A dog on a beach – possibly the only thing that makes a better photo than kids on a beach.

Kids…running…on a beach. Three ingredients for a fun photo.

This ceiling fan is in our brand new master bedroom. It took me a long time to choose this fan. Just one more of those things that I didn’t think about before we began the renovation – selecting ceiling fans. But it works beautifully and I think it looks very cool.

Samuel is a good sleeper. He’s not sleeping through the night yet but he DOES sleep in his own bed and he usually goes down at around 9pm each night without much trouble. This is completely different from our experience with Thomas. I’m not sure if it’s a personality thing or if we are just doing things better the second time around. Each night I give Samuel a bath at around 8:30, swaddle him in the MIracle Blanket and then put him down in the crib. Sometimes he cries a little, but it usually doesn’t take long before he’s asleep for at least a full 4 hours.

By the way – I ran a photo action on this image and I’m not sure if I like it. It’s supposed to be artsy and old-fashioned but I’m afraid it makes him look a little washed out.

What’s summer without a water photo? We had our yard cleaned up and it has never looked so good. The hedges are pruned, lawn mowed and edges trimmed. So I had the urge to water the lawn in an attempt to bring it back from the brown straw that it has become over the last month or so. At least it’s tidy, short straw thanks to the clean up job.

I took this photo because I loved the light coming in through our bathroom window. Thomas was supposed to be getting ready for daycare but I’m not exactly sure what he was doing instead. Good photo opp though…

Hot Hot Hot! – and this is just the temperature INSIDE the house. Outside it has been in the 90s almost every day (that’s about 32 degrees and above in celsius). I can deal with it for a couple of days (after all I AM and Aussie), but the house starts to really heat up after a couple of days. I am getting a little tired of sweating and the kids have started to fade. Thomas spent a day at daycare just sitting on the teacher’s lap.

Saturday was a crazy day. The three year old parties have well and truly begun for the summer and Saturday brought two parties and one very exhausted toddler (and mum).

The first was held at an outdoor pool at a private club which was really nice although we really didn’t make the most of the pool. Kei stayed home to paint and I am not quite ready to get into a bathing suit yet. It didn’t matter because Thomas wasn’t at all interested in the water – except to freak me out a little by playing too close to the edge. He chose to play with his friend Evan from daycare doing…well…the same thing they do every day at daycare.

The first party finished at 1pm – naptime. So Thomas fell asleep in the car as I predicted he would. I set up the picnic blanket on the front lawn when we got home, opened all the windows in the car and just let him sleep while I read a book. The car was parked under a tree so it wasn’t too hot. I have done this a few times lately because Thomas just isn’t dealing with the car to bed transition at naptime lately. Better to just let him sleep where he is.

The afternoon party was held at a toddler gym and, after taking some time to warn up. Thomas had a LOT of fun. He wasn’t really interested in the managed play – he preferred to freestyle. So as soon as they let them go on the play equipment he was off! This photo shows him copying the way the teacher crawled across the bars. I was very impressed with his flexibility and balance. Maybe he’ll be a gymnast. 🙂 Instead of a gift for the birthday boy, we were asked to bring a book for a book swap which is such a nice idea. So each child left with a gift from their friend’s party. That never happened when I was a child.

This is just the beginning of party season. Now that Thomas has more than one circle of friends, the party schedule has become a little nuts. There are at least 20 kids who could conceivably invite him to their birthday party this year which is just crazy. My solution is to be choosy about the ones we attend, stock up on books from Costco to use as gifts and try not to get too stressed out. Oh, and Thomas is not having a party this year. Instead, we’ll celebrate with family in Australia. That is one event I would rather avoid, especially when he’s unlikely to remember it in a couple of months.

Hanging out in the new space. Samuel’s room to be exact. Although we haven’t moved in yet, Kei has begun working up there which explains the presence of Thomas’ little red table in the corner.

It took a lot of attempts before this self portrait was just right. Lots of out of focus, off center and just plain ugly photos preceeded this one. But I think I finally got it. Look at those chubby little cheeks.(Samuel’s I mean. Mine would be called jowls.)