14 weeks

My twinies are 14 weeks old today, time flies when you have four children under four! Though not for long as it's 'The boy's fourth birthday on the weekend, which makes me realise I can no longer call him 'The boy' on this blog seeing as now I have 3 boys!
I was so excited to see that the women's weekly have re-released their vintage children's cake book. I have such fond memories of selecting my birthday cake each year as a child and now I'm going to introduce the tradition to my children.
What birthday traditions do you share in your family?

Twins!

This year I had the pleasure (and challenge) of becoming a mother to twin boys! I got bigger and bigger and BIGGEST! It was another reason I put blogging on hold. Wow, I really was enormous by the end! In some ways it was my most challenging pregnancy, (chasing after two toddlers while lumbering around was somewhat tricky!) but at the same time (because I plan on this being my last time) I revelled in the miracle, the amazing way a woman's body can stretch, grow and bring life - and to TWO babies, I really am in awe!

My boys were born in October at 37 weeks, 8lbs and 7lbs 2oz - huge for twins. Healthy, beautiful babies and I'm in love all over again.

Long time...no see

Gumnut Baby

Did you read about the gumnut babies when you were a young'n?

I loved May Gibbs' books and all the adventures the gumnut babies had in the Australian bush when I was a little girl, so I made this little blossom baby dress-up for my niece's 2nd birthday (Happy birthday B!). I couldn't help taking a few shots of my little Swiss Miss in it before posting it off to Tassie! With all the eucalypts in bloom around our place at the moment, it's just magical!

Birthday boy

Wowee it's been a busy few weeks! We've had two birthday boys (3 and 29) and a house full of guests. So much fun, laughter and good memory making. To celebrate turing 3, we took The Boy to the Melbourne zoo for the first time, oh wow - how great is the zoo!? So great!

Be optimistic

Somewhere along the line I think I went from an openly optimistic person to a realistic person and now worry I am verging on pessimistic at times - is this a sign of age? or environment? or something more sinister? I think (well, I hope) I am still an optimistic person at heart and that in due course I will work out how to overcome all the other stuff but in the mean time I thought this badge was a good reminder.

Be optimistic badge from here

Last year - this year

Happy new year!

I hope you've had a fabulous 2011 and that your hopes and dreams for 2012 are fulfilled - and then some!

2011 has been a big year for me and for my family; moving cities/states, welcoming a new baby, and in many ways it has been like starting fresh. I'm sure you can imagine that starting fresh can be both a good and a bad thing, maybe bad is not the right word - daunting, hard, sad and sometimes lonely but on the flip side empowering, exciting, challenging and full of promise!

I have made some fabulous new friends here in Melbourne and have I have also had the opportunity to re-kindle old friendships. Moving interstate has damaged friendships also, I suppose 'out of sight out of mind' and having busy friends leading exciting busy lives have been a few of the many reasons, and I too have been busy and found it hard to keep in contact, so all round that has been a bit of a bummer. The lovely thing is that the few times I've been able to visit home, we've been able to pick up where we left off, such a beautiful quality in a friendship, don't you agree?

Being able to pick up where I left off is my hope for this blog too, I've had an epic absence, a longer break then I have ever had before in the few years I've been blogging. I'm not one for new years resolutions, so instead I'll just say - see you soon.

A bit of sunshine

We've been away on holiday! We had a little trip to Tweed heads which was just what the doctor ordered, a bit of sun, a bit of a relax and a wedding celebration to top of a great family getaway (congratulations to the Phong and Bec!). We had all been sick with one bug or another for months (Blair's even ended up with a bit of pneumonia) but after a few days in the sun (and some antibiotics) we were all on the mend and in much better spirits. Bring on the warmer weather in Melbourne! (knowing me I'll be complaining in no-time that it is too hot!)

A beautiful kiss

I think this the most beautiful moment between the Swiss Miss and her Great Oma, it warms my heart every time I look at it. Captured by Uncle Gunar - simply lovely.

Documentation

One of the things which slows down my creative process is documentation. I think it is a very important part of creativity, being able to look back at what you've done and learn from it, keep track of projects and share them with others or feel a sense of accomplishment. But, actually getting off my behind and capturing images is a different story altogether and more often then not it becomes a rushed after-thought! Sometimes when I've made a gift it sits around finished for a few weeks waiting to be photographed before I feel I can give it... bad, very bad.

I finally popped these wrist warmers in the post today - hurray! I modified this pattern in a purple cashmere/wool blend - mmm, cashmere-licious!