What a fantastic day! Having been getting a bit down about having not achieved a huge amount on the house since having Emilia, I decided to kick-start my enthusiasm for the project by going to an AirBnB Experience Day hosted by Sian and Mart of @makeitmoregeous at their incredible house in Manchester to learn about all things renovation and interior design. It was exactly what I needed. Seeing the innovative techniques and design they've brought into their home gave me loads of new ideas and helped me see things with fresh eyes and re-ignited my excitement at crafting our home to suit us. But most of all it reassured me that not all projects are like the ones you see on TV....work being done all day and every day with seemingly endless budgets - they are both working on the house whenever not doing their day jobs, and getting things done slowly but surely, while living with a lot of unfinished things in the meantime, and tools and materials everywhere (albeit far more neatly stacked than ours!). I'm also not the only person to have bought something on a whim and kept it for years without ever knowing where it would go, that has now at last found a home (tiles from the flea market in Lisbon 4 years ago, I'm looking at you!). And I'm not the only one who has had to convince a partner that their vision will look great when it's done even if it takes longer and is more complicated (nor the only one who has thus far been right every time 😉). I came away raring to go (which is great because we are about to crack on with finishing the kitchen) and having had a thoroughly lovely day. I've been following Sian on here for a few years now and it was so cool to meet her and see all their amazing hard work in the flesh, and meet some fellow crazy-people (sorry, renovators) and enjoy a tour followed by a delicious lunch in the sunshine. Thanks so much Sian! If you're local to Manchester and a renovator or just interested in interiors, they still have spaces in the next few weeks....I highly recommend it!
11 months. I cannot believe it is only 4 weeks until I have a one year old! This last month has absolutely flown by because we have been so busy, but Emilia has managed to fit in all sorts, like mastering clapping, standing unaided and meeting Mr Tumble in our local park by accident this week (really!). The 4 teeth that popped through a month ago are now well and truly out, I swear they seem to grow by the day. Talking of growing, she is now in 18-24 month clothes mostly and they dont even look particularly big on her! She is zooming around everywhere on all fours and is getting good at walking with a walker and holding hands, though she still gets a bit overexcited at it all and occasionally breaks into a Riverdance impression. Dancing in general is still her favourite thing, she is never still. She's had her first go in a paddling pool this month at my parents' and had an amazing time exploring their garden while Ste and I went to a wedding. In the last few weeks she has gone from sleeping well on her side to sleeping very badly on her front. This past week we had some horrendous nights up every hour with her, but it seems we have cracked it and she was just missing her sleeping bag (figured out when we got her a super lightweight one). Phew! We are back to 8pm-6.30am nights now, though it is still taking her a lot longer to wind down for bed these days. Maybe life is just too exciting when you are nearly one?!
