Lydia can ride her bike!

Stabilisters came off a couple of weeks ago but suddenly the confidence has arrived and she no longer needs Daddy to keep a hold of her. Hurray!

Esther starts nursery

Today, a bit later than planned, Esther is off to nursery for the first time. She's excited!

This morning it's going to be a VERY quiet house.

Lydia starts school!

Lydia is now in Primary 1! This has come around mighty fast.

All ready to go!

Already in the paper... this is her whole class.

This means we now have three to get out to school in the mornings, although this is actually a bit easier as school starts 15 minutes later than nursery, is closer to the house, and Esther doesn't go to nursery for another year. It does though mean that we have a bit of a production line going in the morning...

I close with a few other girls happy to be getting back into things...

And Esther, who is now a little sad that she doesn't have any sister to play with in the day time any more. It does, though, mean she can go to places the Briarlands a bit more easily.

Esther's growing up

Only a month or so on from putting up the bunk beds for Lydia and Esther, things were going well enough that we were able to take out the cot. It's now found a home thanks to the second-hand shop in town that specialises in children's stuff. The end of an era! No cot in our house for the first time in nine years....

Of course, soon after this Esther realised she could climb out of bed herself and has been giving us a lot of challenges at bedtimes the past few weeks. Ho hum.

Somewhat related, Esther is also now sporting big girl pants! Her she is excitedly sorting them out the day we bought them. So far she is doing very well at the potty, so it's possible that we will also be nappy free in only a few weeks' time too. Jings!

Happy Gappy

Miriam has had a wobbly tooth for weeks now. Rather than taking her friend's advice and hitting it with a drinks can, she has waited patiently for it to get wobbly by itself and today it fell out while we were at church. We have one excited six year old, anticipating her first ever grown up tooth!

Mummy!

Esther has her first word - rather than just a sound accompanied by a gesture to show what she wants (usually AH!)

Esther walks

Hot on the heels (boom boom) of learning to crawl, Esther has taken some steps. She's done it a bit more since (like a few steps in one go this morning), but here's one of her first from last week. It's at about 2:35 if you don't want to watch the whole thing!

We have a crawler!

Esther has figured out how to go forwards! She is now less frustrated but if things were hectic before they've just stepped up a notch.

Bikes

Also learning (after giving it a go a while ago) is Naomi. She's getting the hang of it too...

Worth a little celebration...

Bike

Miriam has learned to ride her bike - well done her!

Miriam at school

Oh dear, I appear to have opened a door to the future! Miriam has started her "transition" period at nursery, and has now had her practice visit to school. She had a great time but is looking just a bit too grown up!

Teeth

Our big grown-up Naomi has started losing some teeth...

First they go a little squint

Then they wobble

Then... oh dear, they fall out and get lost in the sink.
Naomi wrote this note to the tooth fairly explaining the situation.
"Dear The Tooth Fairy, I lost my tooth down the down stairs plug hole. My tooth fell out this morning"
Fortunately this was enough to result in tooth fairy pennies appearing (which she then kindly shared with her sisters!)

Today, another one fell out. Hope she's being careful this time!

Lydia starts nursery!

My baby (for a few weeks longer) started nursery today! I might have been more emotional if pregnancy hadn't caught up with me this week and I am more than ready for a bit of a chance for a sit down and a rest before baby comes! She will be going twice a week and both she and Miriam are very excited about going to the same nursery (although Lydia in the baby room and Miriam in the big room).

Lydia was very excited. Who is starting nursery today?

Me!

Lydia was adamant that because she was a big girl she would walk to nursery! (actually she wanted to go on "my scooter" and it was quite hard to persuade her she doesn't have a scooter!)

Going to nursery, Peppa in hand.

Today was just her "settling in" session so I had to stay in the building (although not with her) and she only did an hour. She's ready to go for a proper play on Monday :-) This didn't stop the fact that she has been exhausted since she came back! Nursery is hard work

The teddy she is cuddling is the one she had *wanted* to take to nursery before I negotiated her down to something more appropriately sized!

My precious, beautiful SIX year old.

I can't believe you are six. SIX! How can you have been here for that long? How can you have been making this world a better place for nearly this long. A whole six years.

Naomi, you are such a bundle of energy.  You never stop. I mean NEVER. You wriggle, you wiggle, you a jiggle and you just never stop. I will admit that I find it tiring to be around your wiggling but I love your zest for life and your throwing-yourself-into-everything attitude. Life is certainly never boring with you around and you keep us on our toes.  Please never stop doing that (although let me have the occasional cup of tea!). I love to go running with you, I think you are a bit ambivalent about running, we'll do it you want to (which mainly seems to be if there is a medal at the end, a girl after my own heart) but I love spending time with you regardless.

I have been so proud of you this year, you have done a lot of growing up and a lot of maturing. You are coping so much better with things that would have left you quite unsettled before and I am proud that you are learning to trust Mummy and Daddy when we say it will be ok.  You are an especially good big sister, you love to help Lydia get dressed or Miriam cut something up and you love to show your little sisters how to do things to help Mummy when we are busy.  I am very excited about letting you help with the baby when it comes as I know you will be a big help to me and you have learned a lot about being gentle and careful since Lydia came along!

You still love all things craft. If it can be stuck, painted, glued, taped, glittered or coloured then you are in your element.  My recycling bin is looking forward to you learning to cut a shape from the edge of a piece of paper but I absolutely love watching your creative flair.  You are particularly into designing clothes and outfits and you are very good at it too. I am sure my scarves never look as good as when you have fashioned them into a dress for yourself!  I am quite sure you are going to end up as a designer of some description and with talent like this now there is absolutely no reason why not.

Baking and cooking is another love, we don't get to do it so much now you are at school. I should make more time for it, I am sorry. I think you love that it is essentially messy play with a snack at the end, I couldn't agree more.  Good choice.

You are definitely a people person, you would choose to have friends with you all the time if you could. You seem to bring people together and what a wonderful skill that is. I'm pleased you are going to have lots of siblings because it means you will always have a playmate on hand. I love watching you with your friends, you always seem to be having a fantastic time. Beign good with people will take you far in life, my girl.

Naomi Jane Maimie Brownlee, you are my precious, beautiful six year old daughter and this year has so much excitement ahead.  Becoming a big sister (again!), making our new house a home, learning new things, getting better at things we already do and I know you will do it all with enthusiasm and take the rest of us along with you. Love you so much baby girl (I know you are six but you will ALWAYS be my baby).

As you grow this year and as your love of creating continues, I pray that you will always know this in your heart.

For you created my inmost being;

    you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

    your works are wonderful,

    I know that full well. 

My frame was not hidden from you

    when I was made in the secret place,

    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. 

Your eyes saw my unformed body;

    all the days ordained for me were written in your book

    before one of them came to be. 

How precious to me are your thoughts, God!

    How vast is the sum of them! 

Were I to count them,

    they would outnumber the grains of sand –

    when I awake, I am still with you.

Psalm 139:13-18 

Lydia is a talker

Here she is being very excited by a cat on the other side of the road...

Dear my precious five year old

Dear my precious five year old,

It's your birthday so it is time to write you another letter.  I am struggling to get my head around the fact that it is five years since you tumbled into the world and turned everything down-side up! This has been a whirlwind year for us all, not least of all because you have started school and this seems to have made you grow up SO much. I am very proud of the beautiful young girl you are growing into and very proud of how hard you work at school. I knew you would love the challenge and love it you do.

I think you get frustrated that school eats into the time you would like to be playing, you sometimes tell me you would like to go back to nursery so you can "just play" but I know that you are learning new stuff all the time and together we will find the joy in learning.

You are very much into everything "girly", you love all things pink and sparkly and twirly and pretty. Mummy has struggled with this at times, I am not girly at all and I sometimes feel out of my depth helping you find your identity in all of that, but you and I make a good team and we are getting there together.

I am learning that although you are a confident child in lots of situations you are a sensitive wee soul and you need lots of reassurance from me. I am sorry it took me so long to cotton onto that but I hope and pray we are getting there together now. I love to sit and read a book with you, to have you tell a story, to colour a picture or just to have you sit on my knee and I am learning that these things are especially important to you, too.

You continue to have more energy than I possibly know what to do with! I am sure you steal it from me as I cannot fathom where you else you could be getting it from. I love to watch you run and climb and tumble and jump; the dances that you make up at home are beautiful,  your body is strong and I pray that it will stay that way and you will love it.

You are an amazingly good big sister, I love watching you play with your sisters, I especially love it now that Miriam is old enough to join in your games. You always have a scenario to play or to act or create. I anticipate you will be very good at drama, you certainly made a good inn keeper in your nativity this last Christmas.

If you don't end up an actress I could see you being an artist. If there is glue to be stuck, paint to be flung or pictures to be coloured, there I will find you. I think you favourite way to be is up to your elbows in PVA with a sequin stuck to your eyebrow. I am sorry that Mummy doesn't let you do it more, I realise it is my problem, I really do find it hard but you love it and I can see you are ever so good at it.

One of the most daunting tasks I have ever undertaken is helping you grow into a well adjusted, contented, beautiful human being but I am having lots of fun while we try and do it together. I love you baby girl and even though you are not a baby you will FOREVER be my baby and I will love you always with all my heart.

My prayer for you this year is that you would get to know Jesus more, I love hearing all you know about God and Jesus and love hearing your prayers and am excited to see you develop a real, meaningful relationship with Him. However much I love you, Jesus loves you more and I am excited to see what you and God can do together, to discover the plans Jesus has for your life and what you can do for Him.

I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. “When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I’ll listen.“When you come looking for me, you’ll find me.“Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.” God’s Decree.

Jeremiah 29:11-14 (The Message)

Lydia was one!

Well, I guess she still is, but we had a fun day celebrating her birthday. Here's some photos from the day.

The beautiful birthday girl!

We had a few friends round after school to help celebrate, here the chaos!

Sharing her toys

Food!

More food!

 Opening presents :-)

More presents after Daddy came home

Chocolate!

Chocolate resulting in the cream cardigan being removed

Very appreciative of this present which Lydia got to sample a few hours after me.

The mess after everyone had gone

Order restored