Washing...

The other day we came home to my child's three favorite toys hanging on the line...

Ollie was delighted to see them and a second later he realized the poor toys were hanging by their ears and tail and went "ah aaah ah aah ah ah" for me to get them down.
Even toys need a weekly bath :)

Christmas box.

Mike and I have a tradition where we get new pj's for Christmas eve, we get a naughty cereal for Christmas day, we watch a Christmas movie and do a few little things that have become Brits family tradition. We want to carry on our traditions with Oliver... so I have started his Christmas box.

So far his box is filled with a cute little Christmas cuddly toy, a Christmas decoration that he can hang on the tree and a few bath crayons.... I just want to get him some Christmas pjs and a special breakfast cereal and his first ever Christmas box is complete! I hope he enjoys our little Christmas traditions as much as we do.

This child.

This child.
We had a little family shoot on the weekend and this was one of the pictures my dad managed to capture. I cant wait to see the photos from Tammy who took the pictures.

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Little play date...

On Fridays I get home a little earlier so often Lolly and I will go to wimpy for a little play!
I LOVE this time with him as it is uninterrupted time where I feel there is nothing else to do but play with him... at home I always feel there is something I need to do. Wimpy is the prefect solution - coffee for mommy and a nice play area for Lolly.
(we have a secret - when there are no other kiddies there we are allowed to BOTH play on all the equipment)

Love my boy, love our Friday afternoons!

A little treat...

This is Mikes idea of a a treat....

My idea of a nice treat is that huge easy cuppachino.....

A little cookin'

I have really been enjoying my big oven and gas hob.... trying new things and I am really enjoying learning how to use it best.
We did rotisserie chickens in the oven - delicious!!!

 Cream cheese stuffed Jalapenos wrapped in bacon....

 Grilled asparagus....

 Prawn curry with garlic and herb bruschetta....

Now I need to start on some baking - getting the temperature in the oven right for baking is a little tricky but I will get there....

Lover of blankets...

One of the things that my boy and I have in common is that we both love blankets....

He will try and tug around the hugest blanket everywhere and then roll around on it!

Love this boy and his love of blankets.

Blanket rides...

What is more fun than a blanket ride?

... next on the list of things to do - blanket fort!!

A little DIY.

While daddy is doing a little plumbing Lolly is waiting to help out... he is fascinated with his daddy when he works and just wants to be in on the action! My precious boys!

Their joint effort resulted in the sink being hooked up perfectly.

A little twinkly....

I love twinkly lights - LOVE them, I could have fairy lights everywhere if I had a choice!
Our kitchen make over was a bit more expensive than we had budgeted for so the kitchen window blind has to wait.... this is our temporary solution for the moment.

I must say that I think this temporary solution might become permanent because I really love this...

Christmas treats...

Christmas pies and tea.

A little bit of heaven...

The wonder of twinkly lights...

The morning after we put up the Christmas tree Lolly woke up to the wonder of twinkly lights on a decorated tree. Seeing Lolly ooohing and aaahing over the tree kind of gave me a fresh look at the tree myself.... the wonder of looking at things through the eyes of a child.

My heart is so happy to be starting our Christmas traditions with Oliver - teaching him that Jesus was born on Christmas day, new Christmas pj's, special Christmas cereal, hiding "tinsel" our little elf for him to find, Christmas movies and music.....
Our little family enjoying the traditions of our own little Christmas.

Tis the season....

Last night I decided it was time for twinkly nights and a little bit of merriment :)
Lolly was rumbling around fiddling with everything but so soon after we started it was bedtime so he didn't get to see the result of it all....

A few favorites from our collection -

I love the beginning of this season.... tonight we have Ruthie, Jurgens and the boys coming over to celebrate with Christmas pies.

Precious...

My precious boy!!

So much love....

Sharing....

On Sunday morning daddy and Lolly shared a milkshake for breakfast... sometimes bending the rules is ok.

They both share a love for banana flavored milkshake which I do not... love seeing them bond over that ice cream goodness!

"Pa rum pa pa pum..."

'Tis the season to be merry and this season normally starts with us making Christmas mince pies - these are the only ones I eat. I also make some stuffed just with jam for Mike cause he is not a fan of the "mince"....
The pastry recipe is an old family recipe, not my family recipe BUT I have adopted it!

Aunty Lyn and I managed to make 24 dozen mince pies....  some for me, some for mom, some for her and many she gives as presents. And so the Christmas season begins for me...

Little butter eater...

My little butter eater....

Apparently I used to like eating butter as a child too..... BUT now I can think of nothing worse :)

Timmy's love.

Timmy is a very special pup - very special!! He knew I was pregnant before we did - he stuck to me like glue one day and didn't leave my side - a very noticeable change - and a week later we found out we were having Oliver! When we are sick he lies by us all day, when we are sad he sits by us, when I cry he comes to give me comfort - he is that puppy that just knows what you need when you need it and gives love!
This picture is the epitome of his love -

Sitting on moms lap all visit instead of being a rowdy pup and causing havoc.

This little boy was my "first born" and we love him so much! He teaches me unconditional love every day....

Mid week baking...

Last night we had two lovely ladies from our complex come for tea so I decided to do a little baking... my fool-proof custard slices...

I don't have a sweet tooth at all so these don't entice me BUT the one part of baking that I do LOVE is licking the spoons and bowls, especially when I bake chocolate cake.
I decided to pass on my favorite part of baking to Lolly.... and I think him and I are on the same page!

 He really loved licking the whisk....

I cant stop looking at my boys beautiful face!

I am so looking forward to when he is a little older and we get to bake presents for his grandparents and for daddy....

Sunday breakfast...

On sunday we woke up a little earlier than normal to have some tea and breakfast before church. We normally wake up as late as possible, get ready and then go BUT I feel like we miss out on the wonderful thing that is having breakfast together before church.
This was my two boys eating their breakfast together....

 And a little family pic, Oliver making his crocodile mouth  - pj's, sleepy hair, sleepy eyes BUT quality time that was loved by all!

We have decided that on Sundays we will try and not be lazy and get up a little earlier to have breakfast together!

Play date...

We had the most lovely play date with Tammy, Chris and the cutie Savannah.... what fun!! Two kiddies romping around - what a pleasure!!! I love play dates and tea dates with people who have kids and understand the moods / routine / emotions and restrictions of children.
This was our house after the whirlwinds left...

 I honestly LOVE mess like this!!!!

After Lolly was fed, bathed and put to sleep and after the house was cleaned and we were fed this is how we spent the evening! What would life be without friends, monsters rumbling around, food, tea, pups and a comfy couch to spend some quality time on.