space and were taken all over the Blue Mountains, Northern Beaches and central Sydney. In the meantime I got the house clean and tidy, and Milord and I spent a couple of days visiting RuralChick and her family. It rained nonstop so we chatted and drank and read and ate... nice!

When Dad and StepMom got back to me they were exhausted! We spent a couple of days recharging at home and in local parks, then ventured back into the city to explore the QVB, Chinatown and the Chinese Gardens. One day I sent Dad and StepMom into town to walk the Harbour Bridge, and on the weekend Milord joined us and we all explored The Rocks Market and surrounds.


Yesterday, their last day, we caught a train to Circular Quay and found a restaurant near the Opera House, overlooking the Harbour Bridge. We had lunch and a couple of bottles of wine, the sun came out and we basked while watching the world go by. It was a perfect last day in Sydney!



Now I have my little house to myself... Milord is at work, Princess is napping, the first of many laundry loads is in the wash, and it's very very quiet. I don't quite know what to do with myself!

Dad and StepMom are here!

Lots of baby-bonding and moderate sightseeing. They're handing jetlag surprisingly well and we're fitting into my little house ok. Milord and I are sharing Princess' room - she's quiet enough but I wonder how she's handling the snoring... I notice her day naps are longer than usual!







Dad is still recovering from his surgery a bit, so we keep our walks short. I try to let Princess have her morning nap at home each day so we usually only get moving at midday - which seems to suit the grandparents!

Garden

I enjoy gardening. Since arriving in Sydney I haven't had much chance to garden though, as at first we were in a rental with a low-maintenance garden, and then we've been renovating for the past 2 years and our "garden" is a building site.

Milord has had me in mind all this time though, and he built me a huge planter box down our boundary fence.












Just before Princess' birthday party I finally had a chance to plant plants in it, and they are starting to come along nicely!




4 kinds of lavender, 2 sorts of tiny white daisy, a sage bush and a rosemary bush. A climbing star jasmine, a passionfruit vine and another climber with red trumpets. An abelia bush right at the street end as a screen, and heaps of impatiens and lobelia seedlings around everything for colour. I can't wait for it all to mature and flower! We should attract butterflies, and the scent of jasmine and lavender through summer will be divine!

In the meantime Milord continues to deck along the side of the house, and someday we'll deck the backyard too. It's going to be stunning.

Bo' Bo' Bo'

Dad and StepMom will be here in a few days time! Dad's kidney cancer seems to have been successfully treated by surgery, although the doctors will be keeping an eye on him. Now that Dad has recovered from the operation they are finally coming to Australia (from South Africa) for the first time, to meet his granddaughter. I am very excited!



I had my bestest friend in the whole wide world (and her hubby and 2 lovely daughters) visit me this week too so I'm getting very spoiled by my loved ones this month! BestGirl and her family have managed to swing immigration visas and will be moving to Australia within the next year. I'm going to have her on the same continent! Within weekend-visiting-distance! Woohoo!

Of course I was so overwhelmed at having BestGirl here for a night that I completely forgot to take any photos. She took a few I think so I'll have to get those. We sat up chatting until 2am, trying to jam 2 year's worth into one night. Now I'm missing her terribly and I keep picking up the phone and realising that it's the middle of her night... *sigh*

I'm here...

We're grand, I just haven't felt like blogging... tax returns, jogging by the river, book reading, very clingy baby. You know, the usual.

...have some photos!

One!!!

Princess is one! It was a normal day really, although she got loads of pressies (mainly from mummy and daddy). She thinks wrapping paper is awesome.

We are having a little party at home on the weekend.




And for an added Princess fix, here she is at another birthday do last weekend...


And in her actual playpen!