Swing!

We have a dare devil in our midst. Comes in the form of a 14 month old girl who responds favourably to heights and anything fast or dangerous. Take for example the swing. I have to lift it above my head and let her drop before I see a smile of satisfaction and then a weird little grimace as her stomach drops, followed by more smiles.

I really have to keep in mind that my child is not necessarily the norm. My poor niece, Mia, burst into tears the last time I pushed her on a swing...apparently dropping stomachs are not considered fun for all toddlers. Oops, lesson learned.

Friday fun

It's only taken over a year of being a stay at home mum...but I've finally picked a day to clean the house. You see, it just wasn't getting done. What with coffees here, play dates there, grumpy clingy baby days, stay in your pj days...where does the time go? Well turns out that time never got to the "cleaning up the house on a regular basis" bit... So Friday's it is.

Consequently, Sienna loves Friday's. It's her "I get to follow mum around the house, getting in the way while she drags that long noisy snake around with her" day. If I'm extra lucky, sometimes it's her "I get to follow mum from room to room crying extra loud so she can hear me above that God awful noise" day. Luckily today was not one of those Fridays.

Happy Friday to you! Enjoy your weekend.

Peek-a-boo!

Sienna enjoyed a play date with Callum today. I had put a blanket over our closed up treadmill and it created a little alcove. Callum discovered the alcove first and sat happily behind the blanket in his own little sanctuary. Sienna followed soon after and I began playing Peek-a-boo with the blanket.

I found them later playing Peek-a-boo with eachother on their own. Too cute for words.

The beginning of the end...of order

So I guess it's time to admit that my baby girl is perhaps more of a toddler than a baby these days.

Take for example her behaviour when her friends come to visit. She's so hospitable that she helps them pull every little thing from every corner of her play room and anywhere else I let her roam. Usually at the end of a play date my sometimes ordered home is left looking like a bomb site. Granted, a bomb site that only takes 15 minutes to clean up...but talk about mess!

I remember the days of a little one kicking her legs while she layed happily on her back. In one spot. Not moving or lifting or rearranging a thing. Just being still and gorgeous.

Well, those days are gone. At least she's thriving - and that's all I could ever want for her.

Brighton beach

We visited Aunty Alisa today and since it was an uncomfortable 37C we decided to head down to Brighton beach for some relief. Upon our arrival we were greeted by what seemed like half of Melbourne...all with the same idea as us.

Sienna was happy to be able to play around in the sand and took a keen interest in the water. She's never seemed that interested before, but I guess because Brighton is a bay beach with no waves she seemed less threatened. Definitely less threatened. I waded into the water with her holding her hand and she kept trying to drag me further in...I was reluctant since the water was already up to her chest! Little dare devil.

We quenched our thirst with a few glasses of sparkling wine...and with the combination of a hot day and sitting in the sun, our bubbly drinks oddly had no affect on us. Good thing given we were on baby beach patrol.

Too cool for school

I can barely wear my sunglasses without Sienna thinking it's hilarious that my eyes are covered by big shades. When I lift them up to reveal my eyes and say "Boo!" she thinks its funny every time.

Lately she's been wanting to get into the action herself. So now I can't keep my sunglasses on for long before Sienna wants to take them off and play the "Boo!" game with me...this time wearing them herself.

Swinging in the sun

Time as a family is doing us all some good. Check out the delight that swinging in the sun with Daddy brought this little girl...

Happy Leap Day!

Collecting sea shells

After a long walk to find the beach that we could hear around our accommodation, we finally found the entrance to Beach No 5. While AJ and I arrived a little tired from the long, lost walk (we had no map), Sienna arrived fresh as a daisy relaxing in her pram protected from the elements.

So after we had carried the pram down several flights of steep steps, it was a very excited Sienna that we picked up and planted on the soft cool sand. That is when the sea shells caught her eye...and it was a frenzy of collecting them from then on. Except for one small problem. She wouldn't relinquish any of the shells in her hands to free herself up to collect more - no matter how many times I offered to take them so she could. So with little smiles on our faces we obeserved as Sienna tried desperately to pick up that elusive fourth shell that she couldn't fit into her already full fists.

Stubborn and independant is this Little One. I have no idea where it came from...

Unwinding: with a little help from his girl

Who knew that 9kgs on your shoulders could feel so good?

Quick Escape

AJ has been feeling stressed of late, so I hatched a plan and we made a quick escape to Venus Bay for a few days of quiet family time. We slept, ate, walked, soaked up the sunshine, breathed in some fresh sea air, sat and observed nature and enjoyed watching Sienna explore her new surroundings. It was much needed bliss.

When I say we "observed nature" it is more that nature brought itself to our back door where we flipped out in excitement and trepidation to see kangaroos so up close. The pics tell the story.

She Walks!

Our little girl took her first steps today...and never looked back. She has walked all day. Aunty Alisa stayed the night last night to help me prepare for a family lunch we hosted today. While we were lazily eating breakfast and chatting on the lounge room floor Little Miss began to walk between us. Then passed us. Then around us. And into the next room. And so it was for the rest of the day.

While I am so happy for Sienna that she has achieved this little milestone...I am also very excited by the longer sleeps she's had due to all the new physical activity!

(photo taken a couple of weeks after her walking debut)

Feeling creative

I probably shouldn't say this for fear of jinxing myself...but I think I'm getting my creative mojo back. This is something I did for our bathroom wall. I felt it needed something colourful in an otherwise beige and white room.

Romantic getaway...

AJ and I enjoyed our first night away together since having Sienna. I was in major control freak mode ensuring that I'd anticipated Sienna's every need over the next 24 hours and provided for them. Her dinner was prepared, her breakfast was ready, snacks organised, general daily menu summarised for my mum's ease, post it notes on Tupperware containers in the fridge with what meal it is and how long it needs to be microwaved. Quite appalling how controlling it all was...but handing my baby girl over to someone else to care for her in my absence (even my own mother) was a bit of a wrench.

Fast forward to our arrival at Chateau Yering and all was nearly forgotten. The best suite in the place, Shiraz and aperitifs on arrival, the best table at Eleanore's restaurant, an extra entree to enjoy courtesy of the chef (his current favourite dish), dessert brought to our room after dinner. Biggest balcony and best view of the place (so we were told...and we believed them!). All this because AJ knew one of the families that owns the Chateau and I knew the Head Chef at Eleanore's restaurant - Mathew Macartney. Yay for us!!!

In short: we came, we ate, we drank, we made eye contact during conversations...we actually had conversations, we cuddled, we left. We loved it. Highly recommend the venue for anyone looking for a romantic getaway.

The Play centre

Today we ventured out to our first ever play centre. Hmmmm. Not sure about these places. Being a first time mum I naively thought it's a fun place where parents and kids play. You know at the "Play Centre". No. It's where children play and parents sit back on their butts drinking latte's and hot chips while I pull unsupervised 2 and 3 year olds off my child.

It took about 4 repeats of this sentence "I know you like her, but please don't drag her along by her arm. She can't walk yet" (picture Sienna lying on the floor with her arm up in the air...attached to a 2-ish year old) before a mother appeared - seemingly out of nowhere. Once we established that she doesn't mind me telling her child off when I become uncomfortable with what she's doing to mine ("She thinks your baby is her doll" - Aargh!), the mother left again, swallowed up by the sea of other mothers sitting at tables chatting animatedly.

Sienna had a ball. We both left the place a bit sweaty from all of the activity. I was less impressed.

Things that go bump in the night

I am getting weird looks at the supermarket at the moment...because Sienna has a black eye. Although I feel sorry for her, I refuse to feel bad about it because it happened so freakishly that I couldn't have anticipated it occuring.

Last night at around 6.30pm - Sienna's tired clumsy time - I was watching her crawl around the kitchen floor, as she does, and before my very eyes her arms buckled under her and she tipped forward and landed eye first into the pointed corner of our skirting boards. If I hadn't seen it myself I wouldn't have believed it. It is actually difficult to do. And my Sienna managed it perfectly. Black eye and all!

Australia Day - Mum finally becomes an Aussie!

Congratulations Mum on biting the bullet and becoming an Australian citizen today. Despite appearances, this olive skinned, brown eyed, dark haired beauty was 100% English...until today. Welcome to our shores Mum! Well, it was 57 years ago that you landed on our shores (and that's still not giving her age away!)...but welcome all the same. From one Aussie to another.

Sitting Pretty

This is a hurried pic of Sienna all ready to go out. Outfit on, hair brushed and clip momentarily in place, biscuit to keep her occupied while I plan to (within the next 5 minutes before we leave)...dress, do hair, apply make-up, remember to put shoes on, pack nappy bag and hand bag, throw together Sienna's lunch and snacks that she may desire while we're out, put BBQ chickens on a platter and glad wrap it...and leave the house looking serene. As luck would have it I got there. Serenity perhaps was non existant - but it appeared so by the time we got to our destination.

The Party

We celebrated Sienna's first birthday yesterday and there was much fun to be had. Blowing bubbles was a big hit with the kids of all ages and Sienna looked adorable in her pretty party dress.

I am so enjoying having a little girl. It's like reliving my childhood with girly toys, coordinating outfits for her to wear, clips in her hair (if she'll keep them in), and then there's organising the birthday party. Deciding on a colour theme, picking out balloons, streamers, table decorations and making the party food. Now THAT was fun!

Evidence of the party food are in the pics below. Thanks to mum for the cookie faces and honey joys. Oh the joys of Honey Joys - I was transported back to the childhood bliss of these confectionary delights each time I indulged in one...or five. Yum!

Happy 1st Birthday!

One year ago today I held a baby girl in my tired, shaking arms for the very first time…and fell in love.

Since then I have never been more exhausted, frustrated, emotional, elated, awestruck, playful or happy in my life. It’s been a real rollercoaster for me but the thing that stands out the most over the past year is all the smiles and laughter Sienna has shared with us and the pure joy we’ve felt watching our little girl experience lots of firsts and the joy she got from them.

Happy Birthday Sienna. You are a vibrant, cheeky, happy little girl with a great sense of humour and a deep love for your mum and dad. You are an observer, an explorer and if we can grab you for long enough…a good cuddler too. Continue to thrive. We are enjoying every minute with you and love you more than we ever knew we could.

A new year

Happy new year.

A whole new year.

I'm not really one for resolutions. I usually hope to look back on the year that's passed and feel proud of at least one thing. It's going to be hard to top last year's achievement - bringing new life into the world.

Perhaps this year I'll scale it down to the little things. How about:

Living simply.

Learning to say no.

Making time for things that make me smile.

Figuring out exactly what those things are.

Caring for myself before others (!) so I am better equipped to care for them.

Getting comfortable in my own skin.

Revealing a little more of myself to those that matter to me.

This list is getting long. And I'm starting to scare myself with what my fingers are typing. I'll start at the top of the list and see where it leads. Hopefully to a place I love a little bit more than where I started.