Avatar gloves

I started these gloves a few days ago. The yarn is a yummy variegated 100% lambswool - Rowan Colourscape Chunky. I initially bought this yarn to make a hat for Adam ; blue is his favourite colour and it was really cold this Christmas that he really needed a hat. But he wouldn't even give the yarn one look when I asked him if he would like a hat made from this colour. He hates hats. My husband wanted a pair of gloves to play snow with so I made these gloves with the yarn instead. But because the yarn colour is variegated (i.e. the colour changes along the yarn in the skein), the gloves doesn't match! Somehow I ended up with this pair of really unique gloves full of brilliant colours and character. And my husband is calling it Avatar, because the colours remind him of the Avatar movie, and coincidentally, we were watching Avatar on tv while I was knitting this.

My husband is an iphone user so I made the gloves with a slit in the index finger so he can play on his phone while wearing it...I don't know if my husband really like the colours...probably too colourful for him..and also, as luck would have it, temperature increased dramatically in the past couple of days that there are no more snow and he doesn't really need full gloves anymore....oh well...at least i enjoyed knitting them..hehe..and with the crazy weather, you never know when it's going to reach freezing temperatures again...

Mia @ 11 months (and Snow Day)

I have a sneaky suspicion Mia is trying for the fastest growing baby award..gosh..she's practically a toddler already!

She's a stable walker by now and can walk any distance she likes, or run, even. With her tiny little body she looks like a penguin waddling around the house. She follows me around where ever I go, and she is very quick. Every trip to the toilet is a race because she will be banging on the toilet door before I even had the chance to sit on the loo.

She understands everything we say to her. Honestly, she does. And she will respond to prove it. If you ask her, where's your Princess book Mia? She'll go and fetch the Princess book.

Yesterday she picked up a blanket, pulled it over her face and giggled. I asked, 'where's Mia?' and she pulled the blanket down, laughing and smiling proudly. Pandai main cak cak...adam la ajar ni...

She's very possessive of me. No one can come near me. If she sees me cuddling up with Adam or Daddy, she'll come over and start crying, until they leave me alone with her.

If she wants cheese she says 'chissss, chissss' . if she wants susu she says 'ssss,ssss'. She tries to repeat after the words we say.

We have a little gate at our living room door to prevent her from going to eat shoes in the hallway (one of her favourite activity) but lately she figured out how to open it! So much for babyproofing! honestly, we've had many adults guests who couldn't figure out how to open it...in fact everything in the house is now subject to her experimentation...the tv, the speakers, the wires, the bookshelf...Adam keep going 'Mia, no! nanti Daddy marah!'. But she just smile cheekily and keep going at it...but when Daddy's at work, Adam says 'It's ok Mommy, biar je iya (mia) main..Daddy work, Mommy...'

Oh yes, he constantly covers for her. If he sees me or Daddy telling her off he'll say 'Daddy, sian iya (mia) ....janan (jangan) mawwah (marah) iya...'. Or sometimes he says 'It's ok Mommy...iya kecik Mommy...'. hheheheh...do you know how lucky you are Mia?

You are well-loved, my dear. Happy 11 month birthday!

Here are more photos from our recent Snow Day. As usual not much snow in London but we made the most of it...

Adam had the most fun, naturally.

We tried to make a snowman....but...like my husband said,dgn Adam memang takkan siap2 nyelah...he said nak buat 'sandcastle'.

it was pretty heavy snow that day...is it bad that i want to wish for more snow? the news says it's pretty bad already...and everybody hates it because it makes travelling impossible and dangerous..but for us who aren't travelling anywhere, i'm content to stay at home with the kids, blissfully knitting and staring in wonder at the snow falling outside...

my little snow angel

The Cloth Hall, Kent

Recently we went to Kent with my mom. It was the weekend when it snowed really heavily. Kent was badly affected. But we called the highway and they said the roads are cleared. On the way to the car our porter said 'Going to Kent? You're very brave. Goodluck!'. That gave me the chills for a bit but we went anyway...

Alhamdulillah we arrived safely. Everything was covered in snow, white and foggy. It looked magical. Especially the cottage we were staying in...well it's hardly a cottage..a mansion perhaps? There were 6 rooms altogether but we only rented 2 rooms. Luckily the other rooms are empty so we had the house to ourselves. And the house, what a treat. It was built in the 1450s! almost 600 years old house! I certainly have never seen a 600 year old house..let alone have the chance to stay in one.

It had 3 sitting rooms. this was one of them. We spent most of our time here, because this living room is on the first floor, right next to our bedroom. Notice the original wooden beams on the walls and ceilings.

It was just the perfect place to sit and knit...and stare and the beautiful wooden beams...The house must've been made for a very rich man 600 years ago...it's huge, full of little sections, secret pathways and hallways. Do you see the little door next to the fireplace? Every door has this clever little contraption. Every time you some into a room, the door swings close and locks itself. Then when you go out, there's another clever little trick to 'unlock' the door. Genius! Nothing like our modern doors...

Here's the living room on the ground floor...with a huge working fireplace...

This is the dining room. I'm thinking we should get a table like this one when we have 8 children..hehe...

the kitchen

The view of the house from outside..it comes with 8 acres of land as well...cantik sgt...

except for the caretaker who was awful ( malas nak citer pasal dia ni, I already made a complaint about her) we had an awesome time there...will definitely want to go again...(if they change the caretaker). The other house in the small village are historical as well...really charming place..

p/s:ernie i bet you would love this place.

edited to add: I forgot a fascinating fact about this place. The house is called Cloth Hall because in the olden days it belonged to a cloth merchant. He used to store his wool in an outside barn...I can just imagine all the wool spinning and weaving probably went on there as well...which makes knitting there especially meaningful...

Let them eat the sand

Last week at Portman Children Centre.

One of the staff was recording the children on her camcoder. Mia was walking around, playing. She's in her comfort zone in this place. The staff spotted Mia and started recording her. Soon, she has neglected the other kids and continued following Mia and recording her every move. She's tiny but very bold and quick on her feet - determined to climb everything, try out everything. Adam was playing in the sandbox. She came over to the sandbox, grabbed a handful of sand and put it in her mouth. I rushed over, took the sand out and started cleaning her mouth and hand.

The staff: You know she's going in there? (the sandbox). Then there is no point in cleaning her hands. The sand will just come out in her poop. She is using her mouth to explore.

Interesting, I thought. I am usually relaxed in letting my kids put things in their mouths, because I believe it is necessary for their learning and exploration. But I do draw the line on things they can choke on, things that are dirty, and..well...sand. However, stopping babies from eating sand when you're in a sandbox can prove to be very frustrating for both the baby and yourself. So I thought, ok, let's give this a try. Let's let them eat sand.

The staff is still recording. Mia grabbed some sand in her hand. She put it in her mouth. I fought the urge to clean her up. She tasted the sand, slowly. Her face crinkled up. She spit the sand out.

The staff: You see? She doesn't even like the taste. She is spitting it out.

Mia repeated this cycle a few times - grab, taste, spit. Then she started feeling the sand with her fingers. Her face still crinkled from the taste of the sand.

The staff: Now you show her what else you can do with the sand.

I took some sand toys - sand wheels, shovel. I started pouring the sand, turning the wheels. She observed, interested. Then she tried the toys. No longer putting the sand in the mouth. She poured the sand, picked up the shovel, felt the sand with her hands and feet. She climbed in and out of the sand. Tumbling into the softness. A whole lot of learning (and fun!) that she would've missed had I kept saying NO to her eating the sand.

She did try putting the sand in her mouth a couple times after that, but she didn't enjoy it. I think she discovered that playing with the sand is more fun than eating it.

Getting hooked on crocheting

I apologise for the lack of updates. Been away in Kent, bracing the chill. I'll update on that when I have some photos.

Today I'll write about our Autumn Festival, which happened a long while back, well..in autumn :) There were a lot of activities..baking apples pies, animals from the farm for the kids, pottery, folk dancing etc...

baking apple pies

adam and friends doing craft

The boy in the photo, Luca, we met there at the festival. He's six, and very sweet. He played with Adam the whole day. While they were on the crafting table, he made a lovely little card for Adam.

the front of the card says 'fren' with a drawing of himself and Adam

and the inside says ' Diy mdam I fik you or the boose from Luka'. I asked him to read it and he said ' Dear Adam, I think you are the best, from Luka' . isn't that the sweetest thing? I have it hanging on the wall in the kitchen until now.

At the festival I took the opportunity to learn to crochet. A few ladies were teaching people to crochet. They even provided the yarn and hooks. I think the lady who taught me only knew the basics, but it was enough. I started a hat that day...

..but only finished it recently! which is why this entry is written today, months after the Autumn Festival :) The actual crocheting didn't take very long at all, but I only crochet few stitches at a time, in between my knitting. Crochet is quite addictive too. Recently I borrowed a book from the library to learn more about crochet and made this:

comel tak baby chick?

this is the hat I learnt to make from the Autumn Festival

mia hates hats though...she only allows me to put a hat on her when it's really cold..

crochet ckp melayu ape ye.....?

Knitting in the round and my mom

(Two unrelated topic really, but as you know women's thoughts flow from one topic to another with no rhyme or reason)

Last week I enjoyed a few hours of blissful knitting time at my knitting group, which I haven't been to in months, since Mia was born. Thanks to my understanding hubby for babysitting the little ones! I love my kids dearly but a few hours away from them is much needed once in a while, and I came back revitalised and hopefully a better mom to them both. I decided to learn a new technique - knitting in the round- using 4 double pointed needles and the friendly group of knitters helped me. Turned out it was easier than i thought it would be, and totally addictive.

I ended up with this pair of gorgeous fingerless mitts. They're quite long, run up to half my lower arm. Pattern is Toasty (free, check on ravelry). Such a simple, understated beauty. You can finish these gloves in a few hours. Perfect for gifts. I might make more just so I could use the double pointed needles again.

Aaand, in other news, my mom is here!

hmm...why is that little girl breastfeeding in most photos?

She's only been here a couple days, and i think we're already gaining weight! So much yummy food! she's been cooking up a storm and we're loving it! this morning she made laksa johor for breakfast! yumyum...i hope she will enjoy her time here...

There's no use in crying over spilled milk

Adam wanted some milk. I poured it for him, asked him to sit on the dining table to drink it so that Mia wouldn't be able to grab it out of his hands (as she often does). He refused, and insisted that he sit on the floor to drink it. I made it clear to him I wasn't happy about it, but gave him the cup anyway. He drank some, then walked over to the table. On the way, the cup slipped from his hand and milk spilled on the floor.

I was upset, mainly because he didn't listen to me in the first place. Didn't say anything, just got up to get a dishcloth in the kitchen. Mia started crying, she doesn't like it when I walk away from her. Adam followed me to the kitchen, started apologising softly 'Sorry Mommy, sorry'. I said 'Tulah Adam, I told you to sit on the table. Kan dah tumpah'. He can see from my expression that I was upset with him.

I wiped the floor. Mia walked over, crying, climbing over me. I took her, put her a short distance away so I can wipe. She was still crying, trying to get over to me. Adam went to her, quickly grabbed some toys and put them in front of her to distract her from coming over to me. 'Here Mia, play toys. Mommy lap jap ok...' and at the same time, saying also to me 'Sorry Mommy, sorry..sorry..'.

Oh gosh. That woke me up. Who's the grown up in this house? The Mommy who lost her temper over a little spilled milk, or the little boy who isn't afraid to apologise for his mistake and is clever enough to take care of his sister.

Thank you for teaching me a lesson, Adam. I'm so proud of you.

Mia @ 10 months

Honestly, she's 10 months? Can you believe that?

She's found her feet and is absolutely refusing to crawl any more. She can walk 2-3 meters now. She can turn around, walk right and left. She falls on her bum constantly, but she just keep getting up again. She likes to browse the floor for leftover food (sigh...i do feed her, i promise) but even then she'll pick up the food and then eat it standing up. Determined to prove to me she no baby no more.

I love it when she calls me 'Mama mama'. She can get away with anything if she calls me Mamama. Even Adam started calling me Mama too. Sometimes she calls me Dada Dadi too. She blabs a lot, sounding like she's really telling a story.

She knows when Daddy's getting ready for work. She doesn't like it when Daddy leaves. She'll immediately go to him, and start manja-manja. Poor Daddy doesn't stand a chance against her charm. He'd have to go to work thinking about her all day. And when he comes home from work, she'll greet him, hug him. Who can resist that girl?

she knows what 'susu' means. If you ask her 'Adik, susu mana?' she'll show you where it is, and probably demand a sip too.

She's growing way too fast. Where's my little baby? But oh she's still there. When she hugs me close and rests her head on my chest. When she gives me a wet sloppy kiss. When she flashes me that cheeky beautiful smile. Still there. Always my baby.

Happy 10 month birthday, my pretty one. I love you so much.

Hand-knitted sweater for him

Yes, it is finished!!!! I am beside myself with relief. It took me a total of 4 months to finish it, on and off. I was worried it was going to turn into one of those projects that were started but never finished. But finished it I did, phew.

It's the first sweater I ever made, and the first adult item I knitted too. It took 14 skeins of yarn (Rowan's Summer Tweed - beautiful yarn to work with. Gorgeous shade of green and the fabric it knitted to is soft and tweedy. If you plan to use this yarn, I would suggest using aluminium knitting needles instead of wooden ones because the tweed effect gives it a bit of friction, making it harder to knit with wood )

Here's a zoomed up photo of the intricate pattern. To create this pattern, a cable needle is used throughout every right side row, which is the reason why it takes so long to finish it. But I liked the challenge, and I think it probably brought me up another level as an 'intermediate' knitter instead of a beginner. To any knitters interested, the pattern is from Nora Gaughan's Men collection. All of the knit in that book looks terrific. I wish I had time to knit them all.

Unfortunately I suspect he's not going to fall head over heels in love with it. I've run into a few issues with its sleeves. The sleeves seemed to have grown a few inches and flared out at the bottom, all by itself, within the first wear. I have no idea how to go about fixing it, since you can't cut and sew a knit, you see. Or can you? does anybody have any ideas? It's my gift for my husband for our last winter in London, so I need it to be awesome. Help please!

Yours and mine

Well you know how I haven't been sewing for a while? Recently I made this little project for instant gratification - baby legwarmers. It's time for legwarmers but the ready-made ones are so expensive! So I made them out of normal ladies' striped socks. The cotton socks costs less than a pound a pair from Primark. And the sewing time is about 10 mins per pair. Awesome.

and then I realised that I can use it too, as arm-warmers. They're becoming increasingly popular these days ('Life unexpected', anyone?) and very practical. Keep my arms warm and if my fingers get cold I can pull them down to cover them up too. I'm thinking I should whip up a few more of these.

I can wear them, Mia can wear them and even Adam can wear them as legwarmers (but he wouldn't!) and it's small enough you can always throw them in your purse if anybody needed them later in the day. The British weather can be so unpredictable. You see the sun is out so you go out all skedandy for a short trip to the children centre and the next thing you know you and your kids are soaked from head to toe. Which actually happened to me last week and the only pair of dry 'pants' for Mia I can dig up from my (sister's) bag are these legwarmers. Bless them.

Mommy's knitting bag

This is my bag. I fill it up with my current knitting project. It's always by my side. Whenever I find a free moment, I take out my needlework and knit. One stitch at a time. Adam knows this. He calls it ' Mommy's knitting bag '. He knows Mommy loves knitting. Sometimes when he asks me to play with him - in the house he built up, or the pirate boat that he's sailing - he makes sure he takes Mommy's knitting bag so that Mommy can knit in the house/boat. Whenever Mia comes and try pull the yarns out of Mommy's knitting bag, he tells her 'No Mia, this Mommy's knitting bag'.

Today I bought a new bag. He saw the bag and looked at it.

Adam: What's this Mommy?

Mommy: That's my new knitting bag. Cantik tak?

Adam: Oh...ok...*opens zip* eh? no knitting?

*the bag is new so it's still empty.

Adam: I don't think so this knitting bag, Mommy.

---------------------------------------------------

Later that day, he and Daddy was drawing on the computer. This is what they drew;

that's Daddy in the driver's seat, then Adam, then Mommy and then Mia in the back. Can you guess what's the little thing next to Mommy is?

It's Mommy's knitting bag, of course.

*my husband told me while they were drawing he said ' Where Mommy's knitting bag?'

Breastfeeding Mia

yes she is breastfeeding in this photo

I think I wrote a lot of entries on breastfeeding Adam, didn't I? Somehow with Mia I haven't been talking about breastfeeding much any more. Yes she is exclusively breastfed too. It's just that by now nursing on demand has become so much part of my life, as natural and essential as breathing, that I hardly even think about it much any more.

Breastfeeding with my second child is different from breastfeeding my first. I am a stay-at-home mom this time, so there is no struggles with pumping and storing and not having enough milk. We're both very lucky. I remember how much effort is needed to fully breastfeed a child while working full time, and it gives me the appreciation for this special time that I have with my daughter.

Mia is a frequent nurser, but unlike Adam, she rarely breastfeed to sleep, except at night when we're in bed. Normally she needs a rocking in Daddy's arms for her to fall asleep after her nursing sessions.

With Mia I've breastfed practically everywhere - on buses, tubes, in the park, on the plane, while walking on the street, while shopping and talking to shopkeepers, in rivers and beaches while paddling, on boats, in restaurants...yeah, literally everywhere. Mia is a champion on breastfeeding in public. She's not shy, she'll ask for her milk whenever she feels like it, and she doesn't mind her face being covered in fabric while she's nursing. I've never even had to use a nursing cover. I normally use my wrap or scarf to cover up.

In this country breastfeeding is even more uncommon than in Malaysia. At least in Malaysia everywhere you go there is a breastfeeding room available. The last time we went for Mia's developmental check up, out of about 15 babies her age, only Mia and one other kid is breastfed. The rest are bottle-fed babies. Even the health visitors who were doing the check up didn't seem to be too knowledgeable on breastfeeding. While giving us the information on how much formula an 8 month old baby should consume in a day, they 'guessed' that the breastfeeding equivalent would be around 3 feedings a day. Are you kidding me? I'd have done 3 feedings by 10 am.

The reason I am thinking a lot more about breastfeeding recently is because I am currently facing a breastfeeding hurdle. Mia has 6 teeth already, and she is now teething, again. She is in a lot of pain, and so am I! It's come to a point where I've started to bleed and having to pump to avoid causing even more damage. Luckily Mia has no issues drinking breastmilk out of a bottle, alhamdulillah. I am having flashbacks to all those painful days back then whenever Adam was teething. And then it occurred to me, this is our first breastfeeding problem. After 9 months of smooth-sailing, exclusive nursing. It has been quite a blessing indeed. I've never had to buy a single bottle of formula with both kids. I hope we will get over this hurdle soon, but for now, I am happy to be paying my due. Alhamdulillah.

I hope to continue breastfeeding her until she is 2 years old. And the rest of our future children too. I may not be the best mother in the world, heck, most of the time I don't even know what I'm doing..but this one I do know is the right thing to do. So if one day God asks me, what have you done for your children, I can say I did one thing right, at least. InsyaAllah.

What's your parenting style?

Parenting a small baby wasn't particularly difficult. Their needs are basic - food, nappies, sleep and lots of love. We did decide early on certain things, like breastfeeding. The rest we make up as we go along. For example, sleeping arrangements. We knew we were going to sleep with our babies in the same room, but before I had Adam we bought a cot for him, fully intending to let him sleep in his cot but next to me. But then he arrived and we discovered it was best for all of us to co-sleep in the same bed. I get more sleep, he gets more sleep, all of us get to cuddle. Then Mia arrived and we wondered how we're going to fit another baby in our (relatively) small bed. We bought another cot just in case. We thought maybe one of them will sleep in there. Or maybe not. Again we followed our hearts and intuition. Now she naps in her cot, but sleeps in the bed with us. Somehow, she fits.

As the baby(ies) grow bigger, our parenting changes to adapt. It gets trickier, doesn't it? Now they need discipline, they make specific demands, they ask questions. I find myself constantly trying to find the best way to parent. No I am not particularly consistent. I didn't find a specific parenting style and stick to it. For it's very much trial and error. Yes I made lots of errors. But that way I discovered what works and what doesn't. And what works for us today, may not work for us tomorrow.

Our (current) parenting style may not be 'acceptable' to everybody else. Let's face it, a lot of our parenting decision are not exactly conventionally 'normal'. Like exclusive breastfeeding, co-sleeping, babywearing. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. I'm asked these questions constantly:

'tak bagi air masak ke baby tu?'

'tak campur susu botol ke?'

'muat ke katil tu semua org?'

'Aren't you afraid she's going to turn out spoiled because you wear her all the time?'

'Isn't he going to be spoiled because you get him everytime he cries?'

etc

followed by some well-meaning advice. I listen and nod, but I continue to do what I know is best for my children. I am consistent when I need to be. Hopefully it will help others question their own parenting style.

I find that the best way to parent is by watching my own kids and adapting myself to their needs. There are a lot of thing we can learn from them. Our culture dictates that the parents are always right, and must always have control. But I think parents don't always know best. It is ok to question our parenting styles, it is ok to listen to our children, it is ok to tell our child 'I'm sorry, I made a mistake'.

Am I rambling? I guess what I'm trying to say is, I am coming to terms with the fact that it is ok to follow our own intuition. When your heart is full of unconditional love, it is ok to follow it.

Mia @ 9 months

She is getting good at walking. Few steps at a time. She tends to walk more when she's crying, and then we'll clap and she'll smile proudly in between bouts of crying which looks rather funny. She's quite small for her age ( I know she looks big and chubby in photos but in real life she's actually really petite compared to other babies her age) so whenever she gets up and walk it doesn't fail to catch people by surprise. And makes me immensely proud. Not that I had anything to do with her walking, she accomplished that all by herself, but I'm a proud mommy nonetheless. My little walking miracle.

She associates Daddy with sleeptime. He has magic arms. He can put her to sleep in a few seconds.

When I talk to her, I swear I think she understands what I'm saying.

Whenever I'm taking Adam to the toilet (which she hates, because she doesn't like being left alone) even when she's playing away from us and didn't see us, the moment she heard us talking about 'peeing' and 'let's go to the toilet' she immediately start crying and quickly crawl over to me.

She loves bath time. And cries whenever I took her out of the tub.

She says 'Daddy' or Dada' or 'Didi' often, but just recently she started saying Mommy, or 'ami' - yay!

Happy 9 months birthday sweetheart. Mommy loves you.

My sister..

..is visiting! She came by herself on AirAsia. She's on holiday at the moment. Mia immediately warmed up to her. Normally she won't go near any 'stranger'. I suspect it could be because she kind of look like me.

Do you see the resemblance? Our late father used to mistake her for me and the other way around. The last time I called my brother he thought it was my sister calling him (even though she was in the house with him). So I suppose thats why Mia had no trouble trusting her right away.

We went to the park last weekend cos it was sunny. Yes I am still knitting that sweater. By now I've told everyone on blogland and my husband has bragged about his sweater to his whole family that i just must finish this sweater and it must must look good! hehe..

love this photo...

and this..oh..i just love it when they actually play together..

We took the opportunity to ask my sister to take some photograph of us too..

once upon a time, ahem..(nampak single couple tak?)

the reality! hehe...

hope my sister will have a good time here...

Another Anna Maria's voile top

I've got to admit, there hasn't been much sewing going on here lately. I've hit a bit of a sewing block, probably. Looking through some photos for inspiration I found this top I forgot to blog about, so I thought I'd put this up, get a little bit of craft injection in this blog. I made it a few weeks ago, using Anna Maria's voile again. It is possible to whip up a whole new wardrobe for oneself using her voiles? Oh yes please.

I can't get enough of it. it's so gorgeous and feels wonderful on the skin. I want to wear it, I want my girl to wear it. Usual quilting cotton makes great girls dresses but you don't necessarily want to wear it yourself.

Ok enough talking about sewing. Time to do. Anybody can give me some inspiration please?

eh why this photo? I don't know why, I love it.

The perks of having an 8 months old

At 8 months old, she can give you a smile so sweet and innocent, you want to give her the world everytime you see one.

You hold your breath for every first step*, first laugh, first word.

She has the loveliest smell. I swear, inhaling the sweet smell of a baby is valid addiction. You cannot get enough of it. Take a whiff, and all is well in the world.

She still has some of her baby fat, looking chubby and oh so cute you want to eat her up.

There is something special about little toes, I can't explain it, it just is.

When she sleeps, she looks like an angel. Curled up little fingers, little toes, little angel face. Everything so little. I can't help but want to snuggle up to all that goodness. Why people decide to have separate room for their little babies I will never understand.

You don't have to yell at her or try to discipline her or drag her to her naughty corner when she misbehaves. Even when she's being cheeky, you can't help but try to keep from smiling.

I wish they could stay little for just a tad longer. Yes, please.

*Isn't it ironic that while I'm writing the above entry about appreciating my 8-month-old, she actually took her first step, right in front of me, and yet I missed it??? Argh! that should teach me to appreciate my baby even more. My husband saw it though (lucky him!) and we quickly took the video below, as she took a few more first steps. Enjoy!

The perks of having a 3-year-old

At three years old, you can sit knitting on the bench at the playground while your child climbs a mountain of a slide 5 times his height without so much of a blink. You're confident he can find his balance instinctively and if not, he can handle a bit of a tumble better than you could.

You can sit next to him as he feed himself lunch, probably feeding you too in the process. Sometimes you can even swing a quick shower while he's snacking. He can pour himself a drink from the water jug on the table, saving you from having to get up.

Sometimes he reads himself a book, build himself a rather nice looking 'pirate boat', or clicks himself a video from the Cbeebies website.

He can clean up after himself. Oh in fact, he enjoys 'tidy up time' a whole lot more than you do.

He doesn't eat sand, or paper, or leftover food from under the table, or chokable buttons under the sewing machine.

You can have a real conversation with him. Not only will he listen, he can also respond with appropriately placed words like ' Oh I see....'

You don't have to have a heart attack every time he climbs the table or the kitchen bench or anything with remotely sharp edges. After about a million bumps and bruises in his lifetime he is now pretty savvy at threading the hazard zones.

Of course by the time you find the wisdom to appreciate all this, enter child no 2, in all her cheeky, no-regards-to-danger-whatsoever self. There is nothing like having another baby to give you the wake up call you need as to how under appreciated you firstborn is. Oy.

Adam's birthday party

We had a little party to celebrate Adam's birthday, just the 4 of us.

Here's the birthday boy, sitting on the dining table, with his birthday cake. That's also where he later climbed on, to dig into the cake by hand, enjoying its fudgy chocolatey goodness. The cake is a chocolate brownie - recipe by Annabel Karmel that i've perfected over the summer. Ok I know it's silly to have a chocolate brownie for a birthday cake (that's why it's still in the baking tray) but its yummy and he loves it.

Adam's birthday crown - pattern from 'The Creative Family'. It was really simple to make, but birthday boy absolutely refused to wear it! I should have known, he hates having anything over his head.

One of my birthday gift for Adam is this jacket. Took me about a couple weeks to make it. A really quick, awesome pattern (free too!).

I used a chunky size wooly yarn. email me if anybody would like a link to the pattern. The whole jacket is basically knit in stockinette stitch.

Another handmade gift for Adam - a pair of linen pants, with an embroidered train (of course!). I lined it with some cotton knit to make it warm enough for autumn. I might need to make more of this, because he needs elastic waist pants now - he's fully potty trained! Alhamdulillah, even when we go out, he doesn't wear his nappies anymore...

this girl probably thought it was her birthday too ;)

he really had a lot of fun...

his birthday presents...

I hope he enjoyed his birthday. At 3 years old, he is kind, considerate and very protective of his sister. He has his tantrums, and he sits on his sister too sometimes, but he always remember to apologise sincerely without being asked. His vocabulary is mainly English these days, and he amazes me everyday with new phrases and words. He knows his 'please' and 'thank you'. His creative energy is flowing, I can feel it, and I feel so lucky to be around to watch it develop.

I am so proud of you Adam. Really proud.

I love you Baby. Happy Birthday.