Dear Lola, 

16/52

Three things making your world go around today:
1) Licking cupcake batter in the warm afternoon sun.
2) Playing doctors and grocery stores. You very wisely said - "It's just pretend, but I pretend it's real..." you're two and half I might add.
3) You have replaced "oh dear" when something unfavourable happens, to "oh bumpers!"

Your mama

Dear Lola, 

Boy oh boy how the weeks have raced by. Recording baby each week was never on the cards. Recording baby fortnightly, I thought may be achievable. Well, now it seems as though recording baby monthly is where we are at.

Admittedly, as we race into week 17, week 12 really doesn't seem that long ago...

I think the tricky part has been capturing a photo of me & my bump, as I seem to be behind the lens more than in front of it. 
Although I consider my husband to be a very talented photographer, we seem to garden our time away, or play and slippery slide and picnic it away. The camera out of hands, whilst we enjoy quality family time.

Funnily enough, it was only out of necessity that the below image was captured over the weekend. With Marty being asked to take photos during the loveliest wedding we attended, he used me as a subject, just to be sure the camera settings were right for the light we were graced with. 

As deceptive as this photo is (my bump is very evident now), I am indeed, as the photo shows, very happy!   
(Note to self - must definitely get a a side on view of bump for the next update.)

 The Sweet:

- Name hunting. Yet again, we have delved in to the world of finding the perfect name for our littlie. We have a leading little ladies name, but we're a bit more stumped when it comes to naming baby boy. Hmmmm.
- Soup! Making it, testing it, eating three bowls in a row of it. Eating it for lunch the next day. Naturally, pea and ham soup is on the menu tonight.
- Feeling far less queasy + having increased energy, is perhaps the sweetest gift of all.
- Nursery planning. We are slowly but surely getting ready to move you into the biggest bedroom in our house. Hoping that you won't take any offence to the fact that baby will take over your old room, which I'm busy planning, and finding/making treasures for.
- Little tiny kicks. Bliss.
- Spending 3 whole days with best friends. Watching best friends get married. And having the best time exploring Bellingen, whilst all the while holding hands with my husband.


The Sour:

 - Indigestion. Probably a result of eating that third bowl of soup.
- Closing my belly in the car door. I did the same when carrying you. Some things never change.
- Mashed brain syndrome. Basically forgetting lots of silly things, asking the same question twice, & almost pouring juice into my cereal. And to think baby is not even here yet!

Till next time.

Your mama

Dear Lola, 

Today alone you have helped me make porridge, sushi, chorizo bean & spinach soup, and two banana smoothies. 
You have your own section in the fridge with access to yoghurt, cheese, vegies, cold water & any leftovers we may have.
We never did baby/toddler proof the kitchen, instead the drawers you can reach & access, have equipment in them you are allowed to use.

You have a kitchen stool you can pull over to the sink to wash your hands, blend your smoothies & stand on when flipping pancakes, or when assisting me or your papa with cooking.

If you spot toast or a slice of bread, your hands up to be primary spreader, and if I mention the word porridge, you are by my side in a wink, completing every step with minimal assistance from myself.

At home you set the table each night, especially happy if the meal requires you to set out the salt, pepper, sauce, mustard and hot chilli sauce. The more jobs & responsibility you have, the bigger your smile grows.

Although a new kitchen will take the place of this old one, we will keep these features as they have worked so well for you.

The point of this story? Well, all this activity got me thinking, and made me realise how best you learn, as well as reflect on the learning environment we have attempted to provide for you.

"The Montessori approach fosters children's love of learning and encourages independence by providing an environment of activities and materials which children use at their own pace. This builds self-confidence, inner discipline, a sense of self-worth and instils positive social behaviour. The approach forms the basis for lifelong learning."

Simple everyday activities that you undertake, such as pouring a drink, spreading of butter on a piece of toast, juicing an orange, peeling a hard boiled egg, preparing an apple to eat etc. all foster independence. That's a pretty cool thought!

This approach is of course not limited to the kitchen, but to all areas of play & life.

With all this said & done, at the end of the day, whatever way you best learn & grow, we can only hope it's as funky & fresh as your choice of smoothie making attire!

Your mama

Dear Lola, 

Activity two for you!

I must say I've had my eyes on these blocks for a while now. They are colourful, quirky, silly, and don't be surprised if you find me playing with them more than you! I purchased the $12 starter kit and off I set. The directions were easy to follow, and involved a trip to bunnings for timber, a date with the drop saw, some scissors and sticky mod podge. 

Once again I'll tuck them away for now, and whip them out when you least expect it... I can already hear you saying "cheeky mama!"

Your mama

Dear Lola,

15/52

 

Have a little guess what you spent the morning doing? 

I stared at this photo for quite a while, trying to work out why in this shot you look ten years old, rather than your lovely two and a half years of age. After contemplating this thought, I grabbed you in my arms and whispered "don't grow up too quickly little paint hands." Through cuddles and tickles you giggled "don't worry mama, I won't."

 

Your mama

Dear Lola, 

Lately we have been...

Playing. Although we are farewelling the sun earlier these days, we still seem to catch every splinter of daylight we can in our yard of an evening. Most afternoons your papa comes home from work and heads straight out the backdoor with you, where you stay till it's time to set the table for dinner. A dinner which you insist take place outside, naturally. Let's hope this lovely autumn weather sticks around a little longer.

Chats about everything from the tastiest herbs to deer poop.

Look what I found!

the birds are flowering

Planning. For more than just a new baby. A new kitchen is on its way. Which means a wall has to come out, final decisions on 'everything' kitchen have to be made, and we have to ship out of home for a few days while all of this happens.  

With my current state of mind, we are thankful for any inspiration. See below.

Nesting. In every room. Drawers are being emptied & re-arranged. Carpet is being ripped up. Extra sewing is taking place. You are moving rooms. The vacuum cleaner is tired, and no piece of furniture is safe in one place for very long.

I kind of liked your toy area in the living room, so I snapped a photo of it. 

Lucky I did, because the next day I changed it...

This morning we made our fourth trip of the week to the botanic gardens to hang out with some best friends. Yesterday was spent exploring Bundanoon & giving your great nanna lovely cuddles. The new & largely improved chicken coop is almost finished. Have I covered it all? Most definitely not, but we have to start somewhere!

Your mama

 

Dear Lola, 

14/52

Sensing I was feeling a bit yucky this morning, you said "Let's go home & make a banana smoothie, that will cheer us up". When I asked if you forgave me for being a little off today, you answered with "absolutely, positutely", and wrapped yourself around me & didn't let go. And just like that, I felt instantly better. 

Your mama

Dear Lola, 

I'm getting kind of hooked on this thinking ahead thing. Your fairy garden birthday present is well underway, and now I'm thinking beyond that. No I'm not thinking about Christmas quite yet, but rather about how much time of mine our little baby is going to consume in the early days.... weeks.... okay, months.

Thankfully we are blessed with a small village of family to assist when needed, but there will no doubt be plenty of time when it's just the three of us at home between the hours of 8:30am & 4:30pm. And I admit I'm looking forward to those times.

So when I am feeding, burping, changing, settling the baby, repeat, repeat, repeat - I'm sure that most of the time you will happily find things to amuse yourself, you're pretty good at that. Or going by our chats you'll most likely be assisting me as much as possible with baby related stuff. 

But let's be realistic, there will be times when you will both need me, times when your pulling your hair out with boredom or frustration, times when I'll turn to cartoons for help, times when I'll be too tired to function, and times when I'll wish I had four hands instead of two.

To ease these hard times just a little, each week leading up to bubs arrival, I'm going to make or organise one activity for you, that can be tucked away in the cupboard and pulled out as a surprise for you to play with when needed.

Activity one:

Make tea bags for lola ~ inspired by these images and your love of the tea making process, I've made you your own set, so you can pour & make tea until your hearts content.

Here's how yours turned out.

Now, let's just hope I've got enough patience to hold off giving you this special little surprise. I can't wait for my first cuppa.

Your mama

Dear Lola, 

I like to think of you as my 'little-big girl' at the moment.

My little girl still needs a 3 hour nap each day, to make it through the day happy & laughing.
My big girl who missed a nap yesterday due to a family picnic, today announced half an hour before nap time "I better go to sleep now, so you don't make me miss my sleep & bed again."

My little girl likes help off the trampoline at kindy gym.
My big girl likes when mama stands back at kindygym, so she can give her full attention to her much loved teachers.

My little girl often puts her shoes on the wrong feet.
My big girl says that she will fix them when they get too uncomfortable.

My little girl sits in a high chair dangling her legs at dinnertime.
My big girl says she'll answer my questions after she finishes her mouthful.
  
My little girl gives lots of cuddles & back pats and kisses at home.
Thank goodness, my big girl does too.

More and more you're moving away from a little toddler to a big girl. It's bittersweet, but mostly just sweet.

Your mama