Sunny Mummy

2011-07-05T20:10:00.000+10:00

Here's what I've been up to since my last post:-

Face Painted

I Planted These...

Using This Tomato Planter Bag

And Here's The Result


The Other Side

And This Beautiful Black Russian Tomato Plant

Filling in the Gaps

2011-07-05T19:51:00.000+10:00

Some favourite "Dakota" moments from the last couple of months:-


A Friend's Birthday Party

Our Little Ballerina

Sharing the Love

Chillin' with a Friend

Visiting the Tigers at Australia Zoo

Meeting a Possum

Proof She Does Sleep

At the Nambour Show

On the Ferris Wheel

Our Little Princess

At Aussie World

Sand Pictures

Dakota with "Bruno" (from Preschool)

At the Park with "Bruno"

Preschool Excursion - Ambulance

Preschool Excursion - Fire Station

Remembering the Reason

2011-04-24T21:26:00.000+10:00

When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!” - Matthew 27

The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. - Matthew 28

A Special Easter Present

2011-04-24T20:47:00.001+10:00

At a time when children usually receive far too much chocolate, our 4 year old received an Easter gift of a different sort this year.

Beautiful Tiny Speckled Quail Eggs

Brekkie on Easter Sunday

She still received her fair share of eggs of the chocolate variety. This year we had an egg hunt in our back yard for a bit of fun.

The Anticipation

Found One

Here's Another

Counting the Spoils

Our Happy Girl

Now to ration them...

Trip to the Dairy

2011-04-24T20:26:00.000+10:00

On Saturday we did a tour of the Maleny Dairy.

Riding An Old Tractor

Posing for the Camera

A Very Cute Resident

Frisky Fella

Cheeky Goat

Milking the Cows

Patting a Cow

Having a Play

Feeding a Goat

Dakota LOVED it - especially feeding the baby animals. Great family day out!

Daddy's Little Helper

2011-04-24T19:50:00.000+10:00

The Bunny Brigade

2011-04-13T17:25:00.000+10:00

It was the last day of term yesterday at preschool. The teachers had been hard at work readying the children for a visit from the "Easter Bunny". The kids had all made special hats with bunny ears, and each one had a nose and whiskers painted onto their face. The "Bunny" had snuck into the garden and hidden the eggs while the children were inside.

They were ready - and the doors opened...

Out came hopping (literally) a class full of beautiful 4 year old bunnies all very eager to find the hidden eggs.

In the end a happy group of bunnies - each with their own egg to devour.

They've Hatched

2011-04-13T17:01:00.000+10:00

The preschool have chicks at the moment. They hatched from their eggs last week (in an incubator) and I happened to be there at the time of the first hatching - pretty amazing!

Anyhow, this week they are already SO much bigger and the kiddies got to have a little hold.

It was a great experience for the kids - pretty sure the chickens didn't feel the same way. They were trembling with fear by the time they were returned to their nice warm box.

The Process and End Result

2011-04-10T18:39:00.012+10:00

The potting was a long and dirty process and she completely LOVED it.

We had a constant supervisor.

We planted Sunflowers, Rainbow Silverbeet, Beetroot, Carrots, Spring Onions, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Italian Parsley, Button Squash, and French Beans.

This is the end result.

And finally, we bought a Viola and a Cactus, and for our little furry friend, a small pot of Cat Grass.

Very satisfying - looking forward to seeing some great results.

Before

2011-04-10T17:46:00.006+10:00

We only have a small backyard so our gardening potential has always been limited. Until now, we have had a small number of potted plants - some tomatoes, chillis, a few herbs and more recently eggplant and capsicum plants.

After watching the DVD mentioned in my last post, Little Miss D was very excited about doing some gardening so we headed off to the shops to stock up on supplies. Check out the next post for the during and after photos.

The Inspiration

2011-04-10T13:24:00.003+10:00

So I found this great kids gardening DVD from our local library created by Gardening Australia. When I put it on yesterday, I was really only thinking it would provide some educational information for our daughter but it provided much more...

Barbie Party

2011-04-10T13:21:00.003+10:00

The Barbies (and Ken) are currently set up in our lounge room, all wearing their evening apparel. According to little miss D, they are having a party!

My Beautiful Funny Girl

2011-04-10T13:11:00.006+10:00

"Mummy do you want to see my funny face?"

Lately when I pull the camera out, she jumps in front and this is what I end up with... full of energy, my funny girl.

On a rare occasion, I manage to capture something like this.... relaxed and natural, my beautiful girl.

My beautiful funny child - what a treasure she is!

Craft Time

2011-04-10T12:45:00.008+10:00

Our daughter just loves doing craft (of any kind) but especially of late she seems to want to do it ALL the time. Paper and colouring pencils are never far away and she has become very interested in cutting and pasting. I'm really enjoying this stage of her development - her creativity is just exploding!

Here are some of last week's activities...

It's Raining, It's Pouring....

2011-03-30T16:15:00.012+10:00

So the weather is pretty poor (again) on the SUNSHINE Coast (ha!). Here's a little of what we do on rainy days...

My girl is very keen to "type" on my computer - blank word document - just random typing.

Cubby houses are all the rage at our place at the moment. This one's been up in our dining room for a few days now (complete with bongos) - we did have a Barbie convention in there on the first day. All of them were dressed in their evening gowns going off to the "ball" and each were named one of the Disney Princess names (ie. Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, etc.).

And then there's the "tent" in the play room.

A while ago, she started "collecting" envelopes and putting little treasures inside (usually pictures she has drawn or photos), and so now she has a trolley full. Today she started putting heart shaped post-it notes on the front of each one and she's deciding who we are going to "post" them to...

What's a rainy day without some popcorn?!

And drawing, colouring, drawing, colouring - non stop at the moment in this house. It's great to see her artistic flair coming out.

This is a painting she did a few days ago (when it wasn't raining). She surprised me completely by painting flowers. It was the first time she's attempted them in any form, and I think they look pretty good!

Preschool

2011-03-29T20:16:00.005+10:00

Our daughter LOVES preschool! She's very sociable and also extremely keen to learn. Here she is enjoying some play time.

Her class has been planting seeds (flowers, herbs and veges) in their patch of garden and one of the kids decided there should be a scarecrow to keep watch over it. They did a pretty good job! She even has a bangle and necklace.

Ballerina Girl

2011-03-29T20:00:00.003+10:00

Our 4 year old has been pestering us for the last year - "When call I do ballet?"

So today, she did a "trial lesson" which of course she LOVED! And as an added bonus, her little bestie from last year's kindy was in the same class. Next term she will start going once a week.

I guess practising dance steps with Angelina (Ballerina) will finally come in handy.

Here's some photos taken before her lesson. Very exciting! And so a new phase begins...

Still Here

2011-03-27T19:35:00.003+10:00

OK so I know it's been a very long time since I blogged, but I am working on getting back into it.

Now that our beautiful daughter is a little older and has begun preschool, I have started trying to organise myself and my home (HA!). Anyhow, in doing this, I'm hoping to once again be inspired to blog, dust off the camera and begin taking photos of everyday life.

Stay tuned... In the meantime, here's a photo of my big girl's first day at preschool.

A Precious Moment

2010-06-05T17:50:00.003+10:00

I overheard our 3 1/2 year old daughter say this prayer the other day, while in the midst of her playtime...

"Thank you Jesus that there's no lions or tigers in our house and that you don't let them in. Amen."

Out and About

2010-06-02T16:57:00.010+10:00

Monday I decided we needed to get out of the house for a while so after a trip to the library to swap over some books, we headed to a nearby park to have a picnic lunch and play.

By chance, we met up with some friends which made the time even more enjoyable. While there, we heard the constant beating of drums which we soon discovered was due to a couple of people practising (presumably for a gig) on a jetty at the other end of the park. They had varying sorts of tribal drums.

On approach, my daughter began dancing with all her might to the beat. There was no accompanying music, just purely the beat, and she just loved it!

Must be the fact that drumming is in our family has something to do with the delight she took in dancing around to the beat - my dad and my husband have been drummers in the past and my brother does regular gigs with his drumming. Mmmm... Maybe drumming lessons OR dancing lessons might be in the future.

Today was an Underwater World day. We have annual passes so we tend to visit every few weeks or so, but our daughter never seems to tire of looking at the same things over and over.

A lunch time treat

She does actually like this guy - it was just a long day!

A Journey into the Abbey

2010-05-30T15:26:00.013+10:00

I recently watched an incredible DVD borrowed from the local library called "The Abbey" (http://www.abc.net.au/tv/theabbey/). It is a 3 part "reality style" documentary put together by the ABC a few years ago.

It follows 5 ordinary Australian women who spend 33 days and nights living in a Benedictine Abbey (http://www.jamberooabbey.org.au/html/home.htm). Of the 5, who were varying in age, there were 3 "lapsed Catholics" (or who had some background of faith), one lady who was "searching" through all kinds of religions and practices, and the youngest of the group didn't believe in God at all.

My interest was sparked a while ago after reading a review on the series. The result was an incredibly humbling and emotional experience as I watched the interaction between the nuns and the "outsiders". On a number of occasions I just found myself thanking and praising God for the amazing events that unfolded during that month in the lives of these 5 women.

The nuns openly welcomed these ladies into the midst of their sacred daily practices (which requires prayer 5 times a day starting at 4.30am, and a lot of silence used to reflect and allow them to "go deeper" with God).

"You must come away to some lonely place all by yourselves and rest awhile." Mark 6.31

They very lovingly listened to each of the women talk about their life experiences (good and bad) in groups and in one-on-one sessions, not once showing any sign of judgement or taking offence, even though the ladies were quite upfront with their opinions on varying topics. These Benedictine nuns plain and simply shared God's love with the women and had the most profound (but simple) timely statements to offer them in the midst of their struggles.

Sister Hilda was one of the nuns who walked the journey with them, and it was amazing the wisdom she shared. Some of Sister Hilda's Pearls of Wisdom - http://www.abc.net.au/tv/theabbey/pearls.htm

I have to admit, my idea of nuns up till now has been that they are quite "religious" more than "spiritual" and I felt that locking themselves away from the world would surely make them unable to relate to your everyday person. How wrong I was!

I was struck by how "in tune" with God these nuns were and it was completely obvious they were His vessels being used to reveal His heart to the 5 visitors at the precise place they were each at along their searching or spiritual journey. It was evident that each of the 5 women were impacted (some more than others) on a spiritual level during their time there, even though the strict practices of the nuns weren't always followed by them.

By the end of their time in the Abbey, one lady had made a decision to follow God, another was working through issues and heading that direction, two were getting their lives back on track, and the one that didn't believe in God, had started to see things differently.

I don't know what happened to those women afterwards but certainly during their time at the Abbey, there was no denying that God's presence was very real in the midst of their experience.

I'm so glad I chose to watch this series. On completion, there was such an excitement in my spirit and an absolute wonder as I had seen God's love shown over and over to these 5 Aussie ladies, and in turn watched them slowly respond to it!

Morning Devotions

2010-05-05T08:23:00.004+10:00

I've just gone back to reading a morning bible story to my daughter at the breakfast table. It's something I did when she was younger but with the way our lives have been over the last year, it unfortunately went by the wayside.

At the moment, I'm using a great book called "The Jesus Storybook Bible" by Sally Lloyd-Jones which is fantastic for her age group.

A few days ago I was reading the story of Abraham and Isaac to her, and the end of the story reads...

I can't explain what it is about this simple statement that almost reduced me to tears in that moment. Perhaps it just displays the incredible trust and love Jesus has for the Father - even when He was facing certain death - knowing He needed to be that sacrifice for the world.

Even now as I'm writing this, it's still profoundly impacting me... Perhaps I needed the reminder. Ah, the beauty of a simple faith, looking through a child's eyes.

My daughter continually amazes me with her statements of simple faith - "Jesus is in my heart Mummy"; "Jesus will look after me Mummy"; "Jesus is always with me Mummy"; "God loves everyone Mummy"; and then the questions - "Mummy why doesn't everyone love God?" - well it's like this baby...

The Break

2010-04-26T13:43:00.004+10:00

Well our little girl has her first "break". It's only a green stick fracture (really it's a very tiny crack in her wrist on the xray) but it's enough to put her in a cast for 4 weeks.

She was supposed to be having a rest in her bedroom, when I heard a loud bang followed by tears. She'd fallen off a tiny table (not even 30cm high) and landed on her arm.

On initial inspection, she was saying "I can't move my arm" but about 5 minutes later, she'd stopped crying and could move arm and hand so I nearly didn't go to the doctor, but thought I should check - just in case...

I was very surprised when he said it was fractured and she would need a cast. I really expected the xray to show nothing and thought I would be written off as another case of the "over protective mother" who runs off to the doctor needlessly.

We'll here she is within hours of having the cast on - looking quite pleased with herself! Of course, we had to ring all the rellies to let them know what had happened.

A few hours into the night though and she was in tears saying, "I don't want my green stick fracture!"

These photos were taken a few days later - she had just been jumping off her slide so clearly she hasn't learnt her lesson from all this.

Being the little daredevil she is, I'm certain we're in for years of heart stopping moments, but hopefully this will be the only one requiring a cast and sling.

Seal Kisses

2010-04-18T15:31:00.004+10:00

D loves the seal show at Underwater World so usually as we leave, we need to go past the seal statue at the Wharf so she can give it a kiss.

Just to show how much she's grown lately, this photo below was taken in October last year...

And this was March this year...

A Nice Outing

2010-04-18T15:15:00.003+10:00

This year we bought Underwater World annual passes (given that it's so close to home) and it's such a perfect little outing to do with our 3 year old.

The great thing is that we can go for just an hour or as long as we want. Great for a rainy day when you're going stir crazy and need to get out of the house.

I recently took her for a visit while the Easter holidays were on. She really enjoys walking through the tunnel underneath to see all the fish and sharks. She's just learnt about "schools of fish" so she spent the whole time saying, "There's another school, and another...". We always take time to say "hi" to the otters (even though they're nearly always sleeping) and her favourite thing of all is the seal show, and this time there was a brand new one so she was in her element.

And when it was time to leave, there was a huge inflatable Dora and Diego jumping castle with built in car, slide, etc at the Wharf. She also got to ride on a little "boat" and posed in front of the shark and crocodile statues.

All up, it was a great morning!

A New Day

2010-04-18T14:39:00.002+10:00

Our 3 year old daughter recently had her first day at kindy.

Hubby and I had decided that she could really benefit from one day a week in a different environment, meeting new kids and learning to take instruction from a teacher. So we enrolled her a few weeks back and then regularly discussed it with her until she started so she knew what to expect. We told her how fun and exciting it would be and all the sorts of things she'd be able to do while she's there.

The day before her first day, I suddenly start to think, "Mmm this might be a little sad (for both of us)". And then the big day arrives! Mummy's got everything labelled and lunch box packed. We say goodbye to Daddy in the morning and off we go.

Well, we arrive at kindy, walk in the door and she's off. Not so much as a look back and she's playing with her (soon to be) friends. So I loiter around a while, putting her bag in the right spot, and lunch in the fridge. Quick chat to the teacher. Then - "Honey Mummy's going now. Do you want to come and say goodbye?" D (from a distance, waving) - "Bye Mum".

So I guess it wasn't all that sad for her, and I'm happy to say, I ran around like a crazy woman all day doing so many jobs that I didn't have time to feel sad either. She's been twice now and absolutely LOVES it! She keeps asking, "Is it kindy day tomorrow?"

Now I think we both look forward to Fridays.

(She still tells me when we get home though - "I missed you Mummy" - which is nice)

Aw, my little girl's growing up so fast...

The Little Mummy

2010-01-17T22:32:00.003+10:00

2009 saw the birth of a number of new siblings to our daughter's friends in mother's group. As such, she's been surrounded by babies of varying ages throughout the year.

D is quite the little mother - she always has been. She loves playing with her dolls - feeding them, putting them to bed, pushing them around in their prams. She also is naturally drawn to babies. If there is a baby in the room, she will go to it. If there is a baby on a TV show, she will point it out. If there is a baby in a book, she will be sure to spot it.

One day after returning home from swimming lessons, she went off hunting in Daddy's office for something. After seeing one of the mums carrying her new little baby in a carrier, she went and found my old carrier, and this was how I found her...

Music in the blood

2010-01-17T22:11:00.005+10:00

Our daughter LOVES music - singing, dancing, banging around on instruments, shakers, blowing whistles - anything musical!

Early in 2009, Daddy introduced her to an iPod shuffle

She's recently taken to making up her own little songs. She sung one to me the other day and told me "Mummy, it's not on any of my CD's" and I said "No", at which she continued with "We should put it on a CD"...

We also currently have on loan from the library some "drum shapes". They are actually proper drum skins with large thick edges that you can hold while you hit them. So one day on her own, without any prompting from us, she got into my cupboards and found some plastic containers, placed the skins on top of them, set them up around her in formation (just like a drum kit) and started playing them.

Anyhow, that's an aside. Last year, I took her along to a music class for about two terms and she really enjoyed it. There were some photos taken during one of the sessions. Here's a few...

The Family Camping Trip

2010-01-17T21:57:00.003+10:00

Hubby's eldest brother decided that for his 40th birthday last year (in February), he wanted the whole (extended) family to go camping at Lennox Heads. It was a feat to organise with young children in tow, but was a really great time! It was our sister in law's birthday the same day so it was a double celebration.

For his actual birthday, we all went to a cool little Mexican restaurant not far from where we stayed. We had two very tired little girls at the end of the night though...

And so 2009 begins...

2010-01-17T21:36:00.009+10:00

We had the in laws staying with us over the Christmas / New Year period so the house was full and there were lots of family gatherings.

All the kids in our mother's group are born within weeks of each other, so it is common that in December / January we have a string of birthday parties to attend.

And so began 2009...

Grandpa's birthday party

Sharing Mummy and Daddy's air conditioned bedroom with the cat

A friend's birthday party

A shopping treat - free face painting

Family outing to Mary Cairncross on Australia Day

No photos please! - Just kidding...

Our 15th wedding anniversary - Aunty Kate was staying at the time so we got to go out for a real posh (child free) dinner! It was lovely...

Highlights from late 2008

2010-01-17T21:01:00.006+10:00

The last time I was blogging towards the end of 2008, our daughter was about to turn 2.

Here's some photo highlights for the remainder of 2008...

Combination swimming and sliding

2008 Christmas photo shoot

Yes those are undies!

Practising fishing with Daddy and Amir (the cat!)

Doing a bit of building

Opening presents...

...with a bit of help

Trying out the new blackboard

The birthday girl arrives at her party (led down the stairs by Daddy) - I love this photo! I think it's really special.

Ready to blow out the candles

Exhausted at the end of a great party!

Christmas and birthday presents - new tricycle and blackboard

Tuckered out on Christmas Day - new Princess pillow and doona set

Fishing with Daddy and Grandpa (with her new rod!)

It's time to start blogging again...

2010-01-17T20:20:00.007+10:00

Well it's been over a year since I blogged last - how incredibly slack of me!

A lot has happened during that time so I'll endeavour to do a few blogs over the next little while to fill in the gaps.

More recently, my husband and I celebrated our daughter's third birthday - how the time flies! You know your little girl is growing up when she receives lip gloss for her birthday and knows exactly what to do with it!

We had a little gathering at home with my extended family a week earlier than her "big" party. She had loads of fun and was incredibly spoilt. Having a birthday just before Christmas makes it sort of present overload, which I'm not sure is necessarily a good thing. She loves it of course, but it is a little overwhelming receiving so many gifts within days of each other.

My husband and I also launched into a new business venture late November that is keeping us very busy. I'm not actually working in the shop but doing a bunch of administrative stuff (which is what I'm much better at!).

Well that's all for this blog. My next one, I'll start to catch up where I left off in 2008.

Nanna Cuddles

2008-11-18T21:42:00.005+10:00

Last Saturday, my parents and grandparents visited. I just love these two photos that were taken of my Nan during the day...

I just love how happy she looks as she gives our little girl a cuddle.

It's such a precious moment captured.

My Baby

2008-11-18T21:35:00.004+10:00

Our friends who recently visited have a little baby. Now our daughter is OBSESSED with babies (to put it mildly) and spent the entire weekend kissing her, trying to cuddle her, patting her, talking to her - you get the picture...

One time we let her "hold" the baby. At which point she cuddled her and said "My baby".

Pretty quickly, baby's older sister jumped in and said "No, she's my baby."

Aren't kids adorable!!!

We've Been To The Zoo - How About You?

2008-11-18T21:01:00.007+10:00

The weekend before last, we had some really good friends staying with us. We planned to do a trip to Australia Zoo while they were visiting.

In the lead-up to their stay however, Mummy was required to sing numerous renditions of "We're going to the zoo, how about you, you can come too, we're going to the zoo" (Mummy's taking us to the zoo tomorrow...), as well as listing out the many animals we may (or may not) get the chance to see.

A good friend of mine from mums group came along as well with her beautiful little girl, so all up we had three little girls under three (and a baby). It was a great experience and our daughter just had a blast! She loves animals but has never really seen any of them up close.

So on the Saturday morning we headed off to Beerwah and embarked on a wildlife adventure.

This is a bit of a dark photo but here's our little girl patting a koala...

Feeding an elephant...

Feeding the kangaroos and wallabies...

Patting a baby alligator...

Checking out the giant turtles...

Hanging out with Daddy...

And spending time with a friend.

Our one disappointment was that the one and only tiger on view at the time, was sleeping along the back wall. Honestly it didn't really look too different to our little Amir at home - just bigger (and fiercer)...

By early afternoon, the kids were exhausted (and so were we!) but a great time was had by all.

Busy, busy, busy...

2008-11-05T14:42:00.005+10:00

Well as you can see, I've been incredibly slack at blogging, so here's an update from the last month/s...

Dakota did the transition to her bed rather nicely, and still (mostly) stays there. Having said that, we have had the occasional daytime experience that began with playing in (or should I say destroying!) her room for an hour, followed by extremely strong (incredibly loud so the whole neighbourhood can hear) objections to sleeping, resulting in a very cranky girl later in the day. There have also been a couple of incidents of falling asleep on the floor behind the door. As far as we know, she's only fallen out of bed about four times (onto another mattress on the floor). So on the whole, the new bed thing has been quite the success!

We've had family visiting - Dave's parents came down from Mackay recently and his brother Tim returned from London to live. His sister also moves back from London in January, which will be excellent! Now we just need them to move to the Sunny Coast...

Below are some shots of Grandpa trying to teach Dakota what to do on Uncle Tim's skateboard.

I've been trying to cross a number of "jobs" off my to do list - things that I've been wanting to do for ages but kept procrastinating over - such as stripping back and repainting Dakota's little kiddie table and chairs (that were mine when I was little), spring cleaning the house (YUK! - still working on that slowly) and finally getting around to printing out some photos of our almost two-year old daughter - just to name a few.

On the healthier side, I'm endeavouring to walk from our place and back a few times a week, to either Mooloolaba beach / or Alex beach (depending on the mood). So far, I'm mostly achieving that goal so I'm gradually getting fit again.

We're also trying to increase our "family time" as much as is possible with Dave's work being so busy. He's been working most weekends for a long time, so recently I decided that regardless of what work he had on, we needed to take some time out on the weekend even if just for a few hours. So one of the mornings, we walk to the beach for a paddle, and then have brekkie or coffee before coming home. It's been wonderful! We also decided that one night every fortnight, we will have dinner out somewhere - nothing flash but just to get out and be together as a family. Last week was our first time, and having dinner out with a toddler is quite interesting (dare I say challenging), but I'm sure once we start doing it regularly it will be fine.

Other than that, life is pretty much the same. Swimming lessons, playgroup, play dates, etc. The usual Mum stuff... I hosted a Melbourne Cup lunch at our place yesterday with eight of the mums from our group and the kids, including two new babies. Have I mentioned how obsessed our daughter is with babies!!!! She's very gentle with them, but becomes quite a handful when they spit their dummy out - she seems to feel it's her duty to put the dummy back in the baby's mouth, and we literally have to physically move her away from them before she'll eventually stop. We currently have on loan from the toy library a little baby pram which she's loving putting her little baby dolls in and carrying them around. She's recently started trying to feed her babies food from her little toy kitchen as well. It's all very cute!

Dakota is LOVING reading at the moment. She always has but now she's starting to remember how certain stories go, so she "reads" along with you. Here's a beautiful shot taken one night of Dave reading to Dakota and her little cousin, Isabella.

She's also mastered the ABC's and can count to 14. Our neighbours (who have been teaching her Italian since she was born) can get her to count to 5 in Italian, but she only does it for them. She also completely understands what they are saying and responds when they ask her questions. It's incredible!

A Smooth Transition (So Far...)

2008-09-28T14:59:00.004+10:00

Well we've entered a new phase of parenthood. Our little girl now sleeps in a "big girl's bed".

Last Wednesday, the bed arrived but we because it required a little bit of construction, we decided to wait until Saturday morning before we made the transition from cot to bed.

We had been "hyping" up the arrival of her bed for some time now so she was quite excited about it, even though I don't think she fully understood what it meant. She knew it meant she would have a pillow and blanket like Mummy and Daddy, but I don't think she knew she wouldn't have the cot anymore.

On Friday night, she asked us - "Mummy's bed? No! Daddy's bed? No! Dota's bed! Yay!" Over and over and over she asked...

During the pulling down of the cot, we had some tears, but they were quickly replaced by excitement when Daddy started working on the new bed.

I'm pleased to say that (so far) she hasn't fallen out, and she seems to be happy to stay in her bed rather than run around her bedroom and play. I'm not saying it won't happen, but so far, it's been pretty smooth sailing.

I imagine some of you longer term parents are having a bit of a giggle right now at my wishful thinking but please let me enjoy it for now!

Reality Check

2008-09-06T13:40:00.003+10:00

I just read a really interesting article in last year's Sept/Oct issue of Life Etc magazine. It was entitled "Aim lower!" and basically discusses how "beating your inner perfectionist can help you discover a happier you". It sounds a little "new age" but it really had some basic comments on perfectionism that rang a little too true for me. On reading the article, I accept that I'm not an extreme case, but perfectionism definitely is part of my personality (as my husband and those close to me can attest).

Here are some things I found noteworthy...

While on the outside things appear well, there is a lack of real joy in the things you do. It's as though the journey doesn't matter - it's all about outcomes.
High standards are not the problem. The world needs more people committed to striving for excellence. It's about excessively high standards - setting the bar so high that you never feel truly satisfied. This leads to feelings of inadequacy and the lifelong pursuit of self esteem through external indicators of success.
Perfectionists tend to be difficult to live with, not only because they are hard on themselves, but unrelenting standards frequently extend to the people in their lives.
"Look for the beauty in imperfection".
Solutions - write a list of costs/benefits of being a perfectionist; catch yourself out (avoid criticism - standards are subjective); get your priorities right; set time limits; choose imperfection.

I think overall the advice could be summed up in two words - CHILL OUT!

Perfectionism often leads to anxiety or worry - whether you measure up; have you completed a task to the best of your ability or could you have done more; what others think of you; and the list goes on and on.

Jesus' response to that was Matthew 6:34 (NIV) - Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Sounds easy doesn't it, but to those who are in this category, it's not so easy. I guess in a way it comes down to TRUST - that God really does have it all under control and He really wants the best for your life.

Anyhow, something for me to work through. Just sharing my thoughts.

Verse of the Day

2008-09-03T22:48:00.005+10:00

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. James 1:5-6 (NIV)

Time for Change?

2008-09-03T22:43:00.003+10:00

Change will not happen until the pain of remaining the same is greater than the pain of changing.

(An excerpt from "Boundaries with Kids")

A Life Remembered

2008-08-30T12:10:00.004+10:00

Every now and then you meet someone who stands out from others, making them memorable.

At our Wednesday Playgroup, one of the volunteers was such a person. On Thursday night we received the sad news that she had passed away after battling with cancer.

Now I can't actually say that I personally knew her very well other than to say hello to each week, but I had seen her often enough to take notice.

To those of us who weren't aware of her illness, you would never have known she was sick. She had such a cheerful disposition and was absolutely wonderful with the children. They were all "darlings" or "sweethearts", and she was more than willing to help both the kids and mums whenever she could.

It's people like Sandy who leave a lasting impact on all they come in contact with and I think her loss will be felt by all in our Playgroup.

How fantastic though that she will now be rejoicing in Heaven with her new body having a well deserved rest.

I love these moments...

2008-08-26T21:56:00.009+10:00

I'm all grown up now

I'm too tired to smile Mummy

Yes this really is an Alpaca on Mooloolaba Esplanade

A quiet moment amidst the noise

The girls with Aunty Kate (from London)

Faster Aunty Kate

Special moments shared

Cousins playing at the beach

Dancing with Daddy

Eskimo kisses with Daddy

Crashed out on the couch

Friendship

2008-08-25T12:55:00.005+10:00

I've been part of a fantastic mother's group that's been meeting together weekly since our children were all around 6 weeks old, so the kids have been growing up together for the most part of their young lives.

It's so beautiful to watch their interaction at the age they are at now. They are all so incredibly comfortable and familiar with each other. In the midst of stealing each other's toys or trying to get down the slide before someone else, there are genuine moments that melt your heart - the times when you see them hugging or kissing each other just for no reason; when they sit together on a chair and just casually lean on each other; when they walk up and say "hello" to the children as they arrive; when they actually offer their toy to someone else because they are sad - these are the makings of a friend.

Here's a few candid shots taken recently.

Playing with friends

At Playgroup

With her cousin and friend

What's in a name?

2008-08-25T12:46:00.004+10:00

DAKOTA is a Native American name that means "friend, ally".

Extended definitions of her name are:

Character - A person with strong self esteem
Feelings - Shows affection readily
Inherent - You are known for your sense of humour
Intellect - Knowledgeable
Motivation - Has a conviction in life
Spiritual - Has hope and trust
Nature - Is a disciplined person

Another meaning we found on the internet some time after she was born is “forever smiling”.

It's amazing how already we can see her developing most of these characteristics.

Her middle name is Lily which means "flower".

The flower posted above is a wild lily found in North Dakota - a "Dakota Lily".

Visitors

2008-08-25T12:31:00.003+10:00

Over the weekend we had a lovely visit with my family. My parents brought my grandparents up with them and we all had lunch together. It was my Nan's birthday on the Friday and we were also celebrating an early Father's Day for my Dad as they are heading to Tassie for a holiday next week.

I love it when our different family generations come together and everyone shares stories. Unfortunately it doesn't happen often enough (the story telling part that is...).

This time, my Nan was telling tales about when my father and his siblings were all little and the mischief they got up to. Apparently my dad took a liking to the lead paint that was on the walls and got himself lead poisoning, and then had to drink some horrible smelling medicine.

Maybe it's just me, but I love it when they open up and talk about their lives. They just light up reliving the memories. I think when I was younger, I didn't place much value on listening to my grandparents, but the older I am, I realise that they won't be around forever and their stories are part of my history, just like our stories will be part of Dakota's history.

I now only have two grandparents, so I really treasure these little stories...

[This is an older photo of them with our daughter taken at her first birthday party in December.]

Gardening

2008-08-17T12:25:00.002+10:00

Yesterday we got stuck into our back garden, which sadly has needed a bit of loving for a while now.

So we weeded the garden, pruned back bushes and chopped out a couple of small trees, and suddenly we have so much more sunlight in our back yard. It looks a lot "cleaner" now as well.

It's still a work in progress. We need to put mulch into the back garden at some point, and we didn't even start on the front garden (which needs weeding and then filling with pebbles) but that's a job for next time...

While we worked hard, our little girl ran around the back yard in amongst the garden clippings, played on the slide and had some play dough time. The kitten went crazy "catching" leaves. I think he thought they were grasshoppers (not that he's ever seen one - he's only 4 months old).

It was really nice to have a morning where you feel like you've worked hard to achieve something that you've been meaning to do for a while.

Now what else is on that "To Do" list...??

Days Like These...

2008-08-11T19:41:00.002+10:00

Today was one of those challenging days with my lovely daughter, where suddenly things come crashing down around me and the startling reality once again hits - I don't have it all together.

So I had a good cry and asked God one more time for the patience, wisdom and strength I need to be the best mother I can be. And after the storm has weathered, the sun always comes out again and my beautiful angel does something to delight my heart and remind me how much of a treasure she is.

I think God uses her at times to chip away at the things in my life that need some remodelling.

I think God uses times like today to remind me how much I really need Him.

How very clever of Him!

Outside Play

2008-08-09T13:43:00.008+10:00

Yesterday was such a beautiful day that we spent a fair bit of time outside in the back yard. My lovely daughter was practicing her aim using a watering can to fill up some buckets.

And of course tipping the water back in again...

When the water ran out, she would say to me "A bit more...".

She had a great time on her slide as well.

It's amazing what a difference it makes to ignore all the washing and housework for a little while and just enjoy spending time with your child. What a delight!

Even the cat enjoyed having playtime outside.

Painting Fun

2008-08-08T11:20:00.006+10:00

Recently, both of my daughter's Grandmas had birthdays near each other. So we set about making some handmade cards for them. She provided the artistic background, and I folded the cards and wrote on them. As you can see, she had the best time painting (and shoving it up her nose and in her mouth).

I just loved watching her creation take shape as she ordered me around on which colours she required more of, and then she blended them together as if she's done it a million times before - this is her second time with paint.

She really loves her drawing and painting. It will be interesting to see as she gets older, what other "creative" skills she has locked up waiting to escape. She definitely gets that from her Daddy.

A new beginning

2008-08-07T21:59:00.007+10:00

I've recently decided that this blogging thing is a good idea, even if no-one else reads it. It's a great way for me to try and rekindle some creativity that I feel has been lost in years gone by. It also gives me an outlet to talk about the adventures and trials of being a first time mum and what that means in the every day.

For my first posting, I've included a recent photo of my lovely family.

I'm not sure how often I'll update this. I'll just take each day as it comes.