BBQ

Today we went to a Grand Final BBQ. Plenty of sunshine, sausages and kids playing made it a very enjoyable occasion. It was hosted by Katie Grayham & hubby Jason whom although I've only met recently turn out to have friends in common. Was lovely to relax & chat with old & new friends, whilst the kids ran amuck in the garden.


Happy Rich with sausage, beer & son.


Happy Winter scoffing icecream whilst having a cuddle.


Playmate Mum hang'n in the cubby house 

Balloons

We are getting plenty of milleage out of Dad's B-day balloons.



 

33

Winter & I were so excited about Rich's return that we spent an hour waiting outside on the front verandah.

To add to the excitiement, it was also Rich's birthday so we had presents, balloons and a special hat waiting inside for him.


Rich getting into the party spirit.


board shorts from Winter


Shinny shoes from me 

Missing Dad

Rich has been frequently jetting off to Sydney & Adelaide since our move to Melbourne.

This week he was in Sydney for 3 days and was sorely missed by both Winter & me.




As I was not always able to be at his beck & call, Winter didn't hesitate to tell me that the service wasn't up to scratch.

Tail

Winter loved this Kangaroo Tail & pouch he found at the playcentre.

It stayed firmly attached for the rest of the afternoon's activities.






Note Bongo getting bigger (only 14 weeks to go OMG!!)


Boing! 

Adrenaline

Yesterday we went to Tumbles in Williamstown.

Winter loved the big equiptment.


V Big Slide

made it alive!


another Big Slide


more more more! 

Mud & Thrift

Whilst Winter detsroyed his outfit yesterday I felt comfort in the knowledge that it had cost me less than $30.

Kmart T- Shirt: $7.99
Target Shorts: $10.99
TargetThongs: $6.99




 

Hot Day

30 degrees today so we had fun with the hose & some buckets



 

The 2 of us

Winter & Polar bear hang'n out today




 

Auction

Rich and I have been madly househunting recently. We found a place that suited us in the right location (Westgarth part of Northcote) needing just the right level of improvement. It was a cute but sturdy brick place on a quiet street (but just around the corner from the shops) with a station/trams nearby. Its only downfall was its small size and courtyard garden. We were prepared to put up with this in order to prioritise our need for social interaction over space (being new in town). We planned to look for something bigger in about 4 yrs time.

We were determined to get it as we haven't found anything else remotely suitable and are in a hurry to settle before we welcome Bongo into the world (im due NYE).

We did all our homework, working out the budget, paying for a building survey and a solicitor look at the contract etc etc. We had a startegy for the auction (dad is an old hat at them and likes to cooly slow down the bidding with low incremental offers at the right time). I had moving in in my head.

Sadly it didn't go to plan and sold for over $100 000 over the guide price. Ouch!




If you look closely you can see Dad and Rich plotting under the tree. The guys in the cap on the far left won. He had a bidding war with the girl in the green dress's partner on the top right. They both looked like double income no kids types with lots of money.

I was dissapointed and admittedly had a tear or too hidden behind my oversized sunnies for a min as it passed out of our reach. I was relieved however that we missed out by such a large amount. Another saving grace was that we finally saw another place with potential that morning so the saga continues... 

Surprises

Someone has unplugged the lead for my digi cam from the laptop and kindly stuffed in my cup of tea (thankfully it still works!).



The classic 'hide the vegimite toast in the bottom drawer' trick. Maybe an encouraging indication of a desire to put things away? 

Neighbours

We went to Daisy's house today. Daisy was very patient with Winter who had a feild day rummaging through her toys. A delerious game of 'bang the big ball' was had which involved lots of laughing and falling about. It was super cute to watch.





 

Proud mum

Mum secretly thinks Winter is gifted with the ball. He seems to effortlessly keep the ball in front of him kicking whilst running.






 

Ruffian

We took our time cruzing to the park yesterday as it was a warm sunny afternoon.


On the way Winter had fun doing some banging


as well as fiddling with things in front gardens


pushing over the witches hat was a highlight


we paused briefly for a cuddle 

Cat

There are lots of cats in Yarraville. Winter is facinated with them and desperately wants to play with the one that has adopted our back garden.


Yesterday Winter was excited to find him asleep in the tunnel.


come back!

Here the cat was about to bite


Winter dosn't understand why it dosn't like its tail pulled or the dirt etc he offers 

Mr Independant

Winter is at an age where wants to do everything himself. Lots of 'no no no's' and pushing my hands away when subtly I try to keep things on course.




As a result our days are rather slow and chaotic


Here Winter wanted to put his own sunscreen on. This is fine except that he wanted to put it on and on and on, just on his cheeks and chin. I guess an unburnt white beard section on a sunburnt face will be a novel look! 

First Love

Winter has recently formed an tight bond with the 2 bears he sleeps with, Bedtime Bear & Polar Bear. I put the Bedtime bear in his cot months ago hoping he would form an attachment, wisely heeding advice to make sure their comforter is replaceable as all hell can break loose if they get lost. Bedtime bear was a gift but I have noticed him for sale in a number of shops so felt safe I could replace him if need be.

On a whim I also put Polar bear in his bed recently (BT looked lonely). Unfortunately this has turned out to be a fatal mistake as Polar Bear is suddenly the biggest love in Winter's life. He comes everywhere, gets showered with kisses and is quickly turning grey and worn looking. He was found in a charity shop and although new looking at the time now looks like he might not survive the washing machine.

I am considering attaching a homming device.







BT is Winter's #2. He still gets carted around but also discarded every now and then.

Blue Eyes

Looking cute in a new top


(note if you look carefully at his hair there is evidence of mum having had some fun with the hairspray earlier) 

After work work-out

Rich sometimes makes it home in time to join us at the playground for a quick play.


Winter showing dad his new monkey bar tricks.



No help required thanks!


Happy to see each other


Ever popular action dad antics 

New hangouts

Winter and I have been enjoying exploring Yarraville's local playgrounds.

We have one just around the corner which despite having fairly rubbish equiptment is fun to visit because it is usually busy with other mums & bubs (important factor when trying to muscle into new mummy networks).

Here Winter has comandeering some other boy's mud pie equiptment.




The photos below are from a playground about 10 mins walk away close to the main village street. We go there most afternoons post grocery shopping to delight in its 'five star' attributes, the daddy of which has to be this excellent sandpit.



 

Elbow grease

One drawback to living in such a beautiful space is that I have to spend most of my time shadowing Winter with rubber gloves and chux at the ready.



Typical breakfast mess (extends to the floor)


Vegemite

Melbourne

Appologies for the recent lack of Home Girl posts. Unfortunately depite being married to a geek it has taken me this long to get the technology sorted out at our new headquarters.

We have rented a 3 bed house in Yarraville featuring a fancy architectual extention and garden at the back.

We have it for 4 months whilst we find somewhere to settle permanently.

Yarraville is a little village that is 10 mins from the city but affordable because its 'over the bridge'. It mostly attracts alternative types with young families and has a earthy-organic-community kinda vibe.

We have been enjoying having such a spacious peaceful environment. Life feels calmer but that could also be attributed to our lack of social life in a new city.