Face paint - again - and other activities!

You've seen the shots of great face-painting episodes done by other people... this is what happens when Ruby face paints herself...

Ruby loves to help cook. This time she got more than she expected, as it was a super gooey recipe (sausage loaf). Mmm, it sticks to your hands, but it's a lot of fun!!!

Ruby got given a bag of little soft toys. This frog was promptly named 'Ali' and adopted. This is how she (he?) travelled to the market. Secure, but anyone's guess how comfortable for Ali-frog.

Fun times at Grandad & Nan's house!

Boy, it was a super busy day! After playing at Hannah & Gareth's house, we went to play at Grandad and Nan's house. We were too busy eating a lovely afternoon tea to take many photos but here's Ruby getting a shoulder ride from her brave (and strong!) cousin. Sharlotte was doing 12 hours of no talking for the 40-hour famine and we wondered how Ruby would take it. Quite simply - in her stride, proof that fun is a language all of its own.

Fun times at Hannah & Gareth's house!

After our trip to the zoo, Hannah and Gareth invited us to their house for some lovely soup. Then Gareth was tired so he played "let's pretend to sleep" with Ruby. Only minimally successful but at least he got to lie down...

While Hannah indulged in a little baby talk with our newest smiler.

Fun times at the zoo!

Once upon a fabulous sunny day after days and days of rain, Ruby took her little family to the zoo and met with Hannah and Gareth. The lions and chimps must have been enjoying the unexpected sun too as they were all roaring and hooting and hollering. Ruby thought it was hilarious. Gareth convinced her to roar like a lion and soon joined in the fun, being lions behind the bars! They were so fearsome I'm surprised we were allowed to take them home from the zoo afterwards!

Uncle Gareth had a lovely rainbow scarf on. Ruby coveted it. Oh, how she coveted it. And she got it... Cuddles with her bestest mates!While Leah gets cuddles with Daddy!After all the roaring it was time for a much-needed morning tea break.But soon back to roaring like a lion!

Smiles!! and Cuddles

Leah has finally melted the last little bit of our hearts by producing some full-on smiles. Try as we might we can't capture the little gems on camera - this is as close as we've got so far, and it's a bit out because of the bright sunlight, but you get the idea!

Two weeks is a long time in a little baby's life - check out how little she looks lying on Daddy...

and how big and alert she looks 2 weeks later!

Carrot kid

We are constantly wondering what's going on in Ruby's head ... and sometimes we find out ... and then we move on to wondering "where she got that from". Between the two of us we appear to have infused her genes with quite a sense of humour. Tonight she was peeling carrots and appeared out of the kitchen with this little idea ... she thought she was hilarious. Have to admit - so did we!

Miracle news - toddler breastfeeds baby

Over the last couple of days, Ruby has taken to having 'her' baby with her everywhere she goes, and we are seeing a fair bit of mimicking, nurturing behaviour. However, this afternoon really took the cake when she sat next to me when I was feeding Leah, lifted her shirt and 'attached' her baby to her 'breast'. What was most amazing to me was that it was perfectly accurate - held right, in the right place and with all the right accompaniments. She reached for her imaginary towel (Leah tends to dribble, so I always have a towel close by) and it was flung over her shoulder in exactly the same way as I do it.

She even gazed blankly at the TV while feeding - just like mummy!

After the feed, 'baby' was lifted over her shoulder and her back patted and rubbed for a burp. Magic!

Our 'at home' holiday

After much discussion about the possibility of us having a little holiday together before I go back to work, we decided that on the whole, a holiday with a little baby is pretty much more trouble than it is worth ... and we came up with a compromise - a holiday at home!! After all, we live in the biggest (the best??) city in NZ and there is lots to do - most of which we haven't yet done. So on Sunday we visited the French Market in Parnell and fed ourselves on devine croissants and a potato/bacon/gherkin/cheese hot thingy from the alps ... my memory is offering up 'raclette' but I'm not sure if that's right. Whatever it's called, it was delicious! Ruby is a big fan of croissants in any form and enjoyed the bustling buzzy atmosphere as much as we did.

Hannah and Gareth had introduced us to the French Market by delivering us some lovely croissants on Mothers Day, and they live nearby, so we went to visit them later and took some goodies from the Italian bread shop to share in return. Quite the European morning!

I did some, Mum!!

Finally! We thought the day would never come, but our household is hearing the sweet sound of successful toilet training. Although not much training was needed - she just 'got it' one day. She has proudly been telling all and sundry that she's a big girl now and wears big girl undies... hooray!! Here's hoping Leah follows her big sister's lead some time soon... nappies in any size, shape or form are such a drag!!!

Blue-faced butterflies

Playcentre broke out the face paint again - Ruby's always an eager participant in such things!

New Clothes and Lovely ‘Aunties’

Every gal needs a loving ‘aunty’ to buy her gorgeous clothes, and Ruby (and now Leah) has one in Thirza, a long-time friend of Owen. This lovely lady sends superb presents – always perfect, always a hit, always beautifully wrapped and a pleasure for Ruby to unwrap. This time Ruby received a deep red cardigan that fit perfectly. She wore it that night to the supermarket (hey – a girl’s gotta get her outings where she can!) and it’s often at the top of the list when asked “what are you going to wear today?”

Tent ropes and laughter

Remember the party we went to, during which Ruby decided to lick our car? At that same party I remember hearing her infectious laugh pealing out from outside the tent. I asked someone "who's playing with Ruby?" and was told "no-one - she's playing with the guy ropes on the marquee". Wow, I thought, didn't realise ropes could be so entertaining - but she was happy, so we left her to it. We are so lucky to have a talented photographer, Paul Restall, in our circle of friends, and he captured Ruby's exploration of the sound and feel of the ropes vibrating in the wind.

Cuddle Time

While life as a completely outnumbered male in a household of females is probably not what Owen bargained on – there have to be some benefits. Cuddles anyone?

Child Labour

We’re firm believers in the value of child labour … heck, why not when she’s so keen … the car was cleaned today, in a slightly more conventional manner than the aforementioned licking it previously got.

Ruby showing great potential as an infomercial presenter…

And again – here’s what Leah was doing while Ruby worked hard… sense a theme?

In the Garden

Ruby loves nothing better than ‘helping’, often announcing “I’m gonna help ya” (has also mastered the kiwi accent and slang …). A big favourite has to be helping Daddy in the garden. Here she is helping to cut the string that will hold the bird netting down. Of course, after this big gardening session, it rained and poured all night and promptly flattened three-quarters of our seedlings. It’s now wait and see as to how much of our winter food source recovers!! Then again, the garden centre is a fun place to hang out as it includes a cafe, a pond housing frogs, and a trampoline for the kids, so perhaps not such a hardship, having to go back and re-stock!

And lest you think I have forgotten the #2 child while I rave on about the #1 child… here’s what Leah was doing while Ruby worked hard (don't be fooled, it looks like sleeping, but it's actually growing like a weed and putting on approximately 50g per day... that's the average weight of an egg. Most of it is on her cheeks at the moment, some sitting in a roll behind her neck and the rest heading straight for her thighs - as with most females!)