the very model

Can I tell you how much this girl loves her dada right now?

Each morning she comes into our bed and wants to lie in the middle of us. Snuggling into her dada. 

When he leaves in the morning it's like the end of her world. The bottom lip quivers, she sniffles and then let's out the dearest little cry.

Or post dada leaving conversations go something like this

Lu - Dada's gone to work.

Me - Yes he has.

Lu - I miss him. Do you miss him mama?

Me - Yes I do. I miss dada when he's not here.

Lu - I love dada.

Me - Me too. I love him very much. 

Melt.

Sometimes we wait by the window for when he comes home in the afternoon. I love the look on Lu's face when she spots him coming up the stairs. 

Dada dates are always the favourite. She calls them "dada waits."

It fills my heart with joy to see a girl so smitten with her dear papa. He's the very model of the man I'd like her to marry one day. But for now it's just sweet to see them drink their cinos together.

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little one - peanut butter cheeky face. hmm all her photos seem to involve pnb lately. "take a photo of me mama?" she says as she shoves her face in front of my lens.

smalls - loving the pants off food. rice cereal, banana. yep.

linking (minus the link cos I can't do that on iPhone blogger) with Jodi from Che and Fidelity. Google it.

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little one - this is her cold face. she pulls it when eating ice cream or drinking milk. or for other cold things. we all giggle.

smalls - discovering her hands and discovering books. soft fabricy delicious books.

winnings - a very kmart day {competition}

A few weeks back I packed the girls in the car and we headed off to centennial park for the Kids Business bloggers brunch.

It was a pretty fun day for everyone.

But the most fun was had by Lu in a little girls bedroom set up by kmart as part of their new home living range. 

I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say that she spent about 90% of the time in the little bedroom playing with a dolly. 

While she played I got to chat with the kmart staff who were lovely. I heard about their new range and designs and also chatted about their ethical garment worker policies. 

On the day there was a competition for a kmart voucher and to cut a long story short WE WON. With this adorable photo of Lu's see-food.

So yesterday, armed with our voucher we set off for the shops.

Here is what $150 can get you at kmart these days.

What we got

A balance bike - $39

Four poster paints - $3 each

A toaster - $7 with 12 month warranty!

Four animal friends - $3 each 

Glitter glue - $2

Xylophone - $8

Various packs of craft supplies - $2

Cup and saucer (for dada) - $2

Dress (for mama) - $15

Heart cake pan - $5

Ball - $5

We spent quite a time in kmart and still couldn't make the $150. We ended up with $30 for another trip. After a trips to the bathroom and much running after our little bolter we called it a day.

I was pretty impressed by how much we were able to get and was glad to be able to get Lu a few things id been meaning to get for a while. (Poor kid didn't have a ball to call her own.) 

"But what about me" I hear you cry.

The lovely people at kmart have given me a $100 voucher to give to one lucky reader.

All you have to do is leave a comment telling me what you would buy if you won. Take a look here at the new range.

Extra entries for 

- following Little One, I Know You Grow on Twitter or Bloglovin.

- Share this give away on any social media platform (instagram/fb/twitter/pinterest)

Leave one comment per entry. Good Luck!

Edit - due to Facebook regulations I am unable to count entries based on "likes" for the kmart or little one, I know you grow page. Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause. I was only made aware if this rule today. 12/8/13

Competition runs till 8am 30/8/13. Winner announced 8pm that evening. Winner will be chosen at random therefore family and friends are welcome to enter. Random number generators decision is final. Competition open to Australian residents only.

I was not paid for this post. I received a $150 voucher as a prize at the bloggers brunch. All opinions are my own.

And the winner is

Ben! Well done. Send me an email with your deets and I'll get you in touch with Coles to send your voucher right out. Congrats and thanks for entering everyone.

stretching

We lost the little one at the shops today. I was feeding smalls and Myl was looking at things with her in target. All of a sudden she wasn't there. After a frantic search of the store we found her in the arms of a lady who had brought her back from the other end of the shopping centre level. She had run out right past where I was sitting. 

Our girl has been extra spirited lately. More running, more no's, more questioning, more opinions. It's quite a challenge. I look at smalls this tiny baby who needs everything done for her then I turn to this big girl starting to find her way in the world.

Stretching. Learning. Growing.

The thing about stretching is its what you do right before a big bout of exercise. It feels a bit sore as you pull and push muscles you haven't used for a while but you know it's worth it when you get down to business and find your muscles work a whole lot better. 

I can see when she says "no" she is learning her boundaries. I can see her running and exploring the world outside the security of mama and dada. Her wild behaviour will teach her how to use her voice and her body and I will teach her the joy and beauty in control.

She is being stretched and so am I as I learn to mother this child who is no longer a baby. While she still needs me to meet her physical needs, she now needs me to teach her about the world and her place in it.

I'm stretching. Learning. Growing too.

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instagrammy

little one - off to her first proper kids party. It was fun to dress up together and dab on a little vanilla perfume.

smalls - snotty nose. sleeping with her mouth open. life is good in the baby carrier.