beloved bel

I thought it's best to bring my blog in sync with my social media pages.  We just announced baby no. 2 on the way, due this Christmas! Visiting a pumpkin patch every October is almost an annual tradition by now.  For the past two years we visited a farm near Rochester in Kent, but this year we thought we should visit a new patch.  I did some research and found this farm called Pumpkin Moon near Maidstone in Kent.  To be honest the farm in Rochester is huge and I didn't think there would be another farm as huge as that.  And it turned out to be true.  This farm is much smaller in comparison. Weather is usually very important and sadly this year, we have been having such a wet autumn, it has been unbelievable.  Raining almost everyday for more than 3 weeks now!  Every morning, almost a ritual, I will ask Isabelle "Is it raining?" and she will look out of the window and tell me.  I've managed to teach her to say "Always raining!" lol. ...

Dear Isabelle, Wow you are two months shy of turning 2 years old, our little honey bunny!  Which also means we are two months from Christmas! You are growing and developing much, must I say.  Yesterday morning I caught you singing Edelweiss to yourself when you woke up.  You certainly have a few songs under your belt now. Intense concentration at doodling Playing a matching game at Vanessa's A selfie with mummy Love for ballet Looking mightily pleased in your ballet outfit Learning moves from YouTube So mummy introduced you to the world of ballet by chance, because I was so tired of listening to Baby Shark.  One day I wondered what I could play from Youtube which has more soothing music (and less of an ear worm.. ). Suddenly ballet came to mind and hey presto, Ballet by Emma Wiggle came into our lives.  You get really excited and to add on to it, mummy started you on a few baby ballet trial lessons and it really caught on! ...

I didn't expect this year's birthday to have any fanfare, particularly I've been feeling so tired lately, mainly running after and keeping up with Isabelle.  K has also been very busy at work, working long hours, so I have very full on days with Isabelle with no respite.  Honestly, if I could wish for something for this year's birthday, it would be to have a breather for myself.  I would wish from the depths of my heart that she can sleep and nap better, and that she can play on her own and I can leave her to her own devices.  Really, this child is so active and sleep is last on her list. Anyway, K texted me one day saying he made a lunch reservation at the same restaurant which he proposed at 7 years ago for my birthday.  He planned to bring Isabelle into town too.  However as it was quite a fancy restaurant, I wasn't sure how other diners would react with a toddler running around their tables or fussing about.  Instead I suggested getting a babysit...

I had an idea to blog about Isabelle's sleep behaviour the other day.  Before having Isabelle, I had not the slightest idea how big the sleep topic is for a baby, and now a toddler.  I merely assumed that babies will sleep, no matter what, right?  Because they are tired right?  No, of course not.  Isabelle showed me how much she could and can fight sleep even when she is tired.  As a new mum, I did not know how to read her sleepy signs, and more often than not, she would be overtired by the time I catch her signs and by then she is cranky and crying.  Oh the tears.  From Isabelle and mummy. The early months Sleep has always been an issue for me when Isabelle was born.  She cried non stop every evening for hours on end, and we had no idea what to do with her.  Colic was the word most used on such babies, and everyone comforted us that this difficult phase would be over within 3 months.  I still remembered uttering "3 mo...