Can you guess which Wiggles character Eb loves?

...it's not hard!

How much fun?

....can a little girl have?
Today we had a version of 'Ready, Steady, Cook' at our fortnightly Women's get together.
It was really good fun to be at and as the photo's will tell - Ebony thought she was in kiddy heaven.


Some fun BEFORE the real fun!


Ebony 'observing' Eliza


Ebony feeling the flour on her hands


Ebony giving orders (as she does so well!)


Was someone wanting me to do something?????


Two gorgeous girls having fun 'after' the fun!

Wow! what a weekend....party, party, party!

More celebrations. I decided some time ago to have a party down in Melbourne for Ebony's birthday because that is where most of her 'little' friends are. We left on Thursday night and Eb fell asleep about 10 minutes before our destination of course. Then she didn't get to sleep until about 10.30pm. We stayed with my brother Mark, my sister-in-law Bernie and their gorgeous girls Beccy (5) and Lizzie (3.3). Then on Friday we had a big day of shopping then visiting some friends. Daddy went to the football so only Ebby and I visited. We had a lovely time with Michele, Pat, Stuart and Steph and Eb got some more lovely presents. Watching Pat try to put together a childs plastic 3 wheeler was more fun that I can put into words! It was another 9.30pm night for my girl though.
Saturday dawned and I was hard into the cake to be ready for the 2pm party. I had no idea how long a cake could take, but I was very happy with the outcome.

I put Eb to bed at 11am and she thankfully went to sleep immediately then woke on cue at 1pm. I dressed her ready for her 'Fairy Party' at 'Koko Jumbo' in Lilydale - an indoor play centre. Well! the children had an absolute ball - it was great to watch. There are some photo's for you to enjoy of course!


One very happy family celebrating a precious miracles 3rd birthday! (again!)

some of the 'guests'

"Hip, hip, hooray!"

"Cake!!!!!" yummy

Mema (my Dad's Mum), Pa and Nana enjoying some cake too!

Eb and Molly in the ball pit

And Eb in the ball pit

Straight after the party finished we had to go home, get changed out of Fairy attire and get ready for my darling niece's 21st celebration.

Birthday girl number two!

Eb is amazing how she fits into so many different places without question. She just walked in to my sister's where there where quite a few people - and she was like she was at home. Having 'Bec Bec and Sizzie' there helped of course. We had a lovely night and 'Benee' organised a 'pass the parcel' for the 3 younger children - what was so funny was how Eb wasn't in the LEAST interested in the 'parcel' - all she wanted was the music! Every time Renee stopped the music Eb stops dancing and looks at Renee and says 'music?'. It was so funny!

....why stop the music Benee?

..that's better!

ok - this isn't so bad - you actually get more presents!

Eb and Nana

a pensive Renee

Anyway - Jess is now 21 and the celebration was wonderful. She did a great speech, as did her Dad. How amazing is life. It seems like only yesterday I held her in my arms for the first time and cried - now she's an independent 21 year old and a very fine one at that!

Sunday we just packed and headed home. Had hoped to go to Careforce, but we decided Eb had had enough and I'm actually glad we made that decision. It was home to her own bed and much needed catch-up sleep!

Three today!

What a morning it's been! I never had any idea how much fun a 3 year could be and how much fun to prepare for celebrating!
I got Eb up and dressed before we opened any presents. Here is a photo taken before presents.....this little girl makes me laugh so much!

Then it was time to bring out the pressies......she's was so excited when she saw the bike, but unfortunately I couldn't get a good photo.



Then it was time to get the cake/honey joys/fairy bread ready for playgroup at 9.30am (needless to say I was late!). Didn't matter a bit though - Eb had a blast from the moment she arrived! Everyone made such a fuss and it was lovely to watch. We've been very blessed to have her actual birthday fall on Playgroup days last year and this year.











After playgroup finished, we decided to take the new bike to the lake and try it out. Eb did so well and while we were near the playground we stopped for some extra fun!




then it was some fun time on the deck!



What a wonderful day :)

Now for some 'facts'.....
Changes, changes, changes. Gosh, how my girl has grown. Everyone I see comments on how much she has grown. Here are some statistics....

Height - 95cm
Weight - 14.5kg
Clothes size - mostly 2, moving into 3
Shoe size - 7
Food: - a bit fussier these days. I have to 'hide' the vege's amongst the meat. Loves sweet things (she's a real girl!), loves meat, pasta, apples. Doesn't like strawberries. Likes bananas. Still loves strong cheeses, olives, grapes. Ebony is still drinking only milk and water - nothing else!
Clothes: - doesn't have any opinions - is starting to like to dress herself though which is fun! She does like boots - it's about the only thing she asks to wear.

I've pondered back on some of the 'lasts' and here are the ones I can think of....
She no longer does that gorgeous 'wave' she used to do
She doesn't need any help going to sleep during the day or evening
She doesn't need help to be fed
She's almost grown out of her pram
She is no longer crawling or 'unstable' on her feet
She has lost her 'reservedness' in most situations
She no longer sleeps 'all over the place' in her cot (that could change in summer though!)
She no longer fits under the bench in the kitchen!

And some gorgeous new things.....
The cuddles! so, so many of them :)
The orders.....'lay down' 'sit down' 'get up' the list goes on!
Being totally 'Mummy's girl' - I'm definitely the only one she will happily hug, kiss etc and now I'm the only one allowed to change her!
The 'don't want it' stage (can't call that gorgeous though!)
Tucking 'Suixi Bear' and 'Rabbit' in with snuggly when I get her up in the morning
The morning 'Mummy' call
The 'this way' whenever we're in the car (always wants to head to the shops!)
The 'come on Daddy' when it's time to be tucked into bed
The 'reada' for when she wants a story

gosh - the list goes on. It so wonderful to be able to take the time to notice the things that are no longer around and the new things....not to mention the constants. What a life it is to have a 3 year old around. I totally love it!

3 years old tomorrow

I simply can't believe my sweet little girl will be 3 tomorrow. As is often the case, my mind is drawn back to her homeland where another Mother was close to giving birth to a child she knew she could never keep. I have some people who say to me, or who assume, that doing this must be easier for families in China because of the 1 child policy. I ask you? how could it be easier. How could you put 'giving up your child' and 'easy' in the once sentence. I don't think that there would be many Mother's on this earth that would find giving their child up easy - not even close. The bond that is formed between a mother and child is an incredible one....look around you. And I think it would be even harder when the reason for giving your child up may well be because of a Government policy. No, I don't know the circumstances of Ebony's birth - I know very, very little in fact - and I don't want to 'romanticize' the event just to make Ebony happy in years to come. She will have to draw her own conclusions. I do believe in my heart of hearts though, the decision would have been a very, very difficult one for her Birth Mother.

I also know that I appreciate that woman more than any words could say.

I look at my sweet, happy little girl who dances around the lounge room, giggles so much and wants cuddles so often and I ponder on what she would have been like in her own environment. I ponder this little girl growing up in China. I'll never get to see that picture - I can only dream of it and send my heart felt prayers to that Mummy in China who I'm sure will be weeping at the thought of a daughter she can't even know the welfare or whereabouts of. I simply can't imagine that feeling - but I love her for her sacrifice and what it has meant to my life these past 20 months.

Today, as I will over the next few days, I do and will shed tears for the events of 3 years ago.

You can't help but laugh!

Oh my goodness my little girl makes me laugh. Both of these video's are different and I laugh for different reasons.....see what you think!

This first one is Ebony 'reading a story' to herself! (Harry the dirty dog - gorgeous little book).




The second one is taken when a girlfriend of mine who lives the next valley over came to visit. She hadn't seen Eb for months - but they sure got on well and had lots of laughs! They were playing with two small balls and Eb cracks up everytime they actually hit each other.

Independence Day

Can you believe it???? This little girl of mine is about to turn 3 (next Wednesday 20th) and today she's started this 'don't want it' thing. Doesn't matter what it is she 'don't want it'. So tonight I'm getting her ready for bed and she, of course, 'don't want it'. I'm trying to explain to her that saying that isn't very nice and that she shouldn't say it - so she said it again .... a few times. I told her that was enough and she had to stop. Now my little girl knows my 'voices' and she knew this was a stern one and meant business. So - what did she do! she mouthed 'don't want it!' - I couldn't believe it! She's never done that before. Welcome to Independence Day! At least, I guess, she didn't say it did she !!!!!!

Hello's and Goodbye's

There are some things I'm saying hello to and some I'm saying goodbye to. The last few days have held both.

Today I recognize that I probably held my beautiful daughter when she fell asleep in my arms for one of the last times - the only exception may be when she's unwell.
I went to Albury for the day (50 minutes) and she didn't have her day sleep. She slept for about 30 mins in the car on the way home and she was woken when I pulled into the garage. She wasn't a happy camper let me tell you. I took her inside and even though I knew we had to be out again and I still had dinner to cook I sat on the couch just to let her adjust. Before I knew it I could hear the 'sounds of sleep'. She was sound asleep. What a beautiful moment it was. She slept like that for about 20 minutes and I loved every single moment of it. Will it by the last time. She's rarely fallen asleep in my arms anyway...and I mean rarely. Usually only in the middle of the night. This was rare so it probably was a last. I loved it and I'm so, so glad I was aware.

What I'm saying hello to is ...finally.... sentences. Yesterday on the way to work she pointed to the cows and said 'lots and lots of moo cows'. 6 words together - I was thrilled. Eb has many, many words - but not many sentences. I'm working hard on helping her start to use sentences and it's working.

So - hello's and goodbye's - all a part of the wonderful journey that is motherhood.

Play dough

Can you believe it's the first time Eb and I have played with play dough? We had so much fun. The sun was shining - even though there is lots of snow on the surrounding hills.
It was a perfect winters day so we headed out onto the deck and played with play dough. The set I bought was pretty cheap and unfortunately the 'pieces' that came with it weren't very durable, but the play dough was fine (after I added a bit of water to it).
Eb coped very well and I just let her go - didn't even care if she mixed the colours. It's so much fun letting children be children! Here's some photo's of our fun :)

My sweet child

It's been a while since I wrote about feelings. Feelings are something I know will be hard to recall as Ebony grows up and yet they are so much a part of every day I live. They always have been in reality - but they are very different these days.

I' m still in awe of the journey of motherhood. Of all it holds. Of how worthwhile the wait for my daughter has been. It was so, so hard waiting. But it was so worthwhile.

Ebony is growing so much. I'll give more of an update on facts when she turns 3 in a few weeks. She is saying LOTS of words now but still not saying many sentences.

She is absolutely loads of fun to be with. I know I've said that before but each new stage seems to bring a new face to joy. Gosh it doesn't take much to make her smile or laugh. We have so much fun just with a balloon. Who needs expensive toys anyway?

Mornings are still very special (although very early!). Eb's up somewhere between 6 and 6.30 these days and I'm so exhausted the mornings are quite hard - but she makes them so much easier. Sometimes I just want to pull the sheets over my head and then I hear her sweet 'mummy' from the monitor and all of a sudden I'm revitalised. I often wonder how I would feel if she weren't in my life. She still comes into bed with me and has a bottle then she's running on all 8 cylinders and all she wants to do is play. She will play on her own, but finds it far more fun playing with us.

She is still giving me those adorable kisses where she holds either side of my face - but at the moment I'm the only one she really wants to kiss or cuddle. Poor Daddy even misses out. She also asks for cuddles when we're in bed in the morning - and often during the day actually.

My heart is so full of love - my eyes still tear up so easily when I watch her. She is my joy, my light, my life. (and no - this doesn't take away from my guy - he's all that to me too - but this blog is about Eb :). I can't imagine the time when I have to let her go to school - but I'm preparing myself. I still find it incredibly difficult letting her go while I go to work - but I've managed (somehow) to get it all into perspective. Some days are still VERY tough - but my attitude is probably a bit better. It will be good for Eb in the long run I guess.

I've also decided to try her in 3yo kinder next year (and most likely the year after too). I think the social aspect will be good for her.

Well - feelings are a wonderful thing most of the time. Where she's concerned they are the very best thing I have. What a privilege to Mother this little girl. She loves me so much I can tell - yet she's still happy to be with other people. She's polite, mostly friendly, happy, fun, loves music, movement and people.

How lucky am I? .....very....actually - no - extremely.

She's my darling girl.....

1st Birthday for Will

Our great nephew turns 1 on the 16th August, but the celebration was today and it was a lovely day. His step-brother, who is 6, is visiting from Ireland at the moment so the celebration was for more than one reason.
It was a fun day with lots of food and balloons. Eb had lots and lots of party food and I was a little concerned about whether it would stay in her tummy on the way home.....luckily it did!
Little Will was born on the same day his Grandfather died only 6 years later. He is now the sunshine on a day that held very sad memories.
There was a jumping castle set up in the back yard - don't think Will enjoyed it much - but Eb sure did!

In the jumping castle


Will and Eb and all the balloons!


The gorgeous cake Bron made for Will


Cormac (Brad's first son), Kirsty (Brad's girlfriend) and sweet Will


Dan (Graham's son), Graham and Brad


Birthday boy


Daddy Brad with Will