Sleepy Bunny

For the last week or so I've been feeling a bit more tired and lethargic, and have been trying to think of lots of indoor activities to do with Hannah once she wakes up from her afternoon naps. Also by the time she wakes up it's almost dark outside and with the weather being a bit miserable we've had to get used to staying at home!

Some of the activities have included icing biscuits, baking cupcakes (which she didn't like as the noise of the electric whisk clearly brings back nightmare memories of bathroom hand-dryers!), playing with bowls of water, bouncing on the bed, and more recently dancing around to songs I find on YouTube.

Here's a video of her absolute favourite song, complete with enthusiastic actions. It is really funny to watch her get so excited for the first couple of times, but on the 6th time in a row of listening I get a bit fed up with it. Hannah will NEVER tire of it apparently. Try watching this video 6-7 times in a row and see how much you like the song afterwards!

Christmas is coming

We put up our Christmas decorations on 3rd December this year, a little early perhaps but who knows when Baby 2 will arrive and stop us from getting on with tasks like this! 

Hannah has been really excited by all the festive sparkles this year, a big change from this time last year when she barely even noticed anything had changed in the living room when the tree went up. Now each morning she runs into the living room and immediately shouts "Tree! Tree!" in order to get the lights switched on, it makes me quite excited too!

Excited girl!

She has also been helping with the festivities by making her own decorations at the various playgroups/creches we go to (perhaps with a little help from mum!)

It's lovely having a star for the top of the tree this year, the last 3 years we have put a fluffy penguin on top which inevitably falls off several times. Thanks Hannah!

All these crafts have developed Hannah's love of gluing and glitter, something to keep in mind for rainy days in the future! Rainy days much like today... I am sitting listening to the howling gale outside (80mph predicted by the MET office!) and I am feeling very grateful for the central heating and cosy lighting inside our flat at this time of year. 

Merry Christmas to all!

Baby 2

New baby is due to arrive in about 6 weeks time! I can't believe how quickly this pregnancy has gone past, I suppose all my focus is on Hannah so No: 2 is already neglected. 

So today I decided to buy some supplies so that we're slightly prepared if he/she arrives soon. After much searching, Marks and Spencer turned out to have the nicest neutral coloured things, everywhere else I looked is obsessed with pinks, blues and a token white which was never that interesting.

So here are the delightful purchases - very cute, and have made the whole thing seem scarily real. I think I've been in a slight denial up until now...! 
Of course 6 weeks until baby, means only 6 weeks until Christmas eve! So I hope that hasn't made you all scared like me :-)

Obesity in Pregnancy

At my first antenatal appointment, I was asked to take part in a research project for Tommy's charity - an organisation which funds research into pregnancy related problems. Their mission is "To give every baby the best chance of being born healthy" and in order to help try and achieve this, they organise and carry out LOADS of research into various pregnancy issues. The project I am involved with is "Research into Pregnancy and Obesity."

http://www.tommys.org/Page.aspx?pid=363#1

Of course I'm far from obese (at the moment!) - in order to be asked to take part in the obese category you have to have a BMI of >40. Mine was 23 which is bang in the middle of the "normal" range, so therefore I was asked to be in the control group.

My first appointment was in July where they weighed and measured me, did a body fat analysis, took blood samples and gave me five different questionnaires to fill in asking me about every aspect of my life! 

Today was my second appointment. I had to go to the hospital fasted from midnight the previous night, and was given 410mls of Lucozade to drink in 10 minutes. Apparently this amount was worked out to give a precise amount of glucose per fluid ounce! I then had to fill in more questionnaires and had a growth scan of the baby. It was quite difficult to see much because I guess the baby is so much bigger than the 20 week scan! It was also VERY wriggly and the radiographer was having real trouble getting the measurements. However he managed eventually and plotted the results on a graph for my notes.

Head circumference on Left, Abdomen circumference on Right

Baby is slightly bigger than average at the moment, but hopefully it'll level off or at least not grow above the top centile line. Hopefully avoiding too many cakes and chocolate bars will stop this from happening!

I was weighed and measured again and told my body fat content had gone from 28% to 31% since the last visit. Yuck. It's horrible to think that nearly a third of your body is made of fat! But I'm told this is still lower than average...!

Hopefully the research project will do some good, but I suppose people are not going to stop being obese and getting pregnant. And I'm not sure whether publishing the findings will make people realise they need to lose weight before conceiving. If my job is anything to go by, I see a lot of the health advice given by the government being ignored - people still smoke like chimneys, eat nothing but greasy fast food, inject drugs into their veins... and with the media being so prominent in our lives there is no excuse for ignorance any more!

But perhaps if the research means that just one child born with better health prospects for the future, then it's worth it?

Rainy day

While England basks in glorious sunshine, Edinburgh had to put up with horrid drizzle all day today. We met friends for some lunch but were back home by 3pm, and couldn't face going out in the damp to find something to entertain Hannah. 
So we pushed the coffee table back and spent a while playing in the space.


Here's a video of Hannah enjoying her new favourite rhyme. A couple of questions though...


- Can anyone translate what she is saying? 
- Can a child psychologist explain the decisions she makes?
- When will she learn to say "Yes" instead of flapping enthusiastically when she wants to do something?

We certainly find her very entertaining these days!

New haircut

Here is a photo of my new hair cut for those who I won't see me any time soon! Not much different apart from the fringe. Some of you many remember the fringe disasters of my childhood, which for the past few years I have successfully blocked from my memory. But now that effective hair straighteners are on the market, I am a little more willing to give the fringe another go!   

I'll no doubt regret it and end up in tears the first time I wash my hair following this cut as it will inevitably fail to do what I want it to, but at least there's one picture where it looks semi-decent!

And to make myself feel better at the time, I will just refer back to one of the following pictures to make me realise things could be worse...

Age 8 - The uneven fringe. Who thought a multi layered fringe was a good idea? Teamed with the worlds fattest hair band for extra beauty.

Age 11 - The Frizzy fringe. This picture doesn't do the frizziness justice, and it really is WAY too short. 

Is that Alex in the background?!

Age 13 - The Splitting fringe. I spent years battling with my fringe to get it to go straight forward and it always always separated and ended up like this. Perhaps this is something I'm going to have to deal with again...? Also, check out the jumper on this one! Snazzy!

 Age 15 - The flicky fringe. The sides of my fringe always use to flick off to the side, as if gravity doesn't apply to fringe, or that gravity infact turns on it's side and makes things go horizontally? Again I'm hoping straighteners will help me avoid the flicking problem this time round. (It probably didn't help that members of the Stranton church YF had dressed me up as a chav in this photo, hence the scrunchy up high.)

 As an extra little treat today I used a voucher I had to get eyelash extensions! They should last about 4 weeks apparently, and it means I have a few weeks of not having to bother with mascara. I just have to remember not to rub my eyes for four weeks.... wish me luck!

Grandad's 91st

On the 13th of September was Grandad's 91st birthday party! A few of us travelled through to Glasgow and met at the House for the Art Lover for morning coffee and delicious cakes, then went back to Grannie and Grandad's house for a bit of lunch. Here's some of my photos from the day, which have taken me a ridiculously long time to take off my camera! 

 Grandad entertains Colin with a hankie - it's the simple things!

Mairead and the gorgeous Lucy 

 Group shot

 Colin has a quick shower after lunch

The Great-Grandchildren 

 Little Bo Peep

Hannah and Lucy share a moment. Perhaps discussing Lucy's fashionable new headgear?

Spinning class

A couple of videos from our weekend visit to Hartlepool....

Daddy and Hannah take full advantage of the space in the garden to enjoy some spinning activities. We can assure you she enjoyed every minute of this despite looking a little queasy at times!

Hummingbird baking

We have a book box at work brought by "The book people" company. I always sift through the books, then go back to ignoring it. But last month, this cookery book caught my eye...

When I looked into it, it turns out it cost £5 down from the recommended retail price of £12.99!! And after flicking through the delights inside, I decided it would probably be £5 well spent. It arrived on Monday, so yesterday during Hannah's naptime, I tried my first recipe - Chocolate Brownies... and they are GOOOOOOD!!!

On an unrelated topic, Hannah picked up my camera and passed it to me yesterday, so I pointed it at her and asked her to smile - and for the first time she did it when asked!

Or perhaps it was because she had just finished a tiny bit of the brownie mentioned above and was pleased with me.

Baby photos!

We had our 20 week scan on Tuesday morning. Everything was absolutely fine (as far as she could tell) so we can relax a bit more now! Baby was very active and strongly reacted to the cold of the gel on my tummy. It better get used to cold if it's going to make an appearance at Christmas time in Scotland!

We forgot to ask the radiographer if she could ask the baby how relaxed and chilled out it was feeling, as we feel we are due a baby who is laid back and doesn't enjoy crying non stop. Thinking back however, the body language the baby was expressing makes us think it is fairly chilled - it had it's hands clasped and resting on it's tummy, and it also had it's legs crossed in classic "lounging" position.

Following the scan, we were trying to think of fun activities for the day as Hannah was spending the whole day with her grandparents. We stared at the list of daytime festival shows for a while and made no decision, as so many things are hit and miss! We didn't want to end up spending money on something that would be a complete waste of time and cash.

We wandered to the High Street to look at the performers and when we got there we remembered Camera Obscura, a museum right at the top of the High Street near the castle. It's a really cool, interactive museum with loads of optical illusions, holograms, machines that change your appearance, and sparkly light tunnels!

We had been told about the infrared video camera which shows up the different intensities of heat on your body. The room had an icy bottle in it that you could hold against yourself and see the difference it made to your skin. But the most exciting thing about it for us, is you can see the baby through my tummy!! The reason for this is that the baby blocks out some of the heat from my internal organs so you can see a slightly cooler shape of the baby's body, the yellow colour in the bottom of my abdomen. Amazing!

We're going to go back in November/December to see the effect a bigger baby will have on the image, we might even catch it moving!!

I'd also like to point out the angle of the camera isn't very flattering, it makes me look a LOT rounder than I actually am...

Budding artist

Hannah and I were in the Jenner's toy department one rainy afternoon last week, spending some quality time looking at stuffed animals and making the appropriate noises. She came across a small table with crayons and paper on, and an invitation to enter Jenner's colouring in competition. She of course set about on her entry with much enthusiasm.

I decided not to give her entry to the staff as I felt it just wouldn't be fair on all the other children, Hannah's colouring in skill is obviously far superior. (Plus... we don't really have room in the house for a jeep and horsebox she would inevitably have won).

Hannah has been very busy over the past few weeks perfecting her drawing, she is extremely creative. I'd now like to showcase some of her pieces of work on the blog, to share her artistic talent with the world.

"Spring garden"

"Woman in Black"

(sponsored by redhat)

The artist herself hard at work on another masterpiece

Hannah the performer

Hannah LOVES getting a round of applause. If we give her a clap once she does something well, she inevitably does it again and again to get the same response. This means when she starts learning a new skill, our applause means she practices said skill until perfected.

At the minute, the two things she's been practising are standing up from the floor (most babies learn this before they walk I think, but Hannah likes to do things backwards), and eating with her own spoon.

We will try to catch the standing practice at some point, but at the minute please make do with Hannah's debut "eating alone" performance. Enjoy!

No: 2

Here is our second little bundle of joy! Baby is due on Christmas eve, although I'm really hoping it will arrive a significant period of time before or after then - I don't think NHS Christmas dinner will compare to mum's home cooked one!

It's currently 7.1cm long and very wriggly whilst being scanned, the radiographer was having trouble doing all her measurements.

Thankfully I've hardly experienced any sickness during this pregnancy, unless the kitchen bin hasn't been changed and is a bit stinky... My only complaint is extreme fatigue, but this is much easier to deal with than the throwing up :-)

Fickle cat

Since we moved into this house 2 years ago, the little cat pyramid bed has sat un-used next to the tv cabinet. Mia has favoured a tiny round basket which she has to squeeze herself into, much to our confusion as the little pyramid is so squishy and comfy looking!

However for the last three nights, Mia has snubbed her usual basket for the pyramid instead. What has caused this change of mind, we'll never know. I am extremely interested to know what goes through the minds of cats, (and babies for that matter!)

Anyway, the point of this post is because I'm feeling very smug for leaving the pyramid sitting there empty for 2 years even though it's been taking up room. I guess I wanted to just give my little ginger babies the option :-)

Snug as a bug

A year and a bit

Hannah has changed loads in the last month. She's much less like a baby and more like a toddler - given the chance she walks around almost all day long, she talks away to us (although who knows what it is she's saying!) and just seems to be enjoying life a bit more!

Here's a video of her from this morning.

She is also OBSESSED with books. It's getting to the stage where we have to hide them if we want to do something else with her in the living room, otherwise she just wants them read to her over and over again. I'm told I was like this as a child, so I guess things do come back around!

Her very favourite book is called "Pants", and is all about the different kind of pants there are. I think it's aimed at toddlers, but she seems to love it. Maybe it'll make the transition from nappies to pants a little easier...!

This is my 100th blog post! Yay!

Hannah is One

On the 8th April, Hannah was ONE!! It is a scary thought that a year has gone past since this little lady arrived into our lives and turned everything upside down. I can't say that it's been the easiest year of my life - During her birth I have never been so scared, during the first months I have never felt so helpless. Hannah has challenged my patience to the absolute limit, pushed me to breaking point with the lack of sleep and has thoroughly tested our marriage.

But I wouldn't change her for the world, she has filled me with so much joy and happiness lately that I can hardly remember how difficult the first few months were. On her actual birthday she was obviously so excited she couldn't sleep. She woke at around 5am and would NOT go back to sleep, so was ever so slightly grizzly for the first part of the day. I guess the good thing about being a baby is that if you feel tired and miserable you can just whinge and moan about it - adults are so polite to keep how terrible they feel hidden! I can assure you I wasn't enjoying the early start!

However the rest of the day she was on fairly good form, she seemed to enjoy opening her birthday presents and has enjoyed playing with them since.

Here are some of the best photos Colin took on and after Hannah's birthday. I think they show how happy she (generally) is these days!

Hannah's new cat

Tree house from Mummy and Daddy

Pensive Hannah

A fun present from Bruce and Winkie

Black and White

Yummy chocolate, unfortunately she wasted a little bit

Happy birthday Hannah!!!

More tricks

We were away in Austria skiing last week, and had a fantastic time! The weather was beautiful, the skiing was great, and despite being quite ill with a temperature and cough the night before we left, Hannah was on top form.

Here's a wee video to show some of her new tricks:

She has also added "fish" to her list of tricks, as well as walking about 5 feet unaided, but we're yet to capture this on film! Instead, here's some videos of Colin and I enjoying the slopes.

Sucker

So the other day I was walking past the "Benefit" counter and noticed they had a new brand of lip balm called "California Kissin' ".

The Benefit website and the girl on the counter claims:

"The subtle blue sheen makes teeth appear whiter and the minty taste freshens breath."

So trusting old me thought I'd try it - after all, I can't afford chemical teeth whitening.

Here's a before and after shot.

Before - dull old lips

After - amazing sparkling whitened teeth.

Yes. We can't tell the difference either. Jeni is suckered in by clever marketing once again....

Plus - Colin says my breath smells like wine. Hmph

Boots!

When I was in Hartlepool a few weeks ago, mum very kindly threw out my 10 year old boots. I loved them so much that I knew if I took them home with me, that I'd never throw them away. But they had gone from lovely black suede to a bedraggled grey suede having protected my feet from the elements for the best part of a decade. They were also ripped to shreds inside and were actually beginning to damage my heels a bit.

So after weeks of searching, I finally got some new boots!

I was trying on a pair of comfy looking DocMartins which actually didn't turn out to be that comfortable, and the guy in the shop suggested I tried these ones on. I thought I'd just humour him, but I'm so glad I did because I loved them on. And the best bit is that I walked a couple of miles in them today and felt like I was wearing slippers, they were SO comfy!! I am a Blowfish convert, and think you all should be too.

Excitement

Everything in Hannah's world is massively exciting at the minute. It's quite a lovely phase to watch, as she's just so thrilled when something she recognises crops up in her day to day life. A couple of things she's particularly excited by...

Waybuloo

But so much more exciting than that, is the doorbell!

This video doesn't quite do her normal reaction justice, she doesn't really perform for the camera on demand. But you get the idea...

Peace treaty?

Since moving into our flat, the friendship between our two little cats has suffered massively. They used to sleep together in a basket, play fight, wash each other - but when they started being outdoor cats they became very territorial and the bond of sisterhood was shattered! Now when they come across each other on their day to day travels, fur flies and growling and snarling commences.

They have VERY distinct boundaries on our property, which they guard fiercely, and if one strays into the others' territory then they are promptly chased away. There are a few neutral areas that they do not fight in, and simply pass each other quickly.

Cat territory

So this evening, I was genuinely gobsmacked to come across this scene in the hallway:

This is the closest the cats have been to each other without ripping fur from each others haunches for almost 2 years! I am hoping this is the beginning of the healing process between them, although I know there is a lot of work to do. I may have to send them to a counsellor to get through some of the really deep seated issues.

Please leave us alone mum

Bruises

Note to self - Next time you think about going back to jitsu after 2 and a half years of NOT training, take a look at this picture and think twice.

Ouch.

I think my body is a different shape compared to my pre baby figure, and the new lumps and bumps were definitely catching on the ground/on my jitsu outfit in ways that didn't bother me before. I really enjoyed the training session, I felt really nostalgic and was pleased that I hadn't entirely forgotten everything I learnt in the 7 years before I stopped.

It's now 3 days since the session and I'm now managing to get up and down off the sofa without thinking of taking painkillers, and now I'm starting to think that it wasn't all that bad and I'll probably do it again someday. A bit like labour really!

Balance

I don't think it'll be very long before we need to seriously baby proof our house. Hannah has been able to work her way slowly around the furniture for a little while now, but can only do so as long as she's keeping a tight hold to either the coffee table or the sofa. This means the rest of the house can remain as dusty/cluttered/tangled with cables as we like.

However, in the past few days, Hannah has perfected her ability to balance. Observe:

I'm predicting that she'll be off before she's 1. Watch this space....

The perfect bath

On our wedding anniversary last year, Colin gave me this:

I have been putting off using it, as I wanted the "perfect" day to use it - one free from disturbance from Hannah/Colin/phone/cats... anything really! And it can't be a day that's too hot/too cold outside, otherwise I don't enjoy baths either. I'm so fussy.

Anyway, today was the day I used it!

At first, it just looked a bit like the bath water had gone mouldy....

But after a few minutes it started to look a little more inviting...

Candles lit.... a good book.... bath toys easily accessible...

I would highly recommend a jelly bath!! It felt so weird at first, but it was like pulling a warm duvet over yourself which just heated up my cold bones perfectly!

The only criticism - I'm finding un-melted jelly around the place since I got out. It's been sitting in my collar bone, and I just skidded on a bit on the bathroom floor... But it was definitely worth the mess.

Jelly-tastic

Trip south

Last weekend we headed south to stay with Granny and Grandad Robertson for the weekend. It was also a good excuse to try out Hannah's fancy new Recaro car seat (which we are both incredibly jealous of! It looks very comfortable.) She was quite upset when we first put her into it, but once she realised we were able to turn round and entertain her whilst on the move she decided it wasn't so bad after all...

It had been mum's birthday earlier in the week so to celebrate I had decided to have a go at making some cupcakes. I made white chocolate and raspberry flavour (with the peach and white flower decorations), and then lemon flavoured ones (with the pearly balls). I can honestly say I've never baked before 7.30am before! The joys of motherhood...!

Unfortunately the yellow food colouring I used on the lemon ones didn't give the frosty lemony look I was going for - instead they look like they are canary flavoured. This didn't seem to affect the taste though! I will definitely be making them again - YUM.

On Saturday after a long lie (thanks mum!) we headed out to Yarm. We stopped for lunch in a little Italian restaurant, it was a nice chance to have a good catch up, and now Hannah sits in a highchair happily mealtimes are much easier!

We stopped in Preston Park on the way home, somewhere we used to go a lot when I was younger. I had a sense of excitement as we drove up, as it really was a fun day out in the past - but I have to say I was quite upset at how much it had been allowed to fall into disrepair! There used to be loads of animals in various enclosures, which are all now empty and overgrown. Hopefully the park will be improved at some stage as I'd love to take Hannah there at some point in the future!

We did get to go on a very muddy woodland walk however, which we had to abandon half way round. Prams just don't seem to be made for off-roading.

Hannah doesn't seem bothered by the bumpy ride

The pram gets a clean off before going back in the car

On Sunday we had another lovely lie in, then went for a walk in the local park in Hartlepool. It was a cold day but Hannah was quite happy watching the world go by! She is fascinated by ducks, to which we fed ONE WHOLE SLICE of bread! We are so generous.

We then stopped at the cafe for a hot chocolate and took the chance to give Hannah a shot on the swings, which she LOVED.

Weeee!

Back at home, Hannah spent some time shredding some tissue paper, a new much enjoyed activity.

On Monday we headed back up north again, but not before stopping at a farm shop/cafe near Hartlepool for some lunch with mum. The food was home cooked and so tasty, but the highlight was probably the piglets and calves who were sitting in a barn near the carpark. Hannah was very confused by them and the noises they were making! She was quite happy as long as they sat still, but inquisitive animals soon started coming over to the fence and snuffling about so we had to take a few steps back.

Hanging with the coos

We had a really lovely time in Hartlepool and felt very rested upon our return! It does however make the 5.30/6am starts that little bit harder when you've been spoilt with lie-ins for three days.