It's been a while. Sorry.
But I think we're over the hump now. The Good Man vanished on a business trip to Athens two weeks after Thumper's arrival, which coincided perfectly with my baby blues meltdown. Fortunately, the fine ladies of Virginia nursed me back to fine spirits and I have been truly enjoying my littlest bundle. As fortune would have it, so is her big sister. I was worried that Bambi might get jealous of the redirection of attention and plot cunning methods to take it out on her sister. But no. Her frustrations have been more accurately directed at me. And I agree with her. Nursing a newborn takes too damn long.
Another big event while the Good Man was away was Halloween. Whoever thought of combining the joint pleasures of dressing up and getting loads of candy was clearly a marketing genius. It's all great fun but wow! can it all add up. Gravestones in the flower beds, ghosts hanging from the trees, outfits from Disney store and, of course, large volumes of candy ('cos who wants to be the sap who runs out...?) and the monthly budget is flattened. Given my postpartum state I got away with minimal decor - one plastic Jack-o-lantern and a pumpkin decorated with stickers and mauled by the neighbourhood squirrels. Sad, but true...
And I couldn't quite face trick or treating with Bambi which turned into a complete bonus for her as she scored two invites out with other families - one early and one late - and, therefore, scored twice the candy. We've been trickle feeding her the spoils and still have a few mini packs of M&Ms to go. She dressed as Princess Aurora (Sleeping Beauty to those who have not been immersed in Disney Princess) and looked gorgeous as can be seen from the picture above.
And then came her birthday. Yes, I can hardly believe it myself, but Bambi is four! So we rolled out the princess outfit again (with the cost of the thing I had considered sending her to school in it too - but the weather had turned...) and invited 20 under fives around for two hours. To ease the pressure on ourselves we hired an entertainer - known as The Great Zucchini officially, and the Magnificent Marrow in our house - to officiate. Best exorbitant sum ever spent in my book. He had them roaring with laughter and completely happy for over an hour, after which we fed 'em, sugared 'em and shipped 'em home for their parents to deal with. He he he!
Thumper slept through the whole thing, which means she could probably sleep through a Stones concert or a major tornado. Or both. Simultaneously. Good to know!
