2012: Week 20

Saturday 12 May

Daisy was at Daddy's this weekend, and he sent me this lovely picture of her stroking a goat in the petting zoo. Of course, she enjoyed washing her hands afterwards as much as she did petting the goat.

Sunday 13 May

I went to a baby shower in Bromley this afternoon. It was lovely, which was just as well as it took me two and a half hours to get there and three hours to get home, for a three-hour party :). The journey home was longer because the trains I needed to take left me with nearly an hour's waiting time at Kings Cross, but this was the first time I'd been since they'd opened the new concourse, so I had a good look around and spent quite a lot of time marvelling at the roof structure in this picture. I also (see next picture)...

Monday 14 May

... found the new Platform Nine and Three Quarters, which wasn't difficult as it was the patch of wall that had a huge crowd next to it. But because I had a while to wait, eventually I caught it at a moment when there was no one else around.

Tuesday 15 May

Daisy and I went to Hamerton Zoo this morning, which is about 25 minutes away. She enjoyed looking at the wallabies, tigers, meerkats and owls, but mostly she just wanted to pick all the daisies and dandelions she could find :).

Wednesday 16 May

Nanna gave Daisy this dress last week. When I put it on her this morning she said 'Daisy got Upsy Daisy!'

Thursday 17 May

Goofing around before bath time...

Friday 18 May

Today when I told Daisy we were going out, she insisted on kissing Peppa goodbye before putting her coat on :).

2012: Week 19

Saturday 5 May

Jon came home from work yesterday and said 'Let's go away overnight tomorrow'. So we booked a 'top secret hotel' in Knightsbridge on lastminute.com and went in to London. We bought tickets for the 39 Steps at the Criterion Theatre, but before then, we saw Avengers Assemble at the cinema and had a fabulous meal at Hibiscus, where they don't have a menu; you just choose whether you want 3, 6 or 8 courses, specify anything you absolutely won't eat off the list of typical ingredients (I said snails), and they choose a menu for you. We only had about an hour and a half because we had to get to the theatre for 8pm, so we had three courses but instead of having the same dishes, which is what they usually do, we each had different dishes so we could try each other's food as well as our own. It turned out that we had five courses anyway, because there was a pre-appetiser and a pre-dessert - not to mention bread and some delicious amuse-bouches while we were deciding on the number of courses we wanted. When we left we got a little bag with some sweets in and a copy of the menus we were given. The idea to put strawberry with celeriac, make it into a jelly and top it with szechuan pepper cream was absolutely inspired - delicious! And yes, I tried Jon's appetiser of lamb sweetbreads. They tasted quite nice, but knowing what they are, I wouldn't necessarily choose them again :).

Sunday 6 May

We picked up Daisy on the way home from London this afternoon. At one point later on Jon obviously decided to follow the fashion Daisy had set of watching the TV with something yellow in one hand and a cuddly toy in the other :).

Monday 7 May

Nanna and Grandpa arrived today! We went along to the May Day Celebrations on the village green at the end of the road - typically, it was raining, but we still had a good look around and Nanna bought Daisy this book, which they read together when we got back home. Grandpa also did a good job of holding Daisy's 'fower'.

Tuesday 8 May

We bought Daisy a Peppa Pig chair today, and she spent most of the day carrying it from room to room. She did sit on it for a little while. Then she went back to carrying it.

Wednesday 9 May

Daisy and her bag are ready to go to nursery tomorrow. I think she looks really grown up in this picture.

Thursday 10 May

While Daisy was at nursery, Mum, Dad and I went to Ely, which is about 30 miles away. We had a guided tour of the beautiful cathedral and also had time to look at Oliver Cromwell's house - he lived in Ely for 10 years - which tells the story of his life. Whilst I'll admit to having very little historical knowledge, the opinion I had formed of Cromwell based on the little I did know was called into question once I'd looked round the house and read a bit about his background and the possible reasons for his actions. Maybe I should get round to watching A History of Britain while Daisy's napping instead of the not-very-good US crime drama I like so much, then I might learn something...

Friday 11 May

Dad had the BBC News Channel on this morning and I happened to be looking at the screen when this headline came up. Classic.

2012: Week 18

Saturday 28 April

We went to visit Jon's colleague and her new baby today - actually not so new now; she's 8 weeks old. Very, very cute though.

Sunday 29 April

Today it was our turn to be visited, this time by Jon's family. Daisy spent the afternoon doing anything that Jessica did :).

Monday 30 April

Nice and cosy under the blanket. When she gets fed up she says 'No cosy.'

Tuesday 1 May

We went to Messy Play at the Children's Centre today, but Daisy wasn't interested in the painting (which was fine by me; less to clean up). She loved the ball pit though!

Wednesday 2 May

I love this picture of Daisy reading a book with her friend at his Mum at Toddlers. She'd been there for quite a while before I took the photo, and didn't seem to mind a bit that I was the other side of the room.

Thursday 3 May

First full day at nursery today! As soon as we arrived this morning Daisy started crying. When we went for our three settling-in sessions she cried, but not until she noticed that I'd left. The fact that she was crying before I'd even taken a step towards the door made me upset, and I think she knew that I was upset which made her more upset. I left very quickly and cried until I got home, then I rang the nursery and they told me she was fine; she'd cried for 2 or 3 minutes then joined in playing with everyone else. As soon as I knew she was fine, I was fine. When I went back to get her at 5pm I looked in the window and she was playing happily. In fact when I got inside and kneeled at the opposite side of the drawing table she was standing at, she didn't notice me for a little while, then when she did she just said 'Hello, Mummy, Daisy draw a picture!' Here she is holding the information sheet that the nursery fills out every day - she only ate half her lunch but had all her tea, which included pears and oranges, and she enjoyed playing in the sand and with her new friends. She must have been singing 'Ring a Ring o' Roses' as it's not one that we sing much at home, but she spent all evening saying 'All fall down!'

Friday 4 May

After I'd got Daisy dressed this morning, I put some clothes away in her drawers and when I turned round she had climbed onto the chair in her room, covered her legs with a pillow and was reading herself a story :).

2012: Week 17

Saturday 21 April

Daisy was at Daddy's this weekend. She enjoyed going to the zoo (as ever) and looking at the penguins, tigers, goats and wash-your-hands, and she also had fun showing us her flowers when we Skyped this afternoon :).

Sunday 22 April

We finally got the rest of the potatoes and the broad beans planted.  How very Tom and Barbara.

Monday 23 April

The afore-mentioned bed design embroidery, this one for a soon-to-be one year old. Happy Birthday Oliver xx.

Tuesday 24 April

After I picked up Daisy from Daddy's and brought her home, she decided she wanted to water the vegetables in the garden.  I love this shot of her with her 'pink water can'.

Wednesday 25 April

Daisy put her shoe on all by herself! Sure, it took her 5 minutes, is on the wrong foot and she got fed up trying to put the other one on, but still, well done!

Thursday 26 April

Peepo Mummy! 

Friday 27 April

Daisy got lellow bananas!

Twenty Months

In the last month, Daisy has learned to pronounce her own name properly (so no more calling her Deddiss) and she's started stringing short sentences together, rather than just saying a word or two. Most of her sentences include the word 'got', and she's learned to put adjectives (mainly colours) in front of nouns: Daisy got porridge, Daisy got pink trousers, Mummy got grapes etc. She's also learned to recognise the rest of the numbers from 1 to 10 (she knew 3, 5, 7, 8 and 9 already), although I think she thinks a zero is '10'. For instance if she sees a number 60, she'll say 'number six, number ten'. She's developed a passion for flowers this month, which basically means that every time we go anywhere where there are flowers, she wants to pick them. We only pick dandelions and daisies - Daisy got fowers! - but even so, our compost bin is getting quite full :).

She's also developed a liking for the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and knows the names of Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck and Goofy. She still loves DipDap, and Numtums, and she's rediscovered the Sing & Sign DVD that Jon bought her over a year ago. I think because we've been going to Sing & Sign classes for a year and she recognises the songs, she likes watching the DVD more. We decided not to go back to Sing & Sign this term because she's past the signing stage now, and doesn't stop talking. I really enjoyed it and am glad we went, but it didn't seem to benefit her as much as it might have if she hadn't been such an early talker. It did come in handy today, though - we were in the car on the way back from Daddy's and I heard her say what I thought was the word 'friends'. It isn't one we use all that often - I tend to use her friends' names when I talk about them to her, rather than saying 'Daisy's friends' - so I wasn't sure if I'd heard right. I turned round and she was signing as well as saying the word 'friends' so I knew she meant it.

She's got two or three books that we read every night before bed, and one of them, Doctor Daisy, is becoming so familiar that not only do I know it off by heart, but she's learned quite a lot of it too. Check out this video:

Her hair is getting crazy long, and I can't decide whether to cut in a fringe or leave it to grow. She wears a clip in the front to keep it out of her eyes, but I spend most of the day putting it back in once it's wriggled out of place. I can't imagine she'd take too kindly to someone coming at her with a pair of scissors, though, so maybe I'll just leave it as it is for now :).  She got her 15th tooth through today as well, her lower right canine, and it looks like her left one won't be too far behind.

She loves going to the Zoo, among other things, when she stays with Daddy and Shelley.  If you ask her what she saw at the zoo she always says the same things, in the same order: pengens, ga-ties (tigers), goats (at the petting zoo), wadda hands (wash your hands - after petting the goats) :).

2012: Week 16

Saturday 14 April

Happy Birthday Mum! In celebration of Mum's birthday, and because it was the centenary of the sinking of the Titanic, we dressed up in our fancy clothes and had an eight-course meal this evening based on the menu for the first class restaurant on the ship 100 years ago. We were a bit premature with our 1920s-related accessories, but we still had fun :).

Sunday 15 April

We left Mum & Dad's to come home today, but this morning Daisy asked to watch some Mickey Mouse. I found some on YouTube and she was perfectly happy.

Monday 16 April

On the way back from the children's centre this morning we kept having to stop every few metres so Daisy could pick 'more fowers' (we only picked dandelions). By the time we got home she had almost more than she could carry :).

Tuesday 17 April

Daisy likes to go 'up the top' of the climbing frame in the park so she can look out of the 'bubble'. Peepo!

Wednesday 18 April

Looking out at a rainy day...

Thursday 19 April

Daisy went to nursery for an hour this morning for her first settling in session. She cried after we left, held Aggie and Ellie for a few minutes and sucked her thumb while Carla read her a story, then forgot about Aggie and Ellie and went to play in the sand. By the time we got back there an hour later she was perfectly happy, had half a dozen strings of beads round her neck and was telling everyone what colour they all were...

Friday 20 April

Daisy went to Daddy's yesterday afternoon for the weekend so I spent much of the rest of yesterday finishing off this cross stitch for my friend's little girl. It didn't take all that long and I loved doing something other than the bed design I've been doing for everyone I've known who's had a baby over the past few years...

2012: Week 15

Saturday 7 April

Today was finally the day of the family photo shoot that we've been trying to arrange with Jon's family since last June. Needless to say, Daisy didn't think all that much of it, but we did manage to get some nice shots in the end. I'll post one when we get the order through. Instead, here's Eloise enjoying her first Easter egg of the weekend...


Sunday 8 April

Easter Egg Hunt in Nanny's back garden!


Monday 9 April

Daisy still loves her bath time. She forgets that she likes it until she's in the water, but we struggle to get her out once she's in :).


Tuesday 10 April

'Yep, this is where I stand. Yes, it's a colander. What of it?'


Wednesday 11 April

Daisy and I went to Mum & Dad's today - we're staying until Sunday, and Jon will get the train up on Saturday morning. Daisy loved drawing pictures with Nanna - or more specifically, she loved saying 'Nanna do it! and watching Nanna draw pictures...


Thursday 12 April

We spent an hour at the park in the village this morning. Daisy loved it! We sent her down the slide and she smiled all the way down, then when Mum asked if she wanted to do it again she said no, but if she was put at the top she happily went down it again. Her favourite part was walking across a wooden rope bridge whose metal fixings squeaked every time she went across it... 'More mouse! Eek eek!'


Friday 13 April

New cardigan, made by Nanna. And I quote, from this afternoon when I went to put her purple coat on her: 'No purple coat! Blue one!'

2012: Week 14

Saturday 31 March

We went to Ipswich yesterday, to Jon's stepdad's retirement party. We had fun this morning pretending to be monkeys with Jessie.


Sunday 1 April

Daisy prefers Jon's version of 'Row, row, row the boat' to mine - in his version the boat actually moves along the floor...


Monday 2 April

Keeping you up?


Tuesday 3 April

'Hi, yeah, I'm in the supermarket...'


Wednesday 4 April

This is Daisy's friend Harry, who we went to visit this morning. She likes him a lot, until he tries to use her as a crutch for standing up :).


Thursday 5 April

'Daisy got Piglet!' I got fed up of fighting to do up her poppers at bedtime, so I bought some pyjamas for her yesterday. The 12-18 month ones looked quite big in the packet - they said up to 28 lbs, and Daisy's less than 21 lbs, so I picked up a packet of 9-12 month ones as well. with Minnie Mouse on them. They were still enormous, and at one point before bed yesterday I heard her say 'Oh no Mickey Mouse!' (she doesn't know that Minnie is someone different) and when I turned round her trousers were round her ankles... So we went back today and got this almost-20-month-old some 6-9 month pyjamas.


Friday 6 April

Daisy discovered a love for cocktail sausages at Finn's first birthday party today ;).

2012: Week 13

Saturday 24 March

I got my engagement ring back yesterday, duly sized and engraved. Woohoo!


Sunday 25 March

Jon and I went to Bletchley Park today, where the Enigma codebreakers worked during the Second World War. This is Alan Turing's room - complete with mug chained to the radiator so no one but he could use it :).


Monday 26 March

Doose, kite, rah!


Tuesday 27 March

Hello?


Wednesday 28 March

She LOVES her pasta. A little too much. I was still finding bits in her ear by bathtime...


Thursday 29 March

Daisy and I went to Southampton today, to stay with Liz and Andy and their girls. Daisy loved playing with Caitlin and Ava's shopping trolley and checkout till, and I loved catching up with Liz and Clare :).


Friday 30 March

We went to Jiggy Wrigglers this morning with Liz and Ava. It's a singing group but it was a lot louder than anything Daisy's been to before and she didn't like it :(. Once the music started she kept saying 'No sing. Car.' over and over so we left and met Liz back at home a little bit later. This shot was taken by Clare before the crying started :).