Studio Lauren

Cute of the day

2012-02-10T21:25:00.004Z

Today's cute:

Often when I blow raspberries on Ivy's tummy she will wrap her arms around my head and rest her head on top of mine. Having my head hugged is cute enough, cute enough for me to say "Awww" out loud. Today she extended her arm out towards Kwojo, and wrapped it around his head too so that we three heads could all hug together. When I "Awww"ed out loud, she echoed my "Awww"s. A big Awwing head hugging for three sweet moment.

Yesterday's cute:

We went along to a little playgroup for just the second time, and met one of the playleaders for the first time. Ivy was quite quiet and shy for a while, staying close to me. Gradually she moved further away but would come back to touch base before exploring some more. After not long at all she was going to the other side of the room and not even turning to see where I was! So amazing to see her independence and confidence grow when she is allowed to do it in her own time and on her own terms. She felt so confident that she even climbed onto the lap of the playleader she had only just met. She took a real liking to her, following her around while she tidied up, and then demanding to be picked up by standing in front of her in the doorway and shouting ("Rah!"). Ivy didn't want to leave, and certainly didn't want to me held by me!

Bonus, unrelated to this post photo:

Wordless Wednesday: Discovering Ice

2012-02-08T21:03:00.003Z

Ivy, recently

2012-02-08T20:30:00.000Z

Ivy likes hats. She will find one and hold it out towards us saying "Mmmm?", which means "make it work". When we put it on her head she walks up and down with a very proud grin patting the hat on her head. If she can't find a hat, then she will pat her head and look very concerned. And so 'hat' is the third sign she knows (after milk and eat, although eat can also mean drink or hot).

Ear defenders get a similar reaction.

"Mmmm?" can also mean "what is this?", although Ivy is now usually asking "Zis?". She is always very happy with the answer to that question. Lots of pointing is happening. Today I asked her "Where's Charlie?" and she pointed to him.

Sunday

2012-02-05T22:30:00.013Z

Today was such a great Sunday. Kwojo worked a 12 hour shift on Saturday, so Ivy and I gave him a lie in this morning. Ivy wore her purple cord dungarees for the first time, but hand-me-down in this case means a missing buckle. Possibly makes them even more cute, though!

Kwojo demonstrated how to eat with a bowl and spoon (as opposed to with hands straight from the table, as Ivy is used to). Ivy was interested, she's figuring it out in her own time by watching us.

We headed out to get a few bits, and then kept on walking so that Ivy could nap in the pram. We ended up at Spike Island, looked at the exhibitions there and then decided to stop for lunch and coffee and flapjack. It is fun to find new places, and it's fun to find them together.

Ivy slept the whole time, and stayed asleep long enough for us to make brownies when we got home. Which reminds me that I still haven't sampled them!

Recently Ivy has been pointing out of the window and at the back door a lot, so we bundled up and had a look at things outside. Most of the ice has melted, but some of the bigger bits are still hanging around. We looked at the few potted plants we have, and noticed the dew on the blades of grass. Ivy picked at leaves and pointed to buds. She found a bit of old toast (?) and put it back when I told her to leave it!

This evening I have been to the homebirth group, which has left me with a great birthy buzz. It is so lovely to be around expectant parents.

Yes, it has been a great Sunday, even if it did start with Ivy weeing outside of her nappy twice (the bed, the rug)!

The Daddy-Daughter scarf

2012-02-04T22:55:00.001Z

This week I made Ivy a mini scarf to keep her neck cozy and warm in the freezing temperatures we have had. It matches Kwojo's scarf, because Ivy enjoyed his so much, but hers has two hidden buttons to keep it in place.

A year bigger

2012-02-03T22:51:00.001Z

We bought Ivy a sleepsuit identical to the one she wore on her day of birth. I also think she looks particularly sweet when brushing her teeth.

Wordless Wednesday: Playing with cherries

2012-02-01T21:55:00.002Z

2012-01-28T14:02:00.002Z

Anyone else on Pinterest?

Wordless Wednesday: Mesmerised by Music Videos

2012-01-25T21:18:00.001Z

Charlie Tuesdays

2012-01-24T16:01:00.006Z

We dogsit in exchange for babysitting, and Tuesday's are the day we have Charlie. Today it is grey and a walk in the park sounds very unappealing. Last week was beautiful, the kind of beautiful where I can almost forgive winter for being cold.

Ivy threw her arms out, like she wanted to feel the wind between her fingers as we rolled along.

We have a walking baby. A toddler?!

2012-01-21T12:29:00.003Z

Ivy has very quickly got the hang of the trolley (no more sticking her bum out and arms out stretched - glad I got that on video while it lasted!), even pushes one handed and lifts it to change direction.

She is also getting the hand of walking independently alarmingly quickly! I have been instinctively excited about this, and encouraging her to take steps. But I feel some sadness at the end of the baby era. I'm not sure I am ready for her to stop being a baby and start being a toddler! I felt a little panic yesterday when I realised that there is no going back: she is walking now. I tried to think of the ways I could discourage her but Kwojo brought me back to reality and pointed out that it would be cruel (my suggestion: sitting her down every time she stands up).

Yep, she loves her bells.

Wordless Wednesday: Feeding Sophie Cucumber

2012-01-18T22:37:00.002Z

Winter Sun

2012-01-15T12:04:00.010Z

It is suddenly much colder, but the sun is out and it's beautiful. On Friday, Ivy and I went for a walk around here to the farm and the creek with friends.

We saw goats and geese, ate warm toast and hummus sandwiches.

We listened to the birds and the stream, and a sleepy girl drifted off.

Spaghetti

2012-01-12T23:46:00.003Z

Ivy has started holding objects out towards us and saying "Hmmm?" which is either asking us what it is, or giving it to us (this was a huge surprise as she has, up until now, been very reluctant to part with anything at all ever). This morning she held out a piece of dried spaghetti asking "Hmmm?" so I told her it was spaghetti and she tried to eat it. Then off she crawled and found another piece (paints a lovely picture of our kitchen floor, eh?), and Ivy really clearly said "Spa ghe tti".

And this is my 100th blog entry!

Wordless Wednesday: Steph came to stay

2012-01-11T11:29:00.000Z

Very Recently

2012-01-08T21:20:00.003Z

- Ivy has learnt to fake sneeze. And then she looks at you with a big grin all expectantly while she waits for you to return the fake sneezing goodness. It is the most adorable sound she makes as she opens her mouth wide, tips her head back and then forward saying "Aaahh tt". I actually die a little from the cute every time I hear it, and that is a lot of dying per day.

- At dinner this evening she was holding up each item of food towards me and looking at me. At first I thought she was offering it to me so I put out my hand to take it and thank her, but she whisked her hand away and with a cheeky grin swiftly popped it in her mouth. Then I realised she was asking "Mmmm?" each time, so I told her what it was. I ended up saying "Pea!" a LOT in a very short space of time. I think she would be quite happy to eat peas and sweetcorn all day.

- Ivy TOOK A STEP for the very first time today. A single step towards Grandad while double waving. Definitely a case of only doing it while distracted! This was just as I was telling Ivy that as she is one now it is ok if she starts walking. And as my parents were telling me about when I took my first steps (a story I had not heard before).

- Ivy had her first trip to the theatre yesterday! We saw Good Clown Bad Clown at The Old Vic. It's meant to be for 4 years plus, but Steph can get free tickets so we took Ivy anyway. Amazingly, it kept her attention for an entire hour. She got a bit fidgety towards the end when she got a bit peckish but as long as I kept the rice cakes coming she didn't take her eyes off the performance. The stage was on the floor, and we chose a seat right at the front, so the performers got a bit close at times which made Ivy grip onto me tightly. There was also the popping of a balloon quite near the beginning (Ivy's first experience of this), which made her grip very tightly. Mostly she sat transfixed and very still on my lap. Towards the end she even started bouncing and dancing to the music (the song that went "Evil evil evil, bad bad bad" !), waving at the clowns, and decided she wanted to sit on Steph's lap. We will definitely be going along to some more kids shows!

Trolley

2012-01-07T21:12:00.000Z

This was one of Ivy's birthday present's. At first she would stand, hold on, take one maybe two steps and then "OMG bricks!!" and she was distracted and playing with the colourful wooden blocks. Now she seems to get the the walking and pushing is quite fun too. I can't help but be in hysterics by the way she walks with her bum sticking out and her arms outstretched.

She had her own team cheering her on and providing motivation for her to walk towards them!

Ivy, recently

2012-01-05T13:16:00.000Z

- Now signs "eat" as well as "milk". It's interesting that she can differentiate the two types of hunger. She is quite pleased with herself over learning the new sign, she even does it while she is eating and looks at us expectantly for confirmation. We sign back and say "eat" which makes her so happy!

- She understands pointing now, and no longer looks at your hand (thank you Steph for POINTING that out. Aha. Ha...). I think this means she is now more clever than a dog.

- Loves to dance and bounce. It is oh so sweet. On the last week of Rock-a-Bye (baby group we have now graduated from) she bounced herself for the first time by bending her knees, instead of just being bounced by me (during the bouncing song). Since then she has been doing this loads, supported and unsupported, with a big grin on her face. Her latest dance move is to twist her shoulders with her elbows sticking out. She does this to music, including my singing (!), or at any time just because she feels like it.

A sample of signing 'eat', dancing and bouncing:

Wordless Wednesday: New Year breakfast

2012-01-04T22:37:00.002Z

Taking the same photo in the same place one year later

2012-01-03T12:36:00.008Z

We took weekly pregnancy photos from 6 weeks. The last one was 39 weeks, exactly 1 week before Ivy was born.

Christmas Eve 2010 (very pregnant and very tired!)

Christmas Eve 2011

Well, we took a photo of Ivy and I in about the same spot in the dinning room. But when I went to look for it on the computer, I realised that over 100 photos were missing that I very stupidly deleted from my camera thinking I had already copied them to the computer. I am very, very sad about this.

Luckily though, we also thought to take a Christmas day photo in my parent's garden.

Christmas day 2010

Christmas day 2011

One of the first photos taken after Ivy's birth, in our dinning room. 31st December 2010

And one year later, 31st December 2011

What a difference a year makes!

New Years'

2012-01-02T19:36:00.007Z

As 2010 became 2011 we were just getting into bed for the first time as a family of three, when we heard fireworks and remembered that it was New Years Eve. We went outside to see what we could see, and saw lots of Chinese paper lanterns drifting off into the dark sky. It was beautiful, and I took this incredibly unclear photo of it.

Then I took a very blurry photo of Kwojo holding Ivy. (It doesn't even look like he is holding a baby, just a blanket. You can't even tell which end her head is!)

It was around this point that we realised "Oh shit! It's freezing and we are standing outside with this tiny new baby!" And quickly went back to our warm bed.
When you have barely slept for three days your brain works pretty slowly.

This year, I got home from a party at about 11.30pm, and as I was hanging my coat up a little face appeared at the door frame. Little Miss Ivy smiled and crawled towards me. She hadn't wanted to miss the end of 2011 and the start of 2012. Again we got to see in the New Year together, as a family of three. Ivy got really excited during the countdown and shook her bag of Brio very noisily! She was also mesmerised by the fireworks on TV.

And I took more awful photos of fireworks outside. (That bright light may not look like it, but it was a firework. Honest.)

After all the excitement...

Ivy realised she was tired after all.

Standing - a photo

2011-11-30T11:19:00.005Z

I finally got a photo (two, actually) of Ivy free standing!

And then I got two more...

And even a video! (I still don't know how to turn them around and I should really just remember to film in landscape rather than portrait).

I found it amusing that she kept picking up the green triangle, dropping it, and picking it up again. Also pretty impressive to be able to lean over and then go back up to standing. Ivy tends to only stand when she is distracted, which is why she is holding something in all the photos. I don't think she knows she can stand yet, she just does it when she wants to use both hands for something else so forgets to hold herself up on something.

Free Standing

2011-11-28T21:16:00.003Z

Recently Ivy has started standing unsupported a LOT. And by recently I mean today. It is really impressive. And it's also slightly scary/sad because it is one step closer to walking. Walking meaning that she would officially be a toddler and no longer a baby.

I'm surprised that this is the first time I've felt any sadness over her growing, in that panicky "OMG slow down!" way. I've never wished for her to still be tiny because I've always been enjoying the age that she is in the present so much. And I've loved each stage more than the last, but maybe that's the thing - I'm loving her right now so much it's hard to believe it'll get better! (I probably had also been too sleep deprived to realise she was growing or to think to be nostalgic).

And walking. Walking is something totally different. Walking is what separates babies from adults. Walking is kind of a big deal.

But it's ok because she's not walking yet. She's only just standing. So I should just relax and enjoy it while it lasts.

Yesterday (standing but holding on. Still no photos of free standing. I am too slow with the camera.):

Oh me darlin'

2011-11-22T22:22:00.002Z

Sometimes I am amazed by babies.

Ivy is a bit coldy, I feel like I'm coming down with something and she appears to be too (which by the way must mean that I caught it from her because if I'd got it first she would have got antibodies from my milk). And so she is not very interested in eating food. She was complaining to get out of the highchair and not even tempted by food that she would usually devour in seconds, when I decided I fancied a Clementine. I offered a piece to Ivy and she sucked and chomped on it enthusiastically until such time that she felt she'd got the goodness out, and then 'asked' for more. She did this to quite a few pieces, despite being uninterested in any other food.

Her body knew that it needed a bit of extra vitamin C to help her fight off the cold. And I find that really amazing. I'm so glad we trust her to decide what and how much to eat.

The time that Steph broke our baby

2011-11-20T19:28:00.002Z

So, Steph and Ivy somehow, and for some reason, ended up having a screaming contest. Ivy would scream, then stop and look to Steph for her response, and Steph would scream slightly higher, then Ivy would go higher again. Eventually neither of them could get any higher...

Ivy ended up fairly manic... and then it was bed time!

See that little double wave she does? It's so sweet, this seems to be her way of appreciating something. She also waves when you say hello to her, or someone arrives or leaves, and randomly at people she likes the look of.

Crochet

2011-11-09T12:51:00.003Z

I'm learning to crochet. Someone showed me one of the stitches last Tuesday, and it took me ages and a lot of focus (I'm not used to using my brain...) to get my head around it. Then I found an online, free, crochet school...

It's pretty comprehensive and she explains everything. I actually understand what I'm doing rather than just doing what I've been shown to do.

I'm only on lesson 6, out of a current 20 (but there are more to come), but I'm impatient so I've already started a pattern. I'm making Ivy these baby booties. I made one according to the pattern and it is teeny tiny, like newborn size (the pattern says 6-12 months! Ha!). So I'm making some changes to the pattern to make it bigger, which is tricky.

I'm hooked (sorry!).

Filming

2011-11-07T21:18:00.005Z

Last night we watched BBC's Life in a Day, a film made up of footage taken by many ordinary people around the world, filmed on one day (24th July 2010 - my brother's birthday!). I really enjoyed it. It was disturbing, funny, sweet and beautiful. It included my favourite: birth! A giraffe was born in a zoo, and a Dad-to-be passed out while filming the birth of his baby via c-section! It also included death.

Last year I took part in a similar project One Day On Earth on 10th October (10.10.10). I barely uploaded my footage in time (I was quite pregnant and massively unmotivated), and was surprised to be asked to send the full files as it'd been short-listed. I won't know until I see the film whether mine was actually included, but it's nice to know that it was considered. All I filmed was going for a walk with Charlie-dog, so it wasn't exactly creative.

One Day on Earth - Motion Picture Trailer from One Day On Earth on Vimeo.

So I am planning to take part in the next of each of these projects. On Friday (11.11.11) I will film for One Day On Earth, and on Saturday for BBC's Britain in a Day.

I particularly liked the fact that there were a couple of clips of co-sleeping babies in Life in a Day. It is nice to see this normalised. This is how we sleep, but I am very aware that there is an expectation for babies to sleep in their own room and certainly in their own bed, so I am not always open about our sleeping arrangements.

Family Bones

2011-11-01T16:33:00.008Z

Kwojo and I totally stole Ivy's costume idea.

Hers was comfortable cotton while ours were 100% polyester which got really, really warm so I think I only wore it for about an hour.

We only had two sets of Trick-or-Treat-ers, so we have lots of treats left.

Maybe next year I will be more creative with the pumpkin carving, I was surprised at how easy it was.

We all ate pumpkin soup with our lovely friends. And we have loads of pumpkin left to cook with. Pumpkin pie and pumpkin muffins coming soon (when I get my baking mojo back, I am a bit caked out at the moment).

October

2011-10-31T16:16:00.000Z

It has been so long since I last put photos on the computer that I hadn't even created an "October" file. It now contains 685 photos and vidoes.

October was the month of:

- MANY teeth. Ivy now has 7. (Mid September she had none)
When she had just one top tooth:

- Changing seasons. It is now officially Autumn. Which means hats, woolly jumpers and bear-suit time. The month started with summer temperatures.

- Today, Ivy's first Halloween, and turning 10 months. We all have skeleton costumes!

- Sleeping! Ivy is now fairly regularly sleeping through the night which is amazing. (Sleeping through the night = 5 hour stretches). Not totally consistent yet, but enough that my default state is no long Zombie.

- Realising that Ivy's hear needs brushing semi often to avoid dreadlocks. Oops! Luckily she doesn't seem to mind (having her hair brushed, not having dreads).

- Teeth means eating loads more. And this month she is loving potato, pasta, peas and yogurt. And actually being able to eat corn on the cob!

- Teeth also meaning tooth brushing. Ivy became so attached to her first toothbrush that she refused to let go of it and so it got lost.

- Ivy learnt to wave, and although she is fairly inconsistent with it she has said "hi" and "buh-bye" at the appropriate time while waving!

- She also learnt to clap, working really hard on it day and night (she would wake and enthusiastically but sleepily clap at all hours, which was both adorable and frustrating because there are plenty of daylight hours to practice!) but once she had mastered it, she lost interest. Clapping now has it's place first thing in the morning, and only very occasionally at other times.

- Clapping sort of generalised to everything when Ivy realised that you can clap your hands against things, as well as clap things against things. This is also known as bashing stuff, or drumming. She does this all the time, especially when she is at the table waiting for food (both hands slapping on table).

- Finally mastering her beaker, and then dropping it multiple times until it cracked. She now has a cheaper, more robust, but more difficult to master, beaker.

- Ivy has really started to love being read to, and it has become a lovely part of her bedtime routine. She turns the pages, and has even learnt how to open the flaps on Dear Zoo. She may be asking for more lift the flap books for Christmas! Also has taken an interest in touchy feely books.

- We have had to baby proof the kitchen cupboards as Ivy discovered the joys of pulling everything out of them. Which was quite sweet until she broke four bowls. Baby sitting surrounded by shards of ceramic is just not great. Also had to move the sofa in front of the book shelf. It was cute that she was pulling her books off the shelf, but not great that all the books were in a crumpled pile on the floor which she was standing on to try to reach anything else that might somehow still be left on the shelf.

- Ivy has been saying lots of "mum-mum" and similar. To begin with it seemed to mean that she wanted comfort, to be picked up. But now it just means "I want (something)", like yogurt, or your phone.

- Independence and confidence. In the park or at other people's houses Ivy used to only crawl over me and very close by, but this month she has started to just crawl off and explore.

- Ivy has started signing for milk! She started off amazingly well and I could hardly believe how quickly she grasped it, but now she is very inconsistent with it.

- Going to the park everyday. Ivy loves watching the dogs run around, and going on the swings and wobbly things. (I don't remember the park sounding this loud when we were there yesterday, but you can hear Ivy's happy little sounds too)

Sleep!

2011-10-10T22:02:00.003+01:00

Last night Ivy slept for seven hours straight, and went 11 hours between feeds!

Very different to just a couple of months ago when I was lucky if she slept for 2 hours.

I could get used to this!

Sunday

2011-09-13T09:45:00.004+01:00

Sunday was a day of big-baby firsts.

A sharp little thing broke through Ivy's gums. (We didn't even notice until my Mum felt it!)

And Ivy stood unsupported for a few seconds!

I have no photos of these things, so here is Ivy wearing the hoody that Helen's Mum started knitting 23 years ago when she was pregnant with Helen and finished this year for Ivy!

Crawling

2011-09-11T13:08:00.004+01:00

I realised that I never got around to posting any crawling videos. So here is Ivy at 6.5 months having just figured it out and still a little wobbly.

And yesterday at 8 months (and a bit) crawling, standing, cruising. Pretty skillful and pretty fast (despite too-long trousers).

She says "hey" really high-pitched in the video, we often have an exchange of hey's and hi's that lasts ages. I am trying to get this on camera but as soon as I start filming she stops because the camera is too interesting (she is plotting to eat it).

Autumn

2011-09-07T21:16:00.010+01:00

I don't want it to be Autumn because that means it's no longer Summer. The main thing I dislike about Autumn is that it means Winter is coming. Just like my favourite thing about Spring is that soon it will be Summer.

Autumn would be likeable if it was pretty red leaves and sunny but cool. But today it was wind you have to brace yourself against, grey skies and drizzle. As we walked to the park my baby was scowling and Kwojo informed me that she was thinking "I miss the womb".

I just don't like the cold. The slight redeeming feature is hats. I do like wearing warm hats. Ivy has reached the hat wrenching-off stage. But I persist.

On sunny days we go to the park to sit on the grass and enjoy the weather. On days like this we go to the park because the playground is deserted. This was only the second time Ivy has tried out the playground and this time she loved it, especially the swing (although it did take her a while to decide what she thought). She actually seemed to like being swung quite high, and was even leaning in the correct way to swing herself!

First attempt at swinging, back in June on a day that felt a lot colder than it looks in that photo. Ivy was 5.5 months old and indifferent to the whole experience. She then tried to eat the chain. (Also, she looks so chubby! Like maybe she is too chubby to smile. THAT chubby.)

And today it strikes me just how long she looks.

Ivy was loving it!

Washing machine

2011-09-05T20:29:00.000+01:00

It took nearly 8 months but Ivy has finally discovered the wonders of the washing machine.

I got my hopes up that this would mean an end to spreading the recycling across the kitchen.

No such luck.

Look at the magic that washing machines can do...

Ta da!

8 months

2011-09-02T21:29:00.006+01:00

All of a sudden we have an eight month old, how did that happen?! Six months was such a milestone, it meant that Ivy was closer to a year than a newborn and moving away from being a little baby to a big baby. Two months since then have shot by as she is doing all sorts of big-baby things like crawling and cruising.

Ivy continues to be incredibly sociable and loves it when friends come to visit. She is also very active, and will very, very rarely sit still on my lap. If there is nowhere to put her down to explore then it is a case of wrestling with her as she tried to grab everything, attempts climbing over my shoulder or lunges towards the floor.

And she is strong. If she grabs something and you try to take it away she has learnt to move her hand away so you can't! Gone are the days of removing things from her hands without her noticing, now you need something of equivalent or better value to swap.

Her favourite toy at the moment is her drumstick. She tends to go for that over anything else, and she just hold onto it and crawls around, stands up, just gets on with doing her thing while clutching it. She also seems to like green. Green triangle, green caterpillar, green car, green cucumber. She loves cucumber.

Eating cucumber on her 8 month birthday after my failed attempt at putting her to bed.

Chewing on her drumstick and examining her favourite green things.

Even as a big baby she also seems so small and sweet when she is sleeping (yep, Kwojo finally got her to sleep that night)

Copy Cat

2011-08-22T20:44:00.000+01:00

I have noticed Ivy copying a few things recently...

When I poke my tongue out, she copies. But sometimes she is more interested in grabbing the thing sticking out of my mouth. When she touched my tongue for the first time her reaction was pretty amusing, she was surprised that it's wet and slightly disgusted.

Babies are actually born with the ability to copy basic facial expressions so at a few days old Ivy would stick her tongue out at us when we did it, and also copy an "o" face. Then we sort of forgot about it as we don't tend to stick our tongues out much in day to day life. (She also couldn't stick her tongue out far at all until her tongue-tie was snipped at 5 weeks)

My Grandma was singing Pat-a-Cake and clapping her hands at Ivy, who was watching intently and bringing her hands together and clasping them. It was adorable. Again, clapping is just not something that occurs in our daily life, and when she has experienced it it's been on a large scale so she has been confused about the noise. (Also, clapping is really weird, when you think about it)

Thirdly, raspberry's on the face! It's wet and slobbery and sounds like farts but I am so overwhelmed by The Cute every time she does it back to me. She even pounced on Alice after she gave Ivy a goodbye-raspberry on Thursday!

An only slightly related photo of Alice demonstrating how big Ivy will be next time she see's her:

And Alice blowing a raspberry:

Stand

2011-08-17T23:46:00.002+01:00

Yep, she is pulling up to stand and cruising all over the place!

Spicy Pinto Bean

2011-08-17T23:09:00.001+01:00

She spots it.

This requires immense concentration. Cue duck face.

Oops, distracted. But who wouldn't be by that dinosaur bib?

She goes for it.

But it's slippery. So much concentration required.

Check out that pincer grip, only the second time ever I have seen her pick something up with one finger and thumb.

In the mouth!

Smushed it and spat it out.

The face of a baby who has tried to eat a pinto bean that is too spicy for her liking.

Raspberry blowing solves everything!

Fever

2011-08-09T14:38:00.002+01:00

We have a hot-water-bottle for a baby at the moment, her little body burning with fever. We dose her up with Calpol and like clockwork she is hot all over again four hours later. Our poor girl has lost her appetite, clamping her mouth shut and turning away from breast, bottle and Calpol spoon. We arrived at the 24 hours clinic at midnight last night to hear the words "she's fine" more than an hour later.

Also, this kid hates Calpol. WTF?! I thought every child loves Calpol. It's just the rules, right?! But no, she screams and writhes as we pour the pink syrupy good stuff into her mouth.

The baby in the mirror

2011-08-07T20:52:00.000+01:00

The first time Ivy saw a mirror she immediately made eye contact with my reflection. She was a month old, it was amazing how quickly she found my eyes. It was a while before she started noticing herself. Ivy began to take interest in her reflection before she was interested in other real babies. She smiles at the baby in the mirror.

When Ivy started reaching and grabbing everything, she tried to grab the baby in the mirror too. She ended up stroking the glass instead. It must be pretty frustrating not to be able to grab the baby, so if she can't bring the baby to her mouth with her hand, her mouth will have to go to the baby.

These photos are of the moment Ivy was finally able to taste the baby in the mirror for the first time (unfortunately they are crappy phone photos)(also old photos, taken in June, aged 5 months)

Sleep (deprivation)

2011-07-25T15:34:00.007+01:00

I have started to read The No-Cry Sleep Solution in the hope of finding some solutions to our broken night-times that work for both Ivy and I. I am only managing to read a few pages at a time so I haven't got to the bit of the book that provides me with solutions, but I have cottoned onto the fact that I need to keep a sleep log, and also that Ivy needs a lot more daytime sleep than she has been having. So for the record, this was last night:

Night wakings: 6
Night feeds: 5
Periods of consecutive sleep: ranging from 45 minutes to 2 hours 25 minutes
Total night sleep: 10 hours

She went to bed at 9.15pm and woke for the day at 8.12am.

It's amazing how you learn to manage on little sleep, although I do feel a bit floaty and brain-fluffy today.

I actually think I had it easier when she was a newborn! She slept for 3-5 hour blocks at night, and loads during the day. I was quite good at sleeping when the baby slept (I love naps). But then she would feed for hours at night, and I'd have to sit up straight and construct my mountain of pillows around us to begin with.

At 7 weeks Ivy moved out of our bed and into her carry-cot beside me. She was sleeping 6-8 hours each night, I was so lucky (and I'm sure other Mums hated me for it)! I was lulled into a false sense of security until around 4 months when Ivy was ill for a few days and since then most nights have looked a lot like last night!

Co-sleeping in the early days really took the edge off the sleep deprivation and saved our sanity, and it still does now. She starts off in her cot, but she sleeps better beside or on us (longest continuous sleep last night? Co-sleeping).

Photos from January and February. Ivy aged two days to six weeks

The best sound

2011-07-22T23:10:00.004+01:00

What's so funny? Kwojo shaking out prefolds*, of course.

I love the way she looks down at the prefold after laughing, waiting for him to shake it again.

And I still haven't figured out how to rotate videos (but I haven't been trying very hard either). Apologies. Any ideas?

*Prefolds are a type of reuseable nappy. They were clean.

Ivy speaks

2011-07-15T22:44:00.001+01:00

Ivy's talking sounds go through phases. Recently it has been "babababa" sounds, before that it was quite varied consisting mostly of da/dye/day sounds. She is very chatty, like in this video, which was taken about a month ago while we were having dinner and she was observing (this was before she got to take part in dinner).

A pair of mugs

2011-07-15T20:38:00.002+01:00

We like tea.

Upsidedown

2011-07-15T20:34:00.002+01:00

Crawl

2011-07-14T22:08:00.005+01:00

Ivy is on the move!

It's not quite what you think of crawling as being - hands and knees moving in sync. But she is moving. If you sit her down, she ends up somewhere else. And she is getting pretty fast. She does also get quite frustrated and tired from all the effort.

She does a combination of crawling on knees, crawling on feet, straightening her legs to push forward, and kind of bouncing forwards.

Pie on the beach

2011-07-13T22:10:00.001+01:00

An English beach holiday.

A grey windy day and a baby pie thief.

Moments from our holiday

2011-06-27T15:13:00.007+01:00

Day 1 & 2 of our holiday were lovely and hot and sunny. Day 3.. not so much. We mostly spent it sitting on the soft grass enjoying the view and the weather. Charlie made friends with the farm dogs and neighbour dog, and barked at the cows (bad dog).

We had a little trip to the beach at Beer. It took an hour to get there as we took a wrong turn and then met a few tractors coming the other way along narrow country lanes wide enough for only one. So we probably spent most of the drive there going backwards, and it took only 20 minutes to get back! Ivy sampled a few big pepples on the beach, and tasted the sea via one of them.

Not pictured:
Leo and I got a bit over cooked
Time to read the paper and drink tea
Everyone else watching tennis and I even played some
Essential morning coffee trips (there is a Boston Tea Party in Honiton and it's even nicer than the one in Bristol and even has tyre chairs!)

2011-06-24T20:57:00.003+01:00

We are off to see the sea! This will not be the first time for Ivy, but hopefully the weather will be warm enough to dip her toes in. She saw the sea for the first time at Seaton, Devon, and was quite interested in it. She watched the tide go in and out. She pulled faces at the wind. It was sunny, but the wind was cold. This was in early may, when Ivy was 4 months old.

That last photo cracks me up!

Fathers Day

2011-06-19T22:27:00.002+01:00

Today was Kwojo's first Fathers Day.

Squishy Baby

2011-06-18T21:05:00.004+01:00

Kwojo calls Ivy Squishy One. We squish her cheeks with our fingers, or squish our face against hers and say "squish". The first thing I thought when I saw her for the very first time was "what a lovely squishy baby!". Our squishy little newborn weighed a very average 7lbs 13oz and our very squishy 5.5 month old weighs a whopping 18lbs 2oz. I love the baby chub. Look at those wrists! It looks like she's wearing bracelets, but it's just chub!

Reading face

2011-06-17T20:37:00.007+01:00

Reading is serious business.

And we should be especially suspicious of books that makes sounds.

Ivy, aged 3.5 months (Yeah, old photos). Reading with Aunty Christina, Granddad and Daddy.

Reading with Ivy is now a bit more challenging as she attempts to grab the pictures and eat the pages. Board books are necessary.

Raspberries

2011-06-10T20:12:00.000+01:00

Ivy's obsession with blowing raspberries began at my cousin's wedding when Carolina introduced her to them. Ivy copied Carolina's face but couldn't figure out how to make the sound yet. The next week she practised, and practised, and did pretty much nothing other than blow raspberries! It was her sole form of communication and she would blow them at me desperately until I responded with a raspberry, a huge grin spreading across her face.

In this video Ivy expresses her readiness for bed through the medium of raspberry blowing.

Raspberry blowing is still an important part of Ivy's vocabulary :)

For Steph

2011-06-08T22:29:00.003+01:00

Photos for Steph, because Ivy has a sailor dress too! It's a shame this dress won't fit Ivy long enough for them to be sailory together. Photoshop, maybe?

In that last one she is blowing raspberries just for you, Steph! You are her favourite person to share germs with.

Reach and GRAB

2011-06-07T12:46:00.002+01:00

Since sitting became official a couple of weeks ago, Ivy has suddenly 'got' reaching and grabbing. I don't know if these two motor skills are at all related (probably not as I know non-sitting babies who are good at grabbing), but she figured them out simultaneously. Previously, Ivy would reach (not very far) for something she was interested in, and as soon as her fingers touched something (often her other hand) she would bring her hands straight to her mouth. Suddenly, she is reaching at arms length, even leaning her whole body, successfully grabbing what she aimed for and happily tasting it. This also means she is now interested in her toys for longer than a few seconds. It must have been frustrating (and boring) for her to just look at stuff, not be able to touch it, and then taste her own hands again. We bought her a couple of wooden teething toys that she can easily handle, to give our knuckles a break from being gnawed on.

After Kwojo and I have eaten, Ivy likes to sit on my lap and chew on my empty plate or the edge of the table. I'm looking forward to starting baby-led weaning at the end of this month! She loves the apple juice carton (yet is uninterested in the grape juice carton which is a slightly different shade of green) but it is such an awkward shape for baby hands to grab. She gets excited when she sees it, flailing her arms, reaching for it, and making a little beak shape with her mouth. She is also very interested in mugs, and watches closely as we lift them to our mouths. She is clearly not ready for tea or coffee yet though.

Suddenly she is trying to reach and grab everything, not just her colourful toys. Nothing (within her arm length) is safe! Not even my face (owch). She is especially interested in grabbing the camera, see?

Kwojo's phone looks pretty desirable to those chubby little hands too.

Ivy is yet to learn the difference between 2d and 3d, so she tries to grab things that can't be grabbed - pictures in books, patterns on clothes, the baby in the mirror. And things that are too big to be grabbed, like the sofa and printer. Things that can but shouldn't be grabbed... my face.

Well baby

2011-06-05T23:46:00.000+01:00

I forgot to mention (a couple of weeks late..) that Ivy got over her illness. It lasted a couple of days of her being sad and unwell, but she quickly got back to her usual happy self (although her sleep cycle is now messed up). She still has a lingering wheeze, which means that she sometimes sounds like a cat purring when she breathes, and when she babbles it's like a growl. (The doctor says she is fine and that this is normal.)

Just look at that happy, cheeky little face. Sometimes I *squeee* out loud and have to squish (cuddle) her.

Hanging out in Ivy's room

2011-06-03T19:47:00.000+01:00

Right now...

2011-06-02T15:11:00.000+01:00

At the moment...

Ivy's room

2011-06-02T02:41:00.000+01:00

I finally sorted Ivy's room out (cot in our room, pool passed onto homebirthing couple) so now it is in a usable state, finally! The room gets a lot of light, and sun in the afternoon, so it is now my favourite place to hang out with Ivy. She has a play mat with toys to reach, grab and nom. I have a pile of fabrics to cut out and pin together. When it all gets a bit too much, we nap together in the sun on the bed.

Ivy loves looking out the window. It's amazing how mesmerized she is by our garden, all the other gardens, washing lines, trees, the sky - so much sky!

Oh that dribbly little face!

Sitting

2011-05-29T12:48:00.000+01:00

An early attempt at sitting in March, nearly 3 months old:

(I don't know how to rotate the video)

And some pretty successful sitting at 4.5 months old:

Sitting is now official. Look, no hands!

And she is not even 5 months old yet :)

Sunday Art Trailing

2011-05-22T18:29:00.000+01:00

Another great day of the Southbank Arts Trail! Kwojo, Ivy and I spend 5.5 hours visiting 12 venues and many, many artists. Exhausting, but lots of fun and very inspiring. When we got home Ivy passed out in the pram (after spending the day in the Ergo carrier - much easier for navigating narrow hallways and stairs). She was perfectly happy looking at all the art and people, had a couple of feeds, a change, some sleeps, and got out of the Ergo to stretch and bounce.

It was very windy (Ivy was screwing up her face) and looked like it would rain, but instead turned into a beautiful day to wander around Southville. We even bumped into quite a few people we know.

This flat was incredible. The art was great but the way the place was decorated was immense. This is the first thing you see as you come up the stairs to the flat. A wall of gloves, right up to the ceiling, gloves. And a soft stags head emerging from the gloves.

The hallway was decorated with these cardboard branches and leaves which I love and want to recreate (and there is Kwojo and Ivy in the Ergo).

I almost missed this detail...

In the garden of the Southville centre where we stopped for a feed (Ivy) and to watch belly dancers.

At the Southbank Club we watched live art and music from Upfest, and talked to an illustrator that Kwojo first met at the Made in Bristol fair in December. It's great to be reminded how friendly people can be. Ivy nommed on our fingers. She tries to nom on everything now. Tables, bowls, toys, but especially fingers. If she meets someone new, she first tries to get their fingers in her mouth. She was trying to do this to an old man in the doctors waiting room yesterday and he laughed at her attempts and then was shocked at her strength. Don't laugh at the baby, old man, she is serious.

Out final visits, nearly home... Houses bunting!

Sunny days and bunting

2011-05-21T18:19:00.000+01:00

This weekend is the Southbank Arts Trail so there is lots of bunting around!

Ivy, Emmelie and I decorated a flag for a community bunting project - I love this idea. I made a uterus stencil to use for mine, of course.

This street made a collaborative piece. I don't know what the significance of 46 (or is it 4b?) is.

At the end of our road there is knitted graffiti on bollards, bike rails, trees, lamp-posts, billboards. The spikey knitting is my favourite.

And then we spent the rest of the afternoon making the most of the good weather in the garden. Ivy showed Emmelie how good she has got at sitting in the less than two weeks since she last saw her. Ivy pulled grass and tried to eat it, but I think this was actually just a ploy to try to eat our hands when we removed the grass from her mouth.

And Ivy demonstrated her new trick: moving. I saw her do this for the first time on Monday when I put her on her tummy. She can push herself backwards with her arms, or to the side so that she rotates in a circle. And yesterday, for the first time, I saw her push herself up onto her knees. She is working towards crawling and it's both scary and exciting!

Not a good first

2011-05-18T10:41:00.000+01:00

My poor baby is ill.

We woke up in the early hours of yesterday to an awful sound, which turned out to be Ivy's breathing. Each breath was like a growl. She awoke scared and unhappy, and after a feed her breathing sounded slightly more normal although very loud (it later returned to normal which seemed scarily quiet). We tried to give her Calpol but she wasn't happy to have the spoon in her mouth so we dipped her fingers in it and she sucked them (this was the first non-breastmilk substance she has ever had). Most of it went on her pyjamas. In the morning she was still wheezy and coughing, her babbling sounded like barking. The doctor listened to her chest, back and tummy, looked into her ears and even poked her toes. She thinks it will pass on it's own, and Ivy is fine. Ivy certainly seemed her usual cheery self and was very interested in all the things like the stethoscope and happy to meet a new person.

We both spent the day sleeping as much as we could and feeling pretty crappy. There were still plenty of smiles, even though Ivy is clearly feeling quite unwell. Today I am fine, but Ivy is still wheezy, snotty and sad, so we stayed home instead of going swimming (which is especially a shame because the lesson has already been paid for!). I think there is also some teething going on as she is happiest when sitting on my lap chomping on my fingers.

Sitting

2011-05-16T20:06:00.000+01:00

Ivy is quickly getting good at the whole sitting thing. She can often balance for minutes at a time now! There are still frequent face-plants, toppling and folding in half, though. If she leans too far back there is nothing she can do, but she can often rebalance herself from falling to the side or forward.

About a month ago

My hands, just out of shot, ready to catch Ivy when she topples:

And now she can balance well enough that I can even leave the room (very quickly) to grab my camera. She was staring at Charlie-dog for a long time, leaning towards him. She wants to be on the move already!

Yesterday

Today

2011-04-15T19:30:00.000+01:00

Sunday in the garden

2011-04-15T19:14:00.000+01:00

Sunday was spent in my parents garden, enjoying more of the summer like weather.

Unfortunately the rest of the week has been cold, grey, wet and windy. I'm looking forward to the sun making a reappearance and I hope it will be soon!

Another day in the park

2011-04-09T22:28:00.000+01:00

First trip to the park

2011-04-08T17:45:00.000+01:00

Today was Ivy's first trip to the park! Well, she's been to the park lots before, but this was the first time she was awake and ventured out of the pram (we may have woken her up by taking her out of the pram, but she needed to see the park!). It is such a beautiful day, it's like summer already.

And of course photos were taken.

I love waking up to this little face

2011-03-23T10:59:00.000Z

The many morning faces of Miss Ivy Annabel...

Little foot

2011-03-22T13:06:00.000Z

This little foot wriggled it's way out of swaddling in the night. When she came into bed to feed, I held this tiny little foot in my hand. So soft and fragile and perfect.

The Newborn Collection

2011-02-27T16:01:00.000Z

Two weeks ago I finally admitted that Ivy's newborn size clothes no longer fitted her. I was pretty sad to have to pack away some of the tiny, pretty things that kept her warm in these early weeks. My favourites from her newborn wardrobe...

My squishy 10 hour old newborn in her Birth Day outfit. This came with a matching hat that was weirdly proportioned and never actually fit, so she is wearing the hat from the midwife.

This outfit was given to her and was the first girly thing she wore. Here she is at two days old being held by her Grandad.

Being held by her Grandad again at 13 days old. I love this purple elephant top from Haley. I tried to squeeze her in to it for as long as possible!

This cardigan still fits her (yay!) and was given to Ivy by Emmelie and Helen, knitted by Helen's Mum. The buttons went really well with this little purple sleepsuit with trees on it that she looked so lovely in. 17 days old and asleep on me.

She also looks great simply in white. Just over three weeks old.

Super neck control in purple and green stripes at nearly one month old.

More head control and stripes, this is another top from Haley which Ivy was still squeezing into at 5 weeks.

Her lovely cosy brown bearsuit, giving a wave at 5 weeks.

Striking a karate pose in her calf sleepsuit at 5 weeks.

And now I am having fun dressing her in the 0-3 and 2-4 month sizes, especially thanks to some preloved clothes gifted to Ivy.

Look what I made...

2011-01-24T21:15:00.000Z

2 days

3 days

8 days

9 days

15 days

The first 10 days

2010-12-12T10:50:00.000Z

On 2nd December I decided to restart my photo-a-day project in an attempt to get my photo-mojo back and get reacquainted with my camera in preparation for having a tiny person to photograph! I should really have chosen a neater date to start on, last time I started on the 4th January. These photos really reflect how how of practice I am with photo-taking, and also how little I am able to get out and about what with being eight months pregnant and suffering with SPD (pelvic pain). Hopefully the photos will improve even if my mobility won't!

The Pottery

2010-10-06T10:53:00.000+01:00

This is how I have been spending (most of) my Monday-Thursday's 10am-4pm.

I have never done pottery or ceramics before, so this clay thing is all very new to me.

I haven't finished anything yet, the next step is for these pots to go in the kiln, then I glaze them, and back in the kiln to be finished off. I can't wait to have my first finished piece!

Creating

2010-10-01T11:59:00.000+01:00

In the beginning of my pregnancy, all of my creative energy dissapeared. My 365 project faded away when I kept forgetting to take a photo until late at night and ended up with some dissapointing pictures of things in my room - that wasn't the point of the project, so it ceased. With feeling sick all day everyday I lost all desire to cook and bake. I struggled to finish paintings for the exhibition and instead chose to exhibit those that were already finished. I even lost enjoyment in listening to music. I guess my body/mind was filtering out anything not necessary in favour of being able to focus my (little) energy on what really was necessary - and it saddens me to think of art as 'unecessary'.

I have been feeling well enough and energised enough to be able to reintroduce all this creativity back into my life for a while now, but I guess I am out of habit, and in a different environment, so it hasn't come back naturally.

I have a teeny weeny sewing machine that cost £12.99 so I am working my way up to making a baby quilt. As we are not yet in our own home, it's been difficult to find ways to nest and prepare to the new arrival - so making baby things is the way forward! My small practice projects so far have been a patchwork quilted coaster (x2) and a pencil case for Kwojo who starts back at uni on Monday. The first coaster is smaller and more wobbly than the second, it's exciting to see the improvement! It's also great to be finally using the Africa fabrics that Kwojo's Mum gave me.

And of course my body is being the most creative it ever has been or ever could be - I'm making a human :)

The baby project is 67.6% complete and expected to be finished in January 2011.

1st September 2009

2010-09-01T10:29:00.001+01:00

This time last year...

Kruger National Park, South Africa

Good morning, Kruger:

The early morning was very cold, but that quickly turned to insanely hot.

The first glimpses of wildlife:

One very happy hyena and the carcas of a black rhino:

Shy young elephant:

Hippos!

Baboons. So cool to watch them because they seem so human-like in their behaviour.

Vultures drying their wings in the midday heat:

Goodnight, Kruger National Park.

31st August 2009

2010-08-31T12:52:00.001+01:00

This time last year...
Blyde River Canyon Reserve, Mpumalanga, South Africa.
God's Window:

Bourke’s Luck Potholes:

The Three Rondavels:

And that was just one day!

Epic clouds

2010-04-28T18:11:00.000+01:00

When I was back in Bristol over the Easter holidays, I got to take the doglet on lots of walks. One of those times I took these photos. Those are some amazingly epic looking clouds.

My studio as it is

2010-04-27T13:30:00.000+01:00

With an essay out of the way, I got to have some quality studio time yesterday.
This is how it's looking at the moment...

My tutor said of the painting on the left "there's something interesting there". Typical art tutor vagueness! I am not so sure, the painting is a bit dissapointing for me. Mainly because of how her arms ended up, I like the way her face turned out and the body is interesting in that it's angular. It was kind of a more freely painted, in a way. And I used a lot of colours, which I like.

The little middle painting ended up being quite different from usual with quite thickly applied paint, also in a kind of more free way. I like his expression in it, I think I got the inquisitive look there.

The third painting I kind of love, and even though it's big it didn't take very long. I think I love it because it's of Tho, more than because of the painting. I do love the colours though, and the way his face pops out from the background. I still have some work to do on this to sort out the left hand corner, which is meant to be a hand... hands are not my strong point. I should avoid them. Although hands are what got me into drawing many years ago at school.

I thought it was time to paint a smiling kid, so that people don't get sad about my paintings. I don't want them to be sad, that is not my intention. I don't want people to pity the kids. This isn't some advertising campaign to get you too give money to the poor little orphans. No. Its about them as individuals, their personalities.

Anyway, the painting on the left is ok. I think it looks like he's smiling.

I like the painting of Baby Tam on the right. The colours are good, although more limited than in the painting above. I like her expression. And the painting felt quite free, although I think I did start to get a bit controlled about it after a while. It's tempting to tighten things up but I prefer they way they look loose. I always struggle with her arms when painting from this image, but I'm pleased with how they turned out in this one. Luckily, no hands here :)

And here is one I have been working on for a while. It's big, maybe the same size as the one of Tho above, but taking longer. This is probably because there are FOUR people in this painting and the others tend to have just one face. Also I have painted from the Tho image quite a few times, so I'm familiar with it. But I have only painted this Lam image once before. And did I mention there are four people?! I like it. I like all the colours in it but it doesn't feel messy like the Tam painting at the top. I keep having to restrain myself from over painting it, because I love how it is at the moment. I can't wait to see it finished!

In the first painting I did from this photo I left these two out. I was worried about painting them in because they are so small and the detail in the photo is quite bad. But I did it and I love how they came out :) And, while painting, I realised that this was a photo I took. And I realised that baby Thinh is being held by that boy but has twisted himself around and is looking at me.

And here it is with the beginnings of the background.

Spring has sprung

2010-04-17T13:59:00.000+01:00

Spring is definately here and it is very much welcome.

I captured these blooming buds on my way to Tesco. That is one of the perks of living here - I have a rather lovely walk to the supermarket!

I only wish I had a garden to sit in and enjoy the warm weather while doing all this uni work.

365 week 8

2010-03-09T15:21:00.000Z

Monday 22nd February
I'm still at home in Bristol, as I'm still ill. Leo's room is being decorated which means it's almost empty and very white. Everything in this photo is white, everything.

Tuesday
Back in Chester and feeling unwell again. This is my ugly textured wallpaper that I often pick at when I'm lying in bed.

Wednesday
Less ill, but not back to normal yet. The canteen is the place that I find I work best, better than in the library or my room. I love sitting by the window and feeling the warmth of the sun on my skin.

Thursday
Money to pay bills.

Friday
Finally a day when taking my daily photo inspires me and doesn't feel like a chore. I love getting the rush when I remember how beautiful the world is. The same houses as the chimneys in Day 13, but this photo was taken at the front of the houses rather than the back. I love the layers in this photo. A day of indecision and inspiration. I can't decide between these four photos, any input?

Saturday
Feeling nostalgic about travels and warm weather. In this little wooden box (which Steph gave me!) live the shells I collected on beaches of Mozambique and South Africa.

Sunday
Coursework to do, seem to have spent the whole day staring at this screen. Sigh.

365 week 7

2010-03-09T11:55:00.000Z

Monday 15th February
I am home (in Bristol) for a week which means I get to see a lot of the doglet! I love his green eyes and the way he curls up in a really small ball.

Tuesday
Shrove Tuesday. Kwojo and I get creative with veggie savoury fillings for our pancakes. Yum :)

Wednesday
Had a good day meeting up with an old friend (Chloe), but am definately coming down with something and didn't have the energy to take a photo of her. Enjoying time with the furry fellow, but he gets tired too :)

Thursday
I am definately ill, Kwojo is here to keep me company. That is is hat. Seems fitting as my room is particuarly cold tonight.

Friday
This photo sums up my day perfectly, as I spent most of it in bed with my box of tissues never far away. Being ill sucks.

Saturday
Feeling less ill, and a sunny day helps :) The tree and birdfeeder is in my parents garden, the teepee is in a field. It's been there a while and I'm curious to see it closer (maybe someone lives there?).

Sunday
Feeling less ill and have the sudden urge to cook! Sweet potato and roasted red pepper soup, yum, recipe (and more photos) over here.

Fractal - Artist Statement

2010-03-03T22:06:00.000Z

I am part of a mini exhibition at uni with three other students, and it opens tomorrow. So, I had to write an artist statement. And this is it.

My paintings are of children living in an orphanage in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. I met them in May 2007 and during my time there I acquired about 1000 photos, many of which the children took of each other. These photos, along with my memories of each child, form the basis of my paintings.

My paintings are about relationships, moments, confrontation, intimacy, communication, memories, childhood, and the human experience.

365 week 6

2010-02-22T21:12:00.000Z

Monday 8th February
The sky reflected in the windows at the Kingsway (arts) campus.

Tuesday
This is my front door. I was waiting for post - dresses!

Wednesday
Working in the studio, which has very high windows. These clouds look like they have been painted.

Thursday
I have painted some Valentines cards, and used this tiny piece of tissue to absorb the excess watercolours. It's dry now, and quite pretty in its own right. I sold 10 cards this evening :)

Friday
Mum, Dad and I visit Grandma, in Kent, for the weekend. This is her cat, Kitty, who likes my Grandma and no one else. I'm not a fan of her either, she makes me sneeze. She definately has a mean look about her, doesn't she?

Saturday
This elderly bear has sat on my Grandma's shelf for many years. I have been looking through some very old photos, even found one of Grandma as a baby!

Sunday
Back in Bristol and Kwojo and I are off to another brilliant evening of entertainment from the Invisible Circus. The dress code is shotgun wedding! I love this photo because you can see all these open mouths in the audience as this woman spins around high above our heads on a rope.

Simple Soups - sweet potato and red pepper

2010-02-21T14:11:00.000Z

I am feeling slightly healthy again after catching some un-known virus the doctor described as "significant". My poor Mum is suffering now, so I have assigned myself the task of soup-making.

Today: Sweet potato and roasted red pepper

When it comes to soup-making the quantities used are fairly approximate, so bear with me.

- 3 smallish sweet potatos
- 2 medium red peppers
- 1 medium white onion
- a few dashes of olive oil
- spices to taste, I used cayenne pepper and nutmeg
- stock, I used a cube and boiling water

1. Peel and dice the potatoes. Chop the peppers and onion. Roast the peppers with a drizzle of oil shaken over them. Mine went in for about 45 minutes at 150C in a fan assisted oven. Basically until they are soft and sweet smelling.

2. Meanwhile, gently fry the onion on a medium heat in a large saucepan in a dash of oil. Stir in the sweet potato, followed by the stock cube and spices. Pour in the boiling water to cover the potato, but this really depend on how thick or thin you like your soup - you can always add more water later, or throw in a few red lentils to thicken it.

3. Cover and let simmer for at least 30 minutes, and then blend. Not to worry if you don't have a blender, just simmer for as long as you can and then attack it with a masher. Once the potato mixture is smooth, add the peppers and blend in a little. Return to the heat, and serve!

I had mine with a toasted wholemeal muffin. It's also good served over rice. Enjoy!

(I am off to eat more).

365 week 5

2010-02-16T15:33:00.001Z

Monday 1st February
The sun is shining as I arrive back in Chester. My walk home from the station takes me along the canal. When I stop to photograph this couple, they swim over to me because they think I'll feed them.

Tuesday
The weather is rubbish. I am reluctant to leave the house today. It's my friends birthday today, I hope the sun is shining for her in New Zealand. I like that you can see upsidedown reflections of the houses in the larger raindrops. I later learn that it is also three years since my Grannie died in her sleep.

Wednesday
A note from my Grandma, she has lovely curly old lady writing :)

Thursday
I walk past this on my way food shopping, it's a lovely old red brick abandoned building.

Friday
Reflections of a fairly epic sky in on of the windows on the arts campus. One month of photos (day 31)!

Saturday
It's a gorgeous day and I'm heading to the studio. The sun glows on this moss that grows on a wall.

Sunday
This is on the back of the card I've painted for the boy.

Paintings.

2010-02-10T14:35:00.000Z

My most recent paintings, in various stages of unfinish. I finally put them up in the studio today. Hopefully this will help me to reflected on what it is that I need to do to finish them. Also there was a big blank wall needing a bit of colour and cheer :)

Tomorrow evening I have a stall at a vintage fair selling my not at all vintage photo cards, and hopefully some prints of my paintings. My fingers are crossed. At some point I plan to set up an etsy shop, but I don't yet have a credit card. One day.

And a couple of self-portraits that resulted from me discovering that these uni computers have cameras in! Oooh technology!

I better get back to the studio I think. The internet keeps distracting me with inspirational photos of homes!

2010-02-09T18:54:00.000Z

I recieved a compliment the other day that my bag and necklace match.
I hadn't noticed :)

And love these colours in the Saturday sun...

365 week 4

2010-02-04T16:59:00.000Z

Monday
Waiting for my train, and noticing how grand the station building is. More colourful terraced houses, as seen in Day 18. Goodbye Bristol.

Tuesday
His plaited headband, and an owl I needlefelted for him. These little soft handmade things sit on my desk as gentle reminders when he is not here and I am not there.

Wednesday
The weather is miserable, and I'm waiting for the bus to take me home.

Thursday
Working in the studio. My brushes are suffering.

Friday
Back in Bristol again! The boy and I wait for another friend's train to get in so take a wander and get hailed on while searching for an open coffee shop. I lent the boy my old camera to start his own 365. The moon was big and low and (almost?) full. In real life you could see the texture of it's surface.

Saturday
Steph, who I haven't seen since Christmas and won't see again until Easter. We are all feeling a bit fragile and tired this morning.

Sunday
At my parents house the boy takes the opportunity to go online. I love that he stays still for me to take odd photos like this.

Lam and Monster paintings

2010-02-03T13:21:00.000Z

Two paintings I am working on at the moment.

Really starting to get the hang of oil paints, but my tutor is urging me to start trying to use them like watercolours again. It's a challenge.

This boy is called Lam, and he was about 8 when I took his photo. He was really bright and picked up English quickly and easily. He was sweet and funny. The painting will enventually have three other kids in the background, another challenge.

I nicknamed this little one Monster, as he was a little terror. He was cheeky but still very much a baby. He wanted to play-fight with the big kids but being only 2 or 3 was a bit out of his depth. He loved to have his photo taken, demanding to see it everytime.

Baby Tam oil painting

2010-01-28T15:25:00.001Z

This is one of the first oil paintings I have done in several years so it took a while to get used to it again.

The portrait is of baby Tam, who lives in an orphanage in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. She was about 1 year old when I met her, and took her photo. That was in May 2007. The kids I met then are now the subjects for my paintings. I'd love to one day be able to go back and see how they are all doing, and how they've grown.

The painting was unfinished in these photos.

2010-01-27T13:50:00.000Z

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

formspring.me

2010-01-19T18:40:00.001Z

Ask me anything http://formspring.me/smasharash

Andrew Wyeth

2010-01-19T18:25:00.000Z

As suggested by my tutor, I checked out Andrew Wyeth, a watercolour artist.

I love these.

Wind From the Sea, 1947

Master Bedroom, 1965

365, week 2

2010-01-18T15:57:00.000Z

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Before & After

2010-01-15T14:29:00.001Z

The owl and the pussy cat street art the first time I saw it, in February/March 2007...

And then again in July 2008...

When I saw it the second time I felt so sad. It has been such a beautiful, intricate and well designed piece of art. And now so little of that was left. Nothing much of any real value (in my opionion) had been painted over it, so the loss didn't seem justified.

But then I just came to realise and accept that this is the nature of street art. It is incredibly diverse, totally unprotected, and constantly evolving. And that is why I love it. It's the most honest art out there, as it's not yet been tainted by commercialism. Lets hope it stays that way, art for arts sake.

One day maybe I will go back to that allyway, and take a third photo of that wall. It's exciting to wonder what it may look like now.

Photographic print commission!

2010-01-14T17:00:00.001Z

Today is a big day in my artistic journey.

Today I recieved my very first commission for a print of one of my photos!

This is very exciting and I hope it will be the start of something great.

This is the image he chose, from his criteria of either street art or New York cityscapes.

I'm collecting a 50% deposit later on this evening, and then tomorrow, hopefully, printing the photo A2 size. And he gets it for just £9!

This photo was taken in Melbourne, the second time I visited (July 2008). The first time I visited I took a photo of that exact wall when the Owl and the Pussycat mural was still totally visable. A year and a half later just the cat's head is poking out above all the new paint.

I think this will make a very interesting and unique poster.

Yay!

365

2010-01-13T12:47:00.000Z

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Christmas time

2009-12-25T18:38:00.000Z

The past few days...

And Christmas eve...

Colourful notes of love

2009-10-13T18:25:00.000+01:00

One to my boyfriend and one to my friend who made me this: