Everything

This morning on the way home from the play park Audrey was up on my shoulders. She pointed exciting things out to me as we walked "Mama, look - red door!" "White van, Mama, big white van!"

She was tired by the time we got close to our house, and my shoulders were aching. She put her "wow red mittens" covered hands on my face, leaned as far forward as she could to look at me, and said "Mama Mama Mama Mama."

"Yes, Audrey?"

"Everything."

It was Ian's 30th birthday yesterday, and we had a lazy family day. Audrey made him a card covered in animal stickers, each one meticulously placed. We went into town and shopped and looked at the "peoples" and the "oooh pretty lights" and the castle rocket on the hill (every castle is a castle rocket right now to Audrey, that's just the way it is).

We went out to have dinner at our favourite little restaurant in Bruntsfield, where the owner/chef/waiter always lets Audrey look in the kitchen and gives her free chocolate ice cream. Also, every single time we're there he offers her a job. She has her own special name for him. She says please and thank you, and always orders the scampi.

Lately Audrey can't get enough jigsaw puzzles. Something clicked for her with them, and now she does them for hours every day. Every piece she picks up she asks out loud "Where fish go? Where apple go? Where tree go?" Or whatever the piece might be. Then she finds the place and puts it in carefully (sometimes forcefully). When it's all done, she brings it proudly to show me.

Toddlerhood is amazing. I wish I could freeze my life right here. We play lots of games and have endless conversations. Audrey has an opinion on everything under the sun.

She's a little charmer, too. She spent some time this morning chatting to the bin men who were taking the recycling away. She loved their "huuuuge white van" and watched the way the rubbish was loaded and ground up for ages. She got so many smiles and hellos from everyone.

This afternoon we're off to the museum to look at dinosaur skeletons and mummies, sculptures and paintings,  clothes and trains and stars, rocks and computers. So much fun!

Ready - GO!

It's bitter cold here in Scotland during the winter, and only anything approaching light for a few hours a day. What light there is comes cloud-filtered and very pale, disturbed by the wind and with a deep, wet chill to it. The ground is marshy, the trees bare, and we are all vitamin D deficient and sluggish.

But the solstice has been and gone now and the days are getting longer again. Spring is my favourite season and I can feel it right around the corner.

Audrey was born in the spring, when the blossom was on the trees. Every year I know my birthday is coming when the daffodils are out, and now we'll know Audrey's birthday is coming when the blossom appears in its little fits and starts.

Because of the cold weather, and because we've been so, so sick, we've not been out as much as usual lately. This is starting to change! And check it out - little lady has been playing with her new wooden motorbike while wearing her new leather jacket, brilliant gifts from honorary aunts Kat and Carrie:

Today we rode the bike to the play park, where Audrey climbed and swung and ran and slid. I think the following picture sums up her personality so perfectly - the black wellies with skull-and-crossbones, the leather jacket, the bright frilly skirt and polka dot tights, the furry purple mittens, and my girl climbing up the climbing frame stairs backwards.

At the park a little girl ran for the swings, pure excitement and joy. It made me think. Every child at the park has her favourite thing to play on. Audrey likes the swing, and will ask to go on it from time to time, but only for a few moments before she gets bored of sitting still and slumps forward, asking "Mama, down!"

Really, it's all about the climbing frame. Little girl wants to be up, on, go, now.

Audrey at 20 months is full of words and movement. She's stubborn and willful, affectionate and determined, passionate and curious. Racing ahead.

Work - Play

Well, our Christmas was certainly interesting! We were sick, tired, worn out and run down. We're still recovering somewhat, especially when it comes to disrupted sleep, but we're getting there.

Today is Ian's first day back at work after a rather extended break, and Audrey and I are trying to distract ourselves from missing him by playing lots of fun games (and doing lots of housework, but nobody wants to hear about the state my house has gotten into over the holidays!).

One of the things I got for Audrey for Christmas is a set of colourful little pompoms (she calls them ponpons) and feathers, for sensory play and crafting. She really loves them, and today we spent some time just investigating the different colours and textures.

We worked a bit on our one-to-one correspondence. Picking up just one pompom at a time is great fine motor practice, working on that pincer grasp. I also got a little metal set of tongs for her to practice picking these up with, but I think she's not quite ready for it yet.

We made a boat and sailed around the hall way. Ignore the ocean of hand puppets and umbrellas!

We practiced "writing".

And we did LOTS of fun bug catching.

We played with colourful pipe cleaners, putting them into a vase (again, great fine motor work) and clipping Christmas pegs to them - Audrey found this part especially challenging but really concentrated and worked at it, and you could see how she felt such a sense of accomplishment when she got it right.

And now the train set beckons, and Audrey has chosen a book about sharks to read. I hope your day is as much fun as ours!