I've just added lots of updates that we wrote in May and they were old pictures then. We're really behind. Enjoy the updates and I'll try and post more recent ones. Little Miss Nina is trying to walk and talk and has very long hair now.
Kat
Nina is enjoying her shape sorter house. She hasn't sorted shapes yet, but she does like to investigate them by the best means she has - her mouth.
She's very pleased with all of this.
Bath time is really fun now. I can splash Daddy an awful lot. He gets very wet! Hee hee. And that's all because I'm much bigger. Look...
This is me during one of the first attempts at a regular bath at 6 weeks.
And this is is me only 6 weeks later (3 months old).
And this is me at 10 months old (in April).
Aren't my ducks nice?
Yep, that's how behind we are.
Thanks for my card, Grandma and Grandpa!
But he's so sweet, I didn't mind that much.
Shhh, don't tell him I'm a Crystal Palace fan.
Visiting mummy's office is fun. Last time we went, I got to play on the floor and see what the photocopier was about.
But mainly it's good because I get to play with some lovely people. Here I am trying Karen's stress toy. Mummy, what's stress?
Bedtime changed for Nina in February (yes, we're catching up!). She got a new bed and her own room. Here she is trying out the springy mattress once we'd assembled the cot:
And this is what she looks like after her bath. Her hair's getting very long (she's a few months older now). She makes me think of her Great Uncle George here!
When I was buying cards for Mother's Day, I didn't consider that it now includes me. I think it's taken me quite a long time to properly take in that I am a mother now. I'm someone's mum. Blimey!
As Nina isn't really old enough to sort it out herself, I was hoping Alex would do something for me. It turns out that even more people were involved! Nina made me a picture (with some help from Grandma and Grandpa).
Maybe in a few years, she'll be able to make me breakfast :)
Nina's nearly 9 months old now. I can hardly believe it! But since we got back from our Christmas travels, she's been sitting up and starting to eat proper food. (I hate the word 'solids' - it makes nice food sound revolting!)
We're following an approach called Baby Led Weaning. The main features of this are that:
* you wait til the baby is 6 months old
* they feed themselves
* they eat things they can pick up - so no purees
* IT'S VERY MESSY
Nina has got much stronger at sitting up and is happy in her high chair. And of course, she loves putting things in her mouth, so this is perfect for her. She's happily eating away and loving making mess.
Here she is having lunch with her friend Molly. We are ladies who lunch these days!
Sometimes she has a carrot flavoured corn stick to start her off:
She's not sure what to make of noodles though:
She's been pretty adventurous - here she is attempting pak choi.. almost a moustache :)
And she really loves baby corn (unlike us - she gets all our bits).
There are lots more food pics to come - just imagine what she's like with yoghurt!
Nina loves her squeaky tiger. It's very popular.
And here she is reading one of her many books - this one's about bugs.
And everything's OK really!
Nina and her cousin Theo (doing his cute and well-behaved face!) getting to know each other over Christmas.
Theo was very good with Nina, even though he's 4 and she isn't. He was checking up on her and even let her play with one of his precious cars. Not sure he really liked it when she stuck it in her mouth, of course.
It's a tradition at Christmas that when we're with Grumps and Ellie (Alex's Dad and his wife), we do the Telegraph Christmas general knowledge crossword. I am not allowed to read out the clues as apparently I cheat. So Alex was reading the clues and filling in the grid. This year he had a little helper :)
This Christmas was Nina's first. She was very good and was happy to stay up and have fun with her family. We had Christmas dinner with her Uncle Pete and Auntie Clara, Clara's mum Jenny, and Granny and Granddad, then we went to stay with Grumps and Ellie for a few days, then we spent New Year with Nanny and Granddad, Uncle Andy, Auntie Fliss and her cousin Theo.
As you can imagine with that many grandparents and aunties and uncles, she had a great time. We didn't get her loads of presents - her favourite bit was the bright, crinkly wrapping paper anyway. But she got some clothes and some books, amongst other things.
She was well prepared clothing-wise for the party season. Here she is in her Christmas dress:
After another Christmas lunch (her hat wouldn't stay on, even though she's related to us and has a big head!):
And here she is helping plan next year's festivities with Grumps. The elf hat might fit better then!
Nina's been practising sitting in her high chair, ready to start eating finger food. I think you can start to see her learning appropriate restaurant behaviour! Service, garcon!
A few weeks ago, Nina made the transition from sleeping in the carry cot to the crib. She took to it very well. It seems that she's happy to sleep if her arms are behind her head.
She looked a bit like a prisoner in her stripes and in the bars of the crib. She can't escape yet though. I expect bedding to be casually dropped from her trouser legs in future as she tries to tunnel out. Not yet though, not yet...
Nina is getting pretty big now. Not that big compared to other babies but she feels very big to us (just look at those pictures from when she was born).
She's also got quite an interest in her clothes. I sort of hope it's just the colours and textures that get her excited, rather than that she is a budding fashionista. She is only 5 1/2 months old, after all!
Here's a pretty dress (she was a bit big for this at the time).
And a nice French-looking striped cardigan. (Awwww - look at those cheeks.)
I've got quite advanced at this wriggling business. When I'm on the floor, I can tip on to my side and wriggle there too. I'm working on being able to roll over - I've done it by accident and it was quite a surprise!
And sometimes I combine wriggling with my other favourite activity - getting as many fingers as I can into my mouth. Yum :)
I like wriggling about. It's great fun :)
I've always done it and now I'm working on some new moves. Sometimes I get to practice on the sofa.
A few weeks' ago, I went to visit Daddy at work. I helped Daddy write some SQL database queries and had a long discussion with Dei, the editor, about the latest research.
Grandma bought me a sleepsuit with teapots on because her family loves tea! I wonder if I will like it when I get older?
In October, we went to visit Nanny and Granddad in Staffordshire. It was very warm even though it was Autumn. We had a visit from my Uncle Andy, Auntie Fliss and Cousin Theo. Here we all are:
Before we left, I had a last cuddle with Nanny and Granddad:
I am a relaxed baby. This is me relaxing after my bath:
and this is me ready for a daytime nap:
Crikey, I'm wearing a dress!
She was very good. Just had a good look around. Not massively impressed but not bothered either. The perfect was to travel!
Thankfully, she didn't make an -ahem- exhibition of herself!
I wonder what she made of it?
I don't like sleeping in my bed at night, but having a nap on Mummy and Daddy's bed is nice.
Nina is home now. We brought her home on Sunday evening, when she was a week old. It's been a bit of an adjustment for her and quite a scary moment for us!
But she seems to be settling in despite the lack of other babies crying or pinging machines here. She's back to listening to Radio 2 and has been sleeping through the Wimbledon tennis and the Grand Prix. She even slept through incredibly loud thunder cracks that made me jump.
We've been organising ourselves and trying to remember to eat and sleep. We've had some great help already, and thanks in advance for what I'm sure we'll need in the coming weeks and months. Thanks also for all the presents - she's going to be a very well-dressed baby!
The main thing we have to remember is that she is well, lovely and fun and we're very lucky and excited to have her. She seems OK with us. Although I'm sure we're still on probation. Some of the looks she gives us...
Daddy and Mummy came to visit me in hospital. Mummy fed me and I wanted to make sure Daddy was nearby. Hello Daddy.