8 months old

Two posts in one day , aren't I good ;)

I'm even getting these up before we hit 9 months (*shepatsherselfontheback)

Here is our munchkin at 8 months

(note the assistants toes ;) )

This girl is such a delightful child but Man she's busy! I thought I'd include some outtakes so you can see what goes on when we try and take these shots 

ahh good times :)

7 Months old

I'm going to skip the excuses and resign myself to the fact that this is my new Blogging normal

 :). 

Here is Isla at 7 months old

 ( a mere two months after the fact but hey at least I managed to take the photo's) 

This was the best photo I could get on the chair. She had just started standing up and everytime I would Move back to take the picture she would Lunge forward and almost face plant off the chair. I was taking these on my own but from now on will need an assistant *coughhubbycough* to take these pictures

You can see the rest of Isla's Photo Project by clicking here or on the Tab at the top of the page

Guest post : Marriage through the years

I recently wrote a guest post for a friend's blog on marriage:

you can check out my post here

or click to read more posts of marriages from year one to year 45
or check more of Bretts thoughts at Irresistibly Fish

6 Months old !!!

Half a year!!! Crazy town!!! Below are the normal 6 month pics

 but I couldn't resist sharing a little bit about what we love about our "Cooksie" as she is

 more often than not affectionately known .

Love this face more than words can say :)

4 & 5 Months old

Even though I haven't been Blogging I've been keeping up with our monthly photo, cos in reality those are less about the blog and more about documenting my child's every waking moment (My mom keeps reminding me what I do for the first child I have to do for the second so hopefully I can keep it up :) ).

I'm going to sound like a stuck record here but until you experience it I don't think you can fathom how quickly a child develops and changes. It  at times literally feels like she grows overnight (and I even read an article that said this is possible! YIKES!!) . Isla is no longer a floppy little baby. She is developing into a real little firecracker with a very definite view on the world! I.L.O.V.E.I.T.

4 Months old:

5 Months Old

Its getting harder to take the ones on the floor, strangely enough, as she keeps rolling over to eat the lamb :) the out takes to these shots are pretty funny :)

you can view the previous months by clicking on the links below:

Month 1

Month 2

Month 3 

Or in the new Tab at the top of the page

3 months old

Friends, Life is crazy!

My little blog has gotten neglected as I went back to work and am trying to figure out the new Balance of work & family.

 

here's a quick photo update of our munchkin at 3 months

 

 

 

 

You can check out the previous months posts by clicking on the links : 1 Month & 2 Months

 

 

 

2 months old

How is my baby already two months old?????

She has changed so much and is becoming such a joyful chatty baby:) I'm really enjoying her !

Without Further ado :)

check out last months picture here

39 & 40 weeks pregnant

So I'm only about two months late with this post ... whoops!
I wanted to complete the series though so here are week 39 & 40 combined (cos you know after everyone telling me how huge I was and that the Baby was going to come early she was late!)

How Far Along: let pretend here shall we ;)

Size of Baby: Baby came out weighing 3.58 kg's  and

was 51 cm long

Picture of Baby:

By this stage Baby Sprinkle was about the size of a watermelon

Source

Belly:

Sleep: the last two weeks were pretty bad.. I couldn't shake the flu and spent the majority of the night blowing my nose

Movement: up and down ... but definately moving down!

Symptoms:  there isn't a Symptom I don't have :)

Food Cravings:still very thirsty all the time!

What I Miss:  movement

What I'm Looking Forward to: this little ones arrival!! We were MORE than Ready for her and my parents arriving:)

the start of a new project:1 month old

I cannot claim this is an original idea but taking inspiration from many out in the blogosphere I'm going to attempt to take monthly pictures of Isla using the same props to show how much she grows over a year... I am by no means a photographer and have an overly complex camera I have no idea how to use so please bear with me (I am open to photography tips).

Meet Stan (the lamb)... He is the 'yardstick' against she will be measured :)

I can't decide if I like the chair or whether the overhead shot is better ... Thoughts ??

and just cos my baby is cute I added some other pics for your viewing pleasure :)

Things we couldn't live without: Newborn Edition

I loved reading these posts before I had a little one but now having lived through 3.5 weeks of my own newborn  I feel some important things were left off of a lot a lists. So in the interests of preparing the multitude of people in my life expecting there own blessing here are some things we couldn't have done without ...

1) Nipple Cream: Get the good stuff ( i.e. Lanisonah) , this is not a place to try and save money ! trust me on this one.

2) Nursing tank tops: again, these don't come cheap but they are SO worth it especially when you don't want to be completely house bound while  breast feeding. They allow you to lift your shirt without exposing your post-baby-belly to the world .

3) Swaddle Blanket: We have a 'Baby Sense' one that rocks!

source

 Its amazing how they help to settle Isla down and stops her little baby 'flailing arms' reflex from waking her up. Receiving Blankets work well too!We have a shaped one too (with velcro) but trying to slide her into it is quite hard, the baby sense one is cut into a triangle shape which you just wrap which is much easier.

4) Baby Grows (Onsies) : we got some very cute outfits that we've enjoyed dressing our little blessing in but there's a reason these simple things have stood the test of time. They are the quickest and easiest thing to dress a baby in (especially if you haven't quite mastered how to slip a vest over a floppy new-born's head)

5) Boppy/Nursing Pillow

Source

this not only helps for feeding (especially after a c-section) but it serves as a nice place to prop up the baby and also help them to feel a little more Snug if you can't spend every moment holding them:)

6) Help: Hubby took leave from work and My mom was here for the first 3 weeks of Isla's life and it was amazing. Today's actually the first day I've been completely home alone with her since she was born and I'm missing the company and extra set of hands to hold her so I can take a shower ;)

7) Newborn Pictures: do them !! they change so fast its absolutely precious to have a memory of when they are tiny

please forgive me

please forgive my lack of posting.... things got a little crazy round here :) 

introducing:

Baby update: 38 weeks

How Far Along: 38w 6 day ... I'm actually right on time , Go me ;)

Size of Baby: Baby should weigh about 3 kg (psssh ja right , I'm thinking more like 3.2 if not more ) and be about 50cm long

Picture of Baby:

By this stage Baby Sprinkle is about the size of a pumpkin... (sounds about right )

Source

Belly:

Sleep: not going so well, on top of being 38 weeks prego I managed to get a pretty bad case of bronchitis flu so I've had a blocked nose and lots of trouble sleeping cos every time I lay down I can't really breathe

Best Moment of the Week: The arrival of Baby James! so Excited for my friends and Sad i can't see him

Movement: up and down ... but definately moving down!

Symptoms:  there isn't a Symptom I don't have :)

Food Cravings:still very thirsty all the time!

What I Miss: Family and friends close by... Would be nice to be able to visit with more people...  

What I'm Looking Forward to: this little ones arrival!! We are ready (MORE than Ready) for you to make an appearance little one!

Baby Update: 37 weeks

How Far Along: 38w 2 day ... I'm late this week again ...oh well:)

Size of Baby: Baby should weigh about 2.9 kg and be about 48cm long

(the people that made this list had small babies!! ;) )

Picture of Baby:

By this stage Baby Sprinkle is about as long as a leek

Source

Belly:

Sleep: not going so well, haven't slept properly for the last week

Best Moment of the Week: starting Maternity leave (although I am a bit unsure how I'm going to fill all this free time till she arrives :) ) and a sweet baby shower thrown by some special friends this side of the world...

Movement: still fluctuates... went to the doctor (weekly appointments now) and she has moved down more and is engaging.. any time now..

Symptoms:  there isn't a Symptom I don't have :)

Food Cravings: been drinking like crazy, I seem to be thirsty all the time!

What I Miss: Family and friends close by... Would be nice to be able to visit with more people...  

What I'm Looking Forward to: still waiting on the arrival of special little boy :) (Come on buddy) and the count down to our own special sprinkle:) Less than two weeks to go!!

Baby Update: 36 weeks

How Far Along: 36w 6 day ... Can hardly believe it!!

Size of Baby: Baby should weigh about 2.7 kg and be about 46.5cm long

(the people that made this list had small babies!! ;) )

Picture of Baby:

By this stage Baby Sprinkle is is about as long as some Swiss Chard

Source

Belly:

 

Sleep: ja, that's not going so well!

Best Moment of the Week: hearing about how the ladies from our Antenatal classes have started having their babies... not long to go now :)
 

Movement: fluctuates... went to the doctor and she has moved down and is starting to Engage..
 

Symptoms: at 8 months pregnant I don't there is is a Symptom I don't have :) (this statement still stands)

Food Cravings: nothing much...

What I Miss: being able to put on a pair of socks... for some reason i cannot reach my right foot. Left is fine but the right foot is unreachable. 

What I'm Looking Forward to: the weekend !! 3 weeks till my due date tomorrow!! and the hopefully soon arrival of another special little boy :)

Adventures in Nursery land Part 4: painted furniture

If you can remember way back to my first Nursery Post I mentioned how we were going to paint the dresser in the baby room with Chalkboard paint... That was in April and we finished it yesterday ! Procrastinate much ?

 

Life doesn't stop unfortunately when you have a baby on the way ( although it definitely should slow down in my opinion) but every time we planned to get a start on these projects something would come up and it would get bumped down the list. I even got to the point where I was trying to convince myself it wouldn't be SO bad if it didn't happen.Thankfully two weekends ago I finally bit the bullet and jumped right in :)

 

The Bookshelf was mine as a child and has lived in many places throughout my various homes :) It looked like this before we started. Not to bad from far but up close it was chipped and kind of just blended in with the wall behind it.

 

 

The chest of drawers was one we inherited from W's Gran when she passed away. We used it in our spare room before and then decided it was the perfect height to use as a change table. Being the bad blogger I am I forgot to take pictures before taking the drawers out but I'm sure you get the idea

 

 

 

There was a layer of varnish that needed to be sanded off first so I used our electric sander (if you are planning on refinishing furniture invest in one! It was a such a time saver and not that expensive). The bookshelf had been painted previously so we just roughed it up with the sander to allow the new paint to stick

 

 

The Chest of Drawers hadn't be painted before so my Sister in Law painted Primer on it (it was stinky stuff so I stayed away and we made sure to do it outside )

 

 

When we started painting we quickly realised that we needed more than just one can of paint (and then I overcompensated and bought way to much! chalkboard paint anyone?).

 

 

It was quite a messy endeavour

 

 

The Final Product turned out amazingly! It's such a contrast and even though the 'grey' paint is not as grey as I thought it would be (more a blue/green/grey)  its still pretty cool:)

 

 

Apologies for the overexposed picture but I wanted to show the stencil detail on the drawers and this was the only way to do it...

 

 

Everything's back in the room and the Drawers are started to get packed.

Rooms officially ready!

EEEEKKKKK!!!