Enough said.

Or seeing your own look of proud joy reflected in the face of your four year old, the same wise big sister who excitedly located her sister’s beating heart on the ulltrasound screen?

Pardon me while I fall down into a great big hormonally charged Mummy swoon.  The very same happy hormones that reign triumphant over varicose veins in unspeakable places and the exhaustion that makes an unwelcome return in the third trimester. It’s gone so fast peoples.  Next thing I know I will have to deal with the whole labour and birth thing.

(Oh yeah, we’ve moved and survived too).

The one who is currently enjoying your 6am starts to the day, nap fighting and insistence that I lie next to your de-sided cot big girl bed while you fall asleep, never mind that that can take an hour and a wierd form of cuddling that will become rather difficult as my belly expands.  And that’s before you join us in bed before the night is out.

Happy belated birthday my darling one, my five word sentence speaking, colour recognising, counting to ten-ing,  velcroed to Mummy cuddle adoring, fully fledged “I don’t want it don’t like it” tantrum throwing, ownership obsessed, almost weaned, sister adoring, pretty dress and garbage truck/digger loving and newly minted owner of lower jaw two year old molars little big girl.

Our lives are so much the richer for you being here.  Love you to the moon and back.

And of course the obligatory photos..in colour for a change..

Blowing out the candles on Mummy’s slack preggo chick cake effort number one:

And a week later, A’s carefully decorated lolly cake for our mother’s group party:

And a silly shot.  Just because:

(Should have thought to get you some Spiderman accoutrement just like your big sister. Instead you’ve settled for  a Wiggles wiggly guitar amd the world’s most freakishly realistic baby doll. You’re a funny one.)

And follows up with a “Hello Molly!!*” to a kangaroo at a wildlife park a few days later?

While it is clear that miss E loves all creatures great and small I’m guessing that zoology is not going to be her calling.

*Name of MIL’s decidedly un kangaroo like dog.

Thank you my darling girl.

For the giggles and milky snuggles that we enjoy first thing in the morning and last thing at night, inching ever closer to the amazing goal of two whole years of breastfeeding.

For the love you have for your big sister and the way you sing her name in invitation to play and make mischief together.

For your monkey like acrobatics and the way in which you make my heart leap into my mouth even as I proudly watch your show your older sister how to navigate play equipment that should be well beyond your size and abilities.

For the adorable way in which you play baby, crawling and gaaing and demanding a bottle of water as we cuddle on the couch just like the little babies at daycare, and especially the way you have no idea how to suck on a teat.

For the delight you have for your Daddy and the joyous way you announce “Daddy’s home!!” before propelling yourself headfirst into his arms at the end of a long and tiring work day.

For your burgeoning and fierce independence, demanding “pretty dresses” to wear no matter how inconvenient and how poorly colour coordinated your selection may be.

For the way in which you must always point out when and where you are “sore“.  Especially the fact that you will give fair warning that you have a “sore tummy“, allowing me the chance to prepare for the nappy or spew from hell. Or at the very least a chance to publicly deny that the sound of flatulence certainly isn’t emananting from me.

For your stunning vocabulary for one so small, singing all of the words for many a popular nursery rhyme and happily engaing friends and family in your running commentary of the day.  It is simply gorgeous to ask you about your day at daycare and to be told who gave you a cuddle and that “E do drawing…see?” as you thurst a masterpiece of colourful squiggles in my face.

For your sense of humour and comedic timing, and the way you will end a large belly laugh with a procalmation of “Funny!”, when it most certainly is.

For your quirky obessional toddler behavour, announcing “I want Dorothy!” the nanosecond your early morning boobie is “all fishy-ed Mummy” as you race to the telly, leaving your bleary eyed Mama in your wake.

For your love (and mine) of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, eagerly pointing out the egg, moon, sun and attempting to count the fruits.  Your delight when the butterfly emerges, even when it is the seventh time we have read this classic story in a row.

For your love of twirling, especially in a butterfly print dress, and the uninhibited way in which you will dance wherever and whenever the mood takes you, much to the amusement of all and sundry in the supermarket this morning.

My darling girl, my whirling dervish, my butterfly beauty, my little sunlight soul who makes me pause and delight in all the hithero ignored little things that make this life the joyous mystery that it is.

My heart is full.

It would appear that the delectable miss E has been learning a lot at daycare.  Surprisingly it’s not biting or hitting that has made the most impression on my youngest. And nor is the rampant possessiveness of defending one’s turf in a group of fellow ankle biters, although she is rather fond of telling me “no naughty”, “Ebie’s turn” and “mine!” an awful lot.  Instead my littlest lady seems quite enamoured of minding her p’s and q’s.

“Drinkee pliz Mummy“, “More ‘tanas pliz Mummy” are common phrases you will hear in our house nowadays, ocassionally drowned out by A counting to one hundred. Again. And again.

All too often with a wicked glint in her sparkling hazel eyes miss E will then answer with a pre-emptive “sure!” before I’ve even had the chance to respond either to her request or with appropriately enthusiastic praise to her determined clever clogs big sister.

Once she has had her fill she will proudly declare “Fishy-ed (finished). Ta mummy!”, with A proudly telling her “You used your manners so well E. Good girl!” and I yet again melt into a puddle of hissy mummy gooeyness.

Most delightful of all is that these manners have extended to our breastfeeds.  The way in which miss E will finish one side before politely requesting “More boobie pliz” is hilariously funny and endearing.  The way in which she proudly announces “Fishy-ed. Sleepy Mummy. Night night” is beyond adorable. And when she announces “Owsh. Sorry Mummy” if she pops off a bit too viciously or has a little slip up thanks to the upper canines that have popped through her gums in the past week my heart almost explodes at the display of burgeoning empathy.

Whoever came up with that dopey shite aphorism “If they’re old enough to ask for it they shouldn’t be getting it” totally missed the point.

Or their kids weren’t half as breathtakingly delightful as mine.

More pliz.

A is my adorable angel thanks to her lovely current regime of sleeping from 8:30 pm to 8:30 am (!!). I’m fairly certain she is also undergoing a massive developmental leap, as now she is doing such blissful things as working out how to solve issues of frustration without screaming the place down in anger (“Mummy I can’t do x” “Just a tic and I’ll be with you sweetie” “It’s OK Mummy, I’ve worked it out“), using lovely big words like “ingredients” “aisle” and “tzatziki” in their correct context and with beautiful pronunciation, spelling out the letters of every word in sight, waiting patiently when the need arises and showering us with lots of lovely kisses and cuddles. More please.

E ‘s sleeping has improved along with her speech, gorgeous little crumpet. She is currently exhorting me to “Mummy, sit!” while patting the couch next to her so that is where I shall shortly go so that we can share cuddles and a story.

And one last thing. I have convinced myself that the test I had was merely an evaporation line and that my period was late due to an errant cyst. Let us never speak of it again.

Have a lovely weekend.

You are so completely and utterly delicious right now that I  vacillate between wanting to press pause so that I can savour this truly delightful period in your life and excitedly wondering what the days, weeks and months ahead will bring as you continue to blossom into a most beautiful, happy, determined yet laid back and bright little individual.

You have well over fifty words in your vocabulary*, and have started to combine some into simple two word sentences. Just this morning you looked out of your bedroom window and gravely declared no tweets tweets, and you were right. There were no birds singing outside on this particular cold and rainy morning.

Your understanding of simple instructions and commands is also taking off at a lightning pace.  When I say it’s time for breakfast/ lunch/dinner, you will race off to your highchair, excitedly pointing and exclaiming “Chair! up!” before then demanding your “bibee“. Favourite foods are then met with a round of applause and “Yummy!“. Not so favourite foods are met with a determined “NO!” and if I’m not quick enough, will be unceremoniously dumped on the floor, much to your older sister’s delight. You are a bit of a fuss bucket cuisine wise and under no circumstances will you let anyone spoon feed you when you have been so proficient yourself for months.  It’s  so endearing to see A gently exhort you to “Go on E, try some, yummy vegies are STRONG foods“.  All those lovely teeth (only your eye teeth and two year old molars to go)  and yet you still view any meat that is not in lasagne or a preservative free sausage with suspicion.

You adore your big sister, sometimes walking over an giving an unprompted kiss and cuddle, and you two share a secret language of gibberish that reduces you both to fits of giggles.  You adore bopping up and down together to Brats on the Beat, a Ramones for kids compilation that gladdens your Daddy’s heart and assures him that the lab did not stuff up and you are most certainly his.

Anything A can do you try to mimic too, in an attempt to be sixteen months going on three and three quarters. If your big sister is drawing with the magna doodle or chalk on the front verandah blackboards , you want a turn to, proudly displaying your line based scribbles alongside A’s recognisable pictures and name.  And you adore playing dollies just like your big sister does, giving baby good a ride in the pram, many cuddles and trying to put her dummy in while saying “Shhh!” when you want her to sleep. So gorgeous to watch.

Whenever A is doing somersaults or jumping off the couch you’re in there too, much to Mummy’s chagrin.  As death defying as your feats of physical prowess are, you really do have excellent gross motor skills and are quite the self sufficient little soul, as evidenced this afternoon when you happily climbed up onto the kitchen table to help yourself to an “Ahh-pul” which you happily munched away on for the next half an hour.

Your fine motor skills are well advanced too. Thankfully you will come and hand me whatever small objects you find on the floor with a firm “Ta”, including coins. We don’t need two human money boxes in this family.

Don’t let that last example of ‘manners’ fool you though, because you love to test the boundaries. You continue to open the bathroom door gate and climb up onto the vanity about seventy five thousand times a day and have been caught on many an occasion trying to reach for the bikkie jar in the pantry. And you most certainly don’t like being told no, throwing yourself to the floor in a little hissyfit whenever anyone dares to utter said word to you.  A taste of things to come which might just temper your Mummy’s burgeoning cluckiness. But who am I kidding?

Little darling, I was in awe tonight at just how far much your little brain has developed as we went about your bedtime routine. You fetched a book from the shelf to read when asked, and then gave your Daddy and big sister their goodnight kisses and hugs. With an exuberant “Bye!” you then trotted off down the hallway to your room, exhorted me to turn on your bear nightlight, followed by a request for “Dee dee” and your “bag” (grobag) and “on” as we turned on your night music. Then there was a game of “Shad-oos”, your little tongue making clicking sounds as you waved your hand and observed the shapes it made on the wall. When this game was finished you then asked for your beloved “Boobie“. Once satisfied, and after a bit of mucking around and giggling as you rocked back and forth in my arms and played with my face you then sighed contentedly, pointed to your cot and said “night night“. As I settled you in you held my hand, before smiling and waving “Bye!“as I left your room and you to your night time babble as you gently drifted off to sleep. I don’t think my heart could be fuller with love for you than it is right now.

Darling E, I love you from here to eternity.

(above is one of E’s beloved up close and personal sit on Mummy’s lap and say “cheese”  as I turn the camera back towards us photos).

* here’s an off the top of my head and not exhaustive list: mummy, dada, ahhbee, nanna, poppy, pa,  dink (drink), lid, toes, done, up, down, gone, tweet tweets (birds), woof (dogs),  tree, hello, bye bye, bath, nose, shoes, cheese (camera and food), toast, brush, have look, hot, dee dee, pooh (bear and poop), teddy, duckie quack, one-two-treee, boobie, door,  night night, shhh, uh oh, oh dear,  bibee (bib), clip (hairclip), what dat/’dis, yuck (bin), bag (grobag), open, blinds, light, ta, chair, apple, baby, wipe, on, off, boo, mmm yummy, ‘nana (banana), again, dolly, kiss, shadow, car, spoon, blub blub (fish), bikkie, MORE.

We’ve had rainbows, spiders (!!), pictures of the family at the beach and a hot air balloon floating in the sky above a tree, all usually accompanied by an impressive, imgainative and expressive explanation.  Very impressive for a three and a half year old if I do say so myself.

And then there’s been monsters of all shades and sizes and temperaments….

Me: A, that’s a lovely drawing, can you tell me about it?

A: It’s a scary monster.

Me: He’s can’t be too scary, he’s smiling. Does that mean he’s not going to eat me up?

A: No, he’s smiling BECAUSE he’s going to eat you up!

It almost makes up for the general shitty whiny defiant behaviour and refusing to go to sleep in one’s own bed that comes at this age. Almost.

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E is growing up in such a hurry. Words are coming thick and fast and in correct context. I am often brought my “Shuz” and entreated to put them on, If our littlest miss ever sees the camera she strikes a pose, says “Cheese!” and the “Look?” as she cranes her neck to see the preview screen (oh the children of today…).

She can follow simple directions if she wants to (“Throw the ball!“, “Oh for the love of god please get down from there“), knows where her nose and mouth are and uses a rather forceful combination of “Ta?” and hand grabbing motions when she spies something that she wants.  The ensuing mini tantrum if she does not get her way is actually rather cute. For now.

Best of all is that she blows kisses and gives cuddles when asked, wrapping her little arms around your neck with such affection that I swear my heart could explode from the sheer joy. Especially when said cuddle is accompanied by a “Nigh nigh” and followed through with a two to three hour nap.

Oh, the bliss of the looong single daytime sleep. Almost gives you enough time to clean up from the aftermath of the morning full of stubborn “Noo!!s” and “What ‘dis?” and endless playing of dollies/horsey rides/rough housing/cooking/ climbing acts of breathtaking daring with the little human dynamo.

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As I referred to in my last post we took the girls to Featherdale Wildlife Park last Wednesday along with their nineteen month old cousin, and my sister and parents. All three little girls had an absolute ball, and so did we.  E was enchanted by all of the animals, excitedly pointing out “Duck! Duck!” before squealing with delight and chasing whatever unfortunate bird she was referring to (brush turkey, actual duck, emu).  Ducks are her current obsession, and she entreats us to sing the Five Little Ducks song whenever she is in the bath, attempting the hand gestures and all, and will excitedly point out ducks in various books too.

I digress.

A was thrilled to be able to feed the kangaroos, and took a more egalitarian approach than her younger sister by not stuffing the feed cup right into the face of whichever skippy took her fancy, rather she allowed each kangaroo she came across a small taste of food before declaring that it was time to share with someone else and moving on to the next one.

A also rather happily lapped up the besotted attention from her younger cousin, who is currently fixated with our oldest girl. To C’s delight, A let her hold hands for most of the day and even shared her chocolate ice cream, a first for my niece. At the end of the day we had to prise her out of our car where she had hopped into the back seat with our girls so that she could go home with her own mother!  A told her tearful cousin “I will see you soon my darling“. Such adoration leads to such exemplary behaviour. Bless.

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Coming soon: a report on where we’re at with cloth for those of you that love all things fluffy.

Have a great weekend peoples inside the computer.

You adore doors. For some reason they thrill you, and many times over the course of the day I will hear your sweet voice exclaim “Door-uh!” as you attempt to open and close the kitchen cupboards, the bedroom door or as you stand banging excitedly on the front and back screen doors, desperate to engage with the trees/birds/grass/sky that are beguilingly just out of reach. Funnier still is the way you take every opportunity to play with the safety gate in the bathroom if you ever spy it left accidentally ajar. You will race towards it, and carefully close it behind you as if its presence is there to prevent the egress of some other baby.

Along with “Door-uh“, words beginning with d seem to be the flavour du jour. As well as the ubiquitous “Dee-dee“, “down” is another favourite, and you repeat it like a mantra as you pull the zip down on my jacket before exhorting me to pull it up again, a game that you will happily play for hours. “Duh-duh” is squealed with delight as you play with a rubber duckie in the bath, and whenever and wherever you see a quacky type critter. Equally as delightful is the way you call A’s name, your own version beginning with D that at first I mistakenly took for being “Dada” (and was humoured that you had decided to call your sister by the same name as your father). No, it is distinct and your big sister absolutely adores the fact that you now greet her by name too.

While the words are slowly forming you have turned gesticulation into a fine art form. Your pointing is very distinct, and is usually accompanied by an attention seeking “Ooooooohh!! Ooooohh!!” that can be heard from three kilometres away. Your other favourite word and action combination is a definite “Nah!” accompanied by a shake of the head, something which is sure to remain firm favourite for a long time to come. We hear and see this one most often at mealtimes, when you have had enough to eat, want to take over the feeding procedure for yourself or you are simply refusing to try whatever new food is being offered. You are certainly a girl of your own mind in this department, and although frustrating and a sure sign of the many food battles to come I am also pleased that you are learning to regulate your own intake. You even try to feed me, exclaiming “Yum!” as you cram your mushy rejects into my mouth. Between that and “Ta” as you hand over whatever you have collected on your forays around the house and I seem to spend a lot of time putting away the remote controls and cleaning mashed banana out of my hair. Not that I would have it any other way.

If it’s not an “ooohhh” it’s a “Dooooodooodoooh!!” accompanied by swaying if you are trying to convey a tune, especially the theme to In the Night Garden or the Teddy Bears’ Picnic song, two of your current favourites…and clips that you try and persuade me to show you on the computer during mealtimes. You clap and excalim “Yay!” whenever I relent, and wriggle your fingers in a manner akin to the gestures for “Twinkle twinkle Little Star” along with the music. You are a very musically oriented child, stopping to bop whenever you hear a tune that takes your fancy. And you absolutely love the xylophone toy we got for your birthday, happy to bash out a tune with your big sister whenever and wherever the mood strikes.

You are a social butterfly, happy to engage your world and other people provided Mummy is still somewhere in sight. Whenever we drop your big sister at daycare you wriggle with all of your might to escape my arms in a desperate attempt to join in with the other children. At mother’s group and in the park you are an absolute daredevil. After chasing you up the ladders of slippery dips and helping you to push the toy cars that belong to the little roller coaster ride at mother’s group I am firmly convinced that you already see yourself as a three year old. You have brought smiles of absolute delight to the faces of strangers as they have watched me bring you safely back down the local park slide, one leg raised awkwardly in the air as we negotiate equipment designed for much smaller bottoms than mine.

And at nap times, the end of all action packed days and when you wake in the night we still wind down with a breastfeed, much to my amazement and pride. With eight teeth and another couple on the way, it’s at times a somewhat interesting experience but it is my absolute pleasure to be able to still nurture in this way. However I think, I think you may be starting on the process to weaning yourself, as you are pretty much saying “nah” to my left breast at all feeds except during the night, shaking your head and blowing raspberries at the poor old slow thing. I am not going to attempt to boost supply at this stage, as this was behind the last bout of mastitis, and have simply accepted that we can soldier on with one side if need be. Given that you’ve always had such a distinct preference for old righty I am pleased that we got as far as we did with loser lefty.

Yes you are STILL in our room, even though your very own is more than ready. It should come as no surprise then that you still wake in the night. I don’t know why we are so reluctant to let you go, you really could do with the uninterrupted sleep, but it has been so lovely to have you nearby, never having to strain to hear your cries through a monitor and knowing that when you do wake that all it usually takes to resettle you is a few steps to bring you to bed for a snuggly feed and few steps to place you back in your cot once you are satiated. Never mind that poor Daddy seems to end up sleeping elsewhere a lot of the time (eek).

My darling, darling E, you have inveigled yourself into my heart and there I will hold you always. Ahhhhhh.