My 'baby' is a kindy kid!

*wipes away tears* yesterday Gaby had her first day at Kindergarten!!!!  For those of you who aren't from NZ, our kindergarten is between ages 3-5, and (generally) on a child's 5th birthday, they start primary/elementary school.  Regardless of that, it is still Gaby's final stop before being a school kid - and that is such a scary thought!!!  She was so excited all day about going to kindergarten, and when we arrived, she wanted to go straight to the playground - of course!  We spoke to the head teacher & she showed us around again, and explained more about the daily routine, after that Gaby was off outside, I followed her around for awhile, but it was pretty clear she didn't care if I was there or not!  I took the obligatory 'first day at.......' photographs, then told her I was leaving - she gave me a kiss and then yelled out "hey guys, my Mummy is going now".  Very cute!

I picked her up at 3pm and the teacher I spoke to was thoroughly impressed, at how Gaby had reacted to her first day!  She was very 'confident', played with the other kids freely, helped to tidy up at the end of the session - and was in general a 'treasure'.  I had a feeling that she would have reacted that way, but you never do quite know!  It made me feel so wonderful, that MY kid had been such a 'treasure', and that the teachers were impressed with her - I figure that surely it must mean that over my 3 years as a Mama, I have done something right!  She is still going to be attending Ready Steady Play (her preschool) 1 day a week - because she loves that place, and the teachers - and the kids, but if she seems okay with kindergarten this time next year (when she will start going 5 mornings a week), I might cancel her enrolment at R.S.P... which is a bit of a sad thought really!

It really is a crazy feeling - knowing that she is going to be THREE in 13 days time.  It's making me reminisce and remember 'the way things were' - we have BOTH come a long way in that time!  I have been so blessed to have such an amazing little princess, in my life - and it really has been an honour to watch her grow & develop into the wonderful almost-3-year-old, that she is today!  This time three years ago, it was a day past my due date, and I was wondering if Gaby would EVER decide to arrive - somehow I KNEW that she wouldn't be coming of her own accord, and of course my Mummy instinct was right!  That said - I don't care that I had a caesarean - I don't feel like less of a woman for not having a vaginal delivery... my baby was born healthy - and to me, that was/is the most important thing...

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!

Close to three...

In 4 days time, Gaby will be 2 years & 9 months old - it blows me away, because it still seems as though she's the little bubby I brought home from the hospital all those months ago... But she is almost THREE... It seems so old to me, so grown up - so un-baby-like, and well, I guess it is! I'm going to either get her a bike or a LeapFrog Tag Reading System for her b/day - whatever I get her for her b/day, I'll get the other thing for her Christmas present. I'm starting to think about her birthday party - where & when to have it, whether she's old enough for a 'themed' party. I wanted to make her a Thomas the Tank Engine cake for her b/day - but she seems to have started getting over her little Thomas fad, so I'm pretty much back at square one. She does like Nemo & Happy Feet a lot, so perhaps I could do a Nemo/Marlin/Dori cake, or a Penguin cake. I'm not creative, but I LOVE making & decorating cakes!

I've been reminiscing a lot about what it was like when Gaby was a little bub, and about my pregnancy with her. The up & down of emotions, the joy at feeling movements, the anxiety before ultrasounds & m/w appointments... all these memories kind of scroll through my mind, like a slideshow - sometimes there is even music playing in the background.... Ahhhh dear.. I'm getting so soppy in my old age!

Where did THIS come from???

Laxing out - very ladylike, watching TV

In the past Gaby has always said "can I have breakfast now" or "can you get me _______", but this morning... out of the blue I get:

"GET ME TOAST - NOW!"
"GET ME A TISSUE - NOW!"
"PUT THE LION KING ON - NOW!"

someone has suddenly - literally overnight, become very bossy!!!!! Yet another example of how quickly a child can change - I guess now it's back to the drawing board, to figure out a method for teaching Gaby to NOT BOSS MUM AROUND! Toad. It sounded cute the first time she said it, but after that first time, it was irritating. I guess it's just a glimpse of what the tween & teen years are going to be like huh....

Still amazed that she can change so much overnight......

officially closer to 3 than 2!

Cheeky McCheekerson

Last Sunday Gaby officially turned 2 & a half! 30 months old - wow, where has time gone? I know I say that in almost every entry - but it's so true, time just flies when there is a little one who has you enchanted!

What is new with Gaby? The potty training continues to go well, it is very rare to have an accident now, which is AWESOME! She's also started using the toilet as much as the potty, so it seems as though the transition between potty - toilet, isn't going to be so hard after all! It's so nice to not have to change nappies all day long - Gaby wore a nappy for a couple of hours on Friday because she was sick (& grumpy & exhausted) - and it was SO weird seeing her with a nappied butt!

Tea party with Ali!

Gaby seems to be understanding language more lately - it's really awesome. Like when it's dark she says its 'darking' (aww!)... She has also started saying "I think it's......." (such as I think it's in my belly, I think it's a cat, I think it's wees...), and I wondered if maybe preschool had been concentrating on use of language the past few weeks, but no! Gaby figured it out herself! I'm so proud of that little lunatic! She also freaked me out the other day - she pulled two paintings from the artbox at preschool - and they weren't hers. I told her this & she said "no, this is Leo's" - I checked & it WAS Leo's... I figured it was a lucky guess - then she took the 2nd painting & said "this is Leah's"... I looked - and it WAS by Leah! Scary. The paintings were done in early March, so it wasn't like she'd seen them painting them earlier in the week either.

I do miss having a little bubby - BUT having a toddler who is learning things every single day & continually blowing your mind, well - that is pretty awesome as well!

bug girl!

Gaby has started enjoying BUGS! Not a passion she gets off her Mama, I guess we can thank Poppa for that one. Yesterday she was holding a caterpillar & a grasshopper - which I guess was kind of cute, but the moment she tries to pick up a spider, well, she's on her own!

Potty training is going REALLY well. Over the weekend we spent a lot of time away from home (well, most of it!) - and she didn't have any accidents either at Nan & Poppa's or at the mall/shops we went to! She has started doing wee's in the toilet a lot more, which is awesome - because I was wondering how to try & transition her from the potty to the toilet. As I type this, she is at preschool without any nappies on - so hopefully today is a success as well!!! I don't mind if she has accidents, because it's still pretty new to her, but I have been very lucky with her, she's only had a few accidents - and they've all been the wet pants variety - not pooey pants.

What else is happening in the world of Gaby? Her imagination is really starting to get a good work out, and she never fails to amaze me! This morning she was 'cooking dinner' - she had some crackers, a wheatpack & ball in a pot & put them in the (not turned on) oven. When she said she had to check it, she asked for an oven mit because it was hot!!!! So cute!!! She also looks at my curtain & points out fishes & dinosaurs in the pattern (there are none!), and when she looks at my wallpaper - which has flowers on it, she says "walking in garden with Grandpa Dave" (her Father's step-dad)... Very clever my little girly!

My parrot...

Gaby has decided in the last week or so that she's going to be a parrot. She repeats EVERYTHING I say - it's so funny, and also rather impressive, her language acquisition is increasing each day, and never fails to amaze me! She came into my bedroom this morning when she woke up & told me to get dressed - I said "no, give me a couple of minutes to wake up" - and what'd she say? "Be patient Gaby"... which I just so happen to say to her about 1 thousand times a day! Rather funny to hear her saying it.

I had basically a whole weekend without Gaby, which was weird. Refreshing but weird! Friday night Mum & Dad had her & then Saturday night Serena had her - then Sunday during the day she was at her Father's. I got all the housework done & had a chance to relax and actually sleep - feel a lot better on an emotional level now. Of course I missed her though! I was in the car at one point & a song of Pink's came on - that Gaby sings along to, and it made me sad that Gab wasn't there to make me giggle at her singing! This weekend Stu is having her on Saturday night - he was meant to have her the last 2 weeks in a row but each week something 'came up', so we will see what happens this weekend.

I think he thinks I want him to have Gaby overnight just so I can have a little break - but that's not the reason. I think it is important for him & Gaby to spend as much time together as they can - because Gaby is getting to an age that she's going to start notice if she isn't seeing him much - and I want her to have a close bond with him, which is only going to come from spending decent amounts of time together. I want them to BOTH be comfortable with her spending the night there, incase there is a point in the future that he needs to have her for longer than 9 hours a week! Hard to figure it all out though. I was admittedly really p*ssed off each time he told me he could no longer have her over night.. it's hard to not do things to 'pay him back' - because as much as I'd like to do something mean & vindictive - the only person who is going to suffer is Gaby.. and I don't want that...

Mummy's little helper

Today I decided to get onto the mammoth task of tidying Gaby's bedroom. Her room looked like a tip, but luckily it was fairly easy to tidy - just had to sort out her clothes & toys that were ALL over the floor. Of course one thing led to another & I ended up sorting out her drawers, putting clothes that are too small in a bag, then I sorted out her toys & put the ones she no longer plays with in a bag.

Naturally Gaby was with me the entire way - helping me pick things up and put them in bags, or to put clothes on the couch, her toys on the bed - but of course it didn't take long for her to get sidetracked while doing each task! I put a new mesh hamper in her room & explained that whenever she takes dirty clothes off, they have to be put in the hamper... we then put a few dirty items in - it was all going swimmingly, 5 minutes later I looked & the clothes were out & GABY WAS IN! It was rather funny, but made me realise that getting her to 'be tidy' isn't going to be as easy as I thought! Of course *I* need to keep at it as well, be a good role model and all of that good stuff.....

Sometimes with Gaby I feel like I need instructions - I have no idea at what age I can expect her to do specific things - like how old she needs to be before I can start expecting her to follow instructions to clean up..... I guess I just have to play it by ear huh...

Toilet training seems to be underway!

Yesterday I noticed Gaby running out of the lounge & into the bathroom twice - to do wees!!! There was absolutely NO prompting from me - so that makes me realise that she IS ready to do this toilet training thing, and it also made me realise that it can't be forced. It's all very good me telling her to sit on the toilet & do wees, but she needs to learn for *herself*, what it feels like when she needs to go to the toilet - and to go when she feels that way.

Whenever she does wees or poos on the toilet, I congratulate her and tell her how proud I am of her, what a big girl she is - and then we high five - and she usually runs off after that to high five the cat! She seems to get a big buzz out of being able to wear 'undies', and whenever she puts them on she says "tell Mum if need do wees" - which impresses me, because it means she understands that she isn't meant to do wees in her undies. & heck, she looks so cute running around in her big girl undies!!!

It is a little sad though - all the things that made Gaby a baby are disappearing...
She is communicating by talking now, rather than crying
She is sleeping in a single bed, rather than in a cot or bassinet
She is starting to wear undies more & more & is going to the toilet, rather than needing me to change her nappy
... it's amazing, my little baby girls is now a child, doing more and more for herself each day - soon she isn't going to need me for anything, well, she won't depend on me as much...

I love being a Mummy.. and I'm so proud of my Gaby... and I guess in a way, proud of myself - because she is happy, healthy & developing as she should be. And heck - she's just gorgeous!

Terrible two's.. uh huh!

Mischief: Gaby Styles.

Moisturising Mummy's bed....
Here Mum - join in, it's fun!

can't get enough of that hot chocolatey powder goodness

The terrible two's really can be terrible! Seems I am ALWAYS cleaning up some mess of Gaby's, or washing something she's drawn on/pooed on/spilt something on - and as for the time-out's I'm issuing? I think her record for one day was about 15!!! Shocking little monster! BUT she is getting more and more adorable by the day, and I love her to little tiny bits & pieces. Nothing cuter than her coming in in the morning and saying "have good sleep?" to me, or when I am putting her to bed at night & she asks for another kiss. Seeing her with Fluffy is also another thing that makes me love her a little bit more each day - she loves that cat SO much - she has to kiss her goodnight before bed - & give her a hug, then in the morning first thing she does when she gets up - and what I usually wake up to, is her checking the door & seeing Fluffy & squealing with delight! She's also just becoming more & more loving toward people and seems to be developing a little bit of a sense of empathy, which surprises me!

What else can I say about lil Ms Gaby... Tonight she is spending her first night at her Dad's - he is having her Christmas Day/Night & Boxing Day - and I'm going to Temuka with Mum & Dad, so I decided it would be a wise idea for her to have a night or two at his house before then, so that when Christmas Day does come - and i'm 90 minutes away, there is less chance of it going badly. I'm pretty sure she'll be just fine, but I guess it'll be a good confidence builder for him, and it'll reassure me some, so I am not stressing all Christmas! It'll be sad not having Gaby for Christmas, but he has as much right to have her on Christmas Day as I do - & his family have as much right to see her as mine do! That said, it will be nice to have some time without having to worry about her - and maybe I can even have a few Christmas Drinks with the 'rents & Deb/Mark!

Tooth #18 is through, so now there are only #19 & #20 to go! This teething thing is almost over! If I believed in him, I'd be praising the lord right about now! Trying to think if there are any other new developmental milestones she's reached.... she seems to be growing a lot, but that's to be expected isn't it! Her language still blows me away. She says a lot of numbers now, just not in order - and she always mimic's the Daily Keno draw - which is so cute, I still don't know where she learnt the number 92 - but she says it regularly!!! She's starting to enjoy books a bit more, sat through a whole story that Nan read her yesterday, and did the same for me earlier in the week - I guess that comes with the age though, her attention span is getting a little longer. She's still on the go all the time - never ever sits still, but that's not so bad! Gymnastics is over for the year, so I might start taking her swimming once or twice a week so we can still get out & do something 'special' together. Although school holidays now - the pool will be busy as heck.

Guess what Gaby can do!

Yesterday Gaby counted to six! She did it without any prompting or help!!!!!

My clever girl!