Queenstown

Long time since I posted... We had a busy month of July! But feeling all refreshed now after a lovely week in Queenstown. Rob & I hadn't been there for about 8 years - it's changed quite a lot with old motels/hotels gone and new luxury apartments in there places. Emma got to direct lots of what we did for the week - like she was desperate to go swimming, to Puzzleworld & to play mini golf! Rob on the other hand heard the Mountain calling - Emma and I went up with him for one day and once again Em's favourite thing was the chair lift! I was amazed to see some kids as small as Em already learning how to ski - paranoid nurse Mother wants her to be a bit older! My one request for the week was that the motel had to be nice and cosy - it was bliss doing no cooking, or housework - (to me thats a holidays these days!!) So we all had a great time - I'll let the pictures speak for themselves...

What a Day!

This photo was taken yesterday after a family lunch... And today these two very special people have undergone surgery. Little Em has had her tonsils out today - with no problems. A few classic Em comments like on the way to the hospital "Mummy I don't think I'll need the medicine in the mask to have my tonsils out - I think just Pamal will be ok!!" And then on the way home - "I'm all better now - can I go swimming!" Everything went very smoothly.. And she's not into the icecream & jelly thing - what did she request for her first non-tonsil meal - a happy meal from McDees of course!!

And my darling Mum is at this very minute having a total knee replacement. So blogging and praying all is going smoothly for her too! Mum is coming to stay at our nice flat bungalow after her operation - after about a five day hospital stint. So I'll be busy with 2 patients!!


The highlight of Em's day - getting her first Barbie doll from Grandma. I did catch her kissing her and telling her she loved her...

Emma's Five Greatest Loves Right Now!!

The other day Emma was sitting and drawing and started randomly listing some of the things she loves - so thought it was worth sharing!...

1) Singing - usually Abba - which has been a hit to Em now for over 6 months. She is amazing how she knows the words. She has also recently discovered humming!!

2) Playing: She stated she likes playing 'cafes & Mums & Dads'. Yesterday when Em came home from Kindy I had used a broom between two chairs to set up a shop with her dress up clothes. Complete with till - hot chocolate & chocolate fish! We had great fun taking turns being the shopper & shop keeper. She loves this kind of play now.

3) Dressing Up: Em has loved dressing up for ages now. She loves being let loose on her dress up box and it is so fun seeing the different things she comes up with! I'm so thankful for the $2 shop which has provided most of the must-haves in her box!

4) Dancing: I know I've used this image before - but dancing is still right up there for Em. I stopped taking her to the Pre-Dance class - but I think come next year we'll be back doing some form of dancing. She loves twirling - and quite often she'll ask me to be her Prince and to dance with her - how could I resist!!

5) Cooking: Wasn't sure what to say for number 5 when there are lots of things Em loves!! So I just asked her and she said cooking - more like baking! Oh well at least she didn't say watching TV which would rate in the top 5 if she had thought of it!!

Ever since Emma got a book out of the library called 'Choosing Day' - by Jennifer Beck she has been desperate for me to try on my wedding dress and show her! In this book the Mummy spends a whole day in her wedding dress - shopping etc... Emma was delighted to see me in my dress which is stored at Grandma's place. It doesn't quite fit like it once did - but I was happy to get the zip up all the same even if it was sitting in the wrong place!! Emma also wanted to put on her favourite blue/white check dress so that she could be my bridesmaid. I guess dressing up is still lots of fun for me too!! - I didn't risk the zip by going shopping though!!

Butterfly Creek

I loved the school holidays... The first week was a bit of a bore for Em - with me having scans & blood tests galore (for fertility stuff that didn't work this month anyway!!) Oh well so I thought I had better make it up to my darling daughter in the second week. So we had lots of fun trips and playdates. One of my favourite places that we hadn't been to in ages is Butterfly Creek. This has a very hot tropical butterfly house with hundreds of butterflies flying round and doing there thing. It also has a pettting farm - always a hit to hold a baby bunny! And the cafe & playground are lovely too. We went with my friend Diane and her daughters Grace & baby Abbey. Emma & Grace have a lovely love/hate relationship they're great friends but they know how to push each other's buttons too! Oh well this particular day was great. Emma's other treat for the holidays was buying the Madagascar DVD - and if you see her she'll be sure to ask you... "Do you like Madagascar??" She asks her one year cousin everytime she sees him!

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....