a pram-ride to the park on a chilly afternoon

our winter garden

our winter garden

waiting for harvest

masterfully tended by husband

from big sister's hand #2

a sunny day outing

it was lovely to be out and about

on such a bright, sunny day!

'Thank you, God,

you are so good!

Your love never ends.

Thank you, God,

for making the sun!

Your love never ends.

Thank you, God,

for the moon and the stars!

Your love is forever and ever.'

Psalm 136, 

from Psalms for Young Children

by Marie-Helene Delval 

our harcourt/bendigo/malmsbury day-trip

our yum-cha adventure

10 things i'm enjoying about big sister...

the continuation of my previous post, 

this time starring big sister:

1. her attention to detail when acting out scenes she has observed in everyday life - including breast-feeding her beloved doll, violet, complete with a "click" sound-effect when unclasping and reclasping her imaginary maternity bra, and niplash (nipple biting) incidents!

2. her love of playing games with other kids (and grown-ups) - her current favourites include hide-and-seek, and she's also just started devising little group activities with her same-aged friends (that mostly involve running in a circle and squealing!)

3. her compassion for others, especially for children who are younger than she is.  lately big sister has started trying to make our youngest housemate laugh when she is crying, by tickling her, pulling funny faces and making funny sounds.

4. her ability to stand up for herself when other kids are trying to boss her around (even though this defiance also shows itself when husband and i are trying to parent her!)

5. her delight in seeing little sister in the morning, husband in the evening, and other relatives and friends when we go visiting.

6. her amazing memory for songs and stories, and listening to her perform them on her xylophone mallet-come-microphone.

7. her growing ability to thank God for things in prayer - the wiggles can feel grateful to have been appreciated in her prayers quite regularly...

8. her pride in using the toilet instead of nappies (and that my nappy bucket is so much less full than it used to be!)

9. her curiosity about many things (even though the questions can become tiresome after a while!)

10. her clear ideas and incredible imagination, as demonstrated in dramatic monologues, artworks, etc.

10 things i'm enjoying about little sister...

my housemate asked me to tell her what i am currently enjoying about both my girls, so i thought i would share those things with you here.

today - little sister:

1. her enthusiastic leg cuddles - especially when she has toddled towards me at speed, grinning broadly, in preparation for wrapping her little arms around my legs.

2. her growing use of language - latest words learned include: "e i o" (as in old macdonald), "hi" and "cow."

3. her sense of adventure, even when it means i find her standing atop a toddler chair, tapping on the window.

4. her curiosity - about how things work, what's inside things, what sound things make when she bangs them on the ground, etc...

5. her sense of humour and hearty giggle - apparently me stamping my feet is hilarious!

6. her ability to mimic other people's actions - she's just started holding phones up to her ear and babbling, and putting her hands on her ears was a dinner-time favourite at our place a few months ago.

7. her absolute delight upon seeing husband arrive home from work or big sister get up from her afternoon nap.

8. her desire to join in with other kids - even though her interest isn't always welcome from the kids, i'm excited that she enjoys the company of others so much and is courageous enough to include herself.

9. her growing interest in books and enjoyment of songs.

10. the way she explores the world with her whole body - touching and reaching, tasting and biting, noticing textures and small details...

instead of blogging, i've been...

 :: toilet-training big sister (with much success - huzzah!) ::

:: chasing little sister as she walks around the house ::

:: hosting and leading weekly music sessions 

for mums and toddlers at our house ::

:: laughing at big sister "being mummy" with the guitar :: 

:: tying babies to big sister's back ::

:: putting pony-tails in big sister's hair ::

:: preparing to copy my friend H's most excellent idea - 

a life-sized tree collage, made of kiddy and mummy artworks, 

- and reflecting on Bible passages that use the image of "trees" 

and "fruit" to think about how God works in us ::

:: trying to teach big sister non-violent strategies

 for keeping little sister away from her play-things 

now that little sister can reach higher ::

:: hosting bigger groups of friends from church for meals

than would ever have fit in our old place ::

:: considering my personality type using the enneagram -

i'm a ONE, in case you're interested ::

:: thinking about how to love my housemates 

and how they can love me back ::

:: rolling balls to little sister, who throws them back ::

:: trying to figure out how to teach toddlers 

about the fruits of the spirit ::

:: singing "twinkle twinkle" to the adoring little sister ::

:: enjoying my family ::
 

happy birthday, little sister!

 this cheeky face is one year old today!

 our house is decorated with rainbows of celebration:

on little sister's chair, 

her shelf full of presents,

and the slingerts adorning our ceiling.

we've celebrated with dextrose cupcakes (not too bad!),

lunch at the playground in the sun,

and less-restricted time for little sister to flick the power-point.

thank you God for a whole year of this delightful,

head-butting, nose-scrunching,

cheeky-faced, amen-saying,

night-waking (again!), affectionate,

 giggly, huggable girl.

we love her very much!

some snippets from our life in the past few weeks:

finger painting fun,

riding the balance bike to the park for a family date,

little sister pushing the play pen around the room

(when she's been incarcerated for touching the power point),

and big sister enjoying the balloon pit 

for our housemate's 2nd birthday.

 

i've been trying to publish this post for a while now.

but instead i've spent a lot of time 

in chemists and toy shops in the past week,

trying to get the girls restored to full health

(i think it's going to be an uphill battle this year,

given we're in contact with at least 20 

other gorgeous little germ carriers each week)

and trying to find a birthday present for little sister.

i suspect i could have saved myself

 a lot of time and moneyby just giving her free reign

 with a packet of baby wipes and the power point...!

enjoying

 baking almond crescents with big sister

and our very own fireplace