Picnic

Sometimes a great way to get a toddler to eat his lunch is to have a picnic. Artie often seems to eat a lot more when we are outside and he is able to look around and get distracted by the birds and ants! 

Outside

Some days in parenting just seem so long. I have a hundred things on my mind. The to-do-list is growing and Artie has already had an early nap. The hours until Adam comes home seem to stretch on forever in front of us and I am sick of reading and playing. We have discovered on these days it is best just to pack up, forget the lists and head outside.  Lately, Queensland seems to have been either raining or boiling. But we found the Brisbane Botanical Gardens to be a good place to go even when it is super hot. There are lots of shady areas, water taps to fill up our bottles and, most importantly,  they even sell ice-cream! 

It feels so good to be outside and Artie loves it. I think all babies and young ones love being in the outdoors. The best way to get a baby to settle, in our experience, is to take him outside and show him some trees! I want to foster that love of the great outdoors in our young explorer. That means spending at least half our day outside. Even if it is just in the yard.  However the Botanical Gardens is quite close to where we live so we don't have an excuse to not visit more often and visit the ducks, water hens and lizards.

 I always feel less stressed and grumpy after we've spent a couple of hours outside too. So it's back to our  2008 resolution! 

Look at that little red face, it was definitely hot! 

Sunday Afternoon

We spent the afternoon, like we do many afternoons, in the park down the road. The only difference this particular afternoon was that Arthur was walking around like he had been doing it for years. He even kicked the ball around and carried our bags all over the field. He took his first steps at 10 months old and, day by day, he has gradually improved. Now at 11.5 months I would officially call him a toddling toddler! You have to love Queensland winters, notice Adam is wearing shorts and a t-shirt. A perfect Sunday Afternoon with my loves. 

We returned home to our house with the bright yellow Wattle in full bloom. Winters in Queensland are definitely bright and cheery!

Artie Goes to the Zoo

A beautiful Spring day in Melbourne, a visit to the zoo and one happy 4 month old boy. One of those days you never want to forget.

Artie wasn't too fussed about the animals but he loved the trees!

Feeding time at the zoo!

fun in the sun

We had a sunny weekend for a change, and it made us all happy.

 

We did some work, play and exploring in the garden.

Here's hoping for many more sunny spring days.