Merry Christmas!
This Christmas is going to be a special one as we will be spending it at T’s Grandma’s home with her aunties, uncles and T’s ELEVEN cousins, all of whom are under the age of 12.
T has just started taking her first steps and she’s very, very cautious so I’m hoping she’ll be racing around by the end of the year after spending so much time with the other little ones in the family.
Wrapping all the presents took my husband and I close to three hours and all week long parcels have been arriving for T. I think she’s going to love tearing off all the paper…
I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas too!
Photo credit – Kelp1966
New York
T, her daddy and I are heading to New York this week.
This is the first of two trips we’re making to the States in quick succession so I figure this trip is the one where I’ll pack all the wrong stuff. By trip number two in November, fingers crossed, I’ll have it nailed.
It’s so hard to know what to take… do we lug the car seat for taxi rides or do we just opt for public transport and sling it all the way? Should we bring a lightweight pushchair or just buy one if we need it when we get there? It’s tricky to know what’s best.
I’m also resigned to the fact T will have to do without home cooked meals and survive on baby jars for the duration.
The last time I was in New York I flew in from LA for a fun weekend with the girls. Prior to that it was business trips so it will be interesting to see how those times compare to visiting as a family.
My husband’s a bit anxious about how T will fare on the flight. I’m not worried about that at all. I’m more concerned about how we’ll fare with her waking up every morning at 2am East Coast Time as she won’t understand the time difference. I guess we’ll just have to have lots of early nights!
Aside from the sleep issue I’m really looking forward to getting away for a few days and catching up with family and friends who will be meeting T for the very first time. It’s our first trip back to America since we moved back to London last year and I can’t wait!
Photo credit: ShedBoy
This is heartbreaking
I landed in London yesterday to hear the horrifying news of the fox that crept into a home and attacked 9 month-old twin girls in their cots on Saturday night.
My heart breaks for the parents of Isabella and Lola Koupparis. I can’t believe it happened just a few miles from where we live.
My Mum has a regular family of foxes that visit her gardens at night and it never occurred to me that foxes could attack babies.
I hope the Koupparis girls make a swift and full recovery.
Baby’s first passport
T’s passport arrived this afternoon – it looks so crisp! Her photo is cute too, T looks slightly sleepy/startled.
I’d taken her to Snappy Snaps to have the passport photos taken. We had to wait in line for a while and of course T fell asleep. After waking her up I then was instructed to hold her upright above my head while I crouched down behind her. T was perched on a box in front of a white backdrop and the photographer had to call her name a few times to get her to look at the camera.
That bit was fun but it took longer than I expected to complete the application process. The passport people wrote to the referee on our application form to verify how long he had known me, as apparently that wasn’t clear. A few days later I picked up a voicemail asking me to call their office to answer a follow up question. After that I then had to rearrange the delivery, as we weren’t home when the first delivery was attempted.
When the passport finally arrived today I noticed T’s birth certificate hadn’t been returned to us, which meant another phone call. Apparently it’s been sent separately by 2nd class post, 9 days ago. I hope it turns up.
Anyway, I’m thrilled we finally have it after all that effort. Now we can start thinking about a mini-break…
T goes to the hairdresser
Yesterday I took T to the hairdresser for the first time. I needed to go before Christmas but unfortunately my mum couldn’t watch T as she had plans and my husband was at work. I called the salon tentatively and asked if they’d mind very much if I bought my baby along. I was really lucky and they didn’t mind at all.
Joy, my hairdresser, was so patient and lovely, she was excited to see T but I won’t be taking her again. My appointment should have lasted an hour max but I had to feed T twice, attempt to change her and soothe her so I was there for 2 1/2 hours. With the drive there and back and included it was a 4 1/2 hour outing and I was anxious the whole time. Glad to have that over and done with.
Knitting
I’m knitting a blanket for T. It’s slow going but I’m determined to do it.
Prior to embarking on this project I was still in primary school when I last used knitting needles. I wasn’t sure if I’d remember how but almost everything I used to know came back to me when I picked up the needles I’d bought just before T was born. I was able to cast on and start making stocking stitch patchwork squares without any hassle. I had to look online to remember how to add a new yarn and my mother-in-law showed me how to cast off.
I currently have 4 patchwork squares so there’s a long way to go. I’m not following a pattern, I made me own up, and I’m enjoying it, I just wish it would move along faster. At this pace it won’t be finished until T’s ready to go to university so I need to step it up.
