oct, 11th - grandparents....

day 241:

grandparents are good for.....

• holding your hand while you walk around the garden for ages and ages pointing out all the flowers, leaves and bugs
• letting you lick the spoon and bowl while they bake your favourite cake
• snuggling up to while they read your favourite book
• helping you to cut out bits of paper to make your own paper, glitter and glue artwork
• teaching you how to sew on buttons
• showing you how to grow vegetables or instead make a mud-bath
• letting you leap in that mud-bath with wild abandon
• listening to your day's adventures
• sewing your doll/bear a new outfit
• teaching you to tell the time
• waiting patiently while you tie your own shoelaces

• and finally, just sitting and spending time with you without having to rush off to do something else....

oct, 10th - swinging time....

day 240:

FIRSTS! who doesn't love the first time that they try something good....or, being with someone else when they try something for the first time....watching their fizz of joy and excitement is even better

when i think of Lissom and all the Firsts that she has in front of her.....first jump on a trampoline, first feel of running, first taste of chocolate, first feel of snow, first read of alice and wonderland.....and if her wonderment over her first balloon is some indication (day 234)....she's going to be bursting out her skin when we take her to her first fair.

so with my mum and stepdad in town, we took her off for her very First Swing....

she didn't quite fit...

and seemed more intent on her toes than swinging.....

but once she'd taken some tips from the 2/3 year old veterans swinging next to her....

there was some sedate serious swinging to be had!

.....you may need to wait awhile for those flying-through-the-air action shots though.

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!

mar, 18th - meerkat...

day 40:

She's becoming very cheeky already! This is her best meerkat impression. Today, we also spoke to Madala (Dala - her grandfather) on Skype for his birthday. Can't wait until the grandparents can read her bedtime stories. She is going to be so freaked out when she meets them in 3D!