Christmas Party...it's started already!

Yesterday was our church's ward Christmas party.  After torrential rain in the morning the party in the park was cancelled and it was held in the chapel with a few games.  As soon as Donald saw some paint brushes he was off face painting.  Toby is our only child who actually wanted his face painted....ever.  Sam and Ethan have an aversion to face paint, fake tattoos and coloured hair spray. 

Good food, that's what Ethan thought (he spilt enough of it down his shirt).

Waiting for Santa

Sitting on Santa (and making fun of Santa)

"I love it"

November was a busy birthday month in our family, so Toby and I got out the paints and little star sponges that I made last year for another round of wrapping paper decorating.  We had run out of Toby's paintings from playgroup that we usually use as wrapping paper as well as our pile of home decorated paper.  With every  stamp and flourish Toby would say "I love it, I love it".

Lemons

They hate lemon juice squeezed into their water to drink because it's too "lemony" but they just love sucking on lemons.  I don't know why they do it!!!  

What do you see?

After dinner on Saturday night walking back to the car we saw this amazing cloud.

I see an eagle flying, what do you see?

My Happy Place

Today we farewelled Desley and John back to Melbourne after a lovely weekend visit.  Do you think we could get a straight photo in??

 

I also went to my happy place today.  I often go for a drive through areas I'd like to live in, with acreage and a bit of farm land, on my way to the egg farm to pick up some fresh free range eggs.  My happy place also includes a visit to a plant nursery or two.    All of my boys had the sniffles (more like green boogers) so I kept them home from school.  We didn't want to share our germs at school and today was such a beautiful day so I shared my happy place with my boys.  We went to the egg farm, we looked for the chooks and the boys played on the tractors.  Notice Ethan's hat, he has a little packet of kleenex shoved up the back, I gave them each a packet and they carried them around all day.  I'm sure Toby treated his packet like one of his babies.

We stopped at the road side stalls to buy fresh vegies and the last of the strawberries.  Then  visited a couple of plant nurseries to search for the right pots and herbs to plant up for the school teachers Christmas presents.  It was just one of those happy days, with the perfect weather, not too cold and not too hot.  The sky was blue and it was such a peaceful, lovely day.  I like keeping my boys home from school.

Where's your happy place?

Birthday round up

Friday afternoon cake and friends,

Boba Fett joined our party

Saturday birthday breakfast in bed

Saturday ice skating at Baulkham Hills.  Sam and Ethan were just fantastic skating this time, they only spent a few minutes hanging on to the rails before they cruised around by themselves.  Toby went for the first time and spent most of the time in between Donald's or my legs just gliding around. 

Indian for dinner with Desley & John.  A new restaurant down the road, rather yummy, a little spicy,  the boys guzzled water as their mouths burned, but they kept on eating then guzzling some more. 

and boy the weather was cold and still is, down to 13 degrees today.

Happy Birthday Sam

Dear Sam,

What a joy you have been in our lives Sam. The time seems so long ago when it was just Donald, you and I. You have always been a fun addition to our little family as our first born. For the first 6 months of your life you got to hang out with us travelling parts of Canada, the Rocky Mountains, the snow, the prairies and beautiful gardens. 

Everywhere we went people would stop to pinch your cheeks and tell us how beautiful you were. Then we moved to Sydney and people still did the same in the supermarkets and at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. You brought joy to people Sam, they loved to see such a lovely healthy blue eyed baby boy with such chubby cheeks.

When we were in Jasper National Park you took your first bite of food.  Even though you were only breast feeding at 5 months old, you grabbed Donalds hamburger and took a chomp out of it. You just thrived on mums milk for your first 20 months which gave you such a lovely healthy physique.  Hamburgers are still one of your favourite foods today.

When you were two your favourite movie was the Iron Giant and you would find anything you could to dress up like the Iron Giant or Hogarth Hughes. You used my cheese cake pans around your neck to make the iron giants mouth....

...and fire hat, boots and my swimming goggles to be Hogarth. You had such a vivid imagination in your play and you still do.  I love how you used to feel the wonderful happy/sad spirit at the end of the movie. You've always had a fascination with the iron giant being able to fly and rockets and blasters shooting and your sound effects for them are amazing.

Your first night in your big bed saw you realise your freedom, with blankies, water bottle and toys in tow you snuck into our room around midnight and stood by the bed waiting so silently.

You were so excited to meet Ethan your first little brother 

and then Toby your second little brother.

Sam you are so blessed to be such good friends with your brothers, they love you so much and I know you love them and love sharing a room with them.  They are and will always be your best friends.

Sam you have always been a very happy, confidant boy, who is inquisitive and very well spoken. You are still the same now, with your vivid imagination for play, your wicked laughter and sense of fun and the want to make people laugh.

I love how you tell me I'm beautiful and that you love me. I love that you'll happily go walking with me early in the mornings for a bit of quiet time together. I love how you and Ethan have such a great mateship and understand each others games. I love how you let Toby play with you on the trampoline and join in his games. I love how you want to draw comics and draw what's in your mind in your sketch books, even if it is full of explosions and stuff. I wish that you didn't have bad dreams in the night but I love that you still need me in the middle of the night when you do have a bad dream. 

You are my Sam, my first born. I'm sorry that as a first born you have to experience everything first and have to break through boundaries to train your parents.  But I'm glad you are you, because I love all the things about you. Your beautiful smile, your eyes that have changed to green like your Grandpa Hammonds, your strong legs and tall body and your very smoochy lips.  Your patience and understanding of me.  You have such a beautiful spirit, I think you are fantastic.

Happy 9th Birthday

Samuel

Lots of Love

Mummy

xxx

The arrival of Sam

This day 9 years ago I was at home in our basement suite in Vancouver, Canada and I was 40 weeks and 1 day into my first pregnancy. It was a cold Autumn day and my mum had arrived from Australia hoping to catch the arrival of our first born.  Sorry for the indecent exposure below, remember this is my journal :+)

We'd had dinner and my mum, with washing up gloves on, was doing the dishes.  Donald, I believe, was probably chastising her for doing the dishes.  I felt an urge and went to the bathroom.  While I was sitting there (on the toilet) I felt what was like a balloon popping and water gushing.  Thank goodness I was in the right place at the right time and with a cupboard beside me full of giant maternity pads.  I walked out of the bathroom with an excited look on my face and declared that I think my waters just broke.  My mum, full of excitement with rubber gloves still on came at me holding  her hands out ready to catch the baby.  There was an air of excitement as I packed my bags and tried to read up on how to have a baby, funny jokes were flying back and forth as my brain tried to remember all that we'd learnt at our pre-natal classes.

Half an hour later at 8pm the increadible pains began.  I wasn't certain where they were coming from or how long they lasted.  It became a combination of back pain and contractions and I knew I couldn't do a thing while either was happening.  We spent a while on the bed a candle flickering on my bed side table, my mum putting warm cloths on my back to ease the pain, me breathing trying to blow long and slow to reach the candle by my bed, Donald quietly talking by my bed or rubbing my back when needed. When the contractions came closer it took me half an hour to change my clothes and another half hour to get me into the car.  It was about 11pm when we drove the 5 minutes to the hospital (I was still giving directions to Donald's driving).  We got to the car park and I felt like pushing, my mum suggested a wheel chair, Donald thought I should walk it in.  I couldn't walk, so I got the chair.  The urge to push was so great but I needed to slow my breathing down.  A little gas helped to focus my breath then they took me up to delivery.  On November 22nd in the wee hours of the morning after 2.5 hours of pushing, our bouncing 9lbs 3oz Sam came into the world (with ACDC playing quietly in the background on the radio).  We didn't have any camera's there at first as Donald left everything in the car thinking we'd just be at the hospital for a check up and back home for the night.  

Sam was such a beautiful baby and we knew his name was to be Samuel James Hammond Walker.  Named after two of his Great Grandfathers, although we didn't know we were having a boy.  He had such strong little muscly arms, broad strong hands and fingers just like Donald's and a perfect little face that looked so familiar that I knew he was our little boy, it just seemed so right.

Babies in the house

For the past couple of weeks Toby has been very maternal.  He has been looking after and playing with every soft toy in the house.  On many occasions he has given birth to at least 5 or 6 of his babies at a time.  They travel around the house via truck, shoe box, laundry bucket or just shoved up his shirt (ready for re-birthing).

Then comes feeding time so Toby comes to the source of food...me.  I am expected to breast feed them all at Toby's request and I will keep hearing a little cry "Waaaa Waaaaa Waaaa" until I do feed them.  I stick them to my chest and make slurping sounds while Toby watches with a soft smile.  Then he gathers them one by one to burp them and tuck them into a shoe box bed.  

At night time and nap time it is a trial to find enough places for them all in the bed, but we manage.

Bounteous harvest

The carrots have been in the ground for the last year and I was rather curious to see why they were still growing.  I love the crossed legs carrot in the middle.  The strawberries are what's left after the bugs found them.  We have however managed to pick a strawberry each day that is worthy of eating I just couldn't find one yesterday.  As for updates on my basil there are about 6 plants left out of about 25  planted that haven't been eaten by the caterpillars falling from the trees above.  There are no spring onions to be seen.  I take back my claim to a green thumb. :+/ 

Favourite Melbourne pics

Desley's "Queen of Hearts" roses, the blood red colour that the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland would paint her roses.

The giant hedges, home to hundreds of creepy caterpillars.

Jessica and I on our way back from Mt Eliza on the Peninsula, with Harry squeaking in the back.

Jenni's boys Lachlan and Ben with Jessica's baby Harry.  These gorgeous boys were just besotted with their relaxed little cousin.

Desley & Harry

Desley & John who have always been a very positive influence in my life and two of my favourite people in the world.  

By the way on my last walk/run in Melbourne at least six people smiled back at me...the weather had definately improved by the end of the week.

Hand me downs

Our family have been grateful recipients of hand me downs, pass alongs and second hand stuff.  I love it!  Friends, neighbours and rellies have bestowed upon us wonderous items of usefulness.  Lounge chairs, tables, beds, book shelves, kitchen items, clothes and many more.  It's no wonder our house is full of clutter, because I won't turn anything away especially if it's in good condition and it's useful.  Basically I'm a hoarder, particularly of sentimental things.

On my recent trip to Melbourne I scored some lovely things from Desley's cupboard.  A frilly blouse which makes me feel so pretty,

A textured skirt that I love to wear with my brown shoes,

and a funky retro sheet for our bed which goes so well with the 100% cotton white sheets I inherited from my Grandmother, they both work well in our green room.

I also got a very colourful dress which John hated on Desley, I'm not so sure Donald likes it either, but I'll figure a way to wear it...I'm determined to as it's a colourful Indian fabric with beading.

I love it when Desley comes to visit us she often brings something that she doesn't  wear any more or need.  Desley and John are coming to Sydney this week, although I think I've already taken my share.

Comics and Ice creams

Saturday afternoon Donald asked if the boys wanted to go to the comic shop at Parramatta with him, he didn't get any takers.  My boys are always happy to hang out at home.  When I mentioned ice creams at Cold Rock....we were all going. 

Hanging out at the comic shop

Who is that tall boy and how did he grow up so fast?

Ice creams at Cold Rock (now taken over by Magic ice or something like that)

My favourite is ferrero ice cream with peanut M&M's smashed into it.