Tag Archives: girls

2

Passion for fashion

|

20140525-212053-76853295.jpg
Sunday, 25 May 2014: One Year and Fifty Three Days Old.

Ayla’s developing a passion for fashion and I think the only thing stopping her from walking at home was a pair of sparkly shoes!!

This afternoon Ayla came crawling out of her room a hundred miles an hour dragging a t-shirt that she brought straight to me, handing it over expectedly.

I asked Ayla if she wanted me to help her put the shirt on to which she replied with a shriek and a smile.

I pulled the shirt over her head and buttoned it up at the shoulder; Ayla then stood back and grabbed at it , looking down as if to check that it looked alright!!

Then later this evening Ayla was playing quietly in her room, almost too quietly, so I stuck my head in to check on her.

I saw Ayla sitting on the floor surrounded by shoes, her shoe draw open, and she was trying to put a little pink sandal on her foot.

Ayla caught a glimpse of me and immediately held out the shoe so I could help her with it.

With one shoe on we went looking for the matching other, then when they were both on Ayla held my hands and charged out to the lounge room to show her Daddy.

After a brief parade she took me back into her room and selected a new pair of shoes, which again I helped her put on and she again showed them off to her Dad.

The third pair of shoes were sequinned, sparkly black slippers and Ayla seemed to like them the most.

She was almost running down the hall to show her Dad and when she finally got to him Ayla started stomping her feet, almost as if she was tap dancing with excitement.

Then I let her go.

Ayla walked the whole way down the hall by herself, and then back again.

Then she walked around the lounge to her toys.

It was as if all the encouragement Ayla needed to walk at home was a pair of pretty shoes, which of course is completely understandable… It’s amazing what a gorgeous pair of shoes can achieve 😉

0

The whole “kid” thing

|

20140102-214107.jpg

Sunday, 29 December 2013: Two Hundred and Seventy Two Days Old.

Ayla’s starting to get a hang of this whole “kid” thing I think.

Although Ayla’s always loved watching other children, she hasn’t really had the chance to play with them on a no holds barred basis before.

But tonight after dinner Hubby and I sat Ayla on the floor along side her 7month old cousin to play with a bright red Christmas bauble.

It was so cute to watch them; both little girls wanting to have the bauble for themselves but being just as interested to see it taken away and held in the hands of the other.

After a while Tilly crawled off onto new adventures but other cousins kept coming by to stop and play with Ayla, give her a toy or say hello.

Ayla hung on every interaction like her world depended on it, and each time a cousin walk off I could see her longing to jump up and follow them.

Other things that happened today:

– We all went for an afternoon swim in a dam near the homestead. There was floating toys and kids everywhere and someone set up a diving plank by wedging an aluminium beam into the side of a parked Landcruiser.

– Ayla choked for the first time, on a bit of biscuit. Thankfully I always keep and eye on her when she eats and I was able to dislodge it really quickly. Very scary moment though.

– We put Ayla in a walker for the first time and she loved it! She hasn’t worked out the walking bit yet but she’s close.

0

Rocking horse

|

20130929-185559.jpg

Friday, 27 September 2013: One Hundred and Seventy Nine Days Old

Ayla got her first horse today… A rocking horse, from her Aunty Let and Uncle Bill.

Aunty Let is Hubby’s mum’s sister and they’re from one of the most remote cattle stations in Australia.

So it was only fitting that Aunty Let would be carrying a rocking horse in her arms when she and Uncle Bill arrived at our house for a visit tonight.

It made me teary to see my little girl so happy on the back of a colourful wooden pony and I wondered (errr… hoped!) that Ayla will one day share my love of all things horsey.

For most of my life, horses have given me freedom, independence, confidence and unconditional love.

They’ve taught me about exploration, perseverance, patience, following my dreams and the kicks that cone from adrenaline, and its a passion I dearly hope to pass on to Baby Ayla when she’s older.

0

Politics and sleep

|

20130908-093539.jpg

Saturday, 7 September 2013: One Hundred and Sixty Days Old

Two significant things happened in Ayla’s life today:

1. Ayla attended her first polling booth

2. Ayla went to sleep at someone else’s house

Ok, so attending your first polling booth might not seem very significant for a five month old, but to me it’s an important part of being Australian.

We’re lucky to have our say in how we’re governed and it’s important to Hubby and I that Ayla’s learns she has a voice and can be heard.

While one single vote among 21 million might not constitute as having a say, it represents our right to speak out, make a difference and stand up for what we believe in.

Today’s election stirred a conversation between Hubby and I about how we’ll raise Ayla politically. The decision; to empower her to make educated decisions on what’s best for her.

Now enough of politics.

The second significant thing that happened was that Ayla went to bed at someone else’s house!

We went over to a friends place for tea and decided, for the first time, to try and keep Ayla’s bedtime routine.

So, at 7.00 I gave Ayla her night time feed and by 8.00 she was sound asleep in her bassinet.

It was great! It meant I got to enjoy a nice adult dinner WITH TWO HANDS, and I even got to have a couple of beers.

When the time came to leave we bundled Ayla up and popped her (still sleeping) into her car seat.

I said to Hubby that I finally felt like a real parent, bringing our sleeping kid home after a night out.

0

Perfect body

|

20130905-140322.jpg

Wednesday, 4 September 2013: One Hundred and Fifty Seven Days Old.

I’m in awe of Ayla’s tiny perfect body.

Funnily enough though it’s the things I love most about Ayla’s body that I dislike the most about mine.

Her skin is pale and beautiful, her thighs are chubby and dimply, and her belly is so round and soft.

It’s a terrible thing, but self doubt and poor body image is something every girl will face in life, its just hard to believe that Ayla too will doubt the skin she’s in.

I dread the day when my gorgeous baby girl comes home in tears because somebody called her “fat” or “twiggy” or “whitey” or any other accusation of imperfection they felt was worthy of ridicule.

Children can be cruel, but the judgement of ourselves and others doesn’t stop at school.

How on earth I can teach Ayla to love, accept and respect herself, and do unto others the same?

2

The benefit of dolls

|

20130831-124445.jpg

Saturday, 31 August 2013: One Hundred and Fifty Two Days Old.

I think I’ve finally discovered the benefit of having dolls as a kid.

I was a horsey girl myself; the only doll I had was a single, solitary Barbie and that was simply so I had someone to ride the toy horses around.

But today, as I stared at the pink mess of Ayla’s atrociously painted toe nails, I found myself thinking that maybe a doll or two might have been good practice.

Poor Ayla…. her mummy is certainly no source of fashion info, no vault of make up secrets, no hidden trove of hair-do treasures and definitely, absolutely no teacher of nail polish application.

Who knows if a doll can teach a girl all those skills, but I guess we’ll find out soon enough…. As soon as Ayla’s old enough to go down the doll aisle herself that is, ’cause I can’t stand those creepy unblinking plastic eyes or the spine-tingling sound of a doll calling out “Mah-mee! Mah-mee!”.

BUT, in the meantime I can teach Ayla how to bake a cake, how to gut a fish and how to write a blog… does that count? 😉

0

Jackpot

|

20130815-205408.jpg

Thursday, 15 August 2013: One Hundred and Thirty Five Days Old.

How on earth did I get the jackpot?!

Ayla lights up my day, every day. And how could she not when she has a cheeky grin like that?

And my Hubby makes me happier than anyone; he’s strong, passionate and loyal, and he’s literally my other half.

Someone I follow on Instagram (@msjessitay) described her family like this today;

“My daughters heart beats because of him”

And I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Before Ayla, I used to hear people talk about “doing anything for their family” but I didn’t really understand.

Now I do.

My little family gives me so much joy, happiness and courage. I can’t imagine life without them and I would do anything in return.

2

Photogenic

|

20130809-220744.jpg

Friday, 9 August 2013: One Hundred and Thirty Days Old

In case you couldn’t already tell, I think Ayla’s pretty photogenic.

But it’s clear that Ayla loves the camera as much as I love using it.

If there’s an iPhone around (does the simple camera even exist anymore?!) Ayla looks directly at it, stares and pouts.

I actually have to sneak up on her to get photos from different angles, or I take so many photos that she eventually gets bored and looks away.

It means that documenting these early days and recording the special moments has been easy and rewarding.

Hubby and I plan to raise Ayla to be comfortable in her own skin, proud of who she is, and confident to just be herself and we hope she’ll never be shy to smile and say cheese!