Rosie, at 22 months old, playing in the garden. This is quite a cute video and I thought the family in England would enjoy it. She's a right little character now. So adorable though!
This is just the cutest video. At Centra in Banbridge they have little kiddie sized trollies. This was the very first time Rosie discovered them, and she can now walk well enough to push one around for me. We filled it with bread and milk, and she thought she was a proper little Mummy. What is nice to see is how the eldest two really watch out for her, and protect her.
At 18 months Rosie is following in the shoes of her eldest brother and sister who all learnt to walk at this age. She has just learnt to stand alone and is loving it! But she has her own unique way of walking - rather than actually taking real steps! haha. I don't think it will be long before she's toddling about though. What do you think?
Rosie, now 18 months, discovered the web cam on the laptop today and was fascinated by the baby she could see on screen!
I just wanted to post this photo of Rosie who is nine months old today. She has the most beautiful eyes, and the cuddliest cheeks! She has just cut her first tooth today. I just love this photo. I just love her so much.
I wanted to post a photo of the charm necklace that was made on Rosie’s naming day. It has charms with wishes from all her family and friends. There are a couple more still to arrive (three, I think – there’s just about room for them!) It is an 18 inch necklace and it’s pretty heavy now. She is one lucky girl.
Barneys first day back at school went pretty well in the end. He was totally nervous, and anxious, but managed not to have a panic attack. Writing the letter to his school teacher himself (see post below) really seemed to help. In future I shall try this method with him to see if it helps calm him in other situations.
He loved his teacher. So much so that he came home and made a present for her! He got a box (the one our new kettle came in) and painted it, then stuck gold paper, lolly sticks and red glitter all over it. It was pretty big, and very colourful. Today he took it into school with him, and the teacher must have liked it because he came home with a special sticker and a Pirates of the Caribbean light up pen! He has had a few nervous outbursts at school where he has started to panic and felt sick (when moving rooms or going to assembly etc) but the teacher has managed to calm him down pretty well. She lets him sit with her in assembly. Barney says she lets him do anything he likes. He is very impressed!
I was also impressed as she phoned us after his first day of school to let us know how he got on. I am going in on Friday to speak with her. So far so good.
To make it even lovelier, my dearest friend from school days came over for the weekend to celebrate with us. It was just so lovely to have her here. Barney totally fell in love with her and talked the ears off her. He is really missing her now that she’s gone.
Everyone put so much effort into making the day run smoothly. My Mum let us use her huge house out in the countryside, which was the perfect location, surrounded by cows, sheep and horses. The kids all enjoyed running around the fields together. My sister Jenny re-iced and decorated Hannah & David’s remaining tier of wedding cake. As always she did an awesome job. Rosie was very impressed with her cake and just wanted to get her hands all over it!
Hannah, Steve and Mum cooked some really tasty food, and others made deserts. I hear Maddi’s
pavlova’s were really nice, and Anna’s buns were delicious, and a real hit with the kids! (And big kids!) Jenny’s girls made a bannoffi which I can testify was just scrumptious! Aunty Maddi made Rosie the best sign which was erected outside so that people knew which house to come to. She put a lot of effort into that sign. So glad I asked her, since I was just going to get an old sheet and some house paint, which wouldn’t have achieved a very classy look! I did make a little display of some of Rosie’s photos and some little things from her life so far… he hospital bracelet, first baby shoes, etc. We put that on the table with the wishes book and charm necklace.
I wanted the ceremony to be quite relaxed and chilled. We had planned to hold it outdoors but we have had such a terrible summer that it was just too wet. But Mum’s living room was big enough for everyone. The family sat in the middle of the room on the two sofa’s and the guests sat around that on chairs. My brother in law, David, ran the ceremony for us and did a great job. He was really personable, and it was lovely to have a member of the family involved like that, rather than a celebrant who none of us knew. It felt more homely and sincere.
The ceremony itself was only about 30 minutes long. David explained what a naming ceremony was and why we wanted to have one. He read out a poem about parenting that I had chosen. Then he asked everyone to come up one by one to add their charms to Rosie’s necklace, starting with her siblings. Badger made several touching wishes for his baby sister, which showed his maturity. He wished her to fulfil any ambitions that she has, to get married and have a family of her own, that she would be smart and beautiful, and that she would live peacefully in the way that she wishes to. Badger’s charm to Rosie was an angel. Tarja’s wish was that her beauty would never fade, and she chose a beautiful black glass bead with pink roses painted onto it. Little Barney said ‘I wish that you would have a happy and a stronger life’ as he placed his pink heart charm onto the necklace. I was so proud that he got up and said it aloud like that. He also took it upon himself to film the entire 30 minutes of service on my camera! That should be some viewing! It was quite funny as when people were saying their wishes etc he kept going up to them real close with the camera and making them giggle.
Every family member got up to say their wish for Rosie and placed on their charms, including me and Marty. Then our friends did the same. If Rosie develops everything that has been wished for her she will grow to be one amazing individual! I was very touched by the different wishes. People had really a put a lot of thought into it.
Marty and I made some promises to Rosie, as did her two guardians and her Grandmother. The guardians, Aunty Maddi and Aunty Hannah, wrote their own promises to her. I was almost in tears when they read them out. They both reflected their own personalities, and they had both clearly spent a lot of time really thinking about how they would like to make a difference in Rosie’s life. Everyone was clearly very moved by their promises. I can’t help but think what a lucky girl Rosie is.
Maddi, Badger and I performed Rosie’s special song. Anyone who reads the blog regularly will know what that is! I sang it with Maddi singing the harmony and playing guitar, and with Badger on the bongos. He did a great job, and Rosie joined in with him at one point as assistant bongo-er, which made everyone laugh. She clearly liked her song and was wriggling away to the rhythm.
All in all the ceremony was, in my opinion, a really moving, precious experience. And it was followed by lots and lots of glorious food, drink and good company! Rosie was a star throughout, despite missing her nap and being totally exhausted. Barney was a happy chappy since his best mate from school came too.
There are lots more photos. I think that you can click the link below to see them (it’s a new blogging feature that I haven’t used before!) I want to say a HUUUUUGE thankyou to everyone who came. Every single person there made it a special event. I personally was deeply moved by everyone’s kindness. Rosie has a beautiful necklace full of memories and a book filled with good wishes that she can treasure for the rest of her life.
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