 | Diary Navigation:
|
October 7, 2001
Early October, 2001.
I know I'm only supposed to be writing once a month these days, but damn it, once a month simply isn't enough! I miss my writing too much, so I think I might up the ante and write fortnightly…see how it goes. It's such a lovely time of year, and as Pixie edges ever closer to her SECOND BIRTHDAY (it's only 7 weeks away…and counting!)
I find I've got more and more details I want to capture, before this adorable period of her life slips away. So be on the lookout for more entries in the future….
Spring is really taking hold now. It's lovely. The leaves on the trees have unfurled in the freshest green foliage, everything is wonderfully lush. It's the greenest I've ever seen Canberra, it's been so dry and brown for the past 10 months. We've had our fair share of gorgeous warm days already, along with a spate of spring storms. I love watching all the plants and shrubs come to life in our garden. It's quite a discovery. Shrubs and bushes that were drab and boring are now bursting with little flowers, and trees I never dreamt would flower, suddenly have bulbs about to burst into bloom. The fernery outside our family room window is uncurling with new shoots every which way. It's such an expansive time of year.
And along with this proliferation of new growth has come the unfortunate discovery of the first red-back spiders of the season. Yep, THEY'RE BAAAAAACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *shudder* I'm being a true-blue Aussie and doing my damnedest to deal with them without running screaming indoors. I've been out with the insecticide and almost choked myself with my ferocious spraying of outdoor nooks and crannies. They're evil looking creepy things, with the sharpest blackest legs I've ever seen on a bug, and a distinctive red marking on their back. One bite will make you very sick, it could potentially kill you. I keep reminding myself that Aussies for generations have lived in close proximity with these tiny killers, and most of us grow up without ever receiving a bite. God knows how, when you consider they seem to be fucking EVERYWHERE, but there you have it. At least they're easy to identify, and I'm thankful that spiders are relatively anti-social creatures. But it seems to me that I have to do a damn lot of spraying out-of-doors, and I am convinced that every time it rains all my good thorough spraying is literally being washed away. Sigh. Welcome to the backyard life of an Aussie. Who'd imagine you could live in peace with little killers dangling behind your laundry drain pipe?
Enough of the horrors, and back to the good life. We had a wonderful spring storm here late this afternoon. Is there anything better than the smell of the earth after a heavy spring downpour? All warm and fresh and clayey. We've just turned the soil in our fallow vegie patch, and it's exciting to look outside my kitchen window and see the wet, rich soil, and imagine the beauty to come when it's bursting with summer salad material: tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, rocket, parsley, coriander, mint, basil. Delightful. I drove out in the spring storm to pick up Jay from work, and Pixie babbled the entire way. "Rain. Pickie (Pixie). Look." Over and over again. It was one of those poignant moments when you suddenly realise how happy and content you are. Driving my comfortable car, enjoying the spring storm, listening to the heart-warming chatter of my beautiful baby, and going to pick up my husband. During these moments I realise how blessed I am; I hope I never take it for granted.
I must say that I didn't think my Pixie-girl could get any cuter but blow me away with a feather, SHE DOES!!! She's really, REALLY talking now. Stringing words into cobbled sentences; grammatically back to front and upside down and utterly delightful. We've had weeks and weeks of her repeating every last word we say (which I could recommend as a highly effect method of torture, should you ever need one!!). But now, just lately, she's really started branching out on her own. Making her own little observations on life and it's HILARIOUS!! Being Friday night we wandered down to the local video store. Of course, we saw nothing we fancied, and Pixie saw about 300 things she wanted. She spotted a "Bob the Builder" video and she commented, "Bob-buider," (no L, she doesn't pronounce L's!), "can-fix it. Yep." If anyone knows the theme song then they'll get it. Then she grabbed a Teletubbie video in each hand, walked up to the counter, tried to hand them to the counter-lady, and said, "Pickie, want it." We were cracking up.
One of her favourite movies is a Winnie the Pooh video, and in it Pooh sings a song which Pixie adores. It goes like this,
"When I up, down, touch the ground,
It puts me in the mood…
Up, down, touch the ground,
In the mood….for food."
Anyway, Pixie has started singing it, but her version goes like this,
"Up, down, touch-a-ground, touch the moon."
Jay and I get her to sing it as often as possible. How we smirk and try not to burst into fits of laughter. It's so gorgeous. Almost-two-year-old's are hilarious, utterly enchanting. Five-star rating. The best yet!
Pixie does a lot of kissing and cuddling these days. She is forever asking for a "Cahh-dd-le!" She even asks for a cuddle DURING a cuddle. We'll be holding her in our arms and she'll be chanting, "Cahh-ddle. Cahh-ddle. Cahh-ddle." We're forever replying, "This IS a cuddle Pixie. We're having a cuddle." And if you ask her for a kiss she'll pout her lips, let you kiss her, and then she'll say, "Der you go." She's often saying "Der you go," and I'm forced to conclude it must be something I say a lot. Humph! But one of the lovely things I've passed on to her is the habit of saying 'bless you' every time someone sneezes. I have ALWAYS said it, everytime she has ever sneezed in my presence, and now she'll say it to me after I sneeze. "Bess you Mummy." God it's heart-melting. Sometimes I find her playing around the house saying, "Arr-choo, bess-you. Arr-choo, bess-you." Like she's practising. What an angel!
The funniest thing is when her favourite TV shows end (do you get the impression she watches a lot of TV???!!! Really, it isn't THAT much!), she'll turn to me with a pleading look, hold up her pointer finger and demand, "Wen maw!" (one more). Ha! She seems quite convinced that I can simply press a button and make her favourite TV shows come back on again. But let's face it, there's some powers we'd best keep from our children for as long as possible.
Back to the fact that Pixie has trouble pronouncing her L's. Well, the fact is, Pixie loves clocks. She knows them, likes them, and always points them out to us. Unfortunately, due to the trouble-pronouncing-her-L's phenomenon, we've had a few embarrassing moments of late. We were driving around in the car when my family were with us, looking at the tourist sights, and whenever we drove down one particular road Pixie would shout out, as clear as a bell, "Cock. Cock. Cock. Cock." whenever we passed by. I tell you, there were some mad glances for a clock to point out and say, "Clock, she's telling us about THAT clock. THERE." But we were buggered if we could find it. After we'd travelled down that stretch of road and listened to "Cock. Cock. Cock. Cock," on three separate occasions, to embarrassed silence from the backseat, we eventually spotted the offending object on the side of a building in a bowling club. It would take a very obsessive clock-spotter to notice it, but it was with HUGE relief that I pointed it out to my family, "See. There. The clock. She's pointing out THE CLOCK!" But let me tell you, there's something seriously unnerving about hearing a little person chant "COCK" as clear as a bell. Yikes!
My family's visit was, aside from the "cock" incident (I'm only a tinsy bit sorry I keep mentioning it!), outstanding. We had a brilliant time, zooming around being tourists, and Pixie absolutely ADORED all the attention. I didn't have to read a single book to her for the entire 6 days. What a holiday it was for me!!!!! Nana would read her books, her cousin would play and sing and dance with her, and her uncle bought her lots of new toys and generally spoiled her. It was fabulous. It was beautiful and sunny for the entire week, and everyone had a wonderful time. Very sad when they left though.
You know, I am COMPLETELY enjoying being a stay-at-home-mum these days. However, it is necessary to accept the fact that you must now do everything in "toddler-time." If you can accept that it will now take 30 minutes to run to the shops to pick up the bread and milk, (a job that in your former life took a mere 10 minutes!), then it can be a real adventure. I no longer try and hustle Pixie along, strapping her into trolley's against her will, distracting her from ride-on cars and shop's bursting with toys. These days I know that if I want to go to the shops it's going to become an EXPEDITION! If we go to our local shops I know we're going to have to play in the playground for a good 15 minutes, then we'll run in and out of every single shop until we find the one that sells "cu-tards" (custard tarts…I bought one for her once, as a treat, and now every time we go near the bakery I have to buy her one!). Then we'll sit outside while she eats the cu-tart with her fingers (I'd advise all mums of toddlers to carry a supply of plastic spoons in their handbag!), then we'll have to chase a few birds, then walk along the brick fences for a bit, then play on the swings again. I basically let Pixie lead the way these days, it saves a lot of shouting and tantrums and arguments, and it means I end up really s-l-o-w-i-n-g down, and it's actually a really nice way to live. Time to explore whatever new that happens along our path, time to soak up the sun, to hear the birds chirping and to comment on it, time to notice a dog tied to a fence and to wander across and "talk" to it, time to soak up the sounds and scents of spring mornings. Time to really take in the wonder of everything, as Pixie sees and explores with purpose and astonishment this world that is so new and exciting to her innocent eyes. I've realised a trip to the shops is like a trip to the carnival for a toddler, it's full of fun and excitement, new tastes and sounds and sensations. And people always stop and talk to us. How people enjoy seeing a toddler wandering aimlessly and exploring their environment without impediment. And I can't tell you how often you'll find someone or other giving away free balloons. A very exciting moment for the two-year-old. To Pixie the world seems like a friendly and benevolent place, full of exciting discoveries, and how I wish that the world could be this way for every single human being on the planet! Sounds like a good thing to hope for in these troubled times…
Our best to all our readers,
Eloise, and the almost-two-year-old Pixie Bella.
 |  |
|
want to keep a diary on iParenting?
Authoring a diary on the iParenting network allows you to chronicle your family's story, preserving it for years to come. It's also a great way to get the most out of the iParenting community. Click here to start...
|
The iParenting Media Awards program helps parents find the best products for their families. 
