Beautiful lengths!

There's a little boy in Jasmin's class at pre-school that has Leukemia (can you even imagine?). He's 4 years old. He's been away from pre-school this year because of chemotherapy treatments and has just recently returned. Today he wasn't at school and Jasmin worried that he wasn't there. "Isaiah wasn't at kindy today. Maybe he's sick again...".

Words like Leukemia and topics like cancer are really big concepts for little people. Before Isaiah returned to Kindy, Jasmin's class watched a puppet show organised by camp quality. It's peformed at schools where students are affected by cancer to help the other little people around them understand more. It talks about anti-bullying, cancer treatments and how these treatments affect the little ones on them.

This experience has opened up all kinds of conversations between Jasmin and I. One of those conversations was about people donating their hair to make wigs for people that loose their hair with cancer.

Fast forward a few weeks, and my 5 year old decided that she would cut her long long beautiful hair (that I adore) and donate it HERE in the hopes that it would go to a little girl that didn't have hair. She said she would give it to Isaiah, "But mum. A boy doesn't want a girls long hair wig"!

Despite the fact that Jasmin's understanding of what she has done is really quite limited, I am unbelievably proud of her! It's experiences like this that will help shape her character and who she is as she grows and I imagine that this will become more and more meaningful to her as she gets older and as she comes to understand, just what it means.

She walked in to that hair dresser and shyly told the lady she wanted to cut off her pony tail and send it to someone who didn't have hair. The hair dresser cried. I was teary too. Jasmin sat in the chair and beamed. 

 

She's still beaming about it!

Sisters!

Sister love after a little concert of singing and dancing performed just for me.

 

 

How it thrills my heart!

Little Wonders

Without going into the politics of Education QLD (which I am quite passionate about :), In short, If a child turns 5 by June 30, they can attend Prep (first year of school) that year. If their birthday is after June 30, they wait until the following year to start school (which would make the child 5 turning 6 in the first year of school).

If you happen to have a 4 year old turning 5 before June 30, and for reasons other than developmental delays, you think it would be beneficial to send your child to school when they are a little bit older, 5 turning 6, In the public system your child would have to MISS the prep year and go straight into year 1 (crazy! I know).

In contrast, in NSW, if your child turns 5 by July 31, IF they are ready for school you can send them to kindergarten - which is the equivalent of Prep. If as a parent however you feel they are not quite ready for school for ANY reason, you can opt to send them to school the following year - when they are 5 turning 6. As long as they start school by their 6th birthday.

OK this is getting too wordy :)

My point for this little glimpse into the difference between State Education in Australia?

Last year our family was living in NSW. This year we are in QLD and Jasmin, my bright happy 4 year old is directly affected by these 'discrepancies of rules'.

As a parent, after months of thinking/praying/worrying about what the right thing for my girl was, It felt right to wait and send her to school in 2014. When she was 5 turning 6 (do 4 year olds really need to go to school 6 hours a day, 5 days a week?). Have you seen what the kids are learning based on the National Curriculum in Prep now? It is no longer a year of socialisation or a play based curriculum to ease the kids into year 1. It is a foundational year of learning and it is full on (don't ask me how in the world Education QLD think that children can now miss this 'optional' prep year of school?)

It was not easy finding a school that felt right or that would support my decision to 'delay' Jasmin's entry into school (the word 'delay' seems absurd in this sentence, don't you think?), but I managed to find the most amazing school that was happy for me as the parent to decide what was right for my child. Sadly in the public system, this is not an option.

As a result of this, I am now watching this girl of mine thrive in the beautiful Pre-school that she attends a couple of days a week. And I couldn't be more happy that I didn't cave into the pressure I felt to "Just send her to school. She'll be fine. She's ready. You're holding her back".

Sometimes we have to fight for what we think is right for our children. Even if others don't agree with our decisions. Sometimes we have to trust our instinct, and recognise that despite what 'everyone else is doing', we are in fact the experts for our children and know better than anyone else, exactly what they need.

What a gift mother intuition is!

ps) While I don't dispute that some 4 year old children are ready for school and thrive in that environment, I absolutely believe it should be the decision of the parents, based on the individual child and what their needs/capabilities are, NOT by a governing body that oddly seem so out of touch with the fact that NOT all 4 years are ready for school. 

Little ballerina x 2

In theory, having Jasmin and Lily do ballet together, is not only the cutest thing in the world, it is also completely practical!

 
1 class. 2 little girls.  9:30am. 1 hour.

I know I could choose to chat with other mums and socialise during that hour wait. But there's that book sitting in my bag and a wooden chair just outside the door...What better arrangement could there be?

Did you notice that the beginning of this post said; In theory :)

The reality of this little 1 hour dream on a thursday morning is this. 1 sweet 4 year old that runs into class who I don't see for an hour. 1 sweet little 2 year old that is not quite ready to stay in a 1 hour class. The last few weeks she has lasted 1/2 an hour but today, even that was a stretch.

As much as I want to keep taking her in the hope that she will stay in the class for the hour, I don't know if I will. I see other people getting frustrated at their little ones that also won't stay in the class. But that's not me. She's 2. Her professional ballet career can wait to begin untill she's at least 3. Or maybe even 4 :)

Instead, we might just dress up at home and dance around to music like this. It's fun, we get to do it together and it's free.

Jasmin on the other hand will keep going and I can swoon over her adorable attempts at 'moves' like Demi-plié and first position. 

Little Sisters

Being one of seven girls in my family, the idea of having more than one daughter of my own, a little pair of sisters if you will, always made me feel incredibly excited.

After being raised in a household with that many girls, and going to boarding school and living with 100ish other girls for 2 years, I was under no illusion that having 'young ladies' is always a walk in the park :) or that my girls would always get along. 

But still, I imagined beautiful harmony with two sisters that would love each other more than anything else in the world. They would be best friends from the very beginning of their little lives..........

hahahaha! I can't help but laugh a little at this. Especially because I already knew. I knew that while my sisters and I are now the very best of friends, it wasn't always so growing up. And while I know my own daughters also love each other, there's not always perfect harmony between these two head strong girls of mine :)

As they both grow, I am pleasantly seeing small changes. There is more understanding and communication between them and the stretches of happy play are extended. There is more laughing and playing, and less hair pulling and crying ;). When I see them wrapped up in a world of "you're the mummy and I'm the baby" and I see them playing happily together, I could quite easily sing out loud, "la la la la laaaa". Actually sometimes I do, and it makes them laugh!

The picture below is something I see quite regularly. The two of them wondering around the house, and when Lily can't quite reach something she wants, Jasmin jumps down and tells her to stand on her back :)  Yes, my baby who is only an inch shorter than her big sister, and who weighs the same amount, uses her big sister as a stool.

It is a pleasure to watch these little sisters in cahoots with each other!

Day 6 - Gratitude

While I am thankful everyday for happy healthy children, some days my heart is extra full! 

This was one of those days!! 

{After months of headaches that lead to vomiting for our girl, we were given a referral to have a CT scan to rule out anything 'serious'. When I called the hospital to make the appointment, the doctor informed me that 3 year olds had to be put to sleep for a CT scan. After going back and forth for a while, I convinced the Dr to let us at least try the scan awake first. He told me I was wasting our time, but I assured him, Jasmin wouldn't move. And she didn't! Not one bit!!! She was a brave girl and I was a proud mumma!!! 

Day 2 - Little Ballerina

She is a little dancer! 

A little dancer that in 'free dance time' during her lessons, likes to break dance on the floor while other little ballerina's spin and twirl around her. 

I hope she's always happy and comfortable to 'dance to the beat of her own drum' regardless of how others are 'dancing' around her!!!

Extreme Wishing

When I first saw this field of dandelions, I imagined capturing graceful photos with little wishes being gently blown into the air. But not so.

This is what I got......

Oh how I adore those chubby little cheeks and her 'extreme wishing' much more than a graceful little blow!

Do you know.....

 
A new style of question from my three year old........


Do you know mum, some girls cry all day??

Do you know some girls dip their fingers in the peanut butter and eat it with no bread?

Do you know some children don't listen to their parents? (said with shocking gasp :)

Do you know some kids only want to eat junk food and nofing much healthy?

Do you know some children take food and eat it ALL without asking their mum?


Oh the irony of these 'statement questions'!! They bring us such entertainment everyday and I love hearing the words......"Do you know......

82/365

Delighted

I don't need to see her face to know how she feels in moments like this. 

134/365

I think it's accurate to say that this girl is at her happiest when she's with her dad. He calms her with his kind words and shows her what it's like to be loved. Really loved.

I couldn't have asked for a better father to help me raise little girls {and boys}.

Like mother, like daughter

"look at me Lily, look at me......."

 

My poor baby. 

Not only does she have to put up with me taking her picture all.day.long. She now has her sister doing it too :)

I say "my poor baby". But really. I love it :) I love watching Jazzy walk around snapping things that appeal to her little eye. 

365

On March 11, I picked up my camera and declared to the world (my family :) I was starting a 365 project of Jasmin and Lily. Yes, a project that would require committement everyday for a whole year. One photo everyday of my girls. 

I made this announcement not really knowing how committed I was, but hopeful that I would at least complete a whole week ;)!  Almost 3 months later, I can say I am completely committed.......even if on some days I race in to Jasmin's room at 10pm and snap a picture of her sleeping because I almost forgot (this has happened a couple of times :)

At first I thought I could use this project to play with my camera more WHILE capturing the girls, but it has become so much more than that. It really has. 

And while I do love the 'playing with my camera' aspect of it all, this project has helped me see so many moments I probably would have missed If I wasn't constantly looking for my 'photo of the day'.

I think what I love most about it is that I find myself watching the girls differently. I think more about what they do and what opportunities I give them during the day. I think about how I feel when I take the picture and why I chose that moment. When I look back over the pictures now, they really mean so much more to me. 

76/365

 

8/365

75/365

70/365

When I first saw a 365 project it was done with a polaroid camera, and now I totally get why. With a polaroid you take ONE picture, it magically prints out and voila. Done. I on the other hand take about 50 pictures (times 2) and then have to sit for ever and try and decide which ONE I will choose for each girl. One of my sisters did obviously state to me, "it's called 'ONE photo a day for a reason so why don't you just take ONE picture".....but I don't think I could do that. I tried. It didn't work :) I think instead I'll employ Chad as the official 'photo chooser'. I'm sure he'll LOVE that job ;) 

Ladybug party in the park

I know it would be much easier to have a party at home and NOT have to transport everything to the park, but it's the place our girl loves the most and so the effort in transporting everything including the table, was well worth it :)

Family. Friends. Lollies on tap. Cakes. Sweet food galore. Lovely presents and running around the park. The perfect morning for a girl turning 3. 

Here's a few pics from our morning in the park!

My favourite birthday tradition is that Chad makes the cakes for our kids :) They get so excited over what he comes up with and I love that I don't have to make them ;) It was really cute watching Jazz and Chad browse the computer together until she found the 'perfect' ladybug cake for him to recreate!! 

The look on her face in this picture pretty much sums up her day and her ladybug party in the park!!!

3 years old and an interview

It really is unbelievable how quick time is flying by and suddenly the old adage; "the years roll into one" takes on a new meaning as I look at this little girl who used to be my baby. My angelic happy baby. The baby that made me desperately want another little girl just like her because she was so lovely and calm and peaceful {muahahahaha oh how some things have changed - haha I kid. She is still my little ray of sunshine she's just simultaniously ridding that wave of toddlerhood and tantrums :) but oh how I love and adore her ;).

We had a lovely day on her 'day of days' filled with pom pom balls, kinda-gym, jelly beans and pretend cooking with real flour that lasted for over an hour (and took me almost an hour to clean up :). Usually I would give her playdoh for pretend cooking, but it was her birthday so I let her explore every creative avenue she could think of. And she loved it. Every minute. The hour long clean up was completely worth it :)


Here's a few thoughts on life from the birthday girl in the form of an interview........(black is me, and pink of course is Jamin :)

1. What do you like doing? Going somewhere Where? Um, parks. me like doing cooking and me rove you :)

2. Do you have a best friend? Yes. Braden (said with stars in her eyes :)

3. What do you love about Daddy? He always takes me somewhere. To the video store

4. What do you love doing with Daddy? Swinging on the spiderman swing and um planting plants

5. Do you have a favourite food? Um Sausage hair (this made me laugh because we don't really eat sausages unless we're at a barbeque somewhere and they don't typically have hair on them :).

6. What other food do you like? Um pankcakes

7. Do you have a favourite healthy food (like fruite or something)?  Fruit is a great idea but not right now mummy (hahaha)  um me like drinking soft drink (hhmmm ok maybe we should look at this child's diet :). Anything healthy??  softdrink. That's not healthy. oh. me like pumpkin and avacado.

8. What's your favourite toy: what's your favourite toy mummy - a minion?? well princess toys. me got no princesses though. 

9. What do you like doing with mummy? Making playdoh and me want to go to kindagym

10. What's your favourite colour? Green

11. What's your favouite animal? Me like froggys mum Is that because they're green?  yeah

12. Do you have a favourite movie? Karate kid and nofing else (funny again because she's probably only seen a few minutes of this movie :)

13. What are your talents? Doing balance at gymnastics

14. Do you have any other talents? Doing ballet

15. What do you want to do when you grow up? Take care of Lily (oh so sweet :)

16. What makes you laugh? Lily. nofing else. Rylan

17. What does love mean? About me and you :)

18. What's your favourite dinner? Pasta

19. Do you have any jobs? Ah doing the dishwasher

20. What's your favourite thing to do with our family? Go to park


So there you have it. The world according to Jasmin at 3 years old. I really wish these answers could have captured her intonation and body language as she answered. Most of them had me laughing with the way she replied to them :)

I am blessed to be the mother of this girl and love watching her grow and seeing the person she is becoming. She is strong willed and soft and fiesty and lovely and funny and sweet and all the things a little girl should be. She absolutely loves babies (of any kind :) and generally showers her love on them and mothers them like a pro :)


Above all. She is LOVED and so very adored.

Happy birthday to my girl!!

Inspiration Board

I know with a title like that it sounds like I'm about to delve into some serious aspirations and how I plan to achieve them, but, I'm not. I'm talking inspiration for a 3rd brithday party here. Serious business I know :)

Before I share some of my favourite party stylers, I'd love to know how my girl has gone from this....... 

 

to this.....

It hardly seems possible that it's been 3 years already.  {sigh}

Anyway, as planning is underway for our little party to celebrate my girl, here's some of the MANY pictures I'm loving and feeling inspired by.....

{Jasmin keeps asking for a "lady bug cake please" so just think red and white for the colours}

I'm pretty sure this one is Martha but I couldn't find the original link for the picture.......

My friend Sally who is a 'Martha' in her own right put on this sweet party for her daughter a couple of years ago - she is amazingly talented (and I WANT that clock on her wall :)  More pics from her party HERE

The food styling master Amy Atlas - oh how I love her clean, straight, white lines (you must check out her eye candy and blog if you haven't already seen them

I LOVE these pics from Alannah Rose but there will be NO fake green grass or florals on our table ;) everything else is gorgeous!! 

Ruki from INVITEDbyRUK Is also AMAZINGLY talented (and happens to be the daughter of the lovely Shamala Maddison if you happen to know her). Here's a taste of what she did for her son's birthday (amazing right!) you can check out more of her gorgeous projects and ideas HERE

 I'm thinking we might take the party to the park again like we did LAST YEAR because it made it SO easy and enjoyable for everyone (read: pregnant.sick.tired. let's go to the park and decorate a table so the 'entertainment' is built in :)

I can't wait to help my girl celebrate her day!!!


POST EDIT - I've had a few people ask about the clock on my friends wall, I'm pretty sure it's from Freedom furniture and it's the Arles clock $129 click HERE to view it otherwise I found another one very similar to it HERE :)