She turned 9 months! - really nearly a month ago

Well it was already about 20 days ago, but..
I can not believe! We spend just as much time with her that she spent in my belly, how weird is that!

Here are all the "milestones" / progresses she made within this new month:

• She started to speak!! She started by mixing all together "baba", "papa" and "mama". She then got better and better, but only on "baba" (which means bye bye for her I think) and "papa", that is just adorable when she speaks!! She's gonna be such a little chatter box!! Just like her Mama haha :p Sorry Papa :p  Now we can't wait for her to say those words with a real meaning, like to us :)
• She clapped her fists to then clap her hands. She is now so good at it! She even does it when we ask her to do "Bravo", and most of the time - except if she plays shy - we don't need to show her.
• And last but not least: she FINALLY got her first tooth!!!!!

I am insanely in love with that little bundle of joy!!

Sorry for this delay, I didn't realise I didn't post it - shame on me.

On our bank holiday week end last week :)

Last week end was a long bank holiday week end in UK. It also was Mother's Day in France - yep I kinda get 2 Mother's Day muhahaha, even though we celebrate it mostly for the UK one. And even though it didn't last, it also was a warmer, sunny and so nice weather within the week end. So on Sunday we went to the park, my favourite park by far in London, Kensington Gardens. I wanted to take Chloe and V to the Diana Memorial Playground and make Chloe try the swings, unfortunately the queue to get in was for at least 40 minutes. Even though it is a nice playground I thought it didn't worth it with an almost 7 months old baby girl, we wouldn't have stay that long anyway. Instead we walked a bit around the park and stop for a little while which was so lovely! Then we went down the street where I used to live while I was an au pair, until the museums and took the tube back home after grabbing a Starbucks. We went back there on Monday to have a Museums day, an hour in V&A - my favourite museum in London - and Natural History Museum. That was a perfect week end for me :)  And we even got to be with Papa for a bit longer than usually :p

Looking forward to our holidays to South of France in a couple of days!

Here are some pictures if you wanna see :)

Those little chubby hands are just the most adorable ones ever. I'm totally addicted to those and her feet :p

Like mama like daughter haha :p

Pictures in mirrors are the only way for us to have a picture all together when we are out of the flat. 

Ps. V&A toilets in the cafe look so posh and vintage, I love them!

Tomorrow we are heading to South of France. Hopefully we'll have some sun and warm weather. Because the weather in London has been quite pathetic and a real despair to me lately! Seriously, it's supposed to be spring and it's almost as cold as this winter... Also, tomorrow will be Chloe's first time in a plane. I'll let you know how it went ;)

Have a lovely week :)

On catching up - C turned 6 months

Chloe also turned 6 months old 2 weeks ago! Whaaaaat!! 6 months old??!!! TWO weeks ago??!! Already?! Please, someone, do something!! She also started to seat all by herself. That baby girl surprises me every day! The last night my sister was here V called me in C's bedroom where they were all 3 together, C was sat by herself for few seconds, a bit wiggly but still all new and without any help. She went from not being able to seat except on us when we hold her to seat for few seconds by herself. But the most impressive thing is that she hasn't stop since then. In one week of time she was sitting for long stretches – like 20 minutes. She now spends her time seating, I can not put her on her back or tummy anymore. That is not gonna help for crawling etc lol. But the seating thing is such a progress in itself that it doesn't bother me that much for now. Also, it is SO useful!! I can just seat her down on the floor in her playpen where she is surrended by all her toys and she is really happy for a while, grabing every toy that she can and playing with them. It gives me time to be able to cook without a baby crying in her bouncer or do other things I need to do that used to be so hard to do.
She is also in a no-no phase lately, which is soooo adorable!! She keeps shaking her head like if she is saying “no” with her cute cheeky smile. Gosh I love her :)

C and her favourite singing book :)  - In French

And here are some pictures from one of the only two days I got to enjoy the sun we got for only a week or two while I was ill. Also the first time C was coming out of her pram while in the park, so kind of her first time in the park for real xD  And first experience with the grass :)  She enjoyed a lot to be on the grass playing with her toys and having her snack there :)  Can't wait for the sun to come back... Please please dear sun come back soon, we miss you a lot in London!

On our trip to France

My baby girl on her first trip - playing and sleeping deeply <3

Oh my god I can't believe it's been already 3 weeks we came back from France with Chloe and I didn't have time yet to write a post about it! After being ill for a bit more than a week – I thought I'd never feel well again xD – I then needed to prepare my portfolio for an interview I had for a school. Let me tell you that it was far from ready, or even started lol And with V at home to help me with Chloe, I just wanted to spend time with them instead of doing my portfolio job. Anyway, I'll post some pictures about those couple of days later. For now, let's talk about that trip that scared me xD

So on 3^rd of March we went to France with Chloe for Grandma's day. V couldn't come as he thought at first it would be difficult for him to take holidays and as I had my short courses on Saturdays I couldn't go before than Sunday and going to France for just a day doesn't worth it. Anyway, it was Chloe first trip, during which one she would need to stay at same place for an hour and half and have this thing in ears for more than half hour. Let me tell you that I was completely panicked. Travelling with a 4 months old, luggage, big backpack and no pushchair as I was alone and couldn't imagine folding it for security by myself with Chloe in one arm, unfolding it after and probably folding it again once in the train.

People were really helpful actually, ready to help me when needed. And Chloe, Oh My God! That little girl doesn't stop to surprise me. She was an ANGEL! We went in the family room, which is basically 2 pairs of those 4 seats in front each other, separated from the others. Our train got 45 minutes delayed to arrive to Lille, so we basically were on a train for 2 hours. Someone in our coach realized there was a baby 15 minutes before we arrived!! Even when my ears were bothering me she wasn't saying a thing, just sucking on her dummy or fingers. She fell asleep as soon as it became dark and woke up 5 minutes before we came out of the tunnel.

That trip relieved me SO much! And I was so impressed with Chloe! She's been just as good on the way back. I'm really looking forward for our next trip to France in May as now I know she is good. Even though it is still a pain to travel with an infant, luggage etc and all by ourselves.

Our short week went so quickly there, and once again Chloe impressed me by falling asleep in my bedroom all by herself in this unknown bed as soon as she was down. She was all happy and calm with people she was meeting for the first time – and we met knew people EVERYDAY! I was really happy to be able to introduce her to one of my dad's best friend, his “wife” and their twins; to my aunt, her ex-girlfriend – who was like my aunt when I was a kid, probably even more than my real aunt xD – and my aunt's current boyfriend; to my cousin who I used to consider like my sister – I even asked her to become my twin sister when I was 7 years old – and with whom I've been raised, and her dad; to a really close friend of us and her 5 years old daughter that I deeply love and who is Chloe's cousin in my heart – and Chloe's one hopefully.

I also took her to Lille. I was so happy to take her there. I couldn't explain why exactly but having her in the city where I'm from... when we arrived in France, even in the train, I had tears of joy coming xD  Anyway, we took her to my favourite restaurant and then walked around in Lille, we got lucky as it was a really sunny and warm – 19 degrees!! - day. It was just lovely. The only down side was how non kid-friendly France is as I mentioned in the previous post. Even in the restaurant some people – business or working people that came for their lunch – were looking at her with a look saying “I hope she won't start to cry and bother us”. And nowhere to change her nappy or breastfeed her.

But except that it was amazing, she was amazing, and we enjoyed it SO much!