The Big One!

I really can't believe where the last year has gone. Yesterday marked one year of living in this house, and more importantly this little boy's 1st birthday! When we went into his room to get him out of bed, he got very excited by the enthusiasm Maddi and Alex had for his birthday. He got so excited that he clapped. He seemed to of grown overnight, his seemed a lot taller to me and is even doing more, like sitting up from lying down. These photos were taken at breakfast time.



He shares his birthday with a special lady- His Grandma! We took Grandma out to Anvers for lunch. It poured most of the day, so we got very wet just from getting out of the car to getting to the front door.

We had Linc's favourite for tea- Roast chicken and veggies. He likes to be independant at feeding himself now, and wouldn't let me feed him.

He is such a mimicker and copies lots of things that we do. We thought a monkey cake suited him well with his love of bananas and his cheeky personality.

No need to worry Linc. The cake is dairy free! (Photo taken on Alex's b'day).

He struggled to stay awake after tea time. But when it was time to blow out the candle, he seemed to get his second wind.

We also had some dairy free party food to enjoy. Linc and I are very fond of the Anvers Dark chocolate.

He had a bubble bath with Maddi and Alex and then retired to bed, only to be woken close to 10pm. Linc's official birth time was 9.12pm, so I think he woke up to celebrate it officially. We continued the birthday celebrations with Grandma and watched a DVD of her choice.

Turning 3

Our Thursday born child turned 3 on Monday the 10th of January. The day started with opening presents and eating pancakes for breakfast before Dad went to work.



The weather was showery and overcast, n0thing like the day he was born, which was hot and sunny. So instead of doing some outdoor activities we played at home and decorated the cake. Alex is so into trucks, chocolate, machines and dirt, so it was very fitting for him to have a chocolate construction cake with CAT machines on top. I knew he was going to love it because when I started to bake the cake the night before, he asked what I was doing. When I told him I was making his birthday cake he got very excited and said "I love it!" He was going to love it no matter how it turned out, so that was a boost of confidence!


We asked him a few days earlier what he wanted for tea and he decided on "Donalds" meaning McDonalds. When Dad came home from work he was very excited to show him the cake in the fridge. We headed to the golden arches for tea, and had a play on the new McDonalds playground. He liked having "fizz" for a drink.

After a play we headed home and had some cake.


He was a lot more into his birthday this year, and even knew how to blow out the candles. We had some treats while we watched Toy Story 3. He said he loved his birthday and was excited that it was Lincoln's birthday soon.

Some facts about Alex:

1. He is very affectionate and loves hugs. He is very generous at telling people that he loves them. He is very positive at expressing himself at the moment.

2. He rarely sits still and is always busy tinkering away with things. He loves to take things apart and put things back together again, or gets Daddy to "fix it" for him. He enjoys playing with tools.

3. He LOVES food and you can tell that he enjoys eating from the sound effects he makes. He will go to all measures to get the food that he wants. He is quite a healthy eater, and eats a variety of foods. Chocolate seems to be his favourite food.

4. He is a water babe-He drinks heaps of water, loves water play and loves swimming in the water. He enjoys splashing around in the bath and likes to use the end of the bath as a slippery slide.

5. He is super strong, and doesn't have any idea of his own strength most of the time.

6. He has a heart of gold and loves helping us. He loves to help do jobs around the house, and loves to help in the garden and will often ask if he can help. He likes to imitate some of the jobs that we do around the house.

7. He has the highest washing pile out of all our family members. He goes through several changes of clothes a day.

8. He makes lots of noise, and from a baby started making growling noises. Often people would assume the noise was coming from an older child. He loves to roar like a lion and loves making car sounds. He doesn't really know what quiet is and is often banging and crashing around.

9. His favourite shows and DVDs are the Toy Story movies, Peppa Pig, Thomas and Friends and Bottletop Bill.

10. He loves cars, trucks, trains and machines. He loves to get in the car and pretend he is driving it. He is always sure to put on the hazard lights.

One Fine Summers Day

We had some special visitors from the south today. Moppy, Poppy, Becc, Brise and William came to visit. We did lots of things like...... Looking at this truck.

Some early birthday presents were opened up by the boys. We had a go on this water slide that was Little Alex's birthday present from Becc and Brise. It was a real hit with Maddi and Alex. Not so much with the babies!




We went to the beach. We never tire of the beach, especially this one, who really is a Beach Babe.

The water was surprisingly really warm.

We had a go on the pedal buggies.


These two at the front slackened off a bit. Lucky they weren't driving!


When you go to the beach you have to have fish and chips for tea. Especially the crunchy chips from Pedro's. Thanks for visiting Moppy, Poppy, Becc, Brise and William, we had a great day with you.

Beautiful Boat Harbour

We really love summer, and are loving the fact that it is actually feeling like summer now. With Alex on holidays, it's even better. Two weeks goes very fast when you're on holidays. We have been busy this week doing projects around the house, but decided to mix it up with some fun. We picked the perfect day to go to Boat Harbour, just a few clouds in the sky and warm enough to want to get wet and go for a swim. I love the scenery of the drive to Boat Harbour. I didn't realise that it was so close to home, so perhaps we'll use our parks pass at the nearby National Park.


Our first stop was Sister's Beach which was nearby. It got Maddi talking about who our sisters are. She figured out who they were, but thought that Olan was also Daddy's Sister. Sister's Beach had these tall pines everywhere. I thought we were going to be kept busy getting Linc to keep his hat on all day, but fortunately he only took it off a few times.


The views from the lookout were breathtaking.


Maddi had to take a seat on the mermaid seat.


As soon as we arrived in the town it was easy to see that it was a carefree little place. I could of easily sat on the beach and read a good book. The kids were so happy and got along so well. I say it all the time, but there's no denying that the kids are outdoors kids.


Linc was such a delight, not a whinge all day, just happy to be at the beach and was occupied by playing in the sand.


The kids made a little friend and built sandcastles near the water and were kept busy filling up their buckets with water.


Linc wanted to join them and bottom shuffled all the way down to them. A lot of people were very amused by his mode of transportation! He has changed from a clingy baby to an independant little boy very quickly. He is just like one of the kids now and plays with them more and more. It's sad but true that our baby will be a toddler next week.

The kids enjoyed sunbaking after a swim.

The water was nice and calm for a boat ride.

The boys fell asleep very quickly on the way home. Such a beautiful place. Hopefully it won't be 14 years until our next trip to Boat Harbour! I recall a school excursion in High School that I went on where we visited the town. Alex last went as a kid. It's nice to go away somewhere that feels like it's so far from home, but it's at your doorstep. From now on instead of dreaming of going to Hawaii, We'll head to Boat Harbour, where the water is aqua blue.

Staying in Hobart

We stayed in Hobart for a week after Christmas. On Boxing Day we went to church and some of us wore our new outfits to church. We had a delicious seafood Paella for dinner made by Moppy. We spent time with Gina and Damien before they headed back to Sydney on Tuesday.


Moppy and Poppy got a swing set made for the yard and it was very popular. Little Alex said "push me" all week! Poppy was very patient and generous with his swing pushing. William was a dare devil and laughed in delight while on the swing.


We took a stroll along the beach at Nutgrove and had a little play at the park.

We played with William

We did rolly pollys at the beach and then discovered a great spot on the grass at Moppy and Poppy's house. Maddi and Alex went to the airport to farewell Ness as she went to the YSA convention in Sydney.

We went to the Taste Festival and enjoyed the entertainment in the park.


We went to the Botanical Gardens and had a picnic with friends.


William enjoyed sucking on a pickle.

This little one cut more teeth. He now has a total of 6 teeth!

We had a great time at the beach on New Years Eve.


This one loved the waves but didn't like the water temperature too much.

Little Alex caught some waves.

There was lots of sand eating!




In the late afternoon Alex's Christmas present from Becc was redeemed- Tickets to The Gold Class cinemas. It was the first time we had been to Gold Class and we enjoyed reclining in our chairs while watching The Tourist. Becc, Brise, Moppy and Poppy looked after the kids for us. The adults stayed up until the new year and the kids set off some sparklers to celebrate before going to bed.



The week went incredibly fast! Sadly there is just one more week of holidays for Alex. Lots of things to do, so little time.