Dear Lola,

Firstly,we are happy,we are thankful, & we are beyond ecstatic to announce that your new little cousin has arrived! Edie Harper Mottram is such a beautiful baby girl,and you have had to learn very quickly the difference between happy and sad tears, as there have been an awful lot of happy ones around these parts since her arrival. 

Edie, we loved you well before you were born, and those first cuddles with you, & staring at you... well frankly, if  the world would have burst and rained colourful confetti everywhere we probably wouldn't have even noticed, because we are so absorbed by your wonder & presence. You have taken our breath away Edie girl. I look forward to writing about your adventures with Edie as they unfold. What fun & laughter you two girls have ahead of you.

Edie has brought with her some lovely sunny days, that have inspired us to spend every afternoon in our backyard and the surrounding bushland.

It's difficult to put in to words how wonderful our time together is in the land beyond our back fence, so I decided to bring the camera along, just this one time.

Our afternoons have been going a little something like this.

Nap. Lunch. Gumboots on. Bush time.

And it all starts with this doorway.

Well it starts with you walking up to the doorway with whatever friends you have decided to bring along.

 

Once we are through the door that leads into the national park, you greet the frogs. Today you feed them weetbix, which they tell you are "delicious!". Just hearing you say the word delicious almost brings on more of those happy tears I was talking about...

Then there's the giant birdhouse that you are adamant lizard needs to rest in. And Lola & croc too for that matter! Here you perform the sweetest rendition of "hush little baby"

To the massive boulders we go! (these being the massive rocks that stood before us when we first looked at the house, at which point marty whispered to me "I think we've found our home.")

It's pretty certain that at about this stage we play 'sleep time'. Basically, you tell me it's "sleep time" and to "sleep tight". We fall to the floor, squeeze our eyes shut & I wait for you to shout - "Wake up now - Guten Morgen everyone!"

This rock is more your size. "Quick climb up, spiders on the ground!" you shout.

Then it's out the back gate. (the section with the boulders, picnic table, birdhouse etc. is directly outside our back gate. The previous house owners looked after this section of national park and fenced it off so the deer wouldn't get in and trample over everything.) 

Out the second back gate lies a different adventure all together!

"Shhhhh- bush turkeys, come here!" you whisper, before you take off running toward the open field.

This little fig tree has become a place where you hide from the "stinky wombat poo!"- yes you do have quite the imagination.

And just as I've sat down with you, you're off again. "To the field" you yell, as I struggle to keep up.

"Oh dear, lizard fell down." "Hop up Mr Lizard!"

And just as I think we are heading back toward home, you announce "back to the field mama!" You funny little trickster.

"Walking on the sky mama."

Running home is the best part, because as you trip & stumble through the leaves, sticks & rocks you laugh so hard you cry happy tears too.

"Race you mama!" And before I have time to yell out careful Lola... we are home.

You are our little deer hunting, wombat poo dodging, bush turkey calling, sky walking, grass tumbling little monkey, and I already can't wait to see what tomorrows adventures bring.

Your mama