Dress ups

The boy is fully recovered now. Which makes for a happier, well, everyone!

Playing dress ups. Hats are so much fun. Putting all our hats out to play with can keep him entertained for quite some time. He points to his head and makes noises whenever a hat is near by.

Sick

Our poor boy is under the weather. He has high temperature.The doctor called it the Ekka Virus. So we are trying to take it easy as much as possible. Lots of nursing, a bit of sleeping and many more cuddles and kisses. Adam and I hope he gets better soon. We have never seen our little firecracker so placid and sleepy.

We still manage to get a few laughs from him though. Here's hoping for a speedy recovery.

How does your garden grow?

Very slowly. It would seem. But you have to keep trying. Right? The herbs are still a dismal affair but I have hope for the tomatoes, which do seem to be getting bigger. I am trying to grow them hanging upside down in buckets. So far I have high hopes. Artie and I visit them everyday and give them love and encouragement. Cross your fingers for us! I had a great frame made for the buckets to hang from but unfortunately it was not strong enough to survive the high winds we had the other say. So now they are hanging on branches in the barren and farthest corners of our yard. Until I have the time to make a stronger frame this is where they will stay. 

We did yield the smallest potatoes. I dug them up the other day. They are tiny. Artie loves them though and carries them all around the yard. I might try and steam them up for him one night, they are just the right size.

Bushwalking

Weekend bushwalking. Arthur even walked some of it alone and stuck to the path!

 

collection #4 and #5

From our honeymoon in Italy.

Two birthdays and a chocolate cake

A very busy weekend. Birthday breakfast and lunch and Artie's first chocolate cake. He licked the plate clean!

Painting

Nan and Gran have a birthday this week. Happy Birthday to you both!

Artie and I decided to make them a present. 

We prepared the materials: 

::A tray

::A paintbrush

::Some non-toxic paint mixed in water

::A few small bottle lids to hold the paint and water (only a small amount needed as Artie likes to make a mess!)

::A couple of non-toxic crayons
::Watercolour paper, taped to the tray

We kept the materials minimal so that Arthur could just have fun experimenting with sensory play. 

After we cleaned up, I got to have some fun. I cut out sections of the paintings that I liked. Arranged them on a card and used the sewing machine around the edges. Now we are off to deliver a card, with Artie's first painting on the front, to Nan and Gran.

I am going to keep one for myself too. I think it fits beautifully in our home!

Collection #3

From a trip to New Zealand with a good friend, to see The World of Wearable Art, for my 21st birthday.

Collection #2

Ben and Corinne's wedding. A weekend in Ruthergeln, Victoria, 2006.

In the spirit of getting more organised and minimising some of my 'stuff' I have started photographing some of my collections. I am one of those people who collects a lot of souvenirs from a holiday or special occasion. When I was little I used to keep scrapbooks. However this leads to too much 'stuff' around that I never get around to making into a scrapbooks anymore. So I wil record them digitally before letting go. 

motivation

Lately, I have been feeling very motivated. To cook. To organise. To garden. I have really been enjoying being a stay at home mother and teaching and playing with Artie while running the house.

Adam and I dream of growing our own vegetables and herbs. Even though my thumb is not very green, as far from green as one can go it seems, we keep trying. So into the garden we go. A new batch of herbs, some tomatoes and strawberries. If I keep trying, I have to get it right one day. Right?

Now I have even more motivation to get into the garden. My ever present little helper. Who adores being outside and runs off to explore. So into the garden we go again today. 

{I have been enjoying reading 'Outdoor Kids: A practical guide for kids in the garden' by Jamie Durie. I got it out of the library and it has some great information for when Arthur is older. So I am putting it here to remind myself to check it out in a few years when he is able to help out.}

Handmade Presents

Just a little bit more handmade goodness from Arthur's birthday, just because I love handmade things best of all! Introducing- Golly on the left from Great Grandma and Peter on the right from Gran. 

Having a staring competition with Peter. I am not sure who won, but I have my suspicions. When I came back outside poor Peter had been thrown off the balcony!

He was also lucky enough to have to yummy cakes made by his Nan and his Great Aunt. So much love for the little man.

morning walk

Every morning, come rain or shine, Artie and I (Adam joins us when he is home) go on our morning walk. These days Artie is doing a lot of exploring on these walks. I love watching him explore nature. It forces me to take a closer look too. 

Beach Day

Beautiful Queensland winters= swimming, sand play and accidental burn on my shoulders,

and one tired and happy boy at the end of the day, with crazy, beach hair!

When I was one, I had just begun

Now that Arthur has journeyed once around the sun it is time for an update.

We can hardly believe it was over a year ago now that Artie joined our little family. Somedays Adam and I feel he hasn't changed much at all. However you just need to compare these photos with the ones below and it proves that he has indeed grown a whole lot!

He is no longer scared of his good friend Zeddy, in fact, he now has the upper hand. 

They wrestle (aka Artie strangles poor Zeddy);

He has grown much taller then Zeddy;

It's still love!

::He is walking everywhere. He even refuses to crawl up the stairs. Too clever to crawl thank you very much.

::He is still breastfeeding (quite often) but enjoys many foods and is willing to taste anything. 

::He loves; birds, planes, buses, helicopters and bins best. Especially bins! He points out every bin he sees with great enthusiasm and signs "more". I really don't like Monday morning walks that much as it is rubbish collection day and that makes for a lot of arm flailing, pointing, shouting and "more" signing as we see copious amounts of wheelie bins lining the streets.

:: His communication is going really well. He signs more, up, plane, bird, helicopter, washing machine, around around, bin and says (not always clearly) ball, mumma, dadda, balloon, up. Amongst others. 

::He also seems to be understanding us a lot more. He will follow simple instruction, like 'can you please but this in the bin' (of course!) and listens intently when I explain "No, stop, the road is dangerous".

:: His sleeping is still all over the place. Someday really good, other days we wonder why he is not collapsing. He loves having dum-dum and Gerry to sleep with. And Gerry (his blankie) gets lots of cuddles and kisses! 

:: He has no interest in television, but loves reading, walking, digging up plants, moving objects around the house, being outside, playing with balls and balloons, eating while walking, listening to nursery rhymes and being carried around (so he can see what the adults are doing).

:: He is quite reserved in large groups but is a real charmer once he warms up to the situation or person.

::He attends Mummy and Me yoga and Rhyme Time at the library.

::He is a real bundle of energy. He came into the world raring to go and hasn't stopped since.  

::He is adorable, cheeky, cute, stubborn, strong-willed and smart. 

:: Did I mention he is adorable So handsome with his big blue eyes and blonde hair. 

Arthur, you have taught us the true meaning of exhaustion. Every day is a learning experience. But no matter what, you bring us a smile every day. You have filled our lives with so much pride and happiness it feels like we could burst. Thank you for joining us.