Queensland Winters

Here in Queensland we are so lucky to have really gorgeous weather in winter. It does sometimes get cold (4 degrees Celsius the other morning), but mostly we have beautifully mild and sunny days right through June, July and August.

These last two weekends we've made the most of it and taken Max out to enjoy it.

This weekend just gone we went out to the Redcliffe, a 20 minute drive from our place. We had breakfast at a little cafe on the Esplanade (Oasis, great food and really great prices - go visit them!). After eating way too much we took a walk on the pier and soaked up the sunshine.

Such a relaxing way to spend the morning.


The weekend before last we joined up with my sister and her girls and went into the city for the annual picnic in the park fundraiser. We decided as an extra special treat for Max to catch the train in.  He loved it so much!!

Every morning Max and I drop Sean off at the train station and then pick him up in the afternoon. Max loves watching the trains come and go and gets especially excited at night when Sean's train arrives. I took this little video of him waiting for his Daddy's train the other day on my phone.



When we told him we would be going on that same train he was so happy!

My niece Emmy

Max & his cousin Ava

Once we got into the city we all sat down and had a picnic lunch and then went around and checked out all the stalls. The hands down favourite with all three of them was the petting zoo. I think they would have stayed in there all day if we let them :)

Tell me. What are the winters like where you live? Are they sunny and cool, or freezing and snowy?

Max's Big Boy Room

I've been planning Max's new bedroom in my head (and on pinterest of course) for quite a while now. I've pictured it with a mix of dark timber, white furniture & navy blue stripes. I want to keep some of the elements of Max's nursery, but also show that he's not a little baby anymore. (Click here for a photo of Max's nursery, it's down at the end.)

The time has finally come to get started on this room and I am so excited! When I first got pregnant and started planning Max's room I debated over whether or not to move him to a new room or re-do his existing room. I read that it's not a good idea to displace a toddler when a new baby comes along, but I really wanted to work with a room that hadn't been painted baby blue. In the end I decided to ask Max what he wanted. The room belonged to his cousin Ava (who he idolizes) for the 6 months that my sister lived with me. So when I asked him if he would like to move into Ava's room he was ridiculously excited about it. Win!!

I was still a bit worried about the whole 'kicking him out for the baby' thing, so Sean and I decided to do the switch well before this baby is born.

We started potty training yesterday (after months of half-hearted attempts) and Max did so well that I decided to reward him with his new big boy room. I've moved the main pieces of furniture into the room and Max slept in there for the first time last night.

When Sean got home from work last night, Max took his hand and dragged him straight down to the room. It was so adorable watching him point out all the things in the room. He is so proud to have a big boy room!

I haven't started to decorate it though, so I'm not going to share photos until it's done (or I at least have some decent progress).

Here's some of the images that are inspiring me (all can be found on my pinboard):

I like the combination of dark timber and white (no giraffe though)

Nailhead trim on an upholstered headboard

Navy and white inspiration for the bedding.

I might have hanging globes instead of a map

White teepee and dark furniture

Large frame filled with photos of Max's art

I love this display shelf.

And here's my to do list:

• Make a headboard and add furniture legs to Max's bed
• Make bedding, pillow covers and cushions - navy blue stripe
• Upholster bench seat cushions
• Turn ugly fake timber blinds into a custom roman blind
• Instal ceiling fan
• Refinish antique desk (made for my Mum by her Dad and used by me when I was little)
• Refinish toy box and add safety hinges
• Add shelving above toy box (ikea lack floating shelves?)
• Make display shelf
• Buy and hang globes or map
• Make floor cushions for teepee
• Print and frame collage of Max's art
• Create a gallery wall of empty frames for displaying more of Max's art
• Add shelving into wardrobe

Phew, the list seems huge when I write it out like that!! Hopefully I will have some of it done this month and can start to share. I've been so busy working on getting my etsy shop going (soon!) that I haven't done a lot of DIY projects lately. I can't wait to get started!

Toddler Tuesday - Olympic Rings

Olympic fever has well and truly started in this household. I absolutely LOVE all things Olympics and it seems that Max has caught the bug too.

The first time I put on the Olympics rather than ABC for Kids he cracked it, but now he constantly asks me for the 'lympics and specifically the swimming.

My sister Jenny kicked off the Olympic crafts on the weekend when Max went over for a visit. Jen, Max and the girls made Olympic torches and medals. Max loves his medal and proudly announced the other day that 'those girls' (gold medal winning Australian swimmers) had a medal just like he did. Cute!!

Max and his adorable cousins.

 

Max has also been doing lots of Olympic activities at daycare this week, so this afternoon I decided to keep the theme going and paint some Olympic rings with him.

This was a quick and simple craft, but it was absolutely perfect for Max because painting and cutting things up with scissors are two of his all time favourite things! I buy all my paint at the dollar store because we go through so much of it.

To make our Olympic rings Max painted 5 different paper plates. Knowing that we were going to be cutting the centre out of each I reminded him as he painted each plate to paint all the way to the edges.

Once all five plates were painted we left them to dry for about an hour.

When it was time to cut the centre out of each plate I honestly wasn't sure how we were going to go. Max loves to hack things apart with his scissors and isn't a big fan of letting me help him. I showed him what we were doing by cutting out the first plate and he was surprisingly good at working with me to do the rest. I started each plate and then held and turned the plates as he cut around the centre. They're not perfect, but Max was so proud that he managed to cut out circles :)

Next up we stuck the rings together with double sided tape and then hung them on the fridge. When Sean got home Max grabbed his hand and took him to the fridge saying 'look Dadda, we made the 'lympics!" He then counted out the five rings. I think he likes them!

  

A super easy craft, with a very happy toddler as the end result!

Max's gold medal winning smile :)

24 Weeks

How far along:
24 Weeks. Although I feel much bigger than that. I'm sure my tummy wasn't this round at 24 weeks with Max. I had a check-up today and I'm measuring normal though, so I'm sure all is ok :)


Total weight gain/loss:
I have gained 8 kilos so far and lost 2, making it a 6kg total gain. We've started eating a lot healthier now that I am through the nauseous stage. So hopefully I can keep future gains in check.


Maternity clothes:
Like I did when I was pregnant with Max, I've been relying on belly bands and pants extenders so that I can keep wearing my regular pants, skirts and jeans. I did buy the most comfortable maxi skirt the other day, but haven't bought any actual maternity clothes yet.


Sleep:
I need to pee constantly so I am waking up 4 or 5 times a night. My hips and back have started aching at night too, so that's also keeping me awake. Plus Max likes to climb into our bed at random hours of the night and wriggle around. I have pretty much accepted the fact that it will be a few more years before I get a good nights sleep!


Best moment this week:
Having people comment on my belly. I love that I'm at the stage where people that don't know me are sure that I'm pregnant and not just really chubby :)


Movement:
I have been able to feel him move since about 16 weeks, and Sean felt him move for the first time two weeks ago. He has been kicking like crazy these last few days and I love it!!


Food cravings:
Berries and vegemite. Not together, that would be gross. Vegemite seems to be the big one at the moment, I can't get enough of the stuff. Spread with cream cheese I'm loving it on toast, on sandwiches and on rice crackers. Yum!


Gender:
Boy!!


Labor Signs:
Thankfully none :)


Belly Button in or out:
Still in, but getting very shallow. Although it didn't pop with Max, so it might stay in again.


What I miss:
Soft cheese, an occasional glass of champagne and sleeping through the night.


What I am looking forward to:
Introducing this little guy to Max.


Weekly Wisdom:
Best advice I can give myself - enjoy every moment I might not get to experience this again.

Milestones:

Seeing the baby at our 20 week scan, having Sean and Max feel the baby kick for the first time, and no longer throwing up every second or third morning.

Toddler Tuesday - Jelly Worms

This weeks Toddler Tuesday activity was a real family affair. I was talking with Max on Sunday morning trying to come up with something to do that day when Sean wandered into the kitchen and said to me 'have you ever heard of jelly worms?'. I'd seen them on pinterest, so we decided to give it a go.

It was the perfect activity for Max. He was so excited about making Jelly and was able to help out every step of the way.

I found a packet of jelly crystals in the pantry and we got straight into it!

I really wish this next photo wasn't blurry... It really caught how excited Max was to be making jelly!

Once we'd mixed up the jelly (following the instructions on the packet), we got out a packet of straws and stood them up in a cup.

Then I helped Max pour the liquid jelly mix into the straws. I stressed out when the jelly started coming out of the straws and filling up the cup, but Sean pointed out that the straws were filled to the same height as the liquid. So I ended up just filling the cup and letting the jelly do its thing.

Max wanted to jump right in and drink the liquid jelly through the straws, but we convinced him to let us put it in the fridge by promising him that when he woke up from his nap we would have wiggly jelly worms.

Later that afternoon once the jelly had set nicely we got to work on making our worms.

First up we tried to blow the jelly out of the straws, which didn't work at all. Max did think it was fun watching Sean try though :)  We switched tack and ended up squeezing out the little jelly worms.

Max loved them! He ate them all up in minutes and asked for more (luckily we had set the left over jelly in some plastic cups).

This activity was definitely a winner. Max loved being involved in making the jelly, loved watching the 'worms' come out of the straws, and especially loved eating the jelly at the end!

Have you ever made jelly with your little ones? Did they love it as much as Max did?

The Week that Was

Last week was huge! Maybe not huge for everyone, but for pregnant, MS-y, home loving me it was BIG!

Very early Thursday morning Sean and I flew down to Sydney for my best friends wedding. I have been looking forward to this moment since I first met Erin more than ten years ago. She didn't have a traditional wedding, but what she did have was absolutely perfect.

 

Erin and Arron got married in the most gorgeous park overlooking Sydney harbour. After the ceremony we all had lunch back at Darling Harbour where we were staying. It was such a fun day and most importantly Erin and Arron were so happy to be married surrounded by their closest family and friends. Erin is absolutely stunning and I can't wait to see how her professional photos come out!

The next morning the happy couple (and their gorgeous little boy) flew out to Fiji for a honeymoon and Sean and I did some Sydney sight seeing. When we booked our flights we planned a really late flight out of Sydney so that we could spend the day being tourists, my MS was (and still is) being really shitty last week, but we still managed to have a really good day.

We walked and ate our way around Sydney the entire day. It was gorgeous. We had such a good time just being together, we were definitely feeling the love and even got asked if we were on our honeymoon.

That evening at Sydney airport we were snapped out of our loved-up and blissed-out state. I was completely exhausted by the time we got to our gate at 7pm. We arrived an hour and a half before our flight because we didn't want to risk getting stuck in Friday evening Sydney traffic. In the time we were there our gate was changed 7 times. Most of the changes were between just two different gates (that just happened to be at the opposite ends of the Virgin terminal), by the time they announced the last change I burst into tears. I was so fatigued and just wanted to get on the plane and go home. Sean kept trying to get me into a wheelchair, but there is no way I'm going down that route until I physically can not put one foot in front of the other...

Eventually (with no explanation as to the changes or half hour delay) we boarded our plane and headed home. When we got to Brisbane they landed us at the furtherest end of the terminal even though all of the other gates where empty. Jerks.

I was so glad to be home though and the second we walked in the door I had a sound asleep Max wrapped up in my arms. We were only gone for 36 hours, but I missed him like crazy!!

The next day we (Sean, Max, Sean's parents, some friends of ours and I) piled into two cars and drove up the road to Australia Zoo. The smartest thing I could have done would have been to stay in bed and recover, but there was no way I was missing out on Max's first trip to the zoo! I got to see him do all the cool things - feeding elephants, getting up close to a tiger, checking out the African animals, marveling at the crocs and feeding some very friendly kangaroos. After that I went and slept in the car while everyone else finished checking out the rest of the animals.

Max and his Nonna

Captivated by the Tiger

Loving the Elephant (the highlight of the day!)

My favourite part of the day was seeing Max feed these Kangaroos

By the time everyone came back to the car I'd been asleep for almost an hour and was definitely ready to go home. We didn't go home though. We travelled a little further up the coast to Max's great Aunties place. Max had a ball though, so it was definitely worth it!
  

 All in all, it was such a fun week. Exhausting, but filled with so many fun memories :)