4/52

Finding a park perfect for play. In a beautiful setting. Making it an easy and enjoyable holiday for everyone. Priceless.

Clearly I was inspired by this lovely lady's previous capture and composition.

A portrait of my daughter, once a week, every week, as a two year old.

Taking part in Jodi's weekly portrait series

45/52

She ate all the smarties first. Baby-see-nos and treats after a morning running kites on the beach.

A portrait of my daughter, once a week, every week, as a one year old.

Taking part in Jodi's weekly portrait series

Easter: The first real hunt*

Things you loved: the chance to run amok with your three little cousins, wearing fluffy bunny ears and your birthday tutu (you twirled, and twirled and twirled), eating lunch at the littles' table with the TV turned on (you were looking at me like, get out of town...no way), digging up Vovo's garden mid hunt,   the bunny statue you discovered in the courtyard that morning (you knelt down to give him a little kiss)...but I'd be lying if I didn't admit that eating chocolate was probably the highlight.

This year we had a mini hunt at home in the morning. Mum and Dad were at the Blues Festival so K and I hid a small Kinder chocolate from Grandfather in the courtyard, and found a little home for the bunny from JanMa. We went to Vovo's in the afternoon for lunch and the Big Backyard Hunt. Vovo gave you bunny ears and a basket and I watched you swing it round the garden, thinking how grateful and happy I am that you are going to grow up adored by, and adoring these beautiful cousins of yours.

*Last year you slept through the hunt in Vovo's backyard!

Simple pleasures of ordinary days

...this week saw the first signs of a moody Autumn. Cool winds whipping in the afternoon mean it's time for Minestrone (K calls it Miiiiiine Strone in his best superhero voice)
...In, and
...Out
...It seems as though all her leggings are morphing into pedal pushers
...We took her to a beautiful toystore in town on one of the last days of K's holidays to choose a small treat: a little animal to add to her collection. She chose a bunny. Like the ones at her new childcare centre (oh, that's another post)
...a handmade bag of tricks for a new baby born near the sea (the son of a good family friend)
...I've started working on Saskia's handbound baby book (I go weak at the sight of that stack of deckled edges).
...Another favourite from Sculpture Garden Sunday
...Finally! A nasturtium bloom!

Joining Em and creating a collection of weekly images, recording simple pleasures of ordinary days.

Simple pleasures of ordinary days

From the last two weeks...
...I was surprised by her sustained and genuine interest in the animals at the zoo (especially as my mum kept laughing about how 2 year old me was more interested in the chains and fences on my first trip to the zoo)
...A different platform (a vinatge tray table) inspires a whole new way of playing
...She begs to go higher
...Are we really entering the dress up phase already? (secretly, I love this)
...A local park by the lake...
...with mosaics to unearth, tiled photographs to dust down, casuarina seeds to collect
...I love knowing she's there by my side
...Granny's gardenia: her beautiful perfume now greets us at our front door

A few little things...

Just a small collection of thoughts - hard to catergorise. I'm trying to find the time to write a little more about what's been happening lately. I have a number of posts I've been composing in my mind, but (refreshingly) I've not spent much time at the computer...

...K has been on holidays and after returning from a week on the ever beautiful South Coast we've been making the most of having him home (blog posting has been at the bottom of our list of things to do...yes, there's a list! Poor K! But our courtyard looks great...)
...This news has me thrilled to bits. I confessed an obsession here.
...On slightly less trivial matters, a thoroughly deserving mama and her little boy are in the running to win a car here. Elliott has Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome (you can read more their story here), and having a car that can be modified to fit his wheelchair would make a real difference in their lives. They are currently in number one position, thanks to an awesome social media campaign (one of those times when Facebook is used for good). Please, any extra votes would be appreciated (vote for the Sheen family). I know Liv only through friends, but think my heart will burst with happiness for her should they win. This is truly a case of need, not want.
...The lovely Bettina has a great little series about discovering new blogs and was kind enough to ask me a few questions about blogging. I love stumbling across a new read - you should pop over! Bettina posts some sweet DIY projects too. I think I'm going to try my hand at this. You should see the house headband I get about in these days...

*Inside my pantry door: snipped recipes, a list of easy go-to-meals (written out in the first few weeks of having a newborn), secrets to brewing chai, the speed guide to the Kitchen Aid, and a growing collection of Anthropologie aprons...

19/52

A portrait of my daughter, once a week, every week, as a one year old.

She watched as JanMa walked ahead with her hands behind her back...and then she followed. Memorial Gardens at Tuross, South Coast.

Taking part in Jodi's weekly portrait series

Things which make for a swell family holiday

A sleepy coastal town with oodles of character, a cabin on the hillside with views of the ocean (and just a few steps down to a great beachfront cafe), lazy birthday breakfasts, a rainy day movie date in an art deco cinema, a calm inlet beach dotted with children in floppy hats, a (play) shop window with built in calculator buttons at the local park, a little one with ringlets gone wild, doting grandparents who make killer sandcastles, and a misty coastline.

*We stayed on the South Coast at Narooma - a sweet little town to take young children. Even the public toilets are bound to be a hit with the little ones (see my instagram feed).
**On Saturday we celebrated K's 32nd birthday. He was given Jamie's 15 Minute Meals, 1001 Movies to See Before You Die, a seafood lunch, a steering wheel cover from the USA and a jar of notes (32 reasons why we love you, as told to Mama by Saskia). Meu Amor, happy birthday. You carry my heart x

8/52

A portrait of my daughter, once a week, every week, as a one year old.

Ooo. Dirdies...She watches the birds and I watch her.

Taking part in Jodi's weekly portrait series

Tathra

The coast just makes me want to grow nasturtiums. My Mum says she thinks there is something olde worlde about them. I saw them growing wild by the road, collected for salads on a grower's table at the markets, and picked for small vases and garnishing the chocolate croissants at the Tathra Wharf Locavore.

...

After the big celebration, a beach holiday seemed like a big sigh of relief. The Little One and I travelled with JanMa and Grandfather to a part of the South Coast that was new to me. The towns seemed a little sleepier, the roads between longer, a greater feeling of permanence - and beyond the coastline, lush, rolling hills of farming country.

We visited growers' markets, watched the lorrikeets feed, ate fish and chips by the sea, read by the fire at nights, devoured creamy homemade gelato (finally! from here - pistachio, always pistachio, and coconut) - and of course, built sandcastles on the beach.

Visiting the Tathra Wharf I was reminded of this heartbreaking story; a small brass plaque on a weathered beam remains in memory. My heart goes out to that mother and wife, who no doubt thinks about her boys every day.

3/52

A portrait of my daughter, once a week, every week, as a one year old.

A mini holiday on the South Coast with Mama and the Grandparents, and Dada can't believe the change. Confidence and a searching look in those beautiful, beautiful eyes.

Taking part in Jodi's weekly portrait series.

Avoca: a weekend away

While the boys toughed it out in the mud, we enjoyed exploring the little blue and white holiday house and the local markets with these two.

Fragrant gardens, early rises, a sun-drenched breakfast table, two little copy cat crawlers, sweet chai and baby yoga under the trees, handcrafted treasures, a beautiful find and a lucky fit, bare arms and a floppy sunhat, tea and croissants on the porch, long baby naps...It was an ideal getaway.

I'm hoping to go back and explore this little patch on the Central Coast again one day, and would love to know of any places to see if we ever do make it back. We're feeling more confident about road trips with the Little One now. She had some lovely long snoozes and travelled happily. Although we did rely on one or two episodes of Playschool on the laptop on each stretch...

*I'm making the most out of that romper while the sun shines...She's growing out of things too quickly. Sigh.
**Last three photos of Sassy and Tilly taken by Kelly

Winter holiday - Part II

Cairns in Winter + esplanade with water playgrounds and shady parks is a baby and toddler holiday heaven.

Aside from a little trip to Palm Cove, we spent most of our week on the Esplanade. We stayed with my Aunt and Uncle who lived at one end of the stretch, and each day we'd stroll up to Muddy's (children's water play area and park) and watch the Little One delight in splashing about. After the second day it didn't seem necessary to break habit and we settled into a happy little pattern. Is that how holidays with wee ones become relaxing?

Lovely memories: Saskia's infatuation with the neighbours' silky grey cats and 7 year old Jeff (when we told K he was genuinely envious), early evening walk through the Cairns Botanic Gardens (always beautiful and so much pattern inspiration), solo bike ride up to the pier to people watch (lovely hour of me time), the fullest of passionfruits, fresh rice paper rolls and local yogurt at Rusty's, giggle fits in the stroller, floating leaf boats down the stream at Muddy's...

But, oh, we missed K. Although the Little One's reaction when she caught sight of her Papa at the airport made it worth being apart for a week....almost.