a bundle of mischief!

When going through the photos I spotted lots of 'bits and pieces' photos of Alice that are not of any special event but just Alice being Alice. So here they are, random dates but with one thing in common- they show what a bundle of mischief our little girl is (and that's why we love her!) "What do you mean mummy? This isn't how I play on my mat?"

The Dipples on holiday!

We decided to have a really cheap holiday this summer...a week in a holiday let in Dorset (our house!!!) Luckily for us we live in a county that people choose to spend their holiday so there is loads to do. Toby and I sat up one evening and planned all the day trips we wanted to do (mostly free) and I prepared our holiday let with clean sheets and towels! Here's a colletion of photos from our hols. How lucky were we with the weather- blue skies and between 21 and 28 degrees c all week! The day after our holiday the temperature plummeted to 17 degrees and it rained all day.

We took the backpack and dog and hiked on Portland. Here we are enjoying the views across Weymouth and the Jurrasic coastline (apart from Alice!)
An exhausted dog crashes out on the lounge floor.
We headed to Bridport and the nearby seaside places of West bay and Burton Bradstock. It was great visiting old haunts, full of lovely memories. Toby proposed to me under the cliffs in this photo.

Hollie and Jay joined us for a lovely day at Upton country park. It was hot hot hot so after looking at the flowers we headed to some shade for a tasty picnic. Alice went off exploring! and thought the many ducklings on the pond were fab.

Do I have food round my mouth?

Happy Birthday mummy...As a special treat for my birthday and, because we love it there, we headed for the pretty seaside town of Swanage. Another picnic and paddle in the sea. Afterwards we headed to chococo, a delightful shop and cafe selling handmade chocolates and serving the best deserts around. Highly recommended!!

Are you smiling Alice?

All too much for little one

On our final day we headed to Cerne Abbas and the famous 'Giant' on the hill. With Alice in the backpack we decided to climb the very steep hill to the top of the giant. It was worth it, the views of the Dorset downs were amazing .

Lovely tea and cake in the tearoom gardens- Otto enjoyed his stick!

9 months crawler

Alice turned 9 months today. She is now a big handful of wriggles and can not sit still for a minute. I love her to bits but she is exhausting!! Here are a few videos of her and what she's been up to. You will see how affectionate otto and Alice are to each other!

Alice in April

April has been a busy month for Alice. Lots of car journeys, visiting people and seeing animals- enjoy!

In nanny and grandad's garden with daddy and cousin Mairead.

Mummy and Alice at Moreton gardens

Saying hello to donkey. If I could zoom in, then you would see she was laughing.

At Monkey World, daddy's work, looking at the monkeys. Alice loved the lemurs, capuchins and chimps. I'm sure she will enjoy lots more visits!

We had a fantastic couple of days near Sudbury with our wonderful friends Kim and Chris from South Africa. Although we haven't seen them since we visited them in SA 2 years ago, it was like we had only seen them yesterday. Alice adored them and enjoyed cuddles with Kim. Ok, I think we're all in the shot this time!

Outside the church at Dedham- lovely warm April weather in England!!

Memories of SA-

Emily: "Ok boys, this is what I want you to do. Point at the church and look natural!"
(Both very obliging!)

not another photo shoot!

We adore our little girl and love to capture her cheekiness in photos. Here is a small collection of the many photos we've been taking. Casual look for the spring
"Now mummy, let me take one of you"

"Are you sure this hat suits me mummy?"

Alice does pretty florals "Look mummy, my feet!"

"No no mummy, I think the best angle is with me on my tummy!"

Who does she take after??

Alice at 7 months old

mummy at 18 months old

Lots of people ask who Alice takes after and comment that shes a "little Toby". I agree but I like to think there's a bit of me in there somewhere! I thought I would post this photo of me at 18 months. What do you think??

solids all the way

It's been a while since I last posted some pictures on the blog. This is because suddenly Alice is in to everything and there is little time to spare! Right now she is on her play mat surrounded by toys but none of them are half as interesting as the board game boxes near by. It's amazing how far you can travel by rolling! So Alice is 7 months old and on 3 solid meals a day. She is happy to eat anywhere- tea rooms, by the river or cricket pitch...even in the services on the M3! Meal times are a happy affair with lots of mess. Oh and Otto likes this new aspect of Alice's day, particulary the finger food delights on the kitchen floor. Yummy- toast for breakfast

In Sudbury, having a picnic

On the picnic table

mummy- you do know where my mouth is?

A family breakfast in the lounge