My little fairy princess

How much this little cherub of mine enjoys playing 'princess' now that she's been exposed to the 'Fairies'. It brings me so much joy to watch her playing like this....a real little girl. How totally blessed I am! What love I have for my little girl.

Some time with Mei.....

After the RCH visit we went and picked Mei up from Creche. She saw us before we saw her and her reaction was beautiful. Ruth hadn't been sure how Mei would be because she loves creche so much! I had all the codes and identification I needed (city is VERY different to country!) and in we went and met all Mei's little friends and then I had to try and pry both Eb and Mei away from the house of fun!
The best way was to offer a trip to McDonalds for an ice-cream....of course! What fun the girls had.







Then it was off to Mei's where we had a lovely night with Ruth and Chris while the girls played together.

Today (Friday) we had planned to go to the Zoo and Daddy caught the train all the way from Wangaratta at 5am (left home at 3.15am) so he could come with us - but alas, it rained! We couldn't go :( We did catch up with my friend Mish though and we went back to see SSM&M to pick up the trailer and ride-on mower I had brought down with me to trade in - so we got all that organised and headed home...finally arriving there after a delicious dinner at The Ovens Hotel ..... at about 10pm!

Another big trip done!...friends caught up with and fun had!

Royal Childrens Hospital

Well, the day finally arrived.
Eb's appointment with the RCH to see what was happening with the 'overgrowth' in her left leg.
We left for Melbourne on Wednesday and popped in to see Mandy and Meiya in Benalla on the way through. The girls had a lovely time together, but sadly I didn't take the camera inside so I have no photo's to show for it! It was such a beautiful day and it was lovely to watch them playing and to catch up with my batch buddy as well!

We spent the night with Sandi, Steve, Molly and Ming in Surrey Hills. Steve was at work so we got the children settled for the night and then enjoyed a lovely evening with a bottle of wine and a beautiful dinner Sandi prepared for us. Ming and Eb played so well together it was a lovely relaxing stay. Thankfully Eb didn't suffer any sleep terrors. I think that going to SSM&M's reminds her of when we were attending the PC ed sessions in March. We left her with them for 3 different days over 6 weeks and I think, although she trusts and loves them, it was pretty hard on her. She said to me a few times on the way down to them .... 'Mummy stay'. Hopefully me staying will mean she is now comfortable there - she certainly had fun and didn't want to leave the next morning! We went to visit Sandi at work before we left and here's a photo of Eb 'playing' in the mirror at Sandi's work....




On the way in to the RCH I decided to park the car and take the tram in - a bit of an adventure for Eb and it meant I didn't need to worry about parking. So I parked in Richmond and headed in. Now - public transport has changed A LOT since the last time I used it! The ticket machine was jammed so I just took a seat. Then 3 inspectors got on. Thankfully they didn't make their way to us - they were too busy trying to unjam the machine. We got of and then went on a hunt to find out what tickets we needed and where we needed to go. Well - by the time we worked out what we needed and where we needed to be, it was well and truly time to get on one of the 3 trams we would need to get on before we made it back to the car! We arrived at the RCH with just enough time to have some McDonalds lunch and then get upstairs to the appointment.

Tram on the way to the RCH


At RCH McDonalds


Tram on the way back to the car


The doctor was absolutely wonderful and he put Eb at ease immediately (her last experience with a doctor was when she had her dual 4yo jabs and I was a bit unsure how she would go!).
He organised an x-ray (which was done on the day thankfully) and then he worked out that there is a 1cm difference in length between her left and right legs. He said that's not too bad at this stage. He would now like to see her every 6 months or so until she's around about 10-11 years old - that way he can continually asses her growth rate. If it settles down - we can stop or not go so frequently.

All in all, I'm at peace. The doctor would like to get to the bottom of what is causing the problem, but he said we may never be able to. If there was a birthmark or mark on the skin on that leg he would know that was where the problem was - but there is nothing evident.

So - we just love and enjoy this darling little girl who is so active and so full of life it's hard to believe there is even a thing wrong!

Lily Grace arrives.....

Friends of our have been blessed with a beautiful little baby girl - she is so tiny and so sweet! Lily has a big sister Meg who has just turned 5 and Meg and Eb know each other from Church. Here's a photo of Eb holding little Lily - something I loved doing with babies when I was her age I'm told!...



And I couldn't resist putting in this one of our darling girl sleeping tonight. She looks so peaceful and relaxed in sleep. She also looks so big now! I just love watching her sleep - it's one of the highlights of my day!

Big changes!

Today, for the first time ever, my darling girl came out of bed all by herself! I have been kinda coaxing her towards it and this morning it happened. She was barely awake really...but all she wanted was a cuddle from her mummy....and I very, very happily gave her one. My how quickly this little one is growing up. Way, WAY to quickly for this Mummy :).......

Swimming again

This term I've enrolled Eb in swimming lessons again. So far it's been great for her, although we missed the first week and will miss another 2 weeks during term. She loves the water and is coping very well - although at this stage I need to be in with her. She is really struggling with me not being nearby and I'm not sure what to do about it. She settles beautifully after a few minutes - but she just freaks out if I try it without me in. I guess it will all settle down. She's back the same at Kinder - although, once again, she does settle soon after I leave.
Here's a photo of her last lesson......not a very good one I'm afraid!

Daddy's birthday

Today we celebrated another birthday with daddy - only this one was far more exciting for Ebony - she's now really understanding more about birthdays!
I went to make some cup cakes this afternoon and found that I didn't have any mix- but what I did have is some yummy cookie mix - which we improvised with. (I think they were nicer than cakes for a change anyway!).
Then we went out for dinner at 'Settlers'. Lovely night - lovely day for daddy...with a very excited little girl following him everywhere!

A day out with Austin

'Little' Austin is now 7 months old and he is THE most delightful little man. He smiles like there is no tomorrow and now has 2 little teeth. He is a credit to his Mummy and Daddy and he and Ebony get on so well together - I'm sure they'll have lots of fun in the years ahead!

50 months old!

50 months....that is how old my darling girl will be tomorrow.....
Gosh time is going quickly. Seems like only yesterday she was 15 months and we were about to travel to get her.

This morning I went in to get Eb out of bed and she wasn't ready. I had to leave the room, but I said to her if she wanted to get out of bed herself (has never happened yet) she could.
Well...she did! and I couldn't believe it :) She enjoyed my reaction so much that she went back to bed and got back out just to see my reaction.
I've loved getting her out of bed, but with my painful arm it was getting quite difficult some mornings ... so a new era begins and I say 'bye bye' to another beautiful stage.

We also had Eb's 4yo injections today. I'm SO glad it's the last injections until year 7. Eb is so strong and the whole process was rather horrible. She was so good as we went through a routine round of questions that relate to Eb's general health and wellbeing. We told her that after she had seen Dr. Dom she would get some lollies - so she was so looking forward to that - and then she had Nurse Jackie on one side and Dr Dom on the other and she was pricked at from both sides. Because she is SO strong neither of them made it in the first prick and she had to be jabbed quickly a second time. She didn't make a sound after the first squeal but I soon realised that was because she was drawing breath for the big scream. I felt so deeply for her. It's taken such a long time to build up trust in the medical professionals, and now I feel like we've 'undone' a lot of that work. I'm glad it wasn't her regular doctor that did the injections actually!

If I had known then what I know now - I think I would have prepared her a little better rather than hoping it would go well and saying nothing. It's not a good way to build up trust and I've learned another valuable lesson through all this I'm afraid.

She's had a very horrible afternoon - been very teary and emotional - but that's to be expected. To add to everything - Graham and I went out and did some mulching while she rested and watched 'Barney'. I came into the garage to do something and heard her screaming - ran inside and she was 'trapped' on the couch because the Peacock was at the screen door. She was hysterical. I think she'd probably tried to get to us a couple of times but been kept back. Poor little possum. After that she wouldn't leave my arms for anything!

Special Visitor

I have had such a lovely weekend with my dear friend from Melbourne. We have been friends for 23+ years and it's the first time she has been able to visit us up here. She arrived on Thursday and stayed until Saturday.
We went for a lovely walk on Friday while Ebony was at Kinder then we went up the snow. Yes snow! We've had LOTS of snow and it was so beautiful up there. We enjoyed a lovely hot drink sitting beside a window (in the sun) looking out over the beauty of Falls Creek covered in pristine snow. It was a lovely afternoon.
Saturday we walked to 'Treats' Cafe with Eb, then had a hot drink. Graham joined us and then he took Eb with him while we walked back (6km walk!). It was lovely.
We then drove to Bright where we had lunch together before Mish headed home. It was so lovely to sit and reminisce and just have a wonderful catch up together.
We sure had a couple of late nights ..... but it was such a wonderful time and it brought me so much joy to see her and Ebony spending time together - Mish was just wonderful with Eb. We've waited a LONG time for this!

Sobering as a parent to an Asian born child....

I found this article very sobering and very sad. What a minefield our little children have to walk - no matter what their race. It is so important for our children to know who they are inside and out - for me as a parent to build in Ebony the belief that what is inside her heart is so much more important than what is seen on the outside....and help her be honest and talk out those things that trouble her.

Singing????

Not to sure about this one.....I think Eb's just trying out her voice! Happening a lot lately .... especially in the car! Makes for a fun trip :)

Learning computers.....

I decided (thanks to reading a special little friends blog update!) that it was time to let Eb loose on the computer.....here's the result ....

Freedom

Oh how my heart sings seeing my little girl free.....

'I need my mummy'

My heart melted.
I've been really struggling and I've no idea why. The whole camp thing was particularly difficult for me, but I'm not sure why. I think being unwell before I left, then traveling all that way (even though Cristina did all the driving from Melb to Adel and back) and then getting home unwell...and doing my back as well was all just a bit much for me.
Anyway - Monday night - our second night home, Eb was obviously struggling with me not being in the same room as her to sleep (Sunday night she spent a lot of the night in our bed too) and she's not well. I was kneeling beside her helping her get of to sleep when she said 'I need my mummy'. Tears sprung to my eyes immediately. She's never said that and it melted my heart. I kinda needed to hear that - it touched a place in my heart that just wasn't really coping with life I think. How grateful I am for this precious, beautiful little girl.

Farewell my beautiful Grandma

Today my Mum rang me to give me the news I'd been kind of expecting. My darling 94yo Grandma passed away at around lunchtime. I shed a few tears, but was then very grateful for the fact that our last time together was very special. See this post for our last visit and photo's.
She was an amazing lady who lived a full and happy life. Thankfully she also left us with very little sickness or pain. She started to slip in the last 2 weeks, but was really doing ok right up until she collapsed the morning she died.
Farewell beautiful lady. Sadly, although Eb talks about you often, she really doesn't understand death yet and I don't feel to go into any detail. She's just too young. One day she'll understand and then she can read my blog.

Eliza's place for a few nights of rest

I was so exhausted after camp that we decided to stay 2 nights with Eliza and her Daddy Jim and Mummy Kate. Eliza and Eb had great fun together as usual and I delighted (in amongst my exhaustion) in watching them. Eb slept beautifully both nights and then had full days. Eliza had a birthday party to go to on Saturday but that didn't even put her off her fun times.
We did take the girls to DFO for a while on Saturday morning too.
Kate had bought a couple of Pumpkin Patch dresses very cheap and the girls put them on to help them feel like the little princesses they are - and it added to their fun too as you'll see!
Part the reason we went to DFO was so that I could see if there were any of the dresses left as they are so beautiful!...sadly there weren't any.
Sunday I made it home somehow - but I have no idea how. I was totally exhausted still and both Eb and I have got colds .... AGAIN! I'm a bit over this whole sickness thing this year!

Families with children from China Cultural Camp Day - last day

Thankfully this morning was very different to yesterday (for Eb and Amalia) simply because we took the toys away! They had so much fun together it was delightful to watch.
Here's my sleep head!....



I feel the best today that I have felt in more than a week (got sick before I went away) and was really looking forward to the day. The children learned to use a musical instrument first thing and then they were taught a dance that they had to do for the 'audience' (being the parents of course :). It was so much fun to see these little children learning a dance and they did such a good job of their presentation!








Then it was basically farewells and we were on the road again. We stopped in Bordertown for the night (same motel as on the way over) where we got the opportunity to really get a bit of R&R and then headed home to Melbourne where Cristina and Alice dropped us back at Jim, Kate and Eliza's before they headed off to catch the boat back to Tassie.

One of the highlights of this trip has been the travel with Cristina and Alice. They will always, always be very special to us for many reasons and I feel very blessed to have had such a wonderful travel companion for me...and for Eb. The girls did so well with so much travel and Cristina is just delightful to spend time with. I hope we get the opportunity to spend time like that together again some time in the future.