Sunday

Yesterday was a good day. Buttermilk pancakes for breakfast then a trip to the local nursery for some potting mix followed by a spot of gardening. 

Fish and chips down by the bay and some serious playing.

 A spot of tree-climbing.

 A few lazy rows knitted in the sunshine.

And finally, a relaxing afternoon at home and roast chicken with fennel and garlic for dinner. Yum!

Pink and Purple

Another knitting catch-up. 

Long, long ago, before I had my babies, and soon after I had taken up knitting as an adult, I knitted my very first real garment (that is, not a scarf). It was from this book by Debbie Bliss, which I blame for the knitting bug that bit me all those years ago - so many sweet little baby things and such beautiful yarn to match. It was the jacket with moss-stitch bands and I made it in the suggested Baby Cashmerino in a gorgeous rich grape colour. And on completion, it went into a box for a future baby of mine.

It was worn and hand-washed and worn many times by my little Lola, but she grew so quickly and was soon too big for it. So away it went again in case there were any more girls in our future. Then two new girls arrived, so out it came. But it needed a partner. A few more balls of Baby Cashmerino in a warm dusty pink, and there was the matching pair.

While Lola outgrew her jacket at only a few months old, these two are still going strong at six months plus. Then again, she was 2.5 kilos heavier at this age. The Baby Cashmerino is luxurious and drapey and feels so soft. A normal stocking stitch is beautifully defined and looks like something much fancier. Alas, even with careful hand-washing, it pills and looks worn quite quickly. (You can see it in the picture above).

And out of the archives, here's Miss Lola in the original at about 7 weeks old. Tres cranky!

Puree Day

The food thing seems to have come around so quickly this time. When Lola was this age, I remember feeling like I'd been breastfeeding forever and was beginning to feel a bit desperate to get my body and my boobs back. This time, though, I've only really started to settle into an easy rhythm with the twin feeding in the last couple of months. We started with some solids a few weeks ago, hoping it might encourage our Stella to sleep better. She certainly enjoys the food, and while there has been some improvement, it hasn't been the panacea we were hoping for.

Nonetheless, the Magimix has been getting a workout in recent weeks. Yesterday I endeavoured to fill the freezer with lots of pureed goodness - apples and pears, sweet potato, pumpkin, broccoli (my objective is to get as much of it into them before they learn to say no!), spinach and carrots.

The fun and games have begun. The little baby phase is over. Messy days ahead!

I think it's love...

Lola

My new camera arrived by courier yesterday. And I think it's love. It's been a long-held dream to get my hands on something a bit more serious than a point-and-shoot and learn how to take good photos. I know next to nothing about how to do that, but now at least I have the tool to begin discovering. It's a Canon EOS 500D and I got a EF 50mm f/1.4 USM lens to go with it - sounds pretty hi-tech and I'm not sure what all those numbers and letters mean, but a few shots of the girls with the camera set to auto and already I can't believe the quality compared to my old snaps.

Stella

Pearl

Blue T

Aside from kid chaos, there's been a lot of knitting going on around here. Way back when this all began, I knitted a tiny red T-shirt for a hoped-for new baby. When I found out there'd be two, I thought it best to get to work on another T-shirt. Not knowing if these babies would be blue or pink, or one of each, perhaps, I had to stick to unisex colours (which, let's face it, always end up looking boyish). So here's the tiny matching blue T.

In the end, they weren't very well-used garments. They were so tiny the girls outgrew them quickly. The ribbon is totally impractical for a newborn. And I found myself wanting to dress these new baby girls in pretty pinks and purples! So they were only worn a couple of times.

Nonetheless, Pearl and Stella managed to stay awake long enough to model them for the camera one afternoon back in March.

Six Months

A battle-weary mum of twins told me recently that you just have to give up your life for the first six months of their life if you're going to survive it. Or similar words. My girls are six months old today - and I can safely say it's been the hardest six months of my 35 years. I was sure this wouldn't be as hard as everyone said, and maybe it hasn't been. And all in all, I think I've handled it pretty well. But it has been bloody hard! And we've had some mighty big extra stuff to deal with along the way - moving house, as well as one baby having, shall we say, "issues" in the area of sleep.

I reckon 50% of the challenge is just the second baby thing - that is, managing the needs of a newborn with those of a toddler. The other 50% is the fact that this newborn turned out to be two.

But we've reached the six month milestone now and I'm ready for things to turn a corner - sleep-wise, energy-wise, productivity-wise, creativity-wise. And thus the return to this blog.

It's been hard, but incredible too! They are amazing little people and I'm so proud to have them in my life.