On the 10th of May

Once again I'm a little late, the tenth seems to pass me by each month!


At six months old, she is sitting on her own for a short while until she gets distracted or tired. She intentionally reaches out to grab things and bring them to her mouth. And by things, I mean everything. My coffee cup, Isaac's hand, Andy's hair...


We started weaning this month and I think we hit it right on the nose. I'm amazed how quickly she's developed the appropriate skills. We're doing baby-led weaning again, as we did with Isaac. (If you have no idea what I'm talking about, google it. It is so fantastic to see your child reach out and feed themselves, even at this young age.) Within two weeks, she is purposefully bringing food to her mouth and gumming it. She loves to drink water from a sippy cup and she steals Isaac's drinks given half a chance!


And these two? It melts my heart to see how well he cares for his sister. He shares his food with her and thinks it's hilarious when she accepts the drink he shoves in her mouth.


She's not rolling yet, though she's making good efforts with kicking her legs and pushing her bum off the ground. She stands with minimal support (this photo was posed & I blame Andy for giving me the idea).


She's just gone into 6-9 month clothing and, to my distress, it fits beautifully. On the other hand, she can now wear all the lovely things I bought her ages ago.


She shrieks and shouts and babbles to herself. She's an attention-seeking lady; if you leave her alone for 5 minutes, she communicates her displeasure. And when you come to pick her up from a nap, she beams from her Moses basket. She has collaborated with her brother so now they nap alternately and I miss my me-time most days. She goes to bed at 7pm and sleeps beautifully until about 2am when she wakes for a feed. And then she's up again at 5 or 6 for the day. She naps at half 9 and again at 2ish, given half the chance.


She likes to sit in the middle of the action. She has a favourite toy: Sir Prance-a-lot! A gift from my sister & her husband for Christmas.


And she loves labels so the Taggie that Isaac dismissed has been a great hit. All in all, she's delightful and happy. We have a wonderful time together.



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On personalised frugality

I would love to make every single card I give by hand, individually tailored to the special person who will receive it. Partly because I object to paying £3 for a mass-produced piece of paper with some sparkles added. And partly because the people I send cards to are very special indeed. But I live in the real world, with a husband, 2 children, 2 cats, a very untidy house and a verging on unhealthy need to play with paper & photos on a regular basis. (And I'm not that inspired when it comes to card-making.) So I have recently developed a compromise:

I make cards using scraps and sketches or lifts from cards I love (mostly taken from scrapbooking blogs). Sometimes I add a sentiment, sometimes I leave the front blank. I tend to make 2-4 of the same basic design at the same time. They live in a cupboard in my scrap storage until I need them. And then, when I suddenly remember that it's my nephew's birthday or I want to send a note to my daughter's godmother or I realise as I'm going out the door that I'm off to my friend's new house for the first time (all true examples), I run upstairs, grab a card and put a couple of personal finishing touches to it.
The photo above shows 3 cards that I'm in the process of making today. (My crafting gets done in small chunks around all the other activities that raising a family & running a home entail.) The left one is cut but not stuck yet. The middle one is stuck but not personalised. And the right hand one is finished & written, ready for my friend's daughter's second birthday this week.
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ETA: Those cards are a lift from this post on the American Crafts blog and I've used old Sassafrass Lass papers, some Paperchase washi tape and AC Dear Lizzy Thickers.