I thought I should make a record and constantly update when Isla says something cute/funny..I originally started this post at the end of 2007.
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On the way to Poppy's house:

Isla: "Mummy, where are we going?"
Me: "We're going to see Poppy"
Isla: "Mummy, is Poppy awake?"
Me: "Yes, Poppy's awake"
Isla: "Oh, this is going to be great!! I so excited!"
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Sitting in the car at Austinmer Beach watching the waves:
Isla: "Oh my God! These waves are incredible! They the biggest waves I ever seen!"
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Sitting at the Dr's waiting room, Isla was playing with one of those wall-mounted toys with the steering wheel/wavy mirror etc. It was Sea themed...
Isla: (at the top of her lungs) "These are Mummy's crabs"
Me: "No sweetheart, they're not Mummy's, they're toy crabs"
Isla: "No Mummy, YOUR crabs"
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While attempting to sit in the fridge:
Me: "Isla, the fridge isn't for sitting, hop out please"
Isla: "Mum, stop telling me everything"
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Watching her bath fill up:
"Oh Mummy, this bath is marvellous"
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Crying in bed:
Me: "What's the matter sweetheart?"
Isla: "I scared"
Me: "What are you scared of?"
Isla: "Owls"
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Ian: "Isla, it's nearly bed time, you can play for 5 minutes then it's time for bed"
Isla: "Daaaad, that's not a good idea!"
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Isla: "I can't sleep in my room anymore, I too scared"
Me: "What are you scared of?"
Isla: "Oh you know, snakes, owls, that sort of stuff"
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Me: "Isla, what do you think we should call baby sister?"
Isla: "Arina, you know, like Ballerina"

The little girl at the end of this clip walks just like my Isla does.

I can't believe my little lady is 3 and obviously she doesn't believe it either, because she insists that she's 7.

She has been so excited about having a party for the last week, every morning she'd wake up and ask, "Is it my party today?". Each time we went out she'd tell whoever we'd speak to that she was having a party!

We all had a lovely day, although it was SO incredibly hot and muggy! I think almost all of my photo's from the day everyone has rosy cheeks and beads of sweat on their brow!

I think Isla was happy with her party, she'd given Ian and I strict requirements for the day, ie, "pink balloons and streamers and deca-ations (as she calls them) and cakes with lots of sprinkles on top".

I couldn't be arsed making a pretty cake like the merry-go-round I made last year, so this year it was lots of cupcakes, with sprinkles as per Isla's instructions! Some were plain, others had little decorative butterflies :)


Isla received so many presents, she was spoiled rotten! Her favourite gifts for the day were the ladybug outfit from Nanny & Poppy, playdough from Poppy Troy and the Dora parifanalia from Lyn & Rod and Allison & Brad.

She finished the day by going to Steve & Marie's place for a swim to cool off with Ian, while I went to the Speedway with my Father-In-Law Kevin and my Dad, where Ian's cousin Robbie came 2nd in the $50,000 race!

Happy New Year! Here's hoping 2008 is a cracker...


We welcomed in the New Year with Allison & Brad and their friends, at their place.

Had a lovely night, Isla lasted until midnight but crashed soon after!

I had the night "off" tonight, and went to PCR with Dad to watch some Sprintcar racing. It's been ages since I've been with Dad just to watch and not go in the pits and work on Denis' car...The pic to the left is of Madsen's new car...not sure I like the orange paint..I still like his old Bikebiz blue and yellow...

Anyway, Schatz won - surprise, surprise. Kinser second, Pitman third. Madsen made it into the main despite not finishing his heat.

Took the camera along, still have a long way to go, but not too disappointed with some of the pics considering most of them were at race pace!

Skip Jackson got upside down, Brazier crashed, Sartori and Brady crashed too...Sammy Walsh started off pole after winning the dash...not too sure where he finished though.

Enjoy this pic of a man in his t-shirt...I took this photo for Ian, and surprisingly he loves the shirt!

Season's Greetings...

Christmas was weird this year, I can't quite put my finger on why, but it there was just something missing I guess...maybe it was because it was the first year that we didn't go to Nan's house...

Anyway, we had a nice lunch with Ian's side of the family, then had my sister, Dad and Ian's friend Pato over for dinner afterwards. We sat around and laughed, drank and watched Summer Heights High all night long!

Isla received so many presents, her favourites were her toy camera, Dora tea set and her Dora backpack (this was the big winner). I had a fall coming down the in-laws driveway and must have hurt Isla's foot at the same time (I was holding her) because she complained that she couldn't walk on Xmas day, and could barely put any weight on it on Boxing day but seemed okay today when she went back to daycare, although walked a little gingerly on it.

Boxing Night we went to Mum's new apartment for dinner as we didn't really get the chance to catch up with her on Xmas day, although we did see her briefly when we went to visit my Nan at the nursing home. Mum bought Isla a microphone, and Isla treated us to "We wish you a Merry Christmas" at least 20 times!

Ian's on holidays until the 2nd...I bet we're sick of each other well before then :P

We saw Michael for the first time in almost 6 months yesterday. He's very pleased with Isla's progress. She can now stand up on her own (without holding on to anything) and is walking well and not falling over as much.

Michael agreed with Ian and I, in that Isla walks with more control when she doesn't have her orthotics on, but it's coming at a price. The bottom of her feet are collapsing on the side, and Dr L is concerned that when she's older the bones may fuse together and she'll require surgery. I'll have to take a photo of her feet to better explain...

They're concerned about her legs, she's always had higher tone in her right leg (and it is marginally shorter than the left) but, and here's the curveball, she leads with her right which means it's her dominant leg...she should be leading with her left as it's the less effected leg, but it's weaker.

The plan is this, 1st of May, Isla is on the list to go to the Sydney Children's Hospital for the Botox injections. In the meantime, they're going to lock the hinge on the AFO's so that she can't lean forward as much with them on. She has a tendency to crouch when she walks (only slightly, I'd not really noticed until it was pointed out to me yesterday by Michael) so locking the hinge will make her stand up straighter. We need to do some strengthening exercises for her hamstrings, as the concern is that she won't be able to walk after having the botox (it will weaken her muscles initially) so we need to have her ready for that.

They give them laughing gas, but the mask needs to be held on the entire time and both Michael and I aren't too sure she'd cope very well with that. Dr L suggested pethadine as it's injected and can also knock little ones out, so there's another possibility, but it's a bit much to have to think of right now, and I honestly don't know how she'll react to it all.

When she walks with the AFO's on there's a lot of swivelling in her trunk, which is essentially because her left hand side isn't really working as well as it should, and she has to twist her trunk to swing her left side around. Again, she shouldn't be doing this as the left side is meant to be the stronger side.

We're going to increase physio appointments to every 2ish weeks to try and fix these issues. Poor little mite.