Food

well kumera and carrot did not go down well...well not at all really
so we moved onto fruit
first mouthful of pear...not so bad

maybe if I close my eyes they won't give me more

maybe if i close them tighter

no, oh well I guess i will have to eat it

Sick Boy

this morning Billy was enjoying breakfast with his brother and mothers at one of our favourite cafes





and by this afternoon he was a sick wee boy, it's scary how fast they get sick. He told us at the end of playgroup he felt a bit tired and sick (after quite happily playing) and his breathing was a little wheezy so we gave him his puffer,and by the time we picked up Harriet 15 mins later he was struggling to breathe. A very quick trip to our GPs, a large steroid dose and an hours worth of high dose ventolin allowed the Dr to diagnose an underlying pneumonia as the cause of his asthma attack. We managed to avoid a trip to hospital but now have another course of antibiotics and steroids to complete. With his previous ear infection, an ear infection for Harriet on Tues, Arlo's pneumonia and another few illnesses i am sick of this winters bugs, at least the Dr ruled out the dreaded swine flu.

Some Recent Sewing

A circle skirt for Harriet out of some old chintze curtain material. I have tried a circle skirt before using one Isabella had to draft off but could never get the hem quite even enough, a little online search and I disovered a little maths is what you need, it worked perfectly.

and it twirls perfectly

Pants for Arlo

with a little felt patch

another 'red cross' hat

this old pattern for a pair of PE rompers and shift

plus some thrifted wool material (thanks Sila) and some of Isabella's vintage buttons

made this winter pinafore

we had to alter the pattern a little..add about 3 inches to the shoulder straps, lengthen the side seam as without the matching rompers( which strangely she didn't want in wool) the splits needed to start a little lower, and because she didn't need the extra room built in for physical activity we made a front box pleat with her vintage buttons

Special Delivery

for Gran



Baby Owl



and Gran Owl

Around the House this Week

winter chrysthanthemums

some spring blossom

winter greens

and the first of the spring bulbs in the garden

Monday Afternoon

Billy's whole day is filled with imaginary play mostly involving rescue missions, crocodiles, saving the day, snakes, picnics with all the playfood and adventures with his cousins. Before heading outside to enjoy more of the sunshine we had enjoyed on our morning walk to the library, we made this play town complete with dinosaurs, crocodiles, rescue vechiles, an animal wash (not a car wash mummy) and London buses because he had gotten a book out of the library with a great story about a naughty toy london bus.


then it was outside for lunch on the back deck, both real and a play picnic out of the back of his ride on car.


plus lunch for the rabbit before an adventure to find the dragon, ducks and fossils in the garden Leon made him down the side of the house.
.




than there were lots of phone calls to his family members, one to Sol and Uncle Sila below. Each family member got assigned a number on his phone and got a call to tell them he was 'having a lovely day' and I think he truly was because before bed tonight he informed me 'tomorrow mummy I will be too sick to go to CK (his daycare) because I will just need to stay home and play with you'

Woollen Lovelyness

this weekend brought some lovely woolly things
after a beautiful sunny day spent having lunch with friends and going for a walk and bike ride


Aunty Elizabeth came for tea on Saturday night and bought Arlo two gorgeous jerseys and a hat


this little pink dress I made went with Kahi and Sol to a wee friends birthday

Sunday before heading to see Harry Potter with the Grans, Aunty Margaret brought us lots of thrifted goodies including this stash of blankets for me to use. I especially love the striped ones

Isabella's find of the weekend was this vest at the Ponsonby markets

The adventures of 3 boys and a retro robot boy

His new robot under his arm Billy set out for the day with baby Arlo and his cousin Sol (who due to a nasty ear infection this week wasn't quite well enough for school but luckily was well enough for a cousin adventure). Excuse the pic quality, our camera battery was flat so these are from the cell phones


first stop a coffee for everyone

than off to the museum




the boys were so lovely, the museum was pretty quiet so without worrying about loosing them in a crowd they were able to lead the whole expedition and there was lots of great chatting about everything they found



Sol looked after Billy the whole way round, explaining things to him

then it was off to the Wintergardens

to explore the hothouses

and the fish ponds

and the fernery


awake from his nap

Arlo was ready to join in the fun


a last look at the white fish
and off to explore this huge Pohutukawa

which was perfect for climbing


balancing


and a morning tea picnic

retro robot was happier to hang out in the sling

or on a low branch

like Arlo


then it was off for an explore of a little pond
div>

Billy took his exploring a little further than he had planned with a dip in said pond while climbing around the rocks

luckily it had been our last stop on the way back to the car, Billy wasn't so pleased with his wet clothes and being stripped off for the ride home, but a quick change, some sushi for lunch and the 'fall in the pond' became very funny and he was able to enjoy some dress ups and table soccer at playgroup. Luckily also retro robot had been safely with Arlo and not circumnavigating the pond with the big boys