Happy 3rd Birthday Grace

We have had a fantastic day celebrating Grace's 3rd birthday. It's been a relaxed and cruisy day just with our little family, celebrating and spoiling our gorgeous girl.

I woke early, leaving Duane in bed with both kids. They all woke at about 6am and we snuggled on the bed singing Happy birthday to the Birthday girl. Then it was up and out into the lounge to do the present hand-over. Although Grace knows that she gets presents on her birthday, we have tried to emphasis that a birthday is a day to be spoilt, with love and time - not just a present grab.

Duane and I had been up late the night before putting together the dolls house. It wasn't too bad, although a few extra tools had to be dragged out of the shed to make everything come together.

Grace hesitantly pulled the make-shift wrapping (sheet!) off and excitedly screamed, "A dolls house, it's a doll house - Just like Cassie's!!"

She started playing with it straight away. Picking up every intricate piece of furniture and yelling excitedly to us what it was. "Look Mum, a toilet...ooohhh a bed" She was having so much fun traipsing one of her dolls all around the house. We cleared a space in her bedroom and now it takes pride of place in there.

Next present was from Nan. It was a playschool DVD, which Xav was over the moon about. Screaming, "Big ted" & "School" over and over once he saw the cover. There was also a bright pink scooter, and Grace was excastic when she realised she now had her very own scooter. The darn pink thing definitely trumped our dolls house, she hasn't let go if it since.

After a yummy breakfast of my home made breakfast trifle (layer of homemade yoghurt, berries and muesli) we all got ready for playgroup. Duane had the day off, and Grace was thrilled to be able to take him to playgroup with us. She is a real Daddies girl and loves having him around.

I had spent the night before decorating 2 cakes, 1 for playgroup and 1 for Friday's Kindy. Cass was also bringing a cake for playgroup as it was her birthday on Wednesday. Now Cass's mum is Mrs Homemaker, so yes I was a little daunted at having to bring a cake along to sit beside hers. I went the easy option of a fenced paddock with 2 horses on top, she did an awesome Dora cake. Both looked good and most importantly the kids loved them.

Grace and Xav had a blast showing Daddy off to all their playgroup friends. Xav was being a perfect angel, not running off or getting into the cupboards like he normally does. Duane still was run off his feet keeping up with him though, all whilst I got to sit down and chat - Something I don't normally get to do at playgroup!

We came home and all had an afternoon sleep. We had planned to go to Dreamworld, but the weather was shocking, so we had a nice quiet time at home instead. It was pasta & chips for dinner, I guess that's what you get when you leave the menu up to the 3 y/o! We also had mini custard tarts for desert, and of course Grace had to have a candle in hers to blow out.

I have a little tradition that I do with the kids every single birthday. It's just for me and my memories. I like to snuggle up to them for about 1 hour around the time of their birth. For Grace's 1st birthday I picked her up out of the cot at 9.30pm (the time I started pushing) and cuddled her until after 10.08pm (the time she was born). I did this again on her 2nd birthday too. Now she has a beautiful big bed I can get in a snuggle with her. I layed with her, cuddling and remembering back to our very first embrace. I must have fallen asleep, but Duane knew that I wanted a picture of Grace at 10.08 - so he took one of us asleep together.

Here is my beautiful princess exactly 3 years from the day she was born:

Today was a special day where we celebrated just as a family. Sunday is party day, and Grace is beside herself with excitment. She keeps saying, "I just can't wait for MY party"

I have put a lot of thought and energy into her first proper party, so I really hope that everything comes together and my dear little girl comes away with fantastic memories.

Splish Splash

The day has been heavy and humid.

I have spent the afternoon in the kitchen busily finishing of the caousel cake for Grace's little party tomorrow, beads of sweat rolling down my legs. I watched out the window as a the sky got darker and the air grew still.

Then it came. Only a few claps of thunder, but enough to scare the wits out of the dogs. The rain was coming in sideways - in through the open toilet and bathroom windows. As quickly as it started it stopped, with no relief from the muggy, sticky air.

The kids and I went outside to check out any damage - it was there that I spotted a large puddle PERFECT for jumping in. The kids were stripped off and told to go for it.

I looked like so much fun that I had to refrain from scaring the neighbours and jumping in myself.

Good night my sweet 2 y/o.....

Where is the time going?

It seems only yesterday that I was meeting my beautiful daughter for the very first time, and yet it's been 3 years. 3 beautiful, magical years of watching her grow from a tiny, tiny newborn who fitted perfectly in my arms to a confidant, enthusiastic toddler.

It was 3 years ago today that I realised that I was in the early stages of labour. I had woken in the morning to realise that I had my "show". I spent the day eagerly awaiting any other sign that my baby was coming. I cleaned and cleaned, not really sure what was happening, just that something was. By the end of the day nothing had started. Duane & I settled in to watch Tv for the night when around 7pm I noticed that I was getting pains, nothing regular but still pains. We sat there giddy with excitement, eating my pregnancy craving of ice cream, walnuts and ice magic. I went to bed, not knowing what to expect. Duane went to bed thinking that my waters were going to explode everywhere.

I slept all night, occasionally waking up with a slight period pain. All the next day I was getting the pains, not a lot of regularity to them and not causing too much discomfort. About 4pm I had to start standing when they were coming, but in between contractions I felt great. Things started heating up at about 7pm.

I went to hospital around 8pm, and after 2 hours of hard work I met my sweet girl and feel deeply and instantly in love. It was, and it still is one of the most magical moments of my life.

So good night my sweet little girl, tomorrow you will be a big 3 year old. You are the absolute light of my life, my shining star who brightens my every single day. I love you.

As a special treat, I went today and got some ice cream, walnuts and ice magic, which I am going to enjoy now whilst I reminisce about that beautiful day. All whilst watching Duane fumble about trying to put together the doll house our birthday girl is waking up to tomorrow.

Baking and babysitting

I've had a very productive and busy day today!

We are having a party on Sunday for my little Princess who is turning the big 3 on Thursday. I've made 4 cakes (1 for playgroup, 1 for kindy and 2 for the "party cake"), 18 cupcakes, 24 egg and bacon pies, 24 mini meat pies, 48 mini quiches and organised a roast chicken dinner for tonight. PHEW!!

I am hot, sweaty and just trying to work up the motivation to clean up the huge mess that is stacked high in the kitchen. The dishwasher and oven are certainly getting a workout today, they have both been going flat out since about 9am.

I should also mention that I have 3 kidlets to amuse today. Miss Malia has joined us for an all-day play date as her Mummy has the horrible cold that is going around and welcomed the offer of a toddler free day. The kids have been fantastic, mostly playing outside in the sandpit or bouncing around on the trampoline. Malia and Grace call them self the "trampoline girls", yelling it out as they bounce around. I also got a second-hand cosy coupe yesterday so they have been zooming around the yard on that, turning the cubby house into a petrol station and filling the tank up with water. They are all on there best behaviour, AND no I am most definately not bribing them with cake-mix laden beaters!!!

I think I've also been duped into a false sense of life with 3 children. They have all been playing so well and can you believe that my house is silent. Yes, all 3 children easily went down for their afternoon naps at about 1.15pm. Xav didn't go until about 1.45pm, but I just set him up watching his beloved playschool whilst I put both girls to bed. I put them in my bed, read a few stories and then layed down with my hand on each one. Malia didn't have her dummy so I got a new one of Xav's out for her, she wasn't impressed - throwing it across the room in disgust, "No dummy". Grace asked me to sing one of her favourite songs for her, Beautiful Boy. I sung it over and over with my eyes closed, peeking out occasionally to check if eyelids where getting heavy. Malia dropped off, so I then rolled over to Grace. She drifted off after a little while longer, then I snuck out. Grace must have woke at some stage, cause the next time I checked she was curled up asleep in her bed.

I'm so happy that most of the party food is already done. Now I just have to decorate the cakes and make the rest of the morning tea food then it's all done!!!

I'm not sure who is the most exited about the up-coming birthday & party, Grace or me. I can't wait to see her reaction when she sets eyes on her new dolls house. It's every little girls dream and I'm sure (well I hope!) that she will spend lots of time playing with it.

Birthdays are so exciting for a 3 y/o, they really get the whole concept of it - not just interested in the paper and box. She's picked out her cake and helped decide on what games we are doing for her party. We have about 18 adults and 10 kids coming, which is just about as much as our little house could handle. I would have loved to invite all her little friends from playgroup and mothers group, but it just gets too many. I did let her choose 1 friend to invite and there was no hesitation, she immediately picked Cassie. Grace and Cass are great friends, seeing each other twice a week and Grace talks non-stop about Cassie when she is at home. Always wanting to know if she can go see her or pretending to be calling her on the phone. They were born a day apart and both very similar in their interests and mannerisms. It helps that Jen and I are so similar too and get on fantastically, so I highly approve of her choice of "first best friend".

Ok, I think my peace and quiet time is coming to an end. I can hear one of the children rise, so no doubt the other 2 are to follow. We have a jam packed and fun filled afternoon planned - making jelly, painting and making lady birds out of egg cartons.

It's finally out!!!

Yippeeeee!!!

This trip to the dentist's chair was successful, and the stupid pesky wisdom tooth is now just surgical waste!!!

I was nervous going, not sure whether I would have the same reaction to the anaesthetic like last time. I got there and we had a little chat about the last visit. He reassured me that it was most likely the infection causing all the trouble and doubt that it would happen again. 3 successive needles later and I was all numb and ready to go. I couldn't believe how much better I felt this time, after the 3rd last time I had turned into a twitching mess.

So after poking around and making sure that I couldn't feel a thing, he set to work getting the blasted thing out. He wriggled it, pushed & pulled but it wouldn't come. Then the top was drilled of it and forceps shoved in as he tried to grasp the tooth. He huffed and puffed, but it still wouldn't come. I quickly opened my eyes and had a peek, only to quickly see the large pointy forceps coming towards my mouth. Then the dentist commented, "If this doesn't get it out, I'm not sure what will"

I layed back and tried to relax my mouth, very hard thing to do though will all the commotion going on inside it. One side of my lip was pulled so tightly, the tongue was held out of the way by the assistant (and I quote, "So I don't cut it!!). He tried to grab the tooth, slipping a few times sending the instruments ricocheting of other parts of my un-anaesthetised mouth.

I heard the sound of my tooth cracking and crunching, all whilst trying to stay relaxed and willing my tooth out of my body. Finally after one humongous jolt & crack it came away. Well all except one tip of the root. After having a look around and not finding anything Mr dentist came to the conclusion that it had either been sucked up with the suction thingy or I had swallowed it. Yuck, yuck!

I didn't really care though, I was just so happy it was finally out, even if it did look like a murder scene had just happened on my face and chest - there was blood splattered everywhere!

So after packing my mouth with gauze Mr Dentist explained that with all the force he had to use I would most definitely be in a lot of pain later. Also because to free the tooth he had to drill the bone, which would also result in pain.

Pain, pfft! Surely the pain from after that wouldn't even come close to the pain I have been in all week!

Again he said that the numbness would stick around for another 3 or 4 hours, well just as I was paying the bill I started getting feeling back. By the time I had gotten home it was nearly all back to normal, and YES it was a lot of pain.

Add to that the fact that I haven't eaten since my very early breakfast and I am starving. I can barely get water in my mouth let alone food, so looks like that's off the agenda for a day or so!

I was probably just as nervous about the bill as I was about the tooth, but it seems my husband has friends in high places. It was only $250, and might just have been the best $250 that I have ever spent.

Off to dose up on panadol and hit the sack. Hopefully things would have eased up by tomorrow.

Attempt #2

Ok, so it's back to the dentist for me today.

The swelling has gone down and either my pain threshold has increased or the infection is getting better. Let's hope that the infection is nearly gone and the anaesthetic will work successfully, the tooth will just slip out and all the horrible pain will subside.

My darling husband has spilt his work day today so that he can hold my hand through the whole thing. He started work at 5am this morning, finishes at 11am, then afterwards he'll drop me off and head back to work. I am so glad that he is coming, I am feeling slightly anxious about it all. I just hope that I don't need all that anaesthetic again, cause that was a very strange feeling. I have been reassured that it most likely didn't work because of the infection - something to do with the alkalinity and acidity reacting to each other.

It has to work today, I don't think that I have enough courage for a third visit to the drill man.

Sweet 16 months

My gorgeous little boy is now sweet 16 months. There's no denying it now, he IS a toddler. The only bit of baby he has left, is tucked away in my heart - it's there that he will forever be my little baby.

Well once again the last few months have flown by. My little Xavier has made use of every single second, growing and learning at such a fast pace - I am finding it hard to keep up!

Oh Xav, you really are my little lightening bolt. You zoom around, getting into absolutely everything. Emptying cupboards, climbing on anything, running from place to place and leaving a trail of destruction. Between you and your big sister, you certainly keep Mummy on her toes!

Your favourite toys at the moment are the sandpit, the outside toys, your matchbox cars and all our phones. Any time there is a phone within your reach, you grab it & run away - all the time pretending to have a real conversation. A guaranteed way to make you go from happy to sad in 2 seconds flat is to take one off you, sometimes naughty Mummy does it just for her own amusement.

Of course it goes without saying your absolute favourite thing to play with is whatever Grace has. You have certainly learnt how to stand up for yourself, no more Mr nice guy hey! It's kinda cute & funny to watch you both hustle and squabble over things, both holding a very firm grip and voicing your disapproval at the other. It usually ends in a squeally, crying mess and Mummy has to step in a referee, only to have you both forget what it was you were fighting about in the first place and move on to something else. Crazy kids!

Food is something that you thoroughly enjoy, you certainly have the family appetite! You try everything that's put before you and there's not many foods that you reject. You've even managed to master the art of using a spoon and fork. Using the spoon is still a little messy, but you manage to get most of it into your mouth. You're a lot better using the fork though, stabbing each bit of food carefully then gobbling it all up. Apart from eating your 3 main meals, you also graze on snacks during the day. If you get hungry you go and belt on the pantry or fridge door, insisting on getting something. I guess you still like the idea of demand feeding hey! You demand, and I get it for you. Anything for you my gorgeous boy. Anything.

Now onto the breastfeeding. You haven't fed before bed for the last 4 nights. I was feeling crappy with my tooth and desperate for some strong pain relief, so I went with the "Don't offer, Don't refuse" plan of attack. You did try to feed on the first night, but fussed and fiddled around, not having a feed at all. The next night I gave you a cup of milk. The first taste was spat out in disgust, but then you tried it again and drunk it all up. Your still enjoying a feed either overnight or early morning, depending on if you've woken or not. I'm not ready to give up our special time just yet, so wean me slowly please.

Your sleeping is great, no problems at all. You go to bed at about 7pm, we just pop you in the cot and off you go to sleep. Sometime you will surprise us and sleep all night, and other times you will wake between 3-5am. If I remember I just give the dummy, but most of the time I am in a sleep-induced coma and I just bring you straight in with us. It really doesn't bother Duane or I. To be honest, it's the only time I get a nice long cuddle - most of the time it's go, go, go. I love the way your body curls into me when we sleep, usually with an arm flung backwards to touch Daddy. Day sleeps are just as good. You generally go back to bed around 8.30am - 10am, then from around 2pm-3pm. I often have to wake you up of an afternoon though, not sure how long you would sleep for if I didn't. I don't want to risk it, no doubt if I didn't we would be up all night!

You have learnt so many new words. Shooshes (shoes), Gram-ma, hat, to-es, 'ore (more), gone, Who's that (asked EVERYTIME that I answer the phone), Quack-quack, duck, Cock-a-doodle doo, 'nana, car, num (dummy) and probably a lot more than I have missed out.

Your a beautiful little boy who absolutely adores his Mummy. You love exploring away from me, but love me to be close enough for a cuddle every now and then. It's lovely watching your confidence grow as you become more assertive and confidant.

I love you sweet boy. xx