34.52 brotherly teeth brushing // siblings learning to get along

Big brother giving little brother a demonstration on 'how to brush your teeth like a boss'.

Little brother soaks it all in. 

Much giggling and brushing and bonding (and spitting) ensues. 

Heart melt xx

It's funny. Sometimes you have those parenting challenges emerge, and you dig in, and work hard, but then as change tends to happen slowly, you kinda forget to even notice the results. Oops.

As mentioned previously, Eli and Miles went through a stage where they just seemed to be riling each other up all the time. In retrospect I really think this little laundry project was a turning point in their relationship. We did a lot of other stuff too - talking things out, skilling them up in how to work things out, role play for conflict resolution, etc. (Also, alternately pulling my hair out and praying for patience!). They did a lot of work too, in recognising the kind of brothers they wanted to be (best friends!) and implementing a lot of self control and trying new strategies. Maturing too, I guess. 

But then I kinda forgot to keep track of it, lol, till just over the last few days I suddenly realised, wow these two have been getting along so great!  When things weren't going well, it had been so easy to focus on it. Funny how the absence of a problem makes it even easier to forget to recognise and be grateful for improvement!! I suddenly became conscious of how they were playing well, talking through problems calmly, working things out , doing chores together happily (like putting away the laundry while giving each other a high five and shouting 'team work!' for every item complete, haha!) and just having fun together without it constantly dissolving into problems. 

And the change happened so slowly I didn't even realise!

Isn't it funny. I worked so hard, they worked so hard, a good change happened but we didn't even recognise it when it came. I wonder how often that happens in our lives. It can be so much easier to focus on the problems and overlook the successes. Well, of course as soon as I did recognise it, I was sure to tell the boys how lovely it was to see them treating each other lovingly and as best friends. They are pretty proud of themselves too! I'm also musing about what else I can do to help celebrate and cement their brotherly bond and progress/maturity.

Of course, there still are, and still will be ups and downs but it warms my heart to see their bond blossom and hopefully we are all on a better track. Lessons learnt will help us all the next time issues crop up again (as they inevitably will because family/siblings/life/etc!).

Siblings can be life's greatest challenge when you are little but hopefully become more and more a blessing and support as they grow and face life together. That's my prayer!

lily // nine

My darling girl is nine. Almost double digits, as she would say, and I can hardly believe we are almost into a decade of parenting.

Lily, you have really embraced the tween zone this year. A voracious reader, you are tearing through books at a rapid rate, including many non-children's books too (you comb through my book shelves but to your dismay as you try to squirrel them off to your room, I have to inform you that many of the books are not yet quite appropriate!). Your devotion to reading fills me with joy of course, to see you become such a little book worm! 

You love hanging out with your friends, such a social butterfly. I am so grateful that you still fill me in on every social intricacy and we talk all the issues through together. I am so in awe of how self-assured and self-aware you are. How I pray we always have this relationship, it's such a privilege to be part of your world, even as it expands and grows beyond our home. I know you are so very eager to be grown. You love to take solo walks around the block. Be part of adult social events. And yet you are still so very little and I hope you can embrace your childhood for a good while yet!

You are so very funny and quirky, a total tomboy (you now spurn dresses and don't even suggest anything pink!!!) yet you still yearn for perfume and makeup and a hair straightener. You loooooove animals and have plans to be a vet (and with zero squeamishness may very well end up there!). You are constantly writing stories and plans and lists. You are incredibly creative, always sculpting amazing things out of scraps and bits and pieces. You are incredibly articulate and socially aware. How will all these beautiful parts that make you 'you' meld together over the years? I can't wait to see how God works in your life! 

It's a blessing to parent a girl like you. While we stumble our way through this new phase, leaving early childhood behind and head towards the teen years, I know it won't always be easy being our 'trial run' as the first born. But I am more grateful than ever for our strong bond, your respectful nature, and your kind and gentle heart. You are a beautiful big sister and a wonderful girl full of light and sparkle and spunk.

We love you, Lily, and couldn't be prouder of the young woman you are becoming through the grace of God. 

The Annual Interview with Lily...

What are you going to be when you grow up?

A hard decision... so many things! An acrobat! 

What’s that going to be like?

Very fun and creative! 

What are your favourite toys?

Can they be pillows? My watermelon pillow and food!

Who are your best friends?

Hayley from church, Charlie and Elsa. 

What makes you happy?

Hanging out with friends and going to the movies with just my parents. 

What makes you sad?

When my pets die.

When you dream at night, what do you dream about?

I had a great dream about where I break world records but they all go wrong. So it's like science experiments. 

What do you like to do with Daddy?

Do weightlifting and go to the movies. 

What do you like to do with Mummy?

Go to the ice skating rink and also have snuggles.

What do you like to do with Eli?

Practise tricks on the seesaw. 

What do you like to do with Miles?

Play lego with him and snuggle wrestles. 

What’s your favourite colour?

Aqua.

What’s your favourite book?

Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

What does Daddy do during the day?

Works very hard and comes home tired.

What does Mummy do during the day? 

Do you help homeless people? Help homeless people and come home exhausted. 

What do you do during the day?

Hang out with friends and go to school.

It's good to be nine because.....

Because you are almost double digits and you are a TWEEN! You are also no longer an equal number. 

The collage....

eli // seven

Seven years old, my dear boy.

Our little rocket, we do love you. You have flourished this year and matured so much. You love riding your huge mountain bike like a speed-demon with Dad, reading like crazy (ahem, Captain Underpants are the distinguished novels that really got you rolling, lol), and obsessed with gems and crystals and rocks (and trying to find them). So grown up but you still love snuggles with your Mum (phew!). 

You have overcome challenges, you have persevered through so much, and always, always, always with that cheerful, unflaggingly gracious spirit. You are always thinking of others. Always ready to help cheerfully, unprompted you often go out of your way to do a kindness for someone in your family, and rush to help anyone in need. You sacrifice immediately without second thought, always so generous and so happy to share. You amaze and inspire me, my boy! You are brave and kind and so tender-hearted. You are so sincerely sweet it makes me cry. You are also so genuine and honest, I just love your pure spirit, and the deep thought processes that you share with me. Big spiritual questions, thoughtful musings about how the world works, your busy mind is always working. You are also wild and loud and silly and funny and challenging and you never.stop.moving!

All these things are what make you YOU. The boy that God gave us. The boy that we adore - just as you are. 






Happy 7th Birthday, Tiger. Can't wait to see you continue to grow and shine xx 

The Annual Interview with Eli...

What are you going to be when you grow up?

An archaeologist. I mean a geologist. 

What’s that going to be like?

So, you dig for stuff in the ground and I want to dig for crystals and gems. 

What are your favourite toys?

My crystal collection but they are not a toy.

Who are your best friends?

Oh that's a bit hard. Are you allowed to write down God?? Ok, God, Mummy and Daddy. Actually I love everyone in the world. 

What makes you happy?

When you and Daddy take me to restaurants and give me special stuff and give me presents on my birthday. 

What makes you sad?

When someone punches me or hurts me. 

When you dream at night, what do you dream about?

Digging for crystals and gems and rocks. 

What do you like to do with Daddy?

I like when he beats me up with wrestles. and when he gives me presents on my birthday and Christmas and he gets really excited and says 'MY BOY!'

What do you like to do with Mummy?

I love when you help me do my crystals and digging for gems. And snuggles in the morning.

What do you like to do with Lily?

Lots of stuff. I like playing games with her and walking her to her class at school.

What do you like to do with Miles?

I love playing poison bal and when he gave me his camera and playing Lego! 

What’s your favourite colour?

Every colour and most of all Blue and green

What’s your favourite book?

The Jungle Book

What does Daddy do during the day?

He sometimes does cleaning. and he doesn't have computer time in the day so he has it at night and sometimes he makes dinner or goes to work. 

What does Mummy do during the day? 

Oh Mum. Sometimes working and sometimes making dinner for us and cleaning and sometimes you take me to restaurants. 

What do you do during the day?

That's really hard! I get ready for school and then I go to school and then I have afternoon tea and then I play outside and then I watch some TV and then I have dinner and that's what I do for the day! 

It's good to be seven because.....

Because I'm nearly really old and I'll get to be a grown up and you get to do lots of special stuff when you are a grown up like have fun with your kids and give them wrestles just like my dad and mum. 

The Birthday Collage...

31/31 {the january project} the project ends and school starts...

First day back at school.....

Year Three, Year One and a very tired Preschooler!

I was feeling #allthefeels after dropping all three kids to school today for the first time!

They were all happy as clams, but I was fighting back tears the whole morning just because... I dunno... motherhood?! Ha! I am so proud of them all, and love to see them so excited for another year in their lovely little school. They are flourishing and what more could I want?! But what is this funny thing, that seeing them so happy and independent brings so much joy and yet kinda breaks your heart for some reason at the same time? It's a big thing to entrust these little people to the world and to their own devices. It's with quivering hands I help them jump from the nest, covering them in prayer for each journey.

Your children are not your children. It is true.

These babies are growing up, that's for sure. Entering these middle years, it's a whole new season, so much to look forward to and yet bittersweet. 

xx

{the january photo a day project}

And so today, it ends. A photo a day, every day of January. With a momentous yet very simple image. For the first time during this month, this is actually just from my iPhone (gasp!!) rather than my 'big camera'. I just didn't have the energy today to worry about getting my big camera as we were racing out the door, so I choose to let it goooooooooooooooo. A rather inauspicious end to this photo-a-day project, but in a way it's kinda perfect because it's a tiny little example of my commitment this year... present over perfect. 

miles {three}

When our baby boy turned three (back in January... oops) it was a big step for our whole family... firmly out of the toddler years and into a new season of family life. Such a big boy now!

I love to watch my little ray of sunshine grow and grow.... keep smiling, sweet son xx

This is his 'If I furrow my brows and look distressed, will you give me
what I want?' look. It's familiar ;)

Miles, at three, you are your own little man. We often joke 'It's his world, and we are just living in it!'. You are supremely independent, always on the go and always busy with your own little plan and ideas. You entertain yourself so well and love best of all just chilling with your family. You are incredibly charming, funny, sweet and affectionate. You know how to pull heart strings like no one else, Mr Charisma! You also know how to pull a smile with your cheeky ways!!! You are such a happy and joy-filled boy, full of affection and sunshine - with the occasional stormy cloud, we must admit ;) You adore your big siblings but also know how to hold your own ground with them. You have the strongest will of the three (lucky we have already had some practise, heehee) and I know that your passion and self-determination will serve you well in life, if you keep your focus on worthy goals. 

You are my beautiful baby boy and I just adore you to pieces! Our quiet days together this year, just you and me, have been dreamy and delightful and stored in my heart as a most precious season. I love to watch you grow, dearest sMiles xx

Likes 

Lego, colouring, cars, trucks, diggers etc, porridge with blueberries, 'fixing' anything with tools, 'working' on anything, 'helping' always! Cuddles and kisses and being super affectionate! 

He says he likes...Christmas

Dislikes

Loud noises (vacuum cleaner, hand dryers, hair clippers). 

He says he doesn't like...Screaming (I sense an auditory theme!)

Contemplating what it means to be three...

The birthday celebrations...

In our family, the birthday person gets to choose their own cake... whatever they like. Except when you turn three. Then you have a jelly cake. Because Mummy found a photo of herself having a jelly pond cake when she turned three... and 3 year olds being fairly suggestive, was able to get all three of her kiddos to choose the same for their third, haha!! Well, Miles also wanted a gorilla cake, so I made it happen?! 

For the boy who has everything (thanks to older siblings)... a bug catcher kit and his very own flashlight. He was thrilled!!

Inspecting the Daddy Long Legs spider. He has been quite scared of them so hoped this would help calm his nerves... it did!

Bad photo but shining the light into the jelly cake was a huge hit!

A family fun activity for the birthday boy... bowling! First time for the clan, we had a blast x

Getting a little assistance...

Serious business.

Her 'quietly proud for getting a strike' face.

The Annual Interview...(his first year doing one!)



What are you going to be when you grow up?
I wanna be taller.

What’s that going to be like?
I'll be Dad!

What are your favourite toys?
The tractor and the helicopter

Who are your best friends?
Lawson and Blake

What makes you happy?
Playing, I like to race with Lawson

What makes you sad?
When I hurt myself, that feel me sad.

When you dream at night, what do you dream about?
Water

What do you like to do with Daddy?
Have a wrestle

What do you like to do with Mummy?
Have a snuggle

What do you like to do with Lily?
Have a race, play Mummies and Daddies and I'm the baby

What do you like to do with Eli?
Jumping on the trampoline together

What’s your favourite colour?
Blue, green, purple

What’s your favourite book?
The giraffe book (Giraffes Can't Dance by Giles Andrea)

Whats your fave show?
Octonauts and Peter Rabbit

What does Daddy do during the day?
Drawing with me, he's like a worker at work and he likes to work with me, fixing.

What does Mummy do during the day?
Have a snuggle (like this!). Have a play with me.

What do you do during the day?
Play with the toys (helicopter and tractor), read a book quietly

It's good to be three because.....
Because I love to!!





Collage.

Oh, how he grows! And oh, the places he'll go....

A 'Dragon' Birthday Party // Eli turns 5!

My middle man Eli was turning five, and it was his turn for a much anticipated 'big birthday party'. Five years is the age in our family where you get a big birthday bash (after your 1st birthday extravaganza, of course!). The biggest problem Eli had was deciding on a theme. He suggested everything from Preztel Party (!?) to Lego Party to Tropical Island Party (my zany boy!), then finally decided on a Dragon Party... and so Dragons it was!

This little party is like a love letter to my beloved boy, a gift to celebrate him with a really special day. It was a pleasure to pour energy and creativity into this project, knowing how much he would enjoy it (and enjoy it, he sure did!). I gotta admit I had a whole lot of fun doing it too.... not least because we don't do parties all that often, so when we do I have a lot of pent-up enthusiasm to pour into them ;) Eli was my excited little sidekick the whole way, full of ideas and questions and so eager to help in every way. Eli the Happy Helper, we call him around here... always eager to pitch in, even for his own party :) Seeing his face full of awe as each element was unveiled will always be in my memory!

I love to throw parties (just not too often, lol) - and they may seem either OTT or basic, depending on your own party-preferences (and/or Pinterest addiction!)! But a little party at home, with home made cake and crazy decor works well for us! With our parties, I always like to start by providing lots of atmosphere through decorations and theming - aka crepe paper streamers everywhere, haha ;) With kids's parties, I like to keep it all pretty loose as I find young kids mostly just want to run around and giggle together! So I set out 'stations' of activities where kids can gather, play or create, without it being anything too formal or structured. Kids can dip in and out of activities as they like, or just run around. Less stress for the adults and less stress for the kids! Lots of food of course (which I like to theme as makes it easier to decide on a menu!), and keep the party short and sweet (two hours is plenty when you have a horde of kids running wild!). 

That moment when the house is full of people and laughter, scattered scraps of wrapping paper on the floor, food and drink left everywhere, our friends meeting each other, kids running amok and giggling.... it's magic. I look around and smile - that moment is worth every minute of preparation to get to that stage! :)

And so, here 'tis...

Every party starts with the invite of course! I made these up quickly on Canva.com... and even paid $1 for that dragon image! #splurge

I had the idea of making a sort of 'Dragon's Lair' cake for Eli and for the first time ever decided to delve into the rather intimidating world of fondant to make the little Dragon topper (I didn't want to do the whole cake in fondant). Guys, fondant is NO JOKE, lol, look at all the set up and tools I had to assemble!! However, I gotta say, (if like me, you have always been scared off fondant), it's actually not hard to work with. If you can make shapes with playdough, you can totally do fondant! :) It was pretty fun actually!

My little dragon (in his temporary home!). Ok, I kinda fell in love with the guy!!!!

Their favourite part of party prep.... sprinkling the table scatters on the morning of the party. We held the party in the afternoon for the first time and it was very nice having a whole relaxed morning to get ready and the whole family even took a nap before everyone rocked up at 2.30pm. Yes, I am the kind of person who gets so over-organised there is nothing to do in the last couple hours before a party. Sad, huh?? ;)

Crepe paper streamers are my go-to party decor. I mean, they just make everything festive, right?! I had some ruffling in the breeze over our front entrance. They kinda declare 'It's party time!'

I don't mind serving (and eating!) sweet treats at a party but prefer to send kids home
with something other than more sugar! As all our little party guests are so into
writing and drawing, I made up these cute little notebooks with fun stacked highlighter
markers. Hopefully they last longer than a party bag too :)

Dragon Egg Toss through the Ring of Fire:
I made this 'ring' of fire by wrapping crepe paper (again with the crepe paper!?) around a hula hoop and stringing it up to our pergola. I put a washing basket behind it on the table and a basket of plastic easter eggs (with little magnets inside to weight them a bit). Kids could take turn tossing 'Dragon's Eggs' through the Ring of Fire!

My fire breathing little dragon!! :)
I made this 'photo prop' by just cutting out and sticking layers of coloured cardboard together. It turned out so colourful and bold, kinda like a cartoon? A hot tip if you want to try this kind of photo prop for party photos... I put a piece of washi tape on the floor to show kids where to stand, and a piece of washi tape on the wall in front of their line of sight, to show them where to look, so it all lined up nicely to look like they really were breathing fire. I took photos of each party guest and they all got such a kick out of it! After the party I emailed the photo to the parents of each kid...
Oh wait, that last step is still on my to-do list!!! ;) Ahem.

My little Dragon proudly displaying his dragon wings! I had this tshirt custom made for the party as a special birthday gift for Eli. The wings come off (they attach with velcro). It was sooo cute, and he was thrilled!!

Five!

The fierce big sister dragon knows how to roarrrrr.

Fierce dragon gives his best 'Blue Steel'.

Super Fierce!

Cashew, sundried tomato and capsicum dip... with colourful capsicum sticks. Too much capsicum!?

The party table coming together... the hot food not on it yet, but you get the drift!

I made these chilled chocolate custard cups (kind of like Yogo!) topped with strawberries.

Because we are dorks, we like to set ourselves the challenge of naming every single party food within the party theme. I was struggling with these white chocolate and sprinkle dipped pretzels, till Mark cleverly came up with 'Dragon's Nostrils'! I don't think I will ever look at a pretzel the same way again!?

Our friendly little Dragon cake!
I made this cake by baking a chocolate cake in a regular round cake tin and a second cake in a glass Pyrex bowl. I then stuck the two together using whipped cream and jam! Covered the cakes in chocolate buttercream icing and sprinkled with little ball decorations (what are they called? who knows!). The fence is made out of Corinthian sticks snapped in half and then edged in Maltesers... I used icing as the glue to stick them on. The boulders are Caramel Bites from Woolworths. A pretty easy cake with high impact in the sights of my five year old :)

Dragon just chillin'. 

Fire Sticks: Always a hit!! Breadsticks dipped in white chocolate and sprinkles :)

My littlest dragon, always on the run!

Trying to fill those butterfly-filled moments before the first guests arrived, I spotted Lily regally carrying Eli's dragon tail as he walked around the house! Haha... dragon royalty, perhaps!? Guess it was a fitting way to treat our honoured birthday boy :)

My lovely mother-in-law made these dramatic fruit kebabs!! 

Layered 'fire jelly' cups made by my dear friend Amber. Kids always take the jelly first!!

It was Lily's idea to call the drinks these cool names :) They are mineral water mixed with a bit of natural cordial.

Little Harper knows how to breathe fire with the best of them!

Miles surveying the party bounty and trying everrrrr so hard not to touch!

Fireball Making Station. Styrofoam balls, stickytape, crepe paper streamers (again!), red, yellow and orange markers, and cellophane. I simply set these materials out so the kids could  create 'fireballs' however they saw fit - for a surprise purpose!

The boys hard at work decorating their dragon masks! I downloaded the template from here.

Busy whipping up some fireballs!

Harper - always ready with a smile, somehow she made it into most of the party shots. Love this kid! :)

Go Finn!! Tossing his fireball through the hoop - like a pro!

The only formal 'game' we had was Pass the Parcel - at Eli's request and of course the staple of any Aussie party!! Miles was rather keen to hang on to the parcel, haha ;)

My lovely Amber took this stunning photo of Eli... she did well as he was so busy darting around all morning I hardly could capture him. He was having the time of his life at his very own big party :) Love him to bits xx

Harper and Lily, enjoying their fire drinks!

Miles (always in a hat) took advantage of the party mayhem and parental-distraction to nab as much party food as he possibly could. Don't even ask me how much jelly he ate!!!!

The absolute highlight of the party was the surprise appearance from our very own knight in shining armour!! To fight all those fierce little dragons of course ;) The knight is also known as Sir Mark (my hubby)! The impressive (and verrry heavy) armour is borrowed from a kind friend of ours. Mark knocked on the door half way through the party and strode in (very knight-like) to a very stunned, awed and slightly scared bunch of little dragons! It was complete silence till Eli gleefully piped up 'Daddy!!!!' and I think there was a sigh of relief from the kids who did not quite know what to think!!!! Then the shrieks of glee began.... ;) 

It was so cute. The kids popped on their dragon face masks, armed themselves with the 'fireballs' they had made earlier from styrofoam and (with much joyful squealing) chased the knight around and out of the house. It was hilarious and adorable - Mark was a wonderful (friendly) knight. A friend told me her son asked on the way home 'So, is Eli's Daddy a real knight?!!'. I think Eli scored some major cool points, having a knight for a Dad, heehee. It was a surprise we had been working on for ages and it was so fun to see it get pulled off and bring such delight and fun to the party :)

Attack!!!

Runnnnnn!

Time to light the cake :) You can't see from this angle but I had one candle poking out the Dragon's mouth for 'fire'! As you can see from Eli's face he was preeeeetty excited!

Kinda love this photo (thanks Amber!). Me and my beautiful birthday boy xx

One simply must cap off the day with a post-party breakdown discussion with the grandparents....

It was a wonderful day and another party milestone passed.... best of all, Eli had a blast and felt loved, celebrated and very special.

Love you fiercely, my friendly little dragon xx