Life As We Know It

Kirby: one!!!

 

Would you believe it? That sweet, cheeky little boy of ours is one already! One!

 

Kirby, at 1:

 

You have 9 teeth, 3 of which came last week.

You started sleeping right through the night just before Christmas, but have kept some strange hours lately because of your teeth. You now usually go to bed around 8pm and wake around 6.15-6.45am (your tired mama thanks you!).

You cruise the furniture and walk holding on to one hand, but you haven't been brave enough to let go just yet. You really like climbing. A couple of months ago you realised that you can flip things over (like the small chest or the laundry basket) and stand on them to reach things a bit higher up, so mummy has had to clear everything from the radiator covers and window cills. You try to climb up on the sofa, but can't just yet. The other day, you started climbing the stairs on your own though.

If I'm busy doing something, you tug on my trouser leg, saying "hiya?" to get my attention.

You adore your big sister and follow her around like a puppy. You miss her when she is in school and have the biggest smile on your face when I tell you it's time to pick her up, chanting "ee-a" as I strap you into the buggy.

You love to play peekaboo and do the mexican wave. Your favourite toys are the musical activity table, Aoife's talking photo frame, and your hammer.

You love music, dancing and song-time. As soon as the music starts, so do you. And you often go and stand in front of the hi-fi, look back at me, and dance on the spot to show you want me to turn it on. Your favourite song is "wind the bobbin up".

You also love books and often ask me to read to you (by sticking a book in my lap, and saying "ta!")

You love food, especially eggs and meat. You have your own hard boiled egg in the morning, plus Aoife's yolk since she doesn't like it, and you still beg me for more.

 

Here are a few more pictures from your big day:

 

 

 

Credit: Aoife

 

Credit: Aoife

 

 

Love you sweetie-pie!

 

366 photos: day 1-8

 

I love the idea of 365 projects. I think they celebrate the beauty of little things, the mundane, the stuff you wouldn't normally think to record. Because let's face it, most of us don't have 365 (366) days of big events lined up, so the mundane is sure to show.

I also love the discipline of them. There's something about sticking to a project daily for a whole year that really appeals to me.

This year I'm ditching the calendar journal (I've got the gratitude journal) and doing a 366 photo project instead. I have always wanted to try them, but until now the timing hasn't been right.

This year it feels very right. So here is week 1 (and a day):

 

My handmade gratitude journal. I didn't finish it till about 10 pm on New Year's Eve. And I was so happy to start filling it in on New Year's Day. Right now, it's taking a bit of disciplin to remember to fill it in every evening, but I love doing it.

 

We were out all day. When we got home it was dark, so I let Kirby have a closer look at the twinkly Christmas tree. He mostly saw it from the other side of the glass door this Christmas. He was fascinated by that egg-shaped gold ornament and kept swinging it till it fell off the tree.

 

I tried soaking up every moment of my last day with Aoife before she went back to school...even sitting on the floor making post it note jewellery (her current obsession, but so not mine).

 

 

Sorting Aoife's box of extra art supplies since she got even more for Christmas. I don't think she'll need any new pencils, pens, crayons or paints for a while, do you?!

 

A good mail day! Not a bill in sight. Instead I got my belated Christmas pressie for myself (my first new lens since I got the camera), and a couple of duvet set for Aoife's new room (not long till we start the reno now- I can't wait!).

 

Hallelujah, the Christmas decs are down! Nuff said.

In other news; Kirby climbed the stairs on his own for the first time, Aoife lost her first tooth (after having knocked it loose with her new trumpet over Christmas), and our friendly electrician fixed our outside light, the PIR (sensor) on the garage and changed the light fittings in the office. None of which I got a good picture of.

 

Salmon with blue cheese sauce. A simple, but delicious dinner after a busy day. The others also had rice with it.

 

Sunday was all about the little fella. We had some friends and neighbours over for drinks and nibbles in the afternoon to celebrate Kirby's upcoming 1st birthday (tomorrow!).

And that's the first week of the year gone already! It's going to be another quick one by the looks of it (the older I get, the quicker they go). I'll post the photos every Monday.

 

Our Christmas 2011

 

 

Hiya,

Did you have a nice Christmas/ holiday season? I hope so.

Ours was wonderful.

 

I went into this Christmas season feeling so incredibly grateful. Grateful to be here (it was a close call), to have this lifestyle, to have this family.

Things weren't perfect; the house wasn't as tidy as I would have liked it to be, Kirby's handmade stocking didn't get finished in time (the poor guy had an old rugby sock instead!), and I took more than a few shortcuts in the kitchen. But none of that mattered. What mattered was us being together, having time to enjoy it, and seeing the kids' excitement and wonder. It made for such a lovely, relaxing Christmas. I treasured every moment.

Alan finished work Thursday afternoon and that same evening we kicked off our celebrations in style with a lovely carol gathering at our neighbours. It really got us in the mood. Half the cul-de-sac was out and everyone was in festive spirits.

 

 

I was so happy Alan didn't have to work Christmas Eve this year. We always do a double celebration, starting with a Swedish Christmas on Christmas Eve, then an English one on Christmas Day. I cook the Swedish dinner, Al the English. It's our thing. We have done it for as long as we've been married and it just gets better every year.

Aoife helped me make ischoklad in the morning, then left me to get on with the rest of the cooking by myself. I think she had a few before she left though.

 

 

 

I'm not quite sure what gave her away :)

By evening, Aoife was giddy with excitement! She was practically begging us to let her go to bed at 5 pm, and didn't want to say prayers or have a story so that she'd be asleep when Santa came! So we put out a treat for him, then stuck her in a long bath to take her mind off things for a bit. Kirby, bless him, was kind of bemused by the whole thing.

 

 

 

After a restless night, the big day finally arrived. And I think it's safe to say we all had a blast. We opened a few pressies before Mass, but left most until after we got back. We were blown away by people's generosity. The kiddos got some lovely things. Then Alan cooked us a lovely dinner (thanks hun!) before we played the afternoon away.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Such a nice Christmas! And it's hard to believe last year that cheeky little fella still wasn't born. He is such a big part of our life now. It feels like he's always been here, eating us out of house and home, and brightening our days with his smile.

 

Aoife's birthday

 

4 days on and I still can't believe I have a five year old!

The cliches are so true. It seems like yesterday I held that sweet baby girl in my arms for the first time, feeling just as fragile as she was, yet at the same time totally overwhelmed by the immense love I already had for her.

Now look at her.

 

 

Five. Years. Old.

Wow!

 

And five was a VERY. BIG. DEAL to her too.

 

When we asked Aoife what she wanted for her big day, she quickly said that she wanted some friends over to play, balloons, and party plates filled with party foods... and, oh, don't forget the cake!

(The cake was very important. I don't think she has forgiven her daddy yet for preferring mince pies to cake)

Later, she also asked for cars, a trumpet, and a pink, shiny, sparkly dinosaur...

(No, we don't know where she got that last idea from either!)

But the party remained at the top of her list.

 

And so it was that on the Saturday of her birthday, Aoife had ten little friends over. And she loved every minute of it.

There were games:

 

 

 

 

 

Lots of games.

Food.

The all important cake:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And jelly and ice cream too.

Presents:

 

 

And laughter. And noise. Lots of noise. And many wonderfully sweet moments between young friends.

 

It was an absolute pleasure having those kids over. They were a lot of fun. And when they had all gone home the house seemed oh so quiet.

But we needed that quiet time too, to relax and soak up the last few hours with mormor (who kindly took most of the pictures above by the way).

 

 

Come back soon mormor. We miss you.

 

life right now

 

Can you guys believe we're in the last week of November? That we're nearly at the end of the year? Where oh where did this year go?

We've been spoiled with mild weather all autumn, but it suddenly turned quite chilly today. I put on my gloves and scarf for the first time and really enjoyed the crisp air hitting my cheeks. It feels like autumn now!

Anyway...

I was offline most of last week since my mother was here (but had scheduled a couple of posts in advance), so want to do another quick catch up post before I launch into blogging properly.

 

credit: mormor

 

:: Aoife turned five on Saturday and had her first real birthday party for friends from school. More on that in a day or two. I'm still recovering!

:: Kirby tries to say "ta", "hiya", and "Aoife" now. So stinking cute! Especially "Aoife", which sounds like "ee-aa".

:: Aoife was off sick a couple of days last week. Nothing major, just a cold and a low temperature, but I really enjoyed having her home. I was happy it meant mormor (maternal grandmother in Swedish) got to see a bit more of her too.

Kirby's got the cold now, which means I'm not getting much sleep at the mo, but I'm trying to stay grateful for the extra cuddles instead.

:: I loved having my mum here last week. We had a lovely catch up. And she was a great help at the party. We got to catch up with some old friends from New Zealand last week too, which was also wonderful.

 

credit: Alan

 

:: I had a bit of a scary experience at our local IKEA the day before my mum arrived. Some kid got his shoe lace stuck in the gap between the escalator ramp and the floor just as I was coming down the ramp with a full trolley. His parents were in front of him and didn't see him fall, so I shouted out for them/ somebody to press the stop button while I tried to back up the ramp. It was full and people weren't reacting quickly enough so I was shouting at them to back up too. The parents of the kid panicked. The dad couldn't find the stop button, and the mother fumbled trying to get the kid out of his shoe. By the time the dad finally found and pushed the stop button, I was pretty much lifting the trolley so it wouldn't run over the poor kid.

This is why I get so blooming mad when I see kids with their shoe laces undone. It takes 30 seconds to tie shoe laces. So do it! I could have really hurt that kid.

My back and shoulders are still really sore.

:: I have been given the thumbs up to start planning another room reno for mid to late January. I'm so happy! It's been delayed once already since we needed to use the reno money for a new car after Alan's accident. So if you suddenly see a slew of kids room stuff on Pinterest, you know why.

:: I've come up with the best gift idea for Alan's 50th in 2 years time. I'm so pleased with myself. I can't wait to start preparing for it, but will wait till the new year when I have a little more time on my plate.

 

Back soon. Can't wait to catch up with you all.

 

life right now

 

Well hello!

I've been a very neglectful blogger lately, so here's a quick catch up:

 

:: After a 5 year (yes, year!) discussion, we have decided to bring the PC into the main house. That makes me a very happy camper since it means I will no longer have to freeze my butt off in the workroom (which is on the other side of the back garden) just to use the computer. I'm hoping it'll make me a more regular blogger (and blog visitor) too. So very, very happy about that one. The only downside- they can't come out and move the broadband until December 17th. Boo!

:: Kirby started crawling "properly" and cruising on the same day a couple of weeks back.

:: He turned 10 months a few days ago. I can't believe how quick this year is going! He also recently discovered the joys of emptying kitchen cupboards...

 

 

So I'm giving him free reign to the plastic container cupboard.

:: We found a lost pet rabbit on our way to school on Thursday. After knocking on several doors and being led on a bit of a wild goose chase, we eventually found the owners. They seemed less than impressed that we had brought it back.

:: I have been humming "Little Cabin in the Wood" ever since. Grr!

:: After being at constant logger-heads for a month or two, Aoife and I have finally made peace. I am so relieved. It was weighing heavily on my mind.

 

 

:: Speaking of Aoife; after several months of itchy hell, she's finally lice and nit free. I'm very relieved about that too! Should your precious one ever get them, please take this advice from someone who tried just about everything to get rid of the nasty so and sos; don't bother with chemical head lice shampoos or homemade remedies, just get a metal nit comb and comb, comb, comb (and vacuum/ wash everything in sight) every day till they are gone. They are pricey, but worth it.

:: After I was rushed to hospital back in the spring, I said I'd take more pictures of myself with the kids and not always be the one behind the camera. It seems I haven't. I had to trawl through my archives to find the one above. I so want to get better at this. It's important. I would like more pictures of me and Alan together too.

:: I'm thinking lots about fire lately and think I will have to post on the subject soon.

:: At last count I had 17 posts in draft form. Mostly written, painfully slowly, on the Kindle. Yup, I definitely need that broadband moved!

:: I'm considering taking on a new role within the church. My first reaction was "no" because I felt ambushed by the person asking me, but I decided to sit with it for a few days anyway. I'm now pretty sure I'll do it, I just want to pray on it a bit more. I'll tell you more when I make my decision.

:: I haven't done any art journaling for a couple of weeks. I'm starting to get withdrawal symptoms.

:: Alan and I went to see "In Time" on Saturday. It was ok. I liked the concept and wanted to see what they made of it, but found the film a bit bland. It could have pushed boundaries, but it paled in comparison to films like "the Matrix" or "Inception". Still, it was a nice enough movie.

:: I'm working on Kirby's Christmas stocking whenever I have a quiet moment to spare, and am nervously watching the calendar as I stitch. I have chosen a way too detailed pattern for the time I have left. I still have to finish the other ones too. They are all at various stages of completion.

:: I'm pretty much all done with the Christmas shopping though!

 

Right, are we caught up? I think so.

 

Aoife's first time bowling

 

Several Saturdays ago now, we took Aoife ten pin bowling for the first time. She had been begging us to do it for ages after getting hooked on the bowling game on Alan's phone. She wanted to try it for real. So the next time she had a marble jar day coming up, we all went to the local bowling alley for a couple of games.

She loved it.

 

 

After a few gos, she even decided to go it alone

 

 

 

Kirby? He slept through most of it!

 

 

The jar is getting full again now. I wonder what's up next?

 

Cousins

 

Warning: picture heavy post.

 

The kids don't get to see their cousins (on either side) very often, so I was really excited that this trip to Ireland turned out to be mostly about them.

We arrived just in time to celebrate Laura and Rian's 17th.

 

 

 

 

 

Kirby, credit: cousin Meg

 

 

Aoife thought she was in heaven. Not only did her holidays in Ireland start off with chocolate cake and ice cream, both sets of cousins had trampolines...

 

And they live just across the field from each other (and grandad), so they see each other pretty much every day.

 

 

 

For a social animal like Aoife, that was just the best. She had play mates pretty much on demand- how fun! And cousins Emma and Meg doted on Kirby- so, so sweet!

I have to admit, what I loved seeing the most though was how well Aoife got on with her cousin Charlie. The two were pretty much inseparable the whole time we were there, and Aoife hasn't stopped talking about him since we got home.

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you cousins for making our trip so memorable. Hope to see you again soon.

 

Sitting pretty

 

 

 

This little fella decided he was ready to sit up straight and completely on his own without toppling over while Al and I were away at wedding in Northern Ireland. His Godparents, Ann and Ger, who were looking after him at the time, were obviously a good influence on him. Or maybe it was cousin Emma's magic touch?

Either way, Kirby is mighty pleased with himself.

And we're enjoying it an awful lot too. I remember clearly the madness of what comes next from when Aoife was a baby, and soak up every moment of this quiet, playful breather before he starts crawling (I don't think it's too far off).

 

Joy Pockets

 

Excuse the lack of posts this week. We were in Ireland all last week. I scheduled some posts for while we were away, but nothing for this week, thinking I'd have time to write about Ireland when I got back. But things didn't quite pan out the way I had planned. So now you know what's coming next week.

Joining in with Joy Pockets #11

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Cousins bonding

Realising (part of) a goal

Kirby's love for a hand-me-down toy

Seeing Peter and Anna-Marie get married (Congrats!)

A smallish shopping spree (but a shopping spree nonetheless)

Al starting a new, better job within the same company (He's off sites!)

"Bounceolines" (that's trampolines to you and me)

Family helping out (ta- much appreciated!)

Some quiet times to read

Hot water on demand

 

Recognise it Fiona?