oct, 31st - moving to a kibbutz....

day 262:

i think that we may have to move to a kibbutz or some sort of commune living (my ex-housemates are shuddering at the thought).....Limi loves having people around and when it's just us she keeps looking towards the hallway and front door....as if to say...'hey, where's everyone? you mean it's just us? oh boy...this is going to be a long day.' (or something like that!)

so, this morning she was super excited to wake up and find our great friends' Gen and James had stayed overnnight. cue plenty of arm flapping and huge grins!

oct, 30th - 38 weeks (letter to limi)...

day 261:

oct, 29th - autumn outfits.....

day 260:

i love Autumn and Winter outfits....so many opportunities to layer. i was going to do a 'autumn outfit' post today but then realised that nearly everything that Limi has on was a gift. (thank you amazing friends and family!)......so it wouldn't be much of a post:

dress - gift

undershirt and leggings - gift

rattle (chook chook) - gift from friends in Oz

in fact the only thing i can tell you something about, is the hat which we pilfered from A.'s cupboard....and so it begins...the borrowing from dad's cupboard!

hopefully she'll wait awhile before chopping up his jeans to make baggy, hippy shorts.....what can say, i was an art student and it was the grunge era!

oct, 28th - we've been ill.....

day 259:

[pic by Libby]

we've both been ill with a bug that's doing the rounds. first real illness for me since Limi was born and...yikes, let me tell you that it's tough changing an ill baby's nappy when you yourself would like to be curled around a bucket.....that's all the detail that i'm going to provide....and probably more than enough for all of you...... 

oct, 27th - halloween party....

[our invite]

day 258:

we've been invited to a party today...well really Limi has, I'm just along to make sure that she doesn't climb up their bookshelf or eat the dog's food. it's a Halloween Party and of course dress-up. as i mentioned on day 247, i love a good dress-up. growing up, we were lucky enough to have a mum who is a fantastic seamstress...so whenever it came to dress-ups, we would go to her with some elaborate idea and she would have to try and turn these seahorse/unicorn/eagle fantasies into something wearable....

i have a lot to live up to!

anyway....i decided that i should start as i mean to go on and make Limi her first dress-up costume....i mean she's small, a bit like sewing doll's clothes. how hard can it be.....

Costume - Plan A

my idea was the WOLF in Red Riding Hood when he's dressed up in the Grandmother's clothing.....i know.....i should have gone with a big round, orange, pumpkin instead....but i had such high hopes for my bonnet!!! 

[i didn't actually get to paint the nose and whiskers on....had to add these later]

without the bonnet and just the fur headband she was channelling Donald Trump and i was doubled up laughing......scary?...i guess if you're an apprentice. anyway.....bonnets are a lot harder to make than they look.....and only a roll of sellotape would keep her from ripping this one off!

she had furry 'paws' sticking out from her nightgown......and well....

here's the problem, i may have gone a bit cheap on the fur because we were both sneezing like someone had ripped open a vacuum-bag in the room. i chickened out. i couldn't face making a room full of miniature witches, ghosts, zombies and skeletons sneeze uncontrollably all afternoon. it wouldn't bode well for Limi's future invites....

so onto Costume - Plan B.

the bought version....(yes, i may have had some doubts around my costume making ability)

a scary leopard......with a real painted nose and whiskers this time....

....that giraffe didn't stand a chance.....

roar.

this one was a hit and the hood even stayed on. 

 and maybe next year, she will even leave the house in her homemade costume.

happy Halloween.

oct, 26th - d day....

day 257:

the day that Limi first said dada. followed by dadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadada.

......and gained a second tooth, next to the first.

oct, 25th - hansel and gretel....

day 256:

i fell in love with an astoundingly beautiful, pop-up book a couple of months ago (see day 215), so when i read that the same brilliant illustrator, Louise Rowe, was bringing out her second story, Hansel and Gretel, i had to have it. for Limi. well for me. but for Limi. okay really for me. 

it's another magical interpretation of a well known story filled with children, wicked women, sweets and dark forests.

it arrived this week and i was once again blown away by the incredible detail....

it now sits side by side with Red Riding Hood waiting for the rest of the Louise Rowe collection and as they say in the stories.....

and together they lived happily ever after.....

...........

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oct, 24th - our morning walk....

day 255:

since our neighbourhood coffee shop is still closed (see day 203), we have to walk a little further to get our morning coffee.....

what a beautiful Autumn morning,

leaves turning, 

weak sunshine trickling through,

touches of natural art everywhere you look,

and one small 8 month old who is already making style decisions....

insisting that her beanie be worn more like a beret.

oct, 23rd - can't help the nostalgia....

day 254:

it's interesting that as we speed forward at pace with watching Limi grow, it's impossible not to look back at our own childhoods, remembering everything we loved: in A's case - Sesame Street, fresh milk from their dairy farm, a wonky tree-house, in mine - jumping on the trampoline, Curious George, playing board-games with my siblings.

so....although this falls into soppy-posts-i'm-not-allowed-to-publish, i'm loving looking back at old pics. these were taken when i was about 6 months old. obviously my brother and sister were not convinced by the photographer and i was mostly.... oblivious. loving their confused expressions....you want us to do what? sit here and smile? 

think this is the shot! loving the hairstyles too.

and just by the way....if i'm doing a soppy-post then: i have the best siblings in the world. just saying!

oct, 22nd - playgroup or cagefight....

[trying to steer her away from the face/head tapping]

day 253:

i'm all for teaching kids to fight their own battles....i mean, hey, i'm the youngest of three...if i hadn't learnt to fight my own battles then i would still be the one sitting in the middle of the back-seat on all long car trips; would have learnt that when i give back tickles the 5 minutes is more like 10 (and my siblings' 5 minute return tickles are more like 2 minutes....hey, i was small, i couldn't tell the time yet) and that it's not my duty to take up every activity that they do (to keep them company)....i mean doing karate, horse-riding, ballet and swimming is a busy schedule when you're under six.

but my lost battles aside.....i would like Limi to learn to sort out her own issues without running to me/ A.....the problem at the moment is how to protect the other kids.....those violent forms of affection that she keeps demonstrating to us, are transferring to her playmates.....you know: affectionate hair pulling; loving face pats; friendly eye pokes....and it's tough to resist the strong desire to strap her arms to her body whilst saying gently, gently, GENTLY LIMI.....as she yanks on Aedan's ear!

but as long as she can take what she hands out (you know...within reason and without bullying...i definitely don't do bullying) and it seems that she's pretty comfortable with being poked in the eye, patted on the head, shoved out the way...

then i'll try to step back and let them try and figure it out for themselves....

oct, 21st - just because....

day 252:


a just because pic today.


--------------------


Skinny LaMinx has done it again (see day 157). love. love. love these laser-cut gift tags.

snap them up in packs of 10, from her Etsy store.

oct, 20th - cruising baby....

day 251:

we have a cruising baby.....cruising's an official baby term that i learnt this week...although if you look up 'baby cruising' on google then you get a lot of special family deals on cruise holidays....not something that i've ever considered and probably not a good idea with a cruising baby. (okay, that has to be a record use of the word 'cruise' in one sentence.)

anyway...cruising babies pull themselves up to standing and walk holding onto something (couch, table, wall, you...) something else that i learnt is that this standing skill is often linked with the pincer grasp...so picking up a small object between finger and thumb often develops at the same time as the ability to stand. who knew.

another, not as well documented link is the audible intake of breath that parents develop at the same time......

oct, 19th - best baby toys in the world....

day 250:

best baby toys in the world.....

1. wooden spoon

2. measuring spoons

3. empty box 

3. colander

4. stacking measuring cups

5. used food container filled with uncooked rice