feb, 5th - hip, hip, hooray....

day 364:

so limi threw her second party (this was her first one) and LOVED it. what was really sweet were her spontaneous giggles throughout the day (as if every now and then she just looked around the room and thought ha ha...look how many people are crammed into my playroom). she retired to her room for a nap half way through but then came back to 'play' some more......

the Shoebox coped with 25 adults and 10 kids (although....we did stagger things so that the Formula crowd arrived first and were followed by the Champagne crowd late on)

here are some scenes from  the day.....

the beautiful otis fawn (pre-sugar high)

wolf masks and literary references...(seriously only just noticed that i bought a wolfgang book....)

birthday girl.

still freezing winter outside....so we created a 'forest' garden (okay...well lawn) inside instead

wolf 'gangs' everywhere

babies threading their way between a sea of adult legs......

and lots and lots of laughter.....

a wonderful day......and night. we squeezed every last drop out of the celebration and tumbled into bed at midnight...not bad for a party that started at 2pm......(of course the birthday girl was fast asleep by 7:30pm!)

ps. a BIG thanks you to my mum, A, jae and kate for all their help!

feb, 4th - leaves....

day 363:

it's been a busy day of decorating for Limi's party. the theme is Limi and the wolf (see day 345)...so there has been plenty of leaf cutting this week to create our forest.

i found a vintage French poetry and Italian book in the second-hand book store and we traced a selection of leaf shapes.....

walking into a room of falling leaves makes me happy (let's hope that Limi feels the same way!)

feb, 3rd - walking....

day 362:

we should have invested in one of these weeks ago...Limi LOVES her Danish designed Moover walker.....

it takes her up and down...up and down...up and down....up and down the passage.....

her walking is getting stronger every day.

even better when Limi sits in it and we race up and down the passage.....

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!