A Portrait a Week: 46/52 - Ballerina

I already posted quite a few of these photos I took this week on facebook, but it was definitely my favourites of the week. Isabella loves her tutu and already knows where to find the mirror when I tell her to go look in the mirror. She hardly ever keeps any hair accessories in her hair for longer than two seconds, but this headband won her over after I pointed out the flower it has. She's loved flowers since spring when she watched Andre plant flowers in our garden and I showed her the sign for flower. It was probably one of her first signs she learnt. 'Tutu' is also one of the few words she actually uses.

Last week's portrait: 45/52 - Windsor

We had a lovely day out in Windsor last Sunday. We got there fairly early in the morning and it was quite cold. Isabella was so bundled up against the cold she didn't move. But it was a lovely sunny day which defrosted us all and Isabella was her busy self again soon.

We had lunch at an Asian restaurant and Isabella got her first meal ordered from the kiddies menu. I knew there wouldn't be much on our plates for her to eat with it being noodles or rice with often spicy sauces. And I didn't pack her a lunch. So we ordered her a lovely grilled chicken breast which was even cut up in perfect strips for her to hold and was so soft. It came with corn and shredded cucumber with a sauce on the side. Isabella ate the corn. Only the corn. It is still quite a struggle to get her to eat meat.

"Yes it looks lovely, but I'm telling you now I'm only eating the corn, daddy."

A Portrait a Week: 44/52 -Enjoying Autumn

It always takes me about a week to settle back into life at home after any family visit. Isabella and I tried to keep busy, but it often happens that our friends are busy or ill and can't visit when we return from a holiday. Even our Baby Sensory class had the week off due to half term. Luckily we had some lovely Autumn days, cool but sunny. This photo was taken on our way back from a visit to the Children's Centre. We stopped to look at different autumn leaves.

We do have a busy week planned this week. I have started work which I'm very excited about and Isabella had a great time with her new nanny and her little boy today. I'm so proud of her for being such a good girl without me. We made up with friends' visits today having three friends over for tea and a play with all the little ones. Baby Sensory is back on again this week -yay! We also have a play date with another little friend we haven't seen in a while. And we might go for another play at the Children's Centre again too. Isabella always enjoys playing there. So lots of exciting things happening this week.

A Portrait a Week: 43/52 -First Birthday!

Isabella celebrated her first birthday in Germany with one of her Ouma's and Opa. She had a lovely time,  got spoilt with lots of presents* and was treated with a visit to the zoo which she still 'talks' about! We have to look at the zoo pictures every day with her favourite being the lion. She also discovered she really likes cake (she had a few small tastes) and that she would like to either become a ballerina or a princess so she can prance around in a pink tutu every day.

*Isabella enjoyed birthday presents nearly every day for more than a week! Parcels arrived for her in the post from before her birthday until just after with more on her actual birthday too. She quickly got the hang of opening presents and learnt she needs to bring it to us to help her get started on opening it to see what's inside. This weekend we ordered a few bits off amazon which arrived today, nothing exciting for her, but she now gets very very excited each time a box arrives and will bring it to me to help her open it. 

Isabella discovers she likes ice-cream

A couple weeks ago we went for a walk and there happened to be an ice-cream truck! We've been really good about not giving Isabella any sugary treats before she turns one, but she's so close now, we let her have a little taste.

At first she wasn't much impressed, but after the second lick of ice-cream she realised that this is actually really good and then really got her mouth around that ice-cream!

A bonus portrait this week: Milk Moustache

After already posting this week's portrait, Andre took this cute photo of Isabella this afternoon. She didn't have a lunch time milk bottle so I just gave her a little sip of milk in a cup. It was also to see what she thinks about drinking cow's milk. She's still on formula but will be switching soon. She pulled a face at first, probably because she was expecting water as that's all she ever gets in her open cup. But then she smiled and had quite a few more sips. She is used to either cow's milk or soy with her cereal, and now recognises and signs for milk in any form -her bottle, the milk jug or sometimes we have it in a carton and will 'mmm' (moo) as there is a cow on the container. Disappointingly there is no cow on the soy milk carton... she checked.

She wasn't bothered to finish it though and toddled off to go and explore something. Probably to have another go at opening the kitchen bin before we tell her off again...

A Portrait a Week: 42/52

A windy Autumn day at the park yesterday. Look at all that hair!