Day 4: what they wear

Mummy's things

Day 2: how they look

Like a fairy...most days.

Day 1: what they do

Play

Happy Australia Day

Enjoy your day. x

Bobbing

Ok, I'm going to keep this brief.

She used to have hair like this:

Now she has hair like this:

A choppy scissors incident led to an angry mum finding the shortest piece of hair and cutting straight across...into a bob. And so it is that my child now has short hair.

S is no longer allowed to cut and paste at home. Mum will keep in mind that leaving the room to get something is apparently not ok... x

Still celebrating 4

Before we spontaneously left for a weeks holiday I had allowed S to peruse the Women's Weekly Kids' Birthday Cakes cookbook. She'd chosen a ladybird cake for her birthday. Immediately my head was filled with a ladybird themed party, the ideas were flowing thick and fast until I sternly reminded myself that we were just having a quiet family birthday for her fourth.

So we made a fuss of her while we were away...but the previous promise of a ladybird cake haunted S and she'd ask me daily when we returned home if I could make her one.

After a week of nagging asking me about this cake I decided it was the perfect way to spend a day. She could make the cake and decorate it. That should take up hours of these school holiday days, right? Right.

With the littlest help from me, this independent four year old made and decorated her ladybird cake. How proud does she look? When it was all finished I called our next door neighbour and had Emma (5 yrs) come in to share it with us.

Needless to say S was wrapped. I was happy she had a friend to play with while I returned to the bomb site kitchen and got stuck into the clean up without a helper. x



S & Emma with sticky fingers after demolishing their piece of cake



Quatro

Sienna turned four while we were away. Since we were camping I didn't have an oven to make her a cake (the cake ritual is her favourite part) so we made sure we made a fuss of her in other ways.

Presents as soon as she woke up, from us and other family members. A cafe breakfast of blueberry pancakes with maple syrup. A play in the park and then an hour at a beachside childrens activity stand. A helium balloon. An ice-cream in a cone. A swim at the beach. Fish and chips in town for dinner.

Spoiled, no?

To top it off, when we got home from dinner an old family friend staying at the park had heard we didn't have a cake for S and he'd made one for her in his caravan. Chocolate cake with chocolate icing. 4 candles on top. We were so touched.

So yes, definitely spoiled and so well deserved.

Happy birthday to my beautiful S. You're growing in front of my eyes with each passing week. I just hope its fast enough for you...you want to be so big so quickly. x

Christmas Lights

So excited in her car seat about to leave...in her pj's.

I took S out tonight to see Christmas lights for the very first time. She was the perfect age to go. The excitement of waiting up until it neared darkness. Knowing that her little sister was tucked up fast asleep as we "snuck" out of the house and drove out of the driveway towards our little adventure.

As we approached the street that I planned to visit she could see houses lit up along the way. All I could hear were exclamations of happiness from the back seat. I had the biggest grin on my face and a lump in my throat as she said "Look mum! A Santa on the roof", "oh mummy, thank you, thank you for bringing me to see the lights", "those lights...they're so...so...gracious!" (I have no idea where she gets this stuff from, but I love it).

The pictures tell the rest. Definitely worth the drive and a great lead up to Christmas. Something we'll be doing again next year. x

No more dummy

She must have been ready. I told her I had a surprise for her in the morning if she went to bed without a dummy.

One catch though (isn't there always?) - you can't have the dummy back. It's gone for good.

And just like that S ditched the dummy for her surprise and was wrapped with it when she woke up this morning (at 6.30am). Mum's pretty impressed too! Unbelievably painless. x

Second chance

These pics will be going into the grandparents Christmas cards. Hope they like them. I broke out in a sweat getting them. A couple of nice ones out of over a hundred shots people...

Thanks Nonna for your help. x

A blooper...but so cute.

If at first you don't succeed...

This was my first attempt at getting a festive pic of S to go in the grandparents Christmas cards. Is was asleep and S was surprisingly compliant about putting on a pretty dress and letting me do her hair. It seemed like it was going to be easy...

The actual "photo shoot"? She wasn't that interested from the start. It's not as easy as photographers make it look. Right facial expression, bad light. Great light, she's won't look. Subject will. not. stand. still. Subject is 3 and is having way too much fun mucking around. Subject is bored and is leaving the room.

Lets just say there'll be a second attempt once I gather more courage. x

Vases

Since spring we have been breeding vases with flower heads precariously sitting on top.

I've tried explaining to S the virtues of enjoying the flowers in the garden, where they're happiest.

I've even gone the route of asking that if she must pick the flowers, perhaps pulling further down their stem would be best so I don't have to fill the vases to the top just so the poor, wilted flower head can drink some water. There has been limited success with this notion.

Either way, you're pretty much guaranteed around our house that there will be little vases of flowers striving to bloom after being plucked, played with and eventually brought inside to live out what life they may have left in them.

Bless her. x

Advent

Here we are at December already...yikes!

Just as I was talking myself into being ok that I completely forgot to make an advent calendar like I'd planned to...I stumbled upon this post (yes, Tracey saved the day again), directing me to this freebie.

A paper advent calendar. Fancy paper bags, no less. I was beyond chuffed and motivated to give it a go, even if it was last minute.

So, while S was at kinder for too two brief hours, I printed off, cut out and hung the first 10 days on our fireplace. Instead of a chocolate every day I planned on writing little notes that outlined little activities we could do every day, getting us ready for Christmas. 

When I arrived at kinder to pick S up I was all excited that I'd made the beginnings of the calendar in the nick of time. All prepared to show her a little surprise when she got home, S pipped me at the post and had a little surprise of her own for me...in the form of a pale face, a towel and a bucket.

Fast forward to her lying on the couch (in front of the fireplace) after emptying the contents of her stomach in the car...without any interest in my pride and joy advent calendar hanging there awaiting her attention.

By 5.30pm I'd long since  given up on the notion that we'd be implementing today's activity - putting up the Christmas tree. But alas - ever the unpredictable 3 year old - she rallied, expressed interest, read the note and was dancing around me as I was putting the tree together getting both of us caught up in the string of beads she was wrapping around us.

By 5.45pm she'd lost interest and I continued until 8pm when at last it was completed.

And so it was that the celebration of Advent for this year had begun. x

The Shadow

Just two things to share today:

1.

S has a shadow. Wherever she goes, Is finds a way to be there too. It's adorable to watch. You should see the look of triumph on her face when she finally gets to where S is, pulls herself up to a standing position so she can see what's going on and then looks around for me with such a happy face. Thankfully S is mostly oblivious, or extremely patient with her shadow. No telling Is to "buzz off!" just yet.

2.

I ordered a few stocking fillers and little gifts from The Tribe store. An online store with reasonably priced and great gifts for kids and mums to be.

Today I gave S the soy pebble crayons. They come in a velour pouch and when she tipped them out they created a rainbow of colour on the table. Her little hands just couldn't resist picking them up to start drawing or counting.

Looks like they were a hit...but something that Shadows aren't welcome to share just yet.

Staying present

Today's date has significance for me - my dad died on this date. I can honestly say it's not front of mind for me anymore. I actually realised the date once I downloaded the pics I took of my girls. It passed unnoticed until then.

If he was here today he'd get to meet these girls of mine. How could you not die all over again from the cuteness of those butts? Excuse the pun but seriously - who wouldn't?

Incidently, this was the first time Is has stood up at the bath. She's getting so big! x

Getting into the swing...

...of spring. Starting with a spring fair. Hurstbridge put on a show.

Fun was had by all.