So… The rest of the Polkadots gang tell me it’s my turn to do the blog. I’ve never really done anything like this before and have to admit it’s a little out of my comfort zone, but I guess that’s what life is about and when it comes to the kids there is always so much to talk about so I figured I would be fine once I got the ball rolling… and now it’s rolling, so I must be fine.

In fact, I think that is what I might blog about. The very fact that once you have kids you can’t really remember what it is that you used to talk about before you had them or what you used to take photos of before you had your children or even how you used to spend all your time.  Come to think of it I do remember how I used to spend my time.. I used to actually shower before midday, and eat my meals at a leisurely pace and not take at least 10 attempts to send one email. I used to wear make up most days and do my hair.. Now my children ask me what big event is taking place if they see me with a hairbrush in my hand, or if they see I have got dressed for the day! I keep trying to teach them that it is normal to do those things each morning even if you are not going anywhere… so I guess I’ll just have to practise what I preach.

I love how once you have children you can talk to almost anyone else who has had children and immediately have so much to talk about, especially if you are both at a similar stage of parenting. I have a 4 month old baby and it seems I have spoken more about sore boobs and body parts, sleeping patterns, birth / labour stories, and methods for getting gas up in the last few months than I ever imagined I would in a life time. But I love it, and don’t ever seem to tire of it.

Our other children are at different stages and so that brings a whole new set of fun topics for conversation. what Our two year old decided it was time to potty train herself, so I have not only been blessed with being able clean up after poos and wees all day, but I also get to share in the numerous stories on the subject with my friends and even complete strangers who are going through the same thing.. I never would have known there was so much to say about poos and wees??  But those who are on the outside looking in would be amazed.

The reality is that these beautiful little beings come into our life, and make us work harder than we’ve ever worked, love more than we have ever loved and sacrifice more than we would ever freely do of our own accord. They fill our lives with so much joy, that all the ‘hard’ or ‘yucky’ stuff that comes part and parcel with having children doesn’t even seem to register, other than being something to talk and laugh about with others in the same boat.

The reason we can’t remember what we used to talk about is not because we all have baby brain, or because we are seriously sleep deprived.. it is because once we have held our precious little ones in our arms, kissed their beautiful cheeks and gone through all we have just to have them, everything else seems slightly insignificant in comparison, and there is nothing better than sharing our little pride and joy with any and all who will listen.

Family Kiss

Today Brooklyn had a very special treat for afternoon tea – a juicy, succulent, fleshy, WATERMELON! But this afternoon tea was no ordinary afternoon tea.
As soon Brooklyn saw the watermelon there were a few excited giggles. As I placed the watermelon on the chopping board, Brooklyn immediately associated the shape of it with a ball and started to kick it! It didn’t really budge as it was almost as heavy as her.

We then sliced down the middle, and cut a slice off. We both had a little sniff . . . it smelt very sweet.  MMMmmmm I love the smell of watermelon!

We hollowed the flesh out and made a big circular frame. Brooklyn loved this and held it up to her face to look through the hole. She started feeling the inside with her fingers and couldn’t resist nibbling around the outside. We then decided to press cookie cutters into the flesh to make fun watermelon shapes! After demolishing a few of these, she turned to the big piece of watermelon and started poking her fingers through the flesh and picking out the seeds. She liked the cool feel of the flesh on her hands.

Who ever knew that exploring watermelon could be such an adventure!

RANDOM FACT: Did you know that because watermelon is part of the ‘cucurbitaceous’ family, watermelon is also classified as a vegetable. Some growers consider it as both fruit and vegetable, and sometimes call it a “Fregetable”. How interesting!

Yesterday The Polkadots got to do a little show for the holiday programme children at YouthTown and  with the inspiration from our little activity on Monday we decided to make one of our songs called “Healthy Me” a little more practical!

The song “Healthy Me” (from the Body Bop album) teaches us all about the foods we should and shouldn’t eat. So we decided to get the children to help us sort out some food into categories of “Eat Lots” “Eat Some” and “Eat as a Treat”. The children were really good at putting the foods into their correct pile! If they weren’t too sure we talked quickly about what it was made of and why it was good or bad for our bodies!

This activity was a good reminder for us too as we all try and get back into shape after Christmas! ;o)

All the children from the YouthTown Holiday Programme

Yes! it’s time for the green Polkadot to do some blogging this week! How exciting! As I was lying in bed this morning thinking about Brooklyn and what her interests were, one of the first things that popped to mind was food!

The morning routine went as usual but when we were in Brooklyn’s room to get her dressed, she spotted something poking out behind the shelf. It just happened to be . . . a Food Chart! It was a present for her 1^st birthday from her very health-conscious Nanny wanting to pass on her wisdom! Using her manners (and in a most insistent tone) Brooklyn repeated “Eeese! EEEase!” She finally managed to pull out the chart. I was quickly lead to the lounge while a very excited Brooklyn placed the chart down and started to point to the images.

I thought it would be best to tell Brooklyn “We can eat lots of these foods because they are good for our bodies and very yummy!” She put her head down to the fruit and started making little munching noises. Too Cute! Then we named and pointed to each fruit and vegetable. It was so adorable to hear her repeat each name because every word had about 10 syllables! Sometimes there was a little story for each fruit we pointed to. (I’m loving this stage!) The fruit she best pronounced was her favourite fruit of all time ‘naana’.

However, pointing to pictures just wasn’t enough for Brooklyn. So we thought it would be best to take things a step further and actually taste the fruit. There’s nothing like the real thing! So I brought out some strawberries, a banana, and half an apple. She was happy to chomp on her banana as we named them all again. She got quite good at identifying each fruit on the chart when getting her to point to them.

Brookie looking at the Fruit and Vege Chart

Learning the proper names of her fruits and vegetables as well as tasting the real thing, Brooklyn had the opportunity to start recognising healthy foods. The younger she can start learning about healthy food, the more likely she will be to practise a healthy lifestyle later on in life! And don’t we all want healthy children?