Four Laps Round The Sun

Today, my girl completed her forth lap round the Sun. How amazing it is that in that time she has changed from a tiny helpless being, into a little person who knows so much, who says so much and who does so much. 

She talks non stop, she uses large words to explain things- disgusting, amazing, humungous! 

She loves to dance. 

She loves to dress up, especially as a fairy, a princess or a mermaid. 

Her favorite colour is pink. 

She has a shoe addiction and prefers to spend her savings money on a pair of shoes rather than a toy. 

She draws amazing pictures of flowers and her family and friends.

She loves her sister. She also loves to boss her sister around!

She enjoys wring her name- on pictures, on steamed up windows, with the fridge magnets- everywhere.

She thinks that now she is 4, she is bigger, smarter and more grown up than she was yesterday.

But most of all, she is an amazing girl whom I adore with all my heart.

2011.

There have been 2 years in my life, where the course I thought I was following has been inexplicably altered though no act of my own doing. The first time was in 2000 when this happened. The second time was this year when the Christchurch earthquakes sent our lives onto yet another, different, unexpected route. 

The earthquake, within a few seconds destroyed a lot of the community in which I lived. It caused grief and anguish to many who lost a lot more than I did. But on a personal level, it caused my girl to become very reclusive, frightened and withdrawn, as her little 3 year old mind tried to come to terms with the situation she found herself in. 

In amongst all this, she turned 3. We had an impromptu party and for that day, everybody smiled. It was beautiful.

Shortly after her birthday, she got her first pair of glasses, teeny tiny glasses. I never knew they made them so small.

In the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, we spent serval weeks in Golden Bay, enjoying the idyllic beaches and relative normality of life there. But upon or return to Christchurch, we made a big decision. The right thing for us, for our family, was to move away. Leaving was scary. It had never been in our plans. But as it turned out, it was a good thing.

We found our selves here. Five hours from home in this beautiful alpine lake village. We found ourselves welcomed here. And slowly, we have built a new life here. 

Holly started preschool. I still find myself stunned that my baby is big enough to give me a quick kiss before she rushes off to play with her friends each day.  She started swimming lessons, ballet classes and had her first haircut. This girl of mine is growing up!

And this little girl? Over the course of this year, she has grown from a baby to a toddler. She talks non stop, she loves to dance, she loves to cuddle and she is mad on thomas the tank engine. She has the biggest character. She makes me laugh out loud so many times a day. And as 2011 drew to a close, this littlest girl of mine turned 2. 

Sadly, in 2011, we also said goodbye to a loyal friend. Our lovely old dog Tim died. We had him for 15 years, he was a good gentle pet and we still miss him a lot.

2011, what a year eh?

Bring on 2012. 

Puddles

"I like puddles. Do you like puddles Mumma? For jumping in?.... It's quite fun"

Holly age 3

Dear Santa

Dear Santa,

I have a very big christmas list but all I really want is a fairy dress and a wand.

Love Holly (age 3 and 3/4).

Oh how I love that little girl in all her sweetness. 

And just quietly, it seems Santa must be very smart as he already has a fairy dress and wand,  ready and waiting for the big day to arrive. 

My Little Lady Of The Lake

I love how our days pan out here. A lazy lunch followed by an afternoon beach combing at the lake. This little girl of mine, just loves the water. She spends long periods sitting and playing quietly by the waters edge. She loves to throw pebbles into the water, taking joy in the plopping and slashing as they hit the water. 

Today this little girl of mine really made me smile. There is something about preschoolers and costumes, they are like moths to a flame, and my little Holly is no exception to that. Lately, I rarely seem to see her out of costume and todays choice was a butterfly fairy. She flittered along the waters edge, testing the water and enjoying the freedom to unleash her little butterfly fairy along the empty beach.

And as usual for my little girl, we spent time collecting the prettiest of the treasures to take home.

Gotta love days like this.  

On Going Home

Last week was my first visit back to Christchurch following our move south a couple of months back. It was nice to be home. Nice to spend time with family and friends. Nice to see my girls playing with their cousins. Nice to be able to buy a few bits and pieces from the bigger chain stores we lack down south. It was not so nice to be around for another 5.4 quake but I was relieved my girls both slept through it.

Coming back to our new home, I am grateful for the easy life we have here. Life is so normal. My children behave normally here, they go to playgroup, pre-school, they play at the playground. All the things I used to take for granted, but never again. We are happy here.

And a little update on Holly's eyesight. While we were up in Christchurch, Holly saw the specialist. Her eyesight appears to be on the improve in the eye that was deemed blind. We will continue occlusion therapy and she will have more testing in another three months but things are looking good!

Another First

I told you this little girl of mine has a lot of 'firsts' going on at the moment.

This week she had her first day at preschool. She was so excited about starting, wanting to know when her first day was going to be.  The morning of the big day, she excitedly packed her new bag and was eager to get going. When we arrived, I got a quick kiss and she was off to play with her little friend whom she had spied across the room. I was meant to go back after an hour but the centre rang me to tell me she was having fun and in her words "did not want to go home yet". When I did pick her up later, she couldn't stop chattering about painting, play-dough, the slide and the animals.

Today was her second day and she still appears to be feeling the preschool love. She came home to proudly tell me she "made a little boyfriend"... gotta love 3 year olds.

Firsts

This girl of mine has lots of firsts happening at the moment. The latest, her first haircut. It has taken me over 3 years to build up the mummy courage to take my baby for her first haircut, but the time finally came when her hair was just getting too knotty. We knew it was time to chop off those baby ends.

She was so excited, she was literally bouncing when we arrived at the salon. She hopped up into the seat happily but did look more than a little surprised when they popped the cape on her shoulders. She was a little gem though and sat still for the entire cut.

And now we finally have the answer to our question, will she have curly hair like her daddy, or straight hair like her mummy?.... looks like she takes after her mummy.

Her New Glasses

In amongst all the chaos that has become our lives post February 22nd, my little girl got her first pair of glasses. You may remember me telling you a wee while ago about Holly's eyesight. We went back to see the pediatric specialist who confirmed her eyesight is indeed atrocious in both eyes due to severe longsightedness, which has in turn caused the weaker eye to switch off. The new glasses is the first step in improving her eyesight.

Luckily, she has been very excited about them and has taken to wearing them easily. The first few days she walked round like a headmistress, peering over the top of her spectacles, but within a few days, she had adjusted to them and is actually very proud of her glasses.

It has changed her too, her personality. She used to be so shy and quiet. She used to stick close to me. Now she can see better, her confidence is beginning to grow. She is starting to come out of her shell, she is now happy to run far ahead of me and run fast- without falling over! She even looks different, more grown up some how. Funny that one little pair of glasses can do so much for one little girl.

Three

Today my little girl turned three. In the wake of all the destruction, we grouped together, a small gathering of friends and family to celebrate three wonderful years of having this little girl in our lives. We listened to songs, we played, we ate. Happy birthday was sung and cake was cut. She danced round the house, she chirped about how she was having a party, how she was three, how it was HER birthday. She wore her party dress and her fairy crown. She was happy, it was beautiful.

Happy birthday my sweet Holly.

Out Of The Blue

Funny how a few simple words uttered by a virtual stranger can change everything.

Late last year, it was pointed out to me that one of Holly's eyes often rolls in. I am embarrassed to say I had never noticed. I guess when you spend all day everyday with someone, their idiosyncrasies go unnoticed, as you tend to see the whole person rather than the individual parts, if that makes sense?

I didn't really think it mattered too much, a lazy eye. It was a part of who she was, something she might grow out of? I thought I would mention it next time we saw our doctor. But he spotted it first, as soon as he saw her. Six days later we were sitting in a consulting room at the hospital while they preformed eye sight tests on my sweet girl. I knew it was bad, when, with her good eye covered, she could not make out the pictures until they were little more than a foot away from her. But what came next stunned me.

'Legally blind in her right eye'

How did I not know? She has spent everyday of her life with me, almost three years and I never knew my little girl could only see me with one eye.

Suddenly though I feel like my rose coloured glasses have been swiped from me and a lot of things make sense. Holly has always been cautious and shy of people, she often trips over her own feet and gets annoyed when I try to guide her out of the way of others coming towards her. Now I see these things for what they are. Not cute character traits but rather the result of her compromised eye sight.

She has a long road ahead of her, ahead of us. To try and reclaim some level of sight in her eye. The doctor spoke of further testing, patching, an operation. It all feels a bit daunting at the moment but if it means she will be able to see better, it will all be worth it in the end.

Painting With My Girl

Yesterday, Holly and I spent a lovely afternoon painting. 

It is such a joy to watch little people hard at work in creation. I think these lovely words by Brunhid Muller in his book 'Painting with Children' sums it up perfectly- "To paint with colours means to live with them and in them". And that is absolutely what children do when they paint, They become so fully absorbed in the colour.

I love the way, as she selects her colours, it begins to tell a little story.

Which is added to with the next colour to create that little bit of magic.

We like to paint using watercolours as it really allows her the the freedom and creativity to express all the beautiful colours she carries with her in her sweet little heart-

Painted by Holly, aged 2 1/2.

4 Seasons- Spring

Summer. My favorite Season. Spring, my second favorite. 

The other day, I watched my 2 year old kindly share her ice block with her very excited baby sister. They sat in the sun, ice-block dripping over their tiny hands while Holly passed it back and forth between their mouthes. Afterwards, they smelt just like summer, that mix of cool ice block breath and sunscreen. Bliss.

Do you have something to share that personifies the season you are in?

Would love you to link up.

This Moment

{this moment} - A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. 

A New Beach

I love 'our' beach, it is so familiar, yet somehow, we never tire of it's warm sands. But, there is something very exciting about visiting a new beach, who's landscape is all new to us, it's colour darker and it's shells just a little foreign to us. 

That was how we felt last week when we explored the shores at Carter's beach. A beautiful, isolated spot, we found the beach almost void of any other people, leaving us free to explore in glorious isolation.

And the shells, oh the shells. There were so many, in a rainbow of colour.

My little beachcomber came home with more shells than her little hands could carry, although she was not keen to take this little fella home with us-

But she did take home a huge shell collection, which now takes pride of place on our coffee table. 

The Wild West

Last week we were lucky enough to be the recipients of a break from the quake, a two night trip to the west coast. It was a wonderful initiative, set up by solid energy to help out the residents of Christchurch following the September 4th Earthquake.

We set off early in the morning on the Tranz-Alpine train, a four and a half hour trip, taking us across the broad expanse of the Canterbury plains, winding through the majestic southern alps before emerging on the rugged west coast. 

The girls has a ball on the train, loving the freedom of being able to move around the carriage, a freedom they do not get in the car. A whole new world of getting up close and personal with the window. 

A two hour bus trip later and we finally arrived at our destination of Carter's beach, just outside Westport. An amazing spot.

It was the perfect place for kids, quiet and peaceful. Lots of room to run and play.

There was also the most amazing beach, but that is a whole other post, so I might just save that one for tomorrow. 

A Room For Them

Yesterday, I told you about how we moved the girls into a room of their own. Today, I thought I would share with you some photos of their new space. A place to live, sleep and play. With a little effort I think we have created a magic little space for two lovely little girls.

Some of my baby bunting

Fabric hoops. I love making these as they add so much character to any room. Holly picked out the fabrics from my stash.

Jennifer Pudney design needleworks that I made many years ago.

The room is a bit of a challenge, as it also houses an old coal range in the corner making it an interesting shape but the result is this lovely little alcove under the window. A perfect spot to play.

The girls birth samplers, made by their Nana.

And lastly, this cute little pic of Holly 'breastfeeding' her doll. She looks so little in such a big bed, but oh how she loves it.