To dear Sebastian Jaya,
As always, time has slipped me by so quickly, and just like that we are head straight into a new year! 2018! I haven’t written to you since your 2nd birthday so I have a few months to fill you in on, before things start to slip my mind, it’s definitely been a busy time from leading up to Christmas and Christmas Day, your Dada’s birthday and the New Year. Yep. It’s been busy, to say the least.
Before I tell you what we’ve been up to, lets just take a minute to look at how much you have grown, little man. I feel that since you turned two, you have truly grown up so much, in leaps and bounds. I suddenly see a little boy who likes to help me around the house, and who is becoming so independent in so many ways. Everything has grown; your hair has grown and is so long now {Your little man bun is sooo cute! That’s when you let me do your hair!}, your legs have got longer, and your vocabulary has also grown. New words nearly every day now! Your determination and persistence have also grown…grown stronger. The tantrums are real! You really are a force to be reckoned with little man. You know what you want and when you want it and negotiations are tough and they’re quite a long ordeal. {I have no idea where you get this stubbornness from?!} And yet on the flip-side, your affections have also grown, you love giving hugs and you come up close and say ‘ahhh’ and wait for a hug. And you’ll run from Dada to me giving us both equal hugs. Such a Libran. And just the other day {perhaps the end of January} you gave me my first kiss on the cheek. My heart totally melted.
And right now at 2 years and 3 months old, you are super cute Seb. Turning into your own little self, and still funny and cheeky, of course! You are quite shy and quiet when meeting people for the first time but it takes you a whole of five minutes to come out of your shell and make friends. You’re quite the entertainer, you love a good audience and especially a big round of applause, which you usually instigate. You are loud, very loud, little man, but you also have your quiet moments too. And you are growing up way too fast for my liking!
Now, let me tell you all about Christmas 2017. Your Dada was dead-set determined that we needed a Christmas tree this year…so off we went to get a Christmas tree, however we were pretty late with this venture and as there was a sale on at the time, all the Christmas trees were almost all sold out…we ended up with a white Christmas tree, which I wasn’t too sure about in the beginning but I grew to love it. We decorated it together and you put the Angel on top of the tree for the first time ever.
Your Dada also insisted that we needed lights so then he did the lights! Oh wow! You absolutely loved the Christmas tree, Seb. One night, we did a light show for you…oh my goodness… you were so fascinated with the changing flashing lights, you just LOVED it! {*And your Dada just set a pretty high standard for Christmas tree light shows for future years to come! ;)}
We had a lovely Christmas Day, it’s just so special to experience Christmas through your eyes, Sebastian. So much joy and wonderment. Upon waking, you explored your Santa sack full to the brim with presents and after playing with some of your new them for a short time, we busily got ready to head off to spend the day with your Gran and Pop-pop. You were totally spoilt {of course!} and you amazed us all by suddenly being able to open presents, you confidently ripped at the wrapping paper and peeked into each present you received. Your absolute FAVOURITE Christmas present was the wooden ’95-piece Train Set’ from your Gran and Pop.
It was a quiet one as usual, but it’s just the way I like it, just our little family. And that’s all I need on Christmas Day…to be spending time with my little family. The traditions of gift giving and seeing joy and surprise on loved one’s faces, a delicious roast turkey with all the trimmings, desserts and chocolates, and cherries and just time to relax with loved ones…this is Christmas. And considering your Gran almost burnt the house down apparently flames were coming out of the oven, she said; “It was just like out of a movie!” – I’m very grateful to spend the day with family AND a roof over our heads!
We returned home in the early evening exhausted from a big day out, however there were still presents for you to open under our Christmas tree {that we didn’t get to in the morning} and so the unwrapping of presents began again before it was bath and bed time for you little man, a very tired little man who had a very happy Christmas Day.
Three days after Christmas, it was your Dada’s birthday {and of course, Aunty Heidi’s birthday too!} – a double birthday celebration! And it’s almost like a bonus day after Christmas, to spend more time with family and eat and drink some more! We celebrated at home, with a cheese platter {of course!}, Moreton Bay Bugs piled high, fresh King Prawns and salad. And not to be forgotten, the all important birthday chocolate cake. You enjoyed the birthday afternoon little man, partaking in the platter crackers, the popcorn and the bowl of lollies, and opening your Christmas presents from Aunty Heidi and Uncle Nath. You also had a good go at stealing all the chocolate off the chocolate cake!
And that leads us to New Years Eve, we had a quiet one, we put you to bed at your usual time, you needed rest after so many big days and late nights. Your Mama and Dada sat on the balcony and had some drinks and listened to some music and gazed at the stars. It was a beautiful balmy evening.
On New Years Day we had a slow morning and in the afternoon we took a long walk down to the St. Kilda Botanical Gardens and wandered around…it was really nice. And all I felt was gratitude for my little family and where we live.
So far, this Summer has certainly been a hot one, we’ve had a few heatwaves and there’s more to come. You’ve handled the hot weather quite well, although some nights have been so stifling hot that we have got you up at around 10pm to give you a big drink of water and then we would all battle to fall asleep after that. And although it’s been hot, we’ve still managed to get out and about quite a bit.
So, with the start of a new year, we’ve also started some new routines with you, Seb. We’ve moved onto pull-up nappies {no more wrestling on the change table…yay! I think we’re both as happy as each other about this new change!} so that then, of course, prompted us to remove your change table, which has opened up your bedroom just that little bit more. You now have the whole window sill available to play with…you love playing with your cars and trains and fire engines along the windowsill in your bedroom.
We’ve also started a new morning routine; after breakfast {and a coffee for Mama!}, we go for a walk to the park early in the morning before the weather heats up, it’s really nice, the park is quiet and shaded with trees, and we listen to the birds while you swing and swing and swing. Oh, how you love the swing. We wander home again and then there’s time for you to have a short play {usually with your train set}, sometimes a sing-along on the iPad and a snack and then it’s nap time. You still generally have 1.5 – 2 hours sleep in the middle of the day. Well, mostly. Except for the days when you decide that you don’t want to sleep!
And most afternoons look like this! {Train set obsessed!}
We’ve also been going for walks down the beach in the early evening, after Dada gets home from work. The sun has gone down just that little bit, there’s a cool breeze blowing off the ocean {relief from those hot days!} and we wander along the beach taking in the sights on pretty summer evenings. The skies and the sunsets have been amazing this Summer! And rainbows! So many rainbows and double rainbows too due to the monsoon-like weather we’ve been having.
We also went along to the ‘Sunset Sounds’ at Central Park in East Malvern – The Bamboos were playing! It was a really nice night; the sun came out to shine, the music was good, you had a little dance and we had THE BEST tacos ever! What more could you want?!
Summer has been so nice, I really don’t want it to end. Park dates and Play-Doh. Train sets and stories. Balmy evenings and beach walks. And I think I’ll just extend our summer holidays and enjoy these moments just as they are. I have no current work so we have time together Seb, and I just want to focus on enjoying this time, right now in this moment because I know these moments won’t last forever.
And with all that said, Happy New Year Sebastian! You are my everything, little man, and you make every day in every year fill my heart with so much joy and love and gratitude. And I think that’s all I need to get through. A new year full of new adventures is ahead of us, and all I need is you holding onto my hand ever so tightly. Love you my little Sebby, always and forever.
Love Mama xxx
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