It's a girl!

It has been a fantastic summer break for the whole family. The weather has been great and we have been lucking to have Jem with us for all of Jan, so lots of family time and beach time.

And then....

On 22nd January  (my actual due date!) Roma Rose was born!
She was born at 7:05am, she weight 3.485 kg (7lbs 11oz), 53 cm long.

The birth was slow to get started and then once it got some momentum there was no going back! She was born within an hour. I am feeling fantastic, and love not having all the physical  restraints that i had with a cesarean.

We are absolutely thrilled with our little girl, especially Banjo! Of all the kids, he is really quite besotted by her, and now forgets he wanted a brother!

It is great to be back. There will be lots to blog about. Banjo starting prep, many photo's and reports of Roma! And how my days will be quite different with 2 little ones under 2 at home.

Note the dark hair! Not sure where that came from!

Lets recap....

Since this time last year we;

• moved down to Barwon Heads. So..
• the kids started new schools and kindergarten, then..
• we decided to expand our family to 6, then decided to..
• cancelled our Brunswick renovation and stay put. Then..
• packed up the brunswick house entirely and rented it out just before we...
• bought a holiday rental and furnished it with only days left before high summer, and
• embark on a smaller reno at Sunnyside to accommodate the new arrival and general growth of the family! 
• There was also the family trip to Byron Bay, mid year family skiing holiday and my very extravagant trip to Europe! 

We all know how fast time goes by but i really feel like we have had to work through some really big life decision and changes, which made this year memorable, and also bonded us as a family unit very tightly. All our decision have been hard ones , but have also felt right. And i can truly say this feels like home.

Jem and I are supper excited about the arrival of bubs, and we cant wait to find out how this little one will shape our family.

As i right this i have 4 weeks till my due date and i am feeling fantastic! Cant believe it really. I think in my post The Third Trimester is was feeling really apprehensive of how i would go towards the end, but i am still really comfortable and relaxed. Lets hope the final stage goes as smoothly!

As for the older kids;

This is Banjo with his mates at his Kinder breakup. Gabe is in the middle and Remy. He is very close to his mates, when i look at this picture i cant help but try to imagine them as teenagers. It is a big step in a little boys life, leaving kinder for school and i am really proud of Banjo and how far he has come socially.

The small town aspect has been great in relation to kinder/school transition. There is only one kinder and one school, so all his friends move on together. There is no goodbyes, and difficult explanations about why you wont get to see your friends much now. This has made him extra confident about starting school.

Hero has also had a big transition with starting a new school, but is thriving now!

This photo was taken today on the last day of school where she received one of only 2 awards given out in her class. She was so excited and proud, and so was I. She is a joy to watch as she guides through school, and i am so grateful that her personality and strength was rewarded for her effort this year.

So after all the year has brought i am looking forward to,

• lazy mornings
• watching the kids frolic in the sea
• some quite dinners with Jem while the kids are being babysat
• eating ice-cream in the hot afternoon sun
• having friends come and visit
• having family bike rides along the river at dusk
• and of course meeting the new addition to the family!

So until a bit later in the New Year, that is what i will be doing. What about you?!

Merry Christmas
xoxox

Fig Tree House

Sorry it has been a while between posts but things have been pretty busy here.

Mostly due to the setting up of Fig Tree House in preparation to the holiday season.

For those that dont know about it, Fig Tree is a house that we bought after we decided to stay here in Barwon Heads insted of renovating Brunswick.

This house will be very handy next year for visitors to use when it's not rented, and for the grandparents to stay when bubs arrives because Sunnyside will be full!

We have been working hard to get it on-line and now it is up! Fig Tree House can now be viewed and booked!

I would love to know your thoughts on how it reads and looks. Should the 1st image be an exterior one or interior?

Does it need more adjectives it it description?

And of course, make sure to let anyone that might be interested in it know what a wonderful place it is to stay!

Hero turns 7.

Hero's birthday was last week. She choose to have a cupcake decorating party with 7 friends.
It is hard to believe that she is 7 years old. At times she can seem so much older. She is only 30 cm shorter then then me and can be such a mature and wise girl for her age. Listening to her read to Iggy and Banjo on the couch really cements how far she has come since starting school 2 years ago. And i get a bit emotional about what an amazing sister she is to Iggy and will be to her new brother/sister.

I love this sequence of shots. She had just won the trophy for best decorated cupcake, and they really demonstrate a comic and silly side that is hard to capture in photo's.

Jem and i often think about her personality and wonder how it will evolve as she enters the teenager and adult years. Is this a good age to help direct their interests in a more refined way?
Less free play more structured activities and hobbies?
Could we influence who they will be or will life and fate do it regardless?

Projects

With only 6 weeks till Christmas i am feeling a bit daunted by what needs to be completed. These are not just individual things but major projects.

In 2 weeks we get the keys to "The Fig Tree House" which needs to be fully furnished and ready for bookings over the december/Jan holiday period.So stay turned for that!

Soon after Christmas we want to move Hero into Iggy's room and put the boys together. This is a major reshuffle, but one that has to happen. Hero really needs her own space now, and needs a place to chill out without noisy boys getting into her things!

Iggy's room is quite small and it will be a real challenge to create a space that is both organised and functional as well as lovely. It will be her first own room so i am keen to try and make it as special as i can, but there is a few things to fit in!
The above images are a bit of inspiration but aren't really realistic to the space.

These eclectic and colourful ones might be more true to form. The images are from lapetite magazine which is well worth a look!

This move also means that Iggy will need to go into a big boys bed in preparation for the new arrival of bub's number 4.

There is of cause Christmas shopping to be done too!

Birthday, My Birthday

36 years old?

On Sunday i will 36 years old.

Turning 18 could not come quick enough. 21 was a bit anti climatic. I dreamt about being 30 and loved it. I had thought about 35, but it passed by without to much thought.

36 feels like a bigger step for some reason. Maybe because it is on the other side of my thirties and heading towards 40, but i think it has more to do with nostalgia, and re-capping the last 6 years. I feel as if 4 pregnancies have taken a toll physically on me and i am determined to get my physical confidence back after this one is born.

When i took this pic, i thought about putting on some make-up and and trying a bit harder, but i think it depicts how i feel and who i am at this time in my life.
My fringe desperately needs a cut, hence why i am holding it out the way. In contrast to that i have my nails done because i went to the Melbourne Cup 2 days ago and haven't taken the polish off yet, and i look a bit tired, which is how i feel most days.

Don't get me wrong life is good, it's just that the person i see in the mirror is not quite the person i expect to see at 36. I'm sure it is another example of how fast life goes by.

I am looking forward to a lovely weekend of sunny days at the beach, eating with great friends and of cause being with my incredible family on my 36th birthday.


Happy Birthday to me!!

The third trimester!

I haven't written much about my pregnancy, this has not been intentional, there has just been a lot going on. Saying that just because this is my forth, it does not mean that it is less exciting. Not a day goes by that i don't get a flutter of anticipation as to who might be inside me. Especially when i step back and observe Hero, Banjo and Iggy. It is amazing how different they are as individual.

The sex of this baby is another interesting counter-part. If it is a boy, there is no argument that there will be an over balance of males to females, and how will this change the dynamics of the house hold? The symmetry of 3 girls and 3 boys sounds good in theory but would it be as perfect as it seems?
Having a gang of boys sounds fun, too.

In the end, we are happy with whatever we get, and will wait till this bubs arrives to find out.

I am a little apprehensive about the up and coming 3 months, i have a lot of growing to do, and with life being so busy with the others, i think it is going to be a struggle towards the end. I have been really lucky so far in all my pregnancies (health wise) but day-to-day life could not be more jam packed this time round.

I supposed the one positive is that it will go fast!