mar, 13th - a neon bright birthday....

day 1120 / 219:

we went to O's second birthday over the weekend. it was full of neon bright touches which was a tonic against the icy cold conditions that don't seem to be yielding at the moment. we ate cake, caught up and did some hula hooping....all good activities for a Sunday.

i loved the multi-coloured candles perched on top of the two rainbow cake towers (it was a joint birthday with one of O's best friends). i definitely think that blowing out ten candles beats two every time.

the kids decorated party hats (for the patient ones, these were set aside to dry) but Limi's decorations all fell off within seconds and she was left with a minimalist three dots. there was also a hand-drawn table'cloth' for them to colour in......such lovely touches.... 

what is even more impressive is that our friends have very recently welcomed twin boys into the family...and they still manage to throw an impressive, joint bash.....welcome to the world boys...we can't wait to get to know you. and, happy birthday O! not only are you a very grown-up two but you're now a big sister too.

mar, 12th - love....

day 1119 / 218:

can you spot the tugboat on top of the building on the right? it's another one of the amazing Living Architecture spaces that you can stay in overnight {see day 808 and day 949/ 48 for two of the other properties that we've tried}..... 

last month, was our anniversary and we celebrated by spending one night (minus the girls) in this tugboat with the most incredible views of London.....there are many more pics to share.....it was a fantastically London night. we started with drinks overlooking the Thames, dinner at a wonderful spot in Covent Garden, a stroll home across the bridge and a 'hotel room' unlike anything I've experienced but my most vivid memory was of waking up at six am with light rain outside, an early dawn light and sitting up in bed to take in the panoramic view of some of London's most iconic structures.....not to mention the trail of headlights from red buses criss-crossing the bridge.....i can't wait to share more pics.

mar, 10th - 10/52....

"a portrait of the girls, once a week, every week, in 2013"

day 1118 / 217:

Limi: at a friend's birthday party. she spent ages glueing various decorations onto her party hat but then didn't have the patience to let it dry so they all fell off and she was left with the three dots that i helped her to put on at the start.

Claya: her very first tooth popped out over the last two days.....bottom right.

you can read more about this 52 Project here.

p.s. happy Mother's Day to everyone in the Northern Hemisphere.

mar, 9th - conversations with a three year old....

day 1117 / 216:

surprises for Mother's Day......

Limi [with huge excitement all over her face]: "mama, we bought you a present today."

me: "did you! what is it?"

Limi [with a bit of concern on her face]: "i can't tell you."

[we've had numerous discussions about the fact that she must always tell me if someone says that it's a secret]

Limi: "are surprises good?"

me: "yes sweets, surprises are good."

Limi [with a naughty grin]: "then it's a surprise."

[.....a few seconds later]

Limi: "it's for the couch."

[.....a few seconds later]

Limi: "but i can't tell you."

[.....a few seconds later]

Limi [with a very wide grin and almost bursting out of her skin]: "because it's a surprise."

p.s she also made me a Mother's Day card at school that she said they had been told to keep until Sunday but she gave it to me on Friday night.....she was too excited and after hiding it under her bed, asked whether i wanted to see it.....she's going to be no good at surprises this one :)

mar, 5th - bon's babyshower....

day 1113 / 212:

my friend, Bon, is an identical twin. these are two stylish, witty and hugely creative girls.....Bon's sister has just had a sweet baby boy. so, the fact that they have been pregnant together and will have babies so close in age (this is Bon's second) is an amazing coincidence......i photographed them when they were pregnant and hopefully one day i'll share some of the pics.

we had a lovely afternoon and it's safe to say that we are all eagerly awaiting the arrival of this new baby.....i'm betting on the tenth of March.

to see more pics of the decorations see day 1112 / 211.

mar, 4th - babyshowering....

day 1112 / 211:

we celebrated the imminent arrival of a playmate for Claya over the weekend....the party was an afternoon tea, babyshower in The Pantry of one of my favourite breakfast places, The Hampshire Hog {see day 773 and day 779}. The Pantry, is a really lovely, light-filled room that can be closed off from the rest of the restaurant. it's perfect for a pretty afternoon tea and i had a lot of fun decorating....

this is just a snippet of the room...tomorrow, i'll share more pics of the actual party.

mar, 3rd - 9/52....

"a portrait of the girls, once a week, every week, in 2013"

day 1111 / 210:

Claya: enormously proud of the fact that she can clap

Limi: out on a cold day, shattered after a few hours of manic playing in the park and resting on A.'s shoulders. she had just said to me: "Mama, please can it be Spring now"

you can read more about this 52 Project here.

mar, 1st - a london bash....{the after pics}

day 1109 / 208:

by the end middle of Limi's party, everyone and everything looked alot less like this. 

i had also run out of steam on producing the amazing birthday cake that had been floating around in my head for weeks and opted instead for a decidedly underwhelming, store-bought, victoria sponge (that gave us a chance to sing happy birthday and limi and friends a chance to blow out some candles). 

dress-up costumes had been discarded.....

and almost everyone was wearing some sort of crown (and in Limi's case a bodyful of gold stars)......

a bit of general chaos = a good party in my experience.....