Playing ball with Ewan

We went over the Ewan and Alisons house today. Ewan's got lots of brilliant toys that Mia enjoys playing with, the two of them did very well sharing and playing together. Ewan showed Mia how much he enjoys playing with his ball and Mia showed Ewan how good she's got at sitting up on her own!
We've now realised that Mia hasn't got a ball yet, if she's ever going to be a goalie like Del wants her to be we'll have to get her a ball soon!

Booby Club

On a Monday lunchtime we go to a breast feeding drop in clinic, also known as booby club. Mia enjoys playing with the toys that are laid out and the other babies. I like chatting to the other mums and picking the brains of the nursery nurse Chris who runs the session. But this Monday was Chris' last session as she's moving to a different team. We will all be sorry to loose her as she's given us invaluable help and support at the booby club as well as first time mums group and baby massage. As a thank you we gave her a box of chocolates and a boob shaped mug which she seemed to enjoy (and Erica took a liking to)!

I like this photo of Mia with her name tag on from Bounce and Rhyme so just wanted to add it in!

Some photos for Great Auntie Angela

Here are some photos especially for Mia's Great Auntie Angela. This is the Dreams teddy bear that she gave to Mia, it won't be long before Mia is the same size as him! They both look good in their stripes don't they!

A visit from Nana

Mia's Nana (Del's mum) paid us a flying visit over the weekend. Mia enjoyed showing her Nana how she likes to stick her tongue out at the moment and how much she's grown since the last time they met!

Clever Grandpa 2

Look what Mia's been up to now! She's a bit of a daredevil as you can see, I think that next time she should wear a parachute though!

Clever Grandpa

My dad had a play around with the photo of Mia reading the book. I much prefer this version and I think Mia would prefer reading this book too!

Christmas presents for Mia?!

This site made me laugh, some good christmas present ideas for Mia maybe!
http://www.babybushtoys.com/products.html

Random snaps of Mia

Mia enjoying reading her book at the table.

Lounging on the sofa with India and Erica

Playing with some of the contents of her treasure box
Looking funny with a dribble goatee! Look how long her hair is getting.

A visit from Harriet

Harriet visited at the weekend and we had lots of fun with her. Mia really enjoys seeing her and loves to grab out for her hair! It's the 3rd time Harriet has seen Mia in as many months so she's really seen her change and grow. Hopefully it won't be too long until we see her again, unfortunately Durham is quite a long way away.

First Times Mums Group

When Mia was 8 weeks old we started going to a 1st time mums group in Eastney on a Wednesday afternoon. After about 6 weeks the group ended and we were all a bit lost without it. But Lizzie contacted everyone and organised gatherings at canoe lake in the sunshine. Now the weather isn't quite so suited to picnics we meet in the Albert Tavern on South Parade Pier. It's really nice to meet up and chat, swap stories about our little ones and let them all have a play. It's amazing how much they've all grown since we started the course.
Here's some photos of some of the gang from today at the pier.

Wow 6 months!

Mia is 6 months old today. It's quite hard to believe. As Del said earlier it feels like the time has flown by but it's hard to remember life before Mia. She's an amazing little girl and is less and less like a baby and more like a little person every day.

Look how big she looks in her moses basket now! (she isn't sleeping in it anymore by the way!).

Firstly a brief update of what we've been up to. Last Friday Jane, India, Sadie, Erica, Mia and I went on an outing to Gunwharf to celebrate Sadie's birthday. It was quite an expedition trying to get down there on the bus, via the bookstart day at the library. Champagne was quaffed while we had lunch before heading to the Aspex art gallery which the girls seemed to enjoy. Here are some pics from the day (courtesy of Jane):

Group breast feeding in the Aspex gallery!

On Saturday it was Del's turn in the water with Mia. My camera didn't seem to like the conditions at the pool for taking pics but here's a photo of Mia being taught how to hold onto the side of the pool.

On Tuesday we went for a visit with my first time mums group to Blue Reef Aquarium. Mia seemed to enjoy it but I'm not sure if it was the fish or the lights/music that she liked!

And today we went over to Kat and Olivia's house for a play and a natter. Mia always gets very excited when she sees other babies!

So back to my amazing 6 month old. Thankfully her sleeping seems to be getting loads better at the moment (we're not holding our breath though). Tonight it only took her 5 minutes to get off to sleep. Since she's been sleeping better she's been a lot calmer and happier which is so nice.

Since I last wrote Mia has tasted more food. She's tried avocado, sweet potato, leek and potato soup and probably other things that I can't remember just now. I know she's actually eating things now too as I've seen the evidence in her nappies!

Mia is getting closer to being able to sit up on her own, she's still a bit wobbly but occasionally gets the hang of putting her hand down to hold herself up. She still loves being held standing up which is rather tiring for whoever is holding her. And even though she has rolled both ways in the past she seems rather uninterested in doing it now, even if tempted by a toy!

The first post

I was going to wait until Mia turns 6 months old next week for the first post on this blog but have decided to start early. In a similar vein I was going to wait until Mia is 6 months old to start giving her food but I started offering her things to eat about a week ago. I am following baby-led weaning which means forgetting baby purées and weaning spoons and simply letting your baby feed herself. It's certainly fun to watch!

Here are some photos of Mia's first tastes of proper food:
Sampling mango, not much of it stayed in her mouth!

Trying out a porridge pancake. She had lots of fun making a mess with it. Again I don't think much actually stayed in her mouth.

Having a chomp on a pear. A few days earlier she shared a pear with her Grandpa, but he didn't get to eat much of it because Mia was sucking on it so enthusiastically!

Oh and Happy Birthday Granny, bet Mia can't wait until she can start eating cake!