Happy Birthday Tiia!!
Monday, 8 November 2010
Tiia turned 7 today, and we celebrated with a little family picnic meal after her swimming lessons consisting of her favourite foods: wraps, miso soup and sushi (I think she’s turning Japanese). Paul managed to ride to the poolside in time to witness the last 10 minutes of their lessons. Jamie and Tiia are able to go to lessons at the same time after school on Mondays at a little outdoor pool not far away in the Riverside Corporate Park. After both practically refusing to go to their first lesson they now love going, partly because they get to choose a treat from the Newsagent’s afterwards.
The real celebrations of Tiia’s birthday took place at our place on Saturday. We had 28 kids over for a lunchtime party, to join in the BBQ, disco, backyard orienteering, cupcake decorating and craft activities. It seems they all had a great time, and were all still talking about the party at recess this morning. We brought cupcakes over to Tiia’s class this morning for her classroom celebrations and spent a little time at the school.
Thank you to those who prepared party bags and cupcakes in the lead up, and
helped with border control, running activities, serving food and applying bandaids on the day!
Tiia was thoroughly spoilt by lovely presents from everyone. She has been making a really good effort lately so we thought she deserved the keyboard we bought her, which she had been craving for a long time.
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Kari's Cubbyhouse
Thursday, 25 February 2010
We made it to yesterday's Summer Series event in Wollstonecraft. I didn't actually manage to run but the event provided a rendesvous point with Dad who'd minded the boys and picked Tiia up from school while I was at work. I did manage to catch up with a couple of friends and have some necessary conversations with a couple of Garingalites.
While this happened the kids had great fun picking cherry tomatoes that were growing wild, eating and playing under the cubbyhouse aka results board, tampering with the start clock, playing with pencils and stickytape and generally disturbing the proceedings.
Earlier in the season I ran every second Summer Series event and took Tiia and Conny around on the other weeks. They got into the whole swing of the entry system, filling out their first names on the control cards, writing "KT" in the class box, paying the money... Having lots of energy the girls did extremely well for Kindy kids, but unfortunately for Conny McNamee they assumed she was the same Conny when the results came out in the State newsletter. Conny McNamee's name even appeared twice in some results.
 
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Twin Time at Clown Town
Sunday, 7 December 2008
Tiia came along to Nicole and Natalie's 4th birthday at "Clown Town" in Frenchs Forest. The twins and their friends got right into the magician show and the play equipment there, while I took the chance to have a good catch up with Vara from 3 doors down. Marly is always respectful of Nicole and Natalie's individual identities, eg a cake for each, happy birthday songs for each and matching but different coloured skirts for them that she made herself. This way of thinking means a bonus for Tiia at her birthdays as she gets a seperate present and card from each sister.
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Tiia's Graduates
Friday, 5 December 2008
Tiia had a special graduation party at Kindy on Thursday with all the kids heading off to school next year. They wore their various school uniforms, (cardboard) mortar board hats, were presented with certificates...and after the pomp and ceremony were brought back into their 4 to 5 year-old world by stuffing theirselves with chips, biscuits, sausage rolls and (quite pink) red cordial.
The next night was their Christmas party. Tiia had been looking forward to this mostly because they would get to use the bum-word in a performance - singing and dancing to a song that went "Bum diddi bum diddi..." Unfortunately we had to say goodbye to another favourite Kindy teacher - Frank (or Santa that night) since he was to head back to Norway the next day. There goes the only male teacher. We left the kids to party on and head home with mum and dad so we could slip off to the Slip Inn for Paul's work Christmas party.
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Tag-along Jamie
Monday, 24 November 2008
As we are 5 minutes drive away from the holiday apartment and its starting to get dark...
Jamie: I want straight away back home
Me: But we're going on a holiday Jamie.
Jamie (angrily): No, we're not going on a holiday. I want straight away back home.
Paul: But we're going to see Gemma, Jamie. Gemma will be on our holiday.
Jamie: Going to Gemma's house. Oh, OK.
Then we arrive into the basement carpark and Jamie realised this is not Gemma' house:
Jamie (in tears): Nooo, I want Gemma's house.
He perked up OK, ...especially once Gemma had arrived and he had a fine time over the weekend being tag-along Jamie during their drawing, hide-and-seek and other games.
We didn't need the apartment's 3 bedrooms. The first night went well for Paul and me - both Tiia and Gemma had ended up in Mark and Tracy's bed. We had Jamie on our floor where he stayed and slept all night. The next night Jamie twice picked up his thermarest and blankets and dragged them down the hall to the girls room. He got a bit disraught the second time as the room had again been vacated. The girls had snuggled in with their respective parents that time.
After we'd checked out and were driving to the bakery...
Jamie (all sing-songy): I want to go to the holiday house. I want to go to the holiday house.
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Jamieisms
Wednesday, 12 November 2008
Jamie still has the looks and face of a baby, but surprises people when they hear how clearly he talks. Common phrases currently include:
"Oh my goodness"
"I've got an idea" (when he clearly has none, as there is elaboration nor response when we ask what his idea is).
"Sorry, I didn't mean it" (When in trouble for something he clearly did mean to do, eg throw that food/ hit Tiia/...)
"Stop it Tiia, I don't like it. You're naughty boy" (in a very fiesty manner).
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Tiia turns 5!
Monday, 10 November 2008
Tiia turned 5 on Saturday and we celebrated with a party back in the traditional location of the playground down the road. The kids seemed to have a good time, even though (or maybe especially when) there was the weekend’s only downpour in the middle of the party. The parents mostly headed under the trees and the kids all sheltered under the playground equipment with Angela and Doranna – who we should have been charging weekend rates!
Doranna (the team leader from Jamie’s Wombats room), and Angela (the team leader from Tiia’s Kookaburra’s room) kindly accepted Tiia’s invitation. It had been Angela’s last day at Possums’ the day before, and we hope Tiia will cope without in her last couple of months at the centre. When we were overseas Tiia would talk about Angela as one of her “best friends” that she missed.
Now that Tiia is a big 5 year old she will be off to school in the end of January. Two of her closest friends from Possums, Connie and Freya will start at the same time and they have all been very excited to have their first classroom experiences as part of their orientation. They put on a delicious morning teas afterwards, and as mums have all enjoyed the orientattion mornings too. Though we’ve been advised to have our girls put in separate classrooms so that they don’t distract each other and actually learn something! There’ll be plenty of chances for silliness together in the playground and hopefully after school.
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Sleep progress
Tuesday, 28 October 2008
Sleep has been an area requiring improvement ever since we've had kids. They got a bit spoilt by sharing our bed in the first 2 years (Tiia) or one year (Jamie) of their lives. It's all good for bonding and feeding of course, but on the downside there hasn't been too many nights that Paul and I haven't had a little visitor to our bed. We were getting somewhere before heading OS, then during our 3 months away they were back sharing our bedroom and often our bed.
Arriving back at home we had a hard job of persuading them that they really did want to be sleeping in their own beds and bedroom...alone. Being soft cases, we decided that one of us would bunk out there with them, lying down between them until they fell asleep. The idea being they would progress to sleep independence in a tear-less manner, with our "camping out" progressing to sitting with them until they sleep and eventually leaving them to their own devices.
Trouble is, we would fall asleep too, despite lying on a cot mattress - the only spare mattress we had. We upgraded to a lilo (brought out from the redundant-until-further –notice canyoning kit). Paul gradually took with sole lilo-lying responsibilities due to my expanded physique and the fact that the chances of one of the kids also ending up squashed onto the lilo with us was greater when I was on duty. Paul would traipse in to our bed at some early morning hour and often Tiia would traipse in not too long later...Or sometimes even before Paul, eg a few nights ago:
Tiia: "Mummy, I'm just coming into your bed because Daddy is still is our bedroom and I don't want you to be lonely."
Progress has been made, probably helped by sleepovers. Now Paul sits on Tiia’s bed until they both fall asleep or nearly fall asleep. They drop off nearly straight away these days. We both get to sleep “all night in our own bed”. This is still more than we can say for Tiia. Paul returns her to her bed once a night at random hours. Jamie sleeps the night through and traipses in to our bed once its morning, fortunately. We'll get there...hopefully before bubs number 3 comes.
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Possums Party
Monday, 27 October 2008
The kid’s daycare celebrated its twenty year anniversary with a big BBQ on Saturday. There was a jumping castle, fairies doing facepainting, pony rides and a reptile man. Jamie got into the jumping castle and Tiia, like most of the girls, was most set on getting her facepainted. She got her turn in the end, but missed a pony ride because of it. She did fit in having a snake wrapped round her neck like a feather boa. The party provided a good chance to catch up with former Possums kids and parents who have moved out to suburbs where you buy more for your money. It was good to be able to invite Lena and Stephanie to Tiia's party, especially as they have been coming to her parties since 1 or 2 year-olds.
From there we headed up to Tracy and Mark’s, and enjoyed a tasty pizza dinner with toppings selected from a Jamie Oliver cookbook. Gemma had invited Tiia up for a sleepover, which she'd been excited about at the time although when the moment of parental departure came there was certain anxiety. We eventually prized her fingers off us and got going. The whole display apparently vanished 30 seconds after we left, she got back to playing the board game and slept well. Mark needed to get up to see what she was doing wondering dazed around the house in the middle of the night. There was some good early morning bonding in her aunty and uncle’s bed and when they dropped her back at our place in the morning she asked if she could sleepover for two nights the next time.
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Tiia Ballerina
Tuesday, 20 May 2008
Tuesday mornings have been very busy for us. We've tried to leave the house just before Playschool kicks off and head to the Lane Cove shops. We battle for a carpark and hurry to Tiia's ballet class. For half a term Tiia has been taking lessons with her good friend Heidi. Except for the last lesson of term, parents and siblings aren't allowed to watch. This means the girls can concentrate and the mums can grab a coffee or some groceries. Today was Tiia's last lesson but we hope to resume them after coming back from the UK as Tiia tells us she wants to do ballet until she is 34! My Aunty Beth would be happy to hear that - she still teachs at 60.
With Jamie in tow I struggle to make the lessons on time, but I've learnt to never be late for when they come out. The girls run out beaming and flashing the stickers on their hands. You should see their faces drop when they look all around and then realise their mums aren't actually there.
We negotiate the steep stairs as we leave then try to keep lure the girls back as they run ahead in their leotard and dance skirts towards the pool for their next activity. Tiia has also just had her last swimming lesson for a few months (and Jamie his last creche visit). After a year she is finally actually swimming.
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Tiiaisms
Friday, 2 May 2008
Some recent Tiiaisms (as Sarah calls them):
Tiia: When Uncle Grant was a rollercoaster... I mean, not a rollercoaster. What was he before he was a police?
Me: A parole officer.
Tiia: Do you know what my heart says? My heart says I need lemonade.
Me: I love you Tiia.
Tiia: I love you more than anything in the world.
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Miss Bossy Boots
Thursday, 1 May 2008
Not happy with just being the boss of our household, Tiia has declared herself "boss of the whole wide world". I'd asked Rayann what Tiia is like for her when she minds her on Tuesday afternoons. "A bit bossy". When I asked about her bossiness at Possums Corner, I was basically told they are all as bad as each other. The girls (the girl: boy ratio is around 80:20) all want to direct the games and emotions can get a bit "fraught". I say that they must be worse than in other years, and they say "not at all" but then tell how this year's oldest kids are all first-borns, whereas last year they were all younger siblings and "more mature".
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Another weekend without Mum
Monday, 31 March 2008
I managed to score another leave pass for a weekend in Canberra on my own to race in National Leagues. I wrote a report on the Stingers website if you want to know the ins and outs.
Paul stayed home to go to the Swannies home game. He took Tiia, while Jamie got in some beachtime with the grandparents. Tiia didn't take much in of the big victory but did play nicely with Ivy, Roy and Samuel thanks to supervision by Gareth.
The rest of the family also got to go to Connie's Birthday party. Tiia and Connie go to Possums' Corner together and are now good friends, especially on Mondays when Lara is not there. Their relationship had gotten off to a rocky start. This is how Connie's mum reports an early incident:
1. Lara is sitting next to Tiia at breakfast.
2. Connie arrives.
3. Lara excitedly runs to Connie.
4. Lara returns to Tiia to tell her she is not going to be her friend anymore. Only Connie will be.
5. Tiia biffs Connie.
Now that the 3 girls have all worked how to all be friends, they are playing nicely together. At the party were holding hands, running around together...and bowling Jamie over onto the driveway in the process.
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Zoo Trip with Cookie
Friday, 22 February 2008
Tiia and her Possums' friend Lara (also known as "Cookie") really enjoyed a zoo trip together on Tuesday. 
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Musing about Mortality
Thursday, 14 February 2008
We tend to have a lot of confusing conversations about days. The words yesterday, today and tomorrow used to be viewed by Tiia as interchangeable. Next we were often asked,"Is it tomorrow today?" This morning she asked, "Is this day the day after yesterday?" Then she told us "I know where yesterday's gone. Into the ground."
She puts a lot of thought into our existence, eg a few months back Tiia asked me whether it gets dark everyday and whether there are people everyday. There are also lots of tricky questions about death, e.g. what you can take up with you into the sky and whether you can come down to the earth again. She has her own theories on how to keep in touch with the deceased:
"Imagine you were spinning me in the playground and you let go of my arms and I flew way up in the sky and saw all the people that had died. We could see Nannan and Kathleen and Grandpa's Daddy. You'd have to hold a stick to the sky for us all to come down. Because they might have no wings or they might have wings. I'd get back to the sky holding a kite. They held me so I didn't fall down and hurt myself. You caught me when I came down."
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