It's nine o'clock and well past her bed time... though she is enjoying cuddles with her daddy. Poor Ana hasn't been herself the past two days. She normally is very talkative (I wonder where she gets that from?) but has been very quiet and today slept the better part of the day, after not sleeping too well last night.
Getting things done is much harder with the little pickle-bean around. We are devising new ways to try to keep her happy while we unload the dishwasher / vacuum, etc. This attempt was to prop the mirror against Ana's bouncy chair. She loves looking at her 'friend' in the mirror - don't think she has quite realised the connection between her smiles and her friend's...
You've all heard of the fairytale of Sleeping Beauty, well now we have a new tale of Sleeping Cutie. Unfortunately she's more cutie than sleeping most of the time, but here is a rare opportunity to see her flat out after a hard day's socialising.
The motley crew is reunited once more, with another new addition (not shown here as she was taking the photograph... or maybe it was because she was sleeping). Most have now left to leave Gav time to recover before being shipped back to Cambridge.
Her uncles would be proud! With a number of car journeys to practice her keep-up skills, her abilities with the football are coming along nicely. Will she follow her mother in a path of college football?
With a thoughtful pose like this, she is destined to go far in the world of academia.
Ana has now gone to sleep -hence the blogging. We have just come through about two weeks of quite awful nights - Ana wanting to be fed every 2.5-3 hours. Thankfully she is sleeping for a bit longer now - though I am still not sure how many full sleep cycles we are getting through.
Ana loves a lot of people, but especially her lovely Mummy. Mummy plays all day long with little Ana. Caught here with an increasingly common expression (smiling) Ana is telling her mother just how wonderful she is.
Tim has discovered that if you hold Ana's hands she will happily wobble around all over the place, holding herself up on her little legs but unable to balance. This leads to a delightfully cute dance, made even more wonderful when she stomps her little feet too!
It was discovered on a recent trip to the wilds of Cardiff that Ana likes piano music. Except when uncle Daniel plays 'twinkle twinkle little star' in a minor key...
We've known for some time that Ana is very popular with her grandparents, but now it's clear that they are also popular with her! Uncles, aunts, relations and friends also seem to go down pretty well...
(you'll note this site is completely free from bias...) Ana's just got really smiley, which makes all those sleepless nights completely worthwhile. She's currently fast asleep on her daddy, curled up in a little ball being adorable. She is growing tremendously and is now in the 3-6 month sleepsuits; my little baby's all grown up!
Mother's day, Grandmother's day, Great-Grandmother's day!
The garden finally got some much-needed attention this weekend, made possible by Uncle Ben holding the baby and Uncle Gav assisting with the planting! Our lovely apple tree from Nana and Grumpy finally took up permanent residence in the border - we're now very hopeful of another bumper harvest in the autumn (nice timing - apple puree for Ana!).
Ana got all dressed up in the clothes of her Daddy's favourite hockey nation... they may have slightly clashed but neither Ana nor Tim seemed to mind!
Yesterday we had a lovely visit from Nancy, Hilary and Gran. After being put in her coat to go on our walk, Ana decided it was time for more standing - so standing she did!
Ana loves standing; hold her up and she'll wobble away, arms flailing for balance, eyes gleaming with excitement, mouth half pursed in concentration, half smiling with the sheer joy of finding out she has legs. Though she does get tired sometimes and we end up with a crouching baby. We're thinking of making a new film: 'crouching baby, hidden...' - any suggestions?
Every year on Shrove Tuesday, the ladies of Olney have a pancake race through the town. They have to flip their pancakes at least twice - once at the start and once at the end. The prize is quite lucrative - something like £300, and importantly, a kiss from the Vicar. What a way to welcome in Lent. The photo shows the ladies running down the highstreet towards the church.
Last Sunday after Church we headed over to Cambridge and had a lovely time with my folks and Grandad who had come up from Suffolk for the day. Here is a picture of four generations in the family.
Ana is now five weeks old and beginning to smile at more than just wind. (Yes, we all know it can be very funny...)
Lara and I were watching Yes, Minister the other day, and Ana, who woke up half way through it was completely enthralled, particularly by Sir Humphrey, the scheming civil servant. Her gaze was completely fixed upon the box of moving pictures for a good minute or so - which is a long time for a baby!
So Ana may only be a month old, but that does not stop her advising her Daddy on the pros and cons of different research techniques. Seen here, in a rarely photographed situation, Ana is briefing Tim on the most reliable indicator of overall classification success. With this type of help, the PhD will be done in no time!
With every passing day, Ana is more alert. She is watching us move around the room, loves looking at bright lights and is generally a lot more interactive. She is also starting to make gorgeous cooing noises and talks to herself - lovely!
'Snow had fallen, snow, on snow... snoowoowoo on snow...'
Ever wondered where that famous hymn; Amazing Grace, was written? The answer, is here - in Olney. John Newton - slave trader turned minister, wrote this song whilst based here in this gorgeous market town.
