Said Grandma Hartley on our recent visit south when I said I would have to do another LONG OVERDUE post.

Anyway, no cunning way of excusing our absence but we had a great time south with family and have added some photos in an album. Emilie also enjoyed being 1 and spending some time with family ( and cake!) photos of this too.

so sorry we’ve been lying low.

Life is busy with work and home and just life really. I don’t know where the time goes. Emilie is going strength to strength and even trying to stand. movement is still all backwards but she’s very happy with herself for being able to move at all.

she is still a chatty and content little girl.

There are SO many things that have happened but a highlight was Grandma’s visit in August ( see Gallery)

we’ll try and get more on track but meanwhile you can content yourselves with Emilie 6-9 months and Mum’s visit.

Michael and Emilie outside Ennerdale Hostel

Well it’s been glorious in Orkney for weeks now. It appears to becoming a bit of a trend that it gets wet south and we escape completely. Farmers are running out of space to put grass and the Orkney tan is giving the Med a run for its money.

There have been changes and challenges afoot in the Frier household.

Miriam has a new job in Stromness, working on the Heritage Lottery funded project in the conservation area. Good news especially having written the bid, she knows all about it! She works two days one week and three the next and on days that the childminder picks up Emilie enjoys walking to work.

Emilie is now with a new childminder but is settling well and seems happy.

Michael is busy working putting up an extension for someone in Twatt ( yes it really is called that!) and enjoying sunny days although the work is hard.

We took the opportunity to go away before all our new jobs started and went down the west coast of Scotland, down to the lakes to probably the best youth hostel in the world in Ennerdale and on to family in Cornwall and up to Devon.

Polzeath Nr Padstow

The trip culminated in a weekend in Bewdley as part of celebrating Dad ( Mr Hartley’s) 70th birthday year with Mum and Dad, Rachel and Gordon and us. we took the opportunity to catch up on Auntie’s knee measurement

Look how big I am Auntie Rachel!

More photos can be found under pages summer holidays 2009 as I don’t have a scooby how to hyperlink them!

Enjoy !

The lovely weather has been continuing amidst showers which has been fantastic growing weather for vegetables and Emilie!

She seem to be growing and changing every day and is learning new things every hour ( or so it seems!) she is now wanting to stand and is learning to walk ( on Daddy’s feet). She also seems to have hollow legs and is eating loads and consequently putting on lots of inches in her height. What we need is an auntie’s knee measurement at a time like this.

We went out to Hoy at the weekend in glorious sunshine and although Emilie chose NOT to sleep on Saturday night, we still all enjoyed the sunny weather at Rackwick on Sunday. Emilie was a little unsure when her feet disappeared in sand but seemed relieved when they reappeared again a moment later.

Here are some recent shots.

Life seems to have dashed by in the last few weeks but in the interim two family babies have arrived so it’s welcome to Miles Edward and Toby James. 

Meanwhile, life in Orkney has been busy and tiring but we’ve been enjoying the sunshine which has been great. Emilie has been coming on a pace too and is enjoying sitting up and playing with her toys which has made her very pleased with herself. She is such a good girl who happily occupies herself for ages with a label or a stacking pot.

When the weather was particularly amazing a couple of weeks ago we took Emilie out in the backpack to “take the air”! 

The weather has had a cracking effect on the veg which are all coming up and haven’t even been nibbled by peter rabbit yet. 

All these things are below and you can see how much Emilie is growing. She is enjoying reading the Gruffalo as you can see and is developing her cheeky smile. She now has a bouncer which she completely loves and is forever dancing around on tippie toes. 

There has also been a strange event happening in Orkney recently where we’ve all been growing bubbles. it’s quite the thing to help your hair when you clean!

Whoops! how did that happen?  It’s been so long since we posted and Emilie is practically at school. Sorry about that.  A quick low down has been mum and dad visited us in April 2009. We had a great time together and lots of cuddles with Emilie. We also all went out to North Ronaldsay to celebrate Mrs H’s birthday. North Ron is renowned for its sheep that live on the sea shore and eat seaweed and also its lighthouse that we all went up.    Images can be seen in the gallery under grandma and grandad’s visit.    Here is a lovely family shot to be going on with. 

After Mum and Dad left, Michael went over to the mainland for a chocolate run to Durness with the Boys. Here he is leaving on the back of Ian’s bike. They had a great day out. 

You can see that Emilie has been busy growing. she is loving sitting in her doughnut now and food is taken on with great relish. Here are some of the most recent shots including some with her most recent pressie from Grandma, some stacking pots. she loves them. Thank you .

  We have also invested in a back pack. You can see Fiona and I getting battered by the wind on Skaill beach a couple of weeks ago      Our latest event has been going to Eday this weekend to Naomi and Russell’s wedding. Again there is a whole gallery but here are some photos of the day and of Emilie and Dorothy. Dorothy came out just 10 days before Emilie. They had a lovely time together. It was really windy on the wedding day but fabulously sunny. Naomi and Russell had decorated the byre and we had a super doo there in the evening. Michael and I had taken a chocolate fountain but sadly too much draught meant the chocolate ceased flowing. only after the children had had a really good dip though.

Ok, so check out: 

Naomi and Russell’s wedding, Grandma and Grandad’s visit and Emilie 3-6 months

True in many senses today and yesterday.. initially we had the most beautiful sunset followed by a spectacular day today.. maybe a taste of the summer to come.. we hope so.. it spurred me on to give the grass its first cut and get all the washing out.. 

This however is small potatoes when followed by Emilie Fiona having her first solid meal today.. She yummed up her avocado and took to eating off a spoon with NO problems at all.. She was VERY pleased with herself.. Photos courtesy of Dad… Well done Michael . 

Emilie loves her bath towel! here is the latest peek a boo photo

peek a boo - I see you

Well not US as a family , … but I heard today that Stromness has been awarded the £1.44 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund for the Townscape heritage Initiative. This may not mean much, but it is what I’ve been working on for the past two years and caused considerable stress at 8 months pregnant! It’s cracking news for Stromness and makes all those sleepless nights worthwhile. 

We just need to bag the rest of the money now as the scheme will cost about £4million but the good news is most of that is committed now. 

I hope now to fulfill my cunning plan to work in Stomness and bag one of the jobs on the scheme so I can work down the road but there may be some tough competition. we shall have to see…..

Finally Emilie is happy to be on her tummy! most probably because everything is fascinating now and she can pick up and hold thing for ages. Here she is playing with her lovely soft cuddly doo doo that my cousin Pam gave her.  She is sporting olive oil which gives her quite the slicked back look. She likes Dad’s face too. 

Emilie is also happy in her bumbo now and will sit with us at the table and also watch me cook quite happily. She continues to be chirpy and has a new curlew like sound in her register that she practised all through church on Sunday. Well done that singing girl!

A whole new world has been opened up for me with the new camera. It is never far from my side and I think Emilie must think that mum has grown a whole new dalek  feature. Here are some shots of our house and the rhubarb which is coming on nicely! and the Hamnavoe coming into Stromness.