Throwback Thursday… Peek-a-boo…

I’ve been going through old posts and I just loved this when I came across it. These photos of H are so much fun and so innocent. He was so little…

“H loves playing Peek-a-boo…

He turns nearly everything into a game of peek-a-boo…behing the couch, the ottoman, the kitchen island, the dining room table, a jumper, his bath towel, his washer, his teddy, a book and the list goes on…

I love seeing him so pleased with himself. I have tried to capture it…”

Wasn’t he the cutest? I love the sweet innocence. So playful and happy… such great and special memories…

Jx

All images copyright Jessica Flett

Meeting a sibling for the first time…

Lovely friends of mine have just welcomed their second child and their first born has coped really well with meeting her little brother.

This got me thinking about when H met E and the advice we received going into it.  Their first meeting went really well… we couldn’t have hoped for anything better.

He walked in and we had huge cuddles and kisses… it was the first time I had been away from him and I hadn’t seen him for two nights. I had E wrapped on the bed and I was standing waiting for my little man to walk in. We had big cuddles and then I just let him go and explore. He went straight to the phone and then E squeaked… all of a sudden H looked and saw her and exclaimed… look Sis, it’s Sis and he was so interested so we had a look and they got to meet. he was fascinated with her facial features. After a minute he was done and we went on to check out the rest of the room and open some presents.

From then on he was and still is a wonderful brother. He is very patient and on the whole very loving and protective.

Here are my top 5 tips for introducing your older children to their new sibling…

1. Have a present from the baby for the older sibling/s

2. Don’t be holding the baby when your child/children walk into the room. Have your arms free for cuddles and kisses

3. Let them find the baby of their own accord

4. Allow the older child/ren pay as much or as little attention to the baby as they want. Don’t push the issue

5. Lots of cuddles and kisses and make yourself available as much as possible

Any tips to add to it? Would love to hear your meeting story…

Jx

Breaking up is hard to do…

On Friday I had to give notice to H’s kindy that he will be leaving at the beginning of next year for Pre-school. He has been at this kindy for the last two years and we have been really happy there. When you entrust people with the care of your child you become quite attached to them and telling them we will be taking H out felt like breaking up with them.

He has been accepted into the local council run pre-school. I wasn’t expecting it as it’s hard to get into. When we went to have a look it was gorgeous and very much a traditional pre-school. The super added bonus… it’s near half the price of his current kindy.

Let me be clear… we didn’t decide his care solely on the basis of cost. However, when we had two places of care that we felt were of comparable quality, the most cost effective and convenient one won (it’s closer to home) The downside… it runs on school hours and terms so will be an adjustment from long day care.

The blow was softened somewhat as hopefully E will be joining H’s old kindy next year. Out with the old and in with the new!

Have you ever broken up with a childcare provider? Did you find it hard? Are you like me and get attached?

Wish us luck for next year… it’s going to be a cracking start…

Jx

Toddler books… our favourites…

For the last day of Book Week 2014. I thought I would share some of our favourite toddler books.

H is a great lover of books. He gets so much pleasure out of them and it just thrills me to see him get so much enjoyment out of something I love too.

We keep things on high rotation and as he now gets to choose what we read before bedtime it is quite wide and varied which is lovely. It’s always nice to ‘rediscover’ a book we haven’t read for a while.

A big hit with us is anything by Julia Donaldson. Her books are so lovely and varied. Her writing has a lovely rhythm to it and it can actually be a little tricky to read the first time until you get the flow of the words. She is most famous for The Gruffalo (he even has his own website). Some of our other favourites are Stick Man, The snail and the whale, A squash and a squeeze and Sharing a shell. We are working on owning her whole collection and still have several to go so no doubt there are more favourites to discover.

We also love the Dr.Seuss books. They are such fun and the best ones to start with, as they are shorter and easier to get through with short attention spans are. The eye book, There’s a Wocket in my Pocket, 10 apples up on top.

H was given the Gum tree farm series from his Grandparents for Christmas and it’s been a huge hit. It was bought through a book club but I have managed to find them here. Bluey’s Bone, The broken quad bike, The hungry rabbit and When will it rain?. The broken quad bike is a particular hit thanks to his Grandfather’s quad bike he LOVES when we’re home at the farm.

Ladybird Favourite stories for boys is another favourite. Every story gets a turn but in particular I think his favourite is the 3 billy goats gruff.

There is also the much loves classics… the Beatrix Potter collection. H is really enjoying them at the moment. We have started with the original The tale of Peter Rabbit. We have so many copies of this one… we have the box collection (a beautiful christening present for E), the complete collection in one book, a small collection of the original little hard cover books (my mother has also kept the complete collection we had as children too) and The tale of Peter Rabbit board book which is great for E as she’s not great with soft cover books.

The current favourite is How to be a Pirate which is a little golden book. H is very into all things pirate so this was one book he flipped over. It’s a really cute book and a really fun one to read aloud.

There are lots of other but will save them for another post soon.

I’d love to hear your favourites/recommendations. I have a real love affair with books and am always adding to our collection. What’s on rotation in your house?

For other favourites check out my instagram – I have been posting a book a day for book week.

Jx

Patience is a virtue…

Anyone who knows me well… knows I am not a hugely patient person. Becoming a Mother meant I had to grow patience literally overnight.

Let me tell you… it’s still a work in progress and some days are better than others…

I find screaming on the inside, taking 3 deep breaths and counting to 10 slowly great coping mechanisms!! hahahaha….

Actually, in all seriousness, stopping and taking 3 deep breaths… taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly really does help…

Some things requiring my patience at the moment…

Toddler tantrums… now H is 3 he can turn them on at will and knowingly turns up the volume. When they are younger they don’t have control over their emotions like they do at 3 so I’m finding the tantrums at will a big adjustment and requiring a lot of patience

Dirty Nappies… changing several dirty nappies a day… we have some serious toilet training coming up when the weather warms up a bit.

Early waking… I literally dream of the day I can once again wake naturally of my own accord.

Repeating myself… having to repeat myself several times to get something done… like sit and eat, get dressed, sit down instead of stand on the couch… just to name a few.

Routine change…  E is in the process of dropping her morning sleep so we are doing the daily dance of will you won’t have one… I remember it being like this with H so I know I have to ride it out but it still requires patience.

Fussy eating… spending time cooking a meal only to have it looked at and declared Yucky!

Being a parent is quite literally the hardest thing I’ve ever done and as the saying goes… you reap what you sow. So I continue to grow and practice having patience and enjoy this wonderfully frustrating and rewarding thing that is parenting.

Because, at the end of the day, I wouldn’t have it any other way…

What’s frustrating you at the moment? Can you sympathise, empathise? Got any patience to spare?

Jx

How to ruin a perfectly good morning…

On Saturday I made the mistake of doing too much with the kids… mainly H… I tried to fit too much into the morning with an already tired child and it resulted in a public meltdown at a restaurant and basically a walk out mid meal.

The day started well with a trip to the Sydney Aquarium to see his beloved Octonauts who have been there daily for the past month and finished on Sunday. We did the Aquarium for the first time last NYE and whilst it was good he was a little overwhelmed. It’s amazing the difference 7 months makes… He still rushed through but got excited to see the fish and Sea horse’s… so much so, he actually corrected me when I said Sea horse and it was a Sea Dragon… This time around he wasn’t as scared by the sharks. By the end of the walk through Shark Valley he was really quite into it. He didn’t want to linger but what 3 year old does?!…

He was really excited to see Kwazii from the Octonauts and despite the sourpuss face in the photo we took was actually happy. All in all it was a lovely visit that ended with him getting some much longed for Octonaut books.

Because we had done it before with success I thought it would be a good idea to get some Yum Cha (it’s fast and delicious) for lunch before heading home for a much needed rest…well, was I wrong!! It was his worst behaved performance to date. It resulted in him needing to be taken outside due to loud wailing (on his behalf) and counting to 10 not working (on my behalf). I cut our losses and we headed home… he was asleep in the car before we even left the city.

He has been the trickiest he has ever been in the two weeks since turning 3… terrible 2’s… sign me up again because the 3’s are looking much trickier from where I’m sitting…

I think it can be really easy to expect too much of our kids sometimes… don’t you think?! but, on the other hand, if you don’t try  how do you know what they’re really capable of?…

As with everything in life… you’ve got to take the good with the bad. Take the wins where you can and chalk the losses up to experience…

All in all a good morning with a hiccup at the end and finished with a little voice coming out of the pram on the way back to the car… ‘Love you Mummy. I’m sorry’. My heart burst into a million pieces and all was forgiven!!

Have you ever pushed too hard, tried to fit too much in? Ever cut your losses and walked out in the middle of a meal?… how stressful is it?!

Jx

P.S… for those who don’t know the Octonauts is a kids TV show on ABC4kids based around animals who live under water and help and rescue sick and injured sea creatures…