Fifty-four

I am nearly a week late posting this, which is indicative of how my life feels right now - there is not enough hours in the day to do all the things I need to do. But we get by and even if I'm just hanging out with Ada, or we go out for a walk, we're having a good time (it's just things like study and this blog which get pushed down the list)

Last week we had our ups and downs. She had her twelve month old jabs as I mentioned and it was hard. But then the next day it was like they had never happened and she carried on her merry old way. 

On Sunday we went to an 'indie poptots disco' which was basically a guy playing music from his laptop that parents would know and we could makes fools of ourselves, dancing with our babies and no one would mind, because if we're all acting silly, no one is acting silly, right?

Afterwards we went to back to Emily, Dave and Max's house and had a lazy Sunday afternoon drinking and chatting and watching the babies play. It was a grey day so it nice to spend it inside with friends

A bad day that got better

Ada had to get her twelve month immunisations today. And it was hard. I've read all the literature about it and am strongly pro-immunisation, but it is still a tough thing to put your baby through.

So early in the morning we went off to see the nurse. Ada was in good spirits, which made it worse. I was taking her into the lion's den. She got her first needle in her arm (there were three in total) and slowly came to the realisation that this was really awful. Needle two and three went in and she was in a flood of tears. This felt a lot harder then her three, four, five month old jabs. She is more of a person now and knows what she likes and has a wonderful, light spirit and to see her upset because of something I put her through was difficult. Big cuddles and a pop up book later and she was a little better. We came home, I have her a bottle and she fell asleep. On me. Which was really sweet, because I think we both needed it. 

She slept for two hours, which is unusual for her, and for that time of day (she fell asleep at ten am) and I had to wake her because we were meeting Dave for lunch. 

A quick jump on the tube and we meet Dave and had burritos for lunch (she had messy spaghetti which is fast becoming her favourite meal). It is always really great to see Dave during the week and I think he really loves seeing her as well - he really only gets an hour at most in the evenings and the weekend, which is never enough for any parent.

Then we went to Waterloo to meet a NCT mum, Miriam, and her girl, Ivy, who is a week younger that Ada. It is half term so Festival Hall was ridiculously busy with mums, dads and older children. Our usual area where we can sit and chat and the babies can run around was taken with kids activities so we went to another area, which had a cardboard city and overlooked a cold, grey, rainy Thames. We spent a couple of hours chatting and running after the girls who were either summoning their inner Godzilla (Ada) or crawling towards the stairs (Ivy). It was a wonderful afternoon.

Then we came home and Ada potted around the house playing with her toys (and my tampons. Who needs to buy loads of expensive things for babies when you can just buy a couple of packs of tampax and they're in heaven?). 


Dave came home for bath time, I gave her a bottle and she went out like a light.

I was really upset this morning, but by the evening we were all smiles and laughter once more.

'This flimsy bit of cord isn't going to hold me back!!!'

'Success in the cardboard city!'

Fifty-three

This week was a good week. My dad, Ada's Poppy, came over and whilst I had to work Monday to Wednesday, we had the next four days off. We went for walks in the park, went to go swimming but it was cancelled, trips to the farmers' markets and had a pub lunch.

Ada has been so sweet and affectionate this past week. She absolutely loves her dad and there are lots of 'Dad-dads' (not very many mums though...). Dave and I have had terrible coughs at the moment and keeping each other awake at night so one of us, usually Dave, will sleep in the living room. Ada usually wakes up around six o'clock and we will bring her into our bed and she will sleep for another hour. This week, because it is just me in there we are able to have a lovely snuggle first thing in the morning. She will hold my face in her soft small hands and beam her smile at me. Lately if I ask her to give me a hug she will (although it could be entirely random though)

First birthday

Big moments are always a chance to pause and reflect on what has gone and what will come. You can always say 'I remember what I was doing this time 'x' years ago. 

This time a year ago Dave and I were marvelling in awe and with a healthy dose of trepidation of this wonderful person we had given life to. I don't remember exact conversations (I was probably incoherent after being awake for  in excess of forty-eight hours anyway) but  I remember vividly the feelings. Overwhelming joy, excitement, fear all mixed into one. And then he left to go home and it was just Ada and I overnight at hospital. 

Fastfoward 12 months and you think 'where has all the time gone?', 'Where has my baby gone'? Time has disappeared, relegated to the recesses of our memory. Our baby has been replaced by a bigger, more sure and aware version of herself. I don't get upset about her being older (a little reflective about it, but not upset). In fact I'm really excited to see unfold the person she is fast becoming. 

We had her first birthday on the Saturday before her birthday. I had been preparing for a good month before - making bunting, presents for the party favours, and just running through my head the million of things I still had to do. Saturday morning came, I had finished the bunting, the cross-stitches, the animal badges all in the nick of time. But I still had cakes to ice, sandwiches to make, and a hall to set up. Luckily our friend Lisa came early to help me this, whilst Dave stayed home with Ada, who had a morning nap, and would bring her up early. 

To say that it was stressful was an understatement. My dad, who was over for ten days had to make a couple of trips back to pick up things, Lisa went out to get more supplies and Dave came up with glasses that we hired and a baby (toddler?) who had become increasingly clingy to him the last couple of weeks. Tensions were high (and maybe some heated phone conversations were had).

But then Dave and Ada arrived, the room was set up and people slowly started to trickle in. There wasn't loads of them - my NCT group, Dave's brother, his wife and their son, a couple of friends with kids and a few non-kid friends to - about twenty adults and ten kids all up. Once they all got there I started to relax (it might have also had something to do with the wine that I started drinking as well...)

The other great thing that had been happening is that we had gone to four birthday parties the preceding weekends, and each one Ada was getting better and better about going and playing with other babies and not being super clingy to Dave all the time (although there was moments when she was). I was worried that at her party it would just be Dave and I walking around, holding her, but she was happy to play with her toys and her friends while we weren't around. 

And as soon as it began, it was all over and we packed up and came back home. We had a quiet evening, and all went to bed early.

The Sunday, Ada's actual birthday we were up early to skype everyone in Australia. We had booked a lunch with Dave, my Dad, Ada and I at the Bolingbroke at twelve pm (a very baby friendly time. Oh how times have changed) but my dad had a stomach ache and couldn't make it so it was just the three of us. We took a leisurely stroll down there, in the hope that she would fall asleep, but she didn't. But it didn't matter - she was really great through all of lunch. We all had a really great time - with a massive thanks to Jessi and Aaron who work there and did so much for us. It was probably the best Sunday lunch I've ever had. 

By the time we left, two hours later, we put Ada in the buggy and she pretty much fell asleep straight away, and we took a leisurely stroll back home.

The weekend started on a really stressful note, but ended on a more slow, relaxed pace. It has been such an amazing year, and I'm so excited to see what the next year brings (no more birthday parties though).

Photos after the jump...

Fifty-two

Whoa baby! You're one already? That has come around quickly. As cliche as it sounds it feels like only yesterday Dave and I found out I was pregnant, and now we have a one year old baby. 

We had a birthday party for her yesterday but today we booked a lunch at The Bolingbroke for Dave, Ada, my Dad and I. Unfortunately  my Dad fell ill so couldn't make it, so it was just the three of us. 

Ada had her first pub meal (messy spaghetti) and her first real taste of sugary cupcakey goodness. She was in heaven. It was a really wonderful lunch (thanks Jessi and Aaron) which will all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Ada hadn't napped all day, but by the time we left around two she fell fast asleep in the buggy and we had a leisurely winter stroll home through Clapham Common. 

A perfect way to celebrate her first birthday.

What do you mean it's all gone?

Fifty-one

We just returned from our best baby friend - Poppy's - first birthday. Ada had, for the longest time, a love/hate relationship with Poppy. Poppy absolutely loved Ada but Ada would have none of it. This culminated on New Year's Eve where Allie (Poppy's mum [or mom]) and I thought it would be really nice for them to have a little play and bath together before going to bed and the adults could really have some fun. Ada had other ideas. Any time Poppy came vaguely close Ada would have a meltdown. The bath (together) did not happen. 

But today Ada was great. Poppy was great, but she always is. Ada was happy to leave Dave and I and play with all the babies there. It was really great.

The past few weeks have been first birthday party after first birthday party and it has been really fun. I've looked forward to going to every one of them, but now the realisation that it's Ada's birthday next is starting to dawn on me. I'm not sad that she is growing up, more just sentimental. I'm excited to see what the next year brings, and how much she grows, what she does, what she is interested in.

We also have made so much progress in our swimming classes. About four or five months ago Ada was really upset in quite a few lessons and steadfastly did not want to go to her swimming teacher, Kirsty, when she would do underwater dives. Instead I had to 'swim' her to Kirsty (and not vice versa). This year she has been amazing. No crying before she gets in, doesn't get upset when Kirsty holds her. It makes for a fun time for both her and I. 

Sssshhhh

I've taken the plunge and quit Facebook (well, I will do by the end of the night) and redirected friends and family to this blog. Hello! There are a few reasons why I have done this, namely

One
Removing myself from the distracting that is social media. It's all a bit tiresome these days, and I just can't be bothered with all that malarkey. I need to focus on my family and friends and occasionally work.

Two
Maintaining and controlling my family's privacy. By making this blog private I can (hopefully) control whom I want to share our updates with. Friends from school who I never really like anyway? You're gone.

Three
Momentos. I feel like this blog will better encapsulate the big (and not so big) moments in our lives. I just end up posting a couple of photos with a one work sentence about what it's about. And sometimes that will be fine. And I'm sure I'll do that here (Actually, I'm pretty certain I'll do that here). But for the times when I want to write down and remember feelings/events et al, I have a better forum to do so here.

So with that said and done, here is our weekend gone.

Dave had to go into work on Sunday to work on a pitch that he has coming up for work and it's a pretty big one, so he couldn't (and shouldn't) get out of it. So on Saturday we had plans to go down to Battersea Park for a wander and a play in the playground. And then my friend Jessie asked if we wanted to catch up for breakfast and seeing as though breakfast is my most favourite meal of the day, how could I refuse.

Now the last two or three times we had seen Jessie and Ada had been there Ada had been a miserable grump - either tired or sick or teething or a little of all three. She would be super clingy to either Dave or I (usually Dave these days) and just being a bit of an all round diva. 

But this time it was all different. We went out to lunch, Ada warmed to Jessie, and by the time we walked back to Jessie's for a coffee Ada was super happy, walking all around her flat and even let her have a hold of her. 

I think it was down to a few things. Ada needs to 'warm up to a room'. In any given (new) situation it generally takes her about half an hour to get used to it. She is a bit older now and I think is handling new situations a bit better too. And lastly she wasn't (super) sick or teething. Which makes for a happy babe and a happy Mum and Dad (oh and Jessie had a dog which had her interested, if not a little overwhelmed).

Sunday we had our second NCT 1st Birthday Party. Ivo was having his party at Vauxhall City Farm, with a morning tea, followed by a show and tell of some on the animals there. There was a guinea pig, a weasel (it might have been a ferret), a rat (which was actually kind of cute if you didn't look at it's tail), a bunny (sssuuupppeerrr cute), a Polish chicken and a totally crazy duck. She was middle of the road with all of them - occasionally excited but for the most part vaguely interested. Still I had a good time. Then we got to feed some goats and alpacas, which as a combination could be my most favourite animals ever. 

She fell asleep on the walk home, and then we had a nice mum and baby snuggle of the couch before Dave came home an hour earlier than I was expecting him. 

A great weekend.