twenty-six/fifty-two

"A portrait of my babies, once a week, every week, in 2013"

Olivia: You come alive when surrounded by nature. You excitedly skip and hop, picking up dried leaves as you make up silly songs. 

Owen: This face, this adorable squishy little face just shouts out "kiss me!".

twenty-five/fifty-two

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

Olivia: Sweet face.

Owen: Let the fun times begin! 

Mama-made: Cloth nappy

I was inspired by a very creative friend of mine to try sewing nappies. At first it looked rather daunting, especially considering I had never used a sewing machine before, except for once when a friend gave me a mini sewing lesson, ,surprisingly though, it was much easier than I thought. The first two nappies I made are probably not even usable, but I got better after that. This particular nappy is my fourth one that I've made and I'm so happy with the outcome, not be mention how proud I am of myself for learning a new skill.

I got the pattern for the nappy from this website and the soaker pad template from here. I used stretch terry for the outer part, a thin fleece for the inner part and t-shirt material for the hidden layer. And for the soaker pad I used flannel and t-shirt and covered it with more stretch terry and fleece. And the best part about making these nappies is that I can use materials that I already have in the house. We use cloth nappies full-time during the day and I've been experimenting with some night-time solutions but we are still working on that. Yay for saving money! (so I can buy more pretty clothes!)

Owen at two months old

Oops, I missed Owen's two month snapshots so he's about 2 and a half months in these pictures. I've been busy having fun with my two little beauties, don't I wish that was the only reason! Either way, I bought the monthly growth stickers for him so I'll stick to my commitment :-)

Growth: He weighs just under 7kg at this point. I'm not sure if that's average or a little over that, but he sure is starting to feel heavy. I haven't measured his height recently, but he looks taller than his sissy was at this age, which probably means he's average height because Olivia was way below average. I hope he takes after Daddy's height and not mine!

Appearance: His eyes are still a greyish blue (I wonder if they'll get darker as he grows?). His hair is getting lighter and curlier and he's sporting a lovely bald patch :-) I've never seen a single strand of hair on his bedsheets or his clothes so I wonder where it goes!

Development: Those muscles are getting stronger, making bath time a whole lot easier. With all the exercise he gets from tossing and turning and wiggling I'm sure there's a six pack under his chubby pooch! His sight is also developing rapidly. I can tell he notices when someone walks into the room and he definitely can see when you walk out of the room, even if you were sitting far from him. Yep, and he announces his unhappiness at you walking out with a frown and a cry! And…wait for this…HIS SLEEP HAS IMPROVED!!! Praise. The. Lord. 

Loving: His big sister. He adores her. It's so beautiful to watch :-) 

Dislikes: He still doesn't like taking afternoon naps, especially on his bed. He sleeps okay when he's held or carried in a wrap or carrier, but wakes up as soon as he's put down. BUT thank goodness for improved night sleep!

Mama is loving: His smile. Aaahhh, it melts my heart!

Twenty-two,three and four!

"A portrait of my babies, once a week, every week, in 2014"

Twenty-two

Olivia: It is such a joy witnessing you growing to love him more and more. 

Owen: You smile when she giggles at you. So precious!

Twenty-three

Olivia: I wish I had a better picture of this! I told you we were going out for a walk and you excitedly toddled away to your room, bringing back with you a hat for yourself and one for Owen too! And you put it on him! 

Owen: Most of the time you wear this serious look on your face and sometimes you have a smile that makes your eyes disappear :-)

Twenty-four

Owen: Hehehe! The reality behind the "perfect" giggly picture!

Olivia: You are so precious little one.

Happy Fathers Day

The little things that you do like preparing lunch for Olivia almost every day make you the super duper awesome father that you are! The precious moments like when you gaze into Owen's eyes with love that only a father can have for his son remind me again and again how absolutely blessed we are to have you in our lives. 

From the moment you laid your eyes on our little girl for the first time, I knew that I was the most blessed woman in the world to get to raise my children with you. Thank you for being such an amazing father to our children. We love you so much and today we celebrate you!

Happy Fathers day my love.

Can you believe we don't have a picture of you with Owen?!!