Recent Ivy-ism's

I got a text from Anna asking if I'd ask Ivy if she'd like to help Anna make biscuits when we go round for a playdate on Sunday. Ivy smiled and said "Ooooh! Anna help a biscuits!". Throughout the day Ivy kept asking me "Anna Josh out?", and at one point when I was looking at my phone she asked "Texting baby Eve?".

.........................................

I was about to put my mug of tea down on the table when Ivy said urgently "Mummy! Mummy!" and handed me a coaster!

........................................

When asked "What makes you happy?" Ivy says "Mummy makes Ivy happy". And I didn't even teach her to say that!

...........................................

When I was getting Ivy to bed, and she was chattering sleepily, she said "Everyone haff a nose. Danny [Granny] haff a nose, like Ivy". Deep realisations about the world :P

............................................

When eating fish pie that I'd made. "Ivy like it a fish pie." And commenting on cows milk "Cow from a milk".

...........................................

While watching Olympic diving "Man uhoh... man uhoh... man uhoh. Man wet!"

.........................................

She is in love with her Kipper DVD that she got for her birthday, and is often quoting that, or telling me what Kipper said, or asking me to sing the song. She has said "Kipper better than Daddy and Mummy."

............................................

Moments

A few moments recently that I want to remember...

Ivy going out for an afternoon with Grandad and Charlie, backpack on and snack bag in hand, waving and saying "Bye bye Mummy!" with a beautiful smile on her face. It makes me so happy to see her confident and excited to spend time with the special adults in her life. I feel so grateful that we have these people, and feel like I have done something right for her to be so comfortable leaving me. I love hearing about the adventures they have (and if I'm lucky seeing photos!).

Ivy in the garden wearing her wellies, with her apple and milk, watching the builders with total fascination  Me watching her from inside while I hang up laundry. Another moment of feeling happy that she can feel comfortable without me, and how useful it is when there are those boring but necessary things to do. She also found a stick.

Ivy and I in a cafe, Ivy drawing, and for the first time she tells me what she is drawing (without any prompting).
"Apples! Apples! Apples!"
"Are you drawing apples, Ivy?"
"Drawing apples!"
I'll be honest, it didn't look like apples. It looked very much not at all like apples. It looked like blue zig zag lines.
"Wow, are you drawing round apples Ivy?"
Excitedly "Round apples!"
And then she did, she drew a curve. She knows what round means, and then she realised that she could actually do it. Gradually with lots of praise and more reminders of "Are you drawing round apples?" she drew lots of curves that even met to resemble circles. She was very excited by this, and then went on to draw a "Suma" (satsuma) and "manges" (mangoes). I even took photos.

You can also see on the other sheet of paper that she discovered painting with coffee. Hmm...

Ivy's first full English breakfast!

We went out for anniversary brunch, to the farm (we are so romantic like that!). Ivy just sat and ate her food, and we sat and enjoyed conversation with each other. At one point Ivy turned to me and said "Mummeeeey!" and you could tell from her voice that she was smiling, it was almost as if she was laughing my name. I replied "Iveeeeey!" in the same way and she was just so adorable that I couldn't not hold cup her face with my hand and kiss her cheek. She said "Mummeeey!" again, so I replied "Iveeeey!" and kissed her forehead, and we just carried on like that.

I noticed an oldish couple watching and smiling and I thought "they can see the love". And I could feel the love from Ivy in the way she was looking at me and saying my name.

Day 8: three inspirational quotes

"Everything you want is just outside your comfort zone"
~ Robert Allen

"The universe rewards action"
~ Unknown

"We have a secret in our culture, and it's not that birth is painful. It's that women are strong."
~ Laura Stavoe Harm.

These first two quotes were real lightbulb moments for me. They challenged me and pushed me to put my doula training into practice. But they have also inspired me in other areas of my life. I think the fact that I stepped outside of my comfort zone and into the unknown but exciting world of working as a birth doula, and that fact that it was hugely successful and rewarding and incredible, inspired me to generally take charge of my life. Live the life I want to live, be the person I want to be, make my own happiness. It has been incredible empowering to discover this. I painted the first quote as part of Creative June (and with Creative June being a bit of getting on and doing what makes me happy, and fittingly with June being the month of my very first birth as a doula) with the intention of framing to hang in our house for continued inspiration for me and hopefully other people as well.

And the third quote... well, it's so true. I have seen more strength than I could have imagined possible with the women I have worked with. We are truly incredible, and it has been such an honour to see that first hand.