If you've been following along closely you'd know that our tomatoes have started ripening which can mean only one thing. Tomato sauce!
I should have skinned these but I was too keen to get them cooking and even with the skins on the sauce is delicious. The secret is to melt a couple of anchovies in the bottom of the pan with the onions and garlic. Controversial I know, but it leaves no fishy flavour, just a wonderful subtle salty depth to the sauce. Trust me. Do it.
It's officially birthday season in our family!
Before I joined B's family, I used to have my birthday month all to myself. Every other member of my immediate family is born in June, while my birthday is in February. In B's family, however, it's February and March that are birthday season and as it turns out I really love having all of our birthdays close together. It's good fun celebrating a different person each week. Not to mention: CAKE.
Some of these photos are a bit dingy, my camera is not playing nicely at the moment for some reason.
My two girls are deep in baby-doll obsessed mode. We had one very ugly hard plastic baby which if I recall correctly B and I bought for J the morning A was booked to arrive. For the past month or two that damn plastic baby has been fought over every day. Finally I took the plunge and ordered TWO baby dolls from a very talented kindy mum who makes them. They are so sweet and soft and have been instantly adored.
I quite often find A lying on the floor with hers having a cuddle. And J carries hers around and tucks her into the dolly cradle so gently.
Now to smuggle Hard Plastic Baby into the bin...
It was the most beautiful morning here this morning. The girls and I were on our way to let the chooks out and I actually had to turn back to get my camera. It seems that the sun has shifted all of a sudden. Autumn is on its way and I can't wait!
Last winter was incredibly wet of course but I am so looking forward to crisp cool air, lighting the first fire of the year, flannel pyjamas on little girls and big downy quilts on the bed. With any luck A might be sleeping through the night by then and I won't even have to get out of that big warm bed! Imagine that!
In fact the biggest news this week is all about my sweet little non-sleeper. She walks! She really walks! She still knee-walks a lot of the time and she's quite unsteady on her feet, but she wants to walk and today it really seemed to click for her. I remember the same happening with J - a couple of wobbly steps here and there, and then one day she woke up and just started.
A's very first steps were earlier this week, the morning of her long-awaited specialist appointment... to see why she wasn't walking.
You might remember me talking about the troubles with her ankles and feet a few weeks ago. Last week we finally saw the paediatrician. Talk about an anti-climax. She's perfectly well and healthy, but she has severe pronation (flat feet basically) which causes her ankles to roll inwards. The more she walks the better it'll get. We may see another specialist in a month or two but basically we just have to wait it out, and get her to practise walking at every opportunity.
If she hadn't taken those first steps the morning of the appointment I would have felt quite frustrated with the "wait and see" diagnosis, but now that she's on her way I feel quite positive about the whole thing.
The trouble with a late walker (she's 17 months) is that the usual activities for a child of that age are out of reach. The park is a waste of time, playgroup is exhausting for me and frustrating for both of us, and even outdoor playdates can be a pain when she either has to be carried or put in the pram, which she despises.
But at last it seems we're coming to the end of this very tiresome stage. Babyhood is over. She's a real toddler now. Bring on the walking, and - dare I say it - the running!
Remind me I said that in six months' time...
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