photos: 4th bday - nearly 5
posted by LLM Calling @ 2:10 pm
Friday, June 11, 2010
Birth to almost 5 in one post
Birth
I was just re-reading Rachel's birth story and it actually made me cringe. At the time it was accurate and fine, but now, well who needs to remember the waters breaking, and the ride in the ambulance and the after birth issues. All that really matters is that 12.08am on Sunday 22nd August 2005 our beautiful daughter Rachel Zoe was born healthy and well and beautiful, the most fantastic gift we had ever been given. And the love I felt for her that morning has just grown every day since.
1st Year
Apart from the reflux, the endless changing of clothes and the asthma, the first year was obviously full of amazing firsts. here were my thoughts at 8 months:
Rachel was christened at St Nicolas Church on 18th December 2005 and it was everything I hoped it would be. Her godmother Leslie (and Menno of course) came over from Holland and all our family and friends joined us in celebration. I gave a little speech and cried and Rachel was a little angel. It is a day I will treasure always.
First smile - it was amazing - right at me and with the widest mouth you have ever seen. Now adays they are even better seeing as how she is showing you her 4 teeth.
First laugh - a full blown giggle and at an event of destruction - knock anything down and Rachel will laugh with you until you cry. I love to laugh with my baby girl.
First tears - broke my heart! She didn't want to nap and suddenly the tears were falling down both our cheeks, but after a few minutes of mummy cuddles all was well with the world and she was sleeping like a baby.
First roll - shocked me and her I think - but then she decided she didn't need to do it anymore until about a month ago when she realised it could come in useful to get where she wanted.
First sitting - well she wanted to sit up from 12 weeks onwards and she did it on her own for a minute at a time at 5 months and was totally safe by her 6 month birthday. that was one of our major milestones as far as I am concerned because it meant we could play opposite each other for the first time - a whole new world of play.
First solid food - Rachel adores her mealtimes (except when she's teething) and especially likes to feed herself. She is not normally fussy (did I mention teething?) and especially love risotto, bolognese, melon and crumpets.
First movement for a toy - I could call it crawling but it's not as conventional a movement as that. She can crawl backwards, or butterfly stroke forwards on her back, or roll, or a combination of all of them; but she gets what she wants in the end!
First teeth - the first two arrived (surprising us) when Rachel was 5 months old and she was sooo brave. The 3rd and 4th have come through much more slowly and with much more pain over the last few weeks but are almost finished now.
I think the only other thing I want to say about the last 8 motnhs is that I had dreamed about being a mother for so many years and yet am still bowled over by the strength of feelings I have for Rachel and the amazing bond there is between us as a family.
At 9 months old Rachel had her first holiday, we went with Mike's parents to the Isle of Arran (off Scotland) for my friend Emily's wedding, and spent a week loving being on holiday with our baby girl. And then less than a month later we went abroad with my parents (not such a great time) to Crete and learned that flying and staying in a hotel abroad is not so easy with an under one year old who is still learning about different food tastes.
and when she was 10 months old there was this "
My heart is ready to burst.
Rachel loves me!!
Yesterday I was leaving the room to get something from the kitchen (can't remember what now) and Rachel turned around and pointed at me and shouted Mama!! wow, she didn't want me to leave and she managed to tell me so, isn't she just the most clever girl on the planet."
the 10th month was actually a real time for firsts; she was finally able to support herself at 10 months which meant that we could see a route to walking eventually. her baby signing took off and she was signing me for just about everything. and at the same time her talking took off. one thing was for sure, she knew how to get what she wanted from me even if she couldn't head off and get it!
Rachel had a party for her 1st birthday, a teddy bears picnic in the garden, a day that I will never forget.
2nd Year
Rachel finally crawled on her first birthday and her world opened up, and then at 15 months she finally saw the benefit of walking and we could go out together holding hands. that was when our lives really opened up, she was happy and chatty and life was great. other mum friends talk about this being the most challenging phase, but for us this ended 6 months of frustration for her, she could finally move and she loved it, and so did I.
A friend (thanks Becky) was asking for thoughts on the greatest moments of the toddler years, and here's what I wrote when Rachel was 20 months old:
Oh yes, this is the best time (and I bet I say that at every stage) It's all about highs and lows with our little angel these days. the lows are when she says perfectly what she wants but she's not allowed it; or when she can't get the words out like she wants and gets so upset with herself and this all results in us getting between 30 and 50 screaming tantrums with tears every day. but those things are hardly worth mentioning because they're insignificant in comparison to the highs. Here we go be warned you asked for it and I am hard to stop when I start about my little darling.
Language. she has over 500 words now and 300 signs and she often uses 3 and 4 word sentences with the occasional 5 word one thrown in to amaze us. so what does this mean? well it means she wakes from her nap and I hear "Mummy. Mummy. Mummy. Rachel cuddle chair kiss" and I just fly up those stairs to pick her up and give her a huge kiss and a cuddle in the rocking chair. it also means she says sorry if she does something wrong (normally before I have to tell her off) and then demands a cuddle and jumps into my arms. it means she says "gorgeous mummy" because she knows it gets a huge smile and kiss from me - it's a mimick of the fact that I always call her gorgeous girly. it means she says Daddy work and knows that he will be home and doesn't get upset, and she says Daddy Car when she hears him drive up.
Daddy. she is such a mummy girl that when she sees Mike in the evening she totally cold shoulders him. but with encouragement she finally forgives him by Saturday lunch time and then makes the most of him whilst she can. I take a back seat because it's their time and I adore seeing them play together and cuddle together and have their own fantastic relationship. she prefers having us both though and then will demand Mummy, Daddy Cuddle. or kiss each of us and then tell Mummy Daddy Kiss. so sweet. she is all love love love.
Running. She has mastered the running now and it's so fab to see. she chases Sid around the garden which he adores. she chases me around the place. she runs after cars and planes and things which are wind up and let them go.
Climbing. she has only just mastered this skill and uses it to, guess what, yep get onto my knee for a cuddle. or sit beside me for a kiss. just lie down in my lap.
Babies. loads of my friends have babies now and she hates it if I hold one, so much so that I rarely do. but instead she will demand Baby Cuddle where I hold her in my arms just like a newborn and rock her and sing to her.
Books. her obsession! she has me read over 50 to her every day (or 5, 10 times!!!!). but now she also reads them to her teddies or to herself and it's absolutely adorable.
Teddy Party. every day, if not several times a day, we have a teddy party which means they all get sat in a circle and she gives each a cup or plate or bowl and spoon and feeds them all some food of her making. it is so lovely and I get to eat along with them. she has different favourite foods for each of them as well; apparently pooh teddy loves apples and noddy pears and boobah carrot. comes in useful though at meal times when I remind her that the carrot is lovely, boobah loves it.
Friends. she has definite friends and then those she will tolerate. there are 4 boys and 1 girl (we don't know many girls bizarly) who she gives huge cuddles when she sees them and hates when they leave. she will give them her fave toys and share perfectly with them. the others don't get that sort of cooperation. it amazes me how they will play together and obviously know each other and look forward to seeing each other; not something I expected yet.
phone. she will occassionally speak on the phone now to people she recognises, otherwise she smiles and waves at the phone which is hysterical.
music. she calls it dancey. she will grab my hands and dance around. and she loves being in my arms as I dance around, especially if I turn round and round and round. and she dances in the car to the music. and she can turn on her mobile in the cot and dance to the music. and she can switch on the radio and dance along, especially if it's jazz.
body and animals. she has realised that a tail is something sid has and she doesn't and it amuses her. and she finds it so funny that elephants have trunks. and she is totally obsessed with making sure which animals have beaks and which have noses. she loves to count the number of feet animals have and is constantly confused why they don't have hands. she also thinks owls wear Mummy Glasses, very cunning of her!
drawing. she loved colouring very early. then she decided she just wanted to watch me and so I had to learn how to draw stuff. and now she's back to doing it herself but she's so exact. she will tell me she's colouring ears or legs or coat or whatever and then make sure the colour only goes there. it's amazing to see, totally fascinating but we have to be careful because she gets so frustrated and upset if she does something she then doesn't like - she's a perfectionist like me I'm afraid.
kisses. well it's an extension of the cuddles. she covers me in cuddles all the day long and hangs round my neck when she is feeling really affectionate. and now she can purse her lips, look me in the eyes and give me the most gorgeous kiss. that is so far just for me (and yes, I will be sad if and when it gets given out more freely). she will also lip to lip with me as a standard kiss. and if she is just showing slight affection she will offer her cheek for someone else to kiss.
wow am I going on, so sorry, but this stage is just so amazing it's adorable. oh I am just brimming with my love for her right now writing this all down.
Rachel's end year was completed with a fifi party in the garden. I dressed up as poppy, she as fifi and we even convinced Mike to dress up as bumble. that day was brilliant and the photos will always remind us of what a dad will do for his little girl.
3rd Year
At 2.5 Rachel started pre-school. What an amazing milestone. She started off just one morning a week, and then added one morning a week each term, easy did it. She cried a little for the first week and then never looked back, she loved mixing with all the kids and trying the different toys and mostly the arty stuff.
The great things about 2 year olds - easy easy peasy, this is definitely the best stage yet, it's amazing, so here goes:
- the amazing love that is offered totally unconditionally - she is always giving me big hugs and kisses
- the skills which are being developed on a daily basis - just this week we've had:
* climbing (OK, so she's a year behind most but she's really into climbing everything and playing "king of the castle" when she gets there)
* story telling - sitting down with a book and a circle of her soft toys and telling them a story
* baby loving - really mothering any baby she comes across at all - stroking them and handing them their lovies/dummies/etc, protecting them
* jigsaw puzzles - she sat down and did a 36 piece 5 year old jigsaw yesterday and was so proud of herself
* dancing and singing - songs I know I haven't sung in months are things she wants to hear and copy and dance along to
* getting undressed - she's never been interested but now is determined to do it
* letters and numbers – and the fact that soon they will learn to read
- I have mentioned it, but it's that amazing pride and confidence and enthusiasm for life - they aren't scared of being proud of their achievements and are so pleased to tell/show everyone what they can do
- so opinionated - it could be a negative but to me it's mostly not (mostly ;D) - the way she knows what she wants to eat/play with/do/see/say/hear etc etc etc and is more than happy to battle me for it. she's becoming independent and wants to do things her way. of course there are times like yesterday morning when this means she wants to throw things and that's rule breaking so we end up with endless time out but it's worth it for the vastly outweighing positives.
- friendships - she is developing real friendships - there are people she likes to play with and some she would prefer not to - it's not a nasty thing, just that she loves spending time with some kids more than others. and those friendships are strong, when In say we are going to see Adam her face lights up, and for instance yesterday when we were due to see him but he ran a fever so it got cancelled she was so sad she cried. that's amazing to see
- empathy - it's really developing - she strokes me when I say I feel ill or hurt somewhere. she understands that when she falls down the stairs I am scared. she knows I am excited when I pick her up from the childminder.
- understanding her surroundings - the weather and it's reasons and home and someone elses home, sid being a cat and our cat, gardens being outside and playrooms inside, cars taking us places and buggies good for carrying bags ;D, shops for food and clothes and doctors to make us better, preschool for learning how to read and write.
- why/what/when/where/how - I bet there aren't many people who like it (and believe me it doesn't need speech to be experienced) but I adore the way they are finding out about the world and are just so enthused about every aspect and are such sponges trying to get every detail of information into their heads
- potty training – it’s hard work getting there but it’s so worth it, they change over night when they get it because they know it’s the next stage for them – they are little people.
- still mummies baby - they aren't babies, they are growing up; but when they are ill or unsure or sad or sore, they are still our babies and need those "baby cuddles"
This year Rachel got her first trip across the atlantic, to Florida to see Mickey, Minnie, Pooh bear and the Pinnies! the whole thing could have been a travel disaster, but in actuality was the best holiday we'd ever had.
Rachel's 3rd year ended with her 3rd birthday party. After starting pre-school Rachel got extremely arty, wanting to paint, draw and make all the time. So I got an arty bugs party organised at the pre-school hall and she invited 15 friends to come and paint t-shirts, make pictures and play. I made a Mr Bump birthday cake and Rachel was so impressed that it was worth every second of stress.
4th Year
Our jet setter of a 2 year old developed into a jet setting 3 year old. Mikes work required a trip to new york so off we went for 2 weeks. we had 5 days as a family and the rest of the time Rachel and I explored the big apple; the girls on the town. these memories will always be with me, and one day we will return and spend more time with the friends we have there.
Apart from that life was pre-school and an ever expanding group of friends. The other big deal was that Rachel's friendship with Adam developed, suddenly one day they told us they were going to get married. what cutie palooties.
It became clear through the 4th year that what Rachel lacked in physical confidence, she made up for intellectually and emotionally. By her 4th birthday she was reading and writing and making codes and drawing amazing pictures and adding series of numbers in her head. and the why why why how what when where why why why continued. and so our relationship blossomed as we got to enjoy ever more time learning and exploring together, what more can you want from life.
Rachel's 4th party was a magician and disco (her choice) in a tinkerbell theme. she asked me to make a butterfly cake and also a tinkerbell cake, so I did, both of them. and what matters most is that she loved them and her smile made it worth it.
5th Year
We're not quite at the end of the 5th year yet, but almost. And the huge milestone for this year has been Rachel starting school - proper big, full time, heart wrenching (for mummy) school. I think the reason it was so hard to see her start school was because she has become my best friend. sure that might not be overly healthy, but it is such a pleasure to know that we love being with each other and doing the same things. Of course I have kept up the encouraging into school and positivity, and truly I want her to love it; but I am also oh so pleased to collect her at the end of the day and share all her highs and lows. I never thought that letting go of her would be so hard, but it has been. but the school holidays rock!!!!
five years on I love my little girl even more than I ever imagined. everything about her, even the strong willed, stubborn, temper tantrumming drama queen, is a joy to me which I would not change for the world.
I was just re-reading Rachel's birth story and it actually made me cringe. At the time it was accurate and fine, but now, well who needs to remember the waters breaking, and the ride in the ambulance and the after birth issues. All that really matters is that 12.08am on Sunday 22nd August 2005 our beautiful daughter Rachel Zoe was born healthy and well and beautiful, the most fantastic gift we had ever been given. And the love I felt for her that morning has just grown every day since.
1st Year
Apart from the reflux, the endless changing of clothes and the asthma, the first year was obviously full of amazing firsts. here were my thoughts at 8 months:
Rachel was christened at St Nicolas Church on 18th December 2005 and it was everything I hoped it would be. Her godmother Leslie (and Menno of course) came over from Holland and all our family and friends joined us in celebration. I gave a little speech and cried and Rachel was a little angel. It is a day I will treasure always.
First smile - it was amazing - right at me and with the widest mouth you have ever seen. Now adays they are even better seeing as how she is showing you her 4 teeth.
First laugh - a full blown giggle and at an event of destruction - knock anything down and Rachel will laugh with you until you cry. I love to laugh with my baby girl.
First tears - broke my heart! She didn't want to nap and suddenly the tears were falling down both our cheeks, but after a few minutes of mummy cuddles all was well with the world and she was sleeping like a baby.
First roll - shocked me and her I think - but then she decided she didn't need to do it anymore until about a month ago when she realised it could come in useful to get where she wanted.
First sitting - well she wanted to sit up from 12 weeks onwards and she did it on her own for a minute at a time at 5 months and was totally safe by her 6 month birthday. that was one of our major milestones as far as I am concerned because it meant we could play opposite each other for the first time - a whole new world of play.
First solid food - Rachel adores her mealtimes (except when she's teething) and especially likes to feed herself. She is not normally fussy (did I mention teething?) and especially love risotto, bolognese, melon and crumpets.
First movement for a toy - I could call it crawling but it's not as conventional a movement as that. She can crawl backwards, or butterfly stroke forwards on her back, or roll, or a combination of all of them; but she gets what she wants in the end!
First teeth - the first two arrived (surprising us) when Rachel was 5 months old and she was sooo brave. The 3rd and 4th have come through much more slowly and with much more pain over the last few weeks but are almost finished now.
I think the only other thing I want to say about the last 8 motnhs is that I had dreamed about being a mother for so many years and yet am still bowled over by the strength of feelings I have for Rachel and the amazing bond there is between us as a family.
At 9 months old Rachel had her first holiday, we went with Mike's parents to the Isle of Arran (off Scotland) for my friend Emily's wedding, and spent a week loving being on holiday with our baby girl. And then less than a month later we went abroad with my parents (not such a great time) to Crete and learned that flying and staying in a hotel abroad is not so easy with an under one year old who is still learning about different food tastes.
and when she was 10 months old there was this "
My heart is ready to burst.
Rachel loves me!!
Yesterday I was leaving the room to get something from the kitchen (can't remember what now) and Rachel turned around and pointed at me and shouted Mama!! wow, she didn't want me to leave and she managed to tell me so, isn't she just the most clever girl on the planet."
the 10th month was actually a real time for firsts; she was finally able to support herself at 10 months which meant that we could see a route to walking eventually. her baby signing took off and she was signing me for just about everything. and at the same time her talking took off. one thing was for sure, she knew how to get what she wanted from me even if she couldn't head off and get it!
Rachel had a party for her 1st birthday, a teddy bears picnic in the garden, a day that I will never forget.
2nd Year
Rachel finally crawled on her first birthday and her world opened up, and then at 15 months she finally saw the benefit of walking and we could go out together holding hands. that was when our lives really opened up, she was happy and chatty and life was great. other mum friends talk about this being the most challenging phase, but for us this ended 6 months of frustration for her, she could finally move and she loved it, and so did I.
A friend (thanks Becky) was asking for thoughts on the greatest moments of the toddler years, and here's what I wrote when Rachel was 20 months old:
Oh yes, this is the best time (and I bet I say that at every stage) It's all about highs and lows with our little angel these days. the lows are when she says perfectly what she wants but she's not allowed it; or when she can't get the words out like she wants and gets so upset with herself and this all results in us getting between 30 and 50 screaming tantrums with tears every day. but those things are hardly worth mentioning because they're insignificant in comparison to the highs. Here we go be warned you asked for it and I am hard to stop when I start about my little darling.
Language. she has over 500 words now and 300 signs and she often uses 3 and 4 word sentences with the occasional 5 word one thrown in to amaze us. so what does this mean? well it means she wakes from her nap and I hear "Mummy. Mummy. Mummy. Rachel cuddle chair kiss" and I just fly up those stairs to pick her up and give her a huge kiss and a cuddle in the rocking chair. it also means she says sorry if she does something wrong (normally before I have to tell her off) and then demands a cuddle and jumps into my arms. it means she says "gorgeous mummy" because she knows it gets a huge smile and kiss from me - it's a mimick of the fact that I always call her gorgeous girly. it means she says Daddy work and knows that he will be home and doesn't get upset, and she says Daddy Car when she hears him drive up.
Daddy. she is such a mummy girl that when she sees Mike in the evening she totally cold shoulders him. but with encouragement she finally forgives him by Saturday lunch time and then makes the most of him whilst she can. I take a back seat because it's their time and I adore seeing them play together and cuddle together and have their own fantastic relationship. she prefers having us both though and then will demand Mummy, Daddy Cuddle. or kiss each of us and then tell Mummy Daddy Kiss. so sweet. she is all love love love.
Running. She has mastered the running now and it's so fab to see. she chases Sid around the garden which he adores. she chases me around the place. she runs after cars and planes and things which are wind up and let them go.
Climbing. she has only just mastered this skill and uses it to, guess what, yep get onto my knee for a cuddle. or sit beside me for a kiss. just lie down in my lap.
Babies. loads of my friends have babies now and she hates it if I hold one, so much so that I rarely do. but instead she will demand Baby Cuddle where I hold her in my arms just like a newborn and rock her and sing to her.
Books. her obsession! she has me read over 50 to her every day (or 5, 10 times!!!!). but now she also reads them to her teddies or to herself and it's absolutely adorable.
Teddy Party. every day, if not several times a day, we have a teddy party which means they all get sat in a circle and she gives each a cup or plate or bowl and spoon and feeds them all some food of her making. it is so lovely and I get to eat along with them. she has different favourite foods for each of them as well; apparently pooh teddy loves apples and noddy pears and boobah carrot. comes in useful though at meal times when I remind her that the carrot is lovely, boobah loves it.
Friends. she has definite friends and then those she will tolerate. there are 4 boys and 1 girl (we don't know many girls bizarly) who she gives huge cuddles when she sees them and hates when they leave. she will give them her fave toys and share perfectly with them. the others don't get that sort of cooperation. it amazes me how they will play together and obviously know each other and look forward to seeing each other; not something I expected yet.
phone. she will occassionally speak on the phone now to people she recognises, otherwise she smiles and waves at the phone which is hysterical.
music. she calls it dancey. she will grab my hands and dance around. and she loves being in my arms as I dance around, especially if I turn round and round and round. and she dances in the car to the music. and she can turn on her mobile in the cot and dance to the music. and she can switch on the radio and dance along, especially if it's jazz.
body and animals. she has realised that a tail is something sid has and she doesn't and it amuses her. and she finds it so funny that elephants have trunks. and she is totally obsessed with making sure which animals have beaks and which have noses. she loves to count the number of feet animals have and is constantly confused why they don't have hands. she also thinks owls wear Mummy Glasses, very cunning of her!
drawing. she loved colouring very early. then she decided she just wanted to watch me and so I had to learn how to draw stuff. and now she's back to doing it herself but she's so exact. she will tell me she's colouring ears or legs or coat or whatever and then make sure the colour only goes there. it's amazing to see, totally fascinating but we have to be careful because she gets so frustrated and upset if she does something she then doesn't like - she's a perfectionist like me I'm afraid.
kisses. well it's an extension of the cuddles. she covers me in cuddles all the day long and hangs round my neck when she is feeling really affectionate. and now she can purse her lips, look me in the eyes and give me the most gorgeous kiss. that is so far just for me (and yes, I will be sad if and when it gets given out more freely). she will also lip to lip with me as a standard kiss. and if she is just showing slight affection she will offer her cheek for someone else to kiss.
wow am I going on, so sorry, but this stage is just so amazing it's adorable. oh I am just brimming with my love for her right now writing this all down.
Rachel's end year was completed with a fifi party in the garden. I dressed up as poppy, she as fifi and we even convinced Mike to dress up as bumble. that day was brilliant and the photos will always remind us of what a dad will do for his little girl.
3rd Year
At 2.5 Rachel started pre-school. What an amazing milestone. She started off just one morning a week, and then added one morning a week each term, easy did it. She cried a little for the first week and then never looked back, she loved mixing with all the kids and trying the different toys and mostly the arty stuff.
The great things about 2 year olds - easy easy peasy, this is definitely the best stage yet, it's amazing, so here goes:
- the amazing love that is offered totally unconditionally - she is always giving me big hugs and kisses
- the skills which are being developed on a daily basis - just this week we've had:
* climbing (OK, so she's a year behind most but she's really into climbing everything and playing "king of the castle" when she gets there)
* story telling - sitting down with a book and a circle of her soft toys and telling them a story
* baby loving - really mothering any baby she comes across at all - stroking them and handing them their lovies/dummies/etc, protecting them
* jigsaw puzzles - she sat down and did a 36 piece 5 year old jigsaw yesterday and was so proud of herself
* dancing and singing - songs I know I haven't sung in months are things she wants to hear and copy and dance along to
* getting undressed - she's never been interested but now is determined to do it
* letters and numbers – and the fact that soon they will learn to read
- I have mentioned it, but it's that amazing pride and confidence and enthusiasm for life - they aren't scared of being proud of their achievements and are so pleased to tell/show everyone what they can do
- so opinionated - it could be a negative but to me it's mostly not (mostly ;D) - the way she knows what she wants to eat/play with/do/see/say/hear etc etc etc and is more than happy to battle me for it. she's becoming independent and wants to do things her way. of course there are times like yesterday morning when this means she wants to throw things and that's rule breaking so we end up with endless time out but it's worth it for the vastly outweighing positives.
- friendships - she is developing real friendships - there are people she likes to play with and some she would prefer not to - it's not a nasty thing, just that she loves spending time with some kids more than others. and those friendships are strong, when In say we are going to see Adam her face lights up, and for instance yesterday when we were due to see him but he ran a fever so it got cancelled she was so sad she cried. that's amazing to see
- empathy - it's really developing - she strokes me when I say I feel ill or hurt somewhere. she understands that when she falls down the stairs I am scared. she knows I am excited when I pick her up from the childminder.
- understanding her surroundings - the weather and it's reasons and home and someone elses home, sid being a cat and our cat, gardens being outside and playrooms inside, cars taking us places and buggies good for carrying bags ;D, shops for food and clothes and doctors to make us better, preschool for learning how to read and write.
- why/what/when/where/how - I bet there aren't many people who like it (and believe me it doesn't need speech to be experienced) but I adore the way they are finding out about the world and are just so enthused about every aspect and are such sponges trying to get every detail of information into their heads
- potty training – it’s hard work getting there but it’s so worth it, they change over night when they get it because they know it’s the next stage for them – they are little people.
- still mummies baby - they aren't babies, they are growing up; but when they are ill or unsure or sad or sore, they are still our babies and need those "baby cuddles"
This year Rachel got her first trip across the atlantic, to Florida to see Mickey, Minnie, Pooh bear and the Pinnies! the whole thing could have been a travel disaster, but in actuality was the best holiday we'd ever had.
Rachel's 3rd year ended with her 3rd birthday party. After starting pre-school Rachel got extremely arty, wanting to paint, draw and make all the time. So I got an arty bugs party organised at the pre-school hall and she invited 15 friends to come and paint t-shirts, make pictures and play. I made a Mr Bump birthday cake and Rachel was so impressed that it was worth every second of stress.
4th Year
Our jet setter of a 2 year old developed into a jet setting 3 year old. Mikes work required a trip to new york so off we went for 2 weeks. we had 5 days as a family and the rest of the time Rachel and I explored the big apple; the girls on the town. these memories will always be with me, and one day we will return and spend more time with the friends we have there.
Apart from that life was pre-school and an ever expanding group of friends. The other big deal was that Rachel's friendship with Adam developed, suddenly one day they told us they were going to get married. what cutie palooties.
It became clear through the 4th year that what Rachel lacked in physical confidence, she made up for intellectually and emotionally. By her 4th birthday she was reading and writing and making codes and drawing amazing pictures and adding series of numbers in her head. and the why why why how what when where why why why continued. and so our relationship blossomed as we got to enjoy ever more time learning and exploring together, what more can you want from life.
Rachel's 4th party was a magician and disco (her choice) in a tinkerbell theme. she asked me to make a butterfly cake and also a tinkerbell cake, so I did, both of them. and what matters most is that she loved them and her smile made it worth it.
5th Year
We're not quite at the end of the 5th year yet, but almost. And the huge milestone for this year has been Rachel starting school - proper big, full time, heart wrenching (for mummy) school. I think the reason it was so hard to see her start school was because she has become my best friend. sure that might not be overly healthy, but it is such a pleasure to know that we love being with each other and doing the same things. Of course I have kept up the encouraging into school and positivity, and truly I want her to love it; but I am also oh so pleased to collect her at the end of the day and share all her highs and lows. I never thought that letting go of her would be so hard, but it has been. but the school holidays rock!!!!
five years on I love my little girl even more than I ever imagined. everything about her, even the strong willed, stubborn, temper tantrumming drama queen, is a joy to me which I would not change for the world.
posted by LLM Calling @ 1:23 pm
Motherhood fail
Officially I failed in my motherhood hope to keep a regular blog of Rachel's life and achievements. And I know, all BTDT mums are not surprised, after all there's too much life going on when babies are born, grow into toddlers and pre-schoolers.
Hence I now have time, she's nearly five and she's at school full time. I have time on my hands and perhaps now I will keep up with my blog - don't hold your breath though :)
Hence I now have time, she's nearly five and she's at school full time. I have time on my hands and perhaps now I will keep up with my blog - don't hold your breath though :)
posted by LLM Calling @ 1:21 pm
Friday, June 24, 2005
Welcome
This is the first post to start off Rachel Zoe's blog.
Rachel is due to arrive into the world and join our family in just 10 weeks time and I thought this could be her very own space to share with the world.
As her Mum I have been writing a blog for some months documenting the highs and lows of conceiving and being pregnant with Rachel ( http://lossofbirthcontrol.blogspot.com/)
But somehow that is my diary and this should be hers on her own, celebrating her life and her achievements.
Rachel is due to arrive into the world and join our family in just 10 weeks time and I thought this could be her very own space to share with the world.
As her Mum I have been writing a blog for some months documenting the highs and lows of conceiving and being pregnant with Rachel ( http://lossofbirthcontrol.blogspot.com/)
But somehow that is my diary and this should be hers on her own, celebrating her life and her achievements.
posted by LLM Calling @ 5:07 pm
