Market Madness

Today is predicted to be a nasty and exhausting 40 degrees, with high hot winds.  This means a number of things:

• It is the worst weather you could imagine to play golf - hell hot and super windy.  So naturally, The Daddy and my father are off playing.  Go figure!
• Fragile wilting types like Tabitha and I cannot go outside.  We will melt into puddles.  So we are trapped inside for most of the day in the air conditioning.
• The market (Camberwell Market) was incredibly busy in the early morning, with everyone trying to get in and out before the heat.

Tabitha and I trekked into the market at 8am, and it took us nearly two hours to do all of our shopping (a couple of local crays, some blue eye fillets to bake with corriander/ginger/lime/chilli, loads of prawns, oysters, bread, veggies, some lamb cutlets for Tabby, cheeses, Champagne).

Once we got out of there, straight home for a nap for Tabitha and flopping on the couch watching The L Word DVDs for mumma.  Am expecting a visit from Tabby's godmother Sophie this morning, but I will not hold my breath because she was out all night after the Peaches concert last night!

Food tally so far

Today, Tabitha tried peanut butter for the first time.  This is kind of a big deal - with so many children having anaphylaxis allergies to peanuts (there are three, I think, in my sister's year level of less than 100 kids), and peanut allergy being the highest food-related killer in the developed world, most parents are understandably a little jumpy about introducing nuts.

Whats more, the advice differs dramatically, with some experts recommending the early introduction of nuts (under six months), others recommending delaying nuts beyond one year, and still more experts debating over the role of nuts in the pregnant woman's diet etc.  So in short, there is no consensus, leading me to surmise that it's best to just go with your gut.  With that in mind, I held off peanuts until I was sure that Tabitha was ingesting and digesting foods (yep, you gotta check the poop for evidence!).

So today, Tabby had rice cakes with peanut butter, and with Vegimite and butter (today was also a first for Vegimite).  All went well, she loved them, much mess and fun was had, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

The 'last frontier' of new foods will be egg.  Egg is another food that can lead to an anaphylactic allergy, and since we have anaphylaxis to both egg AND nuts in the family, I am proceeding with caution.  Next week I will try some omelette, cut into fingers.  Once egg is clear I will be thrilled, because she is basically then on an unrestricted diet, able to eat EVERYTHING that we do!  Lunches and meals on the go will become easier - I can bake and freeze vegetable scones, muffins, mini-quiches etc.

I should point out that honey should never be given to children under one year, because of the slight risk of a rare but serious and fatal reaction to a botulism toxin that only affects babies.

I have tried to recall all of the foods Tabitha has eaten so far.  I think I have listed all of them!  Pretty good going for only six months and two weeks, I think...

1. Bread - pita, sourdough, rye, bagel
2. Bread dipped in all sorts of sauces from our plates
3. Rice cakes
4. Vegimite
5. Peanut Butter
6. Taramasalata
7. Cheese - Onetik Ossau-Iraty, Comte, Cheddar, 
8. Peach
9. Spicy marinated chicken rib
10. Apricot
11. Banana
12. Green beans
13. Tuna sashimi
14. Avocado
15. Steak
16. Lamb cutlets
17. White fish
18. Capsicum
19. Gingerbread
20. Nectarine
21. Roast pumpkin
22. Brocolli
23. Brocollini
24. Raspberry
25. Cucumber
26. Steamed carrot
27. Edamame (soy bean pods)
28. Roast potatoes in duck fat
29. Asparagus

The biggest challenge is not WHAT she can eat but HOW she can eat it!  Squishy, slippery or very soft foods continue to pose a challenge.  Once it's a little warmer, I will try offering Tabby a spoon and foods like yoghurt etc. outside in just her nappy, and letting her go for it.  I guess eventually she will get the hang of how to work a spoon for scooping...

Journey to Visit Great, Great Grandma Dorothy

Yesterday morning, early, I bundled Tabitha and myself (and our numerous belongings!) into my parents' people mover vehicle, in the middle row with my sister Q.  Tabitha's rear-facing car seat was, of course, installed as well.  We have the Meridian AHR Safe'n'Sound car seats, by the way, in both The Daddy and my cars - I think it's an excellent car seat from my research, and fits from newborn to 18kg (roughly 4 years old).

We then drove FOUR HOURS to Lakes Entrance, stopping briefly at Sale McDonalds - or Stale McDonalds as it was quickly re-appropriated by dad and I.  This was a fairly dire pitstop, although we did see two super-cute French Bulldogs. Tabitha slept for a good amount of the trip, after which I broke the 'no TV' rule and let her watch My Neighbour Totoro on DVD to amuse her for a little.  Which is an incredibly beautiful animated Japanese childrens' film, well worth a look!

Upon arriving in Lakes Entrance (actually we performed an accidental Lakes Exit and drove straight through the town.  We had to do a U-turn and go back!), we checked in at The Esplanade Resort and Spa.  We then went straight over to the care facility where my Great Grandmother Dorothy lives - she is actually the OLDEST person in the place!

Dorothy was incredibly moved and overjoyed to meet her first Great, Great Grandchild.  Dorothy was born in 1913, living through two World Wars and the Depression, so she has certainly seen a lot in her life.  However she was still thoroughly thrilled to meet Tabitha!

I love this photo - they have the same expression!

And again, the same expression!

You will notice the blanket on the right - cream soft wool, which Dorothy knitted for me when I was born, and is now Tabitha's blanket.

Tabitha wore a Liberty Print dress and bloomers for the occasion - suitably classic and pretty.  Tabitha also grabbed and stole Dorothy's glasses at one point, cheeky baby.

For years, I had hoped and hoped that I could have a baby while Great Grandma is still with us, so it was an emotional and joyous visit for me.  I feel that we have given her a wonderful gift, to have a Great, Great Grandchild.

We gave Dorothy a photo of Tabitha and I, taken three days after she was born, in a silver frame.  She got a little teary at this point, and after a while said that the photograph reminded her of the song "When a Child is Born".

Mum was also thrilled to see her Grandmother - since Dorothy is so old now, she finds it difficult to travel, and the four-hour car journey to Melbourne is too much.

Here is Q, mum, Dorothy, my aunt Karin and cousin Lissy.

The place where Dorothy lives is actually very nice!  Lovely gardens, there is a cat, the staff are all kind and chatty, and her own room is beautifully personalised.  If you have ever wondered what might await you if you end up in 'a home', here is a glimpse into the future.

The menu looks nice.  A little heavy on the custard perhaps, but it all smelt mighty good!  Also, at approximately 3pm, Devonshire Tea is served.  I could get used to that...

All the bedroom doors are decorated with the names of the residents - it is a little like walking along a corridor of children's rooms!

Although the large resident cat is, strictly speaking, a 'communal' cat, Dorothy had claimed him and has food, water and litter in her area.  She adores animals, and kept a large flock of chickens, ducks and geese (as well as cats and dogs) for most of her life.  She doesn't eat chicken, because she became too fond of them over the years.

Dorothy is a mad keen St Kilda Football Club fan.

Her room opens out to a large garden area, and she has lots of her own plants in pots along her windows.

We found her stash of lollies and chips!

 Outside showing Karin and Mum her latest plants:

Q and Lissy playing in the gardens:

The five generations.  From left to right, aged .5, 26, 40s, 70s, 97.

Dorothy kept asking me, "Are you sure you want her?  I can keep her here!"

We then all went out to lunch at Kalimna Hotel, a Greek restaurant with a spectacular view.  Going against my general rule that restaurants famous for their views have pretty average food, our lunch was brilliant - fresh, flavourful classic Greek food, lots of juicy gyros, dips, a lovely walnut syrup cake.

Here is Q with some of the view:

Tabitha showing off her cute Itti Bitti d'Lish Snap-in-One nappy in cream, which looked pretty under her pink and cream linen dress.  This dress used to belong to Q 9 years ago!

Tabitha started getting hungry and tried to eat a plate.

Thankfully, the food arrived soon, and she tucked into some freshly baked hot bread smothered with taramasalata dip.  I am a huge tarama fan, and Tabitha seemed to love it too!  She certainly covered herself in it...

An old favourite, grilled lamb chops , juicy and tasty and complete with a handle!

Eating a large slice of cucumber from the Greek salad - but you will notice she is still keeping a tight grip on her lamb chop!

Her pretty dress is COVERED in lamb and taramasalata!  Nothing that won't come out in the wash - you can't be precious when you're doing baby-led weaning.

After lunch, we popped Tabitha straight into the car and started the drive home.  After nearly two hours, she woke up and got mighty grumpy that she was still stuck in her car seat!  So we pulled over in Moe Botanic Gardens (probably not as nice as you might imagine) and had a play and a stretch.

Sadly, after that, we had to put her back in the car.  The remaining 1.5 hours were NOT FUN.  It was between 5:30 - 7pm, which are generally her 'difficult' hours, where she likes to be worn close to me and cluster fed.  So she was very grizzly, and I sat in the back with her and sang nearly the whole way home.  She also has her two front top teeth coming through, so that added to the grumps.

Oh - and other exciting news is that she has started getting right up on her knees and doing that bouncing, rocking back-and-forth very quickly thing.  She has also managed a 'step' or two of crawling while doing this.  It is incredibly cute, and means that she will probably start crawling soon.  Meanwhile, watching her madly rocking her bottom back and forth is great fun to watch!

Christmas Evening, Boxing Day.

In the evening on Christmas Day, we went to visit with The Daddy's family in Blackburn.  Far too full for proper dinner, however, in a food-coma daze, I made a white bread roll filled with glazed ham and warm fried rice.  Was brilliant, actually!  

Tabitha had lots of cuddles with her Nan-Nan (The Daddy's grandmother) and even did a wee on her!  Oops!  Tabby also got to play with her favourite Uncle Paul, who gave her a super-girlie pink rocking horse for Christmas.  She looks very cute sitting (assisted) on its back.  

Tabitha also played with her great grandfather - he has a very impressive mustache and she loves to pull it!  For the first time since she was a little baby, we tried putting her to bed for the night out of the house - she is too clever and mobile now to put her to sleep in the middle of a bed, as she could roll off, so we laid down a flat quilt down on the floor in a bedroom and she slept happily on that.  We went home when she woke for her nighttime feed at 10pm.

Here is Tabitha playing with her Nan-Nan:

Also visiting The Daddy's aunt and uncle in Blackburn was my best friend Amy!  She used to be in a relationship with my brother-in-law, and they are still good friends.  Amy desperately wants a pug dog.  So I got her a 'Port-a-Pug'.  If you know anyone who wants a dog but cannot have one, this is a nifty gift.

Here is Tabitha having cuddles with Amy:

BOXING DAY...

The next morning, Boxing Day, Tabitha finally got to open her gifts from us!  Basically this consisted of tasting every gift.  Then tasting the wrapping paper.

In order to avoid going overboard and buying loads of (excuse the language) crap, I limited myself to buying her just four gifts from The Daddy and myself.  I came across a lovely concept on a US 'Gentle Christian Mothers' website (where else?!) whereby each child receives four gifts, comprising of:

• Something you want
• Something you need
• Something to do
• Something to read
  
  

This also makes it simpler once you have multiple children, so as to keep things roughly even and fair.  I sneakily extended this rhyme to include 'plus-anything-I-can-cram-in-a-stocking-within-reason'.  So shoot me.

In practice, this meant that Tabitha received:

• A little blowup swimming pool for the back yard - large enough for me to sit in with her on the hot days of summer, and hopefully find some relief from the heat.  (Something she wants - or at least I'm sure she would if she knew what it was for!)
• A great portable highchair, the Handy Sitt (something she needs - for being able to sit at the table with everyone else when we dine out, instead of always being relegated to a possibly mangy restaurant high chair)
• A lovely box of 100 German wooden painted blocks - nice and simple, identical to the ones I had growing up (something to do)
• Two books - The Avocado Baby and Bob Dyan's Forever Young (something to read)
  
  

In her stocking, she also received a beautiful Waldorf-style woolen felt stuffed lamb doll, which I am hoping will become her 'bedtime' comfort, as well as a large blue felt ball and a gingerbread reindeer. 

I did much of Tabitha's shopping at my favourite toy store, Jasper Junior.  They have stores in Royal Arcade in the city, Brunswick Street and at Chadstone.  If you ever have a baby or child (or adult!) to buy for, I really recommend paying Jasper Junior a visit!

Here is Tabitha tasting her Waldorf lamb:

Here is Tabitha tasting her blue felt ball:

Here is Tabitha eating her gingerbread reindeer, the first sweet thing she has ever eaten.  She definitely approved!

Later in the morning, I wandered into the bedroom and found this scene.  An exhausting time of year!

In the afternoon on Boxing Day, we went to visit The Daddy's father, Tabitha's grandfather Mark.  He lives in Queensland so he's only been able to see Tabitha a few times - he came down when she was born in June.  We also had lunch with Tabitha's Great Uncles Gary and Wayne, and some visiting family from Adelaide.

Here is Grandpa Mark with Tabitha:

Today, which is the day AFTER Boxing Day, we had yet another family lunch - with my dad's mother, Tabitha's Great Nanna, and her Great Aunt Robbie.  We went to Melba Brasserie at The Langham, Melbourne, which is quite a swish buffet - or 'interactive dining experience' as they call it.  There are several stations where chefs prepare food to order - platters of sushi and sashimi, curries and naan in two enormous tandoors, Peking duck pancakes, stir fries, and of course all the standards including roasts, seafood (prawns, oysters, mussels, scallops, crabs and yabbies), cheeses, and desserts.  I ate too much.  

Tabitha did a brilliant job with her eating - it was a wonderful day for baby-led weaning!  She sat on her Handy-Sitt chair, right up at the table with the rest of the family (instead of above the table and a foot away in a big restaurant high chair) and had a little plate of her own food - with marinated asparagus, sharp aged English cheddar, bread (of course!), broccoli, pear and some tuna sashimi.  She tried ALL the foods, and had a good go at eating most of the cheese and sashimi.

Here is Tabitha's plate, half way through her meal, and my first (sadly, of many) plates of food:

Here is Tabby having a cuddle with her Great Aunt Robbie:

Here is the rest of my family - mum, sister and dad:

And here is Tabitha having a cuddle with her Great Nanna - who is quite a champion and still plays tennis and travels overseas!

This evening, we got home and decided (very spur-of-the-moment!) that tomorrow, we are taking Tabitha down to visit her GREAT GREAT Grandmother, Dorothy, who is 98 and lives in Lakes Entrance.  Lots of mum's side of the family is also trekking down, and we are all staying for a couple of days.  So stay tuned for a FIVE generation of women photo tomorrow or the next day!  Dorothy, who is 98, my Grandmother, who is in her late 60s I believe, my mother, who is in her 40s, myself (26) and Tabitha (.5).  All in the one place - will be wonderful!  

Mum has booked the accommodations - I think that we snagged the last two rooms in Lakes Entrance at such last minute in peak season - and tells me that there is a nice pool and a day spa.  So all in all it should be a good little trip!  If only it wasn't a four-hour drive each way...

It's Christmas!

WOW!  What a couple of days it has been.  The joy of the first Christmas as a little family; the fun of sharing our baby with her adoring extended family; the food and gifts; the meltdowns that inevitably result from babies being passed around at such events!

Let me start by saying that I was incredibly lucky and overjoyed to receive a brand new digital SLR camera from my husband and Tabitha for Christmas - a Canon EOS 550D to be precise.  I am completely in love with it, and it was the perfect gift, since I have a beautiful new 'subject' around me all day and night!  I am going to take a class so that I can learn to use more of its features - so far I have only used the 'Automatic' setting and the HD video.  Regardless, it got plenty of use today - and as a result, I have LOADS of photos to upload to the blog.

So, I am going to spread things out a little, and right now just post about Christmas morning and lunchtime.  Later I will post about dinner and Boxing Day.  Believe it or not, the following contains only a tiny fraction of the photos taken today!

First thing in the morning, my parents, sister and cousin came over to open gifts - 'Santa' had done his drop at our place.  Tabitha quite quickly became overwhelmed and overexcited with all the noise, colour and activity, and only opened three presents before she had to go down for a morning nap!  She received, from her Moosie and Gra (my parents) and auntie Q, a cute little pink Mason Pearson hairbrush; a sturdy little walker wagon with wooden blocks; and a beautiful knitted monkey.

In the end, Tabitha did not open ANY gifts from The Daddy and I, because she was already getting overwhelmed and we decided to put them off until the next morning when she would enjoy them more.

While Tabitha was napping, we all ate croissants with cheese and leftover glazed ham.  Grant and I received from my parents and sister a fantastic wicker picnic basket set, two enormous bags full of delicious goodies from Simon Johnson, including lots of things from one of my favourite lines, Prince Charles' Duchy Originals and some strawberry and elderflower cordial!

I got The Daddy a lovely decanter - the Riedel Amadeo - as well as some other bits and pieces.

Here is Possum, our younger cat (less than a year old), peering up at all the action.  He is a beautiful cat, but stupid as any I've met.

We left at 11am to go to my aunt and uncle's house in Kensington for Christmas lunch - around 25 guests.  When we arrived, The Daddy played around with the new camera and took some photos in the courtyard.  Here is Tabitha in her pretty little Collette Dinnigan lace dress (which was her baptism contingency gown!).  Don't you want to nibble those chubby limbs?!

Here are three generations - my mother, myself and happy Tabitha:

And with my dad:

Tabitha adores her Grandpa Gra - and he her:

Here is our little family:

Simon and Anne, our hosts, are both school teachers, and as such are incredibly organised.  Look at their lovely typed menus:

Here you will notice special mention of my pudding and custard!

Tabitha hanging our with her grandfather:

Simon and Anne have a beautiful garden, in their very limited space.  I am very impressed every time I visit!

Anne put together some beautiful decorations with glassware and tealight candles:

The food all looked - and tasted - incredible.  Well done Simon and Anne!

Tabitha really enjoyed the asparagus with lemon butter and crumb gratin topping:

And of course her bread.  She does love her bread!

The little neighbourhood that Simon and Anne live in is really lovely and tight-knit, with lots of young families.  In fact, a few of the houses in a row have cut holes in their side fences so that the children can run to and fro between the houses as they wish!  So we got to spy on the neighbours' Christmas lunches!  Below you can also see the children eating their lunch in the courtyard.

Here is my beautiful cousin Juliette, who is 17, wearing her Christmas gift from my parents, a silver Eiffel Tower necklace from Tiffany - Juliette's father lives in France, so all things French are very special to her.

It's funny how little girls are often dressed to match on Christmas, right down to their shoes:

Here is my father and The Daddy taking Tabitha on a walk around Kensington for her nap:

After lunch, we were all treated to a string quartet recital by my sister and three cousins.  Here is Q setting up her cello: 

Here are three of the little girls:

Q plays the cello beautifully.  I am very proud!  I took up the cello in high school and have played a little on and off since then.  I have had quite a hiatus over the past couple of years and will be resuming lessons in the new year.  I cannot wait - I played Q's half size cello this morning and thoroughly enjoyed it!

I love Q's little dress.  So cute!  Sequins sewn into scale shapes on a cream tulle dress.

Here is cousin Lissy who also plays the cello - although her real forte is her viola.

After lunch, we had three cakes with fresh berries picked that morning, and flown over in the morning, with my aunt from her biodynamic organic farm home in Tasmania.  We also had pudding and custard!

I love this photo - the girls from my family!

Beautiful photo of Juliette cuddling Tabitha:

Arghhhhh and all day, Tabitha yanking on my hair!  I am considering cutting it all off.  I cut nearly a foot of hair off after our wedding two years ago and it grew back pretty quickly!  I haven't had hair to my shoulders or shorter since I was around 10, so I am quite tempted.  At least it would save the ouchy pulling!

After lunch, we went to visit The Daddy's family in Blackburn.  I will post some photos tomorrow!  Tabitha had a wonderful time visiting with more family, and REALLY enjoyed meeting the happy wriggly doggie Rusty!