jan, 31st - pivotal moments.....

day 352:

there are some things that Limi and i do that i suddenly remember 'hey, i used to think that one day when i have a child, we will have fun doing this.'

i'm not talking about the big things like watching the full series of Creature Comforts.....i'm talking about the little things.....like having a mini person sit on my lap turning the pages in a book faster than i can read or building sand castles just so that they can destroy them with a single, determined jump. yesterday was another......we ran into the shops to grab a couple of things and Limi sat in the trolley while we scooted around the aisles. 

up until now she's either been too little, in her buggy or the shop has been worth hauling a trolley around for. but suddenly i saw her...all feet dangling...and remembered how i thought that this would be a pivotal change in my life....

a time when the trolley ledge would progress from a handbag holder into a toddler holder....definitely, a memory-snapshot-moment!

oh, and when you can't find a sock...sometimes you have to make do with a mitten.

jan, 30th - mabel turns 1....

day 351:

Limi's best friend Mabel turned 1 today.....we were there to help blow out the candle.

and of course eat cake, biscuits, jelly and scones!

it was a wonderful first birthday filled with a roomful of people who all adore Mabel (as birthdays should be).....

Happy Birthday Mabes!

jan, 29th - breakfast faces....

day 350:

three classic Limi faces during breakfast this morning.....

the one-raised-eyebrow-sceptical look....think that i may have to get used to this one.

this is in fact a mad grin and shows off all seven teeth.

this is not...and pure frustration at me for continuing to take pictures rather than pick up the spoon and finish breakfast.

ps. no babies went seriously hungry during the making of this post.

jan, 28th - two little girls.....

day 349:

mabel and limi at their music class.....entraced by alex, their teacher

(he performs on the west end stage...and hence is very entracing)

jan, 27th - step by step....

day 348:

suddenly this baby is turning into a toddler (the toddling is still quite sporadic, more like step - step - sit down) but bottles are being tossed aside, 

we get big smacking kisses (with full fish face)...

proper toothy smiles and long involved stories (especially in the morning)!

we are focusing on baby-signing and i probably get more excited than Limi when she makes her own interpretation of the 'book' sign. the fact that Limi will be able to really communicate soon......

lets hope that she won't turn around and say:'guys, seriously i've been telling you for months that i don't like grey!'

jan, 26th - vintage views.....

day 347:

while strolling through Kensington Gardens over the weekend, I snapped this duo and their gorgeous vintage buggy....i want one! of course then i would need something bigger than a London Shoebox to store it in.

jan, 25th - that dandy wolf...

day 346:

another book that we picked up in Oz was this Little Golden Book classic of 

The Three Little Pigs

love the illustrations....

especially the wolf in that seventies suit!

jan, 24th - planning....

day 345:

plans are in full swing (damn, i haven't ordered the swing yet!!!!) for Limi's first birthday celebrations. as is our family tradition we celebrate birthday festivals (it's our Indian ancestry.....not proven yet but it must be there). so, birthday celebrations can sometimes last for a full week...small celebrations here and there (why put the pressure on just one day.) and for Limi.....well she'll just have to get used to this festival idea....

jan, 23rd - first steps....

day 344:

there may have been a couple here and there over the last few weeks that we missed.....but this weekend....Limi took her first real steps.

this baby is upright and on the move....

jan, 22nd - the early hours....

day 343:

early mornings mean that we get to the local coffee shop before everyone else......

although, maybe this baby should have slept a little longer.

jan, 21st - and it's friday....

day 342:

this week broke my heart.

jan, 20th - musty books.....

day 341:

books....i love books (see day 215) and Limi loves books...she is slightly obsessed! hopefully she's inherited a love for the feel, the covers, turning pages and will also get a real feeling of loss when she comes to the end of a good novel.

anyway, we're always on the lookout for interesting books for Limi and Australia has wonderful second-hand book stores. during our trip, we visited the quaint town of Maleny (no pics unfortunately because it was pouring whole buckets of rain on our heads) but whilst dashing from one doorway to another...we took shelter in a musky, damp, second-hand book store (the best kind)

we were on the look-out for Australian classics and found this gem........

Kookaburra - a bird of many parts

it starts with:

Kookaburra was very proud, very dignified and very angry which is why he had decided to become a swan.

He had made this decision on the previous day. sitting high in the wattle, Kookaburra had been practising Laughter.

Kookaburra took the art of Laughing very seriously. He had been third in the class when he had gone to Laughing School. Kookaburra began with Friendly Laughter, a warm jolly sound he used for his friends. Then he passed on to Nasty Laughter, a favourite of his when Wild Duck ate too much and had a stomach ache. Kookaburra had received nine out of ten for Nastiness at Laughing School and he thought he had improved a great deal since then. No one had such a good Nasty Laugh as he did, thought Kookaburra.

Satisfied, he began Long Distance Laughter and was moving on to Sad Laughter, Green Cheese Laughter and Pickled Mouse Laughter.....

with that intro.....who could resist

and it has the most incredible imagery.

amazing book!

jan, 19th - my new world.....

day 340:

a glimpse into my new world....i've moved to a different part of London for this new role.....a very pretty part of London....

jan, 18th - all that hair....

day 339:

look at all that hair.

jan, 17th - those bumpy rungs.....

day 338:

so today i had to put on my big girl high heels, wipe the mini fingerprints off my jacket and climb back on the ladder...my coping mechanism.....not think too hard about it all and to try and just enjoy the new adventure....

i tried...really hard but by the end of the day, i was desperately missing my life last-week-this-time....(not helped by coming home to an upset Limi) all the uninterrupted coffee breaks couldn't make up for the fun that i normally have in my day (sadly no-one asked me to crawl-chase them down the corridor)

but

tomorrow is another day. i will once again put on my big girl high heels, give Limi a giant squeeze and try and get a firmer grip on those rungs.

jan, 16th - back to school blues....

day 337:

aaah, the waves of emotion that i have had this past week....real bereavement (like a devastating break-up),  the feeling of amputation, a small thrill of getting some freedom back, serious claustrophobia at the thought of having to be somewhere each day, anticipation at a new adventure and pit of the stomach dread.

i am back to work tomorrow.......

and just to make it that extra bit harder Limi has amped up the sweetness factor this week....she is addicted to 'Ta'...passing everything to me and then wanting it back again, kissing all her ducks and fish goodnight at the end of bathtime...big smacking kisses and practising her spontaneous laughter. and, she is soooo close to taking her first steps....i have been trying to hothouse her all day today...just to catch the first glimpse.

i would welcome the terrible two tantrums or the teen 'i hate you', right now.....that would have me running for the door...instead i'm left with severe back to school blues.

wish me luck!

jan, 15th - hyde park....

day 336:

awhile back, i wrote about this gorgeous spot in Hyde Park (see day 160)....we went again today to meet friends for a lovely Sunday brunch. still a BIG favourite.

jan, 14th - smiley, happy baby.....

day 335:

jan, 13th - duck

day 334:

limi's first real word (after mama, dada and baba)...........duck.

and she gets super excited when she picks up one of her bath ducks, says 'DUCK' and you says 'yes, duck!'

jan, 11th - save the date.....

day 332:

jan, 9th - noodles....

day 330:

during the past 11 months we have looked intently at Lissom to see ourselves in her features, expressions and actions......today we found a definite genetic hand-me-down from A......a love of noodles. i gave her some egg noodles from last night's dinner and she was addicted. given that pasta has been met with a swift toss-back-on-the-tray response so far.....noodles must be a completely different part of the wheat+egg food family.......

she's her father's daughter!

jan, 7th - dumplings.....

day 328:

on the last day in Hong Kong we took my niece and nephew to a dai pai dong (local noodle restaurant). although they are both South African nationals, they were born in Hong Kong and have lived here all their lives.

we wanted to capture them in a local setting eating some of their favourite dishes so that one day when they perhaps don't live here anymore, they will have these pics as a reminder of the steaming bowls, fragrant smell, chattering of chopsticks and cantonese and the feel of a silky dumpling exploding in their mouths.....

i love this city!

jan, 5th - different perspectives....

day 326:

tea at the mandarin. delicious rose petal jam.

street restaurant in sham shui po.

jan, 4th - vietnamese....

day 325:

my favourite country produces my favourite cuisine......

Vietnamese.

we went to a small local Vietnamese today...all good until we found a drowned hornet in the bottom of the Pho.