Little Ivy Bird

I think today calls for a blog update (even a brief one)......for today Ivy turned one!

What an amazing 12 months.
You wear a clip in your hair and have 8 teeth...nearly, your first and only word still is 'Bird',  you love a dance and make one heck of a mess when you eat!

                                                                        Happy Birthday Little Bird!
                                                                                        xxoo

Oskar & Ivy

It's so funny this time around, to see how a ten month old interacts with others. I guess I didn't get to see it as much with Oskar because he didn't have many other children around to interact with apart from our weekly mother's group catch ups and daycare.

So it is so intriguing to see how interactive Ivy is at this age with her brother, and I just sit back and watch them with a smile and a very warm heart. Hang on...let me paint a true picture here...because my life is not a Kleenex Ad.....This is in between of course telling Oskar to "Put Ivy down"....."don't bang her head!"...."share please, Ivy was playing with that"...."please don't put that in her mouth!"...."don't yell in her ear please"..."Oskar!!"

In between all that mayhem are precious moments.

Sometimes I wonder if I feel she is catching on to things quickly because of Oskar showing her how...or is it that she is playing with more toys aimed at older children, or are girls just more patient?...or is she just a clever clogs?!!! Ha, well of course a proud mum would think so.

Wherever Oskar is, Ivy wants to be.....and he loves it....and so do I.

Grandma and Grandpa came to stay!

The past few weeks have been relaxing and hectic all at once. Mum was oh so kind to stay with the littles and I for four whole weeks while Cam was away and for my return to work.

I can't emphasise enough how grateful I am for that and how much I enjoyed the time we got to spend with each other just as mother and daughter. The opportunity is rare these days and it was so lovely to get a solid dose of mum.

We went shopping, we went out for morning coffees at the beach, we lunched on the balcony, we worked hard on the house and garden, worked through my 'to do' list, mum read her diary from 30 odd years ago when I was 4 and dad went away for 3 months to build a house, we watched 'The Bachelor' like two teenagers and drank wine.....probably too much wine, but it was fun.

Dad then joined us for the fun and tiring babysitting duties and it all went a little like this.........

I found Oskar a new littler bike at an Op shop for $7 to see if a smaller bike would give him more confidence as we were finding the bigger one was a bit daunting.........and it worked! He helped Grandpa make some adjustments and went from being too scared to even sit on his bike to this...........I was so proud of him.

Grandpa taught our little man how to fish....

...and make pancakes!

...how to simply watch the world go by.....

....and swing in a cape!

                             

Our little man and sweet little bird are growing up before our very eyes, and in past the few weeks Oskar has learnt to ride his bike and Ivy started Crawling!

We may have exhausted Grandma and Grandpa by the end of each day....but I'm pretty sure they cherished every moment with these two as they discovered new and exciting things together.

xx

Dad rode the alps of France today...........

This time he didn't have to imagine it though.............

Cameron left last Saturday for his overseas adventure.... and while he is off riding his bike through the picturesque countryside of France, Mum has kindly come to stay with me to help with the house and little'ns...and relieving some of the stress that may have been. 

I didn't really want my final three weeks before starting work to be the most stressful of all and wouldn't really be the best way to return to work.....frazzled, emotional and tired. So....thank you mum for being here. We are both really enjoying the quality time with each other and I am probably the most relaxed I have ever been during my maternity  leave.... as the house is clean, the dishes are always done, the garden is looking the best it ever has and the little'ns are behaving themselves most of the time(Ivy.......you are always an angel, so Oskar that note is for you), and going to bed at 6pm every night! However, Ivy is becoming a little more fussy with the nighttime routine now when she wakes she sits and stands up now and needs extra cuddles to soothe her back down......however usually by 7pm both mum and I can relax with a glass of wine and dinner. 

So while mum has been here some big events have taken place. 

Ivy started day care. She was perfect, I was emotional, however no tears this time as I knew Oskar was there if she did get upset. She has started for 2 days for now to get her used to it before I start work...........and on day 2 she had already caught a cold and has opened a snot factory. 

What felt like a new experience for me was being able to sit on the beach with a relaxing morning breakfast and coffee and I could even lie down and close my eyes  if I wanted to!!!!....I was even able to start and finish a conversation with out being interrupted or distracted. Amazing.

While Ivy was in care, I managed to get a few things ticked off my long list.....listed items on ebay, got through mountains of paperwork and filed, mum sewed me some cushions and finally made Ivy a blanket I meant to do a year ago, cleaned the house, started clearing the garage, went to the tip, gardened and actually read without interruptions!.....it was only a magazine...... but it was reading all the same!!! These may seem mundane however I felt such a sense of acheivement at the end of the 2 days and just so much more relaxed knowing that these things that had been bugging me for so long were done!

Oskar started learning guitar....and when I say learning I mean pretending to play it to his favourite song in the whole world. He can't get enough of an instrumental version of  Coldplay's 'Paradise', done in a  'Lion King'- esque way with strings, piano and tribal chanting...He insists we listen to it on repeat in the car....beats TheWiggles!

And last but not least......Ivy has grown her 3rd tooth and has started crawling and pulling herself up to stand. 

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