Gingerbread House

We didn't have to make a gingerbread house this Christmas season because some beautiful friends did it for us! We were totally surprised when Braden and Zoe dropped by on Sunday Evening with this yummy house for us! So kind of them! I didn't really want to eat it at first as it looked too good. 

We actually left it wrapped up for 2 whole days.... I thought we did well to last that long! Once the wrapper came off though - we took a couple of photos and then it was eat as much as you like!

It only lasted a couple more days after that. The Gingerbread was so soft and so yummy - probably one of the best gingerbread houses I have ever eaten! Will have to get the recipe for sure!

Emily's Last Day At ELC

Emily has grown up so much this year. She has turned into a real little girl. For the first 2 terms of the year she went to The Early Learning Centre on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 9am till 2.30pm. She really enjoyed it and made some good friends there with both the kids and her teachers. She loved Tuesdays because she got to do Music with the Music Teacher - Mrs Howden, which was lots of fun. And she also loved Wednesdays because it was Library Day where she would get to walk over to the big library and bring home a book. 

During term 3 we dropped her back to just one day a week. Mostly because I had stopped working and it was getting a big expensive, but also because her Pre Kinder Sessions at Mount Stuart Primary had started. They were only once a fortnight on a Wednesday Morning but we thought it was important for her to attend these so she could get to know the other kinder children who she will go to school with next year. 

It was nice to have her home more too because they grow up so fast and even though I feel a bit of time apart from Mum during the week is good for a child (and mum) I also think it's nice to spend as much time during these very few early years with them as you can - because once they start school - that's it!!

Emily had her last day at ELC on Tuesday 13th December. She had a really lovely day and brought home lots of special things. She said she really wanted to go back again tomorrow! She will miss her friends there and also the lovely teachers, but she is really lucky that one of her friends is heading off to Kindergarten with her next year! Jack and Emily have become really close friends during the last term and it's really nice knowing that they will have each other next year in class.

Only seems like yesterday that it was her First Day!

Grandad Stops In

Was just about to take some Pictures of Chiara at 7 weeks old when Grandad knocked on the door for a quick visit between jobs! Chiara seemed quite pleased to see him! She is such a happy little girl and has started really smiling now! It's so cute. 

She is sleeping all night now - from about 9.30pm until about 6.30 - 7am - so everyone is pretty happy! She still sleeps well during the day too, so it's been great. 

Here she is relaxing on her quilt from Aunty Maree. It's pretty special because it has her name on it!

One of the last photos taken of Chiara with a decent amount of hair on the back of her head! It started rubbing off soon after this.

Em loves getting up close and touching her little sis.

Sunny Days

It turned out to be a gorgeous sunny day on the day Nikki and I had planned to meet up at the park. So nice we even got sun burnt! It was really good to take some time out and chill at the park with the kids amongst all the busy Christmas shopping and organising. They had a lovely time playing together and we even got ice cream before we headed home. We often hang out together and always forget to take a photo so it was nice that we finally remembered! Nikki has such cute kids! Don't you just love Levi's smile!? He is such a cool little boy! 

Sleepy Chiara

This was so funny at the time! I was sitting on the couch holding Chiara and said to Mick 'grab the camera and take a photo' and just as he held the camera up Chiara slowly just closed her eyes and fell asleep!! She was wide awake 2 second before and looking quite bright eyed - so it really cracked me up!  She is 6 weeks old here and not looking much like a tiny newborn anymore!! She is such a calm and settled baby.

Time To Decorate The Tree

We put the Christmas Tree up a couple of days early this year - on the 28th November. I was feeling quite tired from a busy weekend so sat back and let Mick and the girls do all the work! (And I think I was feeding Chiara to start with). 

It was actually quite fun to watch and once the tree was put together and the lights were on the girls actually put most of the decorations on themselves. Mick helped a bit and did the high ones and I didn't put a single decoration on until a few days later when I was finally packing all the empty boxes away and decided I may as well put the last few on that had been left. It was a fun night and I think our tree looks great! 

Chiara at 4 weeks

At Chiara's 4 week check up she had grown 6cm and gained nearly 1kg! She is growing up so fast! It's exciting watching her grow and get stronger and seeing her become more alert but at the same time it's sad seeing her lose that tiny newborn look! 

When she was about 4 weeks old we went and bought her a baby swing. I don't think these things were around when we had Leilani - and if they were, we never had one! It's been great though and Chiara has loved it. 

What a Beautiful City.

I'm really going to miss this amazing view when we move from this house.

Emily Keeping Herself Entertained!

This is how I found Emily watching TV one day! She's a crack up!

Mollie & Chiara

Mums last 4 grandchildren have all been boys so it was nice when little Mollie came along to start evening things out a bit... and even nicer when Chiara arrived and made it completely even - 5 boys and 5 girls! I'm excited that these two have each other to grow up with!

Even though there seems to be a big age gap at the moment in 12 months or so they will seem quite close! 

I love how Mollie is stretching out her legs here as if to say 'I'm the tallest!'

Love and Trust

Chiara is nearly 3 weeks old here. She gets cuddled and kissed and picked up when she would probably rather just be left alone! These two 'older girls' just love her to bits. They wake up and ask where she is and what she's doing. They ask for holds before they go to bed and insist on watching and helping during nappy changing, bath time and feeds! At 3 weeks Chiara still sleeps most of the day, having quite long sleeps sometimes too - anywhere up to 5 hours during the day and is sleeping through some nights already - but usually goes to bed around 9 and wakes at about 3am and then sleeps till about 7am.

She's getting plenty of milk though and feeds quite quickly. She's pretty spewy and 'spits up' after most feeds - but it's not so bad! She is growing fast!!

I have found having 3 kids makes you pretty busy, but I have also found some things so much easier  than when I just had Leilani as a baby. The girls are really quite helpful and just having someone around other than a baby to talk to is quite nice.

Leilani in particular is really quite useful and not just at 'getting things', but entertaining her if she gets upset or moving her to make her more comfortable. She also helps out just by holding her for a few minutes (which usually puts her to sleep as well!) or watching her while I have a shower etc. It's so much easier taking a shower knowing that if your baby wakes up and is screaming your 6 year old will come and tell you rather than you stressing the whole time you're in the shower as I used to when I just had Leilani. 

I can really trust Lani with Chiara and know that she will do the right thing with her. (Although that's not saying I can run to the shops alone just yet, but if I'm in the other room I know they will all be okay!)

Emily on the other hand, I don't completely trust just yet!!! She is still a fantastic helper and does a great job at helping me keep Chiara happy and entertained when needed, helps by getting things for me and loves to hold and cuddle her - and does a great job too. She is always gentle and kind towards her but she can get a little side-tracked sometimes!! Like a few weeks ago when I was vacuuming and asked Em to keep an eye on Chiara while I was down in the front room. Chiara was just sitting up happily in her swing so I wasn't too worried but then when I turned the vacuum cleaner off I could straight away hear Chiara screaming her head off! I found Em just playing in her room happily by herself and when I asked her did she know that Chiara was crying she says 'yeah'!!! I guess that's why she went to her room - so that she couldn't hear the crying! lol

They both really do love and adore their little sister though - even more than I thought they would!

Emily and Chiara

Emily loovvvveeeessss her little sister! She loves talking to her and tells her all sorts of funny things. Em loves to give her cuddles and lay next to her when she lies on the floor. Emily is really gentle with her and loves to rub her head softly and give her kisses. 

When we are out and about with people we know I am constantly hearing "Doesn't Chiara look just like Emily!" I however, don't really see it - I just see Chiara!!!

I like this photo of Chiara all snug in her capsule. She gets lugged in and out of this thing quite a lot during the day. She is coping well with the school run which I'm thinking is only going to get harder as she gets older!! I'm also thinking it's going to be harder in winter when it's cold and wet. But as for now - it's not too bad!!

Leilani's Pocket

Leilani and Emily are both very much inside making and creating kind of kids. They love to colour, cut and stick! One day Leilani came and showed me her pocket (with a map) that Emily made her! They then spent quite a bit of time searching for treasure with it!