Throwback Thursday… Peek-a-boo…

I’ve been going through old posts and I just loved this when I came across it. These photos of H are so much fun and so innocent. He was so little…

“H loves playing Peek-a-boo…

He turns nearly everything into a game of peek-a-boo…behing the couch, the ottoman, the kitchen island, the dining room table, a jumper, his bath towel, his washer, his teddy, a book and the list goes on…

I love seeing him so pleased with himself. I have tried to capture it…”

Wasn’t he the cutest? I love the sweet innocence. So playful and happy… such great and special memories…

Jx

All images copyright Jessica Flett

Meeting a sibling for the first time…

Lovely friends of mine have just welcomed their second child and their first born has coped really well with meeting her little brother.

This got me thinking about when H met E and the advice we received going into it.  Their first meeting went really well… we couldn’t have hoped for anything better.

He walked in and we had huge cuddles and kisses… it was the first time I had been away from him and I hadn’t seen him for two nights. I had E wrapped on the bed and I was standing waiting for my little man to walk in. We had big cuddles and then I just let him go and explore. He went straight to the phone and then E squeaked… all of a sudden H looked and saw her and exclaimed… look Sis, it’s Sis and he was so interested so we had a look and they got to meet. he was fascinated with her facial features. After a minute he was done and we went on to check out the rest of the room and open some presents.

From then on he was and still is a wonderful brother. He is very patient and on the whole very loving and protective.

Here are my top 5 tips for introducing your older children to their new sibling…

1. Have a present from the baby for the older sibling/s

2. Don’t be holding the baby when your child/children walk into the room. Have your arms free for cuddles and kisses

3. Let them find the baby of their own accord

4. Allow the older child/ren pay as much or as little attention to the baby as they want. Don’t push the issue

5. Lots of cuddles and kisses and make yourself available as much as possible

Any tips to add to it? Would love to hear your meeting story…

Jx

Shoal Bay 2013…

Last month H and I had a week at Shoal Bay in Port Stephens with my parents. We have been going to Shoal Bay annually for nearly 30 years…

It’s a great beach for kids as it’s a bay so not too deep nor too rough. Nice calm waters…

They call it the blue water paradise and when the weather gods are shining down on you it really is…

This year we had very patchy weather but when we were able to get to the beach we made the most of it…

H was rocking his Bobbi Sunshine Swimwear… he looked terrific (in my very biased opinion!!)

Shoal Bay is only 2.5hrs from Sydney and a great spot for families or couples to Holiday. Port Stephens is a large area and includes areas such as Nelson Bay, Fingal Bay, Corlette, Soldiers Point, Anna Bay, Shoal Bay, Little Beach, Salamander Bay and many others.

It’s well worth a visit for a weekend, a week or several…

Jx

The face of determination…

When I have a spare moment (these are very rare) I am trying to play catch up with my photo books… and by catch up I mean the only one I have done is of our Wedding… which was nearly 3 years ago…

I have just started to put together one from H’s first year. Wow!!!… what a walk down memory lane. Interesting timing with only 11 weeks before #2 arrives. There are so, so many photos.

I came across this photo and it completely cracked me up. I didn’t appreciate it at the time I took it as I was probably trying to achieve something else in the photo. Just have a look at the complete determination on my little man’s face. He was really getting into his crawling and the look on his face sums it up completely.

To me… this is the face of determination, perseverance and concentration…

Absolutely priceless… Jx

Eyelashes…

These eyelashes make my heart melt… Every time!!…

He is one lucky little man and he has his Daddy to thank!!

Jx

Anything can be a phone…

What is it about phones, remote, tablets and computers that children love so much?… is it the sheer delight they get from pressing buttons and seeing things light up…or is it they are simply drawn to the forbidden?…

Whatever it is…our little man has been bitten by the phone bug big time!! he has been into the phone for a while now and it doesn’t appear to be fading anytime soon. I actually adore it…he paces the floor with his phone to his ear chatting to whomever is on the other end…the conversation can be intense with lots of loud voices or quite jovial with short sentences broken up by laughing!…

I took these photos ages ago in the park. He was playing with a leaf and showing it to me. The next time I looked up he was pacing in the park and chatting loudly…he was using the leaf as a phone…

It’s just too cute!!…

Photos copyright Jessica Flett

I know this is all part of normal development and something most children do…but I still take pride and pleasure in seeing him mimicking and learning from his environment…

Jx

A man, a boy, a bike and 3 dogs…

Pa couldn’t wait to get H out on the bike last weekend. It was one of the funniest and cutest sites… H grinning and taking it all in, Pa holding on to H and steering and 3 Kelpies packed on the back… not wanting to miss any action. It was quite a sight and I’m not sure who loved it more…. H, Pa or the dogs…

I love the hands on the handle bars in the last photo – all ready to take charge!! (he wishes!!)

Once he found the horn it was on for young and old and every time he honked it the dogs would all bark their heads off… it was quite the sight and sound…

By the end of the ride there was quite the crowd on the hill… Me, N, MaMa, Pa, H, Aunty G, 2 lambs, 3 dogs and a cat!! Just your average Saturday on the farm…

Jx

Max the protector…

I have not seen anything like this… and I would really love to hear if any of you have…

Dad’s eldest work dog Max was fascinated with H on the weekend. Max has also done it with another little boy who lives nearby and Mum was curious to see if he did the same thing with H. 

Well…. he did…

As you can see from the photos he nuzzled up to him and followed him everywhere. To the point it was like he was herding him… steering him away from stairs and walking in front of him all the time as if to protect him. It was amazing to watch and H was very good humoured about it all….

It was very sweet and endearing. But, as cute as it was, I would never take my eyes off them as it only takes a split second for a well intentioned action from either child or dog for it to end in tears or worse…

But despite my protective instincts… how damn cute is it!?… Jx

I would love to hear if any of you have a dog that does this?… and… has well intentioned attention from said dog ever turned aggressive?… Jx

Samm and Naughty Nancy…

Meet Samm and Naughty Nancy… they are my Mother’s pet lambs. They are SAMM lambs – SAMM stands for South African Meat Merino. Naughty Nancy is not the prettiest of sheep and she is quite skittish but despite all of this she is very cute. Samm is a Ram, hence the name Samm. He is a beautiful little Ram and is one of the sookiest poddy’s my Mother has ever reared.

They are seriously loved and quite spoilt. They are fed a full wine bottle of milk three times a day. When they are weaned they will join the other pets who are free to roam around the house paddock and come up to the side gate morning and night crying for their pellets… These sheep are so spoilt!!

As you will see they love their milk and they love nothing more than having a run and jump about. I was amazed to see Samm flying through the air in the below photos… too cute!

H was a great little helper when it came to the empty bottle. In relation to the lambs themselves… he switched between feigning interest and not being bothered at all. They were quite interested in him though…

Jx

Get a look at those eyelashes…

Happy Friday all…

I hope you’ve all had a good week and for all of you lucky enough to have a long weekend… have a good one. I hope you have something fun planned. We have a couple of things we’re thinking of doing… I’ll fill you in next week.

I hope you give the cookies I posted here and here a go… I love choc chip cookies… they’re always a crowd pleaser. The one downside to all these cookies is my ever expanding waistline!! oh dear… I must remember… just because I cook them… doesn’t mean I have to eat them ALL!!!

I was playing with the camera on one of my walks with H during the week and captured the below. Get a look at those eyelashes!!! He gets them from his Daddy. Lucky little man…

Have a wonderful weekend… Jx