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...