I think they might actually be too sweet for my taste!
Everyone and everything has pretty much had to drink imaginary tea ever since.
Yes, even the monkey.
She is also trying to say koala and giraffe, and can say bear and hippo clearly.
Last Week in Pictures
Running a bit late with this one, but here goes :)
Discovered sharon fruit. The jury is still out on them -
I think they might actually be too sweet for my taste!
I found the Laugh & Learn Teapot set in the second hand shop for £3.50 and bought it for Emily.
Everyone and everything has pretty much had to drink imaginary tea ever since.
Yes, even the monkey.
We discovered she can correctly point out all these animals when asked where each one is.
She is also trying to say koala and giraffe, and can say bear and hippo clearly.
I discovered this little gem!
We watched her clothes get washed. Fascinating stuff.
And we watched rain fall.
New specs... at last!
I think they might actually be too sweet for my taste!
Everyone and everything has pretty much had to drink imaginary tea ever since.
Yes, even the monkey.
She is also trying to say koala and giraffe, and can say bear and hippo clearly.
Toddler-Teenager (The Wonder Weeks)
I'm not big on parenting books. I initially owned a Gina Ford book as well as the Baby Whisperer. Both were donated to the local library pretty early on. My instinct, along with genuine advice from friends who have been there, has never let me down.
However when Emily was four or five months old, someone mentioned The Wonder Weeks to me. This isn't a book about how to bring up a child. It merely outlines the typical mental development of a child (based on 30 years of research) and helps you understand why, at certain times, children are unpredictably clingy, grumpy, and all those other fine qualities mothers dread waking up to.
The book spans the first 20 months of a child's life and Emily is nearing the end of that. We are currently going through the final wonder week. Thus my bloggy silence.
I could sit here and moan (oh boy could I moan) about the nightmare child that Emily has suddenly turned into. Not to mention that our blissful full night's sleep has turned into patchy "catch an hour of sleep if you can" and has both David and myself feeling like homicidal zombies by morning.
Today - day two of Nightmare Emily this time round - it occurred to me that it might be a wonder week, so I checked my book. Sure enough, outlined in almost eery detail, was a description of Emily, and how a child's behaviour will probably change around week 74 of their life.
It didn't make today any easier. I shouted at Emily, I shut my ears to the endless moaning, I may even have turned off the baby monitor for the latter few hours of last night. I'm not proud of any of it, but she wasn't going to come to any harm and you do what you have to to cope.
But reading about the mental development that's ongoing at the moment helps. It helps to look out for new abilities and sometimes even helps patience last a little bit longer. Not much, but it does.
She's just gone to bed, and despite the pretty awful day, it ended with cuddles and - finally - a laugh or two from her. Most beautiful sound I heard all day.
It'll be an early night for me and David tonight!
(This post is not sponsored, but if you'd like to buy a copy of the book it'd be really nice if you used the link I provided *wink*)
However when Emily was four or five months old, someone mentioned The Wonder Weeks to me. This isn't a book about how to bring up a child. It merely outlines the typical mental development of a child (based on 30 years of research) and helps you understand why, at certain times, children are unpredictably clingy, grumpy, and all those other fine qualities mothers dread waking up to.
The book spans the first 20 months of a child's life and Emily is nearing the end of that. We are currently going through the final wonder week. Thus my bloggy silence.
I could sit here and moan (oh boy could I moan) about the nightmare child that Emily has suddenly turned into. Not to mention that our blissful full night's sleep has turned into patchy "catch an hour of sleep if you can" and has both David and myself feeling like homicidal zombies by morning.
Today - day two of Nightmare Emily this time round - it occurred to me that it might be a wonder week, so I checked my book. Sure enough, outlined in almost eery detail, was a description of Emily, and how a child's behaviour will probably change around week 74 of their life.
It didn't make today any easier. I shouted at Emily, I shut my ears to the endless moaning, I may even have turned off the baby monitor for the latter few hours of last night. I'm not proud of any of it, but she wasn't going to come to any harm and you do what you have to to cope.
But reading about the mental development that's ongoing at the moment helps. It helps to look out for new abilities and sometimes even helps patience last a little bit longer. Not much, but it does.
She's just gone to bed, and despite the pretty awful day, it ended with cuddles and - finally - a laugh or two from her. Most beautiful sound I heard all day.
It'll be an early night for me and David tonight!
(This post is not sponsored, but if you'd like to buy a copy of the book it'd be really nice if you used the link I provided *wink*)
Our Week in Pictures
(where a little boy poured sand over her head...)
(Annabel Karmel's Fusilli with Chipolatas and Sweet Pepper)
Ode to a Sofa
We bought a new sofa this month. We'd been thinking about doing so since December, and the reason it took us so long to make our minds up was simply that our old sofas were perfectly fine. Sure, they'd been mauled by the cats (remember them?) but they had years and years of life left in them realistically.
However, we didn't find them comfortable. The cushions were, in our opinion, too narrow and due to them being leather, they were also slippery. This was never a problem until the living room turned into the place where our social life basically happens. We spend most of our evenings there, me alone, David alone, or both of us together, and sometimes with friends. We wanted something that made us want to be there. Something that was comfortable.
So we finally went ahead and bought this sofa.
(dfs image)
The model is called Lush. Now, as much as I absolutely abhor that word, I can't deny that it's quite a good description of it. Which is why I am writing this post. An entire post dedicated to our new, beautiful, sofa.
I can stretch my legs out on this sofa.
I can curl up on it.
It's comfortable.
I can move cushions around and sit as I please.
Its smooth, smooth fabric.
Emily can climb up on her own. No need for moaning until I help her up.
She loves snuggling on it too. (Who can hate that?!)
I can hide the remote controls behind the cushions. Yay.
It's so comfortable.
I now love spending an evening watching a good movie.
Did I mention it's very comfortable?
Good move, I think. I don't miss our old sofas one little bit.
And speaking of movies, I watched Burlesque tonight. Loved it.
And Cam Gigandet? Yes please.
That is all. Good night! ;)
However, we didn't find them comfortable. The cushions were, in our opinion, too narrow and due to them being leather, they were also slippery. This was never a problem until the living room turned into the place where our social life basically happens. We spend most of our evenings there, me alone, David alone, or both of us together, and sometimes with friends. We wanted something that made us want to be there. Something that was comfortable.
So we finally went ahead and bought this sofa.
The model is called Lush. Now, as much as I absolutely abhor that word, I can't deny that it's quite a good description of it. Which is why I am writing this post. An entire post dedicated to our new, beautiful, sofa.
I can stretch my legs out on this sofa.
I can curl up on it.
It's comfortable.
I can move cushions around and sit as I please.
Its smooth, smooth fabric.
Emily can climb up on her own. No need for moaning until I help her up.
She loves snuggling on it too. (Who can hate that?!)
I can hide the remote controls behind the cushions. Yay.
It's so comfortable.
I now love spending an evening watching a good movie.
Did I mention it's very comfortable?
Good move, I think. I don't miss our old sofas one little bit.
And speaking of movies, I watched Burlesque tonight. Loved it.
And Cam Gigandet? Yes please.
That is all. Good night! ;)
Emily's New Room: Complete
I can't believe she's been in there for almost two months already, but that's how long we've been waiting for her curtains to arrive from Malta! I wanted to wait until her room was complete to take photos and show the room off.
Our house is a typical townhouse: three narrow floors. The top floor hosted the study/junk room and guest/junk room and was relatively unused - save for all the junk. Emily's old room was on the first floor, so we decided to move Emily up to the top floor, and bring the study & guest room down into her old room, thus merging them. Needless to say this last bit hasn't yet happened and both rooms look like they've been hit by a hurricane and honestly speaking, I just don't know where to start with merging the rooms as furniture needs to go or be bought and we're still not sure which pieces of furniture those are. So check back with me in a year - if we're lucky, we may have completely the project by then!
But at least Emily's room is finished and she is very happy to be in there. She still (phew) loves birds and makes "cheep cheep" sounds and the bird sign whenever she looks at her curtains.
So without further ado, I give you... Emily's new room x
I was very pleased that we were able to re-use some of the things we'd picked out for Emily's original room. As much as I prefer the new room, things for her old room were chosen with great care and excitement for the "new baby" that was to join us soon.
The set of three bear pictures had been over her cot in the old room. The elephant and butterflies that are now over her changing unit had been in various places around her old room, along with several other jungle animals that had to be left behind. The wooden letter E on her little mirrors had been stuck to her door, but she now has a new one that her grandmother bought for her, so this E is now here.
There is also a set of four framed pictures that had hung on my sister's and my bedroom wall when we were little. It's not "Why God Made Little Girls" (although a reproduction of that poem is in Emily's room too), but these are just as special. I adored them as a child and am thrilled that they have a place in Emily's room.
Little details:
- Paint is "Sorbet" by Dulux
- Bird stickers are from Amazing Sticker
- Curtain fabric is Robert Kaufman Urban Zoologie by Ann Kelle ("Spring" AAK-11507-192)
- The bookcase is the Tidy Box
Our house is a typical townhouse: three narrow floors. The top floor hosted the study/junk room and guest/junk room and was relatively unused - save for all the junk. Emily's old room was on the first floor, so we decided to move Emily up to the top floor, and bring the study & guest room down into her old room, thus merging them. Needless to say this last bit hasn't yet happened and both rooms look like they've been hit by a hurricane and honestly speaking, I just don't know where to start with merging the rooms as furniture needs to go or be bought and we're still not sure which pieces of furniture those are. So check back with me in a year - if we're lucky, we may have completely the project by then!
But at least Emily's room is finished and she is very happy to be in there. She still (phew) loves birds and makes "cheep cheep" sounds and the bird sign whenever she looks at her curtains.
So without further ado, I give you... Emily's new room x
I was very pleased that we were able to re-use some of the things we'd picked out for Emily's original room. As much as I prefer the new room, things for her old room were chosen with great care and excitement for the "new baby" that was to join us soon.
The set of three bear pictures had been over her cot in the old room. The elephant and butterflies that are now over her changing unit had been in various places around her old room, along with several other jungle animals that had to be left behind. The wooden letter E on her little mirrors had been stuck to her door, but she now has a new one that her grandmother bought for her, so this E is now here.
There is also a set of four framed pictures that had hung on my sister's and my bedroom wall when we were little. It's not "Why God Made Little Girls" (although a reproduction of that poem is in Emily's room too), but these are just as special. I adored them as a child and am thrilled that they have a place in Emily's room.
Little details:
- Paint is "Sorbet" by Dulux
- Bird stickers are from Amazing Sticker
- Curtain fabric is Robert Kaufman Urban Zoologie by Ann Kelle ("Spring" AAK-11507-192)
- The bookcase is the Tidy Box
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