REGULAR FEATURE
Real Moms
THE FIRST YEAR
Lisa Kreusch , 30
Lisa is mom to Hayden ( 3 ) and Cameron who turned one in January . Who is your one year old ? My second daughter , Cameron , aka ‘ Cammie ’ What three words would you use to summarise the ‘ first year ’? Challenging , Rewarding , Humbling What have been the highlights ? Getting to know this whole new unique beautiful little person who is so very different from the rest of us in our family . Seeing my baby and older daughter Hayden become best of friends already . It truly melts my heart . The fact that she is a cuddly baby , lots of snuggles ! Any advice to moms beginning the journey ? It ’ s cliche but time goes too quickly , days ( and nights ) will be long but years will be short . You will feel like your heart is walking around outside of your body . That will never change , but always remember with everything else , ‘ this too shall pass ’.
Jade is mom to Zack ( 10 ) and Hunter who turned one in December . Who is your one year old ? Hunter is my second little boy . He is a rambunctious , lively and extremely affectionate 1 year old . What three words would you use to summarise the ‘ first year ’? Exhausting , challenging ... Worth it ! What have been the highlights ? The greatest highlight this past year has been watching Hunters personality develop . Learning who he is and having him fill gaps in out family dynamic we didn ’ t even realise we had . Seeing my eldest be the most amazing big brother and my partner the best father have also been highlights of my first year with Hunter . Any advice to moms beginning the journey ? Don ’ t sweat the small stuff and DON ’ T feel pressurised to do ANYTHING . The first year is crazy enough without trying to live up to other ’ s expectations . Do what is right for your family .
Jade Acton , 33
TRIED & TESTED
We saw it online and decided to try it out to see how it works in reality . Caleb is three-and-a-half and this match the letter board was perfect for him ! He is just beginning to develop an interest in words and letters and this task met him exactly where he is at . It ’ s really easy to make . Find a surface that magnets will stick to ( like a metal tray ), draw on the letters of the alphabet with a permanent marker and buy a set of magnetic letters ( we got ours from the Crazy Store ).
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