sleep update #3...

Maggie is now fully off the breast after she feeds to sleep between 7 and 7.30 (sometimes earlier) until around 6am. Sometimes she wakes up once in that period...sometimes she doesn't wake up at all!! Joy!

BUT...

Elanor is a sleep walker. I think her mind works over time, even at night (a bit like her Daddy) and the last few nights she has been getting up an weeing in strange places. Always fun. Not. I am hoping that once she starts big kindy next week this will settle down. We've been talking about it a bit in preparation so perhaps she is a bit apprehensive and that is causing her to walk more. She has also started, seperate from the sleep walking, screaming in the night to wake Maggie up. She has told us it's on purpose. INFURIATING! She won't go back to sleep in her own bed without a fight. There's no room in our bed and she won't sleep on the floor in our room. I have resorted to a sticker chart where she gets a sticker if she has a good night then 10 stickers = a treat of her own choosing. Let's see how it goes.

Ain't that always the way - one thing gets better then something else comes along to rock the boat.

Hey, that's parenthood ya'll!!

birth days...

Enjoying the late afternoon sunshine whilst unwrapping the pot for the planting of the placenta tomorrow on the smallest Hansen lady's first birthday has got me thinking... isn't it funny how generally people don't say happy birth day to the Mama? It's as much your birth day as it is the bebe's, right? I think so.
When I wake up in the morning I'll be thinking of the milestones and times as we go through the day. At 2pm I'll remember how I went downstairs to our bed to lie down with Elanor and how 10 minutes later I was up in the lounge rocking. At 3pm I'll remember the look on Jason's face as he came back from the barn expecting to find Ellie and I sleeping peacefully but instead found me grinding my lower back into the kitchen bench (soooooo good!). And at 6.32pm I'll remember that huge surge of power and emotion as Maggie came into the world...then after the briefest touch was taken away to be put on a ventilator. At 10.10pm before I go to bed I'll remember the first time I saw that baby girl, all tubes and wires and smushed up little face.

I think all Mamas deserve a congratulatory hug on their little ones' birth days...no matter how long ago it was.

watching watching...

Ebaby goes to a Steiner kindy 3 half days a week and we try to follow the same principles of providing practical, hands-on activities and environments that encourage creative play - letting her discover things for herself.

I often draw alongside her or she asks me to draw things for her. I have never shown her "how" to draw a face or even a circle and was super stoked when she came to show me this picture after a quiet 15 mins in the playroom...

names added by me...obviously.

was a really proud Mama moment for me but also made me so much more aware of just how much our biggest little is learning from watching us. Makes you think about your behavior huh?Sheeeesh!

PS. Note Daddy's beard!!

closing time...

And so another year comes to a close.
Before you point it out, yes I have not posted for aaaaaages...I couldn't tell you why really other than I simply haven't felt like it. That's all really.

This, 2012, has been a good year. We have welcomed Maggie into the family, J has gotten a new job, Elanor has started kindy and I...well...I'm not sure really. But I have been doing stuff, I swear! I am in a strange place at the moment where I feel a bit like I'm just doing the minimum to get by, a kind of groundhog day funk. I'm sure it'll pass.

In the coming year I look forward to being part of friends' weddings, welcoming some bebes, furthering my sewing, nurturing relationships, taking steps towards making our big build a reality, getting tattooed, making time for husband/wife dates, hanging with the littles, a trip or two around the place, perhaps adding to our brood, doing some sweet baking and learning how to crochet...amongst other things...

Sayonara 2012...it's been nice.

Birthday birthday...

So we have been convinced up until this point that we were going to get Elanor a kune kune for her upcoming 3rd birthday...like these guy...

ohmygosh couldn't you just eat them up! Not literally, of course. We thought it'd 1. be a cool gift 2. be a good way to teach her about caring for animals and why we as a family don't eat them and 3. be like a little dog and they'd be the best of friends forever and ever! But....as Jason quite rightly said last night, the thought of bringing in something else that we (because it will be all on us for a few years) have to be responsible for, with the "sleep situation" and everything else seems...well...a bit mad! So the piggy may have to wait until next year. Or, if I get my way, until Christmas, because we all know Maggie will be sleeping like a champ by then har har har...

Now we're stuck as to what to get her, as we'd be so set on a pig...thinking caps ON!

as you do...

is it weird that this is what makes me feel normal?

 as part of the Hamilton Fringe 2012 we are doing an even where basically we dress up as zombie brides and dance in the centre of town.  I have been feeling a bit off lately (had 3 teeth pulled out of my head yesterday too so that'll help...) and dressing up and getting back to "work" has restored a little bit of my normal self. I am a person outside of and apart from being a Mama and we often let ourselves forget that...good job we have fake blood and slashed up wedding dresses to remind us!

Miss Maggie FiveMonths...

This is Maggie...she is now 5 months old. Wow!

..she is (as you can see) pretty free and easy with the smiles, most of the time.

Maggie loves rolling around the floor and kind of shunting herself forwards to get around.

She LOVES Elanor, boob and that little plastic teething fish (photo left).

Night time sleeping is becoming crappier but we're just weathering the storm for now.

She has big blue eyes, slightly ginger hair and a little red strawberry on her bum.

We are as in love as ever. Happy Whanau. 

taking a trip...

I am so so super jump around excited...but also a little nervous...the babes and I are taking a trip to Wellington, sans Daddy. I saw flights on grab a seat for $39 each way and thought please overdraft thank you! Neither of them have been to Wellington before (not that they'll remember or appreciate it!) and Maggie is yet to meet a very dear and special friend of mine, Rosemary.
Luckily the plane journey is only an hour...I just dread juggling babes, bags and paperwork at the airport but I'm sure we'll be fine. I mean, I flew all the way to England, granted I only had one little, but still...

HUZZAH!!

bathroom...

I got bored of looking at a white wall... so I used this tutorial to make a friendly reminder from some fabric I could find no other use for.

before...

hammer...?

after...

Public health warnings (and mine and Elanor's hands) have never looked so good...

and we're back...

after pity-party-5000 last week, we found things to make us smile this weekend. Including but not limited to a new character, Elanor breastfeeding Dora, sweet shades, new slippers, a pirate baby and Maggie looking up ways to use our land with Dada...

onwards and upwards

xx

weaning...or not...

BFF #3: breast milk can be used to get rid of warts - true story!

I often find myself wondering how long Maggie will feed for (already?! I hear you screaming). Only because one day, out of the blue, at 10 months old Elanor just stopped. She was still feeding around 4-6 times a day and just stopped. I tried offering her the breast for about 2 weeks with the only result being me getting upset, so finally gave it up as a lost cause. It really threw me off...I was, for some reason, expecting a nice gentle weaning period. Not so. Which is why I wonder whether the same thing will happen again, or not.

check those delicious rolls!

 For now we are just packing on the pounds! Unfortunately that refers to both of us...but that's for another day. sigh.

30 (day) drawing challenge - #11, turning point in your life...

So there are two turning points featured here... Having Elanor and giving birth to Maggie. Surprisingly, two different things and two different turns.

This is how I remember Ebaby's first few weeks/months. We called her little bean - butter bean in the yellow wrap, green bean in the green wrap and jelly bean in the blue. Nerds. At this point my life took a turn towards learning to go with the flow... In my mind I had always been pretty relaxed and adaptable but after the first couple of days of worrying about how much she was feeding, when she was sleeping etc etc I just thought "let go, go with it" and we did...and things were awesome. Things ARE awesome. I am finding it harder to employ this philosophy now that she is a 2, nearly 3 year old but I still remind myself daily to guide her gently...to go with it.

The second turning point came in giving birth to Maggie...
(or Magga-wagga as she has been christened by Elanor)

Yes, that is a drawing of me pushing a baby out of my vagina and HOLY COW it was good! Not only did my life turn with the double trouble (something I am still getting used to every day!) into a kind of bubble where I do anything and everything every day to keep the littles happy and everything else comes after... I realize that this is not sustainable but am more than happy to be doing it for now. Anyways, it was the physical act of giving birth to Maggie that turned me this time. After the 14 hour labour that resulted in an emergency c-section with Elanor I was left feeling kind of deflated. Nothing had gone to "plan" of a natural waterbirth and with that I felt like I had failed. I hear you screaming "noooooooooo" but one can never account for ones feelings and that was how I felt. Not overwhelmingly but it was just there like a soft hum in the background so when I found out we were having #2 I was dead set on pushing this baby out. Hypnobirthing CDs, yoga, squatting, acupuncture to turn the bugger...but most of all it was the support of my husband, my midwife and my family that I believe enabled me to do it. Scratch that - it was the intense belief that Baby and I could and would do it! And do it we did - 4 hours from the first niggle to that beautiful babe being in my arms and I was healed (not literally...the stitches did that!).

Baby Joy!

shoeless punks (and a sleeping babe) hit the park...

Yesterday we took a drive to a new park we'd seen in the Northern burbs on the way back from Nana's house. We then proceeded to have a shoeless frolic...bearing in mind that it it winter!! No black toes here though, it was 16 degrees; much sandy-toed fun was had. You really can't go past a nice bright winter's day.

                                              

set those piggies free people!

note: we did actually have gumboots on when we got there.

(little miss) wardrobe Wednesday...

Here is what most of the cuter part of this household were wearing on this expletively cold Wednesday...

Maggie

Cardi, Salvation army - $2

Bodysuit, Cotton on Kids - $6

Pants, Croutons...a gift from the lovely Rhiannon

Elanor

Thermal, god knows...?

Cardi, Farmers - $5

Leggings, Rock a Bubba - $12

Apple, vege king

 

what is that???

wardrobe Wednesday...

Elanor has joined me this week...

 

Elanor

Cardi, Farmer - $5

Tshirt, op shop - 50c

Jeans, present from Nana

Shoes, Warehouse - $7

Moi

Top, Northbeach - $25

Top type dress thing, Cotton on - $15

Tights, Glassons - $15

Boots, Shoe Warehouse - $30

Daddy's old tshirt = cute singlet dress

Those of you who know my husband may well rcognise this chewbacca tshirt. It had been a favourite for a good few years but over the last couple it has become a little...ahem...snug, and just generally worn out. He was going to send it to the sallies; "heck no!" cried I (clearly he doesn't know how hard it is to find star wars related clothes for 2 year old girls...!!) and here is Elanor's new singlet dress.

Elanor is a terrible model. She cannot stand still.

But you get the general gist...
Also, that is felt pen on her legs in the first shot. She has a strange fascination to drawing on herself then saying "pretty, like Daddy".

Joy!

happy things...

Some things that are making me happy today:

1. Pillowcases I found at the op shop...I'm thinking summer dress for Elanor. Yuss!

2. Awesome new slippers - the old stinkers are in bin city. Kmart, $8.

3. Popcorn. 2 cups = 2 points. Boom!

4. Crazy children. Heart.

I have decided to make more of a concerted effort to focus on the positives in every day... turns out, there are so many more when you stop and take a minute to appreciate them...