Girl power

51/365 (Vada)

Vadas friend Audrey came over for a play today. I can't wait to see how they interact with each other when they're both on the move. I hope they are as close as their big brothers are to each other.

mean mumma

51/365 (Zavia)

This is the second photo I took. I bounced the flash off the roof in his pitch dark room, and as you can see, he wasn't impressed...even in his sleeping state. I love how he still has remnants of toothpaste on his chin.

Beauty-full

50/365 (Vada)

I can not get enough of this amazing face! She is my sunshine.

My hungry hippo

50/365 (Zavia)

Not a moment goes by that my little boy isn't thinking about his stomach. I am actually fearful of what the future holds for my grocery bill. We went through 7 litres (yes 7 litres) of milk this last week...Ben and Zavia like drinking milo out of buckets (a.k.a Ikea cups). The most spoken phrase in this house (besides 'I love you') is "my's shungry" (we are still having some troubles with 'h' words.) And his burning all of this food energy because it sure isn't sitting on his miniscule hips.

Feelin hot hot hot

49/365 (Vada)

It was a gorgeous 27 degree day today...perfect singlet and nappy weather. It was so nice outside that Vada and I put Zavia to bed for his arvo nap and then folded washing on our back verander. Im sooo looking forward to summer.

brusha brusha brusha

49/365 (Zavia)

Z-man has always loved brushing his teeth. Up until lately though, his version of 'brushing' has been a case of mostly chewing his toothbrush, Ben or I having a go and then spitting at the end. Lately though, we haven't been able to do our bit because Mr Indipendant has stepped in...I must say though, he does a really good job, copying every move we make with our toothbrush. Im so glad he loves these parts of the day. Sometimes at night we tell Zave that it's bed time now and he looks at us with bewilderment and says..."I brush my teeth first??" And who says kids don't come with an instruction book???...ours came with an audible one.

What you lookin at??

48/365 (Vada)

And...so begins the attitude! My girl cracks me up every single day. I'm looking forward to a life time of these disapproving glares.

A boy and his boat

48/365 (Zavia)

Not a technically great photo...but it sums his boat play up perfectly.

My friend saw this image on my camera and commented on how much fun he has on 'wash day'...at the time I just agreed and didn't think much more of it, then later I was thinking of this conversation and realised that the term 'wash day' seams so foreign to me now. GONE are the days when I only had to do washing once or twice a week. This is now a daily event...Zavia plays in his imaginary boat like this on a daily basis. How is it possible that two small extra bodies can create 5 or 6 extra days worth of washing??

Purity!

47/365 (Vada)

While the big kids played in the park, Vada, Grandma and I had a nice snooze (and feed for Vada) on a rug. After our kip, Vadas cousin came over and had a little chat...I captured this moment of her grasping her cousins finger really tight. It reminds me of how pure she still is. This is a pure, clean little four and a half month old fist against a seven year old grubby boys hand. She adores all of her cousins.

Out on the town

47/365 (Zavia)

We were thrilled to have Grandma around today! She took us out to lunch and then we had a big long play at the pirate ship park before she had to go back home to the Bay.

Bath time

46/365 (Vada)

Bath time can be quite an adventure for little Vada...she has to dodge the racing cars, monsters, boats, waves and most of all, her big brother. I laughed when she gave me this look as if to say...see what I have to deal with?!

Vanity + innocence = cuteness

46/365 (Zavia)

Zavias Uncle Mick (Mickpa) and Aunty Jackie bought this Beatles shirt for him at the Ekka last week. Mick is a huge Beatles fan and couldn't go past this for his little mate Zavi. Zav has been exploring alot of musical instruments lately, he already has his guitar that he rocks out on and he has taken quite a liking to my tamborine...we have even thought of getting a drum kit (a proper one - not a toy one) as he taps and bangs on everything.

Vada loves...

45/365 (Vada)

Tummy time and daddy whispering sweet nothings in her ear.

Nannas house

45/365 (Zavia)

Zavia loves going to Nannas house. She has a whole different set of toys. Even though he has played with them all before, each time we go there it's like he has never seen them before.

Eye-balling

44/365 (Vada)

Vada loves to follow me around the room with her eyes. Afterall, she can't follow me around with her feet...yet! I love having these almonds on me all day.

Quick as lightning

44/365 (Zavia)

Sometimes I struggle to get a photo of Zavia because he doesn't stop moving...literally not for a second. This is the only non-blurry shot for today...he was running under me and away from his cousin and he looked up at me for a split second to let me know he was having alot of fun. I love days like these. My kids happiness is all that matters at the end of the day.

Best friends

43/365 (Vada)

Vadas hands are each others best friends. She has a thing about holding her own hands. I love this child...and her chubby hands.

New parks

43/365 (Zavia)

Today we drove down to Brisbane for a clothes swap. If your not aware of this craze, it is were friends get together and bring all their unwanted clothes and dump them into a pile and then scavenge through to find clothes they do want. They are heaps of fun!

This particular clothes swap was at a park in Brisbane. I have never driven to Brisbane on my own, actually I have never driven to Brisbane full stop! If we go down that way it is always as a family and Ben just automatically drives. So to say I was nervous is an understatement...the kids were absolute angels, Vada slept the whole way and Zavia just sat quietly and had the occasional chat (mostly about all the trucks he could see which was a little un-nerving). So as we were driving along the street that it was being held on we got a glimpse of the park...OMG! it was huge and so bright. Zavia exclaimed rather loudly, "look mum, a park"...when I told him that is where we are going, he nearly hit the roof..."we are going THERE??? Wow!" He had a blast.

Bed-bug

42/365 (Vada)

She is starting to roll over. Today she had tummy time on our bed and roled over half way and got stuck...but was happy to just lay there, following Zavia around the room with her big eyes as he pranced around.

Not mine but ours

42/365 (Zavia)

I realised today, while watching them play and interact, that he is no longer just my little boy. Almost three years ago, I gained a little best friend, someone to always keep me company...but four and a half months ago, big brother was added to his title. When we go out in public and perfect strangers ask if this is his little sister, he proudly (and shyly - not sure if this a word) says yes this is baby Wada. I LOVE that they adore each other. I love how he watches over her and lets me know when she is sad and needs milk. I love the big brother he has become.

Naughty daddy

41/365 (Vada)

She is NOT ready for solids...
I REFUSE to give her solids yet...

If only daddy got this memo.

It was just a lick and she did love it very much.

The tragedy of being only two...and short

41/365 (Zavia)

It all started with a small packet of tiny teddies.

I have a confession to make...not only do I feed my son sugar but I also use it to bribe him. Today he was struggling with the idea of having an afternoon nap so I told him if he goes straight off to bed and has a sleep he can have a packet of tiny teddies when he wakes up...it worked, he did exactly that.
By the time he woke from his nap, Ben was home and was sitting down on the couch eating a packet of chips. I held up my end of the bargain and promptly gave him his teddies...

The trouble was...Ben then got a second packet of chips...and Zavia being the mimic that he is, just had to have a second packet of teddies!
Knowing that dinner was only a short time away I told him no more teddies because dinner will be ready soon...

this wasn't good enough...

(please excuse the state of my pantry...I really should have watched Better Homes and Gardens last week, apparently they had a segment on organising pantries)

He even pointed them out to me just incase I didn't realise where they were...

The pleading turned into begging...the begging turned into crying...the crying turned into a full blown temper tantrum...

I stood my ground and he had to settle for a hug from mum.

What's to come...

I'd like to announce a new element that I will be adding to the blog soon...

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF

Every now and again I will document the whole day of one of the kiddies. I have to wait for the perfect day (when I don't have a million things I HAVE to get done) so be patient and keep your eyes peeled for the first installment.


Ohh sooo exciting!!

Its in her genes

40/365 (Vada)

My little photographers assistant. We visited Tara today and had a play in her park. Tara...like the seasoned pro that she is...wrangled the camera and Vada at the same time. And she wonders if she will be a good mum...ppft!

Monkey boy

40/365 (Zavia)

Hangin around...like a monkey...in a tree.

Daddys little girl

39/365 (Vada)

I turned around after taking some shots of Zavia to find these two like this. I love how he shelters her from the cold wind, how he will pull the car over to put a blanket in the window if the sun is in her eyes, and he can play just two chords on the guitar and she is asleep. She is safe in her dads arms.

Silence

39/365 (Zavia)

When he's not talking up a storm or running around like a super sero, he has a very deep silence. Ben and I both looked at these two photos and immediately said he is so calm.

89 years of difference

38/365 (Vada)

This is Vadas Oma...(Bens dads mum) She had us over for yummy vegetable soup that her mum used to make her. Oma has great stories to tell and is going to teach Vada alot. For now though, Omas house is very interesting to look through, every wall and every table is covered in family photos and hanging tappestries...so much history in one place. Oma has 6 kids, 15 grandchildren and Vada is the youngest of 7 Great grandchildren.

Finx

38/365 (Zavia)

The dreaded black cat. Not really. We were just visiting Oma tonight and the neighbours cat came over to say hello. Just after this photo was taken, Zavia got a really bad ear ache and cried for about an hour, until Nanna went out and got him some panadol.

Holding on

37/365 (Vada)

I don't want moments like this to end

Teddy

37/365 (Zavia)

I very nearly missed out on taking photos today...Zavia was already tucked into bed and Vada was having her last feed for the day when I remembered that I hadn't brought the camera out yet. I quickly asked Ben if he would mind taking todays photos (as I has in the middle of feeding). I was really disappointed with myself that I hadn't captured the great moment of the day until I saw the photo Ben had got. Although it is not a great looking photo technically (afterall it was taken in the pitch darkness with the ISO way up and shutter speed Waaay down), it does still capture an essence of Zavia that is really hard to get. He was never a baby who had a special toy or teddy that he just had to sleep with...until he found this one when he was about 18 months old. He got it at his baby shower before he was even born and it just came in a box set from Target I think with various clothing items as a little added extra. It isn't particularly soft or cute, but it has a very special place in his heart. He has named it baby and he loves it.

Sewin sista

36/365 (Vada)

Have I expressed yet how expensive it is having a girl?? Well...it's expensive!! I am learning how to sew to try and cut the costs but it isn't working coz now I'm just spending too much money of beautiful fabrics and patterns. Today I was making Vada a floral rompa...it turned out pretty cute. She is a great help unlike her brother who just wants to play with the pins and spread them around the table.

One of the big boys

36/365 (Zavia)

Bens friend Caleb sometimes comes over for a jam session and Zavia always gets in on the action.

Oblivious

35/365 (Vada)

Vada would be almost totally oblivious to the fact that we were at the markets today...I had her in the sling and she slept the whole time. While Zavia slept the entire way home, Vada told me stories and sang songs the entire way home. I never feel lonely...their is always someone talking to me.

Market day

35/365 (Zavia)

Today we went to the Eumundi Markets. I took my camera (obviously) and just enjoyed watching Zavia from a short distance enjoying all the sights and sounds. We had just enough money to buy a bag of mini doughnuts and a cup of real ginger beer (after the parking inspectors took their share), after we had our snack and Zavia told me his huge indepth story that I hardly understood, we looked at a few more stalls. Zavia being a typical little kid wanted to buy everything he saw, but after I explained that we didn't have anymore money to spend, he said "awight mummy" and didn't ask again. As we were leaving, he asked if we could buy some money...I told him no, but maybe we could save up our money for next time. He was happy with this solution.

Snuggles

34/365 (Vada)

Her cough has been keeping her (or should I say us) up at night. So she (or we) have been having some lovely long morning sleep ins in mum and dads bed.

Silly faces

34/365 (Zavia)

This is how he watches cartoons...

Bronchiolitis

33/365 (Vada)

oh how I wish this photo had sound attached to it. Vada was diagnosed with bronchiolitis today...She is soo sad! It has effected her vocal chords too...she has a big cry but only a small squeek comes out. I know this sounds terrible...but...its actually pretty cute.

always smiles

33/365 (Zavia)

I've never known a happier kid. Even a simple task like washing his hands brings so much joy. I should also tell you that their is a monkey living under the stool Z is standing on...sometimes the monkey pushes Zave off the stool and then hides in the tree outside our bathroom when mum walks in. He is a very cheeky monkey!

Troubles on the high seas...

I'm having troubles with my photo hosting site...So until I've fixed this little dilemma, I'll have to post the photos small. (boooo!!)

Dreaming

32/365 (Vada)

Vada dreaming of the two most important men in her life.

Zero options

32/365 (Zavia)

Sometimes the only thing to do is strip off to your Thomas undies and jump right in.