6 Months Old Today!!!!

We can hardly believe that our little tiny baby girl that we brought home from the hospital is now 6 months old! The time has just flown by and gone so quickly. I feel as if I will wake up tomorrow and she will be going off on her first day of school...

Stephen is off this week for 1/2 term and his mission is to build a deck in our back garden. Here you can see him and Sophie sorting through all the nuts and bolts he will have to use when building it... Daddy's little helper!

And here Sophie is earlier in the week posing in her all together before a bath.

At the moment Stephen is feeding her her first taste of turnip, which she is loving at the moment. Sophie is steadily adding new tastes to her repertoire and loves everything she has tasted thus far (potato, sweet potato, carrot, green beans, peas, rusks, cereal, apple, banana, pear, parsnip and butternut squash) save mango which she refused to open her mouth for this morning after one bite and a giant grimmace! Maybe she'll take to it next time!

Building Works

So our new back door has finally been fitted! We are very happy with it and it brings SO much more light into our little house. Sophie was very interested in the progress and spent most of the day fascinated with what Danny (the builder) was doing. I have had a busy two days moving everything out of the entire ground floor and then moving it all back down again. Stephen starts building the deck on Sunday or Monday and then it will be on to the tiling. I have also knocked down the wall at the front of the house! Once you get the bug...

Sophie has been doing really well lately. She is very happy and has taken to squealing with delight. She loves being in her cot and will happily spend half an hour there playing by herself every once in a while. I have figured out that as soon as she starts to get grumpy to put her straight there and she will either start chatting to herself and playing or will fall asleep.

She is also eating a fair few foods now and gets so excited when it is food time that she starts to shake. Today I made her apples with cinnamon and rather than puree-ing it I mashed then to make them a little more textured. She wasn't sure at first, but by the 3rd spoonful she was wolfing it down!

Sophie and I have started a new course. It is called PEEP (Peer Early Education Programme) and will give me a lower level GCSE (high school credit) for completing it ;) I will have homework to complete every week, a scrapbook to fill, and I will learn all kinds of games I can play with Sophie to aid her development and about important things I can do to stimulate her as she grows. It is on a Friday afternoon so Fridays are now busy days for us as we have the baby play group in the morning as well.

Sophie has recently found her feet as well and loves playing with and eating her toes while I am trying to change her nappy.

Here Sophie is at the play park with my God daughter Elizabeth on Sunday afternoon.

Mmm mmm good!

Today we tried sweet potato...


I think Sophie liked it!...

Grey Skies and a Grumpy Baby

The weather has turned this week and it has rained every day. Sophie's mood seems to have changed with the weather and she has been very hard work to kee happy. Maybe she has S.A.D. and I should invest in a light box!

I have managed to take some pictures however when there has been the odd smile. My friend Charlotte has lent us her baby ring which helps to keep Sophie from falling on her face when sitting up. It is really good as it can keep her safe while I dash out of the room to catch up on the laundry or dishes.

Two things that seem to keep Sophie occupied are going for walks and having friends over to distract her so we have done both of those many times this week (which has meant that I have gotten very wet on occasion!). The following pictures are of Sophie and her friends Cameron and Charlotte - both 2 1/2.

Hopefully we will be much happier this next week!

Beautiful Weather and a Weekend of Gardening

Last week the weather continued to be beautiful... we spent much time outside in the back garden, walking around Aldershot, going to the swings at the park, and we went walking again at Alice Holt with some friends.

This weekend we also planted in our garden. I now have a herb garden as well as flowers potted about. I also cut down a massive shrub in order to make more room for the patio table. However, I am in the process of hiring people to put a door leading outside from the dining room and sourcing materials for Stephen to build me a deck over the next half-term, so all those planters will eventually have to move!

Sophie seems to be getting funnier and more interactive with every passing day. She is developing such a personality and loves making me laugh and being tickled. She also really enjoys being outside and around other babies, listening to and making music, singing, squealing, cuddling, reading, playing and dancing. I don't know where the past 5 1/2 months have gone! Where is the tiny little thing I brought home from the hospital?