I hate baby milestones.

• Georgia ~ I don't want to miss a thing. Yes, that means obscene amounts of photographs, but I make no apologies for wanting to capture every minute! She's coming up to some major milestones soon, and I can't wait to see her growing up.
  
  
• Family ~ Spend as much time with them as possible. Everyone has really come together this year, and I love it. Hubby & I have a few date nights planned, so we'll get to spend some quality time together. Plus, the grandparents might just find themselves on babysitting duty - so it's a win/win for everyone!
  
  
• Blog ~ Post more frequently! I've definitely slacked off this year, and mostly have written about Georgia {of course!} so the plan is to just keep busy. I'm hoping to get involved in monthly projects or prompts every now and again, potentially starting off with #weVerb14.
  
  
• Read ~ I have at least a dozen books I want to read on my Kindle - it's just finding the time to sit down and get on with them! This year, I'm going to set a goal of at least 6 books. It doesn't seem like a lot, but I barely read a thing last year, and I'm trying to be realistic about what I can start and finish.
  
  
• Move ~ I'd like to start up on my treadmill again. I'm not even going to pretend that joining a gym is viable for me right now, but the treadmill is in the garage - it's set up, it's ready to go. All I need to do is get some tunes on my iPod, drag a fan in & DO IT. Hopefully Georgia will keep to her two nap schedule {she's doing really well at the moment!} and I can get on this every few days.
  
  
• Organise ~ I have a tonne of baby clothes to sort/store/give away, and the house is a complete mess more often than not. This year I'd like to start tackling things, bit by bit. I've already started printing out photos of Georgia's first year - I decided a while back that I'd like old school prints/photo albums until her first birthday. I'm up to month 6... so I'll tackle the next block soon.
  
  
• Cook ~ Doesn't worry me if they're old favourites or new experiments, but the goal is to keep saving money & cook up a storm this year. If not a storm, maybe just a drizzle. But cooking, all the same. :)
  
  
• TTC ~ Georgia is coming up to her first birthday in just a few months {how did that happen?} so it's natural to start thinking about what happens next. Hopefully we can tackle this & come up with a plan that fits us both, since natural babymakin' just isn't on the cards for us - but this is certainly a hope and a dream. I can think of nothing more awesome than a sibling for Georgia.

It's safe to say that 2013 has been the most amazing year. To follow tradition, it's time to get busy re-capping, just like in years gone by: 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 & 2012. I love that I'm still blogging, even if things have been a little quieter around these parts since March - and just a little baby focused!

7. What dates from 2013 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? March 30, when Georgia made her surprise early entrance to the world. April 7, the day we left special care & got to bring her home. April 8, when Nanna met Georgia. May 7, when we had to say goodbye. September 1, when Georgia was christened. December 25, when we celebrated our first Christmas as a family of three!

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? I'm actually really proud of the way I've handled mamahood so far. From the unexpected birth, to dealing with the scary start of a short special care stay, to single parenting for many, many weeks while Jason worked overseas & interstate - I think I did pretty darned good.

9. What was your biggest failure? Being too honest. Not that I have any regrets about that, but it does have consequences.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Other than the odd bouts of colds, I had just a few lurgies this year: de Quervain's tendinitis - developed in the months after Georgia's birth and an overnight hospital stay after a nasty bout of gastro & dehydration.

11. What was the best thing you bought? I know, I know, baby related - but our rainforest jumperoo. Best. Invention. Ever.

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration? Like last year, I have to say my lovely, fantastic husband - he has proved to be the most amazing dad, like I knew he would be. He's also worked his butt off supporting us & letting me stay at home with the baby - it was something that was really important to us, and we'd never have been able to do it otherwise. I'm so proud of him. He's been an amazing partner, this year especially.

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed? I don't know about appalled or depressed, but I was disappointed with several friendships this year - everything happens for a reason, but it doesn't make it any easier.

14. Where did most of your money go? BAYYYBEEEEEEEEEEE. (That's good money spending, though!) Other than that, we've been plugging away at saving & paying off the mortgage.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? My little girl. :)

16. What song will always remind you of 2013? Don't You Worry Child, by Swedish House Mafia. Every single time Georgia heard this song while she was in my belly, she'd kick up a storm. When she was a newborn, we spent many days bopping around the lounge room to the music channel.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

(a) Happier or Sadder? Happier. So much happier.

(b) Thinner or Fatter? Well, thinner than this time last year, but still far from where I'd like to be.

(c) Richer or Poorer? Poorer. But happier. :)

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Spending time with my family, which I definitely improved on this year. Since Georgia was born, we have had a mostly standing Monday night dinner with my parents & brother/SIL - it started to help out with newborn Georgia, but has continued on. I love seeing them each week.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? I wish I hadn't put energy into things that didn't pay off in the end.

20. How did you spend Christmas in 2013? A few little Christmas catch ups in December with friends and new baby-mums, Christmas Eve here at home with my family, Christmas morning with just the 3 of us, Christmas lunch with the inlaws, and Christmas night with my extended family. Was fantastic but yep, busy again.

21. Did you fall in love in 2013? My heart exploded this year. I'm so in love with my daughter, I can't even describe it. And having a baby has brought hubby & I even closer - he really has been an incredible support system. Not forgetting the fur babies - I watch them interact with Georgia & am so proud of them. I'm a very lucky girl.

22. How many one-night stands? Plenty of late night rendezvous -- in my rocking chair with a tired baby in my arms.

23. What was your favorite TV program? Game of Thrones, Homeland, Sister Wives & Offspring.

24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? No.

25. What was the best book you read? I've barely read a book since March - I wonder why? I did start re-reading the George R.R. Martin series though, so probably 'A Game of Thrones'.

30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I turned 29 this year, and spent it with family. It was nice and quiet.

31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? I wish time had slowed down a little, so I could spend more time staring at my teeny, tiny little girl. This year has flown.

40. What are your resolutions for 2014? I have many, which I'll put into a new post soon. But in summary? I want to continue experiencing new things with Georgia & taking as many pictures as I can. I want to keep up regular catch ups with friends. I want to spend quality time with hubby & with my family - hopefully keep up those Monday night dinners! I want to blog more, and better. I want to find time for reading again! Keep your eyes peeled on this space.

Happy New Year, everyone! Thanks for sticking with me this year, even though reading on the blog has been light. I value you guys so very much, and hope to keep plugging away in the new year! :)

Georgia has officially been on the outside for longer than she was on the inside! We made it to 36+5 weeks of the pregnancy before she decided she was ready to be out, and it's already been almost 40 weeks since her birth.

Still rocking the baby blues.

This month Georgia has:

• Chatted up a storm. We're convinced she's bilingual - though what language she's babbling, I couldn't tell you. We get Dada and MumMumMum all the time, and swear we heard her say Cat & Hey!
• Had both bottom teeth continue coming up - they're about halfway out now. In the last few days, she's also had massive progress with the top two teeth too, which have JUST about cut through the gums.
• Rediscovered her rolling skills. She isn't crawling yet, but my goodness, the girl can flip. She's making her way across the living room by rolling tummy-back-tummy-back over & over. She wakes up from every nap or sleep in her cot by rolling onto her belly now.

• Begun eating some finger foods each lunch time in her big girl high chair. She's still not too sure about this whole feeding herself nonsense though; half the time she spends her lunches mashing the food into the tray, and doesn't quite 'get' the concept of putting the food from her hand to her mouth. Baby steps..
• Started to attempt waving to people - we make a habit of telling her HI! or BYE! with a big exaggerated wave of the arm, and she's starting to copy it. It's a little bit cute.
• Experienced her first Christmas! We had a really busy few days, and she coped with all the changes and the craziness like a trouper. Lots of presents, lots of cuddles, and a very spoiled little girl.

• Been keeping herself occupied by herself for longer periods of time. She's happy sitting down and playing with her toys for a lot longer than before, though still gets frustrated if things are out of her reach.
• Loved the water! She has been doing swimming lessons for a few months now, and the fears are gone - now she is splashing and kicking and trying to drink the pool water. I'm really glad we persevered with swimming, as it's good to see her confidence growing. We'll be doing a few more weeks in the new year, and then leaving it for a little while. The plan is to restart again when she's 18 months old & in the next age for classes, since the lessons are a bit repetitive.
• Continued having all sleeps in her nursery, cuddled up to her soft bunny comforter & singing seahorse.

A belated Merry Christmas to you all - we hope it was fantastic. So blessed to spend it as a family of three.

So, a few weeks ago, I was a little defeated with how our sleep training has been going. Thankfully, I have some updates on that front - and much better ones, I might add. We went cold turkey again, with Georgia in her own bedroom. There were a few tough days at first, we timed ourselves before going into the room, but most importantly, we did it together - now that hubby is working from home, we could both give it our full attention. Previously, she was very dependent on ME doing everything, and wouldn't even calm down when Jase would pick her up. After a tough week or so, she started showing signs that she was learning what to do. Victory came from every resettle that hubby did, without me there - and honestly, it's been a few weeks now, and there are days where she does so much better sleeping for him than for me! Little minx. :)

Georgia now sleeps in her cot all the time. She's in a sleeping bag with no blankets, since it's already been hitting 40o here in Sydney (celcius, folks, omg, hot) & she has a comforter bunny that she cuddles/bashes at will. She does still use a dummy, but that's not an issue for us at this stage. We give her a cuddle and a rock in the chair, look for tired signs, and pop her in the cot. I'd say we're at 50/50 for the reactions we get once she's in the cot, and it depends a lot on her mood and how tired she is. 50% of the time, she'll scream and scream and need resettling. 50% of the time, she'll roll over & get herself to sleep. We're working on being consistent, but overall, she's doing so much better. We've gone from constant wake ups, to sleep throughs. And we've gone from three-four rubbish daytime naps, to two better ones. They aren't always long, but I consider it a victory if she goes down for >1 hour. So proud of her. We are sleeping better at night, too. I didn't realise how much tiptoeing around we were doing once she'd gone to bed.

With a baby that's gearing up to crawl, two indoor kitties & a very lovable fur puppy, our house is constantly in need of a little TLC, health wise. That's why I was really pleased with the selection of goodies we recently received to test out - they fit right in with our lifestyle with little effort on our part. The Mission for Health campaign from Dettol focuses on everyday healthy homes, but also has a goal to save the children in communities abroad, supporting hygienic practices in villages across Indonesia.

These are the products we've been using over the last few days - stay tuned on how to win some for yourself.

The Refresh Instant Hand Sanitiser is one I've used before - we grew very familiar with portable sanitisers after our time spent in the Special Care Nursery. I liked this one because it didn't leave your hands smelling like antiseptic - it's nice and fresh. I've decided to keep this one in my nappy bag for when we're out & about. It's great for using before I feed Georgia solids, particularly when we're in a busy food court or somewhere outdoors.

The No-Touch hand wash System is set up near our kitchen sink; ready to use when we come in from playing in the yard with Spencer, or from changing one of Georgia's nappies at the change table nearby. Hubby was sceptical at first, but I've caught him washing his hands at the kitchen sink in lieu of the bathroom a few times now. It came with batteries included, and it's really quite clever. Just hold your hands underneath & boom - hand wash ready to use. I find this handy while cooking too, since I'm not transferring gunky hands onto the top of the unit. This is my favourite of the products, because it's not something I would necessarily of bought for myself.

Spencer approves - more pats for puppy!

For keeping the kitchen clean, we received the Power & Pure Multipurpose Spray & some of the Surface Cleanser Wipes. My first job was to tackle the microwave and the stove with the wipes, which I loved. I was a little unsure at first, as the wipes feel really dry when you pull them out of the tub - but they seem to foam up as you use them, which was a nice surprise. I've also used the wipes for cleaning some lightly used books we were given for Georgia, and for giving some of her more toys a bit of a spot clean. The trigger spray is going to be a great all purpose one, and doesn't smell harsh like I would have predicted.

Now.... all that said, how would you like to win some for yourself? My favourite product was the No-Touch hand wash system, because it looks snazzy in my kitchen & works a treat. The kind folks at the Mission for Health team have two of these units to give away. To enter, simply leave a comment here at the blog telling me which product from the current Dettol range you would find most useful for your home. I'll enlist Georgia's help to randomly pick two winners from the comments! :) Please note this giveaway is for Australian residents only.

Just a few days after Georgia entered into this past month, she started bashing out the milestones. It was crazy!

I'm starting to reach for people with both arms now!

This month Georgia has:

• Said her first word - MUM. Or, more specifically, Mumumumum. Made my heart swell, such a special moment. :)
• Said her second word too! Dadadada. She likes to whisper this word, which is very sweet.
• Sprouted her first tooth! It popped out fairly quickly and caused a LOT of grief. It's a wee bit crooked. Tooth number two is still coming out, and it too is creating havoc. Stupid teeth!
• Had two colds - which we think are because of the afore-mentioned tooth is still an unknown. The poor thing is teething and snotty and sick and miserable all at the same time, and we are all exhausted.

• Cracked the 8kg mark! She weighed in at 8.3kg this week - but had a GIGANTIC nappy explosion not long after the appointment, which I swear weighed 200g by itself. ;) She's also 69cm long now and has crept up to the 50th percentile for height AND weight. 
• Started eating pasta and meat. We still purée over here for the most part, but she's experimenting with different textures now. She has also chowed down on some finger foods, like banana, toast & rice rusks. She's still not a fan of peas or broccoli on their own, but has eaten everything else. Such a good girl.
• Sat for two photoshoots! The first one didn't go too well {it was on the same weekend as her tooth/cold/swimming} but the second one produced many sweet family photographs.