51/52 - Her last day of Preschool + Brothers in Arms

Lily

Her last day of Preschool.

I had been so focused on the 'first day of Kindergarten' that is coming up, that this day kinda crept up on me!

And yet, she completed her first year, and, oh how well she did! 

I am not sure if we are the last state in Australia to still have government-funded Preschool (2.5 days a week of play-based schooling before the first formal full time school year), but I am so very grateful we do! It is such a wonderful and gentle introduction to the routine and structure of school life, while also being beautifully play based, creative and nurturing. The social experiences and numerous enriching activities have been just wonderful for my little girl.

She has grown, flourished, matured.... and now Kindy awaits! :)

Eli 

We are pretty strict on the table manners around here, but you just can't deny a child's right to slurp spaghetti, can you?!! Actually, even Daddy was getting in on the fun!

Seriously, we must be animals ;) 

Eli - spaghetti-slurping champion!

Miles

It's been a while since I made one of these, but this week I whipped up a little shaker toy for Miles (just water, food dye, glitter!) and....well... as you can see he was pretty entranced by it!

Ohhhh, he makes me smile!

PS Let's be honest, this blog is as good as it gets for this boy's baby book, so I will record here that Miles said his first proper word this week at 10 months -  'More, more!'. I took a toy out of his hands for some reason and he squawked in disapproval (a first for this chilled out little dude!) and said 'More, more!'. He is also saying/signing 'More, more' (unprompted) when he wants more food at meal times too.  He looks at his hand making  the sign, laughs and looks just sooooo proud of himself to be communicating what he wants. So cute :) Let the demands begin ;)

Project 52: A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2013.

More highlights from the week that was...

Sticky taping a 'thankyou' Christmas card and treat for the Postie. Oh, you should have heard her shriek with joy
when she checked later that day and it was gone!! She was just absolutely tickled :) 'How did he know?!!! We have to do this every year, Mummy!!!'

Decorating Christmas tree cookies. Aldi makes the best little kits for
stress-free Xmas baking :) So glad I splashed out on these (well, only $3 or so,
but splash out as in wouldn't normally buy a packet mix!). The kids loved them
and just so quick and easy and fun to do!

Well, I guess someone has to take care of the left over sprinkles!!

It's Christmas/party season, and the Sartorial planets align when I realise both boys have (hand-me-down!) Ralph Lauren Polo shirts that not only fit  them both this summer but are in Christmas colours, no less! What are the chances?!

A little impromptu photo session at the lovely birthday party we attended had to happen. Miles was dreadfully overtired (kinda forgot to put him down to nap!... oops), so a little less his cheery self in these photos. But when these two get together, there are always a million precious moments...

Brothers in arms...

The hand  just casually /affectionately rubbing his little brother's head? Just slays me!

Did you ever see a more joyful face? Pure sunshine!

Ready to go sing Christmas carols and deliver card and small gifts to the
neighbours. And I just realised they are in last year's Xmas PJ's. Wow,
look at those long legs, they really have grown!!

Eli's 'crazy face'. Things get wild when this face appears (accompanied by hooting and hollaring!)

Although the cropping doesn't show the height difference, I can see the change in her face. She has really grown!

Ready to go spread some cheer! (iphone pic)

I took the kids carolling at a nursing home this week. It was something I had hoped to do with them for a long time, and it was just a beautiful experience. Though Lily had been the eager one beforehand (even informing me she planned to sing solo!) she visibly shrank in shyness after we arrived and saw all the unfamiliar faces. Eli, bold and gloriously three, had no such qualms. He happily strolled up to each resident, introduced himself 'I'm Eli, E-L-I!' and sweetly sang his tune. Precious boy, he did so wonderfully and won so many hearts with his sunny, friendly nature. I was really proud of Lily too, because although she felt really shy once we arrived, she knew just how important it was to give this gift of song and cheer to these residents, so she dug deep and joined in with the singing and chatting.... a little quiet, but she was there and she was a rich blessing with her sweet spirit.... gently touching the hands of those unable to respond or move, and kindly making conversation with those who wanted a chat.

We sang simple Christmas songs to various little groups and individuals as we made our rounds, and the kids just brought so many happy smiles and inspired quite a few singalongs too! And  yes, as I stood behind them at one point as their sweet voices trilled 'We wish you a Merry Christmas' and three dear old ladies grinned and sang along, I did get a tear in my eye!! I was just super duper proud to see the joy and blessing they could bring. It was a privilege to be part of.

I hope we did bring some Christmas cheer to all those lovely residents - and the staff too who seemed so happy to see the kids being cute and chatting away (they are so busy and understaffed at this time of year!). And for my kids, I hope we planted a seed in their hearts - that they may remember the privilege of giving time and love to others during this season - and all year round too. Because at this time of year, we not only remember how utterly loved we are by Jesus through His gift of life, but we can share His love through good and kind deeds. We are so thankful to be rich in family and blessings, and to be able to share that with other more isolated members of our community. It was a simple outing but the experience was precious - and fun! Already looking forward to next year... perhaps we will expand our repertoire beyond three carols ;)

(We wish you a Merry Christmas, Jingle Bells and Away in a Manger, if you were curious!!)

the biggest christmas light display in the world!

We were super excited to take the kids to see the Christmas lights at Forrest - the new Guinness World Record holders for most Christmas lights on a residential home. It still seems crazy to me that a home in little ol' Canberra could hold this record.... above the USA and Europe??! I don't know how that happened, but we are stoked to be able to go see them so easily :) Yay, Canberra. And people say there is nothing to do here ;)

We chose a Monday night in early December to hopefully beat some of the crowds. To make it a little more exciting, we put the kids to bed as per usual... then an hour or so after bed time (when dusk was starting to hit) we crept into their room. They were not yet asleep, and just looked at us in in confusion when we strolling in, trying to hide our grins! 

We broke the news that we were going to see the Christmas lights.... right now!! We were met with looks of confusion, incredulity and then utter joy. 

'We're leaving the house??' cried Eli

'Really? Now? At night time?? Really??' Lily squealed.

'Yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy'

I think we all felt a little bit scandalous!! (Yes, this is what the wild life looks like when you are a parent, ha!). They scrambled for ugg boots and dressing gowns, and we bundled them into car, all full of giggles and smiles. Yes, dear Miles came along too, wide-eyed in confusion but just going with the flow as always! We had pre-prepared hot chocolates for the kids in sippy cups (lids!!) to drink on the drive over, (and even one for us), and the kids insisted on a cosy blanket for the car while they enjoyed their drinks and grinned like Cheshire cats. Pretty cute.

Getting up past bed time made it all extra fun and exciting for them, they were proclaiming love for the grass on the nature strip and every other thing they saw! Haha.

Here are the photos I managed to capture. The shots are a bit hit and miss. Some I am happy with, some are just okay and sadly a whole bunch of great moments aren't even usable due my settings being totally off. Photographing Christmas lights is haaaard (for me!) and so it was a bit of a challenge. But, it was such a fun night, and the actual memories are more important that the photos anyway, of course. Most of all, I hope the kids look back and remember fondly the time their crazy parents got them out of bed to go see the Christmas lights :)

Just a little dose of childhood magic! 

They stood in front of this wall of lights for a photo, but instead turned their backs, completely entranced with the
thousands of lights twined behind them. Such a gorgeous, magical and sensory experience!

This pretty much captures their wonder, gazing up at the lights all around them!

Ummmm, sorry so dark, but had to include the family shot anyway - you get the drift ;)

This image is a bit surreal but that is how it felt, to be enveloped by lights on every side! Truly amazing and just beautiful! 

The view from outside!

50/52 - a cosy + crafty kind of christmas

Lily

Sometimes, you just need a cosy home day!

With a number of Christmas events on lately, things were getting busy and the kids were just getting the 'end-of-year tireds'... it's been a big year for Lily in Preschool especially (don't even mention what full-time Kindy will be like next year!!). There was also some fun activities I wanted to do with the kids, but no gaps in our days big enough to do them in a relaxed manner. (I have discovered over time that doing these activities in a wide time window is the key to Mama not stressing out!). 

So, after checking with her teachers that school was winding down and no major activities were going on, I decided to just keep her home last Friday. She had been saying how tired she was and she wanted to stay home, so it just seemed right. Yay for Executive Decisions ;)  So, we designated it a cosy Pyjama Day. Lily nestled herself up under the Christmas tree that morning, reading the growing collection of books from our Christmas Book advent. Later, we all baked gingerbread cookies together while Christmas carols played in the background. 

It was the chilled-out, fun, and creative kinda day we all love, and it felt oh-so-good to enjoy a quiet day all together, just pottering around in the midst of this busy, social season. The longer I get into this SAHM gig, the more I enjoy just nesting at home with my littles, with no other agenda. There was a time when I sometimes felt anxious about how to fill the long days at home, but now it seems to happen easily? It was just one of those 'good days' - nourishing and rather precious, I must say. Perhaps the thought of full-time school next year makes these days seem all the more fleeting! (sniff)

Ahhhhh, can you smell the gingerbread baking?! :)

Eli

Helping Daddy with drilling. 

He is so keen to 'get on the tools' since he helped me make a bedhead, and I let him hold the drill with me. Then at Papa's house a couple weeks ago, Papa let him drill through planks of woods on his own with a full sized drill. (!!!!) Thankfully, I was not there to witness this event!

This drill is a little battery one with the battery mostly dead, it only turns veeeery slowly and no longer even impacts the wood at all. So, I assure you, he is not in harm's way! He was 'pre-drilling' the holes for Dad with great intention. And a few extra holes, just for good measure ;)

Miles

'Just give me an apple and 30 minutes in peace, thanks Mum'

Seriously, hand this kid an apple and he is a happy chappy :) He can devour the whole thing right down to the core (which I then have to prise out of his little paws!).

Project 52: A portrait of my children, once a week, every week in 2013.

More highlights from the week that was...

Watching the real thing, itching to give it a go.

Not just a handy-man, but a crafty-man too! Making Christmas garlands :)

I am so spoilt being dear friends with an early-childhood teacher!! Amber passed
on her extras from this garland activity and it was a winner :)

The kids (and I!) made salt-dough ornaments for the first time, it was really fun and so easy!!

Would you like an '8' stamped into your salt-dough Christmas ornament? If so, it's your lucky day :)

If I can't find Lily, she is probably here, cosied up under the Christmas tree,
wearing a Santa hat and staring up at the lights... in this case also sucking on
a lemon!!

Practising 'bokeh' :)

Lily's Preschool Christmas Concert. 

A huge night for this little lady. She was so very excited, nervous, serious about it all. The repertoire was kept tighyly under cloak by her until the big night. She took her teacher's missives to be 'sensible' very seriously indeed - she wouldn't even wear her favourite hairclip in case it fell out and distracted her mid-performance!! LOL!

I expected the group of almost 40 preschoolers (two classes) to sing 3 or 4 giggly songs but instead, they all stood and sang for almost 30 minutes - must have been a dozen songs at least! They all did so well! A third were Christmas songs, a third in Japanese, a third various favourites. It was adorable. And perhaps my 'mother ears' are finely tuned, but my daughter's voice seemed to ring clear through the cacophony of voices, as she eagerly and animatedly sang every tune, and did every action with pride and joy. It was gorgeous, and our whole clan (yes, grandparents came along too!) grinned madly and proudly through every minute... along with the family of all the other sweet kids packed in the classroom too!

Afterwards, all the families picnicked together on the school grounds - a lovely way to celebrate a wonderful year of Preschool and see our kiddos off to Kindy...

Lily of course chose her debut concert dress very seriously... then
went through Eli's clothes and asked if he could wear this little shirt and
vest because she wanted him 'to look handsome'. A touch over
dressed but very dapper indeed :)

Can't get enough of his apple munching face!

  

This boy is getting everywhere and into everything. And because I can't always monitor whether he is putting
the laptop cable in his mouth (!!) in this big ol' house, we helped him set 'safe and assuring boundaries' (eg pulled out the old school playpen!).

  

Love finding these happy scenes. The kids reading together, Miles making plans to hijack the tree. Btw, it's really warm
but they have a current obsession with wearing their dressing gowns!

Sharing a book-related giggle..

Gingerbread making together - so fun! I kept it simple by using kits (from Aldi, woohoo!) and the kids loooved decorating.

Oh, Eli!

The end result of some of our activity - gingerbread decorated by Eli and packaged to give to little friends. Um, yes,
a gingerbread man only a mother could love?! ;) So cute! (Lily was in on it too but declined to be photographed!)

We were very happy with our Salt Dough ornaments :) A little twine and a bell finished them off nicely!

After a visit to Harper's house, Lily informed me that our mud kitchen really needed a 'proper sign' like they had. Haha - only five and already keeping up with the Jones' ;) (not their surname!). Well, I had a plank of plywood left from my bedhead making project, so I outlined the letters and Lily and I painted them in together. Mark and Eli hung it up so now we are officially in business ;) She also painted 'restaurant' on another piece of ply, gotta get that up too!
(And as you can see from the chaos of the kitchen area, she is rather a messy cook - even works on the floor!!)