Bells and Boats

I am really into doing craft with the kids at the moment - must be the festive season or something! The kids love it too - Matilda will 'sticker' things for hours (the bell with little sticker ribbon bow things are hers. They were both so proud to hang their bells on the tree. We have also made chocolate balls to give to a few people and decorated the glass bottles and done up little tags, and all three girls helped me make the pastry and filling for mince pies - that was a juggle!!

Nov/Dec 2011 #4

Forgot to put the picture of Annabelle with her angel up.

Nov/Dec 2011 #3

1. Very exciting!!! - the girls were brave enough to 'sit beside' Santa this year. Matilda is in orange.

2. this is Matilda showing me her 'angel'. We made them from doylies to decorate the house. I just thought this was a gorgeous photo

3. Olivia after a very big morning. It was a really hot day and she didnt move from this position for ages and ages. I remember taking a very similar photo of Annabelle when she was much younger.

4. This is where I found Olivia after she had thrown a massive tantrum and run away from me. There are often dummies under her cot and she was going in search of them I think, but when there were none there she decided to just see out her tantrum under the cot. When I finally tracked her down she looked at me very sheepishly/cheekily. She has mastered the art of tantrums (especially for a one year old!) and often runs across the room and very dramatically throws herself against a wall, or drops to the ground and rolls around. I just laugh and shake my head!

Nov/Dec 2011 #2

1 & 2 - Annabelle and Matilda all dressed up for a day out in the city with Nanny and Grandad. Matilda in the orange dress.

3. Thought this was really cute, we had been to the park, hence the feathers in the head bands, and the three of them were so happy and smiley. Annabelle is in the middle

4. Putting up the Christmas tree!

Nov/Dec 2011

From the top

1. Classic!!! - this is how the kids chose to go to the airport to meet Grandma last time she visited. Got lots of big smiles when walking through the airport. Annabelle is in purple, Matilda in pink.

2. The kids in bed with me the morning of my birthday - Matilda, Annabelle, Olivia then me.

3. Olivia getting stuck into a chocolate muffin

4. Matilda doing the same

Halloween

Spent Halloween with some really good friends and their family. Was a bit nervous about dressing the kids up (given their regular 'run and scream from men' behaviour). So I went the homemade option and bought two lots of crepe paper to make skirts with and a cute little hat. The girls loved dressing up, although were a bit unsure of some of the people wearing masks.

Suprisingly, it only took one house of 'trick or treaking' (no typo there, that is how they said it), for them to work out the lollies were well worth facing a stranger and saying 'trick or treak' for. They didnt even shy away from some weird head in a glass bowl prop thing that made me a bit queasy to look at!

Top photo - Matilda in the purple hat, Annabelle in orange.

Bottom photo - Olivia - didnt bother with a skirt as they were very fragile and I could just see her eating it and getting purple and black dye all over herself!

Three pretty girls

Took these ones on the way out to visit a friend and just really like all three outfits - thought they all looked very girly and gorgeous. Annabelle is in the blue check skirt, Matilda in the orange dress, Olivia in the pink & blue dress.

The last photo - obviously not so pretty! - is of Olivia demonstrating one of her tantrums. Someone had taken something away from her. The second she got it back she was all smiles again.

Whatever they can do...... I can do.....

I know I have written it before, but here is proof that Olivia really does think she is 3 years old (or even older). Whenever I go to cook something I have the two older girls (Annabelle in pink t-shirt, Matilda in green) asking if they can watch - with me standing in the corner and them on their chairs as in the bottom photo. Before I can even blink, Olivia can be heard struggling and puffing and panting as she drags/lifts/carries her stool over to the stove top too. - Yes, in the above photo I have not helped her in any way to get where she is. She stands on that stool with 100% concentration on her face watching me cook as if she is taking mental notes. If I even dare try and tell her to hop down I face the most distraught tantrum!

And the picture at the top is the view I have while I am cooking. This photo makes me giggle as there is no way Olivia can actually see what I am cooking, but she is so determined to be involved.

Other 3 year old behaviours she mimicks perfectly include --

- putting on and taking off necklaces, bracelets, handbags, hats and any other 'dress up' things

- only eating what they are eating - including nutrigrain for breakfast, cashews and lollipops (to keep them quiet whilst doing the fortnightly shopping)

- climbing up and down the stairs unaided

- throwing tantrums that involve throwing herself on the floor, kicking and pounding the floor, and running into walls to achieve the most impact on those watching

- playing 'teasets' in the bath....

and the list goes on.

She seriously looks like a very mini 3 year old sometimes!

Matilda & Annabelle's 3rd Birthday

The girls turned 3 yesterday! And here are some photos from the day:

1. First thing in the morning, opening their 'Dr's things'. Matilda is in pink. These have been a great hit - especially to give each other needles with. They have carried the bags around for the last two days straight. Sometimes with Dr's things in them, sometimes with any other toy they can cram in.

2. With two beautiful teddies they got from Nanny, Grandad and cousin Rhys. Annabelle in pink

3. Annabelle blowing out her candles

4. Matilda blowing out her candles

5. The cakes I made. I was so proud of these - first butterfly cakes ever and they were fantastic! ..... that was until I realised Matilda didnt like the cream in them. Luckily I had a few over and was able to make a quick batch of pink icing for the kids cakes.

The kids have had two great, fun filled, sugar filled (thanks to Grandma & Granpa - lollypops at 8am), and exhausting days.

Playing

From the top:

1. Matilda (in pink) and Annabelle (in stripes) and Olivia

2. Matilda and Annabelle - both in one of Olivia's sleeping bags. They thought they were so funny being 'babies' in a sleeping bag and running up and down the house, feet skidding out from underneath themselves

3. From the right, Olivia, Annabelle and Matilda all wearing very bubbly hats.

Horse Riding

Olivia thinks she is so clever riding her horse. She has discovered that if she jolts it hard enough - when she is doing the little head nods - it actually moveds forwards or backwards in addition to rocking on the spot. So this is a video of her doing this and cracking herself up as she does it. It also helped that Matilda and Annabelle thought it was very funny too.

Playing at the Park

Had a really lovely morning playing in the park this week. The week before was all rainy so the kids loved getting out! (as did I!!!)

1, 2 & 3 are all Annabelle climbing up the ladder. I helped her the first time and then she had so much fun finding different ways to get to the top, using different parts of the bars to haul herself up. The first few rungs are spaced quite far apart for my little girls arms too.

4. Matilda showing me how clever she can be with her 'swinging'.

5, 6 & 7 - Olivia proving she can do anything the big girls can do. In the last one she is on a little rocking horse type thing. She absolutely loves these things and gets herself up onto them and is rocking away before I even turn around at every park we go to.

A couple of other sayings the girls have:

- stippy take (sticky tape)

- pertainer (container)

- 'when I was you mummy, I used to drive the car' or 'when I was little and Olivia was big, I used to sleep in her cot and she used to sleep in my bed' - they are getting the concept of future, past and present, and that things have changed, but then mixing the concepts up

- sunscream

Its my Birthday!

Some photos from Olivia's first birthday and Baptism. We has a really lovely day with the Baptism mid morning and then a few friends and family over for lunch.

From the top:

1. Olivia on the day after her birthday - making her own fun with one of the stools from the kids table.

2. Olivia in her party frock, blowing a whistle and playing on her new toy - a rocking horse. It didnt take long at all for her to work out how to get up and down onto the horse and how to make it rock. Kind of funny to watch as her feet are still dangling.

3. Birthday morning - a Jemima doll from all of us to Olivia

4, 5 & 6. Having fun on the rocking horse with Annabelle. During the party another little boy Olivia's age tried to climb up on it. Olivia very quickly put her hand up to his face, pushed him down and nimbly climbed up onto the rocking horse!! I dont think she is going to have any problems saying/getting what she wants/asserting her authority as she gets older.

7. The birthday cake. I think I added a few more smarties after taking the photos.

Nearly One, going on Three!

I can not believe how quickly Olivia is growing up. She is so determined to be just like her big sisters - wanting all their toys, trying to play all the games they play and even calling out to the television when she recognises shows they respond to. And here are some photos to prove it.....

From the top:

1. Olivia proudly walking along swinging Annabelle's handbag

2 & 3. Climbing up on everything. She loves to try and climb onto the smallest thing and to go as high as possible. I caught her today standing on the birdseed bucket (about 10Ls I think) and reaching from there to a shoe rack that we have in an attempt to crawl up onto it so that she could reach up and touch the bird cage. She has an amazing sense of balance and doesnt fall too often (touch wood!)

4. oh, this was just one of Matilda that made me giggle. The girls always read a book to themselves after I have read their stories at night, but I guess in this instance sleep got the better of her!

5. Olivia proudly sitting on the big bikes - she cant actually touch the ground to make them go, but she feels like she is part of the action if she is on the bike. This photo was taken on a day when Matilda and Annabelle werent home, and Olivia was so excited to be sitting on the bike and not being pushed off.

5. Playing on the swings with Annabelle.

She is also starting to say some things that sound like words eg bye bye and 'ta'. She has the words Mum and Dad under control and her comprehension is definitely quiet good eg when she is climbing on something if I ask her to sit down on her bottom she either does it or looks at me with a cheeky grin and then balances on one leg. Very cheeky!

Olivia is also getting much better at walking. Her favourite game at night time is to try and beat me to get into Annabelle and Matilda's bedroom. Usually they are asleep before she is and she tries to get to their room to wake them up. She goes as fast as her little legs will take her across the kitchen squealing with delight when she hears me chasing her. Only problem is that she has an all in one suit on so the second she tries to speed up she inevitably falls over - which is even funnier!