32 – 52

A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2014.

We've all had a terrible cold, cough and fever this week, so we've been hibernating at home for most of it.

Mahlia: Trying to make Archer laugh. She doesn't have to do much as he always has a smile for her.

Leila: When did she get so big?! That smile can always make me smile, but we haven't seen much of it this week unfortunately.

Archer: Tuesday saw this little man in my arms, feeding, all day. Still not himself but still smiling. Those eyes and those eyelashes will be breaking hearts one day.

Joining in with Jodi at Practising Simplicity.

31 – 52

A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2014.

After a beautifully warm start to the week, it has ended freezing cold! We headed down to the park today to sit in the sun and get some fresh air. The girls walked the dogs, much to the dogs' dismay and went down the slide umpteen times!

Mahlia: Talk of starting primary school next years not going down too well with Mahlia. She loves her Montessori preschool so much and desperately wants to stay there, to the point where she said she will stay and be one of the teachers! As parents, we are in denial about her starting school next year, and have not decided where to send her. Ideally, we'd like her to go to a Montessori Primary but there isn't that option on the coast. Hubby is dropping the home-school idea a lot! Decisions, decisions!

Leila: She saw the ENT doctor this week and I was so proud of her. She was so nervous, if her tongue wasn't sticking out, her fingers were in her mouth. After passing her hearing test with flying colours, we now know for sure that she is just being defiant, and there are no hearing problems. She's very excited about the prospect of her first long day at preschool next week. I am excited about one less car trip there!

Archer: Two top teeth are emerging, so he's been joining me in bed a lot earlier in the night this week. He's also learnt to clap this week too, and is very proud of himself! He joins in when we sing 'If You're Happy and You Know It', and story time at the library with Leila he brought a smile to everyone's face when he joined in. Gorgeous, he's just gorgeous.

Joining in with Jodi at Practising Simplicity.

30 – 52

A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2014.

Little bit late for week 30, but I've been out of action due to my knee injury which turned out to be a fractured tibia and resulted in a brace and crutches—not ideal with three kids to look after. Thankfully, it was only for a week before the doctor said I should be fine to walk on it - phew!

Mahlia: Daddy took the girls out to a park to get them out of the house. It took her a while to recover from the snow trip and we had a few meltdowns. Thanks to me not being able to drive, she has enjoyed some lifts with one of her teachers and other friends. She surprised me this week by using a bit of sarcasm (which she may or may not have picked up from me).

Leila: During rest time, Leila called out to me, wanting to show me something 'really funny'! This was funny, however the texta all through my make-shift bed and her clothes didn't make me smile. She's a character this one!

Archer: Really getting into his food now, he pretty much eats whatever we have now which makes life easier! He continues to be super happy, and is content just sitting on the floor playing—no inclination to crawl, which has been a blessing this week!

Joining in with Jodi at Practising Simplicity.

29 – 52

A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2014.

Mahlia: LOVING the snow. We had one snowboarding lesson, and she was a natural. Daddy took her out a few more times and she picked it up so quickly. She didn't want to leave.

Leila: Leila's main aim of the trip was to make a snowman (see more photos below). She wasn't as keen on tobogganing this year, as they kept spinning around, but she settled for just sliding down on her bottom or tummy. She also enjoyed a trip up on the chair lift with daddy and a hot chocolate up the mountain.

Archer: Snowflakes on his eyelashes and icy cold cheeks, he just happily went along with all our little adventures (apart from the long drives there and back!).

Joining in with Jodi from Practising Simplicity. 

Unscheduled stop at the Big Merino

Sitting on an emu, as you do

Icicles!

View from our house

The snowman with bushy eyebrows

 Daddy found a friend when out snowboarding!

Yummy Brazilian BBQ dinner out - they served 16 different varieties of meat so Leila was in heaven!

Archer after his first toboggan ride.

Hubby thought he'd spray my with snow when we went skiing/snowboarding together. I thought we were going to crash into each other, panicked, stacked, and now have a suspected torn meniscus, hence carrying me to the car.

This happened on the day we were leaving!

We plan on making this a yearly trip. We all had so much fun.

28 – 52

A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2014.

A late afternoon walk around the rocks at Terrigal Haven, watching daddy out on the paddle board.

Mahlia: Growing in confidence, climbing higher. She has a tendency to say I can't before giving it a go,  or whilst she is actually doing it, something both we, and her teachers, are trying to overcome. She's getting there and learning some things take practice.

Leila: Desperate to keep up with her sister, and climb just as high, if not higher. On the rope climbing frames she swings and climbs like a monkey, while I'm cringing and trying not to hover and make my fear of her falling, her fear.

Archer: Two teeth have popped through together! His little tongue is going overtime as he explores the new sensation and his clothes are soggy with dribble. He is such a happy little man, laughing at both his sisters' antics and the dogs. 

Joining in with Jodi at Practising Simplicity.

27 – 52

A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2014.

Mahlia: So grown up, and BIG! She went off and cleared up in the kitchen this afternoon without anyone asking her to. She's a keeper.

Leila: Walking the dogs at sunset. Bella is very cautious to say the least when Leila walks her, to the point where Bella somehow escaped her harness. I turned around to see Leila with just a lead and no dog! Bella was hiding behind me.

Archer: My handsome little man has come down with another cold, but he still smiles through it all. I think the elusive tooth is also causing him some grievances, the poor thing. Extra cuddles in bed with me. We had a picnic at Terrigal last Sunday before hubby headed off to uni for a few nights. There was a blustering cold wind, but we managed to find a sheltered spot where we lazed in the sun together for a couple of hours before we headed back to reality. Archer has just enjoyed some avocado sandwich here, the remnants left on his chin.

Joining in with Jodi at Practising Simplicity.

26 – 52

A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2014.

We visited Mount Penang Parklands in Kariong today. We've never been there before, so we asked some friends to join us and enjoyed the winter sun. All the kids enjoyed exploring the different gardens and plants, and splashing in the water.

Mahlia: She's not been herself the last couple of weeks, and has been craving time with me, which is very unlike her as she normally demands daddy's attention. I've tried to spend some one-on-one time with her when I can, and I've cherished the moments we've shared.

Leila: I took her to the doctors this week to have her ears checked. Her behaviour recently, especially her defiance, made me wander if there was something more to it. The doctor confirmed glue ear and we're seeing a specialist next month. I'm trying to speak clearer and gain eye contact when speaking to her. We'll see what becomes of it!

Archer: He has thoroughly embraced the finger foods! Although he will eat from a spoon when daddy feeds him, not so much with me. He loves sitting up and being a part of the action now. That first tooth is still yet to cut but it's oh so close!

Joining in with Jodi at Practising Simplicity.