34/52 - forest, sew, walk

Lily

For her birthday I had put together a little sewing kit (with the help of dear Amber!). This week, she announced she wanted to learn to sew... and she wanted to start with sewing a dress for her doll. Ahem! With my own sewing skills being non-existent somewhat limited, I suggested we start with some basic stitching using the embroidery hoop and thread. 

We had such a sweet time together. She was so eager to learn, so patient with her errors and so keen to continue. She sometimes struggles to persevere with learning new things that can't be mastered instantly, so I was pleased to see her take on an attitude of understanding that the process takes time. She persevered cheerfully, the goal of her handiwork luring her on. With gentle and minimal guidance (I am getting a bit better at biting my tongue, haha), she stitched and unstitched and de-tangled... and at the end she declared 'I love sewing!'.

Eli

He takes bush walking very seriously ;)

After a hectic few weeks, we had a hankering for a little outdoorsy family time. So, we headed off for an easy hike through a near by ridge. Goodness me, it was wonderful. Felt so nourishing and refreshing, to stroll through the pine forest together on a sunny morning, exploring, exclaiming, and simply enjoying. 

This guy? My little warrior had the time of his life :) 

Miles

He (finally!) decided to get walking this week... and the whole family has been cheering him on!

Oh, it's great to have a new walker in the house :) Baby no more, it's official, we have a toddler.

***

I will never forget the response of Lily and Eli when M took his first proper steps. They looked at each other in utter joy, screamed with excitement and threw themselves into each others arms for a huge rolling embrace of pure happiness. It was like they knew only a fellow sibling could understand and match their joy. They simply adore this little brother. How blessed Miles is to be so cherished by his brother and sister. How blessed I am to witness such bonds blossom :) I pray they will always cheer each other on through any new steps in life!

***

Mark


He was so happy, tramping through the woods with his family.

Love sharing family life with this guy, he makes everything better x




Project 52: A portrait of my family, once a week, every week, in 2014.

More highlights from the week that was...

Yes, they really think they rule the roost!

Examining a caterpillar as the walk commences...

A fire went through in recent times, leaving a fascinating mix of new growth and charcoal remains. Some burnt
pinecones made some handy charcoal sticks!

The only acceptable form of graffiti in the bush!

She was desperately hoping to see a wombat.  We saw all kinds of animal droppings, so thanks to my iPhone we looked up all the different types to identify what animals were around. Koala, kangaroo, possum but sadly, no signs of wombats (actual animal OR droppings - which by the way are cube shaped??). It was fun to investigate anyway. Um yes, this is the parenting life by the way!! The things you find yourself doing, haha ;) It's all glamour.

My three men. Hand in hand. Sigh. Love them all!

Oh, Tiger, why you gotta be so cute???

Eli's bush-walking supplies. Drink bottle. Pinecone. Half eaten apple which he would take bites of every few minutes. Be prepared and all that ;)

Miles wanted to do his own bushwalking!

Heading back. Such a wonderful. refreshing little outing with my tribe. We gotta do this more!

One girl's trash is another girl's treasure! A friend left this on her curb in the rain, no longer wanted. Lily spotted it and was happy to take it home. We dried and cleaned it and she has been lovingly caring for her baby in it. Who doesn't want a retro vintage cot?? I love it too :) She made a baby mobile. added a burp cloth to the side and even wrote baby care instructions to stick on the back. Little Mama :)

Scaling the bedhead. His favourite activity.

Her supplies.

Sitting in the afternoon sun together for a little one-on-one time was really special. She loved it, so did I :)

I may be calling for back-up soon. I really know nothing about sewing, and she wants to know a lot!!!

Her first sewing attempt - her idea! No random practice stitches, she wanted to do a flower first off! She has added quite a bit to this scene as the days progress, but she was sooooo very pleased with her first flower. So sweet :)

Celebrating 'Book Week' like every other Primary school child across Australia - by dressing up as a favourite book character for the school parade. I was relieved when she said she wanted to be Cinderella and pulled a dress from the dress up box. All the home-made-from-scratch outfits are amazing, but I am fine to avoid it this year. Plenty of school years ahead, we must pace ourselves!! ;)

Eli asked to dress up too and made his own book. Love it!!!

So much love/smothering!!

Checking out the Lego display... soooooo very tempting ;)

Little Doll :) You will always be my baby xx