Charlie is Two

Our wee boy is two today! Where did that time go? Yes, I know, countless nappies, sleepless nights, long days, but also so many joyful moments. I have loved almost every minute and have felt like the luckiest woman in the world to have had the chance to this all over again.

Now, our little one has started to talk in sentences (very short ones) and has new words every day. He loves to imitate what we say ("Alrighty then", just the other day), is the danciest dude in the south of Australia, is full of smiles and mischief, and always ready with a pat on the back if you feel sad.

We adore him!

Happy Birthday Charlie Bear!

Antidote to the winter blues....

....dancing to Stevie Ray Vaughan. I guarantee you'll have the whole family smiling,laughing and bouncing !

Guthrie goes to the ball...

My lovely 17 year old got all dressed up and transformed from the boy to a man! It is amazing how a suit can make them look so grown up.
I suppose it is a milestone for us. It marks the final year of high school for him. Two of my children have now been to the school ball! Gosh - I feel old.
At least I still have three more to go,otherwise I might be a bit more emotional about it all.

This Moment

Morning view from our deck. Need I say more?

Lessons in Patience

I sometimes wonder why the desire to have a baby (Charlie) was so strong.That despite knowing, logically, that it would be quite an inconvenience, I felt compelled to pursue the desire.
Well, I think it may be that he had lessons for me to learn, and one of the main lessons is to be more patient, especially today.

After a very restless night ( I think he may be cutting eye teeth), he got up before me, and I could hear from the dining room:"Charlie,get off the table!" Followed closely by,"No, Charlie, don't play with the wet nappies!" His sisters did their best to keep him in line, but this toddler has his own agenda, and no one is going to stop him!

I had looked forward to having a break this afternoon, while he had a nap, only to have him rise from his slumber about 15 minutes after I'd put him into his bed (asleep). I had just started to eat my lunch...a lesson in patience.

Later, I decided we had to get out of the house and hopefully, wear him out a little. So I decided we'd walk up the road, pick some native flowers for my desk, and just have a nice stroll.

The relaxed stroll was punctuated with Charlie running off into the bush, appearing again, double-backing to where we'd been, lying down on the road, refusing to move or running off again. Never in the direction I wanted to go. Not only was it a difficult lesson in patience, it was also a lesson on how to just let go and enjoy all sorts of things that as an adult I fail to see. Charlie took such delight in singing to dry grass, or picking up a stick to conduct with, or use as a weapon. He just enjoyed the moment.

So, it seems the boy was sent to show me a thing or two: try to live in the moment, take time to just be...

Thanks, Charlie, I'll give it a go.
Now, do you think you could try sleeping for a longer period of time...give it a go.