Michaela's Birthday Party

We decided to have a bbq at the local park for Michaela's birthday. We lucked out with the weather, the first summery day of what has been more of a wintery spring. My mother's group had already had a big birthday bash at one of the mother's homes the weekend before and the kids had an absolute blast. This bbq was going to be more of a family celebration, with a couple of close friends.

This was going to be the first time I made a proper birthday cake for either of my kids. When Michaela turned one I made cupcakes. When she turned two, we had store-bought. GG and Papa made Matthew's cake. At first I was a bit over-zealous and wanted to make a castle cake, but then realised there was too much room for error and decided to start a bit smaller.

 Not that this photo is the finished product! I just took this because I had practised icing on it and thought it would be hilarious to tell GG and Papa that this was the final product. I really cracked myself up with the idea, so I had to share, even though I am sure it is just an inside joke with myself.

Of course, I couldn't resist giving Michaela her gifts first thing in the morning to set the tone for the day!

 Good thing Matty checked the tire pressure, it needed some!

I think I know what he wants for his 3rd birthday...!

 Michaela was stoked with her new Octonauts book.

Practising in the front.

 Ready to head to the party!

 Of course, Michaela's existing party dresses were subpar, so luckily I managed to find this one on sale when I was doing the last minute shopping.

Swinging in the "big girl" swing.

 She was pretty excited to share her party hats with her friends.

 Not sure that all of them were as excited!

 Some of the crew enjoying the sunshine.

 Michaela with friends Brodie and Summer.

 Michaela with friends Logan and Jackson.

 Michaela had a long list of demands for her cake: strawberry flavor, pink colour, Tinkerbell, number 3, and Happy Birthday Michaela. I managed to cover them all!

 Michaela's Aunt Marysia made her "teacups" for her birthday. This was her favorite treat from her second birthday, when she would wake up for days later, screaming from her bed in the dark "I want a cup o' tea!" Luckily she hasn't been as obsessed this time around, but still loves them. Her friend Kobe even managed to keep his pinky up when having one. The cutest thing is all the kids (even Matthew) try to drink them when they get one (instead of eating!)

 Michaela's favorite gift of the day: music box. This made her anti-social for most of the party as all she wanted to do was sit and play with it!

 Michaela's cousin Luca.

 I tried to capture Jackson crawling along with fairy bread in his mouth, but he popped it out too quick. Still cute though.

 Men grilling meat.

 Jackson kept going for the champagne. Explained why there seemed to be icing and sprinkles on the opening!

 Showing off her music box!

 Matt tried to make a getaway on her bike, but couldn't get far. He also obsessed over a pink helmet that belonged to another girl there that we didn't know. He kept picking up and putting it on his head.

 "Happy Birthday to you!" Michaela had a lot of help from the wind with blowing out those candles.

 Michaela still talks about how she got to lick icing off Tinkerbell's feet. I think this was a highlight!

 Matthew ate his weight in fairy bread.

 Tinkerbell and the music box ballerina became fast friends.

 Kobe delighted in turning the water tap on himself.

 You might have had to be there for this one, but Jackson found a watermelon rind that had been on the ground since we arrived and decided it was a delicacy. He was very unimpressed when mum tried to take it off him!

 Matthew has perfected the backwards slide.

 Special visit from Pops, Dave's dad.

 Michaela enjoyed doing her birthday puzzles with Pops.

 Luckily we decided to have dinner outside that night, Matthew REALLY enjoyed his food!

 I had the bath ready to drop him in straight from his chair. When I took his diaper off, a ton of pasta fell out! That chair is still outside.

Michaela's 3rd Birthday

My little baby girl is already three. In some ways, the past few years have flown by. But sometimes I think about Michaela, and she has always seemed so quick to "grow up" to me. She had mastered some pretty big milestones by 1, but walking would have been the most memorable. By 2 she could read numbers 1-10, most letters of the alphabet, slept in a big bed, fed herself with cutlery, could fully communicate in complete sentences with an impressively large vocabulary, and would sing and remember hand motions for many songs. Now that she is 3, she seems like a real little girl to me, and far from the sweet little baby we brought home from hospital three years ago today.

She is crazy for princesses, Disney being her favorite. She is also partial to Tinkerbell, Alice in Wonderland, the Octonauts, and The Sound of Music (I find it particularly funny when she sings "I am sixteen, going on seventeen" as she knows all the words. The think I laugh the most at "You are sixteen, going on seventeen, baby, you're on the brink" But then, it is hard to pick a favorite!) She can sing hundreds of songs and loves to dance "ballet" or princess dancing (aka "sweaty dancing"). She loves being told stories, Sleeping Beauty is a favorite. She also loves being read to and insists on paper books (must be too old for board books now I guess!) She also loves magazines. I bought her a princess one, and since then she picks up anything that resembles a magazine and will carry it with her everywhere, quietly reading stories to herself (I imagine about princesses). She loves role-playing and acting out stories as well as using her toys as characters to act out stories and adventures. Her Winnie the Pooh teddy is the princess (usually Aurora from Sleeping Beauty) and her Puppy teddy is the prince. She loves wearing pink dresses or tutus and twirling in them.

She loves to learn. She is eager to please and works hard to earn praise and follow instructions. She is a star in the swimming pool and has advanced to "swimming" by herself now, poor Dave has to sit on the sidelines.

All in all, she is an incredibly bright, intelligent, demanding, beautiful little girl. I am so proud to be her mother.

Matthew eats play dough

And crayons.

Michaela never did, so I'm going to assume "its a boy thing". Or just a Matty thing.

I do know that he makes such a mess with it, playing with it is going to be a rare and special occurance!

Hard to say "No" to those cute little faces though.

Rain, rain, go away

It doesn't take long for a cold wet day to make my house feel teeny tiny. Which it is. But a couple of wintery days in a row, and we all start getting a little bit edgey. So we shake up the routine a bit and do things a little differently. Like toast for breakfast instead of porridge. Served at the kids play table instead of the dining table. The CUTEST thing is that Matthew now clasps his hands when we pray. And says "Aaaah" at the end.



Of course he hasn't quite mastered waiting until we finish to begin eating! Michaela on the other hand is a pro and says a beautiful grace, often followed by thanking God "for our wonderful family". It is SO cute!

Of course, "Messy Matty" hasn't earned his nickname easily. He makes a huge mess of every meal, especially at the kids table because he can get up with his food and run around. I can't vaccuum or sweep the floors without the kids attacking me trying to get their hands on the vac/broom. So today I decided to put them to "work".

Michaela prefers the Swivel Sweeper which is a great tool and I highly reccommend it for any kid who wants to "help" clean because it actually works well on carpet and tile!

Put some back into it!

"Let's put the headband on Matty." Matt likes putting things in his hair. If he sees me brushing Michaela's hair (or my own) he has to have a brush of his own to imitate. When we were down in Apollo Bay, Michaela wanted us to put daisys in our hair. Matt started picking the flowers himself and kept trying to put them in his hair. I wish I had gotten a photo of it!

Trying to do it himself. Attempt 1: forehead.

Attempt 2: neck

Attempt 3: eyes

Attempt 4: I give up on the head and am wearing it on my leg!

This kept them occupied for AGES:

Lots of bouncing and laughing.

It was great! I got a lot of laundry done, until it turned into "Mom, pick up my teddy!" Which they kept dropping out and calling for me to pick up. It is so cute that they are learning to play together more and more each day.