dec, 12th - hong kong: day 1 in pics

day 302:

dec, 11th - and off we go....

day 301:

after this....

and this.....

and this.....

it's time to fly South for the winter and find some sunshine....

we are off to Australia for Christmas to introduce Limi  to the rest of A.'s family. we also get to throw in a couple of quick stopovers in Hong Kong to see my sister and family.

whoohoo.....family, sunshine and sand between the toes.....can't wait!

dec, 8th - christmas window shopping....

day 298:

a quick tour of some Christmas windows.

Selfridges' officially went for a 'play' theme this year aimed at kids and adults.....for me it is pop art meets Frank Sidebottom. it's certainly bauble-tastic and reminds me that anything enmasse makes an impact. think that i may try and bauble-tise our ceiling next year.

i don't often head to Knightsbridge, especially around Christmas time when it becomes shopping-zoo. but, i had a spa voucher to use before the end of the year so i braved it and checked out Harvey Nichols' windows. found them strangely similar to Selfridges this year (although with a more alienesque vibe and less baubles).....

alas, our windows are staying bare this year as we'll be travelling. they'll have to work twice as hard next year.

dec, 7th - nanny diaries....

day 297:

one of the amazing things about living in London is the incredible diversity. this was very evident when we advertised for a nanny and had responses from people who have moved from all the far-flung corners of the globe.

with the new year, also comes a return to work for me. i've put it off for as long as possible but sadly, it's time to step back on the ladder. i wrote about the the conflict of returning to work vs. staying at home, on day 211. i still haven't reconciled it in my heart but my head says that's the best thing i can do for our family.

so, after making the BIG decision it was time to find her a amazing nanny. from the 60+ responses that we received from the ad (yikes, there are aLOT of available nannies out there) I interviewed eight people: a French manny, a Colombian and a Mexican nanny and then a couple of Southern Hemisphere girls. i modified this list of interview questions from BabyCenter, changing a few and adding a couple of my own like: "What makes you angry? Do you sing? Can you give me an example of where you've shown initiative in a previous childminding position."

the diversity definitely threw up some interesting answers. some of my best came from the Parisian manny who did warn me that his English wasn't brilliant.

Me: "What's your approach to discipline for a 10 month old?"

French Manny (FM): "Pah, she's a bebe."

Me: "What's your favourite activity to do with a 10 month old?"

FM: "Pah, she's a bebe."

Me: "If Limi has an accident in the park, what do you do?"

FM: "Call 111. Non, call 222."

Me: "999?"

FM: "Yes, 999."

Me: "Limi eats Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner."

FM: "Non, only 2 meals."

Me: "No, she eats 3."

FM: "Non, 2 meals."

Me: "Um, lunch is quite small."

(that might explain why Parisians are so slim and chic....they start from a young age....)

in a parallel world, the FM would have been incredible. Limi would have picked up French, a very relaxed attitude and the other mothers would have loved me. (although the restricted diet may have been a bit severe). but we agreed that the language barrier for FM and I was never going to work out.

after eight interviews and three trials we have found a wonderful nanny from Oz. i am feeling a little better about January now.

dec, 6th - 10 months.....

day 296:

10 months old today! so...the 10 month round-up....

Dimensions & Weight:

Length - 80 cm (that's a full 5cms since last month)

still no change in:

Foot Length - 11 cm

Hand Length - 8.5 cm

Ear Length - 5 cm 

Hair - growing...definitely growing....

Teeth - two teeth at the bottom and her two top front teeth

Weight - haven't weighed her since 8 months (8.4kgs)


Words - dada, mama, dudu (think it's duck), bubu (book)

This Month's Likes & Dislikes:

Likes -

• gym class (see day 279)
• chatting and singing....ALOT of chatting and singing

• climbing on everything
• blowing rasberries....yes, STILL

• humming whilst eating...but only if it's good
• her yoga buddies (see day 286)

• slightly gentler forms of affection....at last...if i say squeeze me...then Limi throws her head against my chest for a tight squeeze
• feeding herself

Dislikes -

• keeping a hat and mittens on....even when it's snowing outside

• sitting still on an aeroplane (day 269)
• not being able to move without holding on....very frustrating.....

dec, 5th - travels....

day 295:

here's a clue for the second half of our Christmas trip.....(see day 293)

dec, 4th - little surprises....

day 294:

some days i still get surprised that there is a baby in the house.....especially when i stumble across a little miniature scene like this.....

socks: trumpette - see day 276

blanket: swaddle designs

or when i get a different perspective on things.....

our ceiling rose as seen from wrestling on the floor.....

dec, 3rd - leaving on a......

day 293:

we are travelling for Christmas. can you guess where our first stop is?

dec, 2nd - strolling the notting hill neighbourhood....

day 292:

Limi and i head across to Notting Hill every week, for music class.....we get to stroll the neighbourhood and take in the sights.....

beautiful bike.

bonnie + mabel in their french navy chic.

more autumn leaves.

view from the bus, no.1.

view from the bus, no. 2

dec, 1st - bloom nano urban highchair....

[the bloom nano urban highchair]

day 291:

highchairs....hmmm....when you live in a Shoe-box like we do, the thought of a clunky, lurid highchair dominating our open-plan space...made me shudder and think that once we went down that road, we'd suddenly have an invasion of plastic and when i next looked at A. in the evening it would be across a 'made in China' (no offense China) sea of primary colours.

sometimes, when Limi is fast asleep for the night, we like to turn our living-space back into a simple, adult, slightly monochromatic space. so we had extremely high, high-chair demands:

• solid and well made - limi is an interactive eater so any wonkiness would results in crash, thud, whaaaaa....
• simple design
• able to fold (and prop away)

[Limi studying the next course offering]

i did some research and decided on the Bloom nano urban highchair, it's the folding version. they have a non-folding version which looks like this. the nano still has their same simple design and folds up fairly flat so that ticked two of the requirements. i was concerned that it wouldn't feel sturdy and that the leatherette would look a bit nasty but it's great. it's heavy and while the leatherette is not my favourite, it's practical (for cleaning) and not too shiny or nasty. it doesn't recline but that hasn't been a problem for us.

[first taste of scrambled egg]

my main thing is that Limi loved it from day one. 

[it will be awhile before she uses that foot-rest]

[food art]