Reduce, reuse, recycle!

"A book that is shut is but a block." ~Thomas Fuller

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There was me thinking I'd never have any use for my university texts again. Emma has a cold at the moment, so I'm using my old chemistry books to elevate the head end of her Moses basket. Probably the most use I've ever had for old P.W. Atkins!

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Who's a clever girl then...?

Emma took hold of her own bottle today and had a go at feeding herself.
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(Apologies for the blurry picture. I think the Podlings have had their greasy mitts all over the camera lens again!)

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4 months old

Emma turned four months old today. I don't know what she weighs at the moment as I haven't taken her to clinic for a couple of weeks, but she still fits her 0-3 month clothes comfortably. This has unfortunately put her out of sync with our stash of baby girl's clothes. Lily was a May baby and grew quicker, so all of our 0-3 months girl's clothes are for the summer. Oh well, that's why cardigans were invented I suppose! Also gives me a good excuse to buy a few extra little outfits...
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Emma is a very vocal baby and has a very hilarious (and loud) line of baby talk. She will sometimes lie in her moses basket at bedtime, babbling loudly as she drifts off to sleep. It's all I can do not to laugh out loud when she does that. Sadly, she never went back to sleeping through the night when she got over her colds, but at least I only have one night feed. She wakes between 3.30am and 4.30am, feeds very quickly and goes straight back to sleep, so I can't complain.
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She has now well and truly found her hands and likes to grasp at objects when they come into view. These objects include, but are not limited to, my clothes, my hair and, just recently, my lips (ouch!). She has a small wooden rattle that she delights in shaking, though I am in constant fear she is going to clock herself on the nose with it!
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Emma remains a happy and contented baby and continues to delight us all with her smiles. She is growing up much too quickly, but other than that I can't fault her!
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Sisters

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This sweet picture of Lily and Emma might have been sweeter had I managed to wipe all of Lily's breakfast off her face first! It's still a nice photo though. I can't believe how quickly Emma is growing. I keep telling her to slow down, but she just ignores me!

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Please release me...

...let me go!!

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This photo cracks me up!

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Baking today

Front to back, Millionaire's Shortbread (gorgeous, but about 1000 Calories a bite!), a jar of homemade caramel (for on ice-cream, toast, etc.), chocolate crispy cakes and fairy cakes (decorated by Tom and Lily). Not bad for a day's work.

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I had something of a baking day today. I suspect at least some of the day's efforts will be going straight to my hips. Oh well!

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A Very Grand Thing

Some of my old Winnie the Pooh toys on Tom's chest of drawers. They don't look twenty years old do they!

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Okay, so I spoke too soon about Tom not liking change. Tom saw the new pictures in Lily's room and decided he wanted something done to his room too. First of all, he requested that I put pictures of his "school family" (his friends) on his wall. Once I explained that I couldn't very well go around snapping photos of children I don't know, he settled on a Winnie the Pooh theme. Unfortunately, he prefers the soulless Disney version to the charming E.H Shepard illustrations, but that did at least make it easy to achieve. I was also fond of Winnie the Pooh as a girl and I still have all my stuffed toys from that time. He now has a charming Winnie the Pooh room and I have so far spent nothing. I will buy some frames so I can put some pictures on his walls and I may or may not treat him to cheap duvet cover, but for now I hope he likes the new look. Despite the change being at his urging, I fully expect him to come home from school and ask me to change everything back the way it was. I thought I would share some photos of how the room looks now, just in case it is business as usual again tonight!
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We took the Podlings to the Disney Store as a treat a couple of weeks ago. They were allowed to choose one toy and Tom chose this cushion. He also has a large stuffed Tigger on his bed that was given to him as a baby.
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Winnie the Pooh is now hitching a ride with the cats in Tom's hot air balloon mobile
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I managed to sneak some E.H Shepard illustrations high up on Tom's biplane shelf! His original bedroom theme was transport, so he has a cars and trucks duvet cover, aeroplane and hot air balloon mobiles, this shelf and toy cars and trucks everywhere. In our old house he had transport motifs on his walls too, but we never got around to doing the same thing in this house.

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