10 months { and LOTS of pics of your first Christmas }

To my sweet little princess,

My letter to you is being written a few days late this month. You turned 10 months old on the 24th December - Christmas Eve 2008. Your first Christmas. Its been a hectic few days, but you adjusted easily to the busyness, excitement and change in routines of the past few days.

Your first Christmas was spent observing the many Christmas traditions that have become part of our family over the years. We put the Christmas tree up in early December, and instead of the usual red and green decorations Mummy chose to celebrate your first Christmas with a beautiful fresh fuschia, lime and silver colour scheme. I also got you a special little decoration with your name engraved on it for your first Christmas. We will hang it on the tree each year along with the ones the boys recieved for there first Chrismas'.

December was filled with shopping trips, and present wrapping, end of school activities, and the change in routine of school holidays beginning. None of this seemed to worry you at all. As long as you are close to Mummy you can take on the world with a smile on your face! You even grinned through your first visit to sit on Santas knee! You were captivated with his long white beard. Of course I had to take Christmas photos of you all, and eventually make the difficult choice of which I would use to make our annual Christmas Card. Mummy has been sending out a photo Christmas card every year since Calebs first Christmas.

Each of your brothers has been a part of the local living nativity preformance as baby Jesus, and even though you were a bit older than they were, we were still asked to take part this year. It is such a special thing to be part of - especially when you have the honour of portraying the holy family themselves. You were so good through out both preformances, despite it being way past your usual bed time. Isaac was an 'angel' (who ran a little wild - but apparently cutely so!) in the first preformance and then took a little walk with Grandma & Grandpa through the second show (thank goodness!) Caleb and Nathan were both Sheperds again this year. They even got a sheep each to look after.

The local christmas pageant was held on the 22nd and you loved all the noise and excitement. You 'jumped' up and down on my knee excitedly the whole way though, not even the pipe bands marching noisly past worried you - you just did a little dance.

Christmas Eve we went to the childrens service at church - where Caleb and Nathan both played a part in the service. Then it was back to Nanna & Pappas house for presents with Daddys side of the family. You opened your presents, but as expected were more interested in the paper! By the time everyone had opened all their gifts you and Isaac were having a lovely time playing in the pile of torn wrapping. Opening presents Christmas Eve after church has always been the tradition with Daddys side of the family, and this year was tinged with a little sadness. Nanna & Pappa are moving, and this will be the last year that we will be sitting in their lounge at the house Daddy grew up in opening our gifts.

We headed home layed out the new Christmas stockings Mummy had made for you all this year and drifted peacefully off to sleep for the night.

Mummy and Daddy were the first awake Christmas morning. In fact Daddy went in to wake you at about 7.15am, so I could give you a quick feed before the boys came out. We snuggled on the lounge in front of the Christmas tree that was now fully surounded with lots of gorgeous gifts for you all. We had just finished when the boys all came wandering out, bleary eyed, but excited and ready to see what was under the tree for them. It was time for more of that wonderful wrapping paper to be strewn around the room.

We then had breaky, you had a nap and we got ourselves organised. We had a Christmas drink and exchanged gifts with Sabine & Monice here at home before packing up and heading to Grandma and Grandpas for lunch. All of Mummys side of the family were there, including both your great Nannas. You LOVED christmas lunch! You had some fruit and yoghurt before your nap and woke as we were about to have lunch. We ate outside under the pergola. You sat in the high chair - the same chair I used when I was a little baby - and devoured roast potatoes, roast parsnip, ham, turkey and pork.

After lunch we decided to have presents outside. All the kids excitedly went to Grandmas tree and collected armful after armful of presents and delivered them to the outside table. Much to your obvious delight they were all wrapped in yet more of that crinkly, scrunchy paper! Your chubby little arms and legs were flapping about in excitement as the Daddys started handing out the gifts to everyone. Once again you spent most of the time engrosed in all the things you could do with the sheets of discarded wrapping paper.

You were very spoilt by everyone on your first Christmas and recieved some gorgeous gifts.

(So we dont forget how lucky you were, this is what you recieved....from Santa - walker/dolls pram; from us - musical flowers, mini park bench; and in your stocking, clothes, bathers & swim hat, 2 MCN, christmas bib, toothbrush, chockies (for daddy!), hanging butterfly, pink croc mammoths, sun hat, little miss chatterbox book; from Grandma, Grandpa, Auntie Jode & family and Auntie Vic & family a gorgeous soft pink (of course) rocking hippo; from Sabine & Monice - tea set; from Nanna & Pappa a doll and a stacking activity blocks; from Auntie Mandy & family -musical drum/bongos; from Mark, Helen & Jadyn - 2008 Christmas bear and wiggles PJs; from your church baptism sponsors, Joy, a beautiful bible stories book and card & Janet a lovely card.)

We then joined Nanna & Pappa at Mandy & Johns for a swim and tea. You had your first swim in the pool. Showing off your new pink spotty bathers you splashed, and kicked and giggled and flapped around in the cool water. I think we have another water baby on our hands! I got a small basin of water to wash you off when you had finished your swim. You looked so cute all squished up sitting in there. So tiny compared to your brothers and cousins, yet so big when I think back to that precious newborn I cradled in my arms for the first time only 10 months before. (pics to be added soon!)

At 10 months you are still not mobile. You have shown no interest in rolling, apart from those first few times many months ago, and you are not crawling yet. You sit and stretch and reach to get what you want. You sometimes lay on your back and push yourself along backwards with your legs - this looks hilarious, but your enjoyment of it is always short lived. You would much rather be sitting up than laying down. The only time you are content laying is bed time. You sit on your bottom and rock to try and reach things. I would not be at all suprised if you bum shuffle rather than crawl !

I finally managed to get a decent picture of you and your brothers this month as well.

You are generally a very happy baby. You laugh and giggle at your brothers. You show obvious delight when Daddy walks into the room. You have become a bit of a Mummys girl lately though. You are happy to go to Daddy, Caleb or Nathan, and are usually contented with them. While you will happily go to most other people apart from them, once Mummy goes out of sight the crying usually starts. As soon as your back in my arms, you give them the cheekiest little grin and are happy once again.

You still have your Dummy, but really only use it to comfort yourself as you get tired.

You have 7 teeth - four on the top and three on the bottom. You have worn your amber teething jewellery right through the period that you have had teeth cutting and have not needed any other pain relief.

You are still breatfed three to four times a day, and have finally started to drink some water from a bottle as well. You LOVE your food, and always want a bit of what ever anyone else is eating too. You sleep from around 6.30pm and wake for a feed anywhere from 5am to 8am (usually around 6.30am ) before going back to sleep for another hour or two. You then have breakfast when you wake. You are usually awake for about 2 -3 hours before going down for another sleep, which lasts anywhere from 1-3 hours. Lunch somehwhere in there (depending on sleep times) and another feed from me before your afternoon nap of about and hour. Dinner at 5pm, with a bath (in the big bath or laundry trough) either before or after (depending on sleep times etc) a breastfeed then down for the night somewhere between 6pm & 7pm.

Just after you turned 9 months we fianlly made the move from your cradle to the cot. Mummy did a little redecorating in the nursery - made some new art for the walls, sewed a ruffle for the cot, and set up it all up with the gorgeous quilt set I bought while I was pregnant with you. I first put you in the cot with the blanket you always had over you in the cradle as something that felt and smelt familiar. You still cuddle up to this as you go to sleep.

We put you into your cot on your back, with dummy on its chain and snuggled up with your pink cradle blanket. You like your door shut when you are put to bed. You usually go down with out any fuss at all. Most of the time when you wake from your sleep you lay in your cot quietly and watch your mobile, or play with your teddy till we hear you rustling about and get you up.

Your hair has finally got long enough to start falling in your face, and gettng really messy while you sleep! There is just enough there to put a cute little clip in, or for you to have your first tiny little and oh so cute piggy tail! Ive started putting a hairband on you sometimes as well, to keep the long whispy bit out of your eyes. I cant bear the thought of cutting it yet - surley you cant be getting old enough to need a haircut already baby girl.

Only a few more days and 2008 will be over. That means that in only a few short months you will reach the magical milestone of your first birthday. That point at which there will be no more denying that your babyness is slowly but surely becoming just sweet memories, and our days are now being filled with the laughter and sweetness of a precious little girl.

I love you so much my darling princess.

Merry Christmas sweetheart and may 2009 be filled with even more joy, love and laughter for us all.

All my love forever

Mummy xxxx