Present Day

Reasons why I haven't had a lot of time for blogging lately:

Dress ups, push ups, dancing, crafting, house renovations, chores and just chilling with my babies. Oh and a birthday for a very special man :)

Happy Present Day xx

Happy Birthday

A year ago today a little angel came into our lives

Happy Birthday Beautiful Girl!

Thank you for the best year,

Full of fun, laughter, happiness, joy and only a few tears

We love you more than you will ever know.

Mummy & Daddy xxx

Christmas Eve 2010

Just a few happy snaps from our Jacques Christmas Eve Dinner (Which is really now our Jacques/Upton/McLaughlin/Broome/Andrews Christmas Dinner!)

Each year we have a different theme and this year was Asian BBQ. The decorations were just so PRETTY! The hydrangeas were from Mumma C's garden (Thanky ou SO much!). Whacked into a few old Dolmio jars from garage and Voila!

These King Proteas look absolutely stunning, the pink is just beautiful. ($5 each from Coles!)

Crushed pistachios for the Pav, again I just love that delicious pinky purple and green! The tablecloth is from Target.

Fortune cookies for our Asian BBQ theme

Loads of beautiful tealight candles and wine glasses to reflect the candlelight

And of course some pink Chinese lanterns for the hedges ($1.50 each from the Asian supermarket) Baby Girl looking SO gorgeous in her Christmas Dress by Noni. And she's sitting! Clever girl.

Everyone working hard in the kitchen!Here's the family minus Noni taking the photo. Even our senile little pup Karma has come to celebrate Izzy's first Christmas!

And the new puppy Bruiser...what a cutie!

A bit of chalk is always fun
Snuggly little girl and the boys just chillin'

I just love this combination of blue and white and pink.

All the different chairs from inside look so great out here!

But Izzy really stole the show!

Present Day

Today really is Present Day...Christmas Eve!

Christmas Eve is the day the Jacques/Upton/McLaughlin/Broome/Andrews all get together to share Christmas Dinner. And we all love it! The preparations start way ahead of time (However this year overshadowed a little by babies and weddings!) - it's all about yummy simple food, great drinks, fabulous decorations, but most of all getting together and just having a great time.

This years theme is Asian inspired BBQ - I'm hoping the weather cheers up by this afternoon so I can put out the fairy lights and lanterns in our courtyard. Plan B is our front room which will still be great!

Almost as important as Christmas Eve is that today is Izzy's 6 month birthday!! 6 months feel like such a milestone, for some reason it feels like we can take a deep breath and think everything is going to be OK from here. She's out of the SIDS danger zone (good thing too as she now sleeps on her tummy!)

She's definitely lost that newborn look - she holds herself well, she's even sitting now! She's onto solid food so it's not all up to me to keep her healthy (I'm sure I will miss it soon though!)

She rolls all around the place and it so interested in everything. She's officially allowed to wear sunscreen so we can do more swimming!!!

What a little chunky monkey. She is STILL the most beautiful thing in the world. Izzy what did we do before you came along?!!! Our life would just not be complete without you!

I was listening to a song yesterday which said It's not the things you do on Christmas, but the Christmas things you do all year. So this year I'm hoping to put a little bit of Christmas into every day, be a little more loving, a little more giving, put that little bit more effort into every day. I'm making a decision to be happy to be a little over-the-top like we are at Christmas, so long as it's with a great attitude and not with pride or arrogance.

And so the craziness begins, it's time to tidy the house and prepare the food, then to the Upton's tomorrow, followed by 2 boxing day parties and perhaps a game of bowls, and then a post-boxing day BBQ. I think it's safe to say we will see you in the new year!

So to everyone who has been so supportive of us this year, thank you thank you thank you! We have been so amazingly blessed and it has truly been to most amazing year of our lives! I can't wait to see what 2011 brings.

Wishing you all a truly wonderful Christmas,

Luce xx

Present Day

It's the 24th again! Present Day. Today we are in Berry celebrating our 3rd wedding anniversary and having our first mini family holiday! The month has just flown by, I can't believe it's almost the end of September.

Baby girl seems to have grown up so much, she's definitely not a newborn any more! She's moved into the big bath and the big bed (well her cot - it's big for her!). She sleeps through, shes settled, she's got the biggest thighs you've ever seen, she's full of smiles and chatter and interested in the world. She's not into toys but instead loves my cushions, the sheets on my bed and our headboard! She's 100% perfect. (Not that I'm biased!)

We are both still amazed at the beauty of this little bub, and our family. My husband was settling Izzy after her feed the other night and just sat with her while she was sleeping. I said to him what a lovely way for Izzy to finish off her day, he said it was his "Awe-Time"... Just to sit quietly in awe of this little miracle that has come into our lives. How is it possible that we could be so blessed?

"A new baby is like the beginning of all things-wonder, hope, a dream of possibilities." Eda J. Le Shan

So many people had warned us - that this is the end of life as we know it, things will never be the same, gone is your freedom, your sleep, your "me time". So few people were as passionate to tell us the about the overwhelming joy and love and excitement and happiness that a little bub would bring into our lives. It's like we set ourselves up to expect so little! Perhaps that is part of the reason why I'm so constantly amazed at how wonderful it is to be a Mum. How wonderful it is to now be a family.

"Having a baby is like falling in love again, both with your husband and your child." Tina Brown

Of course there's things I miss - having my haircut, *quickly* popping into the shops, shirts without easy boob access, strapless dresses, buying things on Ebay and actually being able to pick them up! But that's all I can really think of! It's definitely the beginning of a new style of living but an amazing one, one where excitement comes from blowing raspberries, a simple bath, a huge burp after a good feed. A life where people say "What have you been up to?" and my answer really is "Nothing"! Where I don't need to tick things off my list in order to feel like I've had a good day - some of my favourite days are the days where Isabelle is unsettled and I have to say to myself "Today you will get NOTHING done... Just Love".

A baby is born with a need to be loved - and never outgrows it." Frank A. Clark

Because at the end of the day, that's all anyone really needs. A whole lot of love.

Loving the big bath

Loving the capsule

Not so sure about the cousins! (Izzy you will LOVE them I promise...We sure do!!!)

Mum's loving these big smiles!

My first picnic with best bud Jessica

Our first fathers day