I think we are in the midst of a transitional phase. There was a time, not that long ago, when the Munchkin was content for periods of time to play by herself while I got some work done. Those days are gone. Sweet memories!
Now, although she doesn’t necessarily want me to participate in every single activity of the day, for some reason my presence is required to witness said activity. As though, if I wasn’t watching it would be as if it never even happened. In a book I’m reading …

Riley has started talking. Even when she’s not actually saying words (at least not ones that I can understand) she babbles. Today she sang along to ‘Twinkle Twinkle’. I nearly died from the cuteness of it alone. She has been starting to say words and mimic words for awhile. But I have really seen it explode over the last week. She was slow to talk, at first. Probably because she didn’t need to.
Mostly she says single words like ’shoes’, ’shorts’, ‘help’ (finally! It’s a welcome change from the grunting), ‘Josh’, …

It’s hard to know why, but some days, despite having a glorious toddler who is great company, a loving husband and a great family, I feel alone, isolated and sad. Perhaps it’s a shade of depression, and if that’s all I’m left with, that’s pretty damn good. On those days, I miss my mum (Hi Mum!). That’s an inside joke. I never call her mum, I have always called her by her first name. And we keep in touch most days on the phone, and we skype. But it’s not …

Personality. It’s a strange beast. Every day, a little bit more of Riley’s personality emerges. But it can be hard to tell what is actual personality and what is her being a toddler. It is hard to tell what she was born with and what she has learnt.
She’s extremely gregarious. But not around toddlers. Only around adults. Either way, gregarious is not something she learnt from me, or from Mr Goog. Now her reserve, quiet and tendency to play alone around other toddlers, that’s something that looks familiar. And then, …

I am extremely soft-hearted when it comes to Riley. I don’t think twice about her sharing our bed when she wants to, lying down with her if she needs company to go to sleep, reading her a story when I’m trying to get work done or cuddling her through a tantrum. It’s not always convenient, somtimes it’s even boring (I challenge you to sit in a dark room for over an hour and not get at least a little bored) and it can be tiring. But I wouldn’t have it …

The theme this week at i heart faces is hands on fun. My struggle? Getting the energiser bunny to stay still long enough for me to even have a hope of capturing those busy, busy hands. And in the end I was only able to get one of them. It’s a victory, trust me.
It’s amazing how there is nothing gradual about development in toddlers and babies. It only seems to happen in a great giant leap, that leaves you wondering where your baby has gone. Riley had one of those …

I think it’s quite possible that all I will hear for the next year is “No! No!” and “Me!, Me!”. My ears are bleeding, seriously. I can even here the phrases echoing in my ear when she’s not saying them (because she’s asleep). I’ve been threatening to walk around all day with headphones on for days. And so I guess she’s cottoned on to the idea that it’s an idle threat on my part. You’ll remember I was the one who wanted her to talk. So I got what I …

I have a Guest Post over at Mamamia. It would be a massive understatement to say that I’m excited about it.

You know when you arrive at an airport, with toddler in tow, three hours before you depart, that you’re not in for an easy time of it. Yes, three hours, and it wasn’t an international flight. But three hours early was better than wrangling everything on public transport.
When you arrive to check in and they inform you that the flight has been delayed by 45 minutes, you know it’s bad.
When they don’t update the delay on the departures board and you think it’s not delayed after all, that’s just cruel.
When …

We’re heading up to Alstonville tomorrow for the better part of a week, just Riley and I. Taking advantage of the last couple of months that Riley can fly for free. The last time we were up that way was when we were in Byron to see my Dad and Step-Mum when Riley was just barely 6 months old. Since then, my mum has moved to Alstonville, so the munchkin will be spoilt by three grand-parents this week.
Challenge 1: My sister has very generously offered to give me a life …