Easter!

Emma survived her first term of Kindy! I'm so impressed with the way she's settled so beautifully into it. One day a couple of weeks ago I was the 'parents help' and it was so great seeing her playing and interacting with everyone - at one point I witnessed her chasing a boy twice her size round saying "Sione - I said my name is Emma!..." I love how she cares about everyone at Kindy and wants to know everyone's name and story!

Easter was a fairly quiet weekend. Too much chocolate, too much TV, too much shopping!! But we did do an egg hunt on Sunday morning for Em - with little eggs hidden around the garden with clues attached to each to find the last treasure egg! Em loved it.

And the little chick in the birds nest was the easter craft for the year - inspired by Martha Stewart. The little eggs are yummy candy covered chocolate eggs and they're very yummy! Emma painted the chicks (plastic egg) herself choosing the colours and choosing to paint them with a cotton bud! Hopefully over the next two weeks while we're on holiday from kindy there will be lots of time for more fun craft stuff...

Something Old & Something New

About a year ago I accidentally/on purpose borrowed some dolls clothes from Mum's house... These are gorgeous little numbers that take me right back to my own childhood. I automatically know when I pick up the silver/pink one that it has a broken button at the back - I remember that the pink bootie has a hole and I remember the hours I use to spend playing with dolls, my old favourites and even dressing my cat Shadow in them etc... I think some of these clothes were created by my Mum's Grandmother, so isn't it awesome to think that Em is playing with dolls clothes that were made by her Great Great Grandmother. Even if the old ponchos look a little out of place on Igglepiggle and Upsy Daisies! It is fun to watch Emma play and I love it when I hear that small voice saying "Will you help me...." Then everything else can wait....

Anniversary Thoughts...

Last weekend was our 6th anniversary.... And Emma & I were away with Grandma in Masterton celebrating my Aunt & Uncles' 50th wedding anniversary which was lovely. Great seeing relatives I haven't seen in ages. Emma who is amazing us more & more by being more bold and not so shy,was great chatting away to anyone who spoke to her.

The other week Gail (who is a blogging queen) mentioned things her father in law had shared at her wedding - which encouraged me to look back on what was said at our wedding six years ago. My brother who is a youth pastor took our ceremony and he gave us a red rose to symbolize different things - (we still have that rose - its pretty dusty but its still in one piece...) Anyway these are the three things my wise old bro said...

1) A red rose stands for love - remember to passionately & unashamedly love each other. Be proud of each other - build the other person up whether their there or not. Let the words of your mouth build each other up.

2) Second thing to remember is that pruning produces growth... Prune back the pressures of life, prune back time so that your marriage may grow. Don't be ordinary be adventurous. Prune the old and do new things that cause you to grow together. Don't leave the small things untreated by quick to mend any fences that may appear in marriage.

3) And lastly... Remember the unseen. You may not be able to see the scent of a rose but its there - you may not be able to see God but he's there and only a prayer away!

Cool eh? In fact I think I might need to buy some roses today...

Dancing Queen!

Emma has a new obsession! She is loving Mamma Mia & everything about it. It started when we were in Taupo and it was a grotty rainy day - Rob was asleep and I was bored (Dale & Nell both at work...) And so I lay Em on the couch while I watched Mamma Mia - but Em's eyes stayed open the whole time and she watched the whole thing and then said at the end of it - 'can we watch it again Mama?' Very cute - my little one sings from the moment she wakes up until she goes to bed. Her favourite song today is 'Honey, honey'! (And she likes to hold a diary while she sings it like Sophie on the movie!!)

Everything has started for the year now. Emma is now a big girl and is in the swimming pool all by herself - which she is finding a little scary but it's early days. And she has also started in a Pre-dance/Preschool dance class (thanks to UK pounds sent for Christmas!!) The first week she couldn't understand why Mummy wasn't dancing too - but by the second week with a little bit of a chat and bribery she was dancing with the best of them. And she was enjoying it too cos she had her gorgeous little content smile on her face. It was lovely seeing her dancing being Humpty Dumpty - a fairy etc... So cute I almost got a bit choked up - bit sad really!

First Day of Kindy!

Emma has just survived her first day at Kindy! I was a little sad last night - knowing it was the end of an era and the beginning of a new chapter in her life... I love kindergartens and the whole philosophy around them and it's all part of the bigger picture with school in mind! Kindy is 2 and a half hours three times a week - focusing on learning through play and then when she's four she moves up to mornings five times a week in preparation for school. So that means I'll be missing my little gem for seven hours every week - I'm thinking I might do housework, go for a run, sleep & scrapbooking! But we'll see.... but first I have to learn to let her go just a little bit!

Also - yesterday we had a great day to celebrate kindy starting - a real Mummy/Daughter date day. Firstly I took Emma to the movies for the first time - she wasn't so keen on the movie previews but the actual movie (Madagascar 2) she loved. It was nice being in the movies with only 5 other people - didn't have to feel so bad with all Em's questions.. "But why did the lion do that Mummy..!" Very cute phase! A McDonalds Happy Meal was also enjoyed together. And then we explored and played on a playground we haven't been to before. And then to top everything off we went to the Fairy Shop and brought clips for the first day at Kindy! While Mummy went to a shop further up and brought pretty tea cups... retail therapy can't beat it!

Lazy Days of Summer

Loving Summer! Lazy days - not doing much! Going to parks everyday - water play somehow everday -picnics everyday & beach bag packed by the door just in case we're in the mood!

And then there's lovely weekends away... Some of these photos were taken while at Taupo staying with Dale & Nell between Christmas & New Year. And then last weekend we took Em on her first camping experience. We went to Raglan which was perfect - I love the beach there. Emma thought sleeping in our very small tent was great - it did keep us dry & very warm when there was thunder & a lot of rain on Saturday night!

Joy, joy, joy long may Summer continue...

Then Christmas Day....

We had the morning to ourselves... Which of course consisted of opening presents and then playing with presents! We had a yummy pancake breakfast which Emma helped to make in her new chef outfit! In the afternoon we went to a local park for a picnic (dogs still need walking on Christmas day!) And then mid afternoon we headed to Grandma's house - for more presents and yummy food. Mum made a delicious meal of Christmas ham, lamb and chicken. We ate outside on the deck - which was perfect with the lovely weather on the day. All in all Christmas 2008 has been fabulous - I love Christmas and the journey leading up to it and Emma makes it more special every year.