Nine months none the richer

It should be Sixpence none the richer - the Texan pop/rock band from the 90's. I like to pick my titles from random things that pop into my head, so here you have it - Grace is nine months old, and I am certainly no richer. Well not financially. But I DO feel richer in my life per se - she's taking up such a large part of it, I can't help feel happy and content. She must be rubbing off on me. (No filth please, this is a family blog!)



Nine months in. Wow! Little birdie has been alive almost as long as she was sat inside me waiting to say hello to the big wide world. Many mothers I speak to seem to be on a roller coaster ride, as I am too... ups and downs, fear, excitement, tears and without a doubt the odd rant and tantrum. Matt the Husband is ever sporting - he learnt a long time ago to grin and bear it, and he does so ever so well. He has the odd blip where he turns into an irrational dribbler who can't form an argument for toffee and this leads to frustration on both parts because there's nothing I love more than a jolly good spar. Nonetheless, we haven't put coins into the sin tin for ages and Grace hasn't either - although she might be forming the odd word or two, there is nothing remotely akin to a swear word, thankfully.



Back to business. Grace is now merrily clapping her hands with gusto, beginning to bum-shuffle (copied the technique from Dimitris yesterday I believe), and sprouting baby teeth like they are going out of fashion. Six to date and still drooling.
Her sitting is spot on now - very stable and certainly her favoured position to be left in while I get on with 'jobs'. I have yet to have her weighed for her nine month milestone as I'm seeing the health visitor in the week and she'll be doing it then. I do know she's growing... her 12-18 month clothes are fitting exceptionally well and in some cases looking a little popeye.
Her legs have sprung into action this week and she loves doing squats while we support her under the arms. A plié, if you will.

Ballet aside, she's a little poppet and everybody comments on what a charming little girl she is. Here here!



So there you have it, nine months Grace, one skint Mummy. Parenthood - wouldn't swap it for anything.
Ciao!

Clampits in Cleethorpes

Once lumped in with Grimsby as one of the crap towns in the UK, I was under the impression that Grimsby goes with Cleethorpes like butter goes with bread. Doing my research beforehand when The Aged P's suggested it as a meeting point, I was somewhat concerned that we had slim chance of rustling up a Burberry baseball cap between us and worried we would stick out like a sore non-chav thumb. It was actually a lovely day and we didn't have any run ins with the locals apart from a bitterly miserable woman at the beach front kiosk grumbling at how the wind had 'ruined' the bank holiday for business. Ignoring that, we had a faultless day. Possibly with the slight exception of:

1) Me ending up looking like a scarecrow after forgetting a hair band to keep the mane under control, and

2) Matt the Husband getting Mother's wheelchair stuck in the sand dunes in his comical attempt to be a superhero

Nevertheless, Grace had a great time and did ever so well eating al fresco while having her cobwebs blown asunder with the gale of a sea breeze.

Dimitris' Christening

Grace had a very interesting Saturday afternoon attending a Greek Orthodox Christening for Dimitris Colin King, her second cousin. I think. I have always been more than a little confused on family generation lines, but for posterity, here is my best stab at it...

If Christina and I are first cousins, then I am cousin once removed from Dimitris, meaning he is one generation distant from me. Grace and Dimitris are therefore second cousins as they are children of first cousins. I find it ever so confusing, and as such Dimitris knows me as Auntie Heather and Grace with Auntie Christina. It's no wonder family generation lines are foggy - we create it! I'll pencil it in for sometime distant to draw a big algorithm for Grace to nail it before she starts school so she can wow her teacher.





Today in the news...

Moorland fires across parts of Lancashire, Northern Ireland and Wales are causing immense damage to flora and fauna while firefighters battle to tackle the blazes fanned by strong winds and accelerated by weeks of dry weather.

Osama Bin Laden today has been reported killed in a raid on a location in Pakistan by US forces. America's Most Wanted, Head of Al-Qaeda thought to be responsible for the attacks on September 11th 2001 where 19 hijackers took control of 4 commercial airliners and committed terrorism, killing over 3000 people.

The late Pope, John Paul II was yesterday beatified at a ceremony at the vatican in front of hundreds of thousands of Catholic faithful. Beatification, or declaring a person to be "blessed", is the necessary prelude to full sainthood. For this to happen, the Vatican must declare the person to have performed a miracle. In John Paul II's case, Sister Marie, 49, said she and her fellow nuns had prayed for the intercession of the Pope after his death to cure her from Parkinson's Disease. Her sudden cure had no logical medical explanation and she later resumed her work as a maternity nurse, the Vatican says.

News taken from bbc.co.uk

Royal Wedding 2011

As Grace and me speed past our hundredth blog post (yay, hurrah, three cheers!!!), Katherine Middleton and Prince William Arthur Phillip Louis Windsor wed at Westminster Abbey in London on today, 29th April. Remarkably Grace sat like the perfect child she is, clapping her hands and gaping mouth as we watched the ceremony on television for more than an hour. I had to mark the occasion - this is after all the marriage of the future King and Queen of Britain. That's some occasion by anyone's standards. I'm in love already - Kate Middleton is truly beautiful and her new hubby is such a hunky toff they can only be set to have a wonderful life together. I am now a fully reformed Royalist as is Grace - and I'm ever thankful to Daisychain nursery for sending her home this week with a home made union jack flag made with her own hands smothered in red, white and blue glitter gel. Ace!






I assume it's obvious, but in case not - I don't claim to have taken any of these lovely pictures - I have snaffled them unabashedly from Google's image library. Thank you very much, that'll do nicely! x

Daddy Day Care

Matt the Husband has taken the reins and is now graded fully competent at occupying baby Grace for a full shift. Examples of days that went well and he kept his cool/sanity/both include...

Boltons Abbey - 12th century priory ruins and parkland in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales.


Nostell Priory - built on the site of a medieval priory, now a National Trust property.


Circus - in the garden on the site of the dandelion weeds of the Langers family property.


Bless him, his hair is turning grey by the day and even Daisy-woof looks worn out at times. As the great man himself has just said - jack of all trades.... master of none. Mwahahahaha!!!

NEWSFLASH: Grace has got BALLS

No, my little poppet isn't cocksure. She has balls, colourful plastic balls for her inflatable paddling pool cum ball play pit. Brilliant. An entertained baby! And all for the grand sum of £3.... feeling the love for Asda.

A walk in the park

This is a picture of Grace's Daddy at the end of the London Marathon 2011. 5 hours 26 minutes and over £2000 raised for Help the Hopsices. WELL DONE DADDY! x x x