Photos by Phillippa

I received the disk of photos yesterday. Unfortunately on the day the photos were taken, Ella and Charlotte were unable to be in the same room as each other without kicking, biting, pinching, pushing and yelling at each other, let alone actually being photographed lovingly together. So only managed one photo of all 3 girls...

A perfect day

It started with waking at 6:10 this morning and realising that Lucy had slept right through from 10pm, then when I got her up to feed she grinned at me for the first time - one of those beautiful whole face smiles with shiny eyes that only a newborn can do. She fed and went back to sleep and so did I, until 8:30 when Charlotte woke. Raff and Ella were already on their way to school.
My beautifully well-behaved helpful Charlotte was back after a fairly turbulent month, so we went for a walk down the street. It was one of those beautiful winter days with blue skies and just a touch of spring on the breeze. I was feeling very grateful for my bodies ability to heal and loved getting out and stretching the old muscles again.
Lucy slept most of our excursion except for a brief awakening to jump on the scales for a weigh in. She now weighs a beautifully chubby 5.3kg.
Charlotte and I sat on a step on Adelaide Road and watched the cars go by. Charlotte with her dried mango, me with my apple and Lucy with her breastmilk.
I achieved everything on my list today which always feels good.
I had a cup of tea with my mum.
I had my first night putting the girls all to bed by myself, as Raff had a meeting to go to, and it went swimmingly. Charlotte asleep at 6:30, Ella asleep at 7 and Lucy has slept most of the evening, which sure beats last nights screaming match...
My husband came home with a $900 phone that he won.
Life is good.

A rather spotty, yet still beautiful Lucy - she will be 4 weeks old in two days!

A step away

Ella started school today. She loved it! She was super impressed that she learnt something new on her very first day, too (the Indonesian word for spider!)
She had a nervous start and the first photo that I have put up doesn't quite show the extent of the death grip that she had on Charlotte's hand.
She was so brave though, and didn't look back once she gave us all a super big squeezy hug (I didn't think she was going to let go of Charlotte, she held on for that tight for that long)
I got to her classroom early to pick her up this afternoon and her class was still over in the Indonseian room. I watched her walking back across the yard surrounded by her classmates and in that moment had a flash of me as an outsider peeking in on her world, rather than being the centre of it *waah* She still needs me, right?

Straight after school drop off I met a few of the mums from my Mother's Group so that we could all have a coffee, a chat and a cry about our babies starting school. Those women have been wonderful companions over the last five years. I think my journey into motherhood would have been just that little bit harder and a touch more lonely if I didn't have them all there to share the highs and lows. We have all learnt a little bit off each other here and there, but probably moreso we have all cemented our own way of parenting and been able to confidently do so without being judged.
We are an interesting mix, and I am unsure that we would have all gotten along so well in any other setting. It seems odd that the only link is that we all had our first children in mid 2002. Ella was 10 weeks old when we all met and it has been a privilege to share her and her nuances with these great women. (Miss you, Jacki!!!)
Our monthly child free dinners have always left me feeling reassured that most behavioural things with children are generally age appropriate and pass by so quickly in the grand scheme of things. I mean, really, now that she is five, can I even remember that crazy frustrating fight to get her to lay still to put a nappy on? Or the constant, constant breastfeeding? The thought that she would never sleep anywhere other than tucked up in my (rather sore!) arms? The horror that she was in the car - oh, the screaming! -? The pain of labour? The euphoria of birth? The hopelessness of non-stop crying?(mine, not hers) The emptied out Tupperware cupboards and bookshelves - again? The weaning? The mess of solids? The vomiting?

Will I ever forget the milky smell? The softness of her baby hair? The first successful breastfeed? The snuggles in bed? Her first steps? Her first giggles? The bliss of watching a sleeping baby?

Aah, thank goodness for little sisters! I get to do it all over again.

Our Lucy

Yep, totally slack over here, but 3 weeks and one day ago our Lucy was born.
My mum has blogged brilliantly about it @ spendingyourinheritance.blogspot.com . One day I will get my head around it all and write it all down, for now it is enough that Lucy is with us safe and sound. She really is a glorious baby. I am totally unbiased in saying that she is gorgeously perfect in every way. From the Stomaci head of hair to the Stomaci love of sleep!
Our older girls are infatuated. The honeymoon is nowhere near over.
I had an online friend take some photos of my girls on Wednesday. She is mailing the disk out to me, so I hope to have some great photos to put up very soon.

This is just one of Charlotte and Lucy. It totally captures how enamoured Charlotte is with 'Little sister Lucy' as she calls her all day long.

We haven't been doing much other than existing. I can't wait until our loungeroom is finished so that I can put up photos. I love that room so much.

Ella had her 5th birthday and mum took her to see Cirque du Soleil. She really enjoyed the outing.

Our Lucy

Ella on her birthday

Ella at Cirque du soleil