Happy Birthday Tabitha!

Tabitha turned three on Sunday.  She is a Really Big Girl now.  We had a fairy party with all of her little friends and their parents - from her ballet class, ABA, mothers group, my little sister, and a few other friends.  In total, 20 toddlers and around 30 or so parents.

Because The Daddy has been overseas for a few weeks, and only got home a few days before the party, I kept things pretty simple.  I have a new philosophy for children's party food - work out how much food you need, then halve it.  This actually worked brilliantly for this party, we had just about the right amount, with a few cupcakes and sausage rolls leftover for munching on the next day.

On the menu were:

Homemade sausage rolls with lots of grated veggies
Poached chicken and chive sandwiches
Vanilla cupcakes with buttercream
Mini raspberry pavlovas
Fairy bread
Fruit salad
Honey joys
'Fairy and toadstool meringues'

We also had lots of mini San Pellegrino flavoured mineral waters in a large champagne bucket of ice for the adults, which made it easy for people to grab their own drinks, and raspberry cordial in bottles for the kids. 

We had a few of these tiered plates.  I have a few sets of them, they are terribly useful for parties!

We sent each fairy home with a toffee apple.  I made them with Granny Smith apples and green toffee - I like the contrast of the very sharp flavoured, and crunchy Granny Smith with the sweet toffee.  Toffee apples are outrageously easy to make if you have a candy thermometer (or a brilliant Thermapen).

Prepare your apples by washing and rubbing dry 10 medium sized apples, then spearing each apple with a thick skewer or paddle pop stick (available from craft shops).

In a heavy-based, large saucepan, combine 6 cups of sugar, 1.5 cups of water, 150g glucose syrup and 1.5 teaspoons of green food colouring (or red, if you prefer, though use red apples in that case).  Heat over medium heat, stirring without boiling, until the sugar is dissolved.  Then bring to a boil, without stirring, and allow to boil, undisturbed, until the toffee reaches 155 degrees celsius (or the 'hard crack' stage, where a small amount of mixture poured into a glass of cold water makes a sharp cracking noise, and forms a solid ball of toffee which crunches when bitten into).

Remove the saucepan from the heat, and into a baking dish filled with warm water.  Leave for a minute, until the bubbles subside, then tip the saucepan to the side, pooling the toffee, and dip each apple, twirling as you remove it, over the pan, allowing any excess toffee to drip off, then place each apple down onto a baking tray lined with baking paper, leaving to cool.

Toffee apples are best made within two days of serving, and should be stored at cool room temperature in an airtight container or wrapped in cellophane, away from heat or sunlight.

For decor, I made a 'curtain' of pink and green ribbons, hanging along the window behind the food table:

I also made 20 tissue paper pom poms, hung from the ceiling:

We also had some nice pink baby roses around the house in vases, some pink and green vintage floral bunting, and a little pink 'fairy door' attached to the front door, for the 'real fairies' to come into the party.

Sorry, too busy chatting to snap many photos of the decor!

We bought Tabitha a balance bike for her birthday, with a cute heart-print helmet from Nutcase.  I also bought a cute icy pole playfood set from Le Toy Van, which she loves.

For breakfast on her birthday, I made a strawberry jelly mould.  She found it inconceivably thrilling ("This is the best birthday I've ever seen!"), and it was actually a fairly healthy treat.  I simply packed a small jelly mould (this glass Tala one) full of sliced strawberries, then made up some jelly mixture with flavourless jelly crystals and juice, and poured it into the mould.  So it was roughly 3/4 chopped fruit, 1/4 fruit juice jelly.  Not bad!  I think this will become a regular birthday breakfast in this house.

For the cake, I baked a 4-layer chocolate cake using THIS recipe, doubled (the same one I have used for every one of Tabitha's birthday cakes so far, it is her favourite cake), covered in chocolate buttercream with pistachio and rose macarons to decorate.  I bought these from La Belle Miette - no time to bake macarons, and besides, theirs are far superior to anything I could produce.

I found a tiny pair of blue and silver fairy wings, meant for a doll, and attached longer blue elastic to turn them into baby fairy wings for Zachary.  He made the most adorable baby fairy!

  
Tabitha wore a pale yellow tutu from Tutu Du Monde - this one, Giselle - with gold fairy wings, a matching wand, and a delicate headband featuring small pearls and diamontes.  Bare feet - Tabitha says that fairies don't wear shoes.

Zachary used his puppy-dog eyes to beg for a taste of the birthday cake.  I let him have a little nibble.  He wasn't that sold on the taste, actually!

After the party, one of Tabitha's little fairy friends stayed behind, and they flopped onto the couch to watch Alice in Wonderland.  Note the two pairs of discarded fairy wings on the back of the couch!  They also shared out the remaining honey joys between themselves:

By late afternoon, all of the beautiful gifts were unwrapped and put away, the house was cleaned and mopped, and I was able to put my feet up with a cup of tea and some leftover sweet bits:

This pregnancy, I'm loving...

Warning:  Don't bother reading this unless you are specifically interested in pregnancy products.  This post discusses such appealing things as snoring, pain and weight gain, so consider yourself warned...  It's somewhere between an extended list of great products and a bit of a whinge!

I'm having quite a different pregnancy this time, compared to when I was 'in the pudding club' with Tabitha (have you heard that phrase before?  I've picked it up from a Brit friend, and I am loving it!)

With Tabitha, I worked for the first two trimesters, spending my days in 10cm heels, travelling interstate, leading 2-hour presentations to rooms full of people and generally being quite anxious about the baby - I had no idea what to expect, with none of my friends having babies, and not being the sort of girl who fussed over newborns before having one of my own.

I also managed to gain around 25kg, had very *difficult* skin (what glow?!) and had some moderate sciatica pain, carpel tunnel syndrome and reflux in the final trimester.

This pregnancy, I'm much more active (toddler-wrangling) yet far more laid-back, without pressures of paid employment or the need to be presentable at a 8am interstate function.  I've been a lot sicker, yes, however I've also managed to eat more sensibly overall, and have so far put on around 9kg (at 31 weeks) which is more on target for a healthy pregnancy weight gain.  My skin is actually quite good, which everyone tells me is because I am carrying a boy (apparently girls 'suck out your beauty' or something, according to the Old Wives).

No carpel tunnel yet (which I may be able to avoid, since it is often associated with the excessive weight gain) but I've had terrible back, pelvic and sciatic pain since about 14 weeks, certainly exacerbated if not caused by carrying around 12kg of Tabitha much of the time!  I'm now seeing a chiropractor every fortnight, which has made a world of difference.

What else has helped with the back and hip pain?  When I remember, I wear these SRC Pregnancy Shorts which (as well as being incredibly alluring) are pretty good for hip and sciatic pain.  Initially, I wore them nearly every day and night for a couple of weeks, and it made a real difference.  Now I'm seeing the chiropractor regularly, I haven't needed to wear them as much, although I have bought the SRC Recovery Shorts to wear after giving birth, to help repair the abdominal muscles.

Another product I want to plug, which has helped enormously with back, pelvis and leg pain, is the Gel Pro Floor Mat.  These sent-from-heaven-via-the-USA kitchen floor mats are 'anti-fatigue' with a '100 per cent revolutionary gel core'.  I first saw them on the Martha Stewart Show (they use them in the MS test kitchens) and after trying in vain to find a similar product in Australia, I bit the bullet and paid to have one sent from the US.  The company itself doesn't ship to Australia, but I used the parcel forwarding service Shipito.com which I found to have the best rates.  If you are interested in one (and you should be, if you spend lots of time on your feet in the kitchen!) the GelPro company was really helpful at providing the exact shipping dimensions and weight, so I could get an accurate shipping quote from Shipito.  I purchased a fairly large mat (from their clearance section - I found the prettiest pale blue ostrich print one to match my kitchen!) and it cost around $100 to send it, within 5 days, to Australia.  It has been money well spent - everyone who stands on it sighs in bliss, and even if I'm not cooking, I often wander into the kitchen to just stand on it, because it is so comfy!

Speaking of comfort - this pregnancy, the reflux kicked in much earlier, and from around 22 weeks, I was waking up all night from the burning.  So gross.  Last pregnancy, I managed to sort of prop myself up on several pillows, and sleep in a semi-sitting position for the last few weeks when it was really bad, but I found that really damaged my back, because I was lying on all sorts of strange angles.  So this time, because it started so early, I shelled out for a proper 'contoured angled sleeping wedge' from Theraputic Pillow International.  It has been heavenly, and I can't believe I managed without it last time - not only does it completely fix the reflux overnight (so far) but it also allows me to sleep on my back (which is generally a no-no in later pregnancy) because I'm elevated instead of flat.  I then tuck another pillow under my knees, and I am comfy and cosy.  The Daddy has been terribly good about the whole thing - the un-sexy pillow arrangement - and assures me it's not as ridiculous as it looks.  Plus, he tells me that my (normally deafening) pregnancy snoring is almost cured with the wedge pillow.  So points all round!  After the baby arrives, it will be useful turned on its end as a slightly reclining sit-up pillow for breastfeeding in bed too, I think.

And now that I've mentioned snoring - I know I'm not the only pregnant woman to suffer from terrible congestion.  I have a lot of allergies, normally kept under control by allergy medication which is not allowed during pregnancy.  Added to this, pregnancy causes your sinus tissue to swell and the body to produce more fluid and mucous (jeepers, this is so gross, I hope only other pregnant and/or sympathetic people are reading!).  This is all a recipe for major congestion - the sort that stops you sleeping, and has you blowing your nose every minute or two during the day.  So my best solution - which is working well so far - is a combination of Rhinocort nasal spray (which is categorised as completely safe for pregnancy in the US, and 'most likely' safe for pregnancy in Australia, particularly after the first trimester) and I also use a steam vapouriser overnight, every night.  This has made a huge difference.

Moving well away from mucous and pain - I can hear sighs of relief - and onto nicer things like body lotions and clothes...

Last pregnancy, I diligently coated myself in Bio Oil and Tinderbox Pregnancy Belly Rub oil, in the hope of avoiding stretch marks.  Now, that's all well and good, except that the two biggest factors in stretch marks are genetics and amount of weight gained.  Considering I have that sort of dry, pale skin which is prone to them, and I packed on loads of weight, I was pretty lucky, but I certainly gained a decent amount of marks.  They quickly faded away to pale, barely visible marks, and they don't bother me much at all, but I have accepted that all the oils in the world can't prevent them (unfortunately, this is also backed up by research).  This time, I am still using oils, but just because I like the smell and they make (tight, dry) pregnancy belly skin feel nice.  So I am still using the Tinderbox oil (smells incredible) and I am also using Dr Bronner's Whole Kernel Virgin Coconut Oil, which isn't too messy at all, sinks in quickly, and makes my whole body smell (and taste, apparently) just like a coconut rough chocolate!  So there you go.

For maternity clothing this time, I pretty much needed to start again!  The clothes from last time were mostly too big, or else from the wrong season (June baby vs November baby).  This time, I was in maternity clothes a bit earlier, too, since second and subsequent pregnancies seem to 'pop' earlier.  I managed to stay in my pre-pregnancy jeans until around 24 weeks (very low cut, so they sat under the bump) but had to wear maternity tops nearly from the start.  Being tall, I find that close-fitting clothes are generally best (otherwise I look like a ship in full sail) so I bought a whole lot of great pieces from Isabella Oliver Maternity, including this brilliant dress in black, which I wear to death and get lots of great comments on, as well as a few of these tops in different colours, and a couple of other layering and wrap style tops.  I have a couple of great pairs of maternity jeans (I like these ones) and lots of beautiful, colourful Hermes scarves, over the top of all the basic black tops and dresses, mean I never feel dull or boring even though I am wearing the same outfits over and over again.  The quality of the fabric and tailoring in the Isabella Oliver line is really impressive, and I can definitely see myself continuing to wear the dress and tops long after the baby arrives, next winter.

Moving into the warmer weather, I have fallen in love with More of Me Maternity (also available from Queen Bee Maternity in Australia), a US label which produces really gorgeous, high-quality pieces.  I am loving wearing the Blake T-shirt Dress, the Avery Maxi Dress, the Maternichic Dress, the Beatrix Dress and the Agnes Dress, in particular.  Yep, basically my whole Spring/Summer wardrobe is from the one place - but seriously, the clothes are so well cut, and I look forward to passing them onto whichever of my friends is next pregnant in the warmer months!

Now my next two big sartorial challenges - I have two weddings to go to, one about a week BEFORE the baby is due, and one about 2-3 weeks AFTER the baby is due.  I don't know which one is more terrifying to dress for - the week prior, I will be so enormous and swollen that nothing will look good, or the wedding so soon after - well, it's during that hard time when you still look about 6-months pregnant, and need to have easy breastfeeding access in whatever you wear.  So, I have no idea what I will wear to either event!

Spiced Lamb Chops and My Office

Last night for dinner, we had lamb chops with a dry spice rub and a roasted carrot, pine nut and coriander salad.  It was too easy for words, so I will share the recipe.

The lamb chop recipe is from Nigella Lawson's book Kitchen.  For the spice rub, just combine:

• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (I'd suggest less if cooking for small kids)
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons sea salt flakes

 This keeps well in an airtight jar for a good month or so, according to Ms Lawson, so I recommend making a triple batch and setting it aside.

I used Chump Chops, but I imagine any lamb chop would work.  Obviously, a Frenched cutlet or something will need less cooking time.

Take the lamb chops out of the fridge half an hour or so before cooking, if possible, and dredge well in the spice mixture.  Preheat a thin layer of garlic olive oil (or regular Extra Virgin) in a large, heavy-based fry pan, and cook the chops for about 4 minutes on each side, over medium-high heat.  You don't want the spices to burn but you need decent heat to get the deliciously crispy edges.  Keep it pink in the middle.

For the salad, roast some carrots (a dozen baby ones, pretty rainbow heirloom carrots, was about right for us) at 200 degrees, rolled in olive oil, for around half an hour or until cooked and lightly caramelized.  Larger carrots may need longer.  I did this a couple of days prior, because I had the oven on for something else.  I chucked them in the fridge, and took them out an hour or so before serving, to get to room temperature.

Cut up the roasted carrots into 1 inch pieces.  Toss them in a bowl with a large handful of torn-up coriander and some pine nuts.  I made a dressing from the zest and juice of half an orange, juice of half a lemon, three times the amount of olive oil, a dash of sesame oil and soy, and a couple of tablespoons of black sesame seeds (toasted white sesame would be nice as well, as would poppy seeds).

Tabitha still turns her nose up at most fruit (she loves watermelon, apples, pears and blueberries, and will eat all berries or banana if they are in a smoothie or mashed with yoghurt).  It seems that she dislikes the texture of fruits like peaches, banana, plums etc.

So when I keep offering a variety of fruits, she keeps trying them and spitting them out, and thus we continue.  I don't make any fuss, just keep offering them so they don't become foreign to her, and I hope that one day she will try them and actually like it!  I have no concerns re. nutrition, as she does eat some fruits, and eats all vegetables.  I trust her body to know what it needs - and, truth be told, I'm not a huge fruit fan myself, nor is my father, so perhaps it's hereditary.

Here is Tabitha's packed lunch for Occasional Care this morning (she goes for three hours, which includes morning tea fruit time and a lunch at 11:30).  She has, for lunch, avocado sandwiches on wholegrain bread, some cheddar, and for morning tea she has peaches, apple, pears and dates.

This is her favourite lunch box.  It's a cute little Bento box, the pink part is glittery and it has pictures of pigs on it.  What's not to like?!  It reads, "Life of Natural Pigs" on the lid and bag.

In other cute animal news, my newest pair of Marc Jacobs Mouse Shoes arrived yesterday.  Mouse shoes are just the most comfortable flats in the world.  These are made of super-soft leather, with gold studs.  Biker mice perhaps?

Someone asked me, last week, whether I had an office at home.  No, I do not.  This is my 'office', below - a corner table at a gorgeous cafe around the corner from Tabitha's Occasional Care.  I get quite a bit done (Breastfeeding Counsellor training and my work as a Committee member for the Occasional Care).  You can see my regular cafe breakfast - a pot of Earl Grey, a croissant with apricot jam and my laptop to the left.

Hiatus

Sorry, I have been a Bad Blogger.  I've been suffering from some fairly major sleep deprivation, with the little Tabitha here going through a particularly restless period over the last couple of weeks - sometimes waking hourly or more overnight!  I'm hoping that it is a developmental stage, as opposed to an ongoing trend...  So anyway, my days last week were spent trying not to walk into walls, rather than writing blog posts.

It sure is lucky that babies and toddlers are so damn cute!  Because it truly does help with the tiredness, when you need to get up yet again, in the middle of the night, to go to your babe - and they are sitting there looking all bleary eyed and puffy and just plain gorgeous.

Incidentally, this is what Tabby often looks like when she's just woken up - crazy bed hair, puffy face, eyes a little wonky.  Makes me want to cover her in kisses:

In other Tabitha updates - she has a fair few words now.  Lizz (for lizard), Dat (for cat), mumma and dadda, Doh (for dog), Ligh (for light), Sooz (for shoes), Es (for yes) and sometimes No (for nose - she doesn't actually say no to mean no, though she does shake her head!).

She can also point to her own, or someone else's, nose when asked.  She often jams her fingers all the way up my nose when demonstrating this.  She can take a few steps, and can stand on her own for quite some time - minutes, I'd say.  Below, she is standing up, holding a shoe, and bouncing and dancing to some music:

But far and away, the thing I am currently most excited about is her ability to safely climb down from things - she turns and backs confidently off a sofa, bed or bench, and then yesterday, we watched in amazement as she backed her way, quite quickly, down a few medium-sized flights of stairs!  I am thrilled that she can safely get down stairs - we are currently building a house with stairs, and we will be moving in at the end of the year.  I've been worried about the stairs, but I am now confident that by 6 months from now, she will be completely safe with them.

On Saturday night, The Daddy, Tabitha and I went along to watch the Victorian Roller Derby League at the Showgrounds.  Tabitha's Godmother Sophie is on one of the teams, so we had great fun watching her.  Here we are enjoying the crowds - over 5,000 people!

Godmother Sophie is below, fourth skater from the left, in the shiny blue shorts:

Look at all the people!  Roller Derby is becoming very popular - rightly so, as it is incredibly fun to watch.  Sadly we had to leave before the final big bout, as Tabby needed to go to bed.

Yesterday morning, I woke up bright and early to make another four-tier chocolate cake (like the one I did for Tabitha's birthday party).  This one was for my mothers' group - we were having a party with all of the mothers, babies and dads, to celebrate all of the babies now being one.  Really just a good excuse for a party!

I have posted the recipe for the cake before, but I will post it again here.  For a four-tier cake, you need to make double the recipe below.  I would recommend doing it in two batches - that is, prepare the recipe as below, baking two cakes, and then while they are in the oven, prepare the mixture for the next two cakes.  Once the first cakes are out of the oven and cooling, you can prep the pans again for the final two cakes.  Unless you happen to have a large oven AND four identical 20cm straight-sided cake tins, in which case you could certainly do it all at once!

For the frosting, the recipe below will be enough - I have doubled the original quantities, so the below will give you plenty of frosting for a four-tier cake.

Old Fashioned Chocolate Birthday Cake 

(taken from Nigella Lawson's 'Feast')

To make the cake, combine in a food processor:  200g plain flour, 200g caster sugar (as usual, I used vanilla caster sugar), 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda, 40g best-quality cocoa (I use Valhrona), 175g very soft unsalted butter, 2 large eggs, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 150ml sour cream (I also added a generous pinch of salt).  Blitz until completely smooth (it will still be very thick).

Prepare two round 20cm sandwich tins – grease and cocoa them, and line the bottoms with baking paper (see below photos).  Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

Divide the batter, spreading with a spatula to flatten, between the two tins – I make sure they are evenly divided by weighing them.

Bake for 25 – 35 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.

Let the cakes cool in their tins for ten minutes on the bench, then turn out onto a wire cooling rack.  Remove the paper from their bottoms, and sit, top side up, until they are completely cool.

To make the icing, melt together 150g unsalted butter, 350g top quality dark chocolate, broken into pieces.  Set aside to cool a little.

Sift 600g icing sugar into a bowl (or just put it in the food processor and blitz until lump-free)

I've taken a few snap shots to help you with the baking and the frosting...

When preparing the pans, I grease them thoroughly with butter, then line the bottom with a circle of baking paper, then grease the paper, then tap cocoa powder throughout the tin, so that the entire surface is coated with a fine layer of cocoa powder (bang the excess off, down the sink).  I use cocoa powder for chocolate cakes, instead of flour, since it doesn't leave any white residue when the cake is baked:

When the cakes are baked (25 minutes or even just under, in my oven), a skewer will come out clean, and they will be just slightly shrunken back from the edges of the tin.  The tops should be smooth, however if there are bubbles or small cracks, don't stress, as it will all be covered up with frosting.

To frost the cakes, begin by putting a dollop of frosting on the cake stand or platter - this is to help affix the cake firmly to the stand, preventing it from sliding around:

Place the first layer of the cake on the cake plate, and put four strips of baking paper underneath it, along each edge - this is so that you can frost the cake without getting any on the cake plate (you carefully slide the paper out at the end).

If you have any cake layers which are a little 'dodgy' (e.g. a bit of one edge stuck to the tin, or it cracked a little), use those layers in the middle - the top and bottom layers should be your 'best' cakes.  In particular, save the flattest, smoothest and most even layer for the top.

Once your first layer is down, cover it generously with frosting - a 1/3 cup or a little more is about right.  Spread it well over the cake, right to the edges.

Place your second layer over the top of the frosting - here you can see, I have a dodgy layer, where I left it face-down on the cooling rack and  forgot about it for a bit, so it has imprints and a bit of a crack.  This will all be completely hidden by the frosting:

Coat your second layer of cake with more frosting - really, err on the side of more frosting than less, since you need it to fill the gaps around the edge where the cakes slope off:

Repeat with the third layer of cake.  In theory, you could happily do a three-tier cake.  It would still look mighty tall and impressive!  This would be a great option if one of your cake layers didn't turn out, or you wanted to serve a single layer for something else, for example.  Or if you feel that four tiers are just too much...  Not me!  I never shy from going over-the-top.

Place your fourth layer on the top:

Using a small offset spatula (if possible), cover the top and sides with a thin-ish layer of frosting, known as a 'crumb coat', to seal all of the cake.  This layer should be thin enough that you see some dark areas poking through, but you should have covered all of the cake, with no crumbs escaping.  This is your chance to fill any gaps between the layers - you are striving for an even surface at this point:

At the base, stick close to the cake - you don't want fat pools of frosting around the bottom, or removing the paper cleanly later on will be difficult.

On top of this layer, add a whole lot more frosting, and generously coat the entire top and sides with frosting - do not be shy about using a lot, the cake-to-frosting ratio is quite reasonable with this cake.  That said, I don't imagine you'll use all of the frosting by any means!

Try and get the covering relatively even, and certainly thick enough that there is no cake poking through:

Next, take a large spatula, run it under very hot water, dry with a cloth and immediately run it carefully around the cake to smooth the sides and top - repeat the heating as required.  The heat helps melt the frosting to create a smoother surface.  Of course, highly skilled cake decorators can produce a perfectly smooth surface, but highly skilled at cake decorating I am not, so I just aim for a vaguely smooth effect:

Now, I wanted to decorate the top with pearl coloured dragees, so I sketched out a number 'one' with a chopstick, to guide me:

I have frightfully shaky hands (hereditary - a mild case of Benign Familial Tremor), so the decorating part of cakes is always tricky for me (as I've mentioned before, it's also cursed me with appalling handwriting).  To make the number one below, I used tweezers and a very slow hand to create the outline, then scattered them within the border.  I used my hand to affix them to the sides of the cake - just randomly.

Here is a photo, taken at the party, of the cake cut up - as you can see, it cuts very easily into clean, tall slices.  Below, there are 16 slices.  Each slice could easily be further separated into two or even four pieces, cutting through the layers, giving you about a gazillion servings, which is useful when making a cake for a crowd:

Here is a slice of the cake - very tall!  This recipe is lovely, Nigella describes it as a 'sort if idealised packet mix chocolate cake' which is quite accurate, in that it is very fine-crumbed, meltingly smooth and quite light:

Here are some photos from the party yesterday evening...

All of the babies wore little party hats while we sung happy birthday:

Tabby wore a cheap-and-cheerful Pumpkin Patch top, some skinny jeans from Gap, her Marc Jacobs mousie shoes, and a gorgeous pink wool 3/4 length coat from Zara, brought back from the UK in December by my best friend Amy.  I wore my MJ mousie shoes too, as well as boring jeans, white t-shirt and one of my very favourite Hermes scarves - this scarf has lots of muted shades of yellow and blue, and was bought for me by The Daddy as a little gift in Paris while on our honeymoon, so I am very fond of it:

We did a 'Kris Kringle' arrangement, where each of us bought a gift for another baby in the group.  Tabitha received a really gorgeous wooden 'rainmaker' type toy, with coloured wooden beads which shake through layers of waxed wood, below, as well as a super cute rubber ducky - a clever one which doesn't let water in, therefore will not get mouldy!

Here is Tabitha unwrapping her beautiful gifts, watched by The Daddy and I:

We had a great time at the party - ate lots of wonderful food (it was a bring a plate affair, and we do have some talented cooks in our group!), drank some great wine and Champagne, and caught up with all of the other beautiful families in our group.