Just a spoonfull of babyrice.

Happy Annunciation one and all.

Yesterday evening the girls had their first spoonsful of babyrice. They took to it with such generous enthusiasm that they creatively pursued their relationship with the food far beyond the passive monotony of the traditional linear interaction that the rest of us conform to when it comes to eating: it was no less than an ecstatic theatrical explosion of eschatological proportion and unwritable beauty. By the end of the meal, there was babyrice gluing hair together, drying in eyebrows, collecting between eyelashes and piano-keys, decorating ears and noses, seeping through babygrows and swimming in the creases of necks and wrists, sliding beneath rolled-up sleeves and down steel guitar strings, forming in dynamic puddles on the ageing carpet, glossing finger nails, dampening socks, lubricating shoe laces, plastering together the leaves of rare books, discolouring the antique, hand-made wallpaper, dripping from the crevices in the ancient ceiling and eventually, flooding the entire village.

The weaning has begun.


Violet Grace

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Ivy Elisabeth

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Weight update

It was weigh day today... Violet is now 8lb 11oz and Ivy is 10lb 14oz. 

Daddy and Ivy

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V+I

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Violet

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V+I

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I+V

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Violet

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And the little one said "Roll over, roll over"

Happy St Patrick's Day

As we commemorate this day to one of the greatest men of these isles, it strikes me as a good opportunity to reflect on our Lenten fast so far (mostly because Patrick half-rhymes with plastic).

We gave up plastic for Lent for various reasons but mostly as a way of challenging ourselves to be more conscious and mindful of our consumption habits.  It's actually been easier than we predicted (perhaps a more strenuous fast is in order...), and we've found ourselves getting more organised - e.g. we have to sort out the bread-maker every evening if we want a sandwich the next day because we can't just buy convenient bread anymore which means we have to keep well stocked with (plastic free) ingredients; we have to have carrier bags with us all the time (not such a headache really); we're far more conscious of our milk and food usage so we have to plan meals and be better prepared in general... and healthier.

However, we (or to be honest, I) have slipped a few times.  So far, I've unwittingly bought the plastic seal of a mayonnaise jar... twice; in desperation we indulged in some plastic coated Lurpak when real butter was no where to be found; I had to buy a DVD for an essay; I lost my library card and really, really had to get another (very, very frustrating); we bought a new wheely suitcase to ease the mammoth task of traveling with the girls; and, perhaps most annoyingly of all, when I went to the market yesterday with the specific intention of getting packaging-free cheese - with the smell of fresh fish all around - I happily ordered my 400 grams of mild Cheddar and forgot all about my plasticless requirements... never mind.

The most interesting thing, I think, is the fact that having two young children has not hindered the project at all.  Whenever we've bought plastic, it's mostly because of my thoughtlessness or laziness or as a one off investment, and not at all because of the girls.

It's also undeniable that, because of our self-imposed prohibition of plastic-wrapped biscuits, we're eating a lot more homemade cake, shortbread and flapjack (for our sins).

Happy St Patrick's Day.

Roll Over Beethoven

Last week, Ivy Elisabeth started rolling over!  She's done this clever trick once a day for the last week now so we're lucky to have caught the action on camera.  Violet Grace - graciously giving her younger sister a head start - rolled for the first time on Saturday and has done so again this afternoon (alas, my frenzied dash for the camera was in vain).

Tiny twins

Here are a couple of pictures of Violet and Ivy taken when they were 21 days old (32 weeks gestation). They are with the teddies you can see on the previous post so you can see how much they've grown!

Ivy

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Violet

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Big Twins

Violet and Ivy with their special teddies.
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Violet having a splash.
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A radiator of babygrows.
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Ivy, contemplating her thumb.
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Little cuties

Violet

Ivy

The girls were weighed last Thursday - Violet is now 7lb 13oz and Ivy is 10lb 3oz! 

They are getting very clever; they love books, reaching and grabbing things (especially crinkly things), being tickled, giggling, playing on the bed, looking at each other, going for walks, bathtime... they are just delightful!

Pictures, Plastic and a Perfect, Piano Playing Princess

The girls are six months old today! Amazing.

Sorry we've not been posting much recently, we've been quite busy...

You may be interested to know that as a family we have given up consuming plastic for Lent! It's a great way of being aware of our shopping habits and so on: we now get milk delivered in glass bottles; all our vegetables, cheese and butter from the market; toothpaste in foil tubes; we use washable nappies etc etc etc and so far it's been really rewarding and interesting. For more information, go to http://notoplastic.org.uk/

Another picture from the Baptism, courtesy Veronica Martin. Thank you Veronica!

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Hoodies

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An afternoon stroll

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Violet's favourite book

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Reusable nappies! Hurray.

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Ivy at the Ivory