My Birthday and Zach the Eater

Last week was my birthday - just two days after Tabitha's.  I turned 29.  I had a great day - started with presents and a cup of tea in bed, then spent the morning with the kids, then my mother and The Daddy came home for lunch and birthday cake.

Tradition dictates that I have some sort of chocolate birthday cake from Laurent.  Preferably with crunchy bits and cakey bits.  This one was gorgeous - crunchy praline bits, chewy nougat bits, brownie fudgy layer, a light mousse layer, and incredibly rich ganache.  With crunchy biscuits around the edge. 

Zach was entranced by the candle.  I wish I had have thought to dry my hair before photos!

Birthday presents from The Daddy and the kiddie winkies.  What is more exciting than a blue box?  A blue box and an orange box!

The Daddy picked out the scarf while in Hong Kong for work earlier this month.  He said he thought I needed a pale one, as I have lots of bright and dark scarves.  Clever man.  It's cream, lemon, apricot and lilac in a geometric design.  The necklace is a Paloma Picasso design, 15mm beads in all sorts of semiprecious stones - it has Amethyst, bloodstone, blue lace agate, chrysocolla, dumorierite, green aventurine, hawk's eye quartz, garnet, jasper, lapis lazuli, green jade, red jasper, rhodochrosite, rhodonite, rose quartz, sodalite, tiger's eye and yellow chrysoprase.  Whew!  Anyway, it's incredibly pretty, appeals to my inner hippy, and looks lovely with a plain black dress.

Very large bouquet of flowers from mum, from my favourite florist, Camberwell Market Flowers.  They are just a little stand at the market but they do weddings and events and the most spectacular pomanders and gift arrangements.

After Zach and Tabitha were in bed, The Daddy and I went out for dinner, to Ocha, one of my favourite Japanese restaurants in Melbourne.  As soon the food started to arrive, we received word from home that Zach had woken up, but he was quite content to get up and play with our babysitter until we got home!  He's such an easygoing baby.  We finished off the rest of the cake when we got home.  I would say I ate at least half of the cake over the course of the day!

Cheeky Tabitha.  She has taught Zach to climb the stairs - she stood there for ages, "come on Zachy!  I know you can do it!"  He can climb a few, which was enough for me to organise a stair gate, quick smart.

Made some brownies.  It's a rare week in which I do not make brownies!  They are just so easy, delicious and they even freeze beautifully.  They also go down a treat with the neighbours, and we have lots of lovely neighbours.

Brownies and apple cake.  The apple cake has apples, you see, and wholemeal flour.  Which makes it practically a health food...

Tabitha cannot be trusted alone with an apple cake:

Godmother Sophie read The Jolly Postman to Tabitha - she was enthralled, thoroughly excited by all of the letters.  If you loved it as a child, I'm sure you have already shared the love with a small person, but if you haven't read it, grab a copy for your own family or a little friend.

Zach had a few days off solid foods last week (he had a bit of a cold, so I wanted to get as much breastmilk into him as possible, to help him get better).  Now that he is back to full health, he has plunged back into the world of Solid Foods with gusto.

What does Zach eat on a typical day?  And yes, these photos are all from today - I find it easier to just change his top than bother too much with bibs!

Bananas are popular for breakfast:

For lunch, some steak and mushroom pie with roasted sweet potato and roast potatoes:

For dinner, fish with green beans and cauliflower cheese.  Cheeky grin below - and covered with bits of fish and cauliflower!

Tabitha off for a ride on her balance bike.  With her new Ballerina Barbie, naturally.  Ballerina Barbie was a 3rd birthday present (belated, from moi).  I saw her in her pink box on the shelf and couldn't resist - I received my own first Barbie when I was 3, and it too was a Ballerina Barbie.  I still have her.  I don't believe that classic Barbies are damaging to little girls.  This one has a pink tulle tutu with glittery bodice, sheer pink stockings with seam backs (!), ballet shoes with tiny real ribbons, and a silver tiara.  I think I love her as much as T.

Yes, Tabitha owns lots of clothes that are not pink.  More than 50 per cent of her wardrobe.  Do I have a hope in hell of getting her into any of these non-pink clothes?  Rarely.  It makes me laugh, really, her pink obsession - we deliberately started her out limiting gendered toys, clothes and activities for the most part.  She took soccer lessons, wore blue jeans, loved her toy cars.  Fast forward to around two and a half, suddenly a switch seemed to trip, and she is All About the Pink.