twenty-three to twenty-six

twenty three

Your first ride in a trolley… oh how you love it! You’re such a smiley boy these days Reuben.. though you didn’t think much of your sister sharing her headband with you!!

twenty four

We took a holiday this week and spent a few days in Noosa. You went to your first Colin Buchanan concert!!

twenty five

You’re sooo close to sitting up Reuben. We went whale watching with the Batkins this week and has such fun. That last photo there is the caper you pull when you’ve finished your breakfast in the mornings. You always want more. You also learnt to sit up all by yourself this week!

twenty six

Twenty-six weeks this week my beautiful boy. On Friday you will be six months old! The weeks and months are flying by. I took you to visit Nana Joy and Poppy Goose this week. They were very happy to see you, and I got some beautiful photos of you and your Great Pop.

learning… always learning

The Friend family is on the move again.

After we moved not quite twelve months ago, we were assured that this house was a long-term rental, and that we could settle here and make it our home.

So when we received a letter a few weeks ago informing us that we had to be out in six weeks, we were somewhat shocked. Well shocked was one reaction… we were also sad, angry, frustrated, and very ticked off.  We love living in this beautiful house!

I cried… and swore a little. I may have even stomped my foot. It was just. so. unfair!

And I worried. Because that’s what I do. I hate that that’s what I do, but it is.

So, we fast forward a couple of weeks and I’m feeling a little stupid. Because worrying is SUCH a waste of time. And I should know that. Because God has ALWAYS taken care of us. Every single time. I know that. One day, my first response will be just to put my trust in God. He sure has given me enough opportunities to learn that lesson!

In about ten days time, we are on the move. To a very lovely brand new home not too far from where we are now. Like, as in, just finished being built. It has three bedrooms and a study. Lots of cupboards. Flyscreens. A laundry INSIDE. (Can you tell I’ve been living in a Queenslander for the last two years?) A clothesline. Air conditioning. A super easy-maintenance yard. God has thought of everything.

Like I said. I should not have worried. I should never worry. Our whole marriage and life together is an ongoing testimony of God’s provision. By the time we applied for our new place, I was had reminded myself of this and was feeling confident that God would look after us. As I drove away from the real estate agency, I prayed out loud: God, I know that this is in your hands now. I know there is literally nothing more that I can do in this situation, and I know that you’ve got a plan. If we don’t get this house it’s because you’ve got something better. Thank you for opening the right doors, and giving us favour with men.

Next time, I’m hoping that will be my first response. I’m still learning, and I guess God is going to keep allowing me to encounter these situations until I get it and it finally sinks in.

Dear Reuben {five months}

My littlest darling…

Five months already.. and let’s be honest, we’re almost half way to six! Mama’s been busy, and you especially have been keeping me that way!

I’m loving this age, the way that you’re that much more interactive now. You recognise me and your Papa and are starting to reach out for us and snuggle. Oh how we love it! You’re trying to copy the sounds that we make, and Papa, Mayana and I are engaged in a fierce battle to get you saying Papa, Na-na or Mama first. You've found your tongue and you love to blow raspberries and poke it out at us.. and dribble.. boy do you dribble!

There’s a couple of little white dots sitting on those swollen gums of yours, and I’m willing those little toothy-pegs to just do their thing and break through to ease your obvious discomfort. Everything goes into your mouth.. you always have to be chewing on something!

You love your jolly-jumper.. especially since Kami bought you the musical mat to go underneath it. It makes you so happy! I think it’s a lot to do with the fact that you’re upright in it. You’re not so much a fan of laying on your back these days. You roll around and end up in all sorts of crazy positions far from where I left you. You can sit up with just a little bit of help for when you overbalance when you get excited. When you’re excited you flap those little arms of your like you’re going to take off! It’s so funny.

You’ve also finally figured out how to work your giggle. You especially like when Mama blows raspberries on your neck or pretends to eat you all up. I love it so much!

You’re eating so well. Now that your reflux is under control you’re gaining weight far more steadily. You have two solids meals a day and it’s not going to be long before you move to three. You eat fruit and farex for breakfast, and veggies for dinner. You love sweet potato, and also eat carrot, pumpkin, zucchini, cauliflower, potato, apple, pears, peas and corn. You’ve also started munching on a few arrowroot biscuits and think you’re very clever. The only food you’ve refused so far is avocado. You’re not a fan at all.. you spit it all out and gag and carry on… We might wait until you’re a bit older and can have it on sandwiches or something.

I love you Reubsy-cubes. A little more each day.

Love Mama

Mama to two

It’s an interesting thing, being at home with two kids. I love it. Love it sooooooo much. And I’m learning how to balance my time so that my kids get equal shares of me, and the house keeps running, food keeps appearing… and I get a little bit of time to myself as well.

Mayana has been an absolute trooper since Reuben was born. When I was pregnant I was told plenty of horror stories about jealousy, and to be prepared for Mayana to really act out as she adjusted to this big change.

We have had a few rough weeks here and there, and there have been times when Mayana has tested my patience, but overall, Mayana has really taken this whole big-sister thing well in her stride. She hasn’t shown any jealousy at all really, and absolutely adores her baby brother.

That aside though, I know that she craves my attention, and I know that I could probably try a little harder to do more with her and make some wonderful memories for her.

Now that Reuben is sleeping predictably through the day, and his feeding has settled into a routine, I really want to make a conscious effort to devote more time to Mayana.. and one-on-one time when possible. It dawned on me last week that next year is the last year of Mayana being home before she starts school. That hit me pretty hard. As much as I loved working, and love that Pete got to have an awesome year at home with his girl, I feel like I missed a lot last year. The year that Mayana was two… it was really her last year of being a ‘baby’ and I missed most of it. If I’m being honest that does make me feel pretty sad. I don’t want to have any regrets about this season of Mayana at home. Especially since I have the opportunity to be at home with her right now. I want to make the absolute most of it, and have her look back on these days with a smile in her heart.

Mayana loves to make and to learn and to do things with me. Sometimes its as easy as pulling out her rice tub or getting into her play kitchen for some imaginary pancakes.. but she also likes to do craft (and lots of it) and other hands-on activities. I want to be able to provide some great experiences for her, and have lots of fun and do lots of learning in the process.

Pinterest is an absolute wealth of ideas and information (and a lot of fun and a little addictive), and I’ve been trying to use it more productively lately to find some fun things I can do with my girl.

The problem with Pinterest though is that you tend to find and collate all these fabulous ideas, and then they just kinda sit there, and you think, “Oh I was going to do something really cool that I saw on Pinterest… what was it again?”. So my plan is to not let that happen anymore.

I’ve made this cute printable to keep on the fridge. When we find things that look fun (Mayana likes to pinterest with me on the iPad), we’ll not only pin them, we’ll write them on our list. And when we’re looking for inspiration for things to do, we’ll know exactly where to look! If you like it, you can click on the picture to download a PDF file of it. You could even laminate it and use a whiteboard marker to write your ideas and wipe them off when they’re done.

I want to make Mayana a part of this, with her helping to choose the things that are on the list and then picking activities that interest her. I don’t want to structure our time or make any type of rigid schedule or to-do list, just a reminder of the things we’ve talked about and thought would be fun. Bringing pinterest to life! And having fun with my favourite girl in the process.

Can’t wait!

twenty| twenty-one | twenty-two

twenty

Oops!! Must have been busy that week!

twenty-one

twenty-two

We have really had a busy few weeks… the 20 Day Challenge has certainly kept me out of mischief, and that’s without adding the mystery rash that saw us visiting hospital, the holiday away, and the coming back sick!So I’m running a bit behind I guess, but I hope you enjoy these belated Reuben updates!

Our little precious turned five months old last week… so a big Reuben post is on its way!