We’re back home and I think even Emby feels that slightly hollow feeling after a holiday because she kept waking up crying in the night. After some good naps and play with grandmu and opa hopefully tonight is better. I made sure I got the ocean white noise cued up, fingers crossed it does the trick.
So I thought I’d just post all the last couple of days images to savour the last fragments of beach holiday vibes.
Ember’s return home seems to have coincided with another mental leap. She’s started really concentrating on her mmm sounds. Mmmmmm… Ma…. Mmmmmm…Mum is it too early at just under 6 months for her to be calling out for me with outstretched arms? She’s also started getting clingy and wanting mama in the evening. Oh oh, so glad I extended my maternity leave to May to slowly ease her into childcare. For both our sakes!
There were guests downstairs so we made a nest for Emby in Nanny Annie’s upstairs bedroom so her stomping wouldn’t disturb the visitors. For one so small she certainly makes a racket. Phil’s much loved teddy bear came out of retirement to keep her company as well as her Christmas caterpillar and a colourful iPad case that she wanted to gnaw on.
Another beach visited resulted in a full face of sand, but surprisingly no tears. I think we’ll be finding grains of sand off her scalp for weeks to come, it’s as tenacious as glitter even after a nice warm bath in a laundry trough. Her new skill of sitting up makes sink baths a lot easier than when she was a sweet newborn blob.
I got use to a berry breakfast fresh from the garden everyday and it’s sorely missed now I am back home.
On our last day while everyone sweltered in 40+ temperatures in Melbourne it was 10 degrees cooler down the coast, but still too hot to do much more than enjoy a cool bath in a bucket. Her new toy submarine is made from recycled milk bottles, but still not as eco as marigolds from the garden.
Dada Dylan had to exit the festivities early to rescue Phil who had ridden an hour from home and shredded his tire. Early rumours that his tires actually melted from the heat turned out to be unfounded, which was a disappointment to all. Especially those who thought it was madness to ride out at all in the heat.
The cycling tomfoolery was not at an end though, because while Ember was reclining on her cushion with nothing but a nappy keeping her decent three hot and hyperventilating cyclists fell at Anne’s doorstep begging shelter and refreshment from the heat. I think Emby was the wisest of the bunch, cool as a cucumber under her ceiling fan.
Our last day we went for a little walk in the bush out the back because it doesn’t feel like you’ve done grey river properly without it. The bush was alive with orange butterflies so thick that battered softly against our faces as we passed through to Emby’s amazement. She rode on Dylan’s shoulder on the way back, still too small to grab on. The coastline sparkled below us as we said goodbye, until next time holidays.