jul, 3rd - relationships....

[Limi and her Grandpa Bill...who has flown all the way from Australia to meet her]

day 141:

i've been thinking about Limi and the relationships that she will build with family and friends....if i think back to my childhood it was the special, individual relationships that i had with my parents, my siblings, grandparents, aunts and uncles.....that created amazing memories.....

recently....my brother was recalling this fantastic moment with our Grandpa Pete:

"I remember sitting on the grandstands with Grandpa and having just got a watch and him making me tell the time to all his friends every 10 minutes....I was so proud that he was so proud"

[with her cousins Sheika and Ethan who are also in town.....

she adores them and their peek-a-boos]

the strange thing is (and hopefully I'm not the first person to feel this) there's a part of me that wants to be the centre of all these relationships of hers....but that's just silly...because although i can be a part of them and promote them, i've realised that i also need to give her the space to build her own relationships. (probably obvious to others but for me....it required words...to myself!)

[Limi with my sister who gets all the biggest smiles]

so at 4.5 months....it's time to let the apron strings stretch just a little...

jun, 16th - granny, a bad word....

[Limi with her head-sized Easter egg sent to her by her Lola]

day 127:

I was chatting to some friends the other day and they were saying that their mums' didn't want to be referred to as grannies (for both, it's the first grandchild so a big transition from mum to granny). I said: 'what do they want to be called?' They said: 'Debbie and Karen'. 

I completely respect that some women just don't feel ready to take the step towards the blue rinse (can't imagine Madonna ever being tugged on the leotard by small hands and a small mouth pleading: 'Granny, granny can you sing Like a Virgin just one more time.') But in my view, grandparents are special (you don't get many unless you're Liz Taylor's progeny, then you get multiple granddads) and so it seems a shame that you don't have a special name for them. When you chat to Greek friends, they call their grans Yaya, Italians generally refer to theirs as Nonna and Afrikaans speakers, Ouma. I love this connection with your heritage. 

Our grandparents were Granny and Grandpa Pete (mum's side) and Granny and Grandpa P (dad's side). It makes the retelling of stories about them all the more significant for us....like...'Remember Granny P's amazing cake decorating skills and letting us taste a delicate sugar flower...and Granny Pete's wonderful cuddles.' It really cements their importance in our life.

So when we had Limi, we asked what our parents would like to be called. My mum and stepdad went for Lola and Lolo, they're already called this by my nephews and nieces. My dad went for Mdala (Dali), an African word meaning 'he is old' and A.'s folks decided on Nan and Grandpa Bill. I love that Limi will have these special names for special people!