What a day..

Well... It's been a day and half here! Last night was a shocker with Kahlei barely sleeping and James and I both being sick, so it's safe to say I wasn't in the best of moods this morning. It all seemed to start well, Kahlei finally fell into a good sleep (much to my frustration, it was at a time when I couldn't be sleeping too) and Ellie seemed to be in high spirits, even though I am sure she must have been disturbed last night.

Everything went as normal, we ate breakfast and James went off to work and Ellie and I made the bed before I turned on the TV for Ellie to watch In The Night Garden. As the show started, it all fell apart. I don't even know why - all of a sudden Ellie was screaming, crying, carrying on and throwing her arms about in the air. No amount of Igglepiggle stopped the racket (and boy can that girl SCREAM - I mean piercing straight into my brain)! Somehow, we pulled ourselves together to go out as we were about to run out of nappies, which we seem to be doing a bit lately. Where once we had boxes and boxes we now seem to be living one bag to the next - it's a tad stressful.

So, we went out and the girls were perfect (thank goodness)!  I was thinking we'd come home, I'd pop both girls in bed and have a sleep myself and it seemed to be going that way. Both girls went to bed without a peep. 5 minutes later Kahlei was awake and playing with her mobile and being generally noisy, so I decided to get her up and put her in bed with me. I gave her a feed and thought she would sleep, but instead she started chatting to me. Now, I love to hear her gorgeous little chatterings, but I was seriously so tired, I just wished she would stop!!

By the time Ellie got up there'd been no sleep for me... For whatever reason Ellie got up in a terrible mood and Kahlei decided she was actually extremely tired and grumpy (*sigh* go figure). Arsenic hour in our house normally starts at about 4.30 pm and reaches it's peak at 5.30 pm if James hasn't come home by then. Today, it began at 1pm and didn't end until about 5.30.

Once things had calmed down I prepared dinner, James and Ellie fed Kahlei a bottle and all seemed right with the world. Until I got dinner on the table. I was just about to sit down when Kahlei started whinging, I figured she was ready for bed, as she should have been and picked her up as she projectile vomitted ALL over me! I have serisouly never seen a baby vomit that much. She was covered, I was covered, James was kind of laughing and somewhat frozen from shock. As was I. Then she started heaving again, so I did the only logical thing (in my shocked state) and turned her around. Now I am covered, she is covered, the rug is covered... Good move...

I was standing there saying to James "Help?" and he had no idea what to do! I quickly sat down with her on my lap to try and calm her and she brought up another litre of projectile yellow vomit (okay, maybe not literally that much but it was heaps). After which she started chatting and smiling, obviously that did the trick.

Since she was obviously feeling better we got in the shower, which caused a tantrum from Ellie who also wanted to be in the shower - not eating dinner with Daddy.

After the three of us had a nice warm shower things finally settled down. Both girls had a story and went to bed and they're still sleeping now. I just hope we have a good night tonight!

Before I go off to bed: Digiridoo Scraps is having a CT call. If you love digiscrapping, being a part of a fun community and the chance to work with kits from awesome designers then I suggest you apply!!

Mother of the Year, here I come!

I have had an upset tummy this week, between that and Kahlei sleeping badly thru the night I am utterly exhausted. So, Tuesday morning I get Kahlei settled for a nap, Ellie settled on her couch to watch In the Night Garden and decide to lie down while she watches it. As soon as my head hits the cushion I'm out - I don't see a single moment of In the Night Garden, even though the TV only went on a moment before it begun. Quite sometime later I awoke to a strange rustling. The first thing I notice is that Ellie is quiet and has had the television for much longer than her normal half hour. But, mainly, Ellie is quiet. I glance at her couch at the same time that I feel a weight on my feet and hear another ominous rustling.

I look and find my Angel sitting happily with an empty packet of Tim Tams on her lap, which she must have gotten off the wall which is behind the couch dividing the kitchen from the lounge. At first I wasn't sure that she had eaten them as she was much too clean but then I remembered James and I had only had one each the night before and there had been at least two left... Probably more. Still, she was awfully clean... I checked around her for any remains, finding none. She was very pleased with herself, which left no doubt in my mind that she had enjoyed a lovely morning tea!

Project 365 Catch-up

Day 104: The Wheels

Day 105: Tree Tied

Day 106: Discarded

Day 107: Bloom

The Will of a Toddler

With Ellie's second birthday just around the corner we are finding she is pushing the boundaries more and asserting her will in every situation she possibly can.

While "No" was once a word she 'tested' on us before doing whatever it was we were asking of her, it is now a definitive answer. She crosses her arms, shakes her head, stamps her foot and stands her ground. She is of the opinion that "No means no", well, if she says it,anyway. If we tell her no, then it's obviously open for negotiation.

She is very vocal in her opinions and is easily set off into a temper tantrum. Of late she has also been very possessive of toys. If Kahlei has a toy and Ellie takes a moment to realise that Kahlei's having a wonderful time, then she will decide to take it off her. It's not just toys, though, if I put Kahlei on the same mat as Ellie or on Ellie's bed it causes 'issues'. I have to admit that I have been quite surprised by her sudden attitude toward her sister since, really, Ellie would be hard pressed to remember any different, so I was kind of expecting that this kind of behaviour wouldn't come until the girls were older and more competitive. I know, how naive of me.

We're definately well on our way to Terrible Two territory. Which should be fun.

Tuesday's Tribute: 20 Months

Tuesday's Tribute is now being hosted by Angie at Seven Clown Circus

20 months ago Ellie Kara made her entrance into the world. Or more specifically, became my world. I remember those first few minutes, laying on the operating table, waiting and willing her to cry. The relief that spread through me.

Lately, I have written a few posts referring to the speed at which both Ellie and Kahlei have grown. And this evening I have looked at 'old' photos of Ellie, marvelling at the speed at which she developed, right before my eyes.

In 20 months Ellie has gone from a helpless babe to an independent, strong-willed, funny and amazing toddler.

From a colicky, windy baby who never slept to a (practically) perfect angel who now goes to bed, falls asleep on her own and stays asleep all night. I thought that would never happen.

In 20 months Ellie has developed her own personality, revelling in the discoveries life has to offer her. Exploring her world at every opportunity and learning all she can.

From those first few rolls on her play mat, to her first steps at almost 10 months to this running, twirling, stair-climbing, jumping, dancing ray of sunlight, I have been there for all of these amazing milestones and yet I still find it amazing to look at her now and see all that she can do and realise just how much she is taking in.

20 months of cuddles and kisses with my sweet baby girl. 20 months of learning, struggling, laughing, crying - for all involved.

Who know such a small amount of time could open your eyes, mind and world to so much.

The best 20 months of my life, so full of joy and light.

Ellie, moments after she was born

Ellie today, sitting on her potty

And having a big bath (with Mummy & Kahlei)

Such a Big Girl!

Tomorrow Ellie will be 20 months old. Seriously, where has the time gone?

Yesterday, Ellie 'transitioned', if you will, from her highchair to the middle stool at the bench. As Kahlei isn't too far off eating, I decided to get Ellie used to eating somewhere other than the highchair so that it's not an issue when it's not hers anymore.

It hasn't been an issue at all. She is loving being next to us and is less inclined to make quite as much mess as she used to. Now that she sits with Daddy and Mummy, she requires a fork and knife, just like us. Nanna gave her some little toddler cutlery for Christmas and she is surprisingly good at manoevering a knife as well as her fork.

Another 'big' thing in the life of Ellie; yesterday she was allowed to play outside on her own for the very first time (with us watching her through the door/windows, of course). We told her she couldn't go into the yard until she was wearing her boots, as it had been raining. She only had one boot out there, so she tried on Daddy's.

They were much too big.

So, she happily pottered around on the verandah while James watched her and I put Kahlei to bed and found her other boot. I took it out to her but she didn't really seem interested, I left them together and left her to it.

Once I was inside, she realised they were there, popped them on and went out into the yard. In that moment, realising that she had done exactly what we had told her (+ having only told her once) I felt so proud!

She is in her room chatting to herself now, after waking up about 5 minutes ago. Tonight I will catch up on replying to comments and reading blogs, for now I should prepare something for her to eat.

Project 365 Day 62 - 68

Day 62: Clouds at Sunset

Day 63: Flame Grill

Day 64: Soccer Dog

Day 65: The Mount

Day 66: Driving Mummy (mad?)

Day 67: Chicken Tonight

Day 68: Mumma and Baby Laptop

James got a Dell mini 9 today. It is soo tiny next to my Studio 15. Haha, cute!

Developmental Milestones

I used to put up these development lists from Raising Children for Ellie all the time, with what she was doing bolded, but I haven't done it since she was about 13 months I don't think. So, I thought it was time to update Ellie's milestones and start on Kahlei's, with a photo of them from yesterday when we were all out the front.

Kahlei:

The 4th month

By the end of this month, your baby:

… should be able to:

• on stomach, lift head up 90 degrees


• laugh out loud


• follow an object in an arc about 15 cm above the face for 180 degrees (from one side to the other)

… will probably be able to:

• hold head steady when upright


• on stomach, raise chest, supported by arms


• roll over (one way) - I never get to see it, though!!
  


• grasp a rattle held to backs or tips of fingers


• pay attention to a raisin or other very small object


• reach for an object


• squeal in delight
  

… may possibly be able to:

• keep head level with body when pulled to sitting


• turn in the direction of a voice, particularly mummy’s


• say ah goo or similar vowel consonant combinations - She is the biggest chatterbox. Especially when Ellie's around
  


• blow a raspberry (make a wet blowing sound with lips placed together and vibrating)

… may even be able to:

• bear some weight on legs when held upright


• sit without support


• object if you try to take a toy away


• turn in the direction of a voice

Ellie:

The 19th month

By the end of this month, your toddler:

… should be able to:

• use three words
  


• point to a desired object

… will probably be able to:

• ‘feed’ a doll


• use six words - Oh, yes, she is picking up words at an alarming rate at the moment! Last night I tried to teach her Rhinoserous "Rhiionon" hehe
  


• walk up steps

… may possibly be able to:

• build a tower of four cubes


• identify two pictures by pointing
  

… may even be able to:

• name six body parts - She loves doing this and has started showing us what's what on Kahlei, which Kahlei thinks is hilarious
  


• wash and dry hands

Ahh, my girls are growing up.

It's funny to look at Kahlei and know that in 15 months she will be a little person, just like Ellie is now. It never ceases to amaze me how much these little minds and bodies learn in such a short amount of time.

Choices

Lately, I have been giving Ellie a choice when getting dressed of a morning. She is loving being able to choose and I enjoy seeing the excitement she experiences when I ask her what she would like to wear.

This morning I placed the two outfits on her bed and said, as I usually do, "What would you like to wear today?" and she proceeded to take the top and tights from outfit one, the shorts and headband two and mix them together. I don't want to be a Nazi mum who makes her kids wear certain things, however, I was a tad skeptical about tights and shorts... She got dressed before accessorising with her handbag, hat and a single red gumboot.

Once she was all decked out it was time to take her baby for a walk.

She walked up and down the yard, coming to 'visit' Kahlei and I before waving bye bye and going to the clothes line, all the while keeping her one boot on.

I am so proud of her. I love her personality. Everyday she is showing me more and more amazing things, just when I think there can't be anything more amazing than what I have already watched her accomplish she surprises me with something else.

Classy, no?

Now, I have some Project 365 catch ups;

Day 52: BabyBugs

Day 53: Cloud Gazing

Day 54: Wet Washing...

Hello World

I'm Back!!

I realise you have all been hanging out for this moment, so I couldn't draw it out any longer. Give the people what they want, I say. Or maybe I just really missed blogging... Yeah, I have posted my Project 365 photos, purely because I have promised myself I will not get behind unless I have no access to the net.

I feel like so much has gone on with Ellie and Kahlei that I haven't had time to blog and now I can't remember! I'm going to try and figure out what those things might be now, as I often use this blog to update their baby books and my diary. My Project 365 photos help me out a little with figuring out what happened when.

* Last Friday Kahlei rolled from her belly to her back and I missed it!  I had gone into the kitchen to answer the phone and when I came back around she was happily on her back, not where I had put her. She has not done it since, I think she can tell I am watching her...
* Also last Friday; Ellie and I had fun blowing bubbles

  

Becky's Toddler Friendly Bubbles
- 1/2 cup no tears baby bath
- 1 cup cold water
- 1 teaspoon sugar

* Ellie has been going to the potty more often and can wear undies for hours without wetting them
* Kahlei has become a real little chatter, more so than Ellie was at this age. She will 'talk' for ages and thinks Ellie is hilarious. They share a bath together at night and Kahlei spends the whole time smiling and laughing at Ellie. I tell Ellie "Kahlei's smiling at you" but she doesn't really pay attention. I guess it doesn't seem such a big deal to her since she's still a baby herself...
* As she's such a chatterbox, she will often have a talk to her mobile toys before she goes to sleep and Ellie will race into her room at any peep. I'll go in and find her on her tiptoes, reaching through the cot bars, trying to put her dummy back in or patting her. I tell Ellie that Kahlei is going to sleep and doesn't need her help and Ellie looks at me as if to say "Mum, you have no idea." She was making noise, after all...

 

After awhile we have another problem, when Ellie decides Kahlei has been sleeping too long and will drop everything she's doing and run towards her room say "Kaylei Kaylei Kaylei".
* Ellis has started making up and singing her own songs while dancing to them. Mostly, I don't know what she's singing, but yesterday it was 'Igglepiggle is a good boy'. A classic in the making, I should think.
* Yesterday Ellie counted to two! She has been saying "Two" after I say one for awhile, now and for the past few days she has been counting without actually counting, if you know what I mean? Basically, she would sit there and say "two, faw, bleg, sis, sis". Yesterday, she was drawing and counting as she went.
*On the drawing front, she has become a real little scribbler and delights in telling us what it is she has drawn. She used to simply jab the pencil/texta at the paper while watching me or whoever was around and not show much interest in what she was doing but now she can draw happily for AGES, so long as we take the time to listen to what she has to say about it afterwards!
* One last thing (I know, these things are really only interesting to parents and grandparents of a child). Her favourite word is minute. I must say In a minute a lot. She thinks it is so so funny when I say it and I think it is simply adorable when she copies "Mmmit" (after she's finished giggling about me saying it, of course).

Well, my blogging alarm has gone off (ie Ellie's awake).

Oh! Before I go, I wanted to mention my plans for my Thursday post. My mum has ecently aquired photoshop and I promised I would write her some tutorials on the basics, as well as anything in particular she wanted to be able to do . I'm by no means an expert, but I can get things done and have learnt much by simply sitting and fiddling with the program. So, I intend to post my first tutorial for her then. Mum, any requests? Or does anyone have any suggestions?

Day 39: Elmo for Dinner

With James and I entirely preoccupied with our current Top Secret project, Ellie has gone nuts with her toys. There are toys everywhere! Tonight, she went to the saucepan drawer, got the pasta cooker and proceeded to 'cook' Elmo, as it was around 5 o'clock, it was perfect timing to start making dinner!

The Mumma, The Diva and The Princess

Today started like this

We played, built towers and danced the morning away. Once nap time arrived I was exhausted and looking forward to starting on my entry for the GDS Supreme Team VII Contest. I get Kahlei settled in bed while Ellie had something to eat then put Ellie to bed and started the download for the kit for round 1; "Your Day" by Dani Alencar. I was impatiently awaiting the moment when I could check out the kit and get started when Ellie started knocking on her bedroom door saying "Kok, Kok" (knock, knock). Uh-oh.

I went in and tried to get her to lie down. Nope. Then I laid her in my bed with me, for a moment or two it seemed this was going to be a successful move. She snuggled into me and even went so far as to close her eyes, prompting me to close mine and the next thing I know she's chatting up a storm, wriggling and sitting up. So, I figure we'll try again later and give up on starting my layout.

Turns out The Diva decided she was too big for a day sleep. Thanks anyway, Mum. So, we go back to chasing each other around the house and I get her to help with some chores. Then, The Diva wakes The Princess, who had been sleeping as a Princess should. We make afternoon tea and head out the back for sunshine, fresh air and some water play. I thought I would wear them out.

We come inside and The Princess decides The Diva is onto something with this staying-up-while-being-ultra-tired-thing. By this time The Mumma's getting pretty frustrated and tired. A full day with a wakeful yet grumpy toddler? So not ready for that!!

Bed time came, The Mumma kissed The Diva and The Princess goodnight and finally got some quiet time! Enough time to start and finish a layout:

Playgroup Outing

This morning we ventured back into the playgroup world. I wanted to stay home, especially after Ellie got me up before it got light, but I ignored my jitters (not to mention my headache, sick stomach and extreme exhaustion). Getting us out the door by 9.30 was a challenge and I am proud to say that we made it on time!

I hate that moment when you walk into a room full of mothers and they all turn to size you up, lowering their voices as if they were actually talking about you as you made your way through the door and looking you and your children up and down before going back to their conversations.

As this moment passed, I took a deep breath and signed the book while Ellie held tight to my finger. She was very shy at first, happily amusing herself and playing alone. Eventually, she made her way to the playdough and kitchen to 'cook', which drew quite a few older girls to her. Thankfully, she had warmed up enough to chatter to them and share.

I laid Kahlei on a baby playmat close to the playdough and watched while Ellie did her thing. I like to be somewhat near Ellie in these kinds of situations, keeping an eye on her and interacting with her when she has something she would like to share with me (cooked playdough, for me? Yummo). This means I have little interaction with the other parents who are at the table having morning tea (some not bothering to watch as their little boy snatches toys and is a general nuscience). With my whole new weight loss journey I didn't want to go and sit at the morning tea table, where delicious looking scones, cake and biscuits mocked me. I do not consider myself a 'helicopter mum', I do not interfere in her activities or hover over her waiting to save her from everything, but I do believe that I should keep an eye on her. She is only young, after all.

Once the door to outside was open Ellie wandered out there for a swing and a slide. Unfortunately, she wanted to climb UP the slide while another little girl wanted to go down, so another lady offered to hold Kahlei while I showed Ellie that she had to climb up the ladder at the back AND wait her turn (I know, that's asking a whole lot of a toddler). Once that was figured out I watched Ellie's delight as she slipped down the slide and heard one of the ladies asking how warm Kahlei's wrap was. The lady holding her said "Not very and she has coughed once." I instantly felt quite defensive. I knew for a fact that Kahlei was warm enough (in fact she was even a little sweaty) and had not coughed, she simply made protest noises at being so near nap time and being with a stranger.

As Kahlei got more tired I decided it was time to go. She will no longer go to sleep in our arms, especially when out somewhere so busy, with so much to look at. I scooped up Ellie and was met with screaming. That's okay, though, we're all mothers, right? No. From the looks I was getting, it was not at all okay. This is the second public tantrum in the presence of people who, apparently, have perfect children who would never, ever throw a tantrum - especially in public. If Ellie could say "Bad Mummy" I'm pretty sure she would have at that moment when all eyes were on me, judging and unimpressed.

Having worked in the childcare industry, I can't explain how I came to the belief that coping with a toddler's tantrum in a place full of parents of toddler would be met with understanding and support. Yes, that's what I thought! Go on, laugh at me, I sure am.

I don't understand the attitudes of some mothers. I don't know why raising our children is a competition, why it is that we can't raise our children in a different way to others without it being considered the 'wrong' way. For me it works and if my children are happy, healthy and thriving then I'd say it's the right way for me, as I would say that what works for you is the right way for you.

I have discussed my thoughts on what I call the 'elitist mother' in a previous post. I want to find a way to encourage acceptance and unity among mothers (big dreams, huh?), we're all on this amazing journey whether we use cloth or disposable, whether we breastfeed or bottle feed and sometimes support from someone else experiencing this crazy thing called Parenthood is just what we need.