Weekends in a Winter Wonderland

We have had a very mild winter on the Gold Coast this year, and we are very lucky to have enjoyed some beautiful warm, sunny weekends together.

 
When we are not in the garden, we head to the beach. There is sometimes a battle to get everyone in the car calmly, and even a tantrum here and there, but in between all that....there is this.....and it is'this' that makes it all worth while.

In between the sun......we had some rain. Oskar is learning some card games now and although I would love to play some board games with him....he is not quite there yet. 'Guess Who' became 'Look who I've got!! Hmmmm didn't quite grasp it!...However he is the master of 'Go Fish'!

Then the sun came out again.................so Oskar hit the water while we looked on.

1947.....a good year.

 This July, mum also turned 66, and we were very happy to be able to celebrate together.

We had a pre-birthday morning tea on the deck.

I painted this.... and couldn't wait to give it to her. I owe mum some handcrafted gifts after all the wonderful things she has made me over the years. 

On the day we went out for lunch at Burleigh.......unfortunately the rain came too.

  ...and during their stay, they did this......as well as helping me through my long list of chores, however I wont bore you with photos of mum hanging washing, mending and dad washing our windows and sanding furniture!!!

 Thank you for a wonderful visit Grandma and Grandpa!

...and Happy Birthday to a very special lady in our lives. We love you. x

We Hunted Taipans in China Today.........

Oskar and I flew to China (the front yard) to look for Taipans (dead palm fronds)..... we have hunted lions in Africa and pretended to be tigers in Asia............This weekend we had to escape from baddie pirates who were trying to capture us with their pew pews. (guns)

I can't wait to see where your imagination takes you next my darling.

Eight Months & Milestones.

Well it has been a whole month since my last update, and before I get into what we've been up to ....let me just update you on what our new little bird has been up to and what she has accomplished....Get ready for a love fest!!!!!!

Firstly...as a mum I just need to say (because it is my right!), that she has been getting cuter and cuter every day!

Ivy now has 2 teeth!, and with them, she is eating lumpy solids and feeding herself small pieces of food. Strawberries are the favourite!

She plays and laughs along with games and songs and wears perhaps too many stripes at once!

Ivy is getting closer and closer to crawling, although still prefers to stand.

She has moved on to the bottle after many failed attempts and now still wakes at 2am...still working on that. After the first 5 months of sleeping all night long....... I know she has it in her!

Life has been pretty cruisy with little Ivy, and although I'm always busy, with not enough hours in the day to get through things, I am certainly feeling like I am far more relaxed emotionally. Things are much easier the second time round. Maybe it's me...maybe it's her...maybe it's because we are reacting to each other.

Something I've come to realise from friends who said that having 2 is so much harder than having 1 is this..................it's not harder because of the new baby....oh no ...........the challenges come from the first born....yes that's you Oskar! There was definitely some adjusting our little 4 year year old had to do, and sometimes struggled with the shared attention. I am glad to say now that things have settled down and a '10 sticker and prize reward board' has seen a huge improvement in behaviour.

I also know this...Oskar loves Ivy very very much.

Challenges, tiredness, discipline, sleepless nights, no social life, messy house...did i mention tiredness?......................laughter, hugs, kisses, surprises, amazement, innocence, LOVE..............we wouldn't have it any other way.

xx