Genius

87/365 (Vada)

You often see people have attached there babies dummy to their clothing. I though this was a brilliant idea to keep her toy close by during our drive.

(Disclaimer: before you call child welfare...it actually only stayed on for a few seconds...and didn't leave a mark or cause any brain damage.)

Learning

87/365 (Zavia)

My sweet boy, there are wrong ways and there are right ways of doing things. Today you drank from a water fountain both the wrong way and the right way. I do applaud your initiative though. You did eventually figure out how to climb up on that sucker.

Silhouette

86/365 (Vada)

We took Vada to the movies again tonight. I know it sounds crazy to take a 6 month old on a date night but honestly I can relax more knowing that she isn't screaming her lungs out wanting milk. She was interested in watching the previews but soon settled down for the night in my arms and fell fast asleep.

Crook neck

86/365 (Zavia)

Zavia spent the evening with Nanna, Uncle Abe and Aunty Petra tonight while Daddy, Vada and I went to the movies. On our return he was still wide awake and said, "I just cried for you a little bit, I went waa waa waa, like that".

He was fast asleep before we even pulled out of Nannas street.

Rain drops keep falling on my head...

85/365 (Vada)

Or shower drops in this case. We are conditioning her for when she starts swimming this summer. Everytime she has a shower we go through the process of counting to 3 and then putting her face under the water. She is staying under there for quite a while now...and loving every second of it. I love the water droplets dripping from her chubby fingers.

Cross eyed

85/365 (Zavia)

He has an obsession with making cars crash into each other. Must be another boy thing i think.

New and old friends

84/365 (Vada)

We went over to Scarlet and Willows for dinner tonight. I love that she will grow up with lovely little girl friends.

Skin deep

84/365 (Zavia)

Don't be fooled by the look of sweet innocence. As he threw the peel into the garden bed he said...

"I'm gonna throw this at you and your gonna be dead birdy."

Good clean fun

83/365 (Vada)

New sensations.

Boy

83/365 (Zavia)

Don't judge him...He's a boy...It's what they do.

Poppy the cat

82/365 (Vada)

Vada is totally smitten with Poppy. We are visiting Poppy everyday to keep her company while her family is away and it is the highlight of Vadas day. Poppy likes to sneek up on Vada and pounce on her head which makes Vada squeel with delight.

Bath time = a long time

82/365 (Zavia)

He would stay in all night if we let him. He loves to point out his 'brinkles' (wrinkles) when we dry him.

Yearning!

81/365 (Vada)

If she had the strength and co-ordination, she would have ripped this spoon full of Milo right out of his hand. She is so keen to start eating food. Not long now baby girl.

Milo mono-brow

81/365 (Zavia)

He stared at me like this as if to say..."Im with my daddy and we are eating Milo and there is nothing you can do about it"

Fuzzy

80/365 (Vada)

Dear Vada,

Please remember what it feels like to be embrassed by your daddy. Feel his powerful arms wrapped around you, your heart beats in sync, his warm breath softly blowing on your fuzzy hair. Please always know that he loves you and is proud to be called your dad.

You are loved!


(On the 17th anniversary of my dads death, I held my babies that much tighter today.)

Boo

80/365 (Zavia)

Even when he is trying to hide from my camera he still knows how to strike a pose.

Goldie locks

79/365 (Vada)


Vada borrowed her Aunty Winnies hair today. We often say how much she looks like my sister...they have the same crazy eye brow expressions and zest for life...Vadas world spins when her beloved Aunty enters the room, they have a very special bond.

helmet head

79/365 (Zavia)

Zavia was more than happy to model his helmet for me today...even if it was on backwards. He has had a mysterious rash under his mouth for a few days now and we finally figured out that it is from his helmet strap...the silly goose has been wearing it over his mouth.

Luscious!

78/365 (Vada)

Ben and I both have fairly long lashes, so I always imagined our babies would follow suit in this department...I never imagined to this magnitude though. Vada will have no problem giving eskimo kisses.

Sad face

78/365 (Zavia)

I was holding his sunnies above my head so he would look in the direction of the camera...I had no idea this cruel trick would muster up such sadness.

I'm sorry my boy...I love you.

Excuse me mum!

77/365 (Vada)

I got in her way. Ooops

Kryptonite

77/365 (Zavia)

Superman has Kryptonite...Z-man has cobblers pegs

Gums

76/365 (Vada)

I consciously made an effort to take lots of photos of Vadas gummy smile today. I suspect she will have 2 bunny teeth emerge any day now. This was an easy task for me as she is always grinning from ear to ear...even amongst the teething discomfort.

Roy Orbison

76/365 (Zavia)

Roy Orbison...eat your heart out.

flying high

75/365 (Vada)

Our happy soul

Sad, happy boy

75/365 (Zavia)

He woke up grumpy.

Mummy could not soothe his sadness.

Daddy was all he wanted...

until mummy got on his other bike.

Faces

74/365 (Vada)

Her daddy is mean to her. How could he pull on her perfect little face like this. She is still adorable no matter how much her face distorts though.

Cheeky chops

74/365 (Zavia)

Mine! all mine.

Full to the brim

73/365 (Vada)

All packed up and ready to go. If I had to sum up what its like to go camping with my baby girl in one word...it would be, quiet! She is welcome to come with us again anytime.

Tattoo kid

73/365 (Zavia)

It's so cool being three. You get to cover your body in tats and show them off by draping your arm over the handle bars of your bike with real attitude.

He's now too cool for photos...

but not too cool to fall asleep in the car after a wicked awesome weekend of camping and partying.

I'd also just like to add a thank you to all our fellow campers - Mickpa, Jackie, Nanna, Carly, Gav, Ross, Abe, and thanks to Justin, Kate and Thomas for coming out for the day. You all made Zavias special weekend a real treat.

Ssshh!

72/365 (Vada)

To baby wear or not to baby wear...this is the question!

If you have a baby and you find yourself asking this question...the only answer is BABY WEAR!!
We forgot to bring Vadas bumbo along for our weekend camping...and I'm actually glad we did. I always keep our sling in the car and it was a God send. Although we had more than enough hands to share her around, it was so handy to get her off to sleep, to potter around the campsite hands free...and honestly...who doesn't want a little koala to hug all day. In a perfect world (in my head) I would have a giant carry me around like this. Sometimes when I go to the shops just to grab a few things, I say to myself "no, I don't need the sling, we won't be here long enough" and half way through I regret not just putting her in it and strapping her on.

Three year old

72/365 (Zavia)

It's official! my little boy is 3. What better way to spend your 3rd birthday than opening presents and playing in mud puddles.

His beloved Mickpa and Jackie got him a tricycle. His face was priceless when they gave it to him.

He is wearing a new hoodie that Nanna made him and the super hero cape I made him. Then he opened his Bible from Nanna.

Then his Bob the builder toys (also from Nanna)

Then his helmet...just in time to ride his tricycle.

It wasn't long before Bob joined Zavia digging in the mud.

He also got a fishing rod and bike from us and a tackle box and fishing 'stuff' from Uncle Abe and Aunty Petra.

I love you my boy! Although you only weighed 7 pounds, 10 ounces, my heart grew infinity times bigger three years ago today. Mwah!

(notice the sling is off his arm?...its amazing what some fresh air and pre-occupation can do)

Like a moth to a flame

71/365 (Vada)

This is Vadas first real camping experience. We have stayed in a caravan park before but in a cabin. So many new sensory delights to be had. She was mesmerised by the gas lamp burning in the darkness.

The big Eve of the big 03

71/365 (Zavia)

"Twas the night before his birthday, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse."

Well that's probably because we weren't in our house...we were in our tent.

We decided instead of having a big party for Zavia this year where all the kids eat all the junk food their little hearts desire and they get hypo and drive their parents crazy on the ride home...that we would make a weekend of it and go camping as a family. One of the requests that we hear the most from Zavia is "can we go camping a night??" (which I'm pretty sure really just means he wants to sit outside and eat marsh mellows from the packet) So we obliged.

It rained all day and while we set up our camp but the skies cleared and the clouds parted not long after. After dinner, the kids said their good nights to our fellow campers and we went into the tent to settle down for the night. It took quite a while because lets face it...sleeping in a tent is pretty darn exciting, in fact, it took so long that I fell asleep with both kids and left the family to partay on without me.

This photo is Zavias best attempt at going to sleep.

(side note: his arm is in a sling because he fell off his skateboard last night and was in hospital till midnight with a suspected broken arm...turns out it is just badly internally bruised.)

Look at meeee!!!!

70/365 (Vada)

The first year of life truely is remarkable. So much is accomplished in such a short space of time. I marvel at how clever she is getting each day. With each new day she is pushing up higher and higher...before we know it she will be on the move and placing her in the middle of the bed will no longer be a good idea.

BOO!

70/365 (Zavia)

Zavia thought it would be really smart to drag his pillow and blanket out to the lounge room today, hide under it, and scare me when I walked in the room. He was right...it worked. Luckily for me he did it over and over again so I was able to grab my camera and surprise him with my camera in his face.

Shy

69/365 (Vada)

Excuse me mummy...a little bit of privacy please! My boobies are on show.

Oh neglected one

69/365 (Zavia)

I'm sorry my boy. I really do love you.

roley poley

68/365 (Vada)

She's getting good at rolling over on her own. I wish I could experience joy from such little things. She hasn't quite mastered the rolling back over onto her tummy...she lays there wriggling like a bug stuck on its back.

His and his cars

68/365 (Zavia)

Zavia gets so excited to help Ben with the big boy work. Today it was washing cars time.