Saturday, May 14, 2016

20/52

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week in 2016"



 



Samuel James - All tuckered out after a morning of exploring. The two year old tantrums, the crazy energy, the strong-willed shouts of "no Daddy!" are all forgotten when you see his sweet little face and his sticky sweaty hair sticking to his cheek as he sleeps.


Matilda Grace - I had such a hard time deciding in a picture for this week, I had a beautiful shot of her smiling with her hands in the air, but I felt like this one captured her week better. You will often find her, quietly sitting, thumb in her mouth, watching the world go by.


Linking up with Jodi's 52 project.

Sunday, May 8, 2016

19/52

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week in 2016"







Samuel James - Feeding Grandma and Grandad's chooks with Omi. We were up for a visit for Mother's Day and for a moment, it had stopped raining, so my boy needed to get outside and explore.
 Matilda Grace - Matilda's favourite toy at the moment is Samuel's big blue car. She giggles with glee as soon as she spots it and scrambles to get inside. She's such a happy little honey.



Linking up with Jodi's 52 project.

Tuesday, May 3, 2016

18/52

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week in 2016"





Samuel James - A weekend with our dear friends meant playing with hilarious puppies!


Matilda Grace - with her beautiful god-mum, who is weeks away from meeting her daughter. To say we're excited is a humungous understatement.


Linking up with Jodi's 52 project.

Saturday, April 23, 2016

17/52

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week in 2016"






Samuel James - A very rare occasion of fairy bread means savouring every tiny crunch.


Matilda Grace - Playing hide and seek in the curtains again, it's always sure to muster up some gorgeous belly laughs!



Linking up with Jodi's 52 project.

16/52

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week in 2016"









Samuel James - Catching his eye as he plans his next adventure, with stones in his hands, he happily skipped off to toss them into my garden.

Matilda Grace - A moment of pause before she scurried off behind her brother.



Linking up with Jodi's 52 project.

Friday, April 15, 2016

15/52

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week in 2016"






Samuel James - Playing hide and seek - his favourite part is jumping out and shouting "here!" when I try to find him.


Matilda Grace - Feeding the chooks with Grandad.



Linking up with Jodi's 52 project.

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

14/52

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week in 2016"






Samuel James - playing at the park, pretending to go fishing.


Matilda Grace - she loves tomatoes and will happily sit munching away.



Linking up with Jodi's 52 project.

Saturday, March 26, 2016

13/52

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week in 2016"




Samuel James - He experienced his first ice cream from a Mr Whippy truck yesterday. He was covered head to toe and was as happy as a clam.


Matilda Grace - While I have been busily trying to organise the house, this little possum has been putting just as much effort into pulling the house apart. Every time I turn around, she has emptied the contents of another cupboard or drawer, or in this case, my peg basket. I love her curiosity and have to laugh at her insistence to make mess (if I didn't, I'd probably cry).



Linking up with Jodi's 52 project.

Saturday, March 19, 2016

12/52

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week in 2016"








Samuel James - He loved the beach! Oh how happy it made me to watch him filled with such joy, not scared of the waves or the chill in the water, just filled with joy.


Matilda Grace - My girl on the sand, tasting everything she could get her little hands on.


Linking up with Jodi's 52 project.

11/52

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week in 2016"







Samuel James - In his own little world, playing with his animals.


Matilda Grace - She wants to play with whatever Samuel likes, he's still her favourite, despite his rough guidance to not touch his things.


Linking up with Jodi's 52 project.

Monday, March 7, 2016

10/52

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week in 2016"







Samuel James - He's warming up to her and sometimes, I even catch them playing together.


Matilda Grace - In Grandma and Grandad's yard, exploring in the very warm Autumn sunshine.



Linking up with Jodi's 52 project.

9/52

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week in 2016"








Samuel James - I like to step back and let him explore, but he always keeps an eye out for me to make sure I'm not too far behind.


Matilda Grace - Although she has been teething and awake a lot throughout the nights, she is always such a happy little bundle of sweetness.


Linking up with Jodi's 52 project.

Saturday, February 20, 2016

8/52

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week in 2016" 


 



Samuel James - Exploring and testing boundaries; this week I feel like I've had a bit of a breakthrough with Samuel. He has grown and changed and has big emotions that I didn't know what to do with, especially while learning how to do the newborn thing again. This week, I stumbled across some very helpful parenting advice that has helped me to keep my cool while Samuel loses his temper. I haven't quite mastered gentle parenting yet, but I'm feeling good about the steps I'm taking to be a better mum for him.


Matilda Grace - This girl is teaching me every day! She is bubbly and outgoing, happy from the moment her eyes open and more independent than I ever knew a baby could be. She is so much like her daddy, and I just love it! This week she mastered sitting from laying down and she was so proud of herself for doing it.



Linking up with Jodi's 52 project.

Saturday, February 13, 2016

7/52

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week in 2016"









Samuel James - Hysterical giggles while watering the house.


Matilda Grace - The look of absolute glee when she realises he's happy playing with her.


Linking up with Jodi's 52 project.

Saturday, February 6, 2016

6/52

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week in 2016"

 




Samuel James - This week, as I've watched him play, I have noticed him using his imagination, using different voices for his toys and watching how things react when he jumps on them. I love seeing him develop and learn through play.


Matilda Grace - Oh my, this girl is keeping me on my toes! Constantly trying to crawl and climb, she's my little adventurer, and as such has become a bruised and battered little thing. She takes it in her stride though, she's not one to feel sad for long, a couple of tears, then back to climbing and falling!



Linking up with Jodi's 52 project.

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

I Have A Nephew




Brody William Garland was born on February 2nd, a big, beautiful 9.9 pounds, and for the first time, I became an aunty. We got a quick visit in the hospital where Samuel caused chaos and Matilda refused to feed as there was too much to look at. I snapped a couple of photos, and listened intently to Brody's birth story, then we headed off to give the new mum and dad some time to get to know their son.

Welcome to the world, little boy, I look forward to watching you grow.

Saturday, January 30, 2016

5/52

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week in 2016"








Samuel James - He's a complex and beautiful boy, this week he's been teaching me patience and highlighting parts of me that I need to work on. Such is the life of a two and a half year old, I guess. If we survive, I know we'll be better and stronger because of it.

Matilda Grace - Cannot keep her eyes off her big brother; always watching, always learning, always wanting to be close to him.

This week Matilda is getting closer and closer to crawling, she goes from sitting, to leaning on her arms for a minute or two, then slowly slides to her tummy. Slow down baby girl, I don't want to miss your littleness! Samuel, on the other hand, has been pushing boundaries. He is getting help, learning to use more words, and is using "no" a lot in the meantime. Because of his limited vocabulary, his big emotions tend to escape in the form of anger and frustration. Because of my lack of sleep, instead of always being calm and loving in my responses, his anger has been met with mine, and we've all suffered. Thankfully, every day is a clean slate and a fresh opportunity to do better. This parenting gig is a wild ride, and the growing and stretching and learning isn't always fun, but boy, is it important. 



Linking up with Jodi's 52 project.

Sunday, January 24, 2016

Backyard Gardening










 It has taken me a while to feel settled in our home. Part of me was holding back because my heart was torn between wanting so desperately to live close to my dear friends, the beach and the calm of small town life, as well as wanting to create a home for my beautiful family where we already are. A home, to me, means somewhere to feel relaxed and safe, somewhere surrounded by green, gorgeous gardens that can help me to feed and nourish my family. 
It has really been on my heart to bloom here in Sydney, it will never feel like home if I don't put in the effort to create that safety and comfort, and I'm the one missing out by holding back, and my family are missing out, too. 
Andrew is a master of many skills, and lucky for me, one of them is building things out of wood. He went to work measuring, drilling, sawing and hammering and came up with a beautiful raised garden bed for me to plant out. First we had to move my little herb garden to make room, and I was a little worried how they would survive after being pulled up, but my herbs are all thriving now, and I've harvested a good handful of capsicums since the move. We filled the new garden bed (on an especially rainy day) with nutrient rich soil, then in went our happy, little seedlings! We started out with multi-coloured carrots, candy cane beets, celery, lettuce, baby spinach, purple asparagus, thyme, chives, basil and a sweet, little blueberry bush (plus a few marigolds to keep the pests away!). Since the first plant out, I have added some garlic and ginger from sprouted bulbs in the bottom of my pantry, and they both seem to have taken off quite well. 
I made a little video to document some of my gardening, it was my first attempt at such a thing, and was pretty fun to be honest! 
My carrots are a little crazy and most of them have split due to under watering when it got hot, then overcompensating and drowning the poor things. My beetroots have thrived and I have very much enjoyed incorporating them into our lunches and dinners. My poor baby spinach didn't make it. They looked good for about three weeks, then they all went to seed, but an empty space in my garden is just potential for something new to grow, so I'm planning on either zucchini or cucumber to fill the space!










 

4/52

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week in 2016"






Samuel James - I'm seeing more and more of his personality peeking through each day.


Matilda Grace - What a ball of fun and cheeky independence this girl is!


Linking up with Jodi's 52 project.

3/52

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week in 2016"







Samuel James - In his own little world, building and creating, just the way i like it.


Matilda Grace - She's really digging this whole eating thing, but only if she can feed herself and mush it everywhere. the faces she pulls are my favourite.


Linking up with Jodi's 52 project.