Daddy it's SO unfair...

 ...you have SO much more hair than me!

But not for long, Tim's not quite bald now, just distinctly shorn  ; )

Rose is rolling and talking

 A couple of weeks ago, Rose rolled over from her back to her front a couple times, and now consistently can get onto her side. What is so cute now, though, is how much Rose 'talks'. For say, ten minutes at a time you can have a squalking and cooing conversation with her - punctuated with big slobbery grins and wobble-dancing. 

When they are both awake, Ana just does not leave Rose alone - she is always trying to give her big hugs -so when the eldest has gone down for the night (which thankfully now is completely painless! Yay- thank you God!) Rose has some time to herself to play on her mat. Here another difference comes out - Ana was not be content to play by herself for long periods of time - yet Rose is. I'm astonished at how different they are.

Our car

Nigel is great at finding us vehicles which work. We neglect them and yet they keep going... Today though, I was in a rush to get home in time for supper - so I ran to the car, blipped the locks and got in. Something was not right with the car - you know when you get that odd feeling... Well, the seat had been moved forwards.

And it didn't quite smell right - as if someone had been smoking in our car... and there was an empty bottle of drink in the passenger seat footwell. It just was not as I had left it. I looked around. The car seats had gone too!

And then it dawned on me... I was in the wrong car.

With amazing speed, I leapt from the stationary vehicle, spotted my car, a few cars over, got in that and drove away.

I wonder now, how confused the owner of the other silver Avensis will be when they get in their car, and find the seat pushed back all the way...

Rose can roll

 Rose surprised us a week ago on Sunday (at just over three months) by rolling from her back to her front.

  Then, today we were even more surprised to see her stand up and walk unaided across the room... (only joking...) :) 

Seriously though, both girls are growing up so fast. There is this almost tangible tension between wanting them to develop and grow, and just wishing that they would stay tiny for a little bit longer.

Gran, Rose and Ana

 When Mom (Gran) came to help out while Lara was ill last week, we went for a walk down to the floodplain. Snow angels were made, snowballs were dropped off Goosey Bridge and a certain toddler fell over a number of times in the recieving snow. 

Snow angels!

 Here are our 2 little angels in the snow - Ana having great fun making a proper snow angel and Rose joining her for the photo.  Both wrapped up in beautifully pink suits and layers upon layers.  We had the most snow Tim has ever seen (in England that is!), 4-5 inches we think.

Snow encrusted branches

 Looking up, these stark branches were too stunning to miss against the wintry sky.

The hush of snow

 The magical muffled sounds of snow, the crunch underfoot, the whistling of the wind past swan's wings as they fly over... beautiful days.

Making our snowman

 Here's Ana proudly carrying our snowman's head before gently placing it on the awaiting torso.  Unfortunately her placement was not quite central, and the effects of gravity meant that the snowman needed a new head (which subsequently got knocked down by the kittens, hey ho!).

Daddy winning the snowball fight!

 Ok, so there wasn't much competition... Ana thought it was hilarious to be covered in snow, and Tim was more than happy to throw it. Snow can be such fun!

Ana's chair

 We've had this child's chair since soon after we got married, we purloined it from my Grampa's loft and it has been sitting in ours until we got it out yesterday for Ana.  She was, needless to say, delighted with having her own little blue chair, and Rose even fits on it too!

The showdown

 Ana was once again chasing the new cats around the garden this morning. Observant blog readers may notice the new outfit - an all in one (supposedly waterproof) playsuit! Just what our adventurous and puddle loving daughter needs! 

The other cutest baby in the world, ever...

 Giggly, smiley, happy Rose-bud. Just waking up, still swaddled up nice and warm and beaming with joy. 

"I'm just so happy to be awake!"

Sisterly affection

Here is Ana with her adored little sister.  She does love her very much but still hasn't quite yet learned the concept of 'gentle'!

Shopping with Daddy!

 Tim took Ana shopping the other day and she loved it!  She took her own little ruck-sack (Ana calls it a "nap-pack"), Daddy had his big one, and they both carried food home in them to make our chicken pie, mmmmm...

The first attempt to crawl

 Here is our little Rose Amia Joy attempting her first crawl.  Admittedly it was just a wriggle, a grin and a gradual laying down of her head as it got a bit too heavy to hold up, but it was an attempt none-the-less!

Standing on her head

 Ana is getting more acrobatic these days - such a little girl now, and such fun. 

"Ana stand on-a head!"

Walk on the floodplain by the church

 A lovely sunny walk down by the church and old water mill. Nippy, but such glorious weather!

Running along the ridge

Nana and Ana discovered a forested ridge in the country park near our house.

With trees either side, it was the perfect natural tunnel through which to run.

See-saw

 Once togged up in about ten layers - tights, socks, trousers, dress... we hit the park running.

 Parks are so much less busy in sub-zero temperatures - you never have to wait for the swing! Here, Papa and Ana are trying to bounce Lara off the see-saw. 

Tiggers, the pair of them! 

Cake and Drink with Nana and Papa

 By Ana's fourth birthday celebration (yes, all for her second birthday), she was an old hand at blowing at, if not out, the candles. 

And the joy of sitting of sitting between your grandparents to eat the cake... matched by the pleasure of being able to drink water from a real glass, with a straw. Wonderful! 

New Cat!

 Much to Ana's delight, some of our neighbours have just got some new cats. 

What is interesting is that our next door neighbours (who don't have kids) have two cats, which Ana loves, but they don't really like her, at all. In fact, they are terrified of her. 

But these new cats who are owned by a family with a toddler themselves are much more friendly, and indeed, seem to even enjoy being rubbed up the wrong way and chased around the garden by our two year old. 

Playing Dress-Up

When Nana and Papa came to stay this weekend - and Papa fell asleep on the sofa, Ana decided to help herself to his shoes. Then when Nana came back from the car, Ana felt that her hat and gloves would make the perfect accompaniment.

Ana is just getting so independant. This morning I went upstairs to find her pouring more milk onto Mummy's (temporarily abandoned) cereal for her. She mostly missed the bowl, but thankfully the tray caught the rest.

I love my sister

 Ana loves Rose so much, and is rather aggressive with her hugs. Her jaw tightens, and her teeth grind with the emotion and physical exertion. 

Rose, for her part, doesn't seem to mind the onslaught of squashing hugs - and indeed, frequently smiles. She is a truely amazing little baby who redefines 'tolerant'.

Candlelit Birthday Girl

 Two candles. Two years. 

Time flies by so fast. Lara and I, not infrequently, comment to each other that sometimes it would be nice if they just stayed as little babies a little longer. Or at least each stage of babyhood a little longer. 

But that is tempered by the sheer excitement at the pace at which they grow and change. It is truely astonishing to think that Rose, in less than two years, will probably be running around, chattering and singing away, playing games, repeating most things you say, memorising books and so on... like her big sister is now. 

Utterly amazing.