Massive blogging catch up !!

Oh dear oh dear. As Jemima is sleeping less in the day, the amount of stuff I have to get done while she is asleep remains the same and she is very very active so I'm one slightly frazzled mother who simply collapses given the chance rather than blogs... Anyway, I made a commitment to keep this up and I really do want to so it may be that I can only do this when someone else is around rather than every day or so.

So where to start ? Jemima is now cruising around the furniture, more than capable of pulling herself up on any object and now able to get down, one knee at a time, when she's had enough or wants to pick something up. She loves waving at her reflection and is very vocal when greeting the other little baby ! In fact, she's very sociable and vocal and yesterday we took her into town, she had a whole coffee shop enchanted, speaking to everyone, greeting everyone who came in with a wave and shout ! Everyone went a bit silly over this incredibly sociable and outgoing and waving infant, we were very proud ! People now talk to her in her buggy as she faces out and she can see the world. I'm glad she does now face the front, she knows where I am, talks to me when she needs reassurance but mainly looks at the world and takes it all in. I think we're going to have big trouble when she's toddling, reins aren't going to be optional.

Jemima's maternal grandparents splashed out on a fantastic stroller, it's so smart, a new Mamas & Papas style and it's light, folds down easily to a size I can easily.
heft into the car boot, and best of all, Jemima falls asleep in it soooo easily. However, she has decided that she only wants to fall asleep in her stroller now so I do 2-3 walks a day for her and that's no bad thing I guess


In the meantime, Jemima has learnt that when we teach her what something is, we point at it. She points at anything and everything that she finds of interest. Which is more or less everything. She points at the pictures in her book and is associating words with objects. She copied me and said "duck", "dog" and a few other sounds (which I'm not silly enough to think she "knows" but it's a fun game) and there are other words that she most definitely knows, "dada", "walk" and brilliantly, "palamakia" which Granny Greek taught her to clap her hands with. Any time you want Jemima to giggle and clap, just sing "palamakia" to her and she'll immediately start to clap her little hands !

Jemima now not only listens to the voice on the phone but answers it, she and Granny Greek have had many warbles and witters and chatterings and songs to each other, so sweet !

Mama and I took Jemima on a walk by the river to see all the birds, ducks, geese, swans, moorhens, gulls, pigeons........... She was absolutely entranced !


Her father dotes on her, throws her in the air.....and even sat her on his bike ! Very cute, she really liked this big machine and doesn't really mind when he pulls up to the house engine growling. (I've associated the vacuum cleaning with fun and songs so that the noise of it doesn't frighten her so she's pretty tolerant).

We took Jemima to a tapas restaurant this weekend and she enjoyed her first tastes of garlic bread - big thumbsup ! - salsa, different cheese, patatas bravas and a few other things... she loved it and in the end wouldn't accept anything put direct into her mouth at all, it all had to be handed to her for her big grown up self to place in her mouth !

Really slack blogging...

Bad mother that I am, I have been so tired recently that I haven't been able to write every day or anywhere near. So many things have happened that I need to sit down with the pictures and record all the new developments which include ululating, clapping, conversations on the phone and all sorts of things ! Now that I've come and blogged a little (having somewhat built it up into a "homework" situation) I'll come back and do the rest shortly..... Sorry Jemima, it's all coming !

Some more firsts

We shopped for Jemima's first pair of properly fitted shoes today, we went to Clarks of course and she had both of her feet properly measured and we picked out the "cruiser" shoes which are firmer and more robust for those first little steps around furniture and in her walker. Her toes curl ever so slightly so we want her feet to flatten out nicely as she learns to walk. Clarks even do a journal for you with pictures and measurements, so sweet ! Of course, her father is horrified that his daughter will inherit her mother's fixation with footwear "kerching!!" go the cash tills....

My parents wrote this to me so I thought I'd just cut and paste it straight in: "Something for Jemima's journal. As we talk a lot about the baby with baba of course.. we both discovered the following. When she sees the panda she picks it up with both hands and then she brings it to her face and kisses it!!! When it happened with me I thought nothing of it but baba told me that he saw her kissing the panda (in her own way of kissing of course) then I realised what was happening when she did the same when I was holding her. It is very endearing to see how fond she is of this black and white soft toy and how happy she is to see it. Of course she talks to it and smiles to it but kissing it?...." - so of course we will have a picture of this shortly.

Terence and I took Jemima to a pizza restaurant today and Jemima was her normal well behaved self (albeit a little grumpy while waiting for her food!!) and she had her first little piece of baked pizza dough (not from a pizza, they serve this with salad) and she loved it, very grown up. Unfortunately this is one of those videos I just can't turn around due to it being inaccessible via blooming Picassa !