Tuesday, March 20, 2007

16 months

Dear Isaac,
You're 16 months old and you definitely have the hang of walking..there is no stopping you now. Its rare to see you sitting still any more, you are always on the move.


Walking, almost running, exploring everything. Id forgotten how full on this stage is. No longer can we go out somewhere and know you will be content to sit quietly in your pram and watch the world go by, or sit on my lap while I chat to a friend or watch the boys. You want to be down and walking, and doing it your way. If you don't get to do things your way, we sure hear about it. The ear piercing squeal that you have drives us crazy at times. But for you it is the most effective way of getting a reaction....from anyone with in ear shot usually!


It was time for another haircut this month too. As cute as your baby curls were looking, they were constantly in your eyes so they had to go.
You look so much older with them all cut off.
You have developed a fascination for shutting doors...any sort... cupboards, the microwave, big doors, the sliding door, the fridge....the biggest frustration is of course that to shut a door it must first be open! SO of course you also feel the need to open the doors, then close them, then open them again...and so the cycle goes. None of us have that much patience with this little idiosyncrasy, especially when you decide to explore inside the cupboards as well, or when your constantly trying to shut the fridge door while I'm still in it!!! Maybe its a sign of things to come. Perhaps you will be a tidy methodical person in later life...I can live in hope!


Too cute. That's just what you are sometimes. I thought you were down in the playroom with your brothers. You had come outside the office door where I had tipped all the washing ready to be sorted and folded. You had somehow managed to pull dummy and teddy out of your cot and snuggled down in the clothes and fallen asleep. So sweet that you wanted to be close to me, and so precious when I opened the door to see you there! Your speech and communication skills have developed a little more. You wave this cute little palm up, hand twisting wave and call out your version of 'see ya'. It sounds more like ee a, but in context you can tell what your saying. Its nearly always followed up by your open hand being flung from a wide open mouth with the sound bwaa, bwaa which translates to mwah mwah. Its your cute little way of blowing kisses, and everyone gets them, even the garbage truck! We are hearing more of the word Ta, as well as mum, and the occasional dad. Oof oof, the noise a dog makes...a a the noise a duck makes, eeeeeooooowwwwwww the noise a cat makes, and aaaarrrrrr the noise a lion makes are a few other sounds you are able to make. You are signing a little more often now as well. You hold your hands up...gone...

in answer to the questions..."wheres Daddy?, wheres teddy?, wheres dummy?, wheres the boys? You competently use the sign for finished and drink....although they look very similar and its sometimes difficult to tell the difference. You soon let me know if I have misunderstood though. You are also starting to use the sign for more. You have started shaking your head to mean NO as well. I'm constantly amazed by your comprehension of the spoken word. I can ask you to go and find your dummy, close the door, do you want to have a shower with daddy, have you got a pooey nappy and your reactions show that you fully understand what Ive said to you. It must be so frustrating not yet having the words to communicate with us at that next level.

Finally all of your molars have cut right through, which might explain the marked improvement in your general disposition and eating during the later part of this month. Its lovely to have my happy little man back again. Its amazing what a difference the absence of pain and the presence of a full tummy can make. You have started dribbling a lot in the last week, and I'm guessing its your eye teeth. Your poor little thing, I just hope that these don't cause us as many problems. You have started to feed yourself messy things. Mummy isn't really good at watching the food go everywhere but your mouth, but Ive been letting you have a go anyway. Your doing a pretty good job most of the time. You did get really grumpy one day and throw your spoon. As I reached across the table to get it back for you, you took a swipe at your bowl and knocked it crashing to the floor. It smashed into lots of tiny pieces, and food went everywhere. Not good baby, you have to learn to be a little more patient, and Mummy learnt to only give you plastic bowls from then on.

Your ability to walk everywhere has lead to a new discovery...pull along toys. You love your puppy, and your train. You love that as long as you hold that string tight, they will follow you where ever you may go. You still look as pleased as punch every time they do it too!!! You have become rather clingy to me lately. You don't like Mummy to be out of your sight, and will burst into tears if I'm out of your sight for long if we are at someone elses house, or if I have to leave you. Even with Grandma...I know its just a stage, but I hope its one we can pass through quickly.

The daily rituals are becoming something you love to be part of. Taking the nappy sacks out to the wheelie bin is something you love to do. As soon as I tie that little orange bag up you are pointing and grunting at it. You grab the handles and head for the front door. I lift you up and lift the lid of the bin. You hold the bag over and drop it in. You love to watch the postie deliver the mail, although you are surprisingly apprehensive about his motorbike. The garbage truck is another source of fascination for you. We either sit on the front window sill or look through the front window as the big grabber picks up the bin and flips the rubbish into the truck, before the bin comes back down with a big thump. The driver always gives you a wave or a toot when he sees you! I'm sure that being the mummy to a little boy is the only thing that could make me feel excited as I hear the rumble of the rubbish truck coming down the road!

You LOVE spending time with Daddy. You don't really get to spend a lot of time together, so you treasure your time with him. He lifts you up and lets you push the buttons and push the door shut on the microwave when he gets you a bottle, he lets you in the shed with him, he brrrmms cars around with you, and builds sand castles. He gives you horsey rides and shares in your excitement as you see a birdie in the back yard or a plane flying in the sky. He lets you have a shower with him and he has put a little box near the water feature so you can climb up and see the water and play with the rocks. He loves you so much baby, and it makes my heart melt watching the two of you together.

I know I say it every month, but time just seems to be going by so quickly. When I look at you I no longer see a baby. In so many of my photos lately I see a little boy looking back at me and wonder where my baby has gone. This next month might be a bit light on with photos though, Mummy's camera has packed it in! So its back to Daddy's little one till its fixed. I hope its not too long. I dont want to miss a thing!

mwah mwah my sweet little one.
I love you to the stars and moon and back again!

Mummy xxxx




Monday, March 19, 2007

shhh Ive got a secret!!!

well its not really my secret, but Im helping to keep it, and spread the word about an awesome new venture by a couple of clever Aussie scrappers. If you love scrapbooking, prizes and being organised then keep your eyes and ears to the ground and stay tuned for the grand unvielling of the blog address, and the grand opening with lots of prizes up for grabs. For now this is all I can share........

oh I love secrets (LOL but only when I know what they are LOL)

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

So.....

SO....much fun taking the boys to the bike track on Monday


So...confident...thats Caleb
So...proud that he eventually got BOTH wheels off the ground over a jump


So...cautious...thats Nathan

so...hard to pedal up the big hills on a bike thats getting too small for you
so...much more confident by the time we finished
so...darn cute..thats Isaac
so...cheeky
so....not a little baby any more :( I see a little boy sitting where my baby should be..whats going on???!!!

As you can see we had a great time at the bike track. Craig had to work Monday so it was just the boys and I. I had a lovely time taking pics of them all. Found out the back of the station wagon (with the back up!) makes a great little photo studio, great light, nice black background... Isaac and I sat in there together for ages watching the others whizz past. We did venture out to one of the seats near the centre of the track, but I was a little concerned that he was going to bolt out onto the track as a bike came over the jump...much safer with drinks and snacks in the back of the car!!! LOL are you sick of the litttle bonds hoodie yet??? I seem to be getting lots of pics of him in this...its my fave atm!
We spent Sunday veging out. It was the only day Craig had off over the long weekend, so we just hung around home and relaxed. I think it may have been encouraged by a bit of a late night Saturday night. We had Kathie, Phil & Jamie up for dinner, We had a fantastic night...sat chating till about 1am. Going to bed that late does make the morning come very quickly though. I dont know how many of you manage to scrap till that hour (and later) night after night...says me who is sitting here at midnight writing my blog! Maybe Im just getting old !?!
Tonight I went to a CM mystery party. (A good frind of mine is a CM consultant, and is totally respectful of my style and scrapping preferences, as I am of hers) we made a quick little card/ mini LO, I want to add a few bits (of my stuff LOL) to mine, and then I will post a pic. CM actually have a few funky papers, and a cool photo album that I was really impressed with too.
I should get to bed, its tommorrow already!

Sunday, March 04, 2007

A couple more

Just a quick share of a couple of my latest LOs The first one is for the current portal on SS - would have been part of my top 10, Love the pic! The second is a pic of Caleb from our recent trip to Wallaroo. Im trying to scrap a bit more of all of the kids. Whilst doing my EDM album my scrapping was heavily weighted to LOs of Isaac. I really need to start documenting more of the other two boys lives as well...even though its near impossible to get them to stand still for any sort of pics atm without some serious bribery happening LOL

We just returned from seeing Walking with Dinosaurs - absolutely awesome show. THe older two loved it, we loved it,and Isaac, despite not being the slightest bit worried by the noise, huge dinosars etc seemed more interested in all the lights (he has a thing for lights atm - always pointing and grunting at them) he was so tired he fell asleep mid way through...the sound was so loud Nathan was putting his hands over his ears, and there is Isaac, laying spread across Craigs and my laps with his teddy sound asleep. He had got to the point he was so tired he didnt know who he wanted to sit on, and bascially dropped off half way over the two of us - too cute. He jumped when the T Rex came out and roared, but didnt wake.


Yesterday the boys had their final official cricket game. I took lots of action shots of them all so I can do up a little story board for each of the kids for presentation night in a couple of weeks. Here are Caleb & Nathans.

It looks like Im working my way backward through my week LOL Friday I caught up with Janine at SS and then with Kathie, Mel & Kate for a few hours of scrapping. Time went so quickly, and I got very little done, but it was a great day, I love catching up with these girls. Got to see some of Kates scrumptious creations again - her work is so textural and scrummy, no photo could ever do it justice! Isaac got to catch up with his little mate Jamie, and spent quite some time smooching Charlotte and having a play with Georgia. Despite my best intentions of geting a photo of all of us, I only remembered to pull the camera out once and snapped this pic of these two gorgeous little boys! They look like Ive caught them doing something they shouldnt be dont they!Kathie and I were discussing our boys eating habbits. The two of them are usually so predictably similar, but Jamie has been eating enourmous amounts, and Isaac has been eating hardly anything. Until yesterday LOL I think Jamie must have had a little word in his ear for me. For tea last night he had an easy mac with crushed tomatoes, tuna and a whole egg through it..he was still hungry...a petit miam..he was still hungry...a pear...he was still hungry....a bowl of hot chips....he was still hungry...a piece of bread....he was OK. but still had full bottle of milk before bed. I dont know where he puts it all! This is from the child who the other day had 3/4 small banana for breakfast, 8 sultanas for lunch and 1/2 peacharine for tea, and wouldnt eat anything for weeks unless it was fruit. I had even resorted to mixing pasta through diced fruit, and putting chopped sweet potoato through diced fruit to get something else into him LOL

Thursday I took Isaac to one of the local playgroups for the first time. I realised how little I do with him at home...when the other two were little they were always having paints, playdough, drawing, pasting etc....it took going to PG for Isaac to have his first experience with playdough and paint - gotta say both were very short lived, he was much more interested in finding something to push around the room.

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Top 10

Last year I participated in a challenge set by Ali to post your fave 10 LOs. On her blog she has challenged us to do this again. Youve probably seen it on quite a few blogs recently as people take up the challenge, this is the basic guidelines she set....



I want you all to post in your blogs 10 of your layouts.

It doesn't matter if you've already uploaded them to your blog before - just think of it as giving us all a "refresher".

Now - these 10 layouts - they have to be a *certain* 10.
I want to see the 10 layouts which are either:
(a) your favourite 10 layouts;
or
(b) the 10 layouts that you're most proud of;
or
(c) 10 layouts that have some really special significance*** ;
or
(d) a combination of any of the above!

*** I know that *all* our pages are special and signficant - but i'm referring to those layouts that really have that extra "meaning" to you...


It was actually quite difficult. A couple of my favourites I included last year, so they were out. A couple are due for publication soon, so they were out and my two most favourite LOs ever (for now!) - one is for Scrapbook Stations next DT challenge so I cant share that yet, and the other I got really brave and subbed to CK in the states, and now get to play the waiting game, so that was out too.. LOL... but here goes....

Why this LO ? I did this as part of my EDM album. I love the glittery letters, and the doodling, and the way I managed to capture the joy and excitement in the photo!


Why this LO ? This photo just makes me happy every time I see it. My girl friend caught this tender moment between my oldest & youngest at the end of a very busy baptism day. Its so filled with love.

Why this LO ? Another photo Ive always loved. Its my Dad. Many years ago. I dont aften scrap heritage pics, so maybe thats why Im particularly drawn to this LO. It also reminds me of how important it is to record the story behind my photos now. It was so difficult for mum & dad to try and work out where they actually were when this photo was taken.

Why this LO ? This one is definately about the journaling. It records the differing realtionships I have with each of my three boys. It was prompted by this photo, and the way it uncanilly captures this.

Why this LO ? Cause it managed to get a full double page spread in this months FK. Its only about the second LO I have managed to get accepted by FK, so I was thrilled to see it in print, and SO big LOL. I didnt buy the mag, as I was waitong for the contributers copy, but while we were away on the weekend DH came back from the newsagents one day with it...he had no idea that his bubba was staring in it, and was quite excited when I showed him.


Why these two LOs ? Love the photos, Love the fact Ive recorded the tradition of our annaul australia day breaky with my mum & dad. Love that I can look back at this and compare it to the next LO ... so many things the same, same celebration, same place, and yet so much changes in just one year. I want to be able to record this day anually.


Why this LO ? Even though there are only about three and a half years between the three of us, I never in a million years thought that we would all be pregnant at the same time. Three sisters, three bellies, and three babys...precious. So glad I recorded this. Its not a stunning LO, but I love what its recorded.

Why this LO ? Im not a lover of old china and glass wear, and yet I adore this cup & saucer set from my Nanna, it brings back so many childhood memories. I also loved that I could include the lace doilies of hers on this as well.


Why this LO ? Ive breastfed all three boys, yet its not something I ever thought of recording on film, or journaling about. So glad I have this. Love also that Nathan took the photo for me.





Why this LO ? It feels like some days that all these two boys do is annoy each other and argue over nothing. So I love that Ive captured them being such great brothers and mates and having so much fun together.

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

LO share

Here are a couple of LOs that Ive put in the gallery at Scrapbook station. The first is this months DT layout. The theme was typography, and if you want to see an awesome collection of LOs by the team check this out!
Next are a few more LOs that Ive done recently but havn't shared here yet.

Monday, February 19, 2007

15 months



Dear Isaac

Since Mummy didn't get around to writing you a letter at fourteen months,
this will be a catch up of the last couple of months.

The biggest milestone you reached during this period was leaning to walk. At first it was just a couple of wobbly steps with lots of encouragement from us. In the last week or so you have been walking most of the time, all this practice is paying off, your getting quite confident now. You even attempt the cutest little run. It looks so unco-ordinated, your arms flap around madly and your little legs dont seem to be moving in time with the rest of your body - Im so scared your just going to run straight into things at this speed and hurt yourself.

You move so quickly that its getting hard to get a decent picture of you. Ive got heaps of you dissapearing out of the frame, or lunging toward the camera!

Your moods have been all over the place, and your eating is terrible. If its fruit (or anything sweet) you will always eat it, but most other things you have gone right off. I think its got a lot to do with those molars which are still slowly pushing their way through. You hands and toys are constantly being chewed on, or your dummy is in your mouth, and your dribbling a lot. You have been unsettled while your sleeping as well. Not enough to wake you, but enough to effect your mood in the mornings. You had a bit of a tummy bug a couple of days ago, and thats made your eating patterns go down hill even further. Oh well when your hungry I suppose you will eat.

We have quite a bit of hot summer weather and you have delighted in being able to go swimming in Auntie Mandy’s pool on a regular basis. You wear your little wahoo vest and arm floaties and your off. You like to kick around all by yourself, but Mummy or Daddy still like to stay nice and close, just in case. We have also been to the beach which you loved. You show no fear of the water, Im not sure if that is a blessing or not! You still love the bath, and start pulling at your clothes as soon as anyone mentions the word bath. You love pouring water from your bath toys, splashing, catching the bubbles, sucking the water from the face washer - Mummy thinks thst really yucky - and playing with the empty shampoo and baby bath bottles.Once your in there I spend most of my time trying to stop you pulling the plug out. You have a fascination with the water going down the plug hole, and the added attraction of wanting to poke your fingers down there too! The biggest problem at bath time is that you get really cranky when its time to get out of the bath, so Id really rather you left that plug in place as long as possible.

Your still sleeping right through the night, well you do stir but you dont need us to help you
re settle, you can get yourself back to sleep. You have a warm bottle (bot-bot) of milk when you wake in the mornings, another before your afternoon sleep, and another at bedtime. You settle easily (most of the time) with a bot-bot, dummy and your precious Teddy.
Teddy is starting to get that slightlt bedraggled look of a well loved friend. He had a 'bath' in the washing machine again the other day. He was becoming a dull shade of grey, Id forgotten what a lovely cream colour his fur was supposed to be. The next day we had to do it all again after you threw up all over him. Poor teddy!

Im constantly amazed by the number of things you take notice of. I let you push the button to put the garage door down one day, now every time I get you out of your car seat, you point to the button and grunt at me to let you do it again. Today when we went to visit Grandma you looked up at her kitchen window, pointed, smiled and grunted...last time we visited she came and knocked on the window and waved to you as we were getting out of the car. You pick up the game boys and know that you need to push the little buttons, you love the remote controls and their little buttons as well. You love opening the cupboards and drawers, and want to be in the kitchen under my feet when ever Im in there. The things that amuse you the most at the moment are everyday things. Paper tubes, cups, stubby holders — you love putting your toys in these. What ever we have you want! You want to drink from our glasses, eat from our plates, and try to put on our shoes...don't grow up to quickly my little man, enjoy all your baby things for a bit longer yet. You love to imitate. When we had your cousin Georgia over the other day, you took great joy in being able to push her around in a nappy box, just like your big brothers do to you. You love to hand me the towels and clothes when Im folding the washing, the only trouble is you dont deferentiate very well between the piles that need to be folded and the piles that are already folded. It only takes you seconds to start grabbing the already folded clothes and unfolding them. You think your being helpful though, and its really sweet...just hope it lasts!When I filled the watering can to water the fernery the other day, you appeared grunting beside me with your little watering can...you wanted it filled so you could help too. Needless to say you ended up wetter than the pots!

You have also shown how quickly you can turn into a screaming mess if you don't get your own way. Getting out of the bath and coming in from outside are two things that usually start you off. Couple this with tiredness and you can get yourself really worked up!
Your still not saying much. You manage to get everything you need by grunting and pointing and squealing, so I guess you don't really see the point. You can say mum & dad (if you feel like it) you can make a piggy grunting noise (snorting through your nose), meow (eow, with the cutest little enunciation) like a pussy cat and woof (oof) like a puppy. You point to the sky when you hear a plane, and look for the source of any noise you hear. You know what we are saying to you and can respond to simple tasks like looking for your shoes or dummy when we ask. The squealing is driving us all crazy. It’s a high pitched loud squeal designed to get attention...and you will keep doing it until you get that attention too!

I love you my little man, and Im really enjoying spending my days with you.

All my love Mummy xxxx

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Catch Up

I cant believe how long since I blogged. The forum & gallery are now up and running at Scrapbook Station. Why dont you pop over for a look and a chat. There are a lovely group of very friendly and chatty ladies over there, and we would love lots of new people to join us.
As a bit of an inscentive to get you all over there, I will offer a little give away to someone. I have a gorgeous 7 gypsies express stamp to give away. All you have to do is find and leave a comment on one of my LOs in the DT gallery. I will put all the names in the hat and draw out a winner next Wednesday. ( OK I know Im not a 'famous'..for want of a better word...scrapper, and there arnt that many people who visit my little blog, but I was going to RAK this to someone anyway, so I may as well have a bit of fun first LOL)


Isaac is walking everywhere now. Ive hardly seen that gorgeous little, bum in the air, crawl in the last couple of days - I miss it already!!!

He has been a bit grumpy lately and off his food - I think its teeth (LOL Kathie) he has four molars all cutting at once ...still...there are two that are part way through, and the others are still coming. Poor little thing, it must be so sore!

The other two have settled back into the school routine really well. they both like the teachers they have, which helps a lot too. It still difficult to workIsaacs sleeping routines around shool times, but we are getting there.
We celebrated my Nannas 91st birthday the other weekend. Its wonderful to watch her with the littlies, but hard to believe there is a whole 90 years between her and Isaac!!!! They were born in different centuries LOL She was looking really well. She has her good weeks and her bad weeks, but I guess thats to be expected!!! Her sister turned 100 a few days later!



Monday, February 05, 2007

tagged, a LO to share & ahhh the serenity!

Ok first things first. Ive been tagged by a couple of people so here goes...


A - Available/Single? married - 12 years on the 8th April
B- Best Friend? Sabine - for the last 20 something years!
C- Cake or Pie? ???? neither really, not a real sweet tooth
D - Drink Of Choice? good coffee, water, kahlua, vodka
E - Essential Item You Use Everyday? coffee machine
F - Favorite Color? pink atm
G - Gummy Bears Or Worms? Gummy bears - sabines gandma has been sending them from Germany since before you could get them in Australia - Yummo
I - Indulgence? A sleep in - I wish!
H - Home or Homesick? Home
J - January Or February? February - our Wallaroo trip!!!
K - Kids & Their Names? Caleb Thomas, Nathan Charles & Isaac John
L - Life Is Incomplete Without? family and friends
M - Marriage date? 8th April
N - Number Of Siblings? 2 younger sisters
O - Oranges Or Apples? apples
P - Phobias/Fears? something happening to my kids
Q - Favorite Quote: scripture - Live, love, laugh
R - Real Hair Color? drab brown - with quite a few greys!
S - Season? Spring
T - Tag 3 or 4 people? anyone wanna play???
U - Unknown Fact About Me? I was diagnosed with endemetriosis at 18 and told it would be difficult to get pregnant...YEAH RIGHT!!!!!
V - Vegetable you don’t like? raw mushroom
W - Worst Habit? too much time on the computer
X - X-rays You’ve Had? teeth, many ultrasounds, MRI (torn cruciate ligament)
Y - Your Favourite Foods? chicken, thai, vietnamese cold rolls
Z - Zodiac Sign? Virgo

OK that actually took a bit of brain power LOL

Next...a DT LO to share...done for scrapbook stations christmas theme...used felt with stitching and brads for the heart. Excuse the aweful cropping around the tags on the side - got a bit slack with it!!! The flower actually looks a lot closer to the colour of the heart IRL.

















Back to school for the boys today - its so quiet here with out them -ahhhhhhhhhh!!! It was so hot yesterday, and its the same today. After we walked the boys to school I let Isaac have a play with the hose for a couple of minutes to cool him off before his nap - he loved it - of course...he loves anything to do with water! The story board is one of the ones I mentioned in a post a while back, and the absolutely gorgeous brush is by Tia Bennet and is part of Januarys free digi kit download on 2peas.