Five Whole Years

Five years ago, I was settling into my first (very cold) days at home with a brand new baby. Watching the snow fall through the window and wondering what on earth I was letting myself in for.

Yesterday I was helping my daughter recover from Saturday's On The Day Frozen birthday party spectacular, and trying to interest her in a light snooze after swimming and a soft play lunch.  Today, she's packed off to school as if nothing ever happened.

Five. How on earth has that happened? I've been trusted with the well-being of a small, dependent human being for 5 years, and have managed not to break her.  She's done her best to break me, mind.

The cold never bothered me anyway

We even managed snow, she's convinced that it snows for her birthday, because it's her birthday, every year. Even when experience has showed it only snows about every OTHER year, and despite her best Frozen singalong efforts, there was nowhere near enough to build a snowman, though it did look the part.

The melting Olaf biscuits went down a treat with the hoard of marauding 5 year olds who invaded my living room, and somehow the only casualties were one of my fingernails and a slight spillage of orange squash onto a mat that was down for exactly that reason.

Happy birthday little lovely.

Bosch Athlet Cracker Challenge

You know me dearest reader
I can't turn down a dare
To make, create, do something daft
I'm happy to be there.

So when I was invited
To make crackers and a mess
I was really quite delighted
As if you couldn't guess

So with my Squeaky helper

We started to create
Though Christmas is now over
We're actually not late

We rolled and stuffed and twisted

Crepe paper wrapped and tied

Sticky taped and decorated

And put sweets and hats inside

Our crafting was quite tidy
As you can clearly see
Though we still need to clean a mess
The mess that's soon to be

Coz our crackers aren't for Christmas
Squeaky's birthday's coming soon
And her friends are coming over
To mess up my living room

With crackers, fun, and movies
Popcorn, pizza, cheese
My mess is in the future
Help me Bosch Athlet, please

I can't yet give a hashtag
#showUSyourmess still to come
But I promise to save a piece of cake
If you let me be the one!

Disclosure: 

This post and awesome poem

Form my blogging entry

To the #showUSyourmess challenge

The kit was complementary

Provided to me free of charge

To help me spin my tale

And stand a chance of winning

A Bosch Athlet vacuum, £239.99 for sale

The words are all my own

And I have not been paid

Links are for convenience

No affiliate scheme made.

Happy Birthday Squeaky!

3 today!  How time flies.

There's snow outside, just like on the day you were born.  It's that time of year, you see.

Happy birthday, my Squeaky little Cowgirl!  You rock my world.  I love watching you grow up, and find your way in the world.  You amaze, frustrate & astound me every day.  Love you.

Toddler Takeover!

As it was Squeaky's birthday this month, we took her and her friend Pirategirl (not her real name, oddly enough) to Techniquest in Cardiff for their toddler day as a birthday treat.  I didn't realise about this til fairly recently, but the first Friday of the month is Toddler Day, with reduced prices for grown-ups (including a free cuppa, always welcome), toddler friendly activities, storytelling, crafts, and general toddler-style mayhem.

Mama gets artsy with water shots

I'd actually taken Squeaky to Techniquest in the autumn, but when it's general opening, there's older children around who don't always appreciate a marauding toddler haring up & down the floor-piano while they're trying to play chopsticks with their feet.  So while she'd enjoyed it, I felt that I'd spent so much time saying "no" that she hadn't really had chance to really explore.  Toddler Days seemed like a good way around that.

Poser!

Off we wombled.  And off they went.  The place was manic, to tell the truth.  We got there about an hour after it opened, and it was like walking into, well, a Toddler Day!  Seriously, I have never seen so many waist height people running around!  But considering the average age would have been about 2 1/2, there were very few tantrums, very few tears, and it honestly wasn't the Hell On Legs that you'd imagine a whole building full of under-threes to be!

Move over Smashy & Nicey!

This isn't a review post. I paid for our tickets.  I just want to share some photos, and to encourage you to find out if any of your local attractions have family days, or even better, toddler days. It's a great way to spend some time together, doing something that interests and involves you all.  And provides some great photos.

Ouch

Something that I'm loving as Squeaky gets older is how she's learning to develop relationships with others, and her friendship with Pirategirl is a great example of that.  They've known each other since Pirategirl was about 2 weeks old (she's a few weeks younger than Squeaky), as we've been to the same baby and toddler groups, and I've built a great and very welcome friendship with her mummy.  The girls have grown up together, and they have gone from playing next to each other to properly co-operative playing together.  It's incredible to see, and makes me really happy.

Best Friends.

Two Years...

From this...

To this... 

Happy 2nd Birthday Squeakygirl!  You make my world!