Putting up the Christmas tree with a toddler...

Well it's officially less then a month until Christmas, and because December 1st falls on a Wednesday we decided to put the tree up and decorate the house on Saturday... I had definite fears that Marley was going to be more of a hindrance then a help, but she really came through on the helpful tip... Passing the baubles to mummy and daddy at lightening speed, not trying to take the decorations off the tree and being super excited to be involved... Lots of talk about Santa 'ho, ho, ho!' and reindeer, she really was just adorable! Ever since Saturday morning she has been very excited passing through the hallway stopping to point, talk to and look at the 'tree, tree!' with the 'pretty rocks' (jewelled weird shaped decorations) just beautiful...

So overall I would say my fears about putting up the tree with a toddler were completely unfounded! Was a wonderful family morning...

Baking gingerbread men...

Another stormy day paired with another double ear infection and throat infection... Once the afternoon fever came down a little and Marley continuously asked to go outside, I decided we needed a long indoor activity to get us through the afternoon... Baking it was... I cheated by getting a packet mix of gingerbread men because I couldn't have left my little handful alone long enough to measure out a recipe from scratch, Marley didn't know the difference!

She LOVED it! Kneading the dough, wearing our cupcake aprons, cutting out the little men and decorating them... The only lulls were when the dough had to rest for 15 minutes, she went and cooked on her mini oven... And when they were cooking, we had crazy sticker fun, all over her, the couch, the chair and me!

Highly recommended way to spend the afternoon with a toddler!

New babies = shopping!!!

One of the most wonderful things about having a new baby, once you have had the 20 week scan and get the all good, is shopping for the new addition... Here are some super cute items delivered in the past week:


5 pack of Nike onesies, very cute colours/designs... The Jordan ones we bought Marley were a staple of her wardrobe, as I'm sure these will come to be...
Navy blue Ralph Lauren slip on sneakers, with little green polo logos all over them... Beautiful!
Blue Ralph Lauren tracksuit, so soft!

After a mad washing spree and sorting all the clothes that Marley wore and fishing out the non pink variety, our little lads wardrobe is close to complete... Now it's feeling so real, can't wait to meet him!

Relaxing girls night away...

Saturday morning I left my beautiful little family and took off to Merricks beach with 3 of my best mates... It was a relaxing day, can't believe I remembered how to 'relax'...

These days relaxation comes in 10 minute bursts, so an afternoon of a lovely lunch at the 'general store' (yum!), lounging in the garden soaking up sun, certainly wasn't guilt free! So relaxing it was, walking down the beach and hilarious UNO shenanigans, just lapping it up, this might be the last time in ages that I have this freedom... Even though it was hard, thinking about what Mark and Marley were up to, it was the first night I have ever spent away from them both!!! Definitely worth it, especially because I got to come home to this little darling :)

The Walking Dead... Watch it!!!

We finally got around to watching the pilot of The Walking Dead last night... To be honest I was putting it off, watching all of the other shows we download as they came in, a bit scared of this show, even with the great reviews... With good reason, it IS scary! For me...

After being pregnant with/having Marley, my love of horror has subsided... My night horrors increasing to massive proportions, only able to watch scary films through the day, at which time Marley is up, so not really watching horror at all... Being pregnant again I was freaking out at the possibility of being scared weekly should we commit to this show...

I am glad that I gave it a go... It's freaking awesome... It is not only scary, but touching and offers hope that lots of shows we watch don't... The opening scene had me freaking out and then all teary and upset (deeply considering turning it off), in fact in the hour and six minutes I was often upset, but the hopeful moments just make me want more, more, more, to the point where I am spewing we have a game tonight and won't be able to watch the next episode! I might also add that the whole episode had us gripped, neither of us checking anything on our phones, time, email, eBay, twitter or facebook! That's really saying something!

As far as bad dreams go, I had them all night, lots of undead, rotting flesh, guns, fear, but I didn't wake up screaming which is a good sign!

You need to watch it!

Big Girls Bed... Help?

We have officially ordered Marleys big girls bed!

I don't know a great deal about when a good time to put her in it would be? Or how? With a pillow? Still in a sleeping bag with a sheet? Or full doona, but surely she will kick it off and get cold? Aaaaah! Another task that will hopefully be sorted before baby2 arrives, but is pre 2 too young?

Most importantly it's the end of an era... She will be moving out of the nursery, into what was Marks studio... The first time in over 6 years that I won't be housed with 5,000 records, and my little girl will be in a bed she doesn't fit into with super cute Charlie and Lola sheets... In the store I got a bit teary, she was sooooo excited and didn't want to get off the bed, but so small she would only need about a quarter of it! Having kids is a constant flow of change, this is one of the bigger changes...

20 months on...

This month it feels like so much has happened in Marley land...

She has started singing the proper words to songs... Her favourite is 'twinkle twinkle little star how I ... are', okay she hasn't got all the words, but can sing a few bars of all of her favourites...

Mum bought her a tricycle this week and she LOVES it! Riding in the court (assisted) with her neighbours... It's so sweet... It's truly awesome seeing her interact so well with kids older then her...

The potty has been used successfully at her request, which is completely out of left field... I thought we would probably do the potty training thing mid next year, maybe when we got back from the UK... But if she is ready I guess we will go the encouragement route and let her lead the way... Bought her some cute little pants in any case...

So busy busy 20 month old cutie!

Yoga for pregnant ladies, and their toddlers?

I have had a hard time getting to the gym lately with sickness (colds all 'round), tiredness, being busy trying to catch up on things post sick and tired, which has resulted in a decision to get a yoga DVD at home... I started with a proper yoga DVD which was far too hardcore for me, ordered a pregnancy yoga DVD and it felt much better!

I have been doing it 3-4 times a week, a nice amount... Still hoping to get back to gym, at least for body pump (did this up to month 8 of pregnancy with Marley), but in the meantime at least I am doing something... However Marley isn't a fan, she goes from playing with her toys, to sitting on my lap at every sitting pose, to doing her own yoga next to me, to using my body as a racing track for her cars when I am doing the downward facing dog... I must admit that her yoga is very cute, and flexible, it's just so hard to relax and focus when one eye has to stay on the kid!

In any case I definitely recommend checking a pregnancy yoga DVD if you are pregnant and struggling to exercise!

Love and Marriage...

This past Sunday I had the honour of being invited to be one of my longest friends head bitch - Matron of Honour (lucky I am looking quite matronly right now), as she married her soulmate... It was a beautiful day, I forgot how awesome it is to live in someone elses love bubble for a day! The nicest thing about weddings is the loving gaze in everyones eyes as they look on as the bride and groom declare their love... This couple is one I truly believe in and I was just so happy to get to witness such a wonderful day...

The fallout is coming home to a very grumpy lass who is definitely holding a grudge against me for leaving her! Has been a hard day, with exhaustion, grumpy Marley, heavy work, am hoping for a better day tomorrow!

In the meantime I can hold onto the high from yesterday!

Leopard Print Leggings For Kids

Got these in the post today, and I love, love, love them!!! Can't wait to put them on Marley! They are by Rock Your Baby www.rockyourbaby.com.au they have some extremely cute kids clothes, great for 'something different' gifts as well as your own kids of course...