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Wellington, New Zealand
welcome to my corner of the blog world! i love step, boxing, zumba, scrapbooking, photography, watching movies, walking the hills of my suburb, my family, and life in wellington. take some time to have a look around and be sure to say hi!

Friday, September 12, 2008

photostory friday - two down, two to go

PhotoStory Friday
Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek


when i was pregnant with my first child, a mother of 3 tried to explain what it's like when you give birth to your 3rd. i still remember how she tried to explain, and how i didn't really 'get it' - until 7 years later when i had my 3rd child.

i won't try and explain here, but anyone who's given birth for the 3rd time (melinda, auntiegwen, amanda, cecily, mom of 3) - you know what i mean.

i had a 5 year gap between daughters 2 and 3, and it was like re-visiting an old friend. i've always been a fan of those 'first few weeks' and the third time around, it was just wonderful. having 7 and 5 year old helpers meant i could take a nap without the house falling in around my ears, and the baby slept in a bean bag in the middle of the family room for 3 weeks while life went on around her. at one point, DH said 'are you ever going to put her to bed?!' like i said, casual.

miss 11 (like miss 19), has made it through the last 11 years relatively unscathed. that is until this happened.

oh, i should say, if you don't want to see a toe that looks like it just went through the mincer, look away. ooops. too late. this is what happens when you take on a double piano stool. piano stool wins and you break your first bone - the 3rd metatarsal.

apart from that, it's pretty much been plain sailing, and when i mean plain sailing i MEAN plain sailing. that is until the hormones set up camp. if miss 11 was a cartoon character, she would be the one with thick black clouds above her head shooting streaks of thunder and torrential rain. she can go from sweetness and light to angry pre-teen faster than you can say 'dude, where's my car?'

you would think 3rd time around the puberty track i'd have it 'down', but they're all different. amen to that.

so without further ado, here's a few pictures of the most photogenic child IN THE WORLD!!!

1st and last days of primary (elementary school). check out how the fence shrunk lol...
i am so jealous she can wear hats
DH organising his trip to san fran on the morning of her birthday party. being a platinum frequent flyer means you get your very own personal shopper, so booking his fares the day before he left was a breeze
present opening - happy faces (and modelling new clothes). she is the EASIEST child to buy for
we took the girls to the "MAMMA MIA" movie singalong and decided to go in theme (why not?!) i bought these wigs and jangly belts in hong kong. hidden in a market, i found the BEST dress-up shop EVER!
junior dancing queensafter feeding the masses pizza, we played charades. i'll give you $100 if you can tell me which disney character tara's DH is trying to be!
ok, photos out of order.

during one of the kissing scenes, one of the girls was overhead to say "sheesh, haven't they done that - like 10,000 times already?" so cute.
'we wuz here'. those bloody dollar store feather boas SHED like nothing else!!!

happy 12th birthday! (and by the way, you are forbidden to turn 13 next year...)

36 comments:

Claremont First Ward said...

Wow.....amazing pictures, and looks like quite the party. :) Happy Birthday to your daughter.

Anonymous said...

what a fab great birthday celebration was had. Was Tara's dh trying to be Dumbo? Loved the wigs and belts, very cool.

scrappysue said...

you'd think it was dumbo wouldn't you? lol, but nope.

auntiegwen said...

Oh, I so wish me and my beautiful daughters were there, that looks brilliant fun !!!

A very Happy Birthday to Miss 12 !

hey, I have a really lovely 13 year old son, could we marry them off and then we'd be family ???

xxx

Paula Clare said...

SUCH FUN! Well, not so much the TOE, but everything else looked like a HOOT!

Having raised two boys (8 years apart) I have no understanding of the hormonal hurricane of which you speak...however, I DO know that age 13 is THE MOST obnoxious age for EITHER gender...been there, COUNSELED THAT. SO 12 is the relative calm before the storm...enjoy!

Happy Birthday to Miss 12!

Saz said...

thats a mega photo story friday post...well done....so full of LIFE!!

david mcmahon said...

Like you, my children are my life.

So simple.

Unknown said...

Looks like a good time!! I loved mamma mia, I can only imagine how fun the sing along version would be. :) Great photos and great photo story friday!!

Cecily R said...

I DO know what you mean about having a third baby. Gracie and Evie were five years apart too, and I completely agree with (and LOVE the imagery of) what you said about revisiting an old friend.

Great pictures. Sounds like a fantastic party. Happy birthday Miss 12!!!

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday to your daughter! My 3rd is turning 3 next week.

I totally understand what you mean about the 3rd kids. :)

MamaGeek @ Works For Us said...

What a fantastic party Sue. I LOVE the dancing queens - now THAT is classic!

Chris said...

Having never given birth (biology is an issue), I suppose I can't entirely relate. But we did wait four years between numbers two and three, and I was AMAZED at how much I had forgotten about the toll that a newborn takes on you.
Go ahead. Laugh. I'm sure it's a guy thing.

that girl said...

love the party theme..looks like fun!! sorry about the toe.

Anonymous said...

Ok, I can't get past the toe. Goodness that looks like it HURTS. Hope she otherwise had a terrific birthday!

Indrani said...

Major fun! Birthday Greetings to her.
My eldest too has turned 12 and I too wish time stands still and she never steps on to 13. :)

Anonymous said...

My absolute favorite are the school fence shots! I don't have a good measuring post for my kids, so they just look older and not necessarily taller. I joined PSF for the first time this week!

Anonymous said...

oooohhhh at the toe - looks nasty....

As for the charades.... Goofy... or tazmanian devil

Who knows!!!!1

Corey~living and loving said...

looks like a blast. :)
happy PSF!

Maggie May said...

Oooh! Toe looks painful.
Lovely photos. Don't they grow up fast?

Amanda said...

You should be a party organizer. Y'all have the best parties, ever!!
My favorite pics were the ones that were in front of the fence at primary school. They grow too fast, don't they?

tiarastantrums said...

SO MUCH FUN!!
I love this - I can't wait (well, maybe I can) for my little girls togrow up (not the hormornes, but all the other cute stuff)

Susan said...

Love these pictures, especially the dancing queen costumes. Looks like a fabulous time.
Happy Birthday to your "little" one.

gigi said...

I love your photo stories! Theay are the best! You sure have one beautiful family and I love miss 12's freckels she is sure a beautiful girl.

Kristi Smith said...

That looked like great fun, Sue! I bet she had a blast, as it looks like you all did!!!

the mama bird diaries said...

Happy birthday to your daughter!

Oh, that toe!

Melinda said...

You truly have the most fun looking parties at your place. Those are some lucky girlies you have got there! As for the Disney character lets say maybe he was trying to be one of seven dwarfs- really have no clue here.

Anonymous said...

Okay I love a challenge (though you really do not have to send me the $100)-- I think your husband looks like the Mad Hatter and my husband's guess is Stitch.
I love how you have documented things so well- gives me inspiration to make sure I keep doing it for each child (ps I am 13 wks with #3), not just good for #1!

Karin said...

Great collection of pics!

Working Mum said...

Yet more great photos. love the marshmallow cake - have to try that one. Happy Birthday miss 13!

Shellie said...

She's beautiful, and I love her moodiness, so pre teen, hang on to your hat, she WILL be 13. Looks like a great birthday.

scrappysue said...

hey heather - congratulations!!!! excellent news! that's not my husband, that's tara's husband lol. he was trying to be SHREK! so funny. his 5 year old son was meant to act it out but came over all shy, so tara's hubs did it, then mr 5 GUESSED, thinking he was supposed to! we all fell about laughing and he had no idea why. so cute.

Bren said...

What a fun party! I LOVE the dancing queens!!

Unknown said...

OUCH on the first. The rest are awesome!

Mandy said...

I just did that to my toe today! It still hurts!

tommie said...

What a fun party!!

Thanks for visiting my story. Happy weekend.

WheresMyAngels said...

Oh, I wish we would of seen Mama Mia in theme! That looks like such a blast.

The toe picture hurts!

Happy Late Birthday to your daughter.

Oh and Angie, the first commenter. She gets around doesn't she!! lol