2012: Week 1

Sunday 1 January


Happy New Year! I didn't take any photos today (great start to the year, I know), so here's one from a year ago, when Daisy was 4 months old. What a difference!


Monday 2 January


We left our New Year place today, which was this lovely farmhouse in Bishop Auckland, County Durham. We had a great time and are looking forward to next year already :).


Tuesday 3 January


"I'm just looking to see what's in the bag..."


Wednesday 4 January


I don't have all that many photos of me and Daisy, and while it's not a great picture of me, it's a lovely one of her.


Thursday 5 January


Mum and I spent the evening doing this. That's right, we're living the dream :).


Friday 6 January


We left Mum & Dad's today to go to the Lakes to see Sarah, Chris and Fin, but there was just time before we left to take this photo. I only let her play with her tea set on the toilet seat long enough to take the picture. Don't call social services just yet.

A Year in Pictures: Week 52

Saturday 24 December


One more sleep!


Sunday 25 December


Merry Christmas! I'm not sure I understand what's going on, but I like all these presents I'm getting... ;)


Monday 26 December


I'm not sure why Daisy felt the need to show off her tummy...


Tuesday 27 December


We drove to Mum and Dad's today for our second (and Daisy's third) Christmas. It took us almost 5 hours to get there, as opposed to the usual 3, due to a combination of accidents, diversions and vomiting, but we got to open more presents when we eventually did arrive ;). This picture is indicative of Daisy's favourite bit about Christmas this year - playing with the ribbon and wrapping paper...


Wednesday 28 December


Dad's collection of Father Christmases is growing every year.


Thursday 29 December


Daisy got 45 books for Christmas, which is great as she loves them and we're getting bored of the ones she currently has ;). This is her favourite; she picks it up (no mean feat for her as it's the biggest book she received), walks over to her chosen adult, hands the book over, flaps her hands and shouts 'Up, up!' until she's lifted onto the adult's knee, then they read the book together.


Friday 30 December


I took about a dozen shots of Jen and Daisy, including one where they're both smiling, but I prefer this one as it tells a funnier story: 'She's laughing at me. Why's she laughing at me?'


And just to round off the year:

Saturday 31 December


We drove up to Bishop Auckland yesterday afternoon to spend New Year with friends. One of these friends is the gorgeous Teddy - Daisy learned to say his name quite quickly and spent much time giving him kisses, whether he liked it or not ;). Dinner time today wasn't going very well, until Teddy's Dad played an episode of Waybuloo on his iPad, and this was the result ;).

Happy New Year!

A Year in Pictures: Week 51

Saturday 17 December


We went with Jon's family to see the pantomime in Ipswich today, which was excellent. There were 10 performers and they did EVERYTHING - when they weren't speaking or singing they were playing all the instruments, including drums, keyboards, saxophones, guitars, recorders, trumpets, plus all the sound effects to go along with the dialogue. Very funny, very professional, a great evening.


Sunday 18 December


This year's Christmas card. This was the best photo out of approximately 250, over three sessions... I had loads where she was smiling and looking away from me, and loads where she was looking straight at me but not smiling. I kept thinking I could get a better shot but in the end I went for this one, which was taken in the first session we did :).


Monday 19 December


This picture and the next two are not authentic (there's a surprise - I wonder how many of my 'Year in Pictures' photos were actually taken on the day I've posted them to??) as Daisy was with Rob until Wednesday and I started having a second wave of being poorly so I can't even post pictures of what I did in Daisy's absence. Unless you want to see a photo of my view of the TV from the sofa. Instead, here are a couple of other photos I took during the reindeer shoots...


Tuesday 20 December


This was after the first reindeer session. She didn't seem inclined to move once I'd got her dressed so I took the opportunity to get a few more shots.


Wednesday 21 December


This was probably my second choice photo after the one I used for the Christmas card. She's smiling AND looking at the camera, but in the end I opted for a full body shot of her, as opposed to having half of her behind an advent calendar.


Thursday 22 December


Someone forgot to brush her hair again last night ;).


Friday 23 December


Daisy loves these ear muffs - but she won't wear them. She happily wanders round with them 'on' her head but as soon as I try and put them over her ears she starts crying... :).

A Year in Pictures: Week 50

We didn't do very well for photos this week as Daisy was away most of the week and we were both poorly. I did, however, find some photos on my little camera from a few weeks ago that I forgot I'd taken...


Saturday 10 December


'Hmm, I wonder if what's in here is for me?'


Sunday 11 December


Mum made this Christmas decoration out of old milk bottle tops and I put the buttons on. Except a cheap, recycled-material Christmas decoration turned out to be relatively expensive as I didn't have enough green buttons and had to buy a load more...


Monday 12 December


This picture was taken about a month ago when Daisy and I went to visit Jon on his residential course in Henley-on-Thames.


Tuesday 13 December


We get Christmas cards from Deputy Prime Ministers, don't you know.


Wednesday 14 December


Another photo from a few weeks ago, this time in Felixstowe when we stayed with Jon's Mum for the week while we had no bathroom.


Thursday 15 December


One of the many (hundreds of) photos I took for this year's Christmas card...


Friday 16 December


Our postman loves Strictly Come Dancing, and we chat about it every week, particularly on a Monday after the show's happened on a Saturday. I was out today when the post was delivered, but check out this envelope!

A Year in Pictures: Week 49

Saturday 3 December


The bathroom is finally taking shape! The builder has now finished, and we just need to paint the woodwork and paper the wall above the tiles. I have a feeling this will probably still need doing the next time Dad comes to visit in January... :).


Sunday 4 December


I bought this snow suit for Daisy a little while ago, and whilst it's the 'right' size (up to 21lbs), it's a little small, so I'll get her a bigger one soon. Still looks cute though.


Monday 5 December


You'll notice a theme running through the pictures for the rest of the week - these gorgeous little shoes that Bieke sent from Belgium when Daisy was born. They're called 'playshoes' and are perfect for keeping her feet warm while we're in the house now the weather's got colder. I love them!


Tuesday 6 December


We went to the weigh clinic today and - wait for it - she weighs 20lbs 1oz! So I spent her nap time working out how to fit the forward-facing car seat. We didn't actually need to drive anywhere after that today, though, so here she is just hanging out.


Wednesday 7 December


Daisy woke up at 4am this morning, and when she didn't go back to sleep I got her up and gave her a drink. I asked Jon if he'd brushed her hair last night before bed, and, unsurprisingly given the state of it in this picture, he said no. This was taken at around 9am, after she'd gone back to bed and slept on it for another 4 hours...


Thursday 8 December


Peekaboo!


Friday 9 December


So the reason for Daisy waking up in the night the other day became apparent last night - she's got a sickness bug. She woke up at 8pm last night and threw up, then had an unsettled night after that. Today she was generally lethargic and under the weather all day, so she spent much of the day looking like this... I noticed this afternoon that she's also had another tooth come through since yesterday, so it's all contributed to her feeling pretty poorly. Get well soon, baby!

A Year in Pictures: Week 48

Saturday 26 November


We arrived back home today to a bathroom that's still most definitely a work in progress. The toilet works, but it will be a few days before we get a shower or bath back. Nice tiles, though, huh?


Sunday 27 November


Daisy's bath for the next few days. I have a feeling she won't be having a bath every day like she normally does...


Monday 28 November


Surveying the damage. She had bolognese in her ears and everywhere...


Tuesday 29 November


Let me out!


Wednesday 30 November


I love this outfit!


Thursday 1 December


Trying out the new car seat - she doesn't weigh enough to use it yet, but it won't be long. I hope.


Friday 2 December


I LOVE this cardigan that Mum knitted for Daisy. I think she made it to a fairly small size - maybe 3-6 months - but by her own admission her knitting is a little slack, and at 15 months, it's a perfect fit!

A Year in Pictures: Week 47

Saturday 19 November


A rare opportunity for a family photo :).


Sunday 20 November


Daisy loves Auntie Jen xx.


Monday 21 November


Daisy and I went to Ipswich today to stay with Jon's Mum for the week while we have our bathroom refitted (we decided to go the whole hog and get that done too) and Jon stayed in a hotel near work. Here's a 'before' shot of the bathroom. I know, you're all jealous of the red suite...


Tuesday 22 November


I love this picture of Brenda and Daisy watching In The Night Garden :).


Wednesday 23 November


Jon's niece and nephew, Jess and Finn, came to visit this morning. Daisy loved having people to play with!


Thursday 24 November


Daisy had a tooth come through today but it didn't seem to bother her at all. She was more interested in looking at the 'goggie' out the window...


Friday 25 November


Just realised I haven't posted a photo of the finished kitchen, which is a good job as I've run out of photos for this week :). We're really pleased with it - it's still not the biggest kitchen in the world but we've made good use of the space we've got. A million times better than what it replaced!

Fifteen Months

Headline news this month is that Daisy has mastered walking unaided! She's motoring round the place now and loves her new-found freedom - at least, she would if the stairgate didn't confine her to the lounge :).

She hasn't added all that many new words this month, as she's been concentrating on walking, but she has learned home, drink (sounds like 'diss'), teeth (also sounds like 'diss', so you have to know the context), keys (sounds like 'diss'... you're getting the idea about context, right?) tea, pea, toast and thank you (sounds more like 'agu' but she's started saying it after being given something and without being prompted, so that's good), and she recognises and will attempt to repeat quite a lot of words, including 'I love you' which sounds like 'awuwu'. She's also learned that a parrot says 'caw caw'. Well, according to Mummy it does, anyway.

She's still quite clingy when I'm around but not available, i.e. if she can hear me in another room, but that soon passes. She got another tooth today; her eleventh - four at the front on the top row, three on the bottom including the new one, and one molar on each side, top and bottom.

Breadsticks are so last season, and have been unceremoniously dumped in favour of oatcakes, and she loves homemade burgers. She's not keen on trying new foods, particularly fruit, so I'm still spoon-feeding her pureed fruit, but we'll keep persevering with things like blueberries, bananas and grapes.

Here's Daisy demonstrating toast and please, and giving kisses :).

A Year in Pictures: Week 46

Saturday 12 November


Happy Birthday Jon! As ever, Daisy wasn't interested in posing for the camera...


Sunday 13 November


... Not even my birthday could persuade her to smile :).


Monday 14 November


I took photos of her today in a reindeer outfit for this year's Christmas card. I don't want to spoil the surprise, but here's a teaser...


Tuesday 15 November


Until she was about a year old, Daisy didn't have a bedtime blanket or similar teddy, but over the past few months 'Blankie' has emerged as the go-to toy for an easy bedtime routine, to such an extent that when we forgot to take it with us to Manchester in early October, it made for quite a stressful bedtime. We bought another one from the same store, but apparently it just wasn't the same (think Huggsy, Joey's bedtime penguin pal from Friends). These days when we say 'Is it time to go to bed?' she says 'Aggie, Aggie, Aggie!' In fact, if we say 'Shall we go and find Aggie?' she knows it's bedtime.


Wednesday 16 November


Mum made this beautiful cardigan for Daisy before she was born, and I tried it on her today. It's still a bit big round the shoulders, but I love it!


Thursday 17 November


Nanna and Grandpa (also known as Nanna and Apa) arrived yesterday and Mum took this lovely shot of Daisy. She often sits in her chair and contemplates life.


Friday 18 November


Jen, Sandra, Robert and Laraine all arrived today, and Jen babysat this evening while the rest of us went to watch the Classical Spectacular at the Albert Hall. I love this sign at the train station - only in Britain would you find a revised timetable to account for leaves falling on the track...