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It's a tad tricky to take photos of a busy, busy toddler when you're perched on the kerb of two major roads. I ran interference more than I took photos, that's for sure. But for about 1/500ths of a second Ted was happy to sit there.He quite likes a stoop. And he quite likes to hang out stoop-wise. It's just he needs to do it on his own agenda, none of this requesting stuff will be tolerated for too long.

And then, before you know it - the photo shoot is over.


All over Newtown there are these guerilla knitting pole covers. They're so beautiful and some of them are incredibly soft. I sort of don't see them anymore though, because I frequent the spots where they are quite often.

Harry pulled me up on it today. "What are these for, Mama?". When I told her people knitted them just to make the area look beautiful she was intrigued. It's just the sort of thing I can imagine her doing when she's older. She even volunteered to be photographed next to it!

Today it was really tricky to choose a photo. We were at the pool early for Harry's intensive classes that go all this week at 9am (gee it seems like a good idea at the time to book them early...). Then it was a fun splash about and home for Ted's sleep.

I read Harriet The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen (not the Disney one) and she was so, so sad by the end she was gripping on to my sleeve and sobbing into my arm. Bless her little sensitive heart, but mind you it *is* a tragic story.

Then I convinced her to go to Alfalfa House (our food co-op) and I thought I might do a companion shot to the one I took last year. However with an adventurous toddler in tow in a shop that houses many little lids that open and allow you to plunge your chubby little hand directly into some tactile grains...welll....let's just say that photography was a bit of a side event.

I eventually emerged and decided to see if I could manage a mini-shoot down the side with the two of them. Harriet was being particularly grown up today. She even *asked* to be in a photo that I was taking of some guerilla knitting (see it in my stream if you like). AND she smiled! But mostly it was just to do with her general nature of co-operation and generosity. Little things like volunteering to carry one of the litre jars of milk back to the car (and they weren't even for us, they were for a friend), they were signs.

However it was really more the things she *didn't* do. She didn't lose it when she asked for something and it was refused. She even stayed in a good mood! She didn't get worried when Ted was wandering around trying to open lids of things. She didn't cry when I suggested we walk all the way back down to the shop when we'd reached out car because a friend had asked if we could buy her some milk.

She's getting older too. It's a little trickier to notice on a daily basis than it is with Ted. There are no giant leaps and no developmental milestones to mark off. But it's there, quietly making its mark in hundreds of small ways. Reminding me she is only a gift for a short time. She's not mine, she is always her own.

Oh my , how my heart broke into about a million pieces of pure love today. I seriously almost cried.

We were in a cafe. Harriet has said she didn't want to go straight home and I thought I'd brave the concept of sitting in a cafe with Ted the Tearaway (he loves running off at the moment, especially when he's tired, god help my blood pressure).

Anyway, I ordered a hot chocolate for each of us and for Ted I ordered his first ever babycino. Harriet was so incredible wonderful. When it arrived she said to Ted in the most gently voice "Teddy, LOOK! This is YOUR hot chocolate! Yes, a hot chocolate just for YOU!". And then gave me the most uncoordinated, obvious-to-all wink. And then another one. And it was divine. So, so special. We were sharing one of our first adult moments together. We were the two who knew a certain reality and Ted was blissfully unaware.

Oh my. This was almost my PAD but I think it's almost too special to me. This was taken about ten seconds after we shared the moment. It means so much to me.