2015 - that's a wrap!

blink and we're at the end of 2015. while this little space didn't get as much attention as i would like to give it, i decided to do a recap of the year.

the past year hasn't been too eventful but we did hit a few milestones together as a family. in march, we took a road trip to Canberra to get Charlotte her passport. it was our first road trip and "holiday" as a family of four. she cried most of the way there and most of the way back. so we decided there will be no road trip for this family for awhile.

Charlotte started daycare in May. i felt bad for sending her just as she turned 9 months but it was a right decision to start her young. the carers and the older kids in her room love her. she was doted upon by everyone so she settled in within weeks. mum also came to visit us in May. she spent 10 days with us and surprisingly, we got along fine and didn't get into a single argument the whole time she was here.

i celebrated my 33th birthday in June. Jim took a day off work the day after my birthday
(because Charlotte didn't go to daycare on the day of my birthday) so we enjoyed a child free day in the city. lunch at pendolino was pretty good. while the prosecco costed us an arm and a leg the food was pretty good. we were able to enjoy each other's company and every mouthful of our food which is quite the luxury these days.

Charlotte turned one in August and she has grown in leaps and bounds in the past year. last Christmas, she could barely sit up by herself.  this Christmas, she's toddling around and getting into all sorts of trouble. babbling and getting very good at telling us what she wants and don't want and most importantly, bossing us around and having us all wrapped around her little fingers.

one of the biggest milestones for us would probably be the sale of our little townhouse. when the tenants moved out in July, the house was still vacant after a few open houses so we thought it would be a great opportunity to sell it. i'm still on the fence on whether we made the right decision but the property fetched a pretty good price just before the market cooled down and as a result of the sale, we managed to realised a dream of buying a new car. so, maybe we did make the right decision?

as for Gabriel, he turned four few weeks ago and we had a big party for him. we hired a community hall, got iron man to come, all his friends came dressed in their favourite superheroes and super princesses and i made him a pretty cool cake. it's probably my best creation to date. he couldn't decide on whether he wanted a hulk or an angry bird cake so i made a mash up of both for him. i would like to take the credits for the cake but Jim helped with the figurines. i can't believe Gabriel will be turning five next year and he'll be starting school too.

we didn't do a lot of travelling this year. not that we don't want to but we've learnt our lesson since that little road trip we did in March. Charlotte is still not great in the car and we basically try stay within 5km radius from our house. some people say we should ignore her crying in the car and eventually she'll get it. well, we have ventured outside of the 5km radius boundary and it always end up with her screaming on top of her lungs until she's all worked up, red face with snots and all. so, i don't know when she'll get better at being in the car or being restrained.

it didn't feel like we got up to much in 2015 but life with two kids is so busy. i think we actually got up to quite a bit without knowing it ourselves. i wonder what 2016 has in store for us. well, i know for a start it'll be quite hectic. after working 3 days a week and being a stay at home mum for 2 days since September, my maternity leave will formally come to an end in a couple of days. i return to full time work on the first working day of January 2016 and there will be no more maternity leave for me in the future.

2016 has a lot to live up to but i believe things can only get better. i'm looking forward to our first overseas holiday as a family of four. after much umming and ahring, we finally booked our tickets to Malaysia so Charlotte can meet her aunties and cousins. the flight would probably be the longest as i walk up and down the aisle with Charlotte since she hates being restrained. it probably won't be much of a holiday for Jim and I but the kids will get to play with their cousins and we'll try our best to enjoy it as much as we can.

farewell 2015, it's been a great year!

Spring!

spring is my favourite season and it is looking pretty fine so far.

after neglecting my own fitness for 3 years, my flexibility went from bad to worse. i can't imagine whether if i'll be able to touch my knees when I'm 50. Also my non existent abs has been replaced by a pouch that is getting bigger and bigger thanks to my sweet tooth.  something had to be done before the warmer months where i can no longer hide under chunky knits and loose fitting clothes. so i finally decided to take action and started doing some stretching and also pilates at the beginning of the month.  i wish i could join a pilates class at the gym or at a community college but YouTube will have to do for now.  it's absolutely free and i can do it at the time that suits me (after the kids have gone to bed). i don't know if my work out is working but i feel good.  i feel good to finally look after myself again.  

another reason spring is going well so far is after weeks of prepping our little townhouse for sale at the end of winter,  the house went under the hammer for auction last Saturday and it was sold at a price we are very happy with. we sold the first house which used to be our home, our little paradise for 3 years. selling a house a auction is such a nerve wrecking experience and after weeks of not knowing whether it would be sold at a satisfactory price,  we're glad it's over. we can now move on with our lives and plan our next move.  

365 days of Gabriel and Charlotte - mma mma

most babies learn to say da da before ma ma including Gabriel. i remember he started calling Jim da dee way before he called me ma mee. i was so excited when Charlotte started calling me mma mma a few weeks ago. and every time she says mma mma, my heart melt a little. 

365 days of Gabriel and Charlotte - the best brother

he calls her his little sweetheart, he wants to be the first person to tend to her when she's up from her naps, he has to give her a kiss and a cuddle before she goes to bed and he is very observant and he remembers the toys she likes to play with. like this morning, Gabriel was playing with his cars but when he saw me getting some toys out of the toy hamper for Charlotte, he came over and grab the box of wooden blocks and he says to me: "let me get the blocks out of the box coz mui mui likes to knock them over". 

365 days of Gabriel and Charlotte - daycare sucks

ever since Charlotte started daycare,  her week goes a little something like this.  attends daycare on Thursday and Friday, come home with runny nose and maybe cough too. Saturday to following Wednesday are recovery days where she gets better. by Wednesday she's generally better and then the week repeats again. it's a vicious cycle and doesn't help that it's winter either. i guess it can be much worse and a bit of runny nose is good to help build up her immune system. this photo was taken last Wednesday after 5 days of recovery at home with no runny nose. 

365 days of Gabriel and Charlotte - the sweetest brother

i was greeted by this when i got to daycare to pick up the kids this afternoon. the educator says Gabriel was playing with his friends in the big kids yard and he came to sit with Charlotte when he noticed her in the baby yard. Charlotte's second week at daycare didn't go so well but her face lit up when she saw her big brother and she was quite contented with his company. i stood there and watched for 5 minutes before Gabriel noticed me.

 

i remember about two years ago, a little girl was a bit upset in the baby room and her brother (who must have been about 4 at the time) stood next to her consoling her and giving her lots of cuddles. i thought to myself at the time that i hope if we were lucky enough to give Gabriel a sibling, he would love and care for his sibling like this boy. at the time, i didn't think it was possible given how clingy and possessive Gabriel was of me.fast forward two years later, my wish came true. Gabriel continues to surprise us and show us everyday, how much he loves Charlotte. a couple of days ago, i asked him if he liked it more when it was just him, daddy and mummy or him, daddy, mummy and Charlotte. he says he liked it more when we have Charlotte too. i hope he would continue to be a protective and caring big brother like he is now to her.

Charlotte's first hair cut

as we arrived at the shops for lunch last Sunday, we drove past our hairdresser and noticed he's not as busy as he normally is. so Jim and i had a quick 10 seconds discussion and decided to take Charlotte to the hairdresser for a light trim to tidy the sides as they are longer than the rest.

unlike Gabriel's first hair cut which we planned, timed and booked weeks in advance, we arrived at the salon without our DLSR and had to use the camera on the phone (as you can see in the dodgy photos below). i suppose a child's first hair cut is not a novelty anymore when she's your second child? 

Charlotte was not very cooperative during the hair cut. turning her head every time the hairdresser tried to cut it and clingy onto me for dear life wondering what this stranger is doing grabbing her hair.

the end result? well, we are not 100% pleased with it. a hairdresser never gives you a light trim when you ask for one. the sides are slightly shorter than what i have hoped for and her fridge is a tad too short to pin. poor Charlotte now looks more like a boy than a girl and is looking very much like her brother at 9 months. we should have left her hair alone. here's hoping they'll grow fast and she'll look pretty again when she turns one in a few months time.