These boots were made....

There are mile stone markers that make a parent proud.  The first proper smile, the first noises, followed by the first word, the rollover, the sit up, honestly this list is endless.  One of the real "steps" towards the next stage of development is the first time one foot follows the other is perfect harmony and your little one goes from baby to toddler.

Isabella got to what we called couch surfing around 7 months in.  She would happily stand up with two hands firmly planted on the seat of the couch and follow this all the way round to the TV stand. There would then be a leap of faith with her little pinkies to latch onto safety once more.  When she reached the end of this haven, it was time to repeat the whole process in reverse.

Her confidence away from the couch and TV stand was miles away from this.  She refused to take more than one step without at least a parental finger to grasp with all her might.

After her 1st birthday, her confidence had grown but the steps towards actually walking seemed to be a pipe dream.  What could only be described as a controlled fall was her best effort, 3 steps before falling to a heap on the floor.  It was still great to see this, but we could see that she did not really want to continue much further than that.  Isabella is the fastest crawler on the planet!

It all happened all of a sudden.

One day she was couch surfing and the next we would find her stood still in the middle of the kitchen with nothing around her.  How had she got here? Her bum would then quickly hit the floor as if to say, "you didn't see that!".

Within days Isabella has gone from 3 or 4 steps to traversing the whole house, backwards and forwards, room to room with very little bum bumps.  With this, her confidence seems to have grown even further and she hurtles around the garden, hurtles around the house and grandparents are struggling to keep up with her now.

My little baby girl is now a toddler.

1st Birthday - A year in the life of...

Our lives changed dramatically on the 17th February 2016, this change brought laughter, tears, happiness, sleepless nights but mainly pure love.

We fought long and hard to be blessed with Isabella and I can hardly believe that it has been 12 months already.  We have seen her develop from a helpless little poop machine, to a beautiful, loving, and cherished little toddler who everyday learns something new and her character develops more and more.

With a mouth full of gnashers which gives her the most endearing smile and her beautiful big eyes full of inquisitiveness.  When she wakes up in a morning and smiles at you, your day struggles to get any better.

She has now started her educational life towards genius, attending her nursery for two sessions a week, and we have both noticed how much development this has added to her already hectic learning life.  New noises, gestures and mannerisms have formed as early parts of communication.  Pointing is hilarious as she points at everything, wants everything but if it is something she really wants you are presented with a "Meh" noise.

Isabella tells you about her day constantly, all gobbledygook, but full of meaning and understanding.

She has also taken her first steps towards actually walking rather than a controlled fall.  We all know that Isabella will take her walking shoes for a full jaunt soon, but she seems very happy to be couch surfing at the moment.

For her 1st Birthday party, the grandparent collective descended on our little apartment for home made cake and a delicious buffet.  Having three sets of Grandparents only means that she is triply spoiled.  A new slide for the warmer months, a push trike for long walks and a whole new wardrobe were just a few of the multiple pink wrapped presents that were opened.

As we look forward to the development towards the terrible twos, we have 12 months ahead of so much more learning and development that will add so much more character and humour to this already brilliant child, our daughter

Happy Birthday Little P xxx