Absolutely typical!

Over the last few weeks we haven't had a full night's sleep as Little A has been waking at about 2.30am and not settling until about 6.00am (pre molars we think). This is not helpful as my partner gets up at about 5.30 at the mo to get in some overtime at work.

So, after another disrupted night with A sleeping in with me and K in her bedroom I found myself up and unable to sleep. I thought, "Coo! I'll pull my finger out and get some cards written!" Yes that's right I haven't posted one yet so hopefully when I do which will be soon (honest) they will still arrive at destinations before Christmas. However, I got them written ready for my NCT toddlers group this morning and promptly forgot them. Doh! My baby brain thing is becoming a toddler brain thing. Scary.

A shocking bit of news!

Just been watching the news about the two nursery workers charged with sexual abuse of children in their care. What is the world coming to??!!

I have to reduce my child's nursery days in the new year and I really don't want to lose the place but if circumstances change and she has to go back into full time nursery well, quite frankly, I'm concerned with putting her anywhere other than where she is now.

How can you well and truly vet a childcare establishment when these sinister types are still working among those you are meant to trust with your child?

I tell ya, it scares me, it really does.

Does pink stink?

I have just seen a title that struck me, "Does pink stink?"
I am one of those mums that was totally against buying any pink clothes for my little girl. Before she was born my partner and I decided that we would not 'stick her in pink' saying that it was too trashy and we hated it.

How wrong I was...

After she was born we soon came to realise that pink was the very colour she looked absolutely adorable in and quite frankly I couldn't get enough of it. A fear that also drove me was that putting her in any other colour without something pink on made her look like a boy. This was scuppered because one day a woman looked at her dressed in a pink coat and trousers and said,
"How old is he love?" Well you win some and you lose some.

A Christmas wish...

I have always enjoyed Christmas the religious aspect as well as the commercial and always one to enjoy the socialness of it all. I have now got that enjoyment doubled because my little girl, soon to be two, is going to be introduced to Christmas this year. Last year she was about to turn one and still was not aware of what was going on around her. She loved wrapping paper and boxes so presents were a little lost on her. This year is going to be different. The visit to Santa was not a good start she actually started crying (bless her) when she saw a strange man in a red suit but I am hopeful about present recognition.

As her birthday is in February my partner and I decided to spread the present giving over the Christmas and birthday period. This would prevent over exposure to lots of presents in one go. Our Little A has a short attention span so if she got lots and lots of big presents at Christmas and then again in February the momentum would then be lost.

We reckon that she will get bored fairly quickly with whatever she receives. We also want to start as we mean to go on. Hopefully as she gets older she will learn to appreciate what she gets and not expect a pile of new things at Christmas and then another pile of new things in February.

She has been interested in pushchairs for sometime so having purchased a brilliant Quinny Zapp doll's pushchair from eBay I couldn't wait to give it to her. You see prior to this she had been walking around with teddies or dollies wedged through the handle of her first steps baby walker. So it was real thrill to give her something I knew she really wanted. I am looking forward to her first known Christmas!

I love the lights and the vintage Christmas songs not the chart roll out stuff like Slade, Paul McCartney or some sort of boy band thing, but the real nostalgic sentimental "chestnuts crackling on an open fire..." Bing Crosby, Dean Martin tunes. The ones that can transport you to log cabins and snow capped mountains and gives the impression that Santa really will land on the roof this year.

I know that sounds woolly but I feel there isn't enough Christmas cheer especially among adults. Christmas allows me to re-discover the child in me and not be embarrassed about her (not that I am as a rule. I love children's programmes, games and stories always have), but now I actually have a child, well it makes it all official now, I can really enjoy Christmas with my new family. Having my partner and now my daughter to share it all with is the best Christmas wish I could asked for.