Heady

Today as I walked home from the breastfeeding group we go to, Audrey fell asleep in the carrier as she often does. We got home, I shut the door quietly behind us, gently untucked the fabric of the carrier from around her, and carried her upstairs to bed curled against my chest, her little warm hands resting on my skin, her breath soft and sweet and even. I tried to think of a word to describe it, as I laid her down on the green cot sheets and draped layer after layer of soft, pale, hand made blankets over her little sleeping body. A word that would encapsulate that feeling of motherhood that I had at that moment, that intoxicating, dizzy moment of knowing with everything in me that I'm a mother, and how overwhelming that felt. Heady, maybe.

Heady - potent; intoxicating; having a strong or exhilerating effect.

Yeah, that'll do.

We've had a lot of first lately. Audrey's first tooth is poking through the gums at the front of her mouth. She had her first dance, waltzing around with our friend Andy in the supermarket foyer while an old man played tunes on an old keyboard to raise money for war veterans.

She's started pulling herself up to sitting, rolling over, picking things up and putting them down, and she laughs. She laughs so much and it's absolutely joyful and beautiful and infectious, and then she gets this odd little look like she can't believe how loud we're laughing every time she laughs.

Did I mention she's a geek in training? Cos she is. Our friend Bex gave her this gorgeous Star Trek costume <3

Play time! Which has been greatly enhanced by the recent acquisition of this:

She adores Shambles. Especially pulling great handfuls of his fur out! Oops. Little bruiser.

I remember when you could barely see her when we had her in the baby carrier.

She's in 6-9 month size clothes already!

Oh Audrey! I love being your mum. It's a wonderful feeling. Overwhelming. Heady.

Butterflies, quail and ladybird umbrellas

Today we went with Uncle David and Aunty Katy to Butterfly World! It was raining and cold outside, but so warm inside for the butterflies and other animals.

Audrey stared and stared at everything around her. The butterflies in the air were a bit too quick for her to focus on, but when they landed she loved to look at them, and reach out trying to touch them. She also loved looking at all the plants and flowers, and the waterfall.

There were lots of little quail running around underfoot - sooo cute!

Uncle David took charge of the camera and captured some beautiful pictures.

Such sweet, pretty things.

Uncle David and Ian have a lot in common, especially when let loose on an unsuspecting camera.

We saw so many creatures and took so many photos.

The sound of the running water from the waterfall and the heat and the murmur of voices sent Audrey straight to sleep for half an hour, and her little sleepy self was passed from person to person as our arms got tired while we walked with her.

Then we went shopping for books. I love children's books - the glossy pages and bright colours, the thick, clean texture of the paper. Story time with Audrey is already one of my favourite times, and I know it'll get better and better as she grows into stories I remember loving when I was young.

We're going on a creepy crawly hunt. We're going to catch a big one. We're not scared!

What a beautiful day.