Favourite toys

Zoe's favourite toys at the moment are: -

* books - for turning-the-pages-practice, but more recently, to have a story told. We read 'Guess How Much I Love You' and 'Hairy Maclary' daily.
* her cousins. Ella is worshipped - even when trying to pick Zoe up but knocking her over and Maya is patted on the head, like a dog. Both are greeted with squeals of delight and wide smiles.
* shoes - there's a stash in her cupboard, which she picks up and carries around. We only bought Zoe's first real pair last week - and they've spent more time being carried around and deposited in odd locations [we found them in the laundry basket, after several days, but thought they'd been put in the bin!]

Water play in time of drought

We had a lovely post-daycare play in the back yard yesterday. Zoe was less obsessed than usual with Harry's food and water bowls, playing instead with containers of water I put out and going for a trot around the perimeter every couple of minutes. I decided to water the small amount of new turf with the hose - yes, we continue to cultivate grass, which is very naughty, but better than bare dirt - and Zoe ended up running through the spray, which was very funny for her and me. This was after her tea, so I literally hosed her down in the backyard, thinking that would suffice for a wash. It bought back lots of memories of playing with the hose and under the sprinkler with my sisters and other neighbourhood kids for hours at a time on hot summer days.

What a shame that we can't behave quite so irresponsibly with water anymore. This morning, boffins from the local water authority were on the radio, talking up their water restriction challenge. Oops. Felt guilty yesterday but feel guiltier now. It's very hard to stick to the environmental program with a baby. Not only the extra water, but the disposable nappies [we still use cloth at home] and wipes add immensely to the amount of garbage we bin. I think we've doubled out output, which was very low to begin with.

After the outdoor shower, I let Zoe run around inside sans nappy [trying to deal with a little but of nasty nappy rash]. Just as I was contemplating putting a nappy on, I looked down to see her in a squat, with a nugget of poo at her mouth. Aargh! I scared her so much by yelling with surprise that she stumbled forward, through the offending pile of, well, you-know-what, smearing it all over the carpet. Oh my goodness, what a mess. Thankfully, Daddy pulled up from work at just the right time, so I gave him the job of cleaning the carpet, while I washed Zoe down in the bath. For the second time. At what age do they handle the toileting on their own?

Toys in the toilet

Zoe has always enjoyed wandering down the short hallway to the laundry, from where she can sometimes see Harry the dog. If there's a basket of pegs or washing there, she'll happily play for a few minutes. I had made a point of keeping the adjacent toilet door closed, occasionally leaving the bathroom door open if the shower screen is pulled across. So I am a little surprised that twice in the last two days I have fished toys out of the toilet bowl. It was clever and funny the first time [she opens and closes the lid]. Amusing the second. But I think now it is time for a sign on the door to remind Dad/visitors of Zoe's new game.

Mmmm. Cake

We had a lovely party on Sunday afternoon for Zoe's first birthday, by the water at Shaws Bay. While it was all a bit lost on Zoe, she did appreciate her first piece of birthday cake and seemed amused by the other kids and babies that were there. This included Jessie and Duncan, Ella and Myia, Ezra and Tallulah and Jake. Wow, from the noise it seemed like there were more than that! Aunty Bev and Uncle Jim came down from Byron too, which made it extra special.

Since it was a first birthday, I made the cake from scratch, including hand beating the cake and icing. Only because I couldn't find the electric beaters. I bought the decorations. We had originally forgotten the cake, remembering only when we went back for Ewan's sunglasses. Oops. Have to say I thoroughly recommend the party in the park option, which we did thinking our backyard was too small and messy for that number of kids.

Climbing

Now that walking is second nature - we can manage most surfaces and even inclines - Zoe has turned her attention to climbing into, over and on to toys and furniture. Mummy has turned her attention to showing Zoe how to climb down. She is starting to get the hang of that one too.

Another cute photo attached [well, I think so] of Zoe chewing on an apple. It was very cold and juicy so very nice on the gums. I know it is a potential choking hazard, but I've been breaking lots of rules for several months - peanut butter, home made pesto with cashew pieces today, egg white. Geez, I might even spread some honey on her toast in the morning. The food 'rules' for bubs are as bad as they are in pregnancy. Anyhow, if she had managed to break a piece of apple off, I don't know what I would have done, except that I am getting skilled in fishing bits and pieces of non-edibles out of her mouth with my fingers.

Meat

I put aside my aversion to handling minced meat and attempted to make little meatballs for Zoe last night. Ergh! From mixing the egg and grated carrot through with my hands, to frying the little buggers in oil, the whole process was not only messy, but challenging to all my senses. Although I managed to get cute little balls of cooked-through meat, they were black on the outside and appeared most unappetising. Think I'll stick to the lentils, beans and fish-as-protein approach that I've been following, and Zoe can wait until she can have barbeque'd meat cooked by Dad.