I have a confession I love doilies, I know, I know, how Little old lady of me. Mostly I just look at them, take them for a little walk around the shop then put them back (I’m not sure if other members of this family enjoy having them around quite as much as me) But I just couldn’t put this cute little guy back. Maybe It’s my British heritage, maybe it was because I couldn’t stop smiling at how happy that little drumming man looks but mostly I think it is because I know that some unknown hands of the past held needle and thread between their fingers and added all those tiny crosses all those tiny dashes because they were inspired to, because they wanted to make a plain piece of material special. Thank you unknown hands.

I also found a wooden high chair. I have been wanting one for ages I find the plastic ones so hard to clean, and well, who really wants a giant blob of white plastic right in the middle of their kitchen.  This guy was a mess when I found him he looked like he’d never been oiled, was all gray and dirty. I really wish I’d taken a before shot, but I didn’t. I honestly thought he’d have to be sanded and re-varnished before he looked any good.

So instead of a before shot you are going to have to make do with a baby shot instead, I hope you don’t mind. Of course the little high chair matches perfectly with the furniture in the kitchen that we are about to get rid and not at all with the furniture we currently have on lay buy. I wonder if I should stain it ??? or just leave it as a contrast??? what do you think?? the new furniture is a very dark brown. Oooh look at all those question marks, can you tell I’m in a dilemma?? Ahh there I go again.

Anyway were was I. That’s right words!! well babble. On Sunday Sabi said…..Drum roll please…."Uh Oh".

Impressive hey, but she means it and says it a lot, mostly when ever she see’s one of her siblings headed her way. Like she knows there’s going to be trouble, "Uh Oh" fairly ominous first words, I hope this isn’t one of those premonition type things.

But much more impressive than that and just in time for fathers day Sabi said "Mama"!!! Yay!! sorry Glenn. She started last night with "Um mar" and I’m thinking oh no this child is already a little dobber, but thankfully she managed to rearrange the syllables.

Of course now that I have said this you just know what is going to happen. Mum is going to spend the whole of her next visit sing songing "Uh Oh" and "Mama" at her and Sabi is going to sit there starring blankly as tight lipped as a mafia hit man under interrogation.

*reference to Miss Bates from the Gwyneth Paltrow Emma, pretty bad movie but we watch it all the same.

I heard silence from the baby for a little longer than I was expecting so I went of in search of her. Apparently along with learning how to stand Sabrina bean has perfected a new talent. Opening cupboard doors.

This is how I found her munching away at the two minute noodles (very handy for making pretend laksa)

And this is when I realised that we might be needing to find a new spot for all our fermented substances or else we’ll end up with a daughter in rehab before her first birthday.

So far she hasn’t actually broken anything yet, which is a pretty good run for a member of this family. When Lani was going through this stage we were living gypsy style in a wooden yurt at the back or my parents’ house with a bucket for a sink. Maybe it was because we were lacking in cupboard space, or maybe we were naive new parents or maybe we were just dumb, but we decided to store our most favourite set of really cool hand painted bowls in the bottom cupboard.

These bowls were a wedding present and one of only a few that weren’t boxed dinners sets or towels. There was one massive bowl that I think we used once for a salad and 6 pretty big sized soup bowls and they were neatly stacked inside each other. I remember watching Lani crawl over to the cupboard, sit and then attempt to slot her fingers into the gap between the doors. With only a few failed attempts she gave up on that approach and moved on to the bottom of the door. She pressed her pudgy palms flat up against the bottom of the door then began to slid them back towards her body the edge of the door catching in the hills and valleys of her new little hands.  I remember congratulating my tiny daughter on her ingenuity as the door swung open. I realised to late that this may not be the best activity I could be allowing my child to do. I realised as she wrapped those innocent little baby fingers around the lip of the biggest bowl and pulled. I grabbed for them, I tried but just as my fingers came close to touching the top bowl they slid from their shelf. They didn’t fall too far, it was only about 5cm to the floor, but that was enough. The large bowl cracked in half and the resulting aftershock caused a wave of destruction back up through the pile leaving only the top bowl unscathed.  I was in utter disbelief, I mean these bowls were heavy, this baby had some strength.

After the initial panic that the baby has split open her hands, or had shards of crockery in her eye, I started to wonder if Glenn was going to turn out to be the sort of husband that got really annoyed when his belongings end up smashed to smithereens on the kitchen floor. But thankfully God in his infinite wisdom sent me one who gets over things quickly.

Apparently I wasn’t fast enough with the handing out of the tiny pieces of avocardoey bread . Sabi decided she could do a better job her self.

  This is the second time Sabi has pulled herself up to standing. The other time was a few nights ago as Glenn and I were getting ready to crawl into bed after staying up way to late trying to get everything done that needs to be done when you have 4 kids and a house in desperate need of new walls( found it hard to take a breath then? try living it).Sabi had gotten it into her head that that time of night was just about as good as any to unravel herself throw back her baby fuzz and dance the night away.

Glenn and I were sitting on our bed desperately wanting to be buried under the covers snoring our heads off. But instead we were sitting there watching our bright eyed baby bash a large spotted leopard over the head with her favourite book, Jesus loves me. Then she did it, curled her Botticelli cherub fingers over the rail and pulled herself up, and boy did she think she was clever. Bubbling over with pride I dart a look at Glenn and the look on his face says, "Clever yeah, but does it sleep?"

So because I haven’t yet taken to sleeping curled up with my camera I failed as a parent and missed recording the first moment she stood.

But I did catch the first moment she lost her grip and fell on her butt.