Beach fun!

Spring is here! Okay so it seems silly saying that, when it was bucketing down with rain outside, a couple of hours ago - but Friday & Saturday it was definately here!


Friday me & Gaby went out to Sumner for an hour or two - to kill some time before we had to pick Nan up at the airport. It was a glorious day - the sun was shining, there wasn't any wind, it was just really really awesome weather! Gaby loved playing with the sand, and running around, like a lunatic, but I think her favourite part was playing in the little rocky cave area!!!!!! She was exploring, climbing all over the place - she never really stopped! After we had finished playing in the cave & sand - it was time for an ice cream!!!! Needless to say Gaby got verrrrrry messy & sticky -but she had such a fun time eating it, and I got some great photos! After we left Sumner, we took a quick detour out to Lyttelton, so Gaby could go through the tunnel, and see the big ships at the harbour - she loved it too, kept telling everyone that she'd been through the tunnel, and it was 'cool'.


Saturday Jason was here, and we decided it would be nice to take Gaby out to the beach again - so we took her out to New Brighton. She ran around, built sand castles & dug holes, then we had a quick play on the playground - and went for a walk along the Pier.. I think Gaby thought it was pretty cool, being above the water. We watched a couple of surfers for awhile, but the water was too calm & I think we saw them riding one wave! We had another play on the playground on the way back to the car, and then headed to the Palms (mall)! All that activity obviously did its trick, because on the way home from the Palms, Gaby fell asleep - and proceeded to have an 80 minute nap!

Of course after getting used to the nice, warm, sunny weather - it is now grey & cold outside... typical!

My kid is ahead of her time

See her grow!
photos all taken between 26 August & 2 September

2007

2008

2009

I think Gaby is really a 16 year old in a[n almost] 3 year olds body. Why you ask? Because of the following conversation...
Mummy: hey Gaby, your birthday is coming up soon!!!
Gaby: can have a birthday cake!
Mummy: yes you can
Gaby: and candles!!!
Mummy: yes Gaby, you can have candles
Gaby: and I blow out the candles!
Mummy: yes, that's right. What do you want for your birthday Gaby?
Gaby: WANT TO GO SEE BLACK EYED PEAS!
Mummy: you want to and hear them singing?
Gaby: yes! Got got get get boom boom pow!
... my three year old doesn't want a Barbie, a doll, a teddy, a book or anything age appropriate for her birthday - she wants to go to a Black Eyed Peas concert! It made me laugh so hard - which is rather dangerous while you are driving, but it just sounded so cute - and so grown up! I can almost hear her now when she's 16, grumping on at me about wanting to go to a concert!

In other news... Mum is down visiting Terri, in Queenstown - and she's coming home today, so Gaby & I are going to pick her up at the airport. I think the airport is one of Gaby's favourite places in the world, so I'm sure that she isn't going to mind having to go there. It was sad yesterday though, Gaby started crying - out of the blue, and I gave her a cuddle and asked what was wrong & she said "miss Nan, want her come home"... it brought a little tear to my eye. Not long after that she started putting things in a bag, and when I asked what she was doing she told me "packing my bag to go pick Nan up at airport"... awwww!

We seem to have the sleeping problem all fixed now as well - thank goodness! Most nights she stays in her bed all night, hopping in with me around 6 or 7am - and it's lovely - I didn't realise how badly I was sleeping, with her in my bed! For the first while that she was sleeping back in her bed, I would rub her back until she went to sleep - she would cry if I didn't, but NOW she goes to sleep without me sitting beside her!!!!! Yay Gaby!!! She seems a lot happier as well, and doesn't seem as grouchy during the day. Yay for us both getting decent sleep at night!

Gaby is now 2 years & 10 months old - less than two months & she'll be turning three! SCARY! I was looking at her old baby photos, and it is amazing to see how much she's grown, and to think of everything she has accomplished in that time... makes me feel pretty good as well, to know that I am part of the reason she's such an awesome little kid!

The first confiscation of some of Gaby's property.. first of many...

As Gaby is getting closer to 'preschool' age, her behaviour is changing. Yet again. Past couple of weeks she has been so strong willed, it is starting to wear me out!!! I will ask her to do something & she will tell me "no", or just pretend like she hasn't heard me - and when she does eventually do whatever it is, she'll do it differently, compared to how I asked her - almost as if to show me that she still has the upperhand! The most irritating thing though, is her continuously doing things I ask her not to - such as getting into the coffee/sugar/etc - before I wake up, and tipping it all around the kitchen, into the jug, into the toaster, into the breakfast spreads... was kinda funny the first two times, but since then, not so funny.

Today she got a box of my tampons & tipped them ALL down the toilet - shouldn't be a big deal, but due to PMS - it seemed like a HUGE freakin' deal, and I kind of lost it with her - though not inappropriately, I was just more hard than usual. I put her in timeout for her 3 minutes, took her out & explained why she was in timeout, blah blah - but the look on her face, I could tell she didn't give a damn - so I took away all her DVD's!! There is usually a DVD on the TV ALLLLL day - she doesn't really watch them for long, but they're always in the background, while she plays. But as of midday - NO DVD'S FOR THE REST OF THE DAY... and I have to say, since then she has been VERY good, I asked her to tidy up her toys, and she tidied up the shoes and clothes that were lying around as well, then she came to me & kept telling me how much she loves me, and that I'm her favourite... Greasing me up to get her DVD's back - obviously!

There is always a big emphasis on what sort of disciplinarian you are going to be, as a parent - authoritarian, permissive, democratic - will you spank, use timeout, this that & the other thing - but what no one REALLY tells you, is that after making the decision as to what sort of disciplinarian you will be (whether it's a conscious or sub-conscious decision) - you have to continuously adapt and reassess the different methods you USE when it comes to discipline....

Obviously it's a joy to watch your child developing, reaching their developmental milestones, becoming more indepedent & their *own* person.... but sometimes, that process is dang hard, and leaves you pulling your hair out!

Why - thank you Aunty Terri!

All that tent making is tiring!

Last time Aunty Terri visited Gaby, she taught Gaby how to make tents/huts! We all had a blast, sleeping in the lounge on my matress, with a sheet slung between chairs/the couch on either side of us, and draped over the back of the TV. Yes, super fun. Took me back to mine & Terri's childhood, we often went on tent building missions, although usually I was sitting & watching, or assisting, while Terri took charge.

Well, the past THREE mornings, Gaby has gotten up nice & early, and either partially or fully removed the bedding from her bed, in order to make a tent! Friday morning she came in at 6am and told me she wanted to make a tent, quite a strange request I thought, in my half-asleep state. Then this morning upon waking up, I looked into her bedroom & thought it looked as though her bed had no bedding on it, but figured that was just because I didn't have my glasses on... but no. I was right. No bedding. Sheets were draped over the couch in her room, over the 'special light', over the dolls cot - and when I asked what she'd done, she proclaimed she'd been making tents! Could be the beginning of a very frustrating hobby!!!

Of course I love the fact that my princess is using her imagination!!! I think it's awesome, I love seeing her using her imagination, and entering into imaginary play - makes me feel good to know that she's reaching all her cognitive developmental milestones at the right age! I guess I just need to set some ground rules - now that it appears to not be a one off! Maybe this means she is going to stop getting into the sugar, flour, coffee &... well, anything she can make a mess with!

Grandma time!

my little princess, gorgeous as ever

Grandma & Arthur are up for a few days, and Gaby is loving being able to see her Grandma!!! I think last time we saw them was in April?, when Stacey came back from Aus, so it's been a few months. It's nice that Gaby has time to spend with her Great-Grandmother, not something all little kids have the chance to do. She is off to her fathers today, I would have preferred him to have her on Saturday (so Grandma could have all Sunday with her), but he had 'plans' - which turned out to be going whitebaiting... awesome to think he'd sooner spend time outside in the wet, cold, muddy weather, than with his own daughter!

finally, sleeping in her own bed

Everything is going great with Gab sleeping in her own bed! Yay! I think we've finally broken the curse of the not-wanting-to-sleep-in-her-own-bed-ed-ness! It's lovely to see her sound asleep in her own bed, and knowing that she's getting a better sleep than if she was in my bed - and it doesn't hurt that it means I also get a good nights sleep! She's had a few nights where she's slept right through in her bed, but usually she hops in with me in the morning at some point - I think usually around 6-ish? She hops in and goes back to sleep, so I don't really mind!

Only really 2 months + 1 week until Gaby turns three! I'm absolutely flabbergasted, as to how she has gotten so big, so fast... It doesn't feel as if she should be approaching three - two maybe, but not three. Then I look at her - and listen to her, and it's undeniable that she's going to be three... She is getting pretty tall now, all her size 2 pants are getting too short, whereas about a month ago they all fit fine, and she's just starting to look more like a child (as opposed to toddler), in general. Of course one of the biggest giveaways as to her age, is her language - that child can TALK!!!!!!! I don't know if she's 'advanced' as far as language goes, or what - but sometimes I wish I could find the mute button... 99% of the time I love it though - but it does get to the point that S I L E N C E would be nice!

Sleep progress!

FINALLY Gaby seems to be settled, sleeping in her room! At Mum's suggestion, I put her mattress on the floor - that was 15 days ago, and so far she's slept in her room everynight! There have even been two nights where Gaby has slept ALL night in her bed! I think that usually she's getting in my bed around 5am, which is fine by me! It's a huge relief to finally have this sorted, and we both seem to be sleeping better, and a bit more alive during the days!