As yet unnamed!

What? Another blog entry?

I know, I should pace myself. I have a few photos to share though so I figure if I do one photo a day, I can blog for a few more days. I hate photo-less blog entries as they are a bit boring so I struggle to do them myself. Perhaps that's why I like kids' books as well? Lots of pictures ;) 

Had a good day as my mouth didn't hurt at all. I waited all morning for a delivery which finally arrived 5 minutes before I was due to go out. I went to the iKnit shop in Waterloo with my friend Alice and bought a few more yarns and then we went to a gelato place in South Ken and then back home. Had a really fun time. 

I can't remember if I mentioned this... Charlie has finally got a tooth coming through. Top right front tooth. I can also see the form of his other center teeth getting ready to push out. I wonder if he'll have all 4 in time for is birthday next week? 

Dambado?

Dambado. That's how Noemie says Gambado now. It used to be Bado so it's an improvement I suppose. We got to hear her say it over and over this weekend. And we of course ended up there both days. Glad they both love it there so much but I could do without a weekend of Bado. The weather was amazing all weekend long so we did spend some time outdoors in a park which was nice. Here are a few photos from the weekend. I was sitting on the stairs in the living room and Noemie came and sat next to me. She's been very cuddly with me lately which I love! Then a sweet photo of the two kids standing at the bookshelf in the living room. They both adore books which is great. Charlie has a lot more focus than Noemie ever did at that age and he will sit and turn pages on his own. If you read to him he will listen intently. Noemie used to chew on the books and to this day flips the pages really fast. The exception to this is "Moon Book" or "Goodnight Moon". We have Kirk's copy from when he was a kid and it's nighttime routine now for Noemie to look at it several times before bed. She likes to point out everything in the book as I read it to her. We bought a new copy of it so she can take it to bed with her as there is no way she is going to ruin the old copy!

My sock knitting is doing well. I am doing a pair for Kirk and I've finished one already and am at the heel on the second sock. The pattern is from Ravelry and is SO easy but it's also really boring not to mention dark blue yarn is not all the thrilling to knit with either. But they fit him and I think he will like them so it's worth it. I also started another sock last night which is going really fast. It's for a knit along on Ravelry for October. They picked 3 patterns and I like 2 of them a lot so hope to do both of them. I'm having more fun with this lighter colored yarn too :) 

I had a wisdom tooth pulled this afternoon as well as a molar prepped for a crown. I was shocked at how fast the wisdom tooth came out. Less than 2 minutes and so far not too painful. It barely bled and came out in one piece. It was growing out the side of my gum so had to go. I go back next week for the crown. Still have a bit of work to be done but once I'm all caught up I will be thrilled. At least my dentist is good so it's been as pleasant as a dentist visit can be! When I left the dentists office I hailed a cab. And the driver refused to take me...I mumbled where I wanted to go and I suppose I sounded drunk or something as my mouth was a tad numb. He said "I can't take you" and drove off. I hailed another cab and said "I'm not drunk, I just had a wisdom tooth pulled and my mouth is numb which is why I am slurring." The driver laughed and said I certainly didn't look or act like I was drunk and told me to hop in. I told him why I felt the need to tell him I wasn't drunk and he thought it was nuts the other driver wouldn't take me. Kirk of course found this story hilarious. I haven't been drunk in YEARS. 

Friday update

Another week that seems to have zoomed past! I had round 2 of root canal on Monday and it was fine. Sore for a few days but no big deal. I am having a wisdom tooth taken out on Monday this coming week. Fun times. I also went to a friend's for quilting and got another quilt basted and ready to hand quilt. Tuesday I went back to the friend's house for more crafting and worked on some socks for Kirk. I have one done and am about 1/10th the way done on the second. Wednesday I met up with another friend and went shopping in Notting Hill and then had lunch. Thursday my folks came over for lunch and then I went to knitting group in the afternoon. Today I met up with a friend for lunch and then went knitting some more. This weekend is totally going to be spending time with Noemie and Charlie who possibly don't recognize me at this point. Nah, I lie. I managed to spend plenty of time with them in between everything else and we've had fun. The weekend is supposed to be gorgeous so there will be loads of playtime outdoors and perhaps a visit or two to Gambado as well. 

Noemie is totally over taking naps so she is now up and running around from 9am until whenever she passes out at night. Sometimes that's 8:30, other times it's more like 10pm. She has so much energy it's amazing. Last night she climbed up on her changing table and fell asleep. She woke up as Kirk was going up to bed and started sobbing as she was stuck up there and in her sleepy state couldn't figure out how to get down. A few Daddy cuddles and she was tucked up back in bed and fine. Time to get rid of the nursing chair in her room as she uses that to climb up onto her changing table. It would suck if she fell off. 

Charlie is doing well and practicing creeping around while holding onto things. He still seems to find crawling his best means of getting around and he is super fast. He is getting so tall and looking less and less like a baby these days. Only 10 more days until his first birthday! His cake was ordered today and it sounds SO yummy. Can't wait! Must find his present soon so I can get it delivered this week. It's Kirk's bday in 5 days so must find that present too! Hope to get some cute photos this weekend to share.

Like a London Bus...

Had some cute photos so am blogging again. I'm being like a London bus... nothing for ages then multiples all of a sudden! Kirk made us pancakes this morning and Charlie helped him with the preparation. I thought it was so cute to see father and son like this. It's amazing to think that Charlie will one day be nearly as tall/as tall/taller than Kirk. After breakfast (which Charlie grimaced at, he opted for yogurt), we went to the local park and played for a while. Then back home for lunch so that Charlie could get to bed for his nap. He didn't want to wait that long though and he fell asleep after his last bite. He was a good napper today and slept for nearly 3 hours. Noemie hasn't taken a nap the last 2 days and it might be a fluke or it might be that she doesn't need one anymore. We'll see. I took her out with me to the yarn store so she could meet my friend Alice (owns the store) and so I could just get out and about for a bit. Had a great time, Mimi was so friendly and well behaved and didn't grab anything. She helped "clean" a table with a paper towel and was very patient as we were there for around 1-1/2 hours. She had a cookie and some jelly beans as well. 

As much as I love having Charlie, I do miss the days of Mimi being an only child. I had a nice time today so will think of other places to take her so I can spend more one on one time with her. I get some time with Charlie in the morning as he wakes up a lot earlier than her but I hardly get any time with her these days.

Tomorrow I am off to quilt group and then round 2 of my root canal. Made no plans for Tuesday as I figured my mouth might be sore like last time. I have stuff to catch up on around the house anyway. Wednesday I am meeting Alice to go to a yarn store in Waterloo and then lunch. Thursday my parents are coming over... gosh that's just about the entire week planned again. Maybe I'll go to Gambado with the kids on Friday again. That was fun last week. Hopefully it won't be another week before I blog again. Must remember to take more photos.

Still here....

Didn't realize it had been THAT long since I last blogged until Kirk mentioned it to me last night. Oops! Combination of going out more, knitting more and just generally doing other stuff and taking less photos I suppose. It takes more time than I want to spend sometimes to take photos, download them to my laptop, edit them and then blog. It's not like either kid is doing anything earth shattering at the moment! Here is Charlie wearing Noemie's rainbow headband. It's how he initially earned the nickname of "Rainbow Warrior" from Kirk. He held onto the nickname when he wore that huge rainbow sombrero as well a few months ago. It must've been rainbow headband day as Noemie willingly wore it herself. She put it on herself as you can see.

Noemie was feeling gracious toward Charlie for the first time in a while. She happily obliged when I asked her to get up on her step stool and help Charlie with his bottle. She even wiped his mouth when he dribbled milk. At times they get along so well and it's so sweet to see. For the most part though she is so annoyed with him and there is a lot of whining in our house. Not so sweet. So let's see, in the 10 days I didn't blog, this is what happened:

• I went to the yarn show and bought a lot of pretty things.
• Noemie caught a pretty bad cold and was a bit croupy for about 48 hours.
• Kirk and I celebrated out 5th wedding anniversary this past Friday. We went out to dinner. Noemie was still awake when we got home at 11pm and she didn't go to sleep until past midnight. She's a bit of a night owl and even not letting her nap during the day makes no difference.
• The kids have been to Gambado about 5 times. I've only been once.
• Charlie bites your feet. Surely it's teething rather than him being just weird?
• Charlie was puke fountain during dinner one night. Really badly. Noemie looked over at him and said "uh oh Charlie" and then went back to eating her dinner as if nothing had happened. Nanny was there to clean it up but as she didn't do as good a job as I'd like (it still stank badly), I did it myself. Charlie re-enacted the fountain again right after the nanny left when I went to check on him as he was crying. Ugh.
• Charlie and I went to my local yarn store for a trunk show and bought more yarn. He charmed the other people in the store and also cried when someone else tried to hold him. Totally difficult holding a big boy in one arm while trying to look at yarn with the other and also trying to position big boy so he didn't touch anything.
• Kirk is going to buy me an iPhone. We went to look yesterday but the local store was out of the new ones so we're trying again in a few days when they are in stock.
• My parents came down but my Dad had other stuff to do so my Mom and I went yarn shopping and then to lunch and had sushi. Yum!

I am sure there was more but that's all I can remember at the moment. Time to go, Kirk is making us pancakes for breakfast and Noemie has just woken up so I better go rescue her before she gets into any trouble. The other night she did a poo and was crying and when Kirk went up to check on her, she had climbed onto her changing table and was waiting for someone to come sort her out. We're nearing potty training for sure.

Busy week...

My parents came over for lunch today and after we finished, Noemie dragged my Dad out to the garden to play. Charlie was still eating (he is the world's slowest eater) with the nanny and my Mom and I was busy frosting red velvet cupcakes. I looked out the kitchen window and saw the sweetest sight so I quickly grabbed the camera and took a few photos. I really need to get some photos of my Mom with the kids too. 

My Ikea storage unit arrived on Tuesday and it's all built and stuff has been put away. The dining room looks miles better and I feel much more organized. I will take photos this weekend when I have some good light. Yesterday I went to a yarn store in Putney called Stash and met up with a few new knitty friends for a couple of hours of knitting. It was a lot of fun and I of course acquired some more delicious yarns. I went straight to my dentists appointment from there and I am going to be spending a lot of time with my dentist in the next few months. Root canal on Monday coming up and then I need to have a wisdom tooth surgically removed as it's growing into my jaw bone. Then another one needs to be pulled as it's growing out sideways and is scraping my cheek. Then the other one is growing into the molar in front of it so it too will be removed to save the molar. Then a couple of little cavities that need to be taken care of. I had an infected tooth so am highly dosed up on antibiotics and am still taking a ton of painkillers. If you shake me I'd rattle like a bottle of paracetamol at the moment. Totally my fault though so I've no one to blame but myself. 

Today I went to my Thursday night knit group, only I go in the afternoon as I like to be home to put the kids to bed. I took my red velvet cupcakes in and they were a hit! A friend couldn't make it tonight so I've already packed one up for her to take with me tomorrow to the iKnit show. I am so excited to get to see loads of yummy yarns in person. I hope I manage to fall asleep tonight!!! I better go do a bit of knitting or sewing before I go to bed :)

The start of another week

I was out at quilt group for most of the day but apparently the kids got along really well and Noemie was super sweet to Charlie. I thought this was so cute, the two of them at the bathtub. Charlie has been holding onto stuff and taking more steps so he's slowly getting the hang of being vertical and the opportunities it presents. They went to Gambado again this morning which sadly I had to miss due to quilt group (phew!). I'd bet they end up there again on Wednesday or maybe even tomorrow. 

I am waiting home tomorrow morning for an Ikea delivery. I think I will spent the morning sewing my table mats together that I cut fabrics out for last night and then once the furniture arrives I will build it and start organizing the dining room a bit more. 

I've had the world's worst tooth ache since last night and have booked a dentist appointment but the earliest I could get was Wednesday afternoon. My wisdom teeth are coming out all of a sudden (will that make me smarter? and if I have them pulled will I go back to being dumb again?). The top left one is coming out at an angle which hurts and the bottom left one is just a dull pain. I also have a tooth from ages ago that had a filling and that has come loose so it's a bit sensitive to temperature. I've been popping painkillers all day and will continue for a while I think. Hopefully the dentist will do something to ease the pain though I get the feeling I will be back for repeat visits to get things all sorted out. Totally sucks. I am going to go do some knitting to distract myself.

Bado?

One of the last things Noemie said when she went to bed was "Bado?" and one of the first she said this morning when she woke up was... "Bado?" So off we all went again to Gambado. It was even less crowded today which was nice. I took the camera in the hopes of getting some good photos and seeing what I managed, I ordered a book on how to use my camera on manual mode. It's embarrassing to see how bad these photos look. No amount of editing helps. Maybe I'll sign up to a Digital photography class at one of the local colleges. The kids had fun on the carousel. Noemie always gets to "drive" and Charlie just happily sits in the backseat and enjoys the ride. Kirk seems to be having fun as well. There was hardly a line for the dodge 'em cars so Noemie decided she wanted to go for a spin. They have a few cars which parents can ride on with the children who are under the height requirement to go on their own. I think Charlie might be a tad too little still to go on the cars. He enjoyed watching his sister cruise past though. I have to admit to being a bit worried about how ginger, I mean strawberry blonde, Charlie is looking in the ballbit photo. I think he was reflecting the yellowish orange color behind him but still... how soon is too soon to start bleaching his hair? With any luck it will get lighter as he gets a bit older. As neither Kirk nor I have any red in our hair, I'd really rather not have a red headed kid. He looks all wrong with that shade of hair. Can you believe he is 11 months old as of today? This past year has gone so fast. 

I better go to bed as I am off to my quilt group tomorrow. It's up in North London and a friend is driving but I have to meet up with them in Kensington. I can't see myself going to this group too many more times as it's a hassle going up North. And I'm getting tired of packing up my stuff to take it places to work on it when I can happily work on my own in my living room. As it is, tomorrow I am taking some knitting with me as I haven't gotten my act together so have no sewing projects ready to take with me.

The week past

So, another week zooms by! I've been keeping busy and having a blast so have let my blog suffer. I've taken more photos but this is the one that was edited so rather than wait to blog even longer, this is the photo for today. It was taken on Thursday when the kids were on their way out to the park as it was decent weather for a change. Mimi didn't actually wear her sunglasses out but she was happy to pose in them for me. Pretty stylish I think! Remember when Charlie wore them a few months back? No photos of Charlie to share today, he moves SO fast these days. Not walking yet but spends most of his time standing up and holding onto things. And knocking things off of tables to see what noise they make when they land on the floor. Fun times. 

Last week we bought an annual pass to a children's activity center called Gambado and we've been a few times this past week. I went on Wednesday with the nanny and the kids and we ran into our other nanny who brought the kids from the other family she works for. Then we went again today. It's partly my worst nightmare, being in a place FULL of kids. But at the same time I love the place as the kids have so much fun there. Lots of things for kids of all ages and it's really near to our house so we can get there easily and with the annual pass we can stay for 30 minutes and it's still not a waste of money. It's pretty pricey to pay per visit so I can't imagine too many people going for that option. Mimi spent all evening saying "bado" (her way of saying Gambado). When I tucked her in tonight, the last thing she said to me in response to me saying "Mommy loves you" was... "bado". Glad to see where I rank! 

Yesterday Mimi had a slight poop incident. The nanny put her to bed with just her pull up and a shirt. I tend to always put PJ bottoms on her as well as she likes to practice pulling her diaper up and down. And often when she puts them back on she puts both legs through one leg hole and then falls asleep and pees all over her bed. Yuck. Well yesterday she pooped and then decided she was going to try and clean herself up. And in the process she got into a bit of mess (understatement). Luckily it was time for her to get up anyway (not that she took a nap, she was too busy enjoying her freedom due to the lack of cotbed side). The nanny went up to get her as she was crying and all I heard through the monitor was "Noemie don't move and don't touch anything". I went up to see what was going on. And I left the nanny to clear up the mess. I am guessing she will listen to me and put PJ bottoms or something on Noemie from now on at naptime! It will be great to have her potty trained one of these days. Though I am guessing when Charlie is a bit older he will be painting his walls with poo.

I finished my first pair of socks the other day. Only took 5 days from start to finish. Lots of fun. Will give them to my Mom this week when I see her. I've started another pair for Noemie and am also working on my first lace knitting project. Will post progress pics later on but can't of my lace scarf as it's a gift and the recipient reads the blog. She knows she is getting it as I wanted to make sure she'd want it, but she has no idea what it will look like!