Dolly Dancing

Lavender Baby

Lily pink and flushed and freshly wrapped from the bath and full of cuddles... Quite the best thing to have in one's arms.

Visiting

It is not my idea of fun, chasing a small child round a hospital ward whilst trying to maintain some level of decorum. Lily finds Grandpa's IV drip infinitely fascinating, the whirring noises, the flashing lights, the rows of buttons. Several attempts to rip his cannula out of his arm later I managed to contain her briefly by biscuit bribes and allowing her surreptitiously to doodle over his medical notes. Next thing I know she is doing headstands in the nursing station and licking the floor clean with her tongue. There are many hand wash stations to prevent MRSA but where are the antibacterial mouthwashes please?
I am checking her temperature hourly.

Sleeping Beauty

Lily August has perfected the 14 hour sleep which is nothing short of a miracle. It wasn't always thus, in fact quite the opposite. I have hesitated in tempting fate by mentioning Lily's nighttime habits but her ridiculously wonderful sleeping powers have been active for quite some time now and it is nice to know there has been big time payback for those early months, even if these nocturnal habits revert back to previous form.
A wise parent is one who recognises the transitory nature of things and remains humble at all times.

Grandparents

We are at my parents. Time unwinds slowly here. Lily is just adoring the space, the garden, the dog, the Narnia cupboards, the attics full of ancient toys and being near her grandparents. I have just realised what a knee-girl she is; loving nothing better than to curl up on someone's lap and be read to, or inspect their jewellery or mess up their knitting.

Play Doh Tyrant

Hurrah! Play Doh has arrived! Well, a less toxic version of it, Lily is in modelling heaven except that I have to do most of that while she just shouts "MORE!"

Genius

My husband says I am making it up but as I was putting coins in to a piggy bank today I swear Lily counted one two and three, except the two sounded a bit like shoe and so did the three...