Isla met Santa this evening. It was the Family Daycare Children's Christmas party, so I decided to take her along. It was chaotic, so many children running everywhere, playing bullrush, wrestling, it was bizarre. Isla danced on top of a table while they sang songs in the hall and gave an almight rendition of "We wish you a Merry Christmas" with plenty of gusto. After that we went outside for another play, and the Paddle Pop lion handed out ice-creams so I had one very happy little girl, who was even happier at Santa's arrival in the meantime! And to top it off, he gave her a packet of twisties, her all time favourite!

We met another Mum and little boy with Cerebral Palsy, he had Spastic Quadriplegia and was completely adorable. He had the most unreal AFO's, blue with rockets on them!

I'm glad I decided to go. Often I would simply ignore an invitation, but thought that it would be important to Isla, so we went. Sometimes it's confronting to see all the other kids around Isla's age running around and playing with each other while she struggles to walk without falling over. Initially I felt like bursting into tears just watching her. She walked around the grass while kids tore by her either side and were running and jumping around...and it didn't bother her. She was so happy just walking around, taking it all in. She's such an amazing little creature. She insisted on sitting "like a big girl" with her legs stretched out in front of her, and propping herself up against me for stability - I'm sure it was because all the other kids were sitting like that.

We had a few tears when we left, Isla wanted to back outside and play with the kids, but it was starting to sprinkle, so I dediced it was time to leave, we'd been there almost 2 hours anyway, she sobbed most of the way home.

Happy 2nd Birthday to Princess Andie!

Isla's behaviour is getting a little better...we're still privy to the tantrums though, not as frequent, but still present.

Has me wondering why. Is it simply the terrible twos? Sensory overload - too many things going on at once? Too many choices? Growing pains? Testing the boundaries? Growth Spurt?

I think it's a combination of all of the above. I've limited the choices and she seems to be responding better. No more "What do you want for breakfast?" open ended questions. Limiting her to 2 choices seems to be plenty. Speaking of food, her eating is improving, so perhaps a growth spurt? Her shoes are getting too small and she's been complaining of sore toes and legs which leads me to the Growing Pains conclusion.

Isla's sleeping has improved out of sight, and could potentially be linked to the decrease in hissy fits and the weight gain. I remember Michael once said that her weight would improve once her sleeping was sorted out. She'll happily go to bed on her own now, and with no day sleeps she's managing 12-14 hours of sleep a night :) Sleep time used to be such a battle for us, often she'd drop off on the lounge or giving us a cuddle, but it was all getting too much for all of us.

Isla has a new friend, "Dolly" - a gift from my Mum when Isla was about 7 weeks old. Dolly has sat on the shelves in the toy room for nearly 3 years and has finally won a place in Isla's heart. Dolly goes everywhere with us now, gets tucked into bed and is a little shadow of my little shadow!