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

Mothers Love…

When Elodie arrived my parents very kindly came to help with Harry. Mum also came back after our first week home to offer an extra pair of hands for a week or so. Mothers really are the best!!

As a thank you we bought Mum a couple of roses for her garden. Ones that were pretty with sentimental names… We gave her Mothers Love and Bonnie Babes from Swanes Nursery.

I was so excited to see that Mothers Love is flowering and raced out to take some photos of her. The scent is beautiful…

Isn’t she lovely?…

Don’t you just love her name?… (the fact it’s a fundraiser for the Australian Breastfeeding Association is an added bonus)

Have you ever given a rose as a present?…

I think she would be a lovely Mother’s Day present… click here to have a look…

Jx

All photos copyright Jessica Flett

Camellia Courtyard…

At the back of the house I grew up in there is a courtyard and it’s full of Camellia’s. They were finishing flowering when I was home on the weekend.

They were still full that I can only imagine how amazing they looked in full bloom…

Don’t you think they’re pretty?…

And I love this sundial. This has been in the garden for as long as I can remember…

Coco Chanel was really on to something when she chose the Camellia that would become Chanel’s iconic symbol don’t you think?

Does anyone know why she chose the Camellia? I have done a spot of googling and haven’t been able to find a source that tells me. I would love to hear from you if you know…

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

My Mother’s Crab Apple Tree…

It was just a long weekend here so we took the chance to head home to where I grew up – 5 hours west of Sydney in Central NSW and surprise my parents. It was Dad’s Birthday on Saturday so it was a win/win all around.

We had such a lovely time despite Saturday being quite chilly.

I had a ball with the camera so I declare this week – country week!!

Being Spring there were many gorgeous things blooming in Mum’s garden… one of the most stunning was this Crab Apple tree!! I couldn’t resist photographing it to show you…

What do you think of Mum’s Crab Apple?… Gorgeous isn’t it!?…

I hope you all had a good weekend and have a nice week ahead of you

Jx

Family Holiday…Destination Fiji…

Bula!

Last month we were lucky enough to have a week in Fiji for our first family holiday. It was my first time to Fiji and it did not disappoint…from the moment we landed until the moment we left it was excellent!

The Fijian people were so hospitable and in our experience couldn’t do enough for you. We had heard all of this from friends and family and we found out very quickly just how lovely they are.

H was a big hit and it wasn’t long before he developed an attachment for two lovely ladies. He would look for them every morning and flirt with them to get their attention…

With or without children it’s a wonderful holiday destination. We can’t wait to hopefully go back one day.

Here are some photos from the trip…

All photos copyright Jessica Flett

Some of the real highlights of the trip were…

Seeing H enjoy exploring, he had only been walking for two week when we went away so he was loving his new found independence.

Being serenaded by the lovely island band… they went around to each table and sang a song just to them…when they got to us they sang… ‘Burning ring of fire’ by Mr Johnny Cash (a highly interesting coincidence in light of how many curries had been on offer over the last 2 days!!!)

This was not a highlight but was definitely memorable. The most embarrassing moment was after H’s dinner one night…for his dinner we would head down to the main bar and have a drink whilst feeding him dinner. The gorgeous staff would be setting up for dinner and would come over and say hi and have a chat. This one evening the gorgeous Va took H for a walk to say Hi to the guys in the kitchen and when he came back he was wrapped in a towel…unbeknown to us he had gone to the bathroom and had leaked all over the lovely Va. We were mortified and she was sooo good about it… Ah the joys of parenthood!!

Vanaka to everyone at Vomo Island Resort, especially Va, Mere, Maria, Maci, Henry, Vuli, Sarah, Shane, Maddi and Noah for making our stay so special. We hope to see you again.

I would love to hear about your first family holiday…where was it, did you enjoy it and would you go back there?

Jx

The ‘Uh Oh’…

The ‘Uh Oh’ is H’s new ‘word’. Everything is being dropped over the edge of highchairs, his cot, the neighbours fence and the back of the couch…

After every sleep I hear little chirping through the monitor followed by ‘Uh Oh’ on a loop cycle… I walk into his room to find both teddies and dummy on the floor and H standing in the cot smiling and pointing to said items saying ‘Uh Oh, Uh Oh, Uh Uh Oh’…

On Sunday he was a huge “help” to his Father in the garden. As N was pruning dead wood off a vine H was promptly pushing them through the boundary fence… thank you to our lovely neighbours for finding it endearing.

His latest exploit was to half eat a milk arrowroot, paint the windows and couch with his yummy biscuit then climb up onto the couch, stand at the back of it, look at me, then back to the job at hand where he promptly said ‘Uh Oh’ as he dropped the arrowroot down the back of the couch!!! CHEEKY LITTLE MONKEY!!!

I was on the phone to his Father where I took great delight in telling him what HIS son had done (he is always HIS son when he’s done something cheeky!!) We both had a giggle at how cheeky and cute it was…

When retrieving the biscuit I found his toy mobile and the DVD remote. Ladies and Gentlemen… we have a new hiding spot!!!

IT’S LUCKY HE’S SO CUTE!!

I know this is the tip of the iceberg of what’s to come but I am loving watching him explore and seeing his little personality develop and push his boundaries.

Have your kids/nieces/nephews/babysitting charges ever enjoyed the ‘Uh Oh’ and had hiding spots? I’d love to hear your stories…

Jx

Bath Time…

Bath time here is lots of fun. H loves his bath, especially when Daddy is home for it (Mummy is a huge fan of that too)…

Some of our essentials for bath time are…

Gaia body wash…visit their website here. We were given this in a gift pack and have used it from day one. I love the smell of it and it’s so gentle on H’s skin.

Johnson & Johnson No Tears Shampoo – the smell reminds us of when we were kids. We started using this when H was about 6 months old. My Mother gave me a gift pack to use when we went home to the farm (saving me from carting our supplies home). Once we smelt the shampoo that reminded us all of being children we continued to use it. When he was a newborn we used the Mustela foam shampoo for newborns and it was terrific. It is a foam so is really easy to use and is gentle on their skin… he never had a day of flaky scalp.

Eeni, Meeni, Miini, Moh hooded towel – H looks so cute in it. He has nearly grown out of it sadly but I’m thrilled he got as much use out of it as he did. You can find one here.

Bath toys. H loves his ducks and fish…for similar visit here

All images copyright Jessica Flett

Jx

P.S The dummy doesn’t always accompany H to the bath but just happened to this night…whatever works right!!??…

The Airport…Happy Homecomings…

Yesterday morning H and I went out to the airport to meet N off the plane…I was very excited to have him home.

I love the airport…whether you’re coming or going it is a hive of activity with such a sense of anticipation and excitement.

It was a zoo out there yesterday…I am told Sunday is their busiest day and in the early morning there are many flights coming in at the same time…this all added to the excitement…and frustration..imagine trying to contain a busy toddler who if you allowed to walk around would surely get squashed. There was lots of dancing on the spot, waving to strangers, chirping and singing.

I loved watching all the happy welcomes and the many tearful homecomings…I couldn’t help but well up a little myself at seeing these happy reunions. There were lots balloons and flowers and lots and lots of hugging, kissing and tears. The whole scene reminded me very much of the ending of Love Actually (This is one of my favourite movies of all times)…

I finally spotted N walking out and when he was close enough I was able to point him out to H…and well…to see both their faces light up brought tears to my eyes…it was so gorgeous. When he reached us H fairly leapt out of my arms into his Daddy’s arm…SO MUCH EXCITEMENT!!!

There were lots of cuddles and chats on the way home…and when H woke from his morning sleep and heard his Dad’s voice…the excitement all over again was so funny and LOUD!

Welcome home honey…we missed you!!

Jx

Mothers Day Gift Ideas

This is my first Mothers Day and I can’t wait to spend the day chilling out with my gorgeous husband and our beautiful 10 month old son.


Being a Mother is a wonderful, tough, tiring, rewarding, exciting, challenging, consuming, special job. I am very blessed to have a healthy and bright little boy who is so much fun. I am so lucky I get to spend my days hanging out with him.


This runs the risk of sounding very cheesy but everyday feels like Mothers day as my husband is so supportive and wonderful with me and our Son. He is very good at letting me know he thinks I’m a good Mother and happy with how we are raising our son. I think every Mother would agree – you can never hear that too much!


When he asked me what I would like for Mothers Day I had to put some thought into it. I am sharing some of my ideas as I thought I may not be the only person trying to think of a present to get the Mothers in their life……


A notebook and pen for the many notes and things we have to keep track of. I love Kikki-K so anything from there thrills me but this in particular caught my eye

Source: Here

Bookends from Domayne. I saw these the other day and thought they are perfect. They are neutral and smart and would suit any home.

Source: Here

Any book by photographer Mario Testino but in particular;

Source: Here

Source: Here

A subscription to Veranda magazine. So beautifully put together and a wonderful source of home decorating ideas.

Source: Here

As mentioned here on the blog already, some mugs from Anthropologie. They are all so pretty and colourful any would be lovely but I do like these;

Source: Here

I love these Santos Wish bracelets. These are the perfect meaningful gift that can be taylor made to your personal preference. I would love several in different colour with different saints. 

Source: Here

Candles, I love them and have them all throughout the house. My favourites at the moment are; Figuier by White Home, Figuier by Diptique and Living Room (Fresh cut Gardenia) by Lafco. I adore these miniatures by Diptique and would love to have the choice of which one to burn based on my mood at the time and what I want to smell the most.

Source: Here

I love photos and just discovered Polaroid have a new digital camera out. It has a built in printer and the size of the photos are more in line with the original polaroid size. I also love that you can connect the printer to your computer and print any photo you have out on the polaroid size. There’s just so much fun to be had.

Source: Here