another artist in the house

Paloma got hold of my camera the other day. She wanted to take the pictures. 

I tried to explain to her about pointing at something and looking at the viewfinder. But, well, she's only two years old. 

So here are some of the highlights from her experiments with the camera....

I particularly like the one of Betty in the corner, with tulle from her birthday garland in the foreground. 

NMNHM

The other day, Howard was working from home and so Paloma and I decided to clear out for the morning. We headed down to the Natural History Museum for a bit of fun and exploring. Paloma has an ongoing fascination with dinosaurs (as does Howard, coincidentally) so I thought she would love it. 

She did enjoy seeing all of the dinosaurs and the skeletons. 

A dinosaur from New Mexico's Seacoast

She liked watching the movie and seeing the fish. There was a lungfish that didn't move much and then some much prettier fish that were much more interactive.

Apparently, she's getting tired of having her picture taken all the time....

She also really enjoyed running around in the 'river' - a swirl of blue lights meant to mimic the sea floor.  

"Mama! Come with me! Let's go in the river!"

And then there were a couple of dinosaurs outside in the sun, which seemed like a perfect spot to sit down and refuse to go home. 

At the heels of "Alberta",
the Albertosaurus

You may also notice that she decided it was a perfect day to wear her tutu. We got lots of grins from grandparent-aged docents in the Museum...

The cool kid hangin' in the sun...

It was a fun little day trip and we will definitely go there again as Paloma gets older. Maybe our next adventure will be to Explora! 

Getting ready for BITO

We are slowly getting ready for the extra person (arriving in about ten weeks!).

I wrote a list and we're gradually working through it. I have sorted through Paloma's old clothes and pulled out all of her newborn things, including the cloth diapers. Today I washed them all, and hung them out to dry.

Everything is so teeny-tiny!

It's been quite amazing to go through Paloma's old things - we received so many gifts and it's great to think about all the wonderful people that gave us things. Or made us things - we have lots of hand-knitted cardigans (and hats!) and hand-sewn quilts that are so darn cute and I'm really looking forward to getting to use them some more.

Happy (belated) Australia Day

It was Australia Day last Thursday and I decided to mark the occasion by making mini pavlovas. 

cream-filled meringue delights!

 Everyone was very happy to have a special dessert - even Old MacDonald.

"Oh goody! Mini pav!"

Paloma loves Vegemite and I have recently (thankfully) found a local supplier.

Mmmmmmm Vegemite toast....

It's one of the few foods that she will happily gobble up, and is a regular on her breakfast menu (and occasionally for dinner). 

Incidentally, I heard there was a bit of excitement about Julia Gillard's shoe on Australia Day.

Paloma's Aussie friends

Paloma is developing quite a collection of Australian animals, thanks in large part to Auntie June and Uncle Normie. 

The other day, we got them all together to see the whole collection. 

I think the Big Merino counts as an Australian animal, don't you? 

 

Hello, third trimester!

The last 28 weeks have flown by, and suddenly we're in the third trimester already. 

BITO learning about gardening.
(That's the plum tree we planted for Paloma right behind us.)

I'm starting to feel pregnant and finally getting comments from strangers. 

BITO bump with lamb. 

We have started sorting through Paloma's old things. Paloma really liked this 'hat': it's actually a pair of shorts that I crocheted for her. 

She doesn't need to know that her hat is actually a diaper soaker....

oops...

Apparently there were a few technical glitches in our last post.

It's all fixed now, so you should be able to see the photos.

Sorry about that!