Nearly Most

Anna is doing so well with her attempts at crawling. She's got her whole tummy up off the ground, she's rock back and forth on her knees and she's sitting confidently. She's just got to learn to put one hand in front of the other.

Nearly most...

Good Girl.

Visiting the Greats

After returning from our time in Adelaide, we headed over to Portland to finally visit Grandma and Grandpa Hateley - Anna's great grand parents. They had not yet met Anna and we had been planning to drive up and visit them for a very long time.

They loved having us over, they asked us to stay an extra day. Anna received lots of cuddles, and it was clear Anna really brightened up their day. She was rather well behaved, she woke up at least 4 times a night, but nothing I'm not used to. But she was very happy to be cuddled by all the family over in Portland.

Great Grandpa Jim made lots of funny sounds and had Anna well entertained.

And Great Grandma Lorna loved having Anna sit on her lap, and we swapped mother stories.

And she also got to meet Great Aunty Shirl. We were really glad we made the trip.

We went out to the lake and to the wind farm. Even though Anna wont have any memory of this, it was great to get right up close to them; it was really cute how Anna was looking up at them.

We'll have to take Anna back here when she gets older.

We got some shots of what's left of Great Grandpa's orchard collection.

We had a great time and now that we know it's not such a long drive (unless you go the wrong way and end up in South Australia, like we did) we'll make the trip more often.

And car trips are great - Anna sleeps the whole way.

P.S: I'm really struggling with this new blog editor - and I don't have the patience to fix the format.

Trip to Adelaide

I've finally given myself half an hour to catch up on 'me time' - so I'm catching up on this blog I seem to keep neglecting. Anna has another cold at the moment, so it's been a rough few days, and I haven't had much sleep, and Anna has only just gone down for a sleep at 2:30pm; she's been up since 8.

Recently, Anna and I went for a trip to the Morris's in Adelaide. The flight was shocking, but worth it. We were so glad to stay with them. I got a well deserved break, and I think the reduced stress helped Anna to sleep better too. And she got to spend some great time with her cousins. That's a rare treat. Anna clearly enjoyed their company - Ramsey got Anna laughing on cue, she was laughing that infectious laugh you just can't help but laugh with her. And I think perhaps Ramsey enjoyed the reaction more than she did - it was great having an energetic 4 year old about to keep Anna happy.

I didn't manage to get any photos of the trip, so I stole one of Aunty Kort's.

The two baby girls were divine together. I'm not sure they cared or was even aware of the other's existence. They just kind of laid there happily, doing their thing. Every now and then Anna would kick Isla in the head, as you do. But I can just imagine these two girls growing up together, playing dress-ups and 'poor people' like I did when I was young.

And it was really lovely seeing Isla again, she's growing to be such a beautiful baby girl, you just can't stop kissing and hugging her - she has you in awe all the time.

And of course, the little man. That kid has way too much energy, but he's perfect. He's such a loving, polite and caring boy. We had a great time making brownies together. Who knew a 4 year old was capable of making brownies...and reading chapter books...and asking questions that even adults don't think to ask, like 'why do we have a sun?' or saying things that usually only adults say like 'you'd look better when you put your dress on, darling' (says to Kortnye).

I believe I've returned with a very changed perspective, after many deep and meaningfuls, and been given lots of advice from those who've 'been there', it's really great spending time with Tom and Kort. I wish we could spend more time together.

I had such a great time and I really didn't want to leave. The offer was put to us 'you're welcome back any time' - I'll hold it to you, we'll be back.

Thanks for having us.

Food Glorious Food

Lately Anna has been trying more food. It's been really hit and miss, and I'm finding that having to feed Anna grown-up food requires much more effort, but she's got to stop breastfeeding eventually.

Here's a summary of Anna's food preferences.

HATES:

• Broccoli
• Apple Crumble
• Fruit Custard
• Mushroom

LIKES:

• Baked Beans
• Tomato
• Zucchini
• Capsicum
• Potato
• Pumpkin
• Fig, Sultana and Oatmeal
• Chocolate Custard
• Apple and Oatmeal
• Vanilla Custard
• Egg Custard
• Rusks

LOVES

• Bangers, Mash and Vegetable Puree
• Chicken and Sweet Corn Puree
• Banana, Pear and Mango Puree
• Oranges
• Chocolate
• Mashed Banana

I intend on getting some organisation and structure into my life and I hope to cook Anna some really lovely meals. At the moment she's eating everything we eat - which is not really all the great (usually toast).

Anna's a great eater, and even more so now she's got her first tooth!

Day at Pa's House

Today was a long anticipated day. One of which I stressed about for weeks, one I had to perfectly organise, something of which I'm not too skilled at doing. Today was the Empire Cosmetics photo shoot. It was a disaster to sum it up. I was working on 4 hours sleep and allowed myself 15 minutes per face (my amazing organisational skills) and having our photographer cancel a week before the shoot, Mum had to demonstrate her fashion photography skills (or lack there of - but she did a great job none the less).

And amongst this chaos, I couldn't imagine the added stress if Anna was about. No offence to my darling daughter, but this was the first day in 6 months and 3 weeks that I couldn't allow myself to focus on her.

So she went to Pa's for the day. And was a very well behaved little girl. Evidently she had a fabulous time, laughing a smiling with Pa and Tiff, and demonstrating her sitting up skills of course.

I love seeing photos of Anna from Pa's house. It shows just how much she enjoys being there, and how she views Pa's house as a safe and comfortable place - and for the times that I'm not with her as I so desperately want to spend every minute with my baby girl (I'm experiencing a little separation anxiety) it helps to show me what my angel got up to while I wasn't there; it's sort of like I was there in a way. It just helps me to cope.

I'm sure little Anna is welcome at Pa and Tiff's any time! Thanks again for minding her today.

With love,

Mum.x

Thanks Aunty Kort!

For my 21st birthday my mother gave me a new camera. It's such a great camera, the best on the market at the time. I guess I always aspire to create new hobbies and skills, and photography was one of those new exciting things that I picked up and never completely got into, or got any better at - Anna will probably be the same judging by her short lived amusement with her toys.

I want to get some great photos of Anna so we have some beautiful memories to show her.

I want to thank Kortnye, who is such a talented photographer, for her advice. If I do say so myself, my shots are much better following Kort's advice.

Here's my trial and error.

And I'm happy with these settings.

Well peanut, I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship.

Love mum.x

Anna and Pa

I really love seeing Anna with family. You can see the love that they have for her. And it reminds me of how special she is, and how so many people love and care for her. It's very comforting as a mother.

Pa's big hugs are great!

Love Mum.x

6 Months Old

I can't believe how fast time has gone - it feels like yesterday I discovered I was pregnant.

I reminisce about the time when I was pregnant and when we would all guess and ponder about who this little person is in my belly. And all along it was Anna.
I think about the birth, which is so intensely etched in my brain, and recall the first time I saw my baby girl. And I can't believe that she's now 6 months, she's so big and cuddly, so bold and confident, and so able. A far cry from the tiny little bundle she was 6 months ago.



And I figure at 6 months is when a child will be a baby version of an adult - the real characteristics come out.

Who does she look like?

Best 6 months of my life.

Love mummy.x