Three

For Ella's birthday treat this year we took a little trip on Puffing Billy - a wonderful steam train that runs through the Dandenong Ranges. Amazingly it stopped raining and the sun came out for the morning which was just perfect. We chugged along, huffing and puffing, through the trees and over rickety old bridges, with our wellied feet dangling out of the windows, waving to everyone we passed. It was wonderful.

Nanny and Grandpa met us at the station and we all drove back to their house for a play and a slice of birthday cake. The rain started again by afternoon so we snuggled up in front of the fire and played with Ella's new birthday presents. It was a lovely day of full of simple pleasures, just perfect.

It's still really hard to believe that our beautiful little girl turned 3 last week. It just doesn't seem possible that three whole years have passed since we shared our first cuddles. But they have passed and every day we have watched our gorgeous baby grow into the sweet (yet sometimes very assertive) little person that she is!

I can't begin to tell you how proud of this lovely little lady we are. Of course there are the usual toddler tears and tantrums from time to time - but most of all she is a very caring little thing and so funny and full of joy for life. Her enthusiasm for even the tiniest thing is infectious and makes us see the world with bright new eyes. I doubt that there is a day that passes where she doesn't have us in hysterics over something she's done or said.

Happy Birthday Ella xx

Cousins

View fullsize

Given that the little ones are still rather too young for the ANZAC dawn service, what better way to show our gratitude to all those thousands of brave young men and women who sacrificed so much, than by taking time to really appreciate the family and the freedom that they fought to protect.

We spent a beautiful day picnicing in the park and topped it off with a trip to the beach where Ella and Anais had masses of fun frolicking in the waves.  I can't begin to tell you how cold the water was, but they didn't seem to even notice. I often think how wonderful it would be to exist in a state where the world was so much fun, so engaging and exciting, that your own personal discomfort was irrelevant!

It was so lovely to watch the girls playing together and to see Jacob and Dylan beginning to interact with one another. It made me think, not for the first time, how grateful I am that they have each other. Ella may not have a sister, and Jacob may not have a brother, but in a way they've each got something better - a cousin.  The excitement from the girls when they hear that they are going to see the other is simply heart melting - I hope that they never lose that. I hope that they will always grow and play together, learning from each other, encouraging one another, laughing, exploring and generally enjoying some girly fun.

I'm immensely grateful for my own lovely sister, and part of me is a little sad to think that Ella probably won't have get to have that same relationship, but I'm hoping (perhaps naively) that Ella and Anais, (and Jacob and Dylan) will get to have all the benefits of having a sister (or a brother) without at least some of the arguments that inevitably go with it!

Shiver me timbers!

Ooo Aaaarr! Ohoy there mateys! Yesterday was Jacob's first birthday party, and, incase you haven't guessed, it was a pirate party. We had so much fun; the weather was perfect and the guests were lovely.

There were sandwiches, sausage rolls and a plethora of cake. There were eye patches and paper hats and scars. There were balloon sword fights, "Arrrrr's" a plenty and our very own pirate ship on the lawn. The cubby got a very rigorous playing with and some people even walked the plank!

My two dearest birthday boys had a fantastic (if tiring!) day. They both got rather spoiled with gifts, stuffed their faces with cake and had generally had a swashbucklingly good time. So a big thank you to all our friends and family who made it such a lovely day, and to those who couldn't be there; we missed you.

x

One Year

It's hard to believe that a whole year has passed since we welcomed our beautiful baby boy into the world, and yet it's hard to imagine a world without our sweet little man.

Jacob, words cannot begin to express how much you have enriched all of our lives.  We have simply loved watching you grow during this last year, watching as you learn new skills. At 1 year old your personality is really starting to shine out.

You beam at us when we go into your room in the morning, you reach out for cuddles, you wave goodbye and love to clap along to your favourite songs.

You dance, you bounce, you crawl at lightening speeds. (The rapid thud thud thud as you crawl through the house to find me has to be one of my favourite sounds in the world!)

You splash (boy, can you splash!), you blow bubbles, you shout with glee.

You giggle at your sister when she's being silly, and she giggles back, and you giggle back, and she giggles back, and... well, you get the idea). You call to each other through the door when she's still in bed and you're up.  You smile with delight when she plays with you, and you cry when she gets bored and hits you over the head - but you're always so pleased to see each other. Oh and you give each other bedtime kisses with mouths wide open, laughing all the while!

You are getting so dexterous, you have no problem fitting pegs in holes and you can build towers 3 blocks high all on your own! You love posting things, but if you could stop posting them into the central heating ducts that would be great! You will pick up a hairbrush and brush your hair. You copy Ella when she's brushing her teeth. You hold the phone up to your ear and smile with absolute delight when you hear your daddy's voice. You love to hammer and you love to empty a box and then put everything back.

You are such a chilled out little man, so relaxed and happy. So curious and enthusiastic about everything. You're into everything and very determined - you get so cross if we try to stop you from exploring something new (such as the toilet!) But above all else you are sweet and affectionate and loving, gentle and thoughtful and we love you so very dearly.

Happy first birthday darling boy.

Egg Hunting...

One of my absolute favourite memories of easter (and possibly of all time) is hunting for easter eggs in the garden with my little sister.  We would be out there at the crack of dawn in our nighties, with jumpers and wellies on. The grass would be wet with dew (or rain!) and the morning was always still and quiet, with only the wood pigeons or our excited little voices to break the silence. I even remember the smell of the cool air!

So, I was very keen to try to recreate this experience for my own little ones.  It was a cool morning here and the unanticipated rain overnight meant that some of our eggs were not so much hiding as swimming, but the rain didn't dampen any of the excitement! We searched in trees, in plant pots, in watering cans, even in the cubby house! The easter bunny had been all over the garden and even the littlest one was able to find some all on his own (even if he didn't get to eat them just yet!)

Chicks and Chocolate

These little easter nests are something that we used to make for easter when we were children.  I have always thought that they are just the sweetest little things. I haven't made them for years and years, in part because I couldn't find the right ingredients in Australia.  This year however I managed to find both Shredded Wheat and mini eggs with a sugar shell! Ella had a lot of fun breaking up the Shredded Wheat, mixing in the chocolate and placing the eggs on top. I think she enjoyed eating them at afternoon tea most of all though!

Easter Chocolate Birds Nests: makes 8 - 10

4 Shredded Wheat

120g Chocolate (milk or dark or a combination of both)

40g Butter

3 tbsp Golden Syrup

Mini chocolate eggs to decorate

Crumble the Shredded Wheat into a mixing bowl. In a heavy bottom pan, or in the microwave, melt the chocolate, butter and golden syrup. Pour this mixture over the Shredded Wheat and stir well until it is all coated. Dollop the mixture onto a baking sheet or greaseproof paper, shaping each mound into a nest shape, with an indentation in the centre to hold the eggs. Place a few chocolate eggs into each nest and refrigerate until set.

'Mowling' the lawn

Cleaning up the grass cuttings..

'Twinkle, twinkle, little star...'

 'Look mumma, a bee!'

'Decorationing' Jacob

'Hey, this is fun..'

Or maybe not...

'Jacob's got green hair!' 

'C'mere you!'

'What? I'm just cleaning up!'

She looks so sweet and innocent..

'It's raining grass!'

That's All Folks!

The sun'll come out tomorrow..

It's been a trying sort of week. Nick has been working super-crazy-only-coming-home-to-sleep-hard and besides missing him massively it can be rather tiring doing the single-parent thing. The kids have both been pretty grumpy this week - I think they've both been feeling a little under the weather, but that has resulted in Ella being particularly bossy and rough with Jacob and Jacob being extra whingy about it. *sigh*

It's also been raining more than it has for weeks (although that's not saying much!) so we've been somewhat confined to the house. It's actually been sort of nice in a way. We've had to slow down a bit and I've enjoyed just hanging out with the little ones, not worrying about having to be 'doing' something (always a challenge for me!) We did manage to escape the house for some fresh air once the rain eased off and we were treated to this beautiful sunset. A perfect reminder that the rain never lasts forever and lovely surprises are usually just around the corner...

Toddler Snacks

Ella has been helping me cook for a good year now, it's such a great thing for us to do together as I need to get our meal prepared and she wants to have my attention and spend time with me. This way we both stay happy and even thought it might take twice as long to get the dinner cooked, there are at least no tears!  Plus there are so many lessons to be learned in the kitchen, we measure, weigh and count; pour and stir; chop, grate and sieve. We taste and we talk - about what we're cooking, about our days.

However much Ella enjoys helping me with the cooking, it gives a whole new level of satisfaction for her to be able to make a snack for herself almost entirely on her own. I'm trying to compile a whole lot of toddler friendly recipes. These banana popsicles were a big hit - needless to say she was very enthusiastic about her first taste of Nutella!