Dear Lola, 


Seeming as though I was pretty much terrified of Santa till around the age of eight, barley able to look at him, wave at him, let alone sit on his lap long enough for a photo, I kind of assumed you would be the same. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the idea of Santa, was completely fascinated, happy to leave cookies out for him and wake up to presents under the tree, but the thought of seeing him in person, and potentially having to sit on his lap...that thought was terrifying.

So when mid November rolled around and Santa’s started appearing everywhere, I braced myself for extra cuddles & clinginess, for possible tears & running in the opposite direction. I didn’t mind this thought, as I like extra cuddles, and never really was a fan of those Santa photos, especially the ones where the kids are clawing at thin air & screaming in absolute fear for their lives, after being unwillinging plonked on Santa's lap.

But how mistaken was I...

 “Heeeeelllo Santa! Where’s your reindeer Santa?” – I believe were the first words to be shouted at the man himself as we tip toed  by.

The Santa crush has since exploded, and you’ve shaken more white gloves than I can count, collected more balloons, reindeer ears, & lolly pops than I can carry. And yes you did ask to sit on Santa's lap, and yes you did sit there for 10 minutes chatting away, and told Santa our address, that you would like lego please, & that you have a cousin named Edie, who you will kick a ball with one day..... and yes we did get that overly expensive Santa photo. How could I possibly resist.

Because as I watched you there with Santa, so confident, so happy, so relaxed & full of excitement, I realised that you are completely and utterly unique. I may be your mama, but you do not hold the same fears I held as a child, you are you, and very special at that.

But with all this Santa frenzy & talk of reindeer's, I am extra thankful for our little chats, the beautiful nativity scenes that your papa bought you, and for the book “Wombat Divine”, because it’s for these things that you are already aware that while Santa is fun,  we are indeed celebrating something much more important here.

This is quite a lot for one little 25 month old to take on.... but one doubt I never held was your ability to do just that. 

You were so fixated on your conversation with Santa, that you didn’t particularly want to look at the camera. I'm pretty sure you were mid sentence in this photo.

Your mama

Dear Lola,

There’s a few things you should know about your papa. Actually there are a lot of things you should know, but we’ll start with a few.

Papa is a dreamer. But not in the typical sense of the word, in that he has ideas that are audacious or unrealistic , he is quite the opposite really. You could say papa is the best sort of dreamer one could be, as he makes the very things he conjures up in his mind, actually happen.

He is pretty much interested in everything.

Always creating, growing things, fixing, learning, reading.

Always.

And he somehow seamlessly manages to take us along for the ride too. I’ll often find you both up in the work shed, you with a hammer in hand, while papa tells you about his latest projects. Warm afternoons are spent in the garden watering & tending to the off cuts & seedlings papa is experimenting with. No job or task is too big or small, and is taken care of immediately, there is no "I’ll get around to doing it some other time” when your papa is around.  And did I mention he is an amazing cook?!

There are quite often big dreams too.

For instance, we decide we would like to go a on a holiday in the early new year. The brief is to travel somewhere warm, with a beautiful coastline, that’s affordable & culture rich. Somewhere we haven’t been before.

With this in mind papa dives head first into research mode. When he finally surfaces from the books, computer & discussions with travel agents (which he visits during his lunch breaks) he announces a possible destination.

Sri Lanka.

Pardon... Sri Lanka?!

Really? I don’t think I know much at all about Sri Lanka.

But we’re dealing with your papa here, someone I trust completely & wholeheartedly, someone we would follow to the ends of the earth if he thought it to be a good idea.

You see your papa doesn’t make these decisions lightly, and since announcing our holiday, he has continued to build upon this idea.

How?

Well, here’s a peek into our discussions…

Thanks to papa I now know:

Sri Lanka has more biodiversity per square metre than anywhere else in the world.

I know some basic language, thanks to the cork board papa put up in the bathroom (strategically placed opposite the toilet) that has pinned to it this:

And only moments after booking our trip, we discovered that Sri Lanka has just been named by Lonely Planet as the number one travel destination for 2013. 

And he even printed off this little map and framed it to put in your room. Apparently  you're pretty keen to see the tigers, elephants & the giant blue & red fish!

  

The way papa grows ideas, his enthusiasm, dedication, drive & energy is exhilarating.

How lucky we are that he has two arms, one arm to link with mine,  and the other to carry you with, as we get into all sorts of wonderful adventures together.

So with the tickets booked to jet off in early February, I say with much excitement...

Sri Lanka here we come! 

Looks pretty inviting to me!

Your mama

Dear Lola,

Despite how it may appear, no I do not walk around with the camera strapped to my head.
I am however privileged enough to be able to spend every single day with you. And with the camera never too far away, I am able to capture a few lovely moments shared throughout the day.

New swish shoes from Oma

Lunch doesn't have to be complicated

Christmas wrap

"Pink is a cool colour" - lola

Waiting patiently for me to crack some macadamias

Munch, munch!

The one day you didn't nap - you spent one hour lying here.

Dipping toes

Sticker books are the best

Balancing

Chasies

"Oh dear" not more furniture to sand...

Cuppa tea time

Your mama

Dear Lola, 

Just hear those sleigh bells jingling, ring ting tingling too...

Papa is no humbug - he loves Christmas just about as much as I do. However, he believes we should really wait until December 1st before we fill the house with Christmas cheer, Christmas trimmings, eggnog & endless carols & dancing.

Well, mainly just the trimmings part, because the cheer, carols & dancing began long ago.

We are a little bit sneaky though, and have started on the trimmings part in secret, in the hope that he may not notice. 

We kept it minimal, and will wait to burst out the nutcrackers, angels, tree (we're getting a real one this year!), baubles, candy canes, twinkling lights, nativity scene etc. etc. till the 1st of December. 

Subtle enough... right??

Your mama 

Dear Lola, 

My hope for you is that you have a few people in your life where;

No words need to be spoken to understand exactly what you're both thinking.

Someone who finishes your sentences, or you both say the same thing at exactly the same time.

Someone you laugh with till there are tears.... everyday.

Someone you can be your whole & complete self with.

Someone you could spend all day with and still have things to talk about.

Someone who listens & truly cares.

Someone to get excited about seeing every single day.

A best friend.

For me, one of those people is my sister, your Auntie Jules.

Today is her birthday, and although we hope she knows how much we love her, we will say it again, because we could never say it enough. We love you Jules.... too much, as you would say Lola - and we can't wait to spend every year with you xxx

xxx

Dear Lola, 

This year we spent our first winter & spring in our garden. And boy were we treated to a show. 

I cannot help but picture the previous owner standing in the yard, with a baton in hand, conducting the garden to grow & flower with a swift wave of his wrist. 
Yes, admittedly a strange image for one to have, but perhaps I picture this because it seems that as each group of flowers have grown, bloomed, and fallen to the ground, (only to be thrown into the air like confetti by you) we are instantly treated to another group of flowers appearing somewhere else. We have since discovered the garden works in seamless harmony, providing constant colour & fragrance throughout the year.

The camellia trees were first to explode during winter. Perhaps it was too cold to take a photo, as I can't locate one, but literally hundreds of red, white and pink flowers filled those trees.

Then came the azaleas, primulas, lavender & so on and so fourth. Thankfully, I did manage to take a couple of photos over the last few months...

Wading through the primulas

 Azaleas

 Your secret passage way

 The vegie garden

"It's snowing!" - you squealed as the flowers fell.

And I only had to peek out your window this afternoon, to discover the hydrangeas in bloom...

At the end of a busy day in the garden

Your mama