Baby on the go

We've been on the move a lot recently.  Here are some snaps to show how we roll.......

The Bugaboo.  Pip is loving the pushchair set up! We switched over from the pram unit in February (ish?!) and she's very happy.  Although I'm fairly sure she'd have been happy in the pram for many weeks yet....Mummy was just being impatient!

 

Helping me in Sainsbury's.....(bunny helped too)

(this was Daddy's idea......along with the shopping list and any form of budget going out of the window!)

 

On the train to The Ideal Home Show in London.  Cue Mummy and Daddy daydreaming about self-builds and decorating schemes we'll never be able to afford!

Oh, and in the car! 

Where did half a year go?!

Ohhhh my Pippy poo.....6 months old!!! How did this happen?!! 

I know I have uploaded a few of Pippa's monthly photos already, but here are the ones showing her first half year....

1 Month

2 Months

3 Months

4 Months

5 Months

6 Months

These last 6 months have gone so very quickly, yet it seems as if little Philippa has been with us always.  I can't imagine, or sometimes even remember, life without her. Yes we have probably turned into cliched, boring, unsociable, normally late (the bit that distresses Husband the most) and slightly stained / smelly individuals since her arrival, but we wouldn't have it any other way. Happy half birthday my darling Pipsqueak!!

Pip and her pals

Pippy's baby sensory classes are coming to an end for the current term.  But Mummy has duly signed up for the first half of next term so have no fear! 

The babies get to lie on nice cosy sheepskin whilst all the crazy lights, noises,
activities and songs go on about them.

Half way through the class we get to explore the toys at
the other end of the room.......possibly not what a baby
walker was intended for!?

Hanging out with my friend in the beanbag pit,
two Philippa's together!

Tummytime competition!

It all gets rather tiring though and Pippa
has usually resorted to her fingers by the end
of the second half.

I've mentioned before how incredibly lucky we've been that 6 of our neighbours have had babies within a couple of months of us.  So Pippa has had lots of lovely playmates just a couple of doors away!!

And similarly, 3 of my gorgeous cousins have also had their babies within 6 months of Pippa's arrival. This lovely lady and Pippa are only just under a month apart.  I am so excited for them all to grow up together.

As Pippa gets older and interacts more and more with everyone around her, the more I love seeing her with other babies.  I am so looking forward to watching her make lots of little friends in the future! 

Bring on the summer!

In all this gloomy, unseasonally crap weather I had cause to get very excited about the (hypothetical) arrival of summer.  One of Pippa's Godmothers sent her a pair of adorable sandals..... LOVE them!! She has worn them once but they really were too big.  Mummy just couldn't resist.  Come on sun!!!!

Our first performance...tra la laaa!

On Wednesday evenings I have been going along to our Military Wives' Choir rehearsals.  We've only been going for about 7 or 8 weeks and we are definitely still in our infancy, with a core group of about 9 who come every week and then up to 5 or 6 more girls who come as and when they can.  

We salute you Gareth....come and visit soon!
Picture from www.mobbly.com 

Our choir master / conductor / musical director (I think Musical Director is the official term) is very good at promoting us and signed us up to perform at a church service last week.  It was a pre-deployment service, so it was rather an emotional time for the 80 or 90-odd troops and their families attending.  We all thought is was a really great idea and were very honoured to be able to do it....that is until the time got nearer and nearer.  Eeeek!

Dressed in black (cue the dusty, scruffy old ballet pumps dragged out from the back of my wardrobe...the only black shoes I own which aren't high heels) a grand total of 9 of us turned up at the church. After some last minute guidance from our MD, Colleen, we shuffle nervously into the choir stalls and giggle to each other like naughty school girls.  Bottles of water and Coke are lined up by our feet and we are very thankful that we have a couple of hymns to warm us up before our performance. 

Colleen, for some reason has a bee in her bonnet about standing up on stage or by the choir stalls to conduct for us.  So she instead chose to stand in the congregation squeezed up next to a pillar and conduct from her hip, so as to remain incognito.  I did jest at one rehearsal that perhaps she was rather more nervous about our first outing than she was letting on, and that if she hid she could then deny any association with us if we mucked up.  She insisted this was not the case, but I'm not so sure!  Surely you can't have an MD with stage fright?!  She's a bit of a legend so we need to cure her of that one.

Regardless, it went very well and I think we were all very glad it was over but also very proud of our achievement.  Our next rehearsal is tomorrow night so I am hoping that our little sing-song may have enticed some more military wives/relations out of the woodwork. 

Old School kipping

So the beautiful old family pram has finally got a new occupant!  It has gone down a storm and seems to be a very good place to nap.  We certainly took advantage of the early balmy weather and shoved lovingly wheeled Pippy outside to take some fresh air!

Mummy isn't quite brave enough to perambulate down the street with the pram just yet.  Bring on some more sunshine and then we'll see!

Photoshoot with Daddy

As you hopefully have read, I recently wrote a guest article for online magazine MamaUK on what it's like to be an Army wife.  The lovely Alice asked me to provide some pictures of Pippy with Husband to go with the piece.  Here is the photo shoot which followed.  All the while trying to keep Husband anonymous.....quite hard to do!

 

My guest post on MAMA Uk

I have recently been in touch with the wonderwoman that is Alice Harold from More Than Toast and MAMA Uk fame, she seems to effortlessly juggle an extremely successful blog, bring up her two gorgeous children and now has started up an online magazine for cool mama's - MAMA Uk. 

It's a really great site and has some fascinating articles, I am sure it's going to take off big-style, move over Mumsnet and Netmums!

Well, I contacted Alice as I was really keen to get involved and I have done just that!  I have written a piece on my life as an Army wife.  You can take a look here.