It snowed all day Monday, I was relieved that I already had the day off as there was no way that I wanted to drive in those conditions.

Inaaya went to nursery, but was home earlier than usual. We had planned to go out and play in the snow but Inaaya was shattered, not to mention unimpressed by the cold. She’s a bit like her mummy; any sign of coldness and all plans are cancelled, I would rather stay in and watch a movie under the duvet with a bowl of homemade popcorn.

On Tuesday morning it was announced on the radio that all schools in Birmingham were closed due to the heavy snow, I wasn’t sure if Inaaya’s nursery was open, but we decided that she would be taking the day off anyway. We definitely weren’t going to miss out on playing in the snow today…

We all wrapped up in lots of layers of warm clothes and walked down to the local park. Inaaya decided that she wanted to take her bucket and spade to build a snowman, but in the end we were having so much fun we didn’t get around to making it… We kind of forgot about him – oops!

We had such a blast that it was difficult to drag Inaaya home after two hours, but it was getting colder and it was nearly time for lunch so we were all getting hungry.

After lunch we all fell asleep – running around in the fresh air, followed by lots of lovely grub had completely finished us off!

Inaaya and her Dad dressed up for the snow:

Inaaya and I ready for some fun in the snow:  

Inaaya enjoying the snow:  

Inaaya and daddy playing:

Inaaya isn’t so sure about the snow after falling over:

After the Christmas break Inaaya was moved up a class at Nursery, I initially assumed that the classes had been mixed up a bit because some of the kids were still away, but apparently Inaaya was doing so well in the Toddler group that her key worker Amy thought it was time for her to move up to Pre-School. After being a bit unsettled at first, Inaaya is now making friends in her new class and seems to have settled in well.

We had parents’ evening last night, and I was so proud to hear all of the positive comments about Inaaya’s development; she seems to be inquisitive, creative and confident, and is even learning to spell her own name. Reading through her report really showed me exactly how much she now understands.

For me the past few weeks have been a bit of a wake up call about how fast my little girl is growing up, she will be going to school in no time!

Inaaya and her key worker Amy:  

December didn’t get off to a great start when we struck down by the winter bug! I spent four days off school and as soon as I was well enough to go back, the hubby had to go off sick. Thank goodness Inaaya didn’t catch it… It was a huge relief being able to drop her off at nursery and know that she was safely away from the germs and in the best possible hands.

With both of us being ill poor Inaaya didn’t even get to join in the fun of dressing the tree this year, her Nan had to do it all by herself. We weren’t even sure whether we would be able to make Inaaya’s Christmas party. In the end we did drag ourselves along though, and Inaaya had such a blast. Just watching her being with her friends, dancing and singing was worth it. We even got to meet Santa, although Inaaya didn’t seem to be too impressed… to be fair I think she was scared of him. Even Inaaya’s friend Jasmine’s daddy was having a good time dancing around. We had so much fun that we forgot about the time and didn’t get home until after 11.30pm. It was straight to bed for Inaaya!

We spent Christmas Day at my in-laws’ house, but unfortunately Daddy had to work. This year Inaaya was much more aware of what was going on and she got thoroughly spoilt with piles of presents. She always does when it come down to it – Grandad, Nan and Uncle Carl can’t help themselves…

Inaaya meets Santa… and isn’t overly impressed:

Inaaya opening presents on Christmas Day with Grandad and Uncle Carl:

Inaaya opening presents on Christmas Day with Grandad and Uncle Carl:

You may remember me mentioning a few months ago that potty training was not going to plan. I’m happy to report that we now seem to be over that hurdle, and that Inaaya is using the toilet. In the end she absolutely refused to sit on the potty, wanting to go straight onto the toilet, which was easy for me and the staff at the nursery as it meant no mess and no puddles!

When I first did away with the nappies we moved on to pull ups, these really helped because Inaaya understood that if she needed to go toilet, but couldn’t make it in time, it wouldn’t be the end of the world. Although they’ve been great, I’m happy to say that we now use them only at night, and that Inaaya wears normal underwear during the day. She loves this and runs around in her knickers and vest reminding me that she’s a ‘big girl’ and that she ‘hates nappies’. I love it too because we’re saving so much money not having to buy nappies!

Inaaya also loves going to the toilet, I think she sees it as a special treat because she gets to wash her hands and play in the water. It’s all about the playing in the water! Don’t get me wrong we still have the odd accident, which Inaaya finds upsetting, but it’s nothing that can’t be sorted out with a kiss and a cuddle.

Inaaya showing off her new favourite knickers and vest combo: 

This year, having thought that I’d put university well and truly behind me, I made the decision to go back to my studies and applied to do a PGCE Course in Art and Design for Secondary Education. Before I knew it I’d left work in August and started the course in September. Going back to university was a huge step and initially I wasn’t sure if I was doing the right thing. However, because this will benefit Inaaya too I’m convinced that it is a good idea. My little girl will be three on her next birthday, which means she’ll be starting school part time, when I’m teaching I’ll be able to work around school holidays much more easily.

But it’s not all plain sailing, the first few weeks have been very stressful and there’s still eight months to go! Making the transition from spending lots of time with Inaaya, to hardly seeing her, has been really difficult. I guess this is just something we’ll have to get used to… And it will be worth it once I have finished. To make up for it I’ve decided that I’m going to avoid doing any uni work at the weekends, meaning we’ll be able to concentrate on spending quality family time together! Last weekend I managed to kill two birds with one stone though when I took Inaaya to the Big Draw at the Ikon Gallery in the Mailbox, Birmingham…

The Big Draw is a national campaign to encourage people to get involved with arts and crafts. At our local event there was an exhibition of a life-sized whale made from fabric, and an opportunity to get creative at a drop-in workshop. Inaaya didn’t seem very impressed with the whale, perhaps it was a bit too big and she was scared of it! She did love being able to draw whatever she wanted though, and it was great to see her having so much fun scribbling, drawing and sticking away. It was also nice to see the staff from the gallery helping out.

In fact Inayaa enjoyed herself so much that she didn’t want to leave. This was great for me as I took the opportunity to carry out some research and do some sketches for university. I also discovered that the gallery hold a parent and child workshop on the first Saturday of every month so we’ll definitely be going back.

Inaaya and I getting creative:

Inaaya engrossed in her work:

A member of gallery staff lends a hand:

Why choose one when you can have them all? Inaaya finds herself spoilt for choice with all of the materials on offer: