A day at the goat farm

Yesterday we headed up to Kirsti's for our ABA barbeque. Kirsti and her family live up in Wandin and own a goat farm - kid heaven (yes, both human children and goats lol) It was a lovely day with great company and great food. Kate was there with Harrison and Claire and Izzy, Tom and Oscar came too. Esme and Jacob had a ball. Esme was so excited to see the goats and kept trying to kiss them all! Jacob just ran around the paddock chasing the goats and trying to pick them up (poor things!)

I think the highlight of the day though was Oscar jumping into the goat’s water fully clothed! Clothes were soon discarded! He looked a tad cold by the end of it all though ;)

Here's some photos of our shenanigans:

Waiting to go in to the paddock and baby goats!

Tim showing Esme a goat and Esme ‘kissing’ a goat!

More kisses and pats

Jacob chasing the goats and trying to pick them up!

Kate and Claire

Esme having a ride on Daddy’s shoulders (all was good until Esme grabbed his hair and ear!)

Esme's first birthday!!

Well, I did mean to write this after Esme's birthday but it's now more than a week later and I'm only just writing it! Time passes by too quickly...I still can't believe my little girl is ONE already! Where did the year go? Jacob's first year seemed to go so slowly, it was a really hard year with him but I have just been enjoying every moment with Esme. Life is so busy with two kids (can't believe I still want more!!) that time passes by so quick and Esme has grown up before I have even noticed! I still think of her as my little baby and it's only after seeing her around little babies that I suddenly realise that she no longer is, she's a little girl with a very unique and determined personality!!

Esme has learned to do so much in her first year. She went from rolling at a couple of months old to crawling at 6 months and walking at 11 months. She is a big climber and likes to get herself stuck in some very interesting places, on the blackboard ledge, through the handles of the walker. Her favourite place to climb is Jacob's high chair which she uses to hop on the kitchen table. Even though she's pretty good at getting down herself, we have to make sure we tip it over so she can't climb it when we're not around! Esme has a very BIG personality! It seems I have two kids with VERY different personalities. While Jacob is quite reserved and quiet (in public ;) ) Esme is the little socialite! She loves to do things to grab people's attention and always has a smile for everyone. She has a very distinct 'cheeky look' that she gives as she goes off to do something she shouldn't be doing!

We celebrated Esme's special day with dinner with Nanna and Granddad and a little cupcake with a candle (which was gobbled down very quickly I might add!) Then, on the Sunday, we had a party at my Mum and Dad's for her. It was a lovely day shared with close family and friends who have been a big part of Esme's life so far.

Here’s some photos from her actual birthday (photos from party still to come – we were a bit too busy to take photos so had to rely on others ;) )

Unwrapping presents with some help from big brother (she’s got the idea already though!)

Giving her new doll a kiss

The cake

And no first birthday is complete without a cake eating photo!!

Family holiday to Hotham

This July saw us heading up to Hotham for our annual skiing holiday with Chris’ family. We went up for just over a week. I can’t say it was the best skiing this year but still lots of fun! Chris and I even got out on the slopes on our own while Chris’ parents looked after the kids – bonus!

It was even more special this year because Jacob did some skiing for the first time ever. Before we went away we weren’t sure if he would actually want to ski as he can be a bit tentative about trying new things so we didn’t bother hiring any ski stuff from down here. Turns out we majorily underestimated him!! As soon as he saw the ski lift he wanted to go up it! We went and got him fitted with skis, expecting him to suddenly decide he didn’t like them but he didn’t!! He absolutely LOVED being on skis and ‘sliding’ down the slope. The first day we just practiced on the slope near the lodge and the next day we took him up the ski lift and down the run. It was hard work skiing down the slope with him (I only managed it a couple of times – lucky Chris is so fit!!) but he had so much fun! Esme, on the other hand, wasn’t too fussed about the snow ;) She didn’t mind going on a the tobaggan a couple of times but then was a bit over it all (I think all her volumes of clothes made it too hard for her to get around!!) She much preferred getting us all to chase her up the stairs at the lodge!

All in all, it was a lovely week away (if we forget about the kids sleeping so horrendously and waking the whole lodge up at night ;) ) Jacob was so upset about coming home again though. As soon as we were driving away and saying to him that we were going home he said ‘go to the lodge again?’ and when we told him ‘no’ he burst into tears!! Oh dear…Needless to say, I think he’ll be pretty excited to be up there again next year. And maybe we’ll even get Esme up on skis next year too!

My 30th Birthday

I turned 30 this year! Hard to believe, I still feel like a teenager (and I'm sure I still act like one sometimes too!!!) I wonder if you ever feel like you're 'grown up' or if, when you're in your 80's you still feel like you did when you were 20! Hmmm, give me another 50 years and I'll be able to tell you ;)

Anyway, we had a party at Mum and Dad's for my 30th. It was a lovely day. I'm not really one for parties as I don't like being the centre of attention but it was actually really good! We hired a wood-fired pizza oven and then bought a whole heap of pizza ingredients so people could make their own. It made for a really great party I think and those pizzas were soooo delicious!! Chris made a croquemboche (I hope that's the right spelling!) which took a lot of time and effort and didn't quite end up being exactly as we had planned (Chris had to leave the profiteroles on the tin because they didn't come off properly ;) ) but it was all good. The only bad thing is that I ate so many of them on the day that I couldn't eat the leftovers we brought home AND the thought of profiteroles now still makes me feel sick!!

So, a really lovely day shared with family and friends. And a huge thank you to everyone who came and for the presents you brought - I loved all the handmade presents and think I have a whole lot of very creative friends!!

Another 'famous' post

This time for Jacob! Our favourite photographer has pictures of Jacob with his printed and framed photos (yes, it's a bit confusing!) on her website.

Click here and scroll down to the bottom of the page :)

Our big boy turns 3!

I know I've said it many times before, but I can't believe how quickly time flies by! Was it really only three years ago that I left work to be a SAHM? Was it really only three years ago that my life changed in such a big way (in a good way, of course!)

Anyway, Jacob turned 3 on Sunday. He's growing up so quickly! He is seeming more and more like a little boy these days, having proper conversations with us, making jokes and generally being a pain to his sister (as well as loving her too much lol)

We celebrated the day with a little party for him. We had our families and our good friends Lisa, Andrew, Ella and Bethany to celebrate. It was lovely only having a few people up instead of a big party like usual! Jacob had a ball and loved playing with all his presents. We gave him a tyre swing and a proper sandpit for his birthday which he absolutely loved. It's so nice to have a few 'outdoor' things for him to do now as he loves being outside!

Happy Birthday to our beautiful little boy!