Bubs view of the world

With my first born I was constantly carrying him about, taking him for walks, reading him books, talking to him, playing peekaboo and generally trying to nurture his physical and emotional development. However, I feel very guilty that baby number two spends a lot more time on the floor left to his own devices while I try to keep up with his big brother, manage the house and unsuccessfully attempt to be the supermum that we are all supposed to be nowadays. Lucky for me bub is a very "easy" baby who doesn't demand too much attention and he gets lots of entertainment from his big brother which he loves. I do wish he got a bit more one-on-one attention (apart for the breastfeeding).

Anyway, I decided to capture a little of his view of the world as he moves from his cot to the floor in the living room under the baby gym, to looking out the sliding doors at the back garden or looking up at the trees in the garden or park. Here is a bubs view of the world.

Cot mobileCot buddiesBedroom Window

Baby Gym

Bub looking at the back gardenJack our Golden Retriever through the screen door

Trees in the back garden

Autumn leaves at the park ......

Goodbye Granddad

It is just over 12 months since my Dad passed away so my Mum decided it was time to bite the bullet and find a more permanent place for his ashes. After much discussion and deliberation and a few changes of mind she finally decided to put him in a nice little spot under the big old pine tree. It is near the old house where they lived together for over 40 years and not too far from the new house which he dreamed of building for most of those 40 year and saw almost to completion but never got to live in. Anyway last Friday marked 12 months since his funeral so I took my two boys back to the farm where I grew up, for a small gathering to say our final farewells.

A year on and the grieving process has eased the heartache but it still bought a tear to my eye as my little boy placed flowers by the plaque which marks Dads final resting place and said a little goodbye. Three years old is such a sweet age and junior obviously didn't understand all the details of the day. He wasn't quite sure why we would be putting Granddads "lashes" in the ground but he did understand that Grandma was feeling a bit sad so the cure-all "cuddles and kisses" were administered to her, and he blew Granddad kisses as we said goodbye.

This left me with very mixed emotions - grateful that junior didn't really understand what was going on and was therefore spared the pain of it all, but sad that he won't remember his Granddad and that his baby brother never got to meet Granddad at all. I come from quite a small family but I knew all four of my grandparents well and have very found memories of spending time with them while I was growing up. Luckily hubby is the youngest of 8 children so the boys have an abundance of cousins, aunts and uncles to enrich there upbringing as well as their three remaining Grandparents. Times like this make me grateful for my precious little family and reminds me to make the most of my time with them.

Birthday cake madness

Well it is official - motherhood has finally sent me over the edge. So much so that it has driven me to blog about it to try and rationalise my actions.

Each year of junior number ones short life I have risen to the challenge of creating a suitable birthday cake and after the event each year I vow never to make butter icing again! This year has been no different except this year junior decided he wanted a pirate party so I very stupidly agreed to make him a pirate ship cake. The party was only for 5 young children (two of whom are too young for birthday cake) and their parents, but as the recipe called for a triple cake mix and 3 quantities of butter icing - I obediently set about baking and attempting the icing.

As May is almost winter in Western Australia the weather is quite cool and beating butter icing can be an ordeal for my aging electric beaters (especially a triple quantity) so I reluctantly followed my mother suggestion and tried margarine this year instead of butter. All went well until I added the black food colour to the mix and created a very interesting metallic silver effect! It would look interesting as a paint job on a flashy car but not so inviting on something you plan to eat! After consulting with hubby we agreed that an emergency run to the supermarket to pick up some ready to spread icing was required. The cake was then iced following the directions and put aside to await the arrival of the quests.

The day actually turned out to be more pleasant than expected with a warm sunny day - great for a kids party but not so good for ready to spread icing - which started to droop on the cake. Hubby reluctantly made space available in the beer fridge to save my creation before it turned into a soggy mess on the cake bored but he did note that it looked more like a pirate ship (wreck) cake! Anyway it survived long enough to sing happy birthday and for the birthday boy to make a wish. Polite amounts were consumed by the guests, the kids ate all the smarties and hubby and I will be eating chocolate cake for the rest of the week. Dare I say never again? Perhaps next year I will cover a cardboard box with whipped cream and smarties - the kids will never notice the difference.