Third Baby Syndrome

Our third baby is our cruisy baby - finally! She only has moments of intenseness and it's usually pretty easy to convince her that everything's okay and she can chill out.  I know that she is just naturally inclined that way but she also has no option - I simply don't have any time or energy to deal with another difficult baby.  
I am very grateful though because if she had any tendency towards being a stressed, wound up baby we have plenty of reasons (namely two.....) for her to get stressed and wound up around here - her siblings do LOVE her as much as they can.
We are also a lot more relaxed as parents - and like the 'chicken and the egg' I'm not sure which came first - the chilled baby or the chilled parents.  Most likely a combination of the two.  
The dummies don't get washed as much, she gets to sleep in our bed a little more often, we don't move her away when she can see the tv, and we let her try chocolate before she was one....

 and she seems to be surviving.

The girl in the red dress.

I was dishing tea up on Wednesday when I turned around and saw a gorgeous wee girl standing next to me.  She was about 3 years old.  She wore a beautiful little dress.

"Hello - what's your name?" I asked and she just smiled.
"Where are you from?"...another smile...
"Does your mum know where you are?" She shakes her head and walks past me and down our hallway.  She hunts out where the toys are and sits down in front of Zoe's dollhouse and starts playing.  
The neighbour has been having a bit of a get together that afternoon so I assume that she's come from there...
"Have you been next door at Stacey's* house?"...nods head...."Is you Mum there?"...another nod.
"What's  your name sweetheart?" 
"Kya"
I get her to choose something to take with her and then take her back next door. Her Mum hasn't noticed that she was missing.  As I am talking to Stacey a partygoer gestures to her that it's time to go in and do drugs so she awkwardly finishes the conversation and heads in. 

I am haunted by Kya.    
I wonder what her life is like.

Boys....

There are just some things I don't understand about how boys minds work, like today when we were cleaning out the garage Hamish found the bicycle pump.  
So what was the first thing he thought of to do with it? 

With a cheeky grin he popped it down the front of his shorts and started pumping and cackling!

Back home....

It's always a little strange coming back after being on holiday.  The first thing I always do is sort through the kids toys and get a heap of the unplayed with ones sorted to give away - I find it a good time to do this for two reasons...first, to make room for all the new pressies and second, they usually can't remember what they had so don't miss the ones I take!

I deliberately tried to give preloved or nz made this Xmas- my two favourites - a pair of preloved rollerskates for Zoe and a bunch of secondhand scarves for Erin.