Three point five

Self-portrait. Pretty Valley, 10 January 2018. 

Life at 3.5.

• Tintin is the best and she talks about going to Kathmandu. Totally understood and was compelled by the story of the Yeti.
• Rides with training wheels and riding gloves. Loves going fast. Good using her brakes. Hasn't practised scooter yet.
• Sleeps through. Sleeps great in tent.
• Mostly wet nappies, overnight, but desperately wants to rid them. Not yet.
• Lately gets sore tummy and gets upset and distracted by it. Joy when a poo comes.
• Great at remembering directions, landmarks, where to turn.
• Tells us she loves us.
• Gets a little sweaty head. We're so glad her hair got cut.
• Loves princesses and talks about magic. Occasionally puts spells on us when angry!
• Gives excellent hugs and hangs on so tight with feet and legs when carried.
• Everything has to be negotiated. She has her own ideas about how things should be.
• Started to get noticeably physically stronger.
• Doesn't deal with sugar very well. Usually sends her loopy.

33 or just say nearly 3

Milla at 33 months

• Monologue stories, with great imaginative flourishes and crushingly strange realities, tales that go on and on, for thirty, forty minutes...  
• Still loves 'rabbits', a great incentive for good behaviour.  
• Moved into 'Joey' room at childcare and is SO PROUD. 
• Lots of friends - Nina the koala, sloth, ratty, Alpi, Ruby, Bun Buns. Nina was named by Milla, came free with our new mattress, is very soft and a favourite at the moment. 
• So fast and confident on balance bike. 
• Started to swing with great confidence, using her whole body. Will swing off any pol or bike rack she can find as we walk along the street.  
• So good with lego! Very patient, knows where and how to check the instructions, can find at match pieces quickly, never gets frustrated, is very methodical. 
• Started watching pop video clips, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift and the like. A big departure from her 90 rock education... 
• Very quickly trained on the 4 digit code to unlock gadget screen, was asked hours later (while scrubbing walls!) what the numbers were and she told me, very clearly and thoughtfully. 

Meanwhile, my Papa has passed away, my heart fills with gratitude that Milla met him and had meaningful time with him before he passed. I know that it's unlikely she'll recall any of it, as I don't remember my grandmother who passed when I was six months younger than Milla. 

Meanwhile also, we grew so tired of tantrums that we returned early from Easter camping in the Bogong High Plains. Great, theatrical, persistent, seemingly non-ending, tireless, tiring, boring, pointless, petty tantrums. And embarrassing.

30 months and a long time in the tent

It took more than ten days for Milla to ask about home. We were on the road, camping and adventuring and there was no mention of home, Alpi or screentime. We had fourteen nights away all up, final two nights in a house but 12 nights in the tent. Longest continuous camping ever I reckon.

Cape Conran campsite pack up 31 December. 2.5 years old. 

Milla at thirty months:

• Converses! Can talk and talk. Drops words into sentences like 'different' and 'wheelchair' and 'true'... and 'actually' is how she starts many sentences!! 
• Very tender with her cousin Solomon... Says his name 'Somolon'. Gazes at his pictures and says 'ohhh he's soooo cute'. 
• Bedtime routine is milk, teeth, pjs, some books, with an episode of Peter Rabbit somewhere in there as an incentive: usually with milk, sometime also after teeth. Teeth can sometime be a battle resulting in a smacked hand by Charlie.
• Still has a nighttime nappy, that is quite wet most mornings.
• Loves to exercise! Karate, dancing, somersaults recently, lunges, push ups and jumping.
• Can open her bedroom door, and ours. Gets up and comes into our room - but at a mercifully reasonable hour. 
• Calls our bluff when we ask her where the plot is!  "Here it is!" with an imaginary thing in her hand. 
• Can spell out the letters of her name! Can write M - i - l - l - under supervision.  
• Very confident swimmer.  
• Met her paternal great-grandmother.
• Tantrums.
• Tantrums.
• Tantrums.

29 months

Twenty-nine months and gorgeous, wilful, wonderful, frustrating. Long long hair.
Exercise routine in evenings, involving piles of couch cushions.
Corrected her own grammar.
Still likes orange.
Very matter-of-fact lectures from her.
Incentivised by an 11 minute episode of Peter Rabbit on the gadget at bedtime.
Lately heads off to bed without kisses, cuddles or being carried (not even Alpi last night!).
Loves the idea of birthdays.
Sometimes doesn't eat any dinner. At all.
Counts to eleven but skips ten.
Bragging about legs getting big and strong: "look at my muscles, Mummy!".

Back to Chorki, watching the mountains.

Spent three nights back up at Falls Creek, had company this time, a playmate for Milla, and for each of us. It was lovely, as always. Snowed on Sunday morning. Rides for everyone and a walk in the snow. Milla chatting in Charlie's ear in the Bambino carrier. I got chased by a magpie on my solo ride. Nearly clotheslined myself on the dam wall bridge as we didn't realise the gate would still be shut. Found that speccy waterhole I saw in photos. Thinking out the next visit, of course, always.

4/52

Good morning face. 

Wakes so happy. Going to bed earlier. Tomato harvesting gets her out of bed. Both Alpi and doll into bed with her. Still those big lips. More of a neck everyday.

Camping on the weekend, back near the Howqua where we'd taken tiny baby Milla at nine weeks old, Charlie's first Father's Day. She was one of many kids in the busy holiday weekend campground. Something we would have hated in the past as camping snobs... Horses camped nearby, noisy cockatoos waking us early, ducks in a brace parading.

We had two helpers, Charlie decided a ratio of 4:1 is perfect. Milla slept well both nights, we arrived Friday night to camp at 10pm. Hiked both days, Charlie rode up Buller twice and the weather was insanely good, much better than the forecast had me thinking. I should have brought swimmers.