January birthdays

Dear Matthew and Toby,

 

In January we celebrate my birthday and your Ma Ma's birthday. This year on my birthday we had a garage sale with Ma Ma in the morning (and made a total of about $20!) and a family dinner with your dad's side of the family in the evening. Your dad made a yummy pasta dish and salads and your nanna made a lasagna and crumbed chicken. We also had a delicious birthday cake (see photos!) and I was showered with Bunnings vouchers (on request as we're currently renovating our house to get it ready to sell at some point this year) and some beautiful roses. Your dad also bought me some pants I was eyeing off and Ma Ma and your dad coincidentally both got me salad servers. It was a really lovely birthday.

 

 The next day we had dinner with my side of the family to celebrate both mine and Ma Ma's birthday (we are four days apart but Ma Ma and Gumps were leaving for Melbourne for a holiday the next day so we celebrated early). We managed to source a ham at the shops leftover from Christmas and along with a few salads we had a yummy dinner followed by Robyn's black forest ice cream cake. Libby also joined us which was really lovely and Matt you were so happy to see her.

 

It was a brilliant birthday weekend and I was absolutely showered with love from everyone! I have to mention though that some of my favourite gifts weren't physical gifts, including aunty Robyn collecting something from Joondalup for me so that I didn't have to travel that far with Toby in the car as he's taken to crying on long journeys, your dad, nanna and Robyn cooking, your dad driving me to book club so I could sit next to Toby so he wouldn't cry and Aunty Chantel doing the dishes after dinner. These things meant so much to me, much more so than anything as they meant I had a calm, relaxing weekend enjoying myself instead of having an anxiety attack in the car with a screaming baby, running around trying to cook while looking after small children and doing dishes for days afterwards. I hope you remember this as you grow older - the best gifts you can give people are your hands to help.

 

Love you,

 

Mum xxx



 

 

Point Walter and the Zoo

Dear Matthew and Toby

 

We've had a bit of a lazy, relaxed start to the new year. A couple of nice things we've done are heading to Point Walter with your cousins for a picnic and a trip to the zoo with Ma Ma and my cousins.

 

The day we choose to head to Point Walter was a beautiful sunny day with a nice amount of breeze, but there was a fire in the hills and as the day progressed the skies got darker and darker, and there was even ash flying through the air. Matt, you and Harry had a brilliant time shooting water pistols at each other while the girls doted on Toby. I love that we visit Point Walter regularly, especially with your cousins, as it's a place where I used to visit with my cousins as a kid too, walking the sand bar and jumping off the jetty.

 

We visited the zoo (and Ma Ma got a membership too!) in early January before my cousins headed back to Queensland and Matt, you had fun showing everyone the animals. We were there during the penguin feeding and the elephant show and you enjoyed sitting up the front with a few of the girls during it. They certainly doted on you and in the days following their departure you have gone searching the spare rooms at Ma Ma and Gump's house for them to no avail (although Libby has stayed on to nanny for some of my cousins).

 

It's been a lovely start to 2018.

 

Love you boys,

 

Mum xxx

 

 

 

 

Dinosaur exhibit

Dear Matthew and Toby

During the Christmas/New Year break, we took you both to the Dinosaur exhibit at the Convention Centre in the city. We made a day of it, taking the train in and enjoying a yummy lunch together afterwards.

Matt you have shown an interest in dinosaurs for a while now, particularly the dinosaur known as ankylosaurus, and it was great fun watch you engage with the huge life-sized dinosaurs, do dinosaur puzzles and follow dinosaurs footprints. You also went digging for bones and crawling through tunnels, along with colouring in a dinosaur that then walked across a screen.

It was a fantastic exhibit and Toby you slept pretty much all the way through it!

Love you,

Mum xxx