My first mother's day was spread over a number of days to make sure we didn't exhaust ourselves (I learnt that lesson from seeing my sister-in-law traipse around the countryside with a 6 week old last year!).
Last Thursday Lily and I went to visit my mum. I love getting together with my mum and seeing her interact with my daughter. The relationship that Lily already has with my mum is lovely. Mum makes funny faces and sings songs that I don't know, which Lily finds fascinating. To allow Lily the opportunity to know her nanna's voice I put mum on speaker when we have a chat on the phone. This seems to be working as you could see Lily's little eyes lit up when mum started speaking to her last week. Ahhh so lovely.
Both of my nannas passed away before I was born, therefore I unfortunately never really experienced that special relationship. That's what makes it all the more special for me to see Lily getting hugs and kisses from her nanna and creating a strong bond.
It is when we are together, and at other times with the extended family, that my heartstrings tug for the country life once more. The idea of being able to just drop into my mum's or my sister's without it being a 'planned' event is something I genuinely long for. When Wendy and Leonie (my sisters) were growing up, my mum's parents lived down the road (literally they lived on the same street) and would watch them after school some days, which I have always been very jealous of. I hope that Lily grows up with a sense of family and feels part of a pack.
It is very remiss of me but I failed to take any photos at mum's but here is a photo from a few weeks ago of Mum and Lily which I have stolen from my sister's blog (thanks Wendy xx). 
So that was one mum down. On Saturday we then headed down to Safety Bay to catch up with Dave's family. The day started early for me when I finally got a chance to go to the hairdressers. It has been almost 6 months since I last went, and for a person who at one point in time was going every 6 weeks (i.e. when I was a bottle blonde) it seems like a lifetime ago. With a new darker colour and a good trim I feel half human again. Now if Lily will give me more than 3 hours continuous sleep we might be on our way to some sort of normality.
Speaking of sleep, Lily was out to it by the time we arrived to see her grandparents, but soon perked up to enjoy some time on the swings with her Dad and cousin Aidan who is 9 months older than Lily and loves showing off his two front teeth!
The sunshine was lovely but the wind coming off the water was bone chilling. I really don't like the wind and I think Lily has inherited this dislike as she became quite unsettled. We therefore decided to retire back to Dave's parent's house to enjoy some afternoon tea and take some family photos. What a dilemma to get two bubs looking at the camera when there is no-one there to make the required monkey sounds!
Lily was nonplussed when I decided to try her headband on for size!
That then left the actual day itself. Dave got up and occupied the bub while I grabbed a rare extra half hour or so of sleep. I was then treated to bacon and eggs, which always taste better when prepared by someone else! Then came present time... We celebrated an anniversary earlier in the week and Dave gave me a charm for my 'pandoraesque' bracelet and to carry the theme through, for mother's day I received a lovely big jewellery box from my two loves! Since Lily came along I must admit that I have been rather unorganised when it comes to the top of our tallboy, which houses my jewellery and our perfume/cologne collections. I'm not going to embarrass myself by posting a photo but lets just say it ain't pretty. The new box is great as it has lots of individual boxes to drop rings, necklaces etc into. I'll post some photos once I've organised it all, promise I will ;)
Later that day we went to Soda cafe for a late lunch/early dinner. Yes it is true, once you have a child you start eating at times akin to being a pensioner. Dave and I went to Soda late last year for his birthday and had one of the best meals I have ever eaten. The menu is great if you want to experiment with new tastes and textures. Saying this though, Dave and I played it safe by ordering seafood linguine and gnocchi respectively. Both dishes where so fresh and flavoursome, not too mention colourful. And I think the photos speak for themselves when it comes to taste! 
I would loved to have stayed for dessert as their selection is to die for but Lily was getting restless so we came home for chocolate ice creams which we had in the freezer, can't complain about that.
Phew, reading this back it sounds exhausting, but it was truly a lovely few days filled with lots of love from family and hugs and kisses from my little girl. It is a day I will never experience again, my first mother's day, and I could not have asked for anything more. I am so thankful for all the blessings I receive everyday just being in Lily's presence. I love being a mum!
I haven't seen a lot of Aaron in the past year but I have been spoilt with his company with a couple of visits in the last month. Lily looks so little in his big arms. She loves it when he holds her above his head.
It was so lovely and warm in the sunshine - just what we needed after the chilly start to the morning. I made a quiche, which was not too bad given it was made with what ever I had in the pantry/fridge (bacon, corn, cherry tomatoes and red capsicum). Aaron supplied the cheese and biscuits, and a little wine ;). He also had a some very tasty dukkah which we enjoyed with quality olive oil and bread.
We have been on a few picnics but this was the first time Lily got to eat her own lunch outside and I must say she did a pretty good job of it! 
After stuffing our faces we lazed in the sunshine and someone had a giggling fit when Mummy started tickling her tummy. Sooo cute.
We fed the ducks with our leftover bread (probably illegal but fun nonetheless). It was actually a bit scary when they all started flocking toward us hoping to get some of the crumbs. Now I know where Hitchcock's the 'The Birds' originated from!
It was so pretty in the park with the autumn leaves littering the ground. Thank you for a lovely afternoon Uncle Aaron. Looking forward to the skies clearing once more so we can venture out and about again some time. 
