Up n at 'em!

Enjoying a tasty sycamore leaf...

After all the hectic house moving where Eve had been plonked in front of the tv far too much, we've finally started getting back to normality. 

She's growing so fast and I suddenly realised that if I don't get making some art works with her soon we won't be able to have 'baby prints' and things as she'll no longer be a baby. (I call her 'the girl' most of the time - but 'Eve' to her face of course) She hasn't really been a baby to me for months. Once she got to the 5 month point and could sit up with ease, eat 'food' and sleep in her big cot bed the baby days seemed to blur into the past...

Eve adores relaxing in the big swing and nearly falls asleep in the sunshine every time I put her in it

She's been doing a semi shuffling crawl for quite a while now.  On Saturday morning, under the watchful eye of Granny T she finally got her left leg under and is now crawling properly, faster and faster about the lounge. I often find her sitting up in her cot when I go in to get her in the morning. This week whilst in the bath she started patting herself on the chest, and is desperately trying to learn how to clap her hands from Daddy and I.

Daddy works late on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings so I thought I'd do some hand and footprints with Eve before she went to bed. I decided to do them whilst she was naked in the bathroom so I could stick her straight in the bath after the prints were done. I've got to say this is definitely a good idea. We tried to do some when she was smaller on the table in the lounge with one of us holding her whilst the other pressed her hands and feet down. Even with both of us working on this 'project' it was still really messy and a bit crazy.

The prints we made when she was small were given as gifts to both her Granny's. I've bought some chunky easy grip crayons and am attempting to get her to make some 'art works' on paper. These can be turned into birthday cards for friends and family.  Of course most of the time the crayons go straight in her mouth but slowly she is getting the hang of it. At first I sat her on top of the table with all the crayons - not the best idea as she just ended up chucking them all over the place! So I sat on the bench next to the table with her on my lap. I let her pick up whichever crayon colour she wanted and let her do as she wished - but occasionally I would show her how to make some marks. She enjoyed it but her concentration span was a matter of minutes before she got bored.

Sam was away djing on Saturday at a wedding so it was lovely to have my mum here for a catch up over the weekend. We went to a Sproggs nearly new sale in Brislington. Mum bought Eve two gorgeous little coats for the winter and a play pen. A perfect find for her first day crawling!

Granny T and Eve

It was beautiful early on Sunday morning, so after Granny T left and Eve was having her nap, I made Annabel Karmel's recipe 'Salmon Footballs'. Cooking and singing in the kitchen is such a joy. The footballs were easy and great fun to make. I cooked the potatoes and fish the night before and then just mixed it all up in the morning and fried them in a wok.

Eve really likes being able to feed herself so I thought it would be a bit more exciting than just spoon feeding her fish pie.  Eve enjoyed eating them though it did get a bit messy...

http://www.annabelkarmel.com/recipes/salmon-footballs

Making the most of stormy days

The Somerset Levels underwater

The past month or so has seen Britain battered by storms and flooding across many regions, especially the South West. Even though this means that we've been stuck in our flat quite a lot, we've got up to some lovely things, and consider ourselves very lucky.

Newlyn,Cornwall

Sennen, Cornwall

Salt Dough Creations

Hand and Foot Prints inside box frames

Salt Dough Recipe

1 Cup of Flour

1 Cup of Table Salt

1/4 Cup of Water

Food colouring of your choice

Mix the flour and salt together. Add the water and a few drops of food colouring, as much or as little as you want depending on the depth of colour that you want to create. 

If you don't want to use food colour you could paint them at the end of the process if you preferred.

Knead the mixture together until the colour is even - or keep it as a marbled effect. Pull of chunks and roll into balls. Flatten out with your hands or a rolling pin. Don't roll it too flat. Have some wet wipes ready to clean hands and feet before you start printing as baby will of course try to put their hands in their mouth, which would not be good if covered in salt. Press hands and feet into the discs of dough. Make holes in them if you wish to hang them. You could print or write your baby's name on them at this point too if you wanted. 

Place them on some greaseproof paper on a baking tray (or just dust some flour on a tray). Bake them in a pre-heated oven at 100 degrees F for 2 hours. Be careful not to bake for too long or they will burn and discolour.  Apparently you can nuke them in the microwave for 3 minutes instead, however I've not tried this.

You could use some super glue to attach the disc inside a box frame. I bought some inexpensive ones from Wilkinson's. Good gifts for friends and family!

Box frames to use for keepsakes

I've kept the pregnancy test stick, Eve's hospital tags and tiny clothes which no longer fit her as I wanted to put them inside box frames. I thought they would be nice for her to see when she is a bit older.









My mum kept my pink card hospital tag. I remember that I used to love looking at it when I was small as it was such an interesting -looking thing. Unfortunately now they are printed onto white plastic, not as cool as the days of old, but good to keep none-the-less.

Bath-time

We've been having more baths to get Eve used to the water, as we're hoping to take her swimming soon.

Eve enjoys playing on her mat 

My cheeky wonder!

When Daddy is at home he feeds her and plays with her before work

Eve has started wearing her baby sleeping bag during the night-time. It's really cosy and keeps her safe and warm.  On the eve of her ninth week birthday she slept completely through the night for 8 hours, and has kept doing so for the last few nights. Fingers crossed this continues!