Lil D

Little D, you light up my life.

The little teether now has two teeth, his two front bottom chompers. 

They both arrived within a day or two of each other. We've got mountains of drool around these parts. Food is one of D's favourite things in the world. It's quite hilarious to watch the little piggy figure out how to get the food from his tray to hand and into his mouth. He used to dislike any food with a bit of slime, but now he'll happily gobble anything up. He's working so hard at crawling, and he's getting very close. He is also quite the fan of pulling himself up on furniture. He's not quite standing, but somewhere in between a planking and standing position. He even lets out a grunting noise as these exercises take place.

A couple days ago he put up a bit of a fight for his afternoon nap. This meant a few extra cuddles from Mummy. Once he was fast asleep I was overcome with joy and my eyes welled up with tears. I came downstairs and let them out to Paul. I couldn't help myself, and as I was crying I said "I love him so much. He makes me so happy", and I do, and he does. That feeling of ecstasy must have been preparing me for three wake ups that night. ;) Lucky for both of us there's no one I'd rather steal all my sleep.

Chia pudding is one of my all time favs thus far!

I'm a pretty big fan of greek yogurt and banana bread too!

Foods I've tried:

Mainly I like whatever Daddy & Mummy are eating!

Fruits-apple/pear/banana/strawberry/mango/avocado/cucumber/kiwi fruit

Vegetable-carrot/broccoli/sweet potato/potato/onion/tomato/capsicum

Beans-black/kidney/lentil/chickpea

Nuts-peanut butter/almond flour

Meats/Animal products-kangaroo/chicken/salmon/basa/beef/lamb/greek yogurt/eggs

Grains-oats/brown rice/wholemeal pasta/quinoa/chia seeds

I will call you Teddy and you will be my best friend.

D & I had a Mummy/baby coffee and op shop date the other day. 

While I drank my latte I finally let him shove some leaves in his mouth!

Someone had a lot of fun eating their lunch and chasing the seagulls. 

We've had the longest summer ever, and we just keep taking advantage while we can. 

Tomorrow he'll be eight months old. Each day that passes he moves a little faster, makes a few new sounds, and looks less like a baby. I swear I'll have heart failure when he loses his leg rolls. The bouncy chair is now put away (for baby number two). He's been in his own room for two months now. His patience for the carseat and pram are still quite low. On the plus side I can now get him to laugh just as hard as Daddy can. I'm doing as my Mom has instructed, and allowing him to play in the dirt. The baby proofing continues as he begins to pull himself up on furniture and go for anything within eyes reach. This little nugget is taking over! Well, truthfully he has been for quite some time. However, it's only just now becoming abundantly more clear. Everyone tells you that you're never ready to be parents and that nothing can truly prepare you. Until you are actually the proud parents of your own little cherub these statements will mean little. I've never been so exhausted/sore/happy/grumpy in all my life. Motherhood has taught me a lot about myself. Predominantly that I can't function with out 1-3 coffees per day. Our journey has only just begun, and I'm thrilled to share this ride with my two wacky boys.

Surprise!

While we were in Minnesota I lined up for our amazing and talented friend Julie to take family photos (our first family photos to boot). I'll share those in another post as there are just too many goodies! I immediately told my sister Molly about the photos, as we talk about everything and anything. She was excited for me. I let her know exactly when they'd be done as she needed to know our daily ins and outs, so that we could see each other as much as possible. Little did I know she'd be using this info to hit me with the sweetest surprise. She's got a thing for surprises that sister of mine. She also loves to make people feel special. I'm pretty darn lucky to have blood in common with such a sweet specimen. Between Molly, Mom/Dad, Aunt Jenny, Katie and Paul a surprise belated 30th birthday was in the works. Special mention: my best friend Katie couldn't be there as our trip was delayed from the original planned date. She didn't let that stop her from being part of the party. She sent through some super festive and totally Meaghan decorations for the party.

Anyways...after our photos we were meant to be having an early Thanksgiving family dinner at my Aunt Jenny's. Our photos took a little longer than expected as we were dealing with a hungry newborn who also liked to sleep on the boob at the time. Now I'm lucky if he'll feed for five minutes without getting distracted. Back to my point, was there a point? Molly called me a few times to see what the hold up was. I just laughed at her impatience. It's not unlike her to ring me several times an hour while I'm in Minnesota. We love talking to each other. But of course she kept calling so that she could get us timed in perfectly.

I walked thru the door with sunnies on. I felt like Jack Nicholson, and it was practically pitch black. But I didn't need light to hear a big "surprise"! Then I saw about 30 smiling faces and my eyes welled right up with tears. My beautiful family and some of my oldest friends made it and it was absolutely wonderful. Three of us had babies all within about two months of one another. Wild right? We finally got to introduce each other to our babies. I also got to meet my nephew Kenneth for the first time and he's already over one! 

The day was filled with so much love and so many laughs. Mom cooked up salmon wellington for me, broccoli, and mashed potatoes all special request. If you know my Mom you know she's a fantastic cook, so it was obviously delish! I don't think Duncan was in my arms for nearly the whole night apart from his feeds. Just typing this makes me miss everyone all over again. Watching my loved ones loving my son is probably the single most wonderful thing I've ever witnessed. 

Caribou pitstop and I was non the wiser...yet. 

These weasels didn't give up the surprise.

Here are some of the images from the day c/o none other photographer extraordinaire: Julie Abnet

Big, huge thank you to all involved. It was a truly wonderful day, and I can't articulate just how much I appreciated it. It's a shame we're so far apart, but that doesn't diminish or take away our love even in the least bit. I talk to my sister every day still. How lucky are we to live in this tech crazed world? Without facetime and whatsapp texting I'd be lost, and the distance would feel a lot more obvious. Looking forward to our next visit. Although, we're hinting that everyone needs to come us for the next little while. Flying 10,000 miles with Little D was almost as difficult as having a 15 hour/natural labour. ;)

Month 7!

Our cheeky monkey is nearly 8 months. I realise I say this far too much, but seriously, where has the time gone?!

His little personality shines brighter every day, and we couldn't love it more.

We've recently began our journey with baby led weaning. Duncan is taking to it like a fish to water. In only a few days he's gone from being confused about food on his tray to now feeding himself. Food time has gone from stressful to great fun! He's commando crawling like a mad man. He hasn't gotten the hang of crawling on all fours just yet, but that doesn't slow him down in the least. His favourite place to party is underneath the dining room table and under his jumping chair, which is both adorable and hilarious. I'm having a hard time keeping up with everything that happens daily! This little man is learning so many new tricks. The biggest excitement of this month has been the arrival of Duncan's first tooth!

A few of this months highlights included:
-Lots of time spent at the beach as possible.
Including a beach catch up with our mates, the D's!
-Rhyme time at the local library almost every week.
-Duncan and Daddy had a boys night too. Mummy went out with Mother's group for a birthday celebration. Thank goodness Daddy was around the next day too, as Mummy was TIRED.
-Neighbourhood and beach walks in Williamstown.
I've started walking with Duncan most mornings and afternoons during the week just before nap time. It's nice and calming for the both of us.
-Neighbour day event in the neighbourhood.

I'm still trying to write love letters to Duncan as often as I find time. They've gone to more of a weekly activity vs daily, but I like to make them a priority.