Daisy Chains

Last month, our little UK-side family met up in Canterbury. Growing up in Malta, we were very close to our cousins. We met up regularly and did all sorts of things together. So it is one of the most important things to me and my sister that our little ones have a similar experience of family. Most of the family is still based in Malta, but as there are two of us here in England, we can give the kiddies as good a dose of family as often as we can.



There is just an 8-month age gap between Gabriella and Emily. (Remember Gabriella?) I had no idea when she was born that I'd soon have a little peanut of my own! The age difference is huge for now, Gabriella is walking and can say a few words. She blows kisses and tries to hug Emily (who fights her off). Emily can only look on in frustration. But soon the gap will seemingly shrink and I look forward to a day when we can watch them interact on equal terms.



For now, they just watch us act the fool :)

Cast & Crew

I thought, perhaps, you'd like to be introduced to Emily's team... get to know her very favourite toys - the ones that, no matter what, will get a smile out of her. Very often even a chuckle. More than anything, hours of entertainment. So I cheekily borrowed said toys from her and - under her hawk-eyed scrutiny - photographed each one (while feeling like a total dork).

To begin, let me make one thing clear: there is no distinction between a teething toy and anything else. In Emily's eyes, they are all teething toys. They all get gummed and drenched in drool until they're silently begging to be tossed aside in exchange for something - anything!! - else. So I will not bother to mention this fact in my introductions lest I end up repeating myself.

Ladies and Gentlemen, it is with great amusement that I introduce you to... Emily's Cast & Crew.


McBoingBoing
This bunny was a sale purchase, £2.50 (if not less) from ELC. She's one of the Blossom Farm animals, probably last season. She's called McBoingBoing because when you press her tummy, she makes a Boing Boing sound. Emily loved this from day one, and McBoingBoing (a combination of an old cartoon and too many episodes of Grey's Anatomy under our belt, she was given this name by David) has somehow become a "highchair in the morning" toy. I guess it's because we know that no matter what mood Moody McMooderson (Emily) has woken up in, McBoingBoing will always lure a smile out.



Mr Happy
...is an old toy, a long-suffering survivor from my childhood (!). He squeaks and Emily has taken a huge fancy to him. He is almost always the first toy she reaches out for when she's on her playmat. He frustrates her no end because he keeps rolling away and she can only stop him from doing this if she manages to wrap her fingers around one of his little arms - not always easy when your fingers are teeny and those yellow arms are even teenier. I guess it's a love-hate relationship that she has with Mr Happy but I do think they will go far.



Violet and Baby Tad
Both are LeapFrog educational toys. They both play songs, Baby Tad teaches colours and shapes, while Violet is more your playful companion. She comes with a USB connection which allows you to input your baby's name, favourite colour, food and animal and then uses the information in little phrases and songs. It was thanks to Violet that we confirmed when Emily knew her own name. It was a magical moment: Violet sang out Emily's name and Emily spun round to look at her in a mixture of surprise and shock. Violet quickly became a firm favourite as did Baby Tad (when we showed him to her at Toys'R'Us, she didn't take her eyes off him until he was safely in a carrier bag with us as new owners). Personally I prefer Violet (can you tell?) but both are great to have around.



Er... Ball?
Yeah, let's just call this one Ball. Emily loves this because it's so easy to keep hold of. And it jingles, which is a bonus. Not really much else to say about a ball although if she could speak, Emily would probably be more than willing to sing its' praises! It's by Bright Stars. (Baby Einstein also do a very similar one)



Penguin
We (ok, I) love Lamaze toys and own a number of them - all of which are greatly loved by Emily. This little squeaky penguin, however, takes the biscuit. In fact, he lives in the little bag of toys in the pushchair basket - for those moments when we are out and about and in need of emergency entertainment. I get the feeling that she loves everything about this little guy - the texture, colours, sound, you name it. Poor penguin has seen much better days!



B Block
A very recent addition to the crew, I bought this set of 3 Fisher Price blocks off ebay. She has taken a huge liking to the B block - not A, not C. Just B. She literally looks at it and laughs. I'll try and get a video of it sometime. It's priceless!


So there you have it. Realistically, I could say something about many more of her toys: the plush lion that sleeps beside her at night, the sensory ball she loves to touch, the Nuby bug-a-loop teether she just adores, her Lamaze firefly, her Vtech crawl and learn ball (which she tries to hold down when it moves away)... but let's leave it at that for now!

Wordless Wednesday: One Chocolate Biscuit

[Disclaimer: that was a baby biscuit!!]

Wordless Wednesday: Dancing Baby

Welcome to the Hood

Motherhood hits like a tonne of bricks. In baby form. As I painted my nails last night my mind drifted back seven months. "They" are right when they say nobody can prepare you for motherhood. Words do not capture the emotional nature of the change. They can not capture the enormity of it, no matter how much you try. But the little daily changes to my life, I can try to describe.

Seven months ago, painting my nails was a memory of part of a life that no longer existed. A life where, in most recent memory, I sat on the sofa all day, with a huge belly, surrounded by all the things I might need (to ensure I didn't have to climb the stairs more than necessary), thinking I've had it hard because I was sick for almost seven months of the pregnancy, yet there I was, relaxed and chilled and my only worry was whether I might be snowed in when the time came to have the baby.

Then she arrived. I still spent my days on the sofa. But I no longer painted my nails. Or dried my hair. Or put on make-up. Or wore fresh clothes every day. Or had a leisurely bath. I speed-showered. I wore the same pair of shoes every day. A manicure was a splash of soap and water (just the one hand because the other was holding a baby), and I'm not even going to mention my feet. A sexy bra felt like a thing of the past. Along with sleep.

Desperation developed a taste, a smell in the air. And alongside that, everything smelt of "baby" (which is not, for the record, that Johnsons' smell that everyone associates with babies, it's a MILK smell... and usually regurgitated milk at that).

Then slowly and mostly without my noticing it, things began to change. As Emily and I got to know each other better, I learnt to do things at lightning speed while she slept. So the laundry was always under control. The dishes were mostly always done.

So seven months on, it may be encouraging for some new mummies out there to know that I sit here typing this with not-just-dried-but-also-straightened hair; trimmed, buffed and painted nails; a subtle amount of make-up on my face and dangly earrings adorning my earlobes (which Emily will later try to tear off, no doubt).

There are still some things that I suppose you lose, after all we are shaped by our experiences. My love for high heels, as much as it is still present, no longer translates to wearing them any chance I get. My perfumes sit mostly unused - I just haven't gotten into the habit of wearing them again.

In time I've begun to re-establish my identity. I've only mentioned superficial things here because as I said earlier, the emotional side has to be experienced to be understood. So yes, motherhood has changed me. But I'm a better person for it.


Happy 7 months to my beautiful baby: seven of the most challenging - yet happiest - months of my life x

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