Life, at the moment, is something of a blur

"Too slowly, Daddy. Too slowly!" I think Ana has her mother's (and maternal grandfather's) penchant for speed.

Smile through the pain, Tim...

I like giving Ana rides on my shoulders.

These are beautiful Father-Daughter memory-making moments... The squeels of glee as we bounce along, the nearly-constant yanking out of about 30% of my hair... wonderful times!

Just in case you think we're the perfect family...

...here is Ana lying on the grass refusing to walk any further. You can't fool us, we know you're not asleep!

Is she happy?!

Our delightful (rather hyperactive) toddler had a whale of a time at Emberton Park today - throwing sticks into the lake and generally running around. She also had a wonderful time with Tim's parents yesterday, and from her description of the day it sounds like she spent all the day up trees or playing on horses (apparently she rode on a lion at the park, but Ana thinks it was a horse...).

Enjoying cuddles with Great Nana

Rose had such a lovely time with Great Nana, grinning away late into the evening (well, 7pm, but for her (and us) that's late!).

More relatives!

Rose had a wonderful day charming all of her more southern relatives. She particularly liked grinning at her great cousin (ok, cousin once removed, but don't you think 'great cousin' describes it better?!) Erin - she was quite fascinated by her.

Rose meets Great Grandpa and Great Nana

We went down to Findon for the day on Saturday so that Rose could meet more of her lovely relatives! Here she is enjoying sitting on her Great Grandpa's knee for the first time.

More garden capers

Ana is getting good at dribbling, as is Rose, though in a slightly different way!

Our little monkey

Ana is loving the spring weather, as it means she can spend much more time outside. This extra time has allowed her her first forays into tree climbing. I think one of the reasons she first attempted it was to chase the cats up the tree, now we can't keep her down!

Rose and the Bumbo

Here is yet another piece of baby equipment entering its second round. Well, third, at least, actually as we bought this one used... but hey, Rose is loving her bumbo chair, and doesn't she look grown up in it?!

At supper tonight she was sitting in her chair on the table, leaned over and stuck her little hand right in my bolognaise sauce! Oh dear... Feeding will have to start in the next month or so.

Cue two large plastic sheets on by our table.

Practising the writing

Ana is now getting very good at writing 'A', and has made some brilliant attempts at 'Ana' - so cute!

Post bathtime snuggles

Here is the eldest all wrapped up in one of the biggest, fluffiest towels in existence, and very happy about it too.

Not the hair!!!

Rose has begun to give (almost!) as good as she gets - here is a classic example of her grabbing Ana's hair with one hand, and nose with the other. Ana always comes back for more, and Rose still has some catching up to do after the number of times she's had squashy hugs, snotty kisses and squeezy hand-holds! She does clearly adore her elder sister despite these not-so-tender ministrations, and smiles and chuckles at her beautifully.

Ana with Berry Dolly

 Lara has a sling in which she carries Rose (and sometimes Ana). The other morning, Ana wanted to wear it, so here she is carrying Rose's Berry Dolly (Molly's little sister, according to Ana).

Happy Birthday Gran!

 A contented 'gather-round-the-cake' scene preceeded the lengthy candle-extinguishing session by Ana and Gran. 

Rose appears to be developing a keen interest in chocolate cake. And again, tonight, as I was eating a leftover piece - she made a lunge for my portion, covering her fingers in the undietish icing...

Thankfully, I managed to stop her hand before it reached her mouth. I could just imagine the conversation at the coffee mornings...

Mother 1: "Little Susy had her first taste of baby rice the other day, at first she wasn't too sure, but soon got the hang of it - has Rose started eating yet?"

Lara: "Well, yes...."

Smiley Rose

 Rose is developing such a lovely smile - and here is one of them for you.

Making lots of cakes (well, 2 cakes and a lot of mess)

 So, this weekend was a happy conjunction of two birthdays (or close enough). Ben came to visit us on Friday - so he got a cake - and Mom and Dad (Farewell) came today - and as it was Mom's birthday on Friday, she got a cake. The upshot of this, is of course, we got cake twice in a weekend, and the unfortunate upshot of that is that all my efforts of chocolate avoidance over the last week have just been nullified...