What's small and cuddly, smells gorgeous and has the cutest chubby cheeks?

Why it is our newest grand-daughter, that's who!!

My daughter has asked me not to share her name publicly so I will just say it is a beautiful name and I will refer to her as AJ here.

She was born last Thursday 26th April and weighed in at 9lb 4oz and was 56cm long.  She has the softest skin, a dusting of peach fuzz hair - a little darker than her older sister when she was born.  She is as cute as a button and loves a cuddle on her Grandma's shoulder.

Her big sister is smitten and gives her lots of kisses and tells her often that she loves her, makes my heart melt.

So welcome to our family AJ, we have lots of love to go around.

I know that our bond will be deep, just like the one I have with with my first two grand-daughters.

I so look forward to all the love, joy, cuddles and happy times we will get to share over the years.

 With her very excited big sister, just hours after she was born

 My girls, having a first cuddle together with their Mum

The first bonding moment with Grandma

Excuse The Bragging But A Proud Grandma Lives Here

A few weeks ago my eldest grand-daughter invited me to attend a drama performance at her high school. Yesterday was the big day.

By the standards of most high school productions, it wasn't the grandest, it wasn't the biggest, it wasn't the most well attended but it sure brought tears to this grandma's eyes and pride to her heart.

As I have blogged before, just before her 5th birthday my grand-daughter was involved in a car accident that left her with acquired brain injury. Through this she suffers from learning disabilities, weakness in one side and epilepsy among other things. She has lots of things stacked against her, but she also has, what I see, as a lot of qualities that other teenagers don't necessarily have. The one that stands out the most to me is her generous and beautiful heart and soul. Yesterday, this was on show for all to see.

Their were only 5 actors in the production, all of them were from the Education Support Centre at the high school. Along with their drama teacher, the students came up with the concept, worked out to plot line, and wrote the play.

The plot was simple, there was a king with 3 princess daughters - each of them was beautiful but conceited and mean. They played pranks on each other, they fought and they yelled. The king was worried about which princess would rule his kingdom when he died - he couldn't see any good qualities in any of them. The king devised a plan and let his daughter's know that he was hosting a ball and whichever daughter showed themselves to be the most noble on the night would be the one that ruled. The daughters continued to fight and play tricks on each other right up to the night of the ball. Then their fairy godmother appeared to tell them to look at themselves as they should be ashamed that they had so much and yet acted as if they had so little. That night at the ball each princess showed the king just how perfect they could be, because they now saw how wrong they had been and acknowledge how much they loved each other. The king was happy and announced that all 3 would rule the kingdom together.

Each of the student actors had very few lines as it was a narrated story with the drama teacher narrating. Each of the princesses had a beautiful costume loaned from the local theatre company. The props were few, the stage dressing minimal. 5 actors performed to the best of their abilities. The audience laughed at the comedy. The audience occasionally strained to hear the spoken lines as the actors were very nervous. There was one princess who acted her heart out, who remembered all her lines and needed no prompting but who also held the hand of another princess when she was too scared to come out, who while standing in the wings quietly encouraged the others and reminded them what to do. That princess was mine.

I know she had made her Mum's life unbearable yesterday morning as she was having a meltdown about the day, but when it came time, she did it, she did it well and she also cared about those performing with her. She didn't get caught up in the 'it's all about me' attitude that so often comes with teenagers and let's face it some adults. She truly made this Grandma's heart proud.

Happy Birthday Munchkin

Today my littlest grand-daughter turns 2. She is a blessing in the true sense of the word. You can not help but smile and laugh when around this little princess.

She is an old soul, been here before and knows what she is doing and why. I made sure I was in Sydney when she was born - on her time schedule and about 8 days late and even then was not in a hurry to make an entrance into the world. The photo below is my first meeting with my munchkin - only a few hours old and yes she is checking me out, even the paediatrician who checked her said "she has been here before".


In this photo she has been home for maybe a day or two and already relaxed and comfortable with her Mum and Dad.


This photo was taken just before I left to come home to Perth and she was 14 days old and yes she is chatting to me - I am telling you - she has been here before.


Happy Birthday Munchkin, my heart is full of so much love for you sometimes it hurts.

And She Danced

On Sunday my beautiful 13 year old grand-daughter attended and danced at her very first ballroom dancing competition. She looked beautiful in her new black shoes, and her apricot top and black flippy skirt. She didn’t place out of the 5 couples dancing, but that didn’t matter, to her or to us, the fact that she found the courage to get up and dance after only a term of weekly lessons was in itself a miracle.

She proved to herself and to that moronic teacher (see my post here) that she could indeed keep time, learn the steps and have the self confidence to do it in front of a couple of hundred strangers. To her wonderful instructor Callum, thank you for taking her under your wing and for the beautiful way you encouraged her on the day. To my daughter Aimee who beamed with pride, I know you do it tough and most of us don’t outwardly acknowledge that, but I am proud of your perseverance too, I know dealing with a brain-injured daughter is not easy but it is with your love that this miracle has come to pass.

Now A Teenager

Today is C's 13th birthday - happy birthday my precious chicken, growing up so fast. I am so proud of the way you keep positive with all you have to struggle with, my heart swells with pride at who you are - the most caring and loving person I think I have ever met. Having you in my life makes my life worthwhile - I love you to the moon and back, to the universe and beyond. xxx

Moments in Time - My First Grandchild

Dear C

I remember so clearly the day your Mum came and told us she was pregnant - she had not long been living away from home, she was just 18 and she bought her best friend with her for support. Somehow I knew what she was coming to tell us. I think she was worried we would be angry - but how could I be angry, I had my first child at 17 - why would I cast stones. Did I worry about her being a young Mum - of course I did, it is not an easy road, but then being a parent at any age is a challenge.

Not long after the big news, we found out that your Mum was going to be a single mum - your Dad was not going to be part of the journey. I knew that it would be okay as your Mum is a survivor and she would do the best she could even though she was on her own.

Your Mum moved back in with us a few months before you were born and we got to see first hand how her tummy swelled, we got to talk to her about the doctors visits and I got to go the ultrasound when you were just 18 weeks old - how excited I was to see you moving about with all the boxes ticked to show you were healthy and well.

I got to help Mum chose your clothes, pram and car seat - we got your crib and had fun getting it all ready for when you arrived.

We got to talk with your Mum while she chose names - Lachlan James was going to be your name if you were a boy - and a boy is what we thought you were going to be - the Dr had told your Mum he thought she was having a boy following one of the ultrasounds he did in his surgery about 6 weeks before you were born. And so I would rub your Mum's tummy and talk to you and call you Lachlan - I wanted you to know your name and how much you were loved even before you were born.

Your Mum and I went to 'birth classes' together as I was going to be Mum's 'birth partner' - I was so excited as I had never been involved in someone else giving birth - and it is not the same as when you do it yourself.

Mum got bigger and bigger and then her feet began to swell with fluid and I was worried that her kidneys were not coping, but the Dr kept saying all was okay - which really wasn't totally true.

Your due date came and went and your Mum got bigger and so they decided to induce you. I took Mum to hospital the night before you were born and was to come back in the morning to be there for the birth. I arrived at the hospital at 8 o'clock and was so excited when I was walking in to see your Mum - today was the day that we were going to meet. The drugs they used on Mum worked really fast and she was already in labour when I got there - but they also did something strange to your Mum and she kept lapsing in and out of consciousness - I was so worried that something was really wrong - and the nurses didn't know what was happening either, so they stopped the drugs - but your Mum still was only semi conscious most of the time.

The doctor arrived around 11.30 to check Mum out as the nurses had rung him and your Mum managed to say 'I want to push' and of course the Dr said 'No you don't'. Then he checked and said 'Oh yes she does' and so we all rushed around to the delivery room, nurses and Dr and me pushing your Mum's bed, whizzing past other people walking down the corridors.

We somehow managed to get your Mum from her bed onto the delivery bed and then the Dr was saying 'Push' and your Mum was still not fully conscious and then the Dr said 'OK I need forceps' and suddenly your Mum roused herself and said 'I can do this' and she did - with just a little help from the vacuum to get you out the last little bit.

I felt like I was going to burst, I was so excited and then the Dr said 'Oh I made a mistake' and thought he had done something wrong with Mum or you and then he said 'Its a girl' and I laughed - I was so relived that there was nothing really wrong, just that he thought you were a boy. Mum and I cried when we saw you - Mum could hardly hold you as she was still so spaced out from the drugs, and you have some very hearty cries to let us know you were here.

I got to cut your cord and see you weighed while the Dr and nurses looked after your Mum - I got to cuddle you close while your Mum whispered your name to you - luckily she had a girl's name picked out too. I got to give you your first bath while Mum was recovering - they wouldn't let her out of bed in case she fainted.

Words can not express the love I felt for you on this special day - I knew that we would be bonded for eternity - you are my precious chicken and no matter how old you get - I will always love you to the moon and back - and just know that nothing will ever be able to change that.

xxx

Very Proud Grandma

Today my eldest granddaughter graduated from primary school. She was also awarded a Citizenship Award and she actually got up and accepted it in front of the whole school. This may not seem a big deal - but for her this is a huge achievement in itself. Just before her 5th birthday she was in a car that was T-Boned by a semi-trailer - luckily for her it was only the truck part and not the trailer as well or she wouldn't be here at all. She was left in a coma for a few days and as a result of her brain injury suffers from epilepsy and learning difficulties. She is 12 years old, but probably has a learning age of about 7 and so has been in a Special Ed class for about 4 years. To look at her you can't see that there is anything wrong, she looks just like all other 12 year old girls, albeit a tall one. But for her family that has seen her struggle to learn, to have self-confidence, today was a huge step. In the past she has been extremely reluctant to get up in front of the school to accept her honour certificates - today she handled it like a pro. Her award was for the way she cares for all those around her, she is like a little mother hen making sure all the younger children in special ed are okay. She always put others before herself, she truly has a heart of gold. This child who before the accident had so much in front of her now struggles to keep up in a world that is fast passing her by, she is aware she is different and this is part of why she is so self-conscious - but today she stood up proudly, walked to the front and shook the teachers hand, and never has a grandma's heart been so proud. Well done my little chicken, grandma loves you with all her heart.