and in the blink of an eye....Ebony is two

It's hard to believe - my little baby girl - the one I thought was never really a baby is now 2 years old and making it very obvious that she really WAS a baby when she first arrived. It's happened in a moment and it's been the most enjoyable and rewarding trip of a lifetime. Yes there have been times when it's been really tough - but like most Mum's - I know the rewards far outweigh the difficult times.

I feel like we celebrated for the whole weekend and then some.
Sadly none of my family could be with us and either could any of Ebony's "Suixi" buddies - but Gra's Mum and Dad arrived first at about 5ish on Friday - then Marg and Steve (the God parents) arrived at about 9.30pm. We had a reasonably early night then a fairly normal day on the Saturday (other than me being a bit unwell and having a lay down for a while). I just did a bit of cooking (how much fun is it making a cake for your own daughter! I had a ball.....)



and Eb did what she normally does around the house. Nana and Pa Boote really loved their time with Eb and she was being just delightful as normal! Oh! and we blew up lots of balloons!.....


"boons".......

Sunday we were up and about early icing the cakes and getting ready to go! Ebony was dedicated at our Church today - so it was a very special day all round. Here's a photo of Ebony in her dedication dress - a dress bought by our dear friend Helena (who I worked with at Careforce). We bought it together when we visited them in Chicago in 2005.


"my dedication dress - thanks to Helena"

Then it was party time! Ebony wasn't at all sure what was going on - but she did enjoy herself ...


"my party table"

'mummy, daddy and me!"

"my first taste of fairy bread...yummy"

"blowing out the candles"

Then the celebration continued on Ebony's actual birthday. - I don't think she realized the celebration was for her until the final cake on her actual birthday at playgroup.! Here are some photo's of her on her birthday with presents....and at playgroup....

"oooooooooohhhhhh"

"this is fun mummy!"

"it's happy birthday to ME!"

"What's all the fuss really about?"

We were also lucky enough to have Lyn and 'Manda....and Leanne and Gabriella come all the way up to Mt. Beauty to help us celebrate. It was really special and I will be forever grateful to them for making the effort. Eb had a wonderful time on Sunday afternoon with the girls and then Eb and I went over to Bright (where they were staying) to have dinner with them on Monday night. Here are some photo's of Eb's time with Manda and Gabi....



....so that was the birthday that was. Ebony is now a beautiful, healthy, happy 2 year old. Sorry it's taken a while to post - unfortunately we both got sick within a few days of the celebrations! Better late than never :)