This week I am grateful for...

...Baby cuddles in an air-conditioned room…



Its been so hot and humid in the last few weeks, almost like summer has only just hit. The days have been long and steamy, making life uncomfortable for little bodies that just want to be held and cuddled.


In the evenings, I’ve been relishing stealing away with my little man to his dark, air-conditioned room, bundling him up in his “Wrap me up” sleeping bag, and cuddling and rocking him til he’s drowsy. Lately he’s been really holding on to his burps, sometimes still burping an hour and a half after his last feed – so I take him away from the noise and lights, away from his big sister during her “rowdy” part of the evening, and just pat, cuddle and sing Edelweiss to him til he’s settled. I don’t care how long it takes, its our special, secret time of day, just me and him.

 
 
 
...New shoes...



Skye had the great fortune to get TWO new pairs of shoes this week. And boy didn’t she love it! Shoe fetishes start early I guess. The first pair are a new pair of Crocs, in lilac, complete with Hello Kitty motif. Her last pair of Crocs have lasted almost a year – we were smart enough to buy a shoe size a little too large, which I must admit never deterred her or tripped her up in the slightest, despite her constant motion. She’s as sure-footed as a mountain goat and I think her life mantra should be “Why walk, when you can run, hop, jump or skip?”


Her new Crocs arrived in the mail while she was having a nap, so I unwrapped them and placed them on the coffee table, ready for her to find when she woke. True to form, as soon as she spotted them she grabbed them with a look of glee on her face, and innocently asked “Are these for me?”

Her new-shoe joy was complete a few days later when her beloved Auntie Nean delivered her an absolutely fabulous pair of Wellington Boots – her first pair! The novelty of these boots has yet to wear off, and she’s constantly clomping around the house in them. Even better, these boots have loops on either side so that she can easily pull them on herself… and so she does… oh my little girl is growing up too fast.

The last few days have been rainy, so I’m sure she’ll be wanting to go jump in muddy puddles in her new Wellys this weekend :)

...Fitting back into non-maternity clothes...

It seems to be taking somewhat longer after the second baby for the ol' body to bounce back to "normal".  Especially my hip bones.  But in the last few weeks I've been really happily surprised to fit back into some of my regular wardrobe.

Most days, especially when I'm staying home, I subscribe to the "wear whats comfortable to breastfeed in" rule - which I must admit, kinda limits your choice, especially in tops/shirts.  Even when you're going out and want to spruce yourself up a little bit, you still have to think about what you wear and whats going to make life easier for everyone.  I also must admit I'm very tired of still having to wear maternity pants, and I'm quite tired of feeling frumpy!

So to have my wardrobe choices expand every week is really quite lovely.  I stand in front of the mirror and do a happy dance, knowing that this is only the beginning.  And then I raid my entire wardrobe to find out what else fits now, and what else I still need to work towards. 

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Time for me to go have a fabulous weekend with my family... and keep remembering to make each day count! 

A day at the park

This week we took a trip to the park to feed the ducks.  Like most kids, Skye delights in throwing them crusts of bread and watching them scoop it up and fight over the crumbs.  I hadn't planned too well for this trip though, so that morning saw me rummaging through the freezer for a couple of old bread rolls, and a frozen pita bread - certainly not a duck's idea of a gourmet feast, but at least it was something to offer them!

All morning we talked about feeding the ducks, and meeting up with Skye's friend Sofia.  She was excited... I asked her "What do duckies say?  Do they say 'quack quack'?"

"No mummy, duckies cant talk!!"

Hmmm, cant argue with that!

The park was almost empty when we arrived, despite it being a beautiful sunny day.  We slapped on some sunscreen and quickly got busy on the swings - the first stop for any visit to the park.

Next it was time to investigate the fort and slippery slides

Hmmm, so who's going to go first?

I love the look of absolute delight on kids faces as they approach the playground equipment, ready to draw their courage together and try everything the park has to offer.  I especially love watching them come off at the bottom of the slide, with that jumping-up-and-down toddler excitement, ready to run back up to do it all again.

Kids teach you to take enjoyment out of the simplest things.  Its a shame that we forget that when we get older.

After exploring the swings and the fort, it was time to go in search of the ducks.

Umprompted, the girls held hands, and set forth on their mission...

The ducks and birds sensed our purpose and started to fly in from all directions, much to the excitement of the girls.  Shouts of "DUCKIES!!"  and "BIRDIES!!" filled the air.  These ducks are well fed, but they seemed keen for their breakfast that day.

We found ourselves a shady spot and prepared to share the bread.  The girls gave us a few heart attacks when they ventured too close to the edge of the water I must admit!  They had a great time, but the ducks didn't seem too impressed with the stale pita bread. 

We encountered a VERY confident black swan, who came almost right up to the bank.  Poor Skye was a little slow in throwing some bread to the swan, and consequently got her fingers nipped for her trouble.  We had a few tears, but after about 30 seconds she was over it and calmly went back to throwing bread to the swan and ducks.

Thats my girl!

I remember once when I was a kid of a about 4 or 5 years old at a park, a big pelican decided to walk towards me.  It didn't run at me.  It didn't flap its wings at me.  It just calmly walked towards me.  I freaked out and ran screaming back to mum.  I was such a shy, nervous little girl.    So I love how my little girl is so fearless sometimes, but then other times freaks out over something so small.  A big black swan nipped my fingers?  No biggie.  A teeny-tiny spider runs accross the floor in front of me?  AAARRGGHHH MUMMY SPIDER!!!!!! LOL!

The finger-biting black swan.  Must have been hungry... he looks pretty determined.

Sadly the bread supply dwindled, so we moved on to have ourselves a little picnic.  The girls entertained by singing and squealing to each other.  I love how they can keep themselves amused with the simplest things.

Koby did what all self-respecting 11 weeks old should do at the park - he napped...

So big sister took advantage of her extra 20 minutes (the duration of Koby's naps when we're out and about) and headed back to the playground, to tackle THE BIG SLIPPERY SLIDE.

Skye has attempted to climb this slide quite a few times in the past, and whats stopped her has been her nervous mummy!  Her confidence in all things physical knows no bounds, I'm sure she thinks she can fly sometimes, so I have to reign it in constantly and remind her that she might get hurt, and stop her from throwing herself headfirst.

But she's a big bad TWO year old now, so I let her climb it with my hands hovering behind her back.  A couple of times I actually touched her back as she climbed and I was frowned at, silly mummy, I can do it myself!   After about 10 climbs without any slips, or any trouble at all really, I felt like I could breathe enough to let her climb on her own, and took a couple of photos:

And of course the best thing about this was the slide back down!

All in all, a successful day at the park!

Enjoying the moments…

Time is getting away from me this year already. I cannot believe that my little princess is already 2, and my little man is 10 weeks old!

I’m super conscious right now of enjoying every precious moment with my little guy – 2 years with Skye has gone in the blink of an eye, and I know the same will be true with Koby. I want to soak it all in, enjoy all those little snuggly cuddles, make the most of his coo’s and goo’s, and cherish those quiet moments when its just me and him, nursing and gazing at each other.

I cant stop staring at his sweet little face. Every little part of him is perfect. He has the most gorgeous smile – I suppose all mums think their babies smiles are beautiful! But it truly just lights up his whole face, and he’s been smiling so much lately that it just melts my heart. He has a little one-piece suit which says “Daddy’s happy little chappy” – very true!

Skye is so delighted with her little brother that she constantly wants to kiss and cuddle him, hold him, pat him. She is so good with him, and I am so proud of the fact that she never gets angry with him or jealous of him. No – she saves that for me! It breaks my heart sometimes that when I sit down to feed him, she gets upset and says “No mummy, put Koby down? Don’t feed Koby!” My poor little poppet.

Necessarily, Skye is spending a bit more time with daddy lately. Part of me is sad that its not just me and my little buddy anymore. I wish I could divide myself in two and be with both of them at the same time! But part of me also loves watching her and daddy interact. They adore each other, she is definitely daddys little girl.

So far, we’re all sleeping well too! Skye still wakes at 5, or 5.30am – I’ve just resigned myself to the fact that her bodyclock is set to this time. Koby is a catnapper through the day, most naps are 30-45 mins and that’s it. BUT he has been doing longer and longer stretches at night, one night he even blessed us with 11.5 hours straight! Hubby jokingly had to ask “Is he still alive in there?” LOL! He normally sleeps at least 8 straight hours – the worst he’s done is a 6 hour stretch. I haven’t had to get up in the night to feed him for ages now, although every night I prepare myself that tonight will be the night!  I have been very very lucky to have had two great sleepers!

So we are very busy these days, enjoying our family time and trying to make the most of every special moment - and even though sometimes those 'moments' are a 2 year old tantrum, or baby spew on your shirt just as you are heading out the door - as long as we are all healthy and happy, nothing else matters!