Josie at 6 months

Dear Matthew, Toby and Josie, 

6 months of you baby girl 💜

Josie, this has been another beautiful month with you. I can’t believe we are halfway through your first lap around the sun already. You have been wizzing around in circles and backwards on your tummy for a while now, and sitting pretty well most of the time. You started solids and didn’t love it, but you devour water like it’s going out of fashion so I’m calling that a win. Most importantly, since we started back doing the school run there have been minimal breakdowns from either us in the car 👏 and you very happily sit in the ergo while we walk Matt to his classroom every day. You love to dance with your brothers (Head and Heart seems to be your favourite) and you start laughing the second Toby starts spinning around in circles. Your personality is really beginning to shine, you’re pretty laid back until someone who is not an immediate family member decides to come into the house, then you let them know they’re not wanted by losing it 😆Fingers crossed things go ok this week when I leave you for the first time (I can’t believe we haven’t left each other’s side in half a year, I’m going to miss you at uni!). You love our animals and let them know by yanking fist fulls of fur from them any chance you get. You are still a happy sleeper-on-mummy and I can’t believe how much sleep we still get from this method (what are sleep regressions again?!). These updates are reminding me in very real terms to savour your gorgeous squishiness Josie because as they’re very evidently proving, babies don’t keep 💕

Love you all, 

Mum xxx

P.S. Josie you're wearing the outfit your Aunty Robyn made you for Christmas in these photos. 

Daddy's birthday

 Dear Matthew, Toby and Josie,

This week we celebrated your dad's birthday! Your dad is not one for big celebrations, so on his insistence we kept it very low-key and just had a birthday dinner at home of yummy Japanese take-away and a delicious caramel cheesecake for dessert. He chose his own presents - a crazy coloured mug and a new bike so that he can go on regular rides with you Matt, now that you know how to ride! It was nice to be able to celebrate your daddy in such a casual way and no doubt we'll be doing it in similar fashion from now on! You are all very lucky to have such a caring and supportive dad, he goes above and beyond for you all and loves you all deeply.

Love you, 

Mum xxx

Matt's first day of year 2

 

 

 Dear Matthew, Toby and Josie,

Well! Luckily for us Lockdown 2.0 only lasted five days and so the start of year 2 was only delayed by a week Matt! You were perfectly happy to stay home another week and play Minecraft with your classmates but you were equally excited to start your school year too, running into your classroom on day one without even a goodbye!! It thrills me that you are so excited to start school, after almost a two months break! I love your school, the families and community in general is so loving and supportive. This year you have two teachers, and I know them both from the pick up line and know that they are both beautiful, caring women who want to foster a strong connection with each of their students. You are always doing MiniLit again this year with another wonderful teacher who absolutely adores you. I have a feeling it's going to be a great year!

In addition to school, you've also recently started gymnastics, which you love, and we have a tutor named Tara coming to help you with your school work (because unfortunately my hands are exceptionally full right now) and you are doing so well with her too. 

Love you all, 

Mum xxx

P.S. Check out my Facebook page for more gorgeous photos, I just didn't want to post anything online that may give away where you're at school, for safety purposes.

Lockdown 2.0

 

Dear Matthew, Toby and Josie

Today was meant to be Matt's first day of year 2, however unfortunately we got the news yesterday at lunchtime that we were to head back into lockdown as a security guard at one of the quarantine hotels had tested positive for the coronavirus. Not only that, he's test positive for the UK variant, which is more dangerous as it spreads quicker and makes you sicker. So, our premier Mark McGowan told us that as of 6pm last night we were to enter a hard lockdown for five days, and extended the school holidays for another week. 

So! Here we go again. This time I knew better than to try and brave the shops (panic buying struck again) and because we have always kept a strong stash of toilet paper on hand after being scarred by last year's lockdown, the only thing I needed to buy was milk, so I ordered 12 litres from Brownes who deliver and go all our homeschooling work together. We all knew today would happen at some point, we've been ridiculously lucky to have been community-transmission free for nearly ten months, during a global pandemic! Boys, you got to have birthday parties, Josie you got to birth in a hospital that didn't kick your dad out the second you were born and insist on stupid rules like making me wear a mask in labour and we all got to celebrate Christmas and the school holidays with our friends and family. RIDICULOUSLY blessed in these times. 

Anyway today we decided to make the best of it, by doing a bit of school work so that you're in the habit of homeschooling in case schools don't reopen next week Matt, some arts and crafts, a play in your water slide, a walk to the park and a roast for tea. Matt you played Minecraft with your school friend Michael for like three hours so I don't think you were too upset about missing school! Although when I asked you about it you did say that you had been looking forward to seeing everyone again. Never mind, you'll get back there soon enough, because Aussies know how to crush this virus!! I've realised as well that things will be fundamentally easier this time if we do go into a long lockdown, because we've done it before, I don't have to juggle work and looking after kids (and keeping you quiet so your dad can work) and Matt you have come so far in your school work since last year (reading and writing like a champion), that any school work we do will be fundamentally easier. We got this!

Love you all, 

Mum xxx