Merry Christmas everyone!

Merry Christmas my friends and family from Yasmin, your Christmas fairy! (actually in this photo I am pretending to be Glinda, the good witch of the north, but that doesn't matter now, does it?!?)

Welcome to my new blog! I hope you like the colour. I decided it was time to have my favourite colour here - not Mama's.

So, I have so much news to tell and I'm not sure what order to tell it, so I have just put some photos and stories below to tell you what has been happening.

Mama and Dada and I have moved to Basel and we like it here a lot. I love my new home and I especially love my new bedroom. I will put a picture of that here for you soon, because I am very proud of it and tell everyone about it.

On Friday we were supposed to go to the snow with my zio for Christmas, but there was a lot of fog in London and his plane couldn't leave when it was supposed to. I told Mama and Dada that I didn't want us to go to the snow until Zio was here, I just wanted to stay at home and wait for him. So that's what we did. He finally arrived late on Saturday night and boy was I excited to see him on Sunday morning!

We didn't mind missing the trip because we have been very busy getting the house ready and finding out how to do things in our new town. It is nice to just stay home and relax for a few days.

Anyway, I am glad you found me at my new site and I want to wish you all a very happy Christmas and a new year that is lots of fun.

My new kindergarten

One amazing thing is that I already have a new kindergarten here in Basel, and I love it. I started going there one week after I arrived, and I have been going every day since. It is a very special place, a Montessori children's house, and it is for kids who speak (or want to speak) two languages. They have so much cool stuff there, like a real stove that we are allowed to cook real soup on, a painting room, lots of things to experiment with water and colours and pouring, books and blocks and lots lots more. Every day we have circle time where we sing songs and play time outside in the park across the road. We are allowed to take breaks whenever we want, and we cut our own bread to eat and pour own drinks with real glasses.
This photo is of me at our Christmas party. I surprised Mama and Dada by singing all the songs and joining in the dances. I had lots of fun and wished we could have kindy parties every day.

Niklaus

December really is an exciting month to be living in Switzerland. On the 6th, St Niklaus comes to visit all the kids. He puts presents in their shoes. Mama and I went shopping in Basel that day and we met 3 Niklauses in the street! They all gave me presents of a little bag filled with nuts and chocolates. One tried to give me a mandarin too, but I said "no thanks" to that. I think I was supposed to sing them a song or something, but I never wanted to. It didn't matter, because they gave me the chocolates anyway! Hee hee.

Decorating tree

One of the first things we did when we moved was put up the Christmas tree. You can see me decorating it here, and you can see all the boxes in the background. After that, Mama and I baked gingerbread biscuits together and then decorated them and hung them on the tree.

Advent calendars

We lived in an apartment when we first got to Basel. I called it "Dada's hotel". The day we arrived was the 1st of December. That meant that I could open my advent calendars. I was very lucky to have 3 this year. One Lindt one (yum!), one Playmobil one that has lots of cool Christmas figurines and, best of all, one special one made for me by my Anna. She wrapped up 24 presents for me and tied them all together with ribbon. I had so much fun opening them every day.

Goodbye to my old kindy

It was sad saying goodbye to my friends in Bonn. Don't tell anyone, but Mama even cried when we had to leave! I was sorry to leave my Bonn kindergarten. We had a fun party together before I left though, and Mama even made chocolate crackles and fairy bread and vegemite sandwiches for all the kids to try.

Bag from kindy

My kindy gave me this beautiful new bag as a goodbye present. I wonder how they knew that pink and purple are my favourite colours?!? I guess I did draw and make a lot of pink and purple things there...

Ready to move

Ready to move
Originally uploaded by Yassiemoo.

Here is another photo that I took. This one is to show you that we are getting ready to move! This is the sign that they put on the street to tell the cars not to park there, because we need room for the big moving truck. It is coming on Tuesday. After that we won't live in our place anymore. Mama and I are going to stay in a hotel for a little while, and then we are moving to Basel, to be with Dada again. I can't wait to move, I'm very excited about it. I keep telling Mama that I am going to help the people pack our stuff in boxes.
Mama and I won't be able to use the computer for a while now, so if you need to contact me, just text Mama's mobile and I will get back to you! ;-)

Wizard of Oz book

Wizard of Oz book
Originally uploaded by Yassiemoo.

I am totally crazy about the Wizard of Oz at the moment. I like to type the word oz onto the keyboard whenever Mama is using it. And I like to find oz on the pages Mama reads to me. Here you can see an amazing Wizard of Oz book that we found. It has pop up pictures of all the things in Oz. This page is the Emerald City, and my Dada looks funny because he is wearing the special glasses that come with the book. You wear them so you don't hurt your eyes when you look at all the emerald sparkles.
Oh, also in this picture I am holding my lantern that I made at kindergarten. We made pumpkin laterns but I wanted my lantern to look like me, so we gave it red plaits and blue eyes. I put a special lamp in it and carried it for the Saint Martin's parade last week.

Zio came to visit

Zio came to visit
Originally uploaded by Yassiemoo.

My zio came to visit last weekend. He came just to eat schnitzel one last time before we moved. Oh, and to see me.
Of course we went to the pub together on Saturday night. We ordered a big schnitzel for me, and I was supposed to share it with Zio. He only got TWO BITES! I ate the rest. Well, I do like my schnitzel. Maybe he'll know better than to share with me next time.
On Sunday we went to a kids' festival at the museum near our house. I had my face painted and did dancing. After that we took the bus to the airport to say goodbye to Zio. I was very sad he had to leave, but I will see him again at Christmas.

Pippi Longstocking

Pippi Longstocking
Originally uploaded by Yassiemoo.

I went to see a show of Pippi Longstocking with Mama the other day. It had songs and dances, and even a dancing horse. I thought he was very very funny. Some people say I look like Pippi sometimes. On this day I dressed up like Pippi especially, with my hair in plaits and stripey stockings.

Doctor Emilia

Doctor Emilia
Originally uploaded by Yassiemoo.

Hello again. Just wanted to tell you that Wednesday was a public holiday here in Bonn. There was no kindergarten or work for anyone so Carolyn and Emilia came over to play for the whole day! It was so cool. We had such a nice day playing together. It's much better now that I can talk and understand a bit of German, because I can have even more fun with my friends. Here you can see Emilia playing doctor.

Tattoos

Tattoos
Originally uploaded by Yassiemoo.

We all put tattoos on our arms too. As you can see, it was a very serious business.

Up close

Close up tattoos
Originally uploaded by Yassiemoo.

Aren't they pretty?

Halloween

Halloween
Originally uploaded by Yassiemoo.

Happy Halloween! Well, we don't really celebrate Halloween but Mama was making pumpkin soup yesterday so she thought she'd try to carve a lantern. Between you and me, she needs a bit more practice at it. But I thought it was pretty funny all the same.

Sleep over with Carolyn

Sleep over with Carolyn
Originally uploaded by Yassiemoo.

A couple of weekends ago my friend Carolyn came for a sleepover.

Water painting

Water painting
Originally uploaded by Yassiemoo.

We had lots of fun playing and making mess.

Cuddled up

Cuddled up
Originally uploaded by Yassiemoo.

We cuddled up on the couch together to watch Caillou. We watched it in German first, then in English!

Undies party

Undies cake
Originally uploaded by Yassiemoo.

Guess what? I don't wear nappies anymore - I always wear underpants! To celebrate, we had a party and made a cake in the shape of undies. Looks good eh?

Licking the bowl

Licking the bowl
Originally uploaded by Yassiemoo.

We had lots of fun making and decorating the cake. Here we are licking the bowl. You can see me and Carolyn and my friend Ranin, who lives in my street and comes over to play sometimes.

Self-portrait

Self-portrait
Originally uploaded by Yassiemoo.

I have been practising using the camera lately. I think I am getting quite good at it. This is my first self-portrait.

Hello again

Care bear
Originally uploaded by Yassiemoo.

Hello everybody, I'm sorry I haven't put anything here for a long time. Our family has been very busy, getting ready to move to Basel. Actually, Dada has already moved, so we live in different countries now! On the weekends we try to visit each other. Last weekend Mama and I went to Basel to see him, and to look at our new apartment. This weekend Dada is here with us.
Things are going very well though. We really like the new apartment we found - it has lots more space than the one in Bonn, and two big outdoor areas for me to play. It is also right next to a great big park.
Mama and I will move to Basel at the end of November. In the meantime, I am really enjoying kindergarten, and speaking more and more German every day.

Exhibition

Exhibition
Originally uploaded by Yassiemoo.

We did something very cool at kindergarten last week. Me and some other kids got to be in a special art program at the art museum in Bonn. We went there and looked at some abstract art and talked about it together, and then we got to paint the same way. At the end of the week, we had an exhibition at kindy, so everyone could see our work. You can see me here next to my painting. Of course it is the one with pink and purple in it!

Eating cake

Eating cake
Originally uploaded by Yassiemoo.

The exhibition was a special event at kindergarten - we even had coffee and tea and cake afterwards. We were allowed to invite people to come so I asked my Anna. She took these photos, because Dada had our camera in Basel. She bought me a piece of chocolate cake too. You can see I had no trouble finding a place for it. There's always room in my tummy for sweet things.

Party with Harriet

Party with Harriet
Originally uploaded by Yassiemoo.

OK, this is old news now, but at the end of September we went on a quick trip to England, and visited our friends Jon and Sarah and Harriet. Our main reason for going was to watch a football grand final, but Dada says I don't need to say too much about that now.
I had the best time with Harriet, she is so much fun and really looks after me. She took me to a birthday party too. I was amazed at how fancy the party was - with a bouncy castle, face painting, a man making balloon shapes, disco lights and music, girls in pretty dresses - Mama and I had never seen anything like it, and the birthday girl was only 4!!! But Harriet and Sarah told us this was totally normal for a birthday party. I am going to have to have a word with Mama about this. Have she and Dada been holding out on me?!?
As if the party wasn't enough, on Saturday night we went to see a show of one of my favourite stories - The Wizard of Oz. I loved every minute of it, and since then I have not stopped wanting to play Dorothy.
P.S. Mama stole this photo from Harriet's site - you can see more there at http://jonandsarah.blogspot.com

Playing the musical instrument

Playing the musical instrument
Originally uploaded by Yassiemoo.

After staying with Harriet, we had a quick trip down to London to meet Auntie Barbie, who was over from Sydney to do some work. We went to the kids' park at the Kensington Gardens together, and found some great musical instruments to play.

Jumping to the music

Jumping to the music
Originally uploaded by Yassiemoo.

This one was really cool. You jump on the different tiles to make different sounds, kind of like a xylophone.

Weightlifting

Weightlifting
Originally uploaded by Yassiemoo.

After London, I went to see my Zio in Hinckley. I was so happy to see him again, it had been nearly a year since I saw him last! (He came to see me in hospital, but I was too sick to notice then!) We had lots of laughs together and I loved checking out his place again. I had my first try at weightlifting too - see how strong I am!

First adjustment

First adjustment
Originally uploaded by Yassiemoo.

My zio is a chiropractor, and he gave me my first adjustment while I visited him. I have always been too scared to have one before, but this time I loved it. I wanted another one the next day, it felt so good!

Mein Deutsch ist so gut!

Mein Deutsch ist so gut
Originally uploaded by Yassiemoo.

I am learning lots and lots at kindergarten, and each day I come home speaking more German. Yesterday a man came to visit us, he is from the company that is going to help us move all our boxes and furniture to Basel. Mama and Dada were explaining to him that their German is not very good. But I ran over and said "mein Deutsch ist soooo gut!" Everyone laughed when I said that, but I don't really see what was so funny.

I'm moving!

New work
Originally uploaded by Yassiemoo.

Well, we have some big news. We are leaving Bonn! :-(
But it is not so sad, because we are moving to Switzerland! :-) Yay!
Dada has a new job there, in a city called Basel, and we went there on the weekend to see what it is like.
This is a picture of me and Dada outside his new office. Funny shape for an office hey?
Basel is very interesting, it is on the Rhine like Bonn, but it is on the border of two other countries - France and Germany. We actually stayed in France when we visited, and we WALKED over the border to Switzerland. Very funny.
I am very excited about moving, so much so that I told my kindergarten teacher that I was going to live in Basel. That made Mama and Dada embarrassed because they hadn't told kindy yet, they were hoping to wait a little while before they let them know.
Dada has to start work on the 9th of October, but Mama and me are going to stay in Bonn a bit longer, so that Mama can finish some German lessons she is taking and I can spend more time (and learn more German) at my fun kindergarten. They speak German in Basel too, but it sounds kind of different.

Elephant park

Elephant park
Originally uploaded by Yassiemoo.

There were so many things I liked about Basel. I said that it was much prettier there, with more flowers and more trees. I also said that there were more motorbikes, and Mama and Dada think I might be right. On the weekend I was already calling Bonn "where I used to live."
Anyway, I LOVED this park with the big elephant in it. You can climb all over it, even the tusks.

Climbing elephant

Climbing elephant
Originally uploaded by Yassiemoo.

Here I am after I climbed up the elephant. Of course I made Dada climb up too.

Father's day

Father's day
Originally uploaded by Yassiemoo.

It was Father's day while we were in Switzerland. I was SO excited about it. I painted this mug especially for Dada as a present. And I also picked him a pink and purple tie (because he has to wear them in his new job). The day we bought the tie I tried to tell Dada as soon as he got home, but Mama stopped me, she said we had to keep it a secret because it was a surprise. Each day I would ask "is it Father's day yet?" Then I got thinking about whether there was a Mother's Day. I decided it would be Little Girl's day soon too.

Danyel

Danyel
Originally uploaded by Yassiemoo.

While we're catching up on news, Mama's cousin Danyel came to visit a couple of weeks ago. She is travelling around Europe and she stopped in Bonn to say hello to us. I had lots of fun with her, she was like my new best friend, and she played with me lots while Mama and Dada talked a lot about moving and looked up lots of things on the computer about Basel!

Goodbye Noni

Noni
Originally uploaded by Yassiemoo.

It was another sad day yesterday. I had to say goodbye to my Noni. She has been here ever since I got sick (well, she did go away for little trips sometimes, but she always came back) but now it is time for her to go to her own home in Perth.
I had so much fun with her, we played together so much, especially in the mornings when Mama and Dada were all sleepy and no fun. I used to love the eggs she would cook for me in her Noni cafe, and also coming home after kindergarten to see her head popping out the window, or at the top of the stairs. It is a shame she has to go home, but I think my Zizi Kate needs her in Perth, so that's OK.
Noni got a digital camera while she was here, and she had lots of practice using it on me! I thought I would show you some of her best shots now...

At Petersberg

At Petersberg
Originally uploaded by Yassiemoo.

Here I am at Petersberg, a big fancy hotel up high in Bonn. You drive up and up in the car in big circles, and when you get to the top you can see the Rhine River and lots of other things. We could see Dada's work and even our favourite summer swimming pool. They had yummy cakes and ice cream there too.

Sound of music

Sound of music
Originally uploaded by Yassiemoo.

One day we went to Maastricht in the Netherlands with Noni. I found this big rotunda that looked fun to run around in. Since I already had my white dress on, I pretended to be Liesel from The Sound of Music, doing lots of dancing and pretending to be 16 going on 17...

Sound of music 2

Sound of music 2
Originally uploaded by Yassiemoo.

Here I am again being a bit more smiley.

Washing basket

Washing basket
Originally uploaded by Yassiemoo.

Playing games. Everyone has to say: "Has anyone seen Yassie? I'm sure she was here just a minute ago." If they forget to say it, I remind them.

Hiding

Hiding
Originally uploaded by Yassiemoo.

I made a cosy spot for myself here.

Pose

Pose
Originally uploaded by Yassiemoo.

Here is one of my poses during a Noni photo shoot.

With Annabel and Kristin 2003

With Annabel and Kristin 2003
Originally uploaded by Yassiemoo.

Here is something funny to show you. This is me with my doll friends Annabel and Kristin, when I was just 2 months old. Noni keeps this photo in her wallet.

With Annabel and Kristin 2006

With Annabel and Kristin 2006
Originally uploaded by Yassiemoo.

And here I am with the girls again now. Do you think I've changed much?!?

Aunty Barbie visited

Aunty Barbie visited
Originally uploaded by Yassiemoo.

Last but definitely not least, we had a very special visitor the weekend before last - my Aunty Barbie! Oh, it was so good to see her. She had some work to do near London, so she popped over to see us for 24 hours. Of course we managed to squeeze a visit to the pub in during that time - for brunch. We had some great chats, at least when Mama would let me get a word in. Gee, she and Aunty Barbie can sure talk!

Kindy kid

Kindy kid
Originally uploaded by Yassiemoo.

Now I have some really big news...I am a kindergarten kid!
I go to German kindergarten every day.
It started last week. For the first week, my kindergarten class had a special outing every day to the forest. We went from 9 until 3, and had lunch out there. We saw deer and pigs, and went for big walks, and caught bugs and things in little jars (then we let them go) and made craft projects with rocks and leaves and stuff.
I wasn't too sure about it all at first, so I took Mama along with me for the first week. That was a good idea, because it meant I could get to know everyone and feel safe and secure around them. By Friday I said to Mama "I feel comfortable with the teachers now!"

Dad to daughter talk

Dad to daughter talk
Originally uploaded by Yassiemoo.

Dada and I had a heart-to-heart before I left for my first day.

Milo in bed

Milo in bed
Originally uploaded by Yassiemoo.

By the third day I was very tired, and Mama had to bring me a Milo in bed to wake me up in the morning. Now Mama or Noni make me a cup of Milo to start every kindy day.

Second cup

Second cup
Originally uploaded by Yassiemoo.

Some days one cup of Milo is just not enough...

Waving bye

Waving bye
Originally uploaded by Yassiemoo.

Now I am an old pro at kindy. I go by myself for the whole time (9 until 12 or 12:30) and I just play and have fun. I am happy to say goodbye to Mama or Dada, especially when I have a craft project or something to keep me busy.
There are 15 kids in my class, and two teachers. Some of the kids have special needs, so we have some extra teachers too, one for speech therapy, and one for motor skills.
There is a sandpit with a little slide, and lots of bikes to ride outside. There's a tumbling room, and lots of play rooms, and a sleeping room, and little toilets and sinks. I have a special hook with my name on it to hang my things, and a special basket to put my outside shoes in. There is a special drawer with my name on it to put my artwork in, and a special towel with my name on it to dry my hands.
They have breakfast at kindergarten too. A little buffet is set out every morning and it's Yassie size. I help myself and then sit at the table. Afterwards I stack my dirty dishes on the trolley.
Being a kindy kid is pretty cool I reckon.