When Reuben Turned THREE!

This absolutely gorgeous boy turned three back in April! Three! Can you believe it? He is growing into such a beautiful little fella. He still owns the cheekiest smile ever, with a contagious laugh to match. He is just so much fun to be around. He has a great sense of humour and the biggest heart. He's loud and loves all the boy things. Dinosaurs, trucks, trains, planes, cars, superheroes. All the boy stuff.

So Reuben asked for a Superhero party for his birthday, and boy did Mama deliver.



I decided to make it a party where the kids could do stuff, so we turned the party into a Superhero training boot camp!

Each guest got one of these checklists, and each party game fulfilled one "competency". (***see the end of this post for a link to the prints!!***) When they had completed the whole list, they were presented with a certificate of completion. And yeah, I may have laminated stuff. I'm so a teacher.

First up they had to look the part... they came up with names, decorated capes (really simple ones I made with pieces of white cotton with a hem sewn at one end with elastic threaded through it), and had their faces painted.

They pinned the star on the SHIELD...

Single-handedly demolished "brick walls"...

Rescued a baby from a burning building... (and yeah, my husband does own a smoke machine)

Made their way through a laser maze...

And for their final challenge, they had to work together to defeat the evil villains (played by my brother and his BFF who turned up on motorbikes just at the right moment). The kids went to town on them with silly string and foam swords and karate chops.

The food was all allergy free, and I made little labels for each thing stating which superhero power it helps to build... like 'builds muscles', 'every blast', 'increases elasticity', 'boosts invisibility' and so on.

It was so much fun. The kids had a fabulous time, and I really enjoyed putting it on.

I also took allergy free cupcakes to kindy for him to share with his friends later that week...

All in all Reuben had a VERY happy birthday.

And now he's THREE!!! My beautiful big boy.

***If you're interested in the printable I made for Reuben's party VISIT THIS LINK. You will find the training checklist, the food labels, and the certificates. Enjoy!!

Mayana is Five

My beautiful girl.

I can’t believe that you have been in our lives for five whole years. I somehow feel like I have always known you, but also that these last five years have gone by in the blink of an eye. How can it be that my wrinkly little 5lb 2oz baby is all of a sudden this great big girl, so clever and confident and beautiful, about to start school!

I’m so proud of you my girl. There are so many times each day that I look at you and my heart feels like it literally is swelling in my chest with how much I love you. You are seriously gorgeous, with your long blonde hair and your sparkling blue eyes. You have the most delightful smile, and your giggle never fails to bring a smile to my lips.

You are so kind, and you care so deeply for people. You are really invested into your relationships with friends and family, and people mean everything to you. You love to think of ways to include other people in the things that we do.

I love the kind of sister that you are. Sometimes your brother is awfully annoying, I know. He can be so rough with you, and he LOVES to touch your things, especially when you don’t want him to. Most of the time you are so patient with him, and you try to include him when you can. Just today, he was playing with your brand new stroller that Grandma Suki bought for your twins. You must have told him 200 times these last few days that you don’t really want him playing with it. Today, instead of yelling at him to put them back, you decided to involve him in your fabulous imagination instead, and invited him to babysit your girls while you were getting ready for the day, which he did ever so beautifully for you! You love to hold hands with him across the back seat when we are driving somewhere, and if he won’t give you a kiss and a cuddle when he first sees you in the morning, your heart is almost broken. You truly do adore him, and I hope and pray that you two will always love each other and be close. I can’t wait to see how this new more grown up version of yourself will be with your newborn baby brother when he arrives in a few more weeks!

I think one of the things that you are most known for Mayana, is your incredible imagination. I love how creative you are and how absorbed you can become in make-believe. Sometimes it frustrates you that other kids aren’t able to keep up with what’s going on in your games. You can’t fathom how they can possible not see the pretend baby you are asking them to hold, or why they are not passing you the lettuce so you can finish making your burger!! I love listening to you play with your toys, when you give everyone different voices and have them involved in complicated situations and conversations.

Your other big love is learning. You are genuinely very clever (and I’m not just saying that because I’m a proud Mama). You love to ask questions and figure out not only how things work but why. You like to know things from every angle, and you retain everything you’re told or hear. Sometimes I’m surprised at the things that you know! You particularly love letters, and the thing that you are most excited about with starting Prep this year, is learning to read. I think you’re under the impression that you’ll be an expert by the end of day one. You already can name all of the letters, and tell what sound they make, and have started to figure out how that relates to reading. I catch you sounding out words, or using the first few letters on a sign or book to figure out what the word says. You can write the names of everyone in our family, and you constantly ask me how to spell certain words so you can write stories  underneath the amazing pictures that you draw.

You are still a little girl in so many ways, thank goodness! You love fairies and princesses, and Peppa Pig, and Bananas in Pajamas and Playschool (actually pretty much any show on ABC4Kids is okay with you!). You still love being creative and doing any kind of artsy-crafty activity… especially painting. I don’t think a day goes by where you don’t at least have your drawing book and textas out – and your pictures are delightful! You love all the colours, but still have a soft spot for pink, and you like anything that’s girly – especially if it has a bit of bling or sparkle!

You also love Jesus, and have an unquestioning faith that is both humbling and inspiring. Your immediate response upon hearing that someone is sick or hurting or sad is to pray for them. When I told you on that morning last October that Oma had passed away during the night, you asked me why I was crying when I knew I would see her again in Heaven. There was no doubt in your mind of the fact, and I know that the way you comforted many of our grieving family members (including myself) with such compassion during the days around Oma’s funeral, was extremely touching and special to them. My sweet, kind girl.

Oh Mayana, I am going to MISS YOU when you start school next week. Next week! This has just arrived far too quickly, and I’m afraid I get a huge lump in my throat and tears in my eyes that spill over more often than not when I think about it too much! We have been the best of buddies for the past two years, and done so many things together and learned so much together. I still wish we could have done more! I know I’m going to be the kind of mum who relishes school holidays for the time I’ll get to spend with you, precious one.

I love you, my beautiful daughter. I’m so proud of you and the way you are growing up. I have loved getting to know you and watch you become your own person over the last five years, and I can’t wait to see what God has in store for you! As you say to me, “I love you around the whole planets and back a hundred times”. I really do.

Love Mama.

You can view Mayana’s 5th Birthday Interview HERE:

Her 3rd birthday video is here. Prepare to melt from all the cuteness!!

A Sugar-Free First Birthday Party

Reuben’s first birthday party was a hastily-organised do held at a local park. We were very blessed to have plenty of friends and family come to celebrate our beautiful boy’s first year of life. It was a fairly casual affair with a playground and duck-pond to entertain the kids, and plenty of time for catching up and chatting for the grown-ups. Okay so maybe some of the grown-ups made use of the playground too.

The guest of honour spent most of his time enjoying cuddles from favourite people and showing off his newest party trick: walking!

He also shared a clandestine cup of grapes under the table with his betrothed friend, Grace.

I decorated simply, but meaningfully too, with a string of photos and string of handmade bunting.

You remember those weekly photo collages I’ve shared on the blog of Reuben’s life? I had each one printed (all 52 weeks of his life) and laminated, then strung them together. On the back I wrote some highlights of each week. It was like a timeline of Reuben so far. Everyone enjoyed looking at our gorgeous baby’s photos and reading his little stories, and they were a great talking point. I’m really glad I took the time to put it together!

In planning Reuben’s party I made the decision to cater completely sugar-free. I knew I would have to a be a little creative to achieve this for a kid’s party, but (with the exception of one treat of fairy bread) I’m proud to say that I succeeded!

We had ham sandwhiches, nuts, crackers, vegetables and homemade dips, little cups of grapes (in cupcake papers – this was a great idea, very novel for the kids and a good little amount of grapes), almond & coconut fish cakes (fish by shape only, not flavour!), potato chips and fairy bread.

The cake was a sugar-free carrot cake, and there was not a crumb left of it!

Reuben was thoroughly spoilt with loving and gifts and we all felt completely blessed to have the presence of so many people who love him (and us!).

Thanks to everyone who came, we hope you had as much fun as we did!

Dear Reuben {one}

[Can you believe it is actually nearly a month since Reuben turned one! I’ve had this post sitting in my drafts for a month waiting for me to get time to add some photos to it, and here it is. A month late, but here is my letter to Reuben, aged one]

My beautiful boy! I can’t believe that it has been a whole year since that unexpected day when you joined our family. And yet at the same time, I can’t remember a time when you weren’t part of us.

Oh my beautiful boy. One minute you’re our tiny baby, with the sweet smile and the sneezes too big for your body, and now all of a sudden you’re practically a toddler! On the eve of your first birthday your sister came to me sadly and said, “Reuben won’t be our baby anymore tomorrow… when they turn one they become toddlers.”

You’re growing up Reubs. Over the last few weeks you’ve been practising your walking. I wouldn’t call you a walker just yet but it’s definitely not far off. It’s just the cutest thing, watching you take those halting steps with your arms outstretched… completely adorable. When you fall over you often lay with your head on the ground for a few moments, as if to imply that you meant to do that, you just wanted a rest.

You’re very communicative too. ‘Amen’ is your code word for ‘give me food now’, and you can say a fairly respectable ‘hello’, too. You call your sister ‘May-nah-nah’ (yes, you can say that but not our names), and love to yell out to her if you can’t see her in the room. You refer to me as Mama occasionally, but only when you’re upset. I think your most used word is ‘WOW!’ either exclaimed loudly or softly in an awe-filled whisper. If we have something you want you motion at it with your hands with that come here/give it to me action. You play peek-a-boo, and hide things behind your back, and have the cutest giggle of all time.

You love music, and bounce to anything with a decent bass line. You clap your hands and head bang to your favourite tunes. You love little nursery rhymes with actions, especially ones that involve clapping hands or putting your hands on your head.

Reubs you are just too beautiful, and I’m loving getting to know you and watching your personality unfold and develop. I feel genuinely blessed to be your Mama, the one charged with the responsibility of guiding you, teaching you, loving you and holding your hand as you walk the path of life. I love you forever beautiful Sunshine boy.

Happy birthday.

Love Mama

my birthday present

As I mentioned in a previous post, I was a very spoilt girl this birthday! My husband and my family pooled their resources and gave me my dream sewing machine!

It’s so pretty and fancy and I never thought I’d own something like this. When Pete not so subtly asked me in the leadup to my birthday what I’d be looking for in a sewing machine, I said one that sews without skipping stitches, eating material, randomly snapping needles and actually does more stitches than just straight stitch.

And he chose the Brother NX-400. This machine has nearly 300 stitch types, it threads itself, you can use it with our without a pedal, it has a whole bunch of different feet, including one for buttonholes, and which lets you actually sew a button on, it cuts the thread when you are finished sewing, you can lift the foot using a lever with your knee so you can leave your hands on the fabric, and you can even design and program your own stitches! I’m a little bit in love.

I’ve been a little addicted to playing with it and have done more sewing projects in the last week than I have in the last year! It’s so much fun to use, and it’s really got my creative juices flowing. I have so much awesome fabric stashed and I’m loving watching the pretty material turn into useful things right before my eyes.

Here are a few of the things I’ve been working on…

A skirt for myself. I haven’t made myself clothes since I was pregnant with Mayana, and I love this one. I used the lovely heavy kind of linen fabric I’ve had stashed for a while. Love it!

And of course I had to make Mayana one too! I absolutely love hers. I accidentally made it more high-waisted than I intended to but I’m glad I made that mistake because I LOVE how it turned out. And I also feel compelled to mention that I did not ask Mayana to pose that way, she came up with that all by herself…

This was a gorgeous quilt panel that was given to me about three years ago. I had no idea what to do with it until I glimpsed a cute alphabet book on Pinterest and felt a flash of inspiration. I’m so happy with it! I love the colours and illustrations of this fabric, and I think this was a good use for it.

And finally this little experiment. My first foray into proper patchwork. Also inspired by Pinterest (don’t you just love that place!). It’s a little bit wonky but I’m pretty proud of my first attempt. I really enjoyed doing this, and learned a lot along the way. I have an idea of what I’m going to do with it but I’m not totally sure just yet… you and I both will just have to wait and see!

So I am LOVING my new machine, and the world of possibilities it has opened up for me. I’m really enjoying creating so many things lately – not just sewing but crochet too. I’ll have to do a post about that sometime soon because I’ve been challenging myself a lot with designing things and making my own patterns and I’m really excited by it.

Do you have a creative outlet? I’m the sort of person who dabbles in just about anything, I’m not happy unless my hands are busy. What projects do you want to tackle next?

a flying adventure

Earlier this month, Reuben and I (along with my Mum, Dad, sister and brother) took a trip to Perth to attend my cousin’s wedding.

Mum, Jordan, Reuben and I had to leave this year’s Easterfest a day early to catch our flight. After some kerfluffles with our tickets (which thank the Lord we had Jordan with us because Mum and I were just about having kittens) we boarded the plane and took off on Reuben’s first ever flight.

waiting to board his first flight!

He was SUCH a good traveller. He was really antsy when we were waiting at the gate… whiny and crying and carrying on like a pork-chop. I was feeling a little worried about whether this behaviour would carry over to the plane, and I could see looks of trepidation in the eyes of my fellow passengers. However, after a bit of protesting during take-off (and no one can blame him for that!) once we were at altitude, Reuben snuggled into my arms and promptly fell asleep, and continued to sleep for the entire flight, until after we had landed!

We had a lovely time in Perth. Of course the highlight of the trip was seeing my beautiful cousin Emily get married to her husband Andrew. Their wedding day was gorgeous, and made all the more special by the opportunity to spend it with my awesome extended family who we definitely don’t get to see enough of!

Emily and Andrew’s wedding ceremony was beautiful and so God-focussed. Such a wonderful young couple, with a brilliant future ahead of them! It was extra special that the man marrying them is Emily’s grandad.

My date for the wedding scrubbed up pretty well huh?

and I felt pretty glamourous in my slinky little black beaded dress, which (I just have to gloat a little) cost me $10 on sale from $95!!!

There are no words to explain this.

I absolutely loved that I got to sit with these two beautiful cousins at the reception. I had such fun catching up with them!

Nothing like a bridal selfie!!

I was also very excited to introduce Reuben to all of the family for the first time, and in particular to my beautiful Oma.

Because we got to Perth the day before the wedding, the bride to be demanded as many cuddles with Reuben as possible, before she went off on her honeymoon!

Reuben meeting Sarah, his great Tante Christina and cousin Sam

Later in the week, Reuben and Sam had a playdate together. These two are about 11 days apart in age, but much more than that in size!

Oma enjoyed many snuggles with my petite man. She was happy that she was able to carry and cuddle him for longer periods of time, because he is not very heavy!

Reuben was pretty popular over in Perth. There was always a pair of willing arms ready for a cuddle, and they didn’t even mind that he comes with a pukey-cloth and an inevitable vomit stain. Lovely family!

Our time in Perth was both busy and relaxing. I feel like we packed in plenty of activity, but we also got lots of sleep-ins (seriously, Reuben slept until after 8am Perth-time – which I just have to point out is 10am Qld time – every single day we were there!). I unfortunately had a very unpleasant toothache episode whilst there, but luckily for me the uncle we were staying with is a doctor, and looked after me well!

I enjoyed spending some time with my lovely uncle and Godfather Oom Campbell,

and with my beautiful aunty/Godmother Tan Tan.

I got to sit next to another lovely aunty, Tante Anthea, when we went out for dinner one night.

After which, this may have happened.

And I had a fun day in the city shopping with these spunky people!

Above all I just enjoyed spending as much time with my very-loved family as possible. And it was extra special to be with them to celebrate my 26th birthday. I have never had a birthday in Perth or with any of my extended family from there before. The family made a huge effort to come together for a lovely dinner, and I appreciate it more than I can say. (So thanks!!)

A 26th birthday selfie!

So many awesome people came out to celebrate my birthday with me!

me with my cousin Zac

And with my beautiful Oma

And with my sister Alexie and cousin Caleb

Our flight home was scheduled for just on midnight, the night of my birthday, and a handful of cousins accompanied us to wave us off. Our flight ended up being delayed for an hour, so we plonked ourselves in the middle of the gate lounge and made the most of the extra unexpected time together. Reuben had been asleep at my uncle & aunty’s house but woke up when we were leaving, and stayed awake for our entire delay. But the kid is really a magnificent traveller, and this time managed to fall asleep during take-off, right in the middle of that it-feels-like-someone-is-sitting-on-my-head sensation you get as the wheels leave the tarmac. He slept the entire flight, as we got off the plane onto the tarmac and into the airport, through multiple arm-changes as we took turns using the bathroom, through collecting our baggage, and halfway out of the airport, only awakening when a screaming toddle was wheeled past us in a pram!

Having a fabulous time in the middle of the transit lounge in the middle of the night!

My angelic travelling baby…

Reuben and I missed the other half of our family very much, and were so happy to be reunited with them again. Reuben and Mayana hardly let go of each other for the rest of the day, it was absolutely the cutest thing ever.

Siblings reunited. So. Flipping. Cute.

And while it was definitely weird having a birthday away from my husband and daughter, I was one very lucky lady when I got home to the most fabulous surprise present ever…..

Seriously. More on that later.

We had a lovely time away, and I feel honoured that I was able to be present for Emily’s big day. I love my big wonderful noisy family, I’m so blessed to be a part of it! And I can’t wait to go back for more… but next time, I’m taking the rest of the family with me!