Max at 2 and 3/4

For ages now I've been meaning to write a post about all things Max. I worry that if I don't note down the little things that I'll forget them, or they'll become blurry in my mind and I won't be able to pinpoint exactly what he was like when he was a certain age. Surely I'm not the only one that worries about that :)

Having MS does make it a little more pertinent to me though. My memory isn't great to begin with and it's probably only going to get worse. Thank goodness for blogs and day planners!

....

Max is now a smidge older than two and three quarters. He is so many things & so many of those things are contradictions. I love that whilst he tries to be fiercely independent, he still needs us so much. He's growing up into a little boy, but I'm perfectly happy to have him be my baby for a little bit longer.

He is so much fun right now. He loves to do things. All things! Whether it's crafting, or blowing bubbles, or playing outside, watching tv or playing on the ipad he is always so in the moment of what he's doing.

His favourite things at the moment are trains and monster trucks (I can't tell you how many times a day we get 'come in my room and play trains with me'!), the ipad (he's definitely his daddy's boy), playing outside on the trampoline and his blocks. Sometimes he's quite happy to play on his own and other times he will throw a massive tantrum if we don't drop everything and play with him right in that moment.

The tantrums. I know in reality they're not that bad. I've seen plenty of worse ones from other kids, but in the moment they can be tough to handle. Luckily they're few and far between and never seem to last longer than a minute or two before he's back to being our happy Max.

He really is a happy and cruisey little man most of the time. He has an adorable sense of humour, the best smile I have ever seen in my life and the ability to have us both in stitches with his 'funny faces'.

Max is also really, really smart (all parent's say that right?!). He is constantly amazing us with his ability to think things through, the way he reasons and the things he comes out with. He speaks like a real person these days, albeit with a very cute toddler voice. He understands complex situations and requests and comes out with the funniest things. Like most toddlers he hears absolutely everything and will repeat things at the least appropriate times. The other day I dropped him off at daycare and he said to his carer 'I was a little bit naughty yesterday, but I'm not a little shit'. Whoops! Proud mummy moment right there...

I took a little video of him this morning, I asked him questions and we had a little bit of a chat for the video. Although because I was taping him he was using his silly voice for most of it, he does talk in his normal voice a few times though so I thought I would share it anyway.



All in all, Max is the sweetest little guy. He is by far the greatest thing that has ever happened to me and I am blown away by my love for him on a daily basis. Someone just needs to remind of that next time he's screaming at the top of his lungs in the middle of the supermarket!

 

Toddler Tuesday - Project Cress Recap

A couple of weeks ago I shared a little project that Max and I had started and said I would be back the following week with the results. Whoops! Three weeks late is better than never right?!

Project cress was actually a huge success, Max was so thrilled once the cress started to sprout. Every time someone came over that week Max would carefully carry his egg carton to them and show them his 'little plants'. I loved seeing how proud he was to be growing something of his very own.

 

 

A couple of days into the project I realised that the cress was dying, so we gave them some more water and they sprung back to life. Other than that the whole thing was as simple as checking on them each day and proudly showing them off :)

I think we will definitely be doing this one again in the future!

32 Weeks

This pregnancy is going so fast now that I'm almost at the end & I am completely torn between wanting to enjoy every moment (in case it's my last) and being so excited to meet my new baby.

I started my maternity leave a couple of weeks ago and I feel so much more relaxed now. Eight weeks of one-on-one time with Max, time to get done the things I want to get done and not having to worry about working is just what the doctor ordered. It's kind of like the calm before the storm I guess!

Max is really excited about becoming a big brother and loves to talk to the baby in my belly. He has his heart set on calling the baby Luca and won't consider any other names. Whilst Sean and I both really like the name Luca I don't know that it will be what we name the baby, hopefully Max is ok with that!

I'm a little worried that the reality of having a new baby in the house is going to come as a rude shock to Max. I was talking to one of the daycare Mums who had just had a baby the other day and she was saying that her 3 year old is having a bit of a hard time adjusting. Things like crying for no reason, wanting to wear nappies again, asking for a dummy have all been happening at her house. I guess we will just have to wait and see.

My belly is so incredibly huge now and I'm getting lots of comments from 'well-meaning' strangers (as you do when you're pregnant). I get things like 'only days to go now!' 'are you sure there's only one in there?' and 'you must be having a girl' from people that have absolutely no idea. Doesn't really bother me though, I love my huge belly!

The one thing I seriously need to get started on is setting up the nursery. At the moment is just an empty room stacked full of every baby item my sister and I have ever owned. I have a pinboard dedicated to the baby's room and so many great ideas. I just need to stop pinning and start doing!! Here's a couple of things from the board that are inspiring me:

(source)

(source)

(source)

(source)

Who knows how the nursery will actually turn out though. The one thing I have done is start to get a piece of original art organised. I am so excited about it and can't wait to share it :). Stay tuned!

Four Years

Today, my wonderful husband Sean and I are celebrating four years of marriage.

I've found myself reflecting on these years through-out the day and each time I find myself with a big cheesy smile on my face.

It hasn't been all smooth sailing. But what's got us through those rough times is a genuine love for each other and a willingness to make things work. Besides, the good stuff far outweighs anything that could possibly be thrown our way.

Sean was at work so I spent the day with Max and it was an amazing reminder that our marriage is so much more than the two of us. The greatest things that will ever come from it are Max and the baby we have on the way (and any future babies we have!).

Looking back at our wedding day it almost seems insignificant compared to getting to spend the rest of my life with Sean and our family, but it still remains one of my favourite days of all time. It was before the days of pinterest and although I would LOVE to throw another wedding, I'm still really happy with our wedding day. It wasn't perfect, but it was perfect for Sean and I.

 

(All photos by the very talented Jodie Litzow)

Tonight we had a home-cooked (by me no less!) dinner with family and tomorrow night Sean is taking me out for dinner and a movie. He won't tell me where we're going or what we're seeing, but he guarantees me I'll love it!

Open for Business

If you follow me on facebook you'll know that I finally got my butt into gear and opened up my etsy store (and one on made-it too)! About time right!?

I have some gold and sparkly handmade homewares in there, as well as some gorgeous pieces for a little girl's room. I have lots more ideas in my head (and some that are in progress), but I decided to start listing what I've got so that I could get the ball rolling.

This morning I sent out my first order, two custom versions of my love heart art. Packaging them up and sending them out was almost as much fun as making them! You'll have to excuse the bad photos though, I did it all in the evening after Max went to bed. If he sees scissors, tape, pens (or anything really) he assumes it's for him and throws himself head first in to craft time :).

(The washi tape and twine I used in the packaging is from one of my favourite stores - Chibi Run.)

Now that I have my first order done and dusted I'm itching to do more! If you like what you see I would love for you to tell your friends and family about my little store.  My etsy store is here and the made-it one is here. Thank you so much!!

Toddler Tuesday - Project Cress

This week for Toddler Tuesday Max and I decided to celebrate the start of spring with a little nature project. Inspired by Tamara from One Craftee Mumma, we did our own little 'project cress'.

It was super simple and I was really impressed by how easily Max was able to do all the steps of the activity on his own with just verbal instructions from me.

All you need to get started is:
 - an egg carton
 - cotton wool
 - water
 - cress seeds
 - gorgeous queensland spring sunshine is optional :)

We started out by filling each spot in our egg carton with some cotton wool and then Max carefully soaked each piece with water (using our high-tech homemade watering can).

Then Max sprinkled the cress seeds onto the cotton wool (after I convinced him not to throw them across the yard like the 'cross mumma' in Jack and the Beanstalk!).

 

And now we wait... The seed packet suggested keeping the carton somewhere dark until they start to sprout,  so I have them up in the top of the pantry. If all goes well we should see some progress as soon as tomorrow and will hopefully have a progress report for next weeks Toddler Tuesday post.