Well what have we been up to this week?
Nola cried and cried during her 8 month check up where, as I predicted, they stripped her down, weighed, measured and assessed her just to let me know that she is fine :) Which I kind of already new :) Poor little baby thought it was such a big adventure till she had to sit on those cold scales :(
She's still a wee wittle girlie just hitting the 25th percentile, but she has always been that way so no surprises.
Miss Nola has got herself quite a personality now! She is very cuddly and loves to snuggle while wriggling her little body about. She loves to get in on whatever any of us are doing. She loves to race behind the sofa and bury her little face in the carpet till we say "where is Nola?" Then she'll pop her head out and giggle happily thinking she has quite fooled us all!
She loves to scurry across the front room in a game of chase. I'll follow after her on all fours till I catch up with her, when I do she sprawls and I tickle her under the arms. She loves her little animals and dollies and anything that she can shake and rattle. She babbles away and has said a few words (I think) because she is quite consistent with them "Mama" is for when she's crying, or whinging :) She also says among other sounds... "Dada", "Baba" for baby, "up" for cup (she is obsessed with cups :) "baw" for ball. She also makes the cutest clicking noise with her mouth whenever she is hungry.
At the moment she doesn't eat too much, but will happily eat a few spoonfuls of organic bio yogurt, mashed fruit, carrot, potato and porridge. She also loves to suck the juice out of an orange segment or gnaw on a rice cracker.
Yesterday when I washed her hair a little curl popped up on the top of her head, it is still there, I'm now wondering if she might have wavy hair instead of dead straight. The little birth mark on above her top lip is fading. I'm a little sad :( We have always called it the spot where the angels kissed her.
There is an old story about why we have a philtrum ( the groove between the top lip and the nose). Apparently the angels impress their finger upon the lips of all babies so they can't tell the secrets of heaven when they are born :) Well this little one tells me a few secrets:)
The three middle girls seem to have had a huge wave of energy recently. They are constantly coming up with ideas, plays, stories, art projects, garden projects, and I let them get on with it most of the time as I don't want to squash their momentum. It is wonderful to see how beautifully they co-operate whenever their is a shared incentive :)
And although written evidence that learning is happening may not be immediately evident, I always find that they seem to make great leaps during these frenzy's of creative play.
Suzy, I am sitting here crying as I type this, not only is this a beautiful post it brought back a lot of memories of when my family had to deal with bulling. Such a sad time! I am so glad to hear how your Emmy has blossomed just as my Peter has in this world.
ReplyDeleteI hope you have a beautiful weekend with all you your girls!
Oh this post resonates with me in so many ways! Firstly, my daughter was born with a small birthmark on her upper lip, which sadly has faded by now. I always told her it was where the angels had kissed her. I never knew the folklore about the philtrum (new word for me!) until now. A great story.
ReplyDeleteAnd of course your stories about how cruel children can be to one another are so sad! Our daughter was bullied when she went to high school - it was really insidious, and only when great damage had been done did we realise how deeply she had been affected. As you know, she's changed schools and fallen ill, so a year later we are still trying to help her heal and get back on her feet. My minister gave me some very wise advice: he said, "Don't have a specific outcome in your mind about this." So the only outcome I have been praying for is simply to have a happy, healthy girl / young woman. Like you, I think qualifications are SO much less important than growing up as a loving, strong and giving person who has enough confidence to develop her talents. I'm sure your Emmy will be fine, and more than fine.
I like your idea that, while you can't protect them from the blows they receive out in the world, you can provide a safe base for them to return to. It reminds me that this is work that I do too, and it's not wasted. Thank you for that!
Your post reminded me of Peretti's book, I believe the title is The Wounded Spirit? I read it a couple years back- it is largely about his experiences being bullied as a child, how he came to terms with it all, became the brilliant man and author he is now... in any case, I recommend it. All of your girls are lovely, just like their mama. You have nurtured their souls well, dear friend. Love to you. xo
ReplyDeleteyour girls are so. precious. and you, suzy, are such a wonderful mama. it makes me so glad to read how they are flourishing, in their own unique, beautiful ways. healing comes to those broken places, and your emmy is amazing.
ReplyDeleteoh i am so glad emmy and the girls are home with you. she will do just fine. the university class sounds great! our public school here has good anti-bullying "laws" and any type of bullying is taken care of immediately as soon as an email is sent to the principal. i have had to do it for a bully on the school bus. it makes me sad that your public school didn't take care of emmy! anyhow, thanks for the recommendations on my blog too and we are loving homeschooling - i wrote down your links to check out- xoxox hope you are having a merry weekend :)
ReplyDeleteWhat sweet and precious girls you have. Nola's yellow dress is gorgeous. Emmy sounds like she has been through so much Thankfully she has such a nurturing mama as yourself. Bullying is universal and it saddens me that is affects so many people. I wish Emmy much peace. She looks like a delight to behold. Jacinta x
ReplyDeleteI felt like you gave me an inside peek into your lives, how wonderful that was! :) I feel for Emmy, that must have been a horrifying situation to walk into each day. She's lucky she had you to offer an unconventional solution, and give her a chance to find her smile again. Lucky girl. :) It sounds like all of your girls are not only growing, but thriving! I too prefer neat and orderly, and those years of constant mess and chaos were a challenge! I saved my sanity by accepting the mess during the day, but then making sure the house was picked up before the start of a new day (and new mess!) As they've gotten older they seem to realize that when things are picked up and neat, life is just easier. That, jofully, has made my life easier! ;)
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