29/52 - school holiday hijinks

Lily

A brave girl in a bright green bonnet, traipsing down the stone wall without a worry in the world.

Eli

Working the electric sander like a Boss. 

Not fussed about the buzzing noise or swirling movement, he was right in there. Eager to help me with my little DIY project - and so confident. Grandpa will be so pleased he is right onto the tools ;)

Miles

While celebrating his beloved Nana's birthday, Miles really struck gold.

Papa shared some of his carrot cake with him... Miles' first bite of sweets since his first birthday party!! As you can see, the little nibbles of cake were very well received.... except when Papa teased him by taking a mouthful too. It was so ridiculously cute/sad to see Miles' baby bird mouth move in a hopeful arc, as the cake bypassed him and went straight to Papa!

He did get his share though ;) And now he knows who to hit up for treats - Papa!!

Mark

Rocking his new American University tee, that I secretly arranged to be delivered (via dear friends) from the US. Fun surprise :)

He is studying some Theology units through the school, so I figured it was important to look the part of 'American College Kid' ;)

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

More highlights from the week that was...

A 'school holiday' playdate with my Coast trip gals and our horde of children at
the National Museum of Australia. The kids made these hats for a school holiday craft.
'Why are we standing in front of this green screen?'

Who are those celebrity children on the big screen??! ;)

Three little darlings, running down the hill in suitable Canberra winter attire! 

'I'm talking to the man in the mirror...'

Celebrating the birthday of my beautiful, wonderful, amazing Mum :)

Miles was pretty entranced by those candles!
(Don't know what is up with the candle reflections?!)

His latest party trick is shouting 'yayyyyy' whenever prompted by L&E... with hand thrown into the air like he just don't care :)

We took a quick weekend trip to Sydney to attend a church lectureship. It got cut short
when the kids came down with a virus (ahhh, life with kids) but it was a blessing to be there
even for a short time, especially to stay with some dear friends of ours. I didn't take
any photos but it turned out Mark snapped a couple on his phone!

A fun holiday playdate at the National Capital Authority (at Regatta Point) where it turns out they have free regular Duplo and Lego club! We will definitely be returning here :)

Brothers // Soaking up the view

The reason for this playdate was to meet up with the lovely Brooke from our Documenting Delight 366 Project!
How fun it was to meet up 'IRL' with such a sweet lady, while she was on holidays from KL. Here is Miles and her adorable daughter Juniper comparing notes on what it's like to be some of the world's most photographed children ;)

Having a fine old time digging Duplo out of the box. 

The moment when you snap a cheery photo just as your daughter realises she is out of her depths and wants to get down!

The gang - Finn, Harper, Eli and Lily, digging and creating in the leaves

'I think what we need here is a really big stick'

I walked into her room during 'Quiet Time' to find her nestled in the dress up box, reading by the window. And very
pleased with her cosy little position too! She is reading... actually reading a beloved children's book. How amazing it must be for a child to return to a book known since infancy, but now able to decipher the actual words for themselves.
The joys of literacy :) 

My little DIY buddy. A girl's day at home, Lily and I had fun prepping an upcoming project!

She came to me with a stack of 'recipes' she had developed. One for a salad sandwich. So what could we do except
follow her recipe exactly to make one for lunch!!? Well, her other recipe was for a 'snake jungle' involving lolly snakes and lolly mint leaves. Unfortunately we didnt have any of those items, haha!! ;)

'Get the food. (Lettuce, tomato, cheese, sauce). This is what it will look like...'

Keeping an eye on the cheese quantity as she grates. She prepped the whole sandwich herself and was never prouder of her own lunch.

Sometimes in the early evenings after dinner, these two squirrel themselves away in their room for 'Sibling RoomTime'. They seem to amuse themselves in all kinds of creative ways. Tonight they made this adorable 'robot' together out of little pieces that click together (called 'La-Q' from Japan - it's really clever and creative). They were so proud of their joint creation :)

Ok, I can't believe I am posting a pic of myself first thing in the morning (!!!), but I had to file this sneaky snap Mark got on his phone. This image is already so precious to me. It captures my little snuggle-bug so perfectly... a part of him I have been wanting to record for ages. Well, I am *not* a morning person. After our snuggly morning feed, I am still always 3/4 asleep (groooannnnn, why, daylight, why?!). So we usually spend an extra 10 mins in bed while I try to wake myself. No, I am not someone who springs from bed before dawn, if you ever wondered. If only ;) So, while I semi-doze, Miles happily crawls all over the bed (and me), giggling and playing. Every few moments, he throws himself on top of me for a delicious snuggle (as pictured below). He will lie there quietly for about 30 seconds (bliss). Head nestled on my shoulder. Often his little hand will snake around the back of my neck. Sometimes (joy!) his tiny hand gives my back a little pat, pat, pat. Then he scampers off again, rinse and repeat, until at last I must haul my little snuggle buddy from the bed, so we can properly start the day that awaits us. That early morning cuddle, half asleep, is one of the most precious moments of each day. This kid seriously loves to snuggle and I love every second of it!

What a wonderful two weeks of holidays it has been. I'm thankful to have had all three of my babies at home with me, having time to refresh, chill out, reconnect. For Lily especially, I have witnessed how vital these school holidays are for a busy little Kindy kid. Less rushing, less schedule, less pressure. More slow mornings and quiet pottering, more free creativity and play. Fun outings, crazy playdates, a little travel and a lot of quality time. Moments of mayhem, squabbling, sickness and crankiness? Yes, those too. This is real life after all. But still... these were good days, and I am grateful for them. It's where I want to be.

"Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we
cannot take anything out of the world. 

But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content."

1 Timothy 6:6-8

plant a flower and watch friendship bloom

Earlier this week, three lovely friends and I, and our tribe of eight children visited my favourite little garden shop Bliss. They were hosting a 'potting workshop' for young kids - for $5 the kids got to pot a pretty little petunia (yay, dirt and mess!) which they could then take home. It took place in the Tulips Cafe next to the nursery, which is an adorable little place with delicious food and a playground right next to the cafe tables. 

This meant after the kids had a blast planting their flowers, they could run wild in the playground whilst we mums sat near by at a table, having coffee and cake, chatting and keeping a loose eye on the kids as they played....

...and played

....and played!

Whilst playdates at a public place can be a variable entity, and sometimes feel more work than they are worth, this morning was a blissful melding of all the elements of a refreshing and delightful morning out. 

The little playground area was set up so well in a fenced area and there was no-one else there so we had it all to ourselves (there was a second section where all the kid-free people could sit and yes, I would totally sit there too if I didn't have rug-rats with me!). It was just a simple playground but it was enough to keep the kids busy (plus they made their own fun and games). The kids all know and adore each other and get along really well. They were so thrilled to hang out in a group and played happily the whole time, which every parent knows does not always happen especially in a larger group! 

Everyone was having such a fine old time we didn't want to leave and ended up lingering for well over three hours and even had a spot of lunch there! Felt rather decadent indeed to not be rushing home. Such a lovely relaxing morning, beautiful company and a great experience for the kids. Suffice to say we are all looking forward to heading back soon. 

I left feeling so utterly grateful for a refreshing morning of friendship and flowers!

Finn, Eli, Harper, Lily
They ran into the courtyard and jumped straight on this see-saw for a wild rock in this sweet boy/girl arrangement.
I could not have arranged it better and only just managed to snap this before Finn took off in a whirl of excitement!

He was a little bit like 'Um, what is happening here?'

A happy little group of gardeners!

The girls chit-chat while the boys just sit... and eat!

Gotta have a babycino of course!

Miles did this basically the whole time!
Those folded little feet are killing me.... want.to.nibble.

Little Buddies

Our little buddy Finn came over for a morning of play. Which pretty much involved Lily and Finn scampering around together and entertaining themselves the entire morning, while Eli trailed after them trying to involve himself. I got him to come and hang out with me (a poor substitute, I realise) a few times as I could see the older kids were keen to engage in their own play and poor little bro just could not keep up!

I discovered Lily and Finn lying on the bedroom floor 'reading' stories to each other, they then drew pictures and made their own books, they built a city out of Duplo, told each other silly stories and sang whilst they ate lunch and pretty much had a fine old time. They are such well-suited little friends, both gentle and accommodating with each other - never a conflict between these two sweet souls! Such a fabulous age where they can entertain themselves and make such wonderful creative play together.

Lily 'reads' a story to a rather comfortable Finn!

The little playgym had been brought out but was a bit dusty from over winter so I gave the kids some cloths and a tub of water - they took to cleaning it off with relish!

Love those golden curls!

A great deal of rinsing off was required, of course.

Sufficiently clean - now ready to play!

Eli gets his groove back

Amber kindly took Eli and Harper to our lovely little music class this morning while the older siblings were having fun at Playschool. Whilst grooving away with two busy little toddlers, she also managed to capture some absolutely stunning shots of my precious little man - and now you can enjoy them too! Thanks Amber, I love them and I love having a peek into the morning - I so miss this fun little outing!

I laugh everytime I see this image. E concentrating very hard for the song where you have to touch your tongue with
your finger! That teensy tongue is so cute, huh!

The next challenge is to hold a ball under your chin. E rocks at this, if only it was an Olympic sport?!
PS. Those lips!!

If only his mother would get this kid a hair cut, right?!