God, I believe this is yours

On Sunday Al and I took an important step in our lives as parents: we dedicated Miriam to God. Our precious little girl was created by Him and on Sunday we acknowledged this and dedicated her life back to God.

A dedication (for those that don't know) is similar to a baptism or a christening, but there is no water involved and it is more about the parents committing to raise the child and teach them about God rather than making a commitment on behalf of the child. It is hoped that when they are of an age where they understand, the child can make their own decision to become a Christian.

So, in that vein, Al and I made a commitment on Sunday to raise Miriam to know God and his wonderful love. As Psalm 127 says: "Children are a gift from the Lord, they are a reward from Him. Children born to a young man are like arrows in a warrior's hand."

It was a day filled with love from the moment we arrived at Church. Because we don't have any family in Brisbane our Church rallied around us and made the day extremely special for us. We had friends come and share in a picnic after Church and other people at Church buy Miriam special gifts in honour of the occasion. She was also given the cutest Baby Bible by our Pastors.

A big thank you to all those people that contributed to this important moment in our lives.

Breaking the 6 week barrier

Miriam is 6 weeks old today. I can't believe how quickly it has gone. It seems like yesterday I was 9 months pregnant and waiting desperately for her to arrive. The memory of her birth is so clearly imprinted on my brain (still!) that I really can't fathom the length of time that passed since then.

Sometimes I freak out thinking 'she's 6 weeks old and I still don't know what I'm doing' and then I remember how little I knew in those first few days and how far we've both come since then. We've both mastered breastfeeding and more recently for me, expressing. We've also mastered feeding in public which has made our outings much less complicated. We still don't like have our clothes changed but we do enjoy our bedtime routine which includes a story with just Mummy and Miriam.

Miriam's Milestones thus far:

• Smiling - THis was so cute the first morning she looked up at me when we were having our morning cuddles in bed and smiled. I nearly died and went to heaven!


• Talking - lately she has taken to making lots of noises during play time. The other day she was in her bouncer on the kitchen floor, talking to Al while he did the washing up, it was hilarious.


• Facial recognition - She definately recognises Al and I now and I was happy to see that she recognised her Grand-Mo last time we were in Sydney


• Tummy time - while this isn't the most fun thing in he world she has starting pulling herself up onto her elbows and kicking her legs. I wouldn't wish crawling on us at this early stage but it's so cute to watch her try.


• Head control - Miriam has been the head control master from a very young age. We were astounded how good her head control was in the first couple of weeks and it's only gotten better since then. Still not quite good enough for the front sling but it's getting close.

We're off to the Doctor's on Wednesday for her 6 week checkup. I can't wait to see how much she's grown physically because she's certainly grown so much in every other way.