Our Baby girl turns 2

having afternoon tea cupcakes on her birthday :)

It was just over a week ago on the 4th of Feb. that my baby girl turned the BIG 2.



I still remember the excitment when I took the pregnancy test and saw two fat lines, I remember her first little movements inside me, the moment when the sonographer told us that our baby was healthy and we were having a girl, the time we took to pick the perfect name, the first time I saw her, the first feed .....
we were plunged into a world of pink and I wouldn't go back.



It all seems like it happened just a moment ago, but since that time I have learn't so much, had wonderful moments, watched the milestones and loved every step of the way...

Dearest Thalia

 Mummy loves you so much baby girl.

I feel so blessed to have you as my daughter,

you teach me something new every day.

 I look forward to spending many more  precious moments in time with you.

Happy Birthday!



 "A little girl can be sweeter (and badder) oftener than anyone else in the world.
she can jitter around, and stomp,
and make funny noises that frazzle your nerves
yet just when you open your mouth
she stands there demure with that special look in her eyes.
A girl is Innocence playing in the mud,
Beauty standing on its head,
and Motherhood dragging a doll by the foot."

-- Alan Beck

Despite trying to explain to my husband, both when we found out we were having a little girl and when Thalia was born that there is a special "something" between a father and a daugther; he thought having a daughter would be much the same as having a son.....

just with the addition of Bling, hanbags, a possible shoe fettish, piggy tails, frills, angel hair, fairy costumes, dolls and all things girly :P

Although he loves both Declan and Thalia to bits, he now does agree after watching Thalia grow and having their special bond develop that I was quite right....there is a very special something between a daddy and his little girl, so much so that he now passes the message on to soon to be dad's expecting a girl and new daddy's of girls in his group of daddy friends :D



 



Daddy and his little girl taken at Thalia's 1st birthday party <3



"Certain is it that there is no kind of affection

so purely angelic as of a father to a daughter.

In love to our wives there is desire;

to our sons, ambition;

 but to our daughters

there is something which there are no words to express"

-Author Unkown

***

There's something like a line of gold thread

running through a man's words when he talks to his daughter,

and gradually over the years it gets to be long enough

 for you to pick up in your hands

and weave into a cloth

that feels like love itself. ~John Gregory Brown

Mummy and Daddy love you to the moon and back baby girl!!!

talking food with my little man

This was just too cute not to share.
A proud moment where Declan shows that he is becoming more aware about his food allergies and that he does understand.
It's nice to know when they appreciate special home baked treats too :)

Today I handed Declan a homemade honey biscuit topped with chilled chocolate and sprinkles
- a special treat for morning tea.

Declan: "Mummy" (looking at the biscuit)
              "Is this biscuit from a packet?"

Mummy: "No it's not a packet biscuit Declan. Mummy made those special ones just for Declan and   Thalia. They are safe for you."

Declan: "We have to check the packet for the packet ones don't we."

Mummy: "Yes, it's very important to check packets so we can make sure the ones from the shop are safe for you to eat."

Declan: "Yeah, no eggs and nuts. They make me sick!"

Mummy: "Well these ones are very safe, Mummy didn't use eggs or nuts to make them."

Declan: Thank you Mummy, I'm happy it is safe. It's looks yummy!!"

Mummy: "I've very happy that you like the biscuits Declan. You make Mummy very proud when you ask questions about food to check it is safe. When you get older you can help Mummy and Daddy read the packets to check if foods are safe for you to eat.
Your getting very clever!

Declan: Thank you Mummy, I love you (spoken with a mouth full of biscuit and giving mummy cuddles :D)

It's nice to see all the hard work paying off trying to educate him to safely live a allergy life.
Now he has started Sunday school and is attending places with his peers where unsafe food is being eaten, it's very important that Declan knows to always ask about food before touching and eating.

Now that his sister has a Play Kitchen and play foods (safe and unsafe) it's interesting to hear their little conversations and questions when playing about "pretend eggs" and comments like "Thalia, what do we do with eggs and nuts? I think we should put the eggs over here away from the other food so we can keep away".

It makes me happy to see
1. that they are playing nicely together
2. they are enjoying pretend play with the new kitchen and food
3. they both have an understanding of unsafe and safe foods and their allergies
4. they remind each other and others of food issues though both pretend play and real life circumstance's.
5. they are able to learn about allergies through play and enjoy it.

Amen to allergy awareness! :D

"My beautiful BIG world!"

The other day, for some creative indoor playtime I brainstormed with my nearly 2 year old what to play with.

It was way too hot outside  and the kids were in need of some down time.

After much consideration and a biscuit she declared that she wanted to play with horsies (horses).

My brother had given her a set of little plastic horses last year so out they came, we found bits and pieces from around the house to make them a nice home as shown in the photo above.

* blue felt sheet for the ocean

*yellow felt sheet for the sand

*green felt sheet for the grass

*3 very different shells for the sand (spiky, smooth and pointy, white, speckled and brown)

out of our bathroom.

*a small blue container lid for the horses drinking water

*some light brown wool for a hay bale

*2 wooden trays that I picked up from an opp shop last year that make great animal pens

(at 80c and 50c)

*horse set (12 horses, a tree, stables and the horse head lid of the horse container that soon became a horse land rock :P

 Both Declan and Thalia became very involved as the scene was created and both had a say in where things ought to go.

It wasn't long before Declan picked up a shell and asked "Mummy, can I hear the beach in this shell?"...too cute

It soon became a shell listening experience and remembering things about when we went to the beach and what it was like.

After the horses had a tour of the beach, the hay bale was shared around so all the horses had some lunch and each horse had their turn at the drinking water....some of the horses started falling down with all the little hands moving in their land.

Declan decided that "they must be tired Mummy, they need to sleep!".

Some horses got moved to the stables, some in the pens and some said they didn't need a nap at all.

Declan's latest prized possession, a plastic crocodile from Dream world that he named crunch and now sleeps with...soon made his way into the nice cool water.

Declan informed the horses that he was a friendly crocodile and would be nice.

Soon declan started thinking more about the beach and quickly went to the toy box to get some more creatures.

Out came the "deep  sea creatures". Sharks, whales, a crab, seals and land creatures too. Chickens, a goose, sheep, donkeys, a duck, a dog and so on.

We were soon singing Old McDonald's farm taking turns naming the animals in play. Thalia lost interest and went to draw with Daddy but Declan was amazed at this little world.

During play and animals chatting to each other, Declan proudly declared this world "my Big beautiful world!"

It was a great experience for all involved and well worth the little effort of finding a few odd and ends to start the kids imagination go wild! They soon completed their own beautiful world, learning all sorts of things in the process.....the process not the product was where the magic was.

Below is a photo of Declan proudly lying down next to his "beautiful BIG world" :D

I recently found a face book page that creates and sells imaginative play sets that inspire play and promote children's natural sense of wonder...using mostly recycled, re purposed and homemade.

If your interested check them out at Homemade rainbows

"PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" Chocolate Cake

 For part of the school holidays we had my niece and nephew stay with us from nsw.
Amongst the drama of the floods (our house was not affected),Mum and I trying to update various Tuckie sites with flood and road information, trying to entertain two toddlers and two teenagers... I had a birthday cake to make.

My nephew was turning 15 and what better cake to make than a yummy Chocolate cake that isn't only quick and easy to make but it's also safe for my kids! not to mention it's one of the best chocolate cake recipes I've seen and eaten.


Thanks to a friend who passed on the recipe found here at HERSHEY'S PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" Chocolate cake

To make it allergy friendly you just need to twig a few ingredient's depending what allergies your catering for.

• Egg free: Simply use an egg re placer such as 'orgran no egg" instead of egg
• Nut free: Use Nestle's baking Co coa
• Dairy free: Use dairy alternative such as rice milk or 'darifree' from allergy friendly foods and use nuttlex instead of butter for the frosting.

I'm not sure how it would turn out with gluten free cake but it's worth a try, let me know if you have a go.

We all enjoyed this chocolate cake to the max, the texture of a gorgeous mud cake and the taste to match.
Share the love and get baking! :)

Here is a pic of my nephew and his cake,
it's not the most attractive attempt but it tasted like heaven.

Vintage doll cot bargin :)

Just before Christmas, I strolled through a local opp shop looking for any interesting things and was thrilled when I came across this beautiful old style wooden doll cot for all of $6!!!!

I love that my little girl will now be able to enjoy the experience of having her very own vintage doll cot for play, something you just don't see in the shops these days.

It's solid wood and obviously built by someone rather than being mass produced. When gently pushed it rocks to lull the doll to sleep :D
No batteries or plastic included :P SOLD!!

My little girl has not seen the cot just yet as I need to sand it back,give it a repaint to clean it up and give it a little face lift.
Seeing as her birthday is at the beginning of feb and she will be given a gorgeous new doll from a relative, it's the perfect timing to get it ready for the big reveal.

I can't wait to see the expression on her little pixie face when she sees this lovely treasure.

Tuna and Pasta mornay

Tuna and Pasta Mornay
(Nut free, egg free)

Before we started on the elimination diet I used to make a mean Tuna mornay that was so easy to make and became a fave for my little munchkins.
I have finally come up with a tuna mornay recipe that everyone in our little family is happy with, that suits the munchkins new diet. It's so quick and easy and freezes well too!!

Preparation time:10 min
Total cooking time: 10-15 min
Serves 4
Storage time: Sauce can be made a day ahead. Store, covered, in refrigerator. Cook pasta and reheat sauce just before serving.
Variations: Use Salmon instead of tuna (fresh or canned),
you could also add heated  corn kernels to the mix for a bit of a change.

• 400g of your choice of pasta (I use organic pasta)
• 30g butter ( I used nuttlex)
• 6 shallots, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1 tablespoon of plain flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon Lemon juice (I make citric lemon juice: dissolve 1 tsp sugar in 4 tbsp warm water.Then add 3/4 tsp citric acid. Remember to only use 1 tbsp for the recipe! the rest can be refrigerated for later use)
• 425g can of tuna in brine, drained, flaked.
• 1/2 cup of chopped parsley
• salt to taste

1. Add pasta to a large pan of rapidly boiling water to cook until tender.(when tender, drain)
2. While pasta is cooking, melt butter in a medium pan; add shallots and garlic. Stir over a low heat for 3 min or until tender. Add flour and stir for 1 min.
3. Combine milk, sour cream and lemon juice in a jug. Add gradually to shallot mixture, stirring constantly. Stir over a medium heat for 3 min or until mixture boils and thickens.
4. Add tuna and parsley to pan; stir through for 1 min or until heated through. Turn hotplate off.
5. Add drained pasta to pan, stir until well combined. Season with salt before serving.

A Fairy Painting for my little Fairy :)

Thalia checking out what mummy painted up for her room! :D

 Back in May of last year I blogged about a project I was scheming for my little girl.
Click here if you want to read the post for some background.

I am very pleased to say that the first of three fairy painting's is finished!!!!!!
I didn't think it would take me this long at all... but when you factor in child wrangling, tafe study, volunteer work, allergy cooking, time for Daddy, me being a perfectionist and simply time...then the time frame seems a little more realistic and acceptable :P

Thalia loves her painting and is quite happy to have it hanging in her room very soon.

I have vague idea's for the next two paintings so I guess time will tell how they go and when they will be finished.

In the close up photo to the left you can't see the writing on the green book, as the camera didn't pick it up due to the paint glaze over the top.
The writing says 'Thalia - A Fairies Tale'

Thalia's little world is changing so much at the moment, we are currently making the normal party preparations for her 2nd birthday next month, her big bed arrives next month, undies have been brought and will be introduced soon....all after a busy Christmas, New years and Festive season!
Oh and not to mention 7 new bubba friends due to be born in the next 2 months.....excitement plus :D

* My Little Fairy *
photo taken May 2010