Day 212 - Henry and Opa

It is getting much harder to get Henry to sit still for photos lately and I tried to take a few this afternoon before Mum and Dad left to go home to Sydney. We weren't that successful in getting him to look at the camera, but I do like this one of him sharing a laugh with his Opa.

Day 211 - Arrrrr!

This is Henry's birthday cake and I am pleased to say that it was much prettier than the cake he had at daycare yesterday! Yesterday's cake was hilarious and very ugly (chocolate with fluro yellow icing!) but I was very proud of my pirate cake! We chose a pirate because of how much Henry loves putting on his pirate hat for a laugh, although it didn't come out today! Henry was a bit bamboozled by the whole birthday party thing (especially when he heard his name in Happy Birthday) but I look forward to making him many more creative birthday cakes!

Day 210 - Henry's First Birthday

Well finally, Henry reached the major milestone of turning one! This morning he woke up screaming (kind of the opposite of when he was born) but after he got out of bed, cheered up considerably. After an afternoon tea with us and the other babies at daycare (where they all sat eating his birthday cake in pointy hats that made them look like a row of garden gnomes) he also enjoyed his first ever present opening when we got home in the afternoon and also Jenna and his Nanna and Opa also arriving. Now onto tomorrow when he can open the rest of his presents (too slow to get them all done by bed time) and enjoy afternoon tea with a little party. Happy Birthday to our little man!

Day 209 - Christmas in July

A very busy week for it, but tonight we had a bit of a staff Christmas in July outing at The Green Herring at Gold Creek. It was a very cosy venue (see fireplace above) once I finally found my way inside... it was very dark and there was no sign on the door! Although I was slightly disappointed by the food, the company was great and there was a good atmosphere. Christmas decorations were up and the menu had a distinct Christmas dinner vibe. Unfortunately Christmas dinner will not be followed by 5 weeks of summer holidays!

Day 208 - Not Long Now

This is Henry's birthday present for Friday :) and I think he will just think he is the bee's knees as he cruises around in this...

Day 207 - Quirky Circus

Today we took all of Kinder and Year one to see Cirkus Quirkus at the Queanbeyan Conference Centre and the kids absolutely loved it. There were acrobats, a penny farthing rider, tightrope walkers, jugglers and a clown (although not the traditional red nose type). The best part was watching the amazed faces tilted up to the stage and later on, up to the ceiling, as the Zim Boys stacked giant chairs all the way up to the roof of the auditorium. The little boy sitting next to me, kept repeating in an excited voice, "they are just so talented!" :P

Day 206 - First Pair of Shoes Officially Grown Out Of

Awww... the post title says it all really! These are Henry's first pair of shoes that he had for David and Dani's wedding and besides his sheepskin slippers, they are the only shoes that he has ever worn and it was only for one day!

Day 205 - Markets, Macaroons and Mess Making

It had been a while since I had been to the Old Bus Depot Markets and I went over there today thinking it would be a good place to get a birthday present that I have been meaning to buy over the last few weeks. Instead of the usual crowd over there I found it pretty quiet - maybe something to do with the 5 degree day we seemed to be having. Anyway after a quick look and a purchase of yummy macaroons (salted caramel, raspberry and chocolate) Henry and I were on our way. Later at home I continued trying to tidy up after out mammoth Ikea construction night last night, but failed as Henry appeared to make mess quicker than I can clean up. Perhaps a better project while he is sleeping!

Day 204 - Brunch

This is the view from "The Deck" at Regatta Point where I went for brunch this morning... This was one pretty good way to enjoy eggs benedict, with a few friends a few flat whites. It wasn't overly busy (probably a different story in warmer weather, although we sat indoors), the eggs were good and the coffee was generous. I even noticed that there were high chairs available. I look forward to coming again in weather good enough to sit outside.

Day 203 - Lively Hands

These are our hands that we made at school to place under our flags for today's NAIDOC assembly. I love how the hands waved in the cold breezy weather we had today; our little sea of hands were quite lively!

Day 202 - Cloudstreet

I thought that in the holidays I would finally get a chance to read a big pile of books, but I got so busy that I think I only actually read one! It was MaryAnn in Autumn by Armistead Maupin; the eighth installment in a very favourite series of books. At the moment I am reading Cloudstreet by Tim Winton. We recently watched the amazing mini series on Showtime, that told the story of the Lambs and the Pickles families and I loved it.  haven't read any of his books before, besides a ditched attempt to read Dirt Music, but I love the feel of this story.

Day 201 - Hiding Places

This is Henry's wagon of blocks, made for him by his Opa! He absolutely loves the blocks and pushing the wagon around. His favourite game though, is hiding the blocks all over the place. I had to look in all his hiding places to take this photo and still one orange triangle is missing. Others were found in the box of nappy liners, in a big clay pot and lastly inside Dale's motorbike boot. Obviously he has one more spot that I don't know about... yet...

Day 200 - Best Time of the Day = Bath Time

My favourite time of every day is Henry's bath time. He loves the bath and makes the most of it, splashing the water, holding his hands under the cold stream from the tap and quite often getting my clothes and hair a bit drenched! Lately he has been fascinated by bubbles and he loves it when I get the bubble blower out. You just can't see the way his face lights up at the sight of them in this photo!

Day 199 - Loving Cloth :-)

I love using cloth nappies with Henry. I love the money that I don't have to spend on disposables, I love knowing that we aren't contributing to landfill and I love how they make his bottom look nice and fat under his clothes (he's so skinny and slippery if he does wear plastic :P). The daycare girls have been very accommodating, using the wet pack that we send along each day - even if some of them find using flats difficult! I recently bought a bunch of pre-folded nappies like the one above and they have commented how easy they are to use, but I have to say that I had a laugh when I undressed Henry this afternoon and found one on him backwards! That must have been so hard to do!

Day 198 - My Last Day

Well it is a strange little still life above, but they do all go together would you believe :-) It was my last day in the shoe shop today and it was a little sad, but I am also glad to have my weekends back. The last six months have been very testing, returning to work and I figured that I really don't need to have a second job in my life right now - so two weeks ago I resigned. The photo? Two mango cheesecakes, a gift from Pat who I work with, flowers because it was my last day and the shoes were a farewell present that I bought myself!

Day 197 - Helping Dad

Just had to snap this picture this afternoon of Dale and Henry building our new wall unit together. Yes, Henry was quite interested in the drill and the set of drill bits that made a good sound when rattled in their case, and he did like hiding behind the cupboards that were yet to be hung for a bit of peek-a-boo! Our kitchen / family room is finally coming together with the pantry almost to the painting stage today and our wall unit that we bought in Ikea last month, finally being unpacked!

Day 196 - The Story of Dale and the Policeman

As I knew that Dale was having lunch at Art Oven today I asked him to bring me home a Portugese Tart. Wouldn't you know it, when he walked through the door, he had no tarts! He decided that he would go back to work to get them out of the fridge, otherwise they would be there all weekend and no good by Monday. I have to say that I didn't say no to this offer and thought he should be back just in time for dinner which was already cooking. Anyway,  to cut a long story short, I did think that the trip took a little longer than expected and it turns out that Dale had been pulled over on the way to the office for not giving way at a roundabout. He did know that it was clear, but the police officer had to ask why he was in such a hurry... his answer? Dessert!

Day 195 - Walking with Dad

Not quite walking yet, but Henry is keen. Obviously climbing stairs and cruising around the furniture needs to move on! Henry actually stood on his own this morning for a good five seconds until he realised he wasn't holding anything; he promptly sat down right where he was. I love watching him discover all of these new things!

Day 194 - Mail Day

Amongst other things achieved today was finally posting a few items that had been waiting around at home for a while... one late birthday card, one almost on time birthday card and a very late baby gift all finally went out with a few other things. I was thinking that baby Samantha might be grown up by the time she got her present - sorry Fran and keep an eye on the post! One birthday present to go before I finally catch up.

Day 193 - Anyone Seen My Giant Notebook?

I popped into school this afternoon before picking up Henry to print up the programming I had been doing all day and the first thing I noticed when I parked out the front is that our giant pencils have been set up... aren't they cute, for something so big!

Day 192 - New Furniture

The home improvement theme continued today when Dale and I finally ordered our new table and dining chairs at Vast. In a previous post I mentioned that I had taken a look last week and that I had wanted a new square dining table for a long time. We have also been in this house coming up to 3 years and still no coffee table in our lounge room! The thing is, I didn't want a huge big table in the middle, cluttering up the floor space, so when we saw this nest of tables that matched our current tv unit and new dining table, I thought it was perfect.

Day 191 - Getting Organised

I am inspired by other people's organisation; Today my friend Peta's blog has the same post title as mine and she is someone who is always organised! Another friend's facebook status told me the other day that she had planned all of her meals for term 3! Anyway, getting organised was one of my aims for these holidays, in order to make things easier day to day. Today I picked up these great clothes hampers at the Hyperdome; the Reject Shop no less! The plan is to separate our laundry before we wash, so one for lights and one for darks. I also grabbed a couple of extra baskets to keep our window sill tidy, since our ensuite only has one little cupboard. Wish me luck!

Day 190 - First for Many

I cannot believe that Henry will be one at the end of the month, but it feels a little more real after today. My mothers' group got together today to have a big birthday party for all the babies who are about to turn one (in fact some already have). Every time I see everyone it is amazing to see how the babies have changed and it was lots of fun to see them play together today. I made the birthday cakes above and it was lovely for Henry to have his own little cupcake with a candle. I blew it out quickly as he looked a little too interested! Happy Birthday to all the bubs :-)

Day 189 - Coffee with Jess, Kaleb and Jaxon

I met up with Jess and Kaleb today in Civic for a coffee and to meet little six week old Jaxon! Just like Kinzie, I can't believe how tiny he is and how big Henry is! Henry had a great time crawling around chasing Kaleb, who is 4. Luckily at that time of day Babars was pretty empty and they had most of the floor to themselves! After spending two days catching up at home and two days catching up with friends for coffee I think that my school work may be calling me... I knew it would find me...

Day 188 - Enough Chocolate?

The last couple of times I have been over to the newly refurbished Westfield at Belconnen, I have noticed the huge queue out the door at Max Brenner. I thought the first week of the NSW holidays would be a good time to go (before the hordes of ACT people are infiltrating the shops in droves) so Peta, Cathy and I and met up over there today. The above is a chocolate brownie... almost black in colour and drizzled in pure melted chocolate to feed my addiction! I really should go back to Koko Black in Civic so I can decide which I like best!

Day 187 - In the Hot Seat!

I have been dreaming of a big square dining table for a while now, so went over to Vast Interiors this afternoon to look at their sale. I love these red chairs and 8 would fit around a table I liked as well. Anyway I mainly took the picture to show Dale my brilliant idea!

Day 186 - Shopping with Henry

Well I had to take a squash from him at the checkout so they could be weighed, so the second item that Henry decided to pilfer from the trolley was a block of rum and raisin chocolate! He loves a bit of a rummage through the bags looking for tasty items - but no, this one is definitely for Mum!

Day 185 - Sleeping Continues!

Henry is continually amazing me with the way he can resettle himself. I heard him wake at 6am this morning and have a little grizzle to himself. I would have thought that since it was almost daylight that would be it for the night, but no; he went back to sleep and this is how I found him an hour or so later. Out from under the quilt at the head end of his bed, sleeping sideways, but sleeping none the less!

Day 184 - Pantry Underway!

Well we have a wall! Work began on the pantry this weekend and things are finally starting to look the way that I imagined in my head. Now for the plastering to be finished so I can paint it and then to choose shelves and get a door...

Day 183 - Long Awaited Date Night

We have had a few nights out since Henry was born, but this is the first one that was for no reason other than to enjoy an evening together. Mum offered to look after Henry so that we could go out, so Dale booked a table at our favourite restaurant (bit of a treat!) Aubergine at Griffith, which is where we had out wedding reception in 2009. I had a gorgeous entree which had lentils, scallops and pancetta and barramundi for mains, but the dessert was the highlight of dinner for sure. A chocolate fondant, salted caramel ice cream and a chocolate delice with toffee. Yum!

Day 182 - Term 2 Done and Dusted

Well, finally the day is here - Term 2 is finished and we are halfway through the year. I have a list of things that I both need and want to do in the hols and now 2 weeks to plough through it all, but tonight was for relaxation! Mum drove down this afternoon to stay for the weekend and so we enjoyed a bottle of red with dinner!