Birthday Boys

I know my posts are a bit out of sequence, but who cares, right? I plan to ask my boys these same questions on every birthday to see how their answers change.

First, here's Liam's 5th birthday which was on the 1st August 2011. (I asked these on the 15/11/11, when he was 5yrs and 3 months, because thats when I saw the idea on Pinterest).

This was taken on his actual birthday, with just the 4 of us. 

This was at his birthday party, the following Saturday

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE COLOUR?     Red & Orange
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE TOY?        Transformer truck
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE FRUIT?      Pear
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE TV SHOW?    Peppa Pig
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE FOOD FOR LUNCH?  Honey sandwich
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE ITEM OF CLOTHES?   Transformers tshirt
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE GAME?   Sticky tape (a game played with Reesey)
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE SNACK?   Tiny Teddy's
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE ANIMAL?   Monkey
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE SONG?   ABC's
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE BOOK?   Toy Story
WHO IS YOUR BEST FRIEND?      Brayden
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE CEREAL?    Porridge
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE THING TO DO OUTSIDE?   Swing
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE DRINK?   Apple Juice
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE HOLIDAY?   Christmas
WHO DO YOU LIKE TO TAKE TO BED WITH YOU?  Big monkey
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE BREAKFAST?   Porridge
WHAT DO YOU WANT FOR DINNER ON YOUR BIRTHDAY?  Potato pie
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?  Artist

 This is Brayden's third birthday, the 22nd of November, 2011. We didn't have a party for him since Tyler and I had just gotten home from the hospital.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE COLOUR? Green

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE TOY? Doggy
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE FRUIT? Na-na
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE TV SHOW? Bananas in Pajamas
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE FOOD FOR LUNCH? Peanut butter sandwich (Peta butter)
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE ITEM OF CLOTHES? Huh?
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE GAME? Hungry hippos
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE SNACK? Bics
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE ANIMAL? Doggy
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE SONG? Bon Jovi
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE BOOK? Doggy book
WHO IS YOUR BEST FRIEND? Liam
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE CEREAL? Sultana ceral
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE THING TO DO OUTSIDE? Jump on our trampoline
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE DRINK? Juice
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE HOLIDAY? Birthday
WHO DO YOU LIKE TO TAKE TO BED WITH YOU? Scrap and Snakey snake
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE BREAKFAST? Toast
WHAT DO YOU WANT FOR DINNER ON YOUR BIRTHDAY? Tacos
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP? Police

This was so much fun to do, I can't wait to ask again next year. I was laughing so much when they were answering, especially when Brayden said his favourite song was Bon Jovi. A few weeks ago he said "me want to watch tv". I said, "No, no TV at the moment". He thought about it for a second and then said, "Me want to watch Bon Jovi". I couldn't stop laughing.
I love you my boys xxxx

BIG news! And then some even BIGGER news!!

The big news is that I'm PREGNANT! No surprises, it was all planned and very much wanted. I'm possibly a bit surprised at how quickly it happened. So is Greg. We're due about the 22nd of November, 2011. Two days before Brayden's 3rd birthday. Here is an ultrasound picture.

And here's the even bigger news... It's been so long since i've blogged that the baby has arrived!
Tyler Christopher was born at 10.42am on Wednesday the 16th November, 2011, weighing 3.4kg and measuring 51cm in length. He looks so much like Brayden. Another ceasarean unfortunately, but atleast he's with us now and all is great. I was lucky enough to get my own room at the hospital (thanks to some string pulling by Lenora, who was working on the day). Here's our precious little guy 

Liam and Brayden love him so so much. We came home from the hospital on the Sunday and the following morning I woke up and Liam asked me, "How did Tyler go last night?" Brayden always wants to hold him. He's fascinated by breastfeeding. The first time he saw me do it he laughed out loud and said "ha ha what you doin to your boobie?". Nanny Chris was here on the weekend and asked if she could take Tyler home with her and Liam said, "You can't, you don't have any milk in your boobies". LOL.
They both cover their ears when he cries, especially in the car, which he doesn't seem to like much.

I feel so lucky to have 3 healthy, gorgeous, perfect little boys to love.

Mr Chatterbox

Well Brayden has found his voice and gee is he using it. He's a right little chatterbox now and if he's not repeating everything he hears - from us or a tv show or commercial or a song  - he just babbles about what ever he's thinking. 

The other day he was walking around the house saying "Everybody! Me done big pooooo!" Of course because we laughed he kept on saying it. He loves riding his bikes, running around the house, playing hide and seek and jumping on the trampoline.

Doggies are his favourite, especially Reesey's dog Lola, although he tries to like leopards and whales because he knows his big brother does.

He loves strawberry sticks, sausages, rockmelon, water melon, peanut butter sandwiches (pronounced peta butter), cheese, ice blocks and the usual - chocolate and lollies whenever he can scam one.

One of his favourite things to say is "WATCH ME" then he jumps off, swings from or climbs up something. He's definately a little entertainer and is so much fun to be around.

He also likes to take things he knows Liam likes and says "Liam, me got ...... HA HA".

Liam is 4 and a 1/2 now and it's like I can see him growing in front of me. He's getting so tall and is almost eating us out of house and home. He's the best big brother ever although he does like to tease Brayden occasionally (and increasingly). He lets Brayden fall asleep in his bed with him most nights, as long as Brayden promises not to touch his 'stuff'.

He's absolutely CRAZY about leopards and whales and loves cutting out pictures of them. We went to a Marine research centre at Terrigal last weekend and he painted a plaster model of a whale which just made his day. His room is covered in everything leopard and whale (despite my efforts in giving the room a surfing sort of theme). He's even added small pictures of them to a family tree picture I have so it looks like his great grandfather was a whale and his sister is a leopard.

He loves watching ABC kids and would do so for every waking moment if we'd allow it but he also likes to ride his bikes and run around. He's pretty good at hide and seek and love love loves to do craft. That's my best bribery tool. I usually promise him we'll do some craft when he gets home from pre-school, just to help him get through the day. 

He loves his cousin Reesey to bits and always looks forward to seeing her.

He made my day last week when he ran up and hugged me and said 'you're the best mum'. It was a moment i'll never forget.

They're the best kids in the world.

my kitchen

It's VERY rare that my kitchen looks this clean so I took some pics to capture the moment...

I scored the Ikea Henriksdal bar stools on ebay - $100 for all 4! I bought some brand new covers to keep handy - because I have 2 boys! - but they wash so well it'll be ages before I turf these ones.

I copied this 'EAT' display from my favourite TV house - Cougartown. I watched the show every week but barely even listened to the show, I just drooled over Jules' (Courtney Cox) house.

Got this pineapple cookie jar on our last trip to Hawaii and carried it in my hand luggage on the plane trip home just to make sure it got here in one piece. Even though I don't have cookies in it I love it because it reminds me of the trip and the actual day I bought it.

This lamp is from one of my favourite shops, seaweed and sand. We leave it on most nights until we go to bed as it gives off just the perfect amount of light throughout the whole house.

Love love love this photo frame and photo from our 2010 trip to Hawaii. Trying to work out a way to hang it on the wall as the bracket it came with is far to weak for the weight of the frame. For now I like looking at it while I cook.

I saw this idea on Young House Love - they had posted it from another blog but I can't remember which one. Another pineapple - reminds me of Hawaii.

I love you clean white counters. I hope we meet again soon.

W-O-W did 2010 fly by! We had another great year at our house with a few fantastic holidays, both interstate and overseas, and lots and lots of family time.

I've declared this to be the year-of-the-mortgage-smashing. I'm hoping we can knuckle down and knock off a decent sized chunk of it. That's not to say we wont be enjoying life and doing what we love, it just means no overseas trips (2 trips to Hawaii in the last 2 years is pretty lucky - I acknowledge that) and no silly purchases. My main new years resolution is to stop buying so much crap and i'm doing really well so far. I just have to stay away from Ikea. Not that I buy crap there, I just tend to buy A LOT there.

Anyway, we're planning a yard sale (not a garage sale because Greg doesn't want people coming in to his garage and seeing his tools) in a couple of weeks and i've been sorting through the cupboards, trying to be ruthless about what I should let go. Here's hoping it's a success.

I have a few projects planned for the coming months and look forward to blogging about them. I'm still, ok, more obsessed with design and decorating blogs than ever and thought I'd list my current favourites. All of which I check atleast once a day.


1. http://www.younghouselove.com/
These guys are totally fantastic. I don't know how they managed to let it go, but they've just moved out of their first house in Virginia, USA which took them over four years to renovate and revamp to the PERFECT home. They have such great ideas and the most brilliant taste and share their experiences and tips step by step. They regularly post pics of their gorgeous six month old daughter too, which I love. They've just moved in to a new house and say they'll be sharing each step of the way which I'm so looking forward to. I've copied far too many of John & Sherry's ideas to mention.


2. http://www.centsationalgirl.com/
Kate is from California and I seriously can't get enough of her blog. She has such great taste in decorating and is so clever I constantly find my eyes bugging out at her ideas and unbelievable thrift store finds. I would pay serious bucks to have a tour through her house - the pics just aren't enough. Most of her house is included in my inspiration folder.


3. thehappyhomeblog.com
I recently came to love this one even more than I did after I realised the author, Belinda, lives nearby. I've actually seen her at the local shops a couple of times but couldn't pluck up the courage to approach her. She has some great ideas, quite a few of which I've tried and is always posting child friendly crafts and ideas, which is great because her kids are the same age as Liam and Brayden. She also used to work for one of my favourite magazines - real living.


4. http://www.thriftydecorchick.blogspot.com/
Another one from the states, although I don't actually know where. Sarah writes about anything and everything and I usually laugh whilst reading her posts. She writes just like I can imagine her talking.


5. abeachcottage.com
I love this one because it's written by a British gal who has moved to Australia and sounds to be absolutely loving it. She has great taste and I love looking at the pics of her house and vintage finds. I also love that she sometimes refers to her son as the smelly teenage boy as I imagine myself there with my boys in about 10 years time.


So these are the sites that keep me on the computer til the wee hours most nights - something I tell myself I'm not going to do when I wake up tired most mornings.