Christmas and more

Christmas is only 2 weeks away and it has been a busy lead up. Firstly there was my 40th birthday party attended by all my family and friends and I had planned on doing a post on that but the time came and went with all our social activities over the last week. Then there has been work - and as usual it has been a busy time for Peter as everyone wants everything done by Christmas.

Getting the family together to pose for a family photo is a mammoth task and the kids were pretty much over it but did so well. Thank goodness for auto timers but there are some fun shots where people didn't quite make it!

Then there has been the shopping and getting ready for Christmas and sharing that with Mario. At 2 he is a little young to understand what Christmas is all about and the concept of Santa ... well that can wait another year but I am loving shopping for him and his cousins. We have had Christmas parties to attend and to Mario that just means food and plenty of it and of course his favourite - chips and lemonade.

So - if I don't get the opportunity to post again before Christmas I want to wish all family and friends happiness, love and the very best of everything for Christmas and 2007.

Life is a box of chocolates

(to steal a few words from Forrest Gump) but its true you never know what you will get and that is part of the fun.

Today I turned 40 and while I don't feel that age (they say 40 is the new 30 and that seems more the way I am feeling) I have now hit that number (and that it all it is a number and according to my little sister, Merran who is only 35 a BIG number). It is a time to reflect on life, what I have done, achieved and want to reach for in the future. Let me share a little bit with you.

I have a wonderful family particularly since Mario came into our lives. I had 15 or more years with just Peter and myself but now with the joy of a little person who thinks parties are just "lollilops" and "nemonade" and takes simple pleasure in playing with trucks and cars and zooming around on his bike and looking at books and playing with play dough and chasing poor Charlie around and around it is truly the best thing ever and I can't find the words to describe it. You don't need a million dollars (but sometimes it would be nice) just the love of family and a child.

In addition to my immediate family of Peter and Mario I have wonderful loving parents, two awesome sisters and their partners and the cutest adorable and loving niece and nephews. We grew up quite close and now that we have our own families know how important it is that the cousins are also close and have a fun relationship. After 40 years we have plenty of stories but they are for chats over the dinner table with some wine and food.... especially dessert!

From there I have some friends who I feel honoured to have and who I would do anything for, and them for me. Some of us have been friends since I was 7 (and when you are 40 that is a long time ago!), others since 11 when we moved towns, some truly wonderful ones since I was 18 and at uni and more others in recent times. We have all done some great things together - but we have also had our moments. Too many stories to share - we need a bottle of wine and a BBQ chook for that one.

I am happy with what I have done with my life up to this moment but there are still things to do and achieve so it is not all over and hey I am only 40. There are plans for more travel - Australia is a big place but so is the rest of the world, to make sure I enjoy my work, write a book, learn to play golf, to give all that I can to Mario to help him oneday write about how great it is to be 40, to spend time with family especially my dear husband and .... maybe oneday even go parachuting!!

Life really is wonderful and a true blessing to have all that I have around me. And now ... lets enjoy that box of chocolates!!

The Petting Zoo

The Petting Zoo came to play and learn this week. Those poor animals somehow survived the excitement of a group of 2-4 year olds pulling pigs tails, roughing up bantam hens, poking baby chicks, chasing ducks, and pulling and prodding lambs and goats. The animals may all need counselling now but the children had the best time you can imagine.

The smiles and the laughter in amongst all that so called gentle patting was magical and really brought out a new side to some of the children. As you can see Mario is being held quite firmly by Peter to prevent some over excited "patting".

Mario thought it was just awesome as he chased the ducks around and around and around and around.

Children and animals ... what a wonderful combination!! What a wonderful experience!!

Our little helper

Our little boy is growing up! Not only is he getting taller and heavier Mario (88cm and 12.3Kg) is now wanting to do everything that Mummy and Daddy do.

Daddy is mowing the lawn and along comes his little helper with his purple and green lawn mower following along behind.

Mummy is in the kitchen making cakes for morning tea when out comes the little stool and a little boy stands up to "help". It may take longer to do the cooking each day now but there is nothing nicer than having someone standing there wanting to try the food, or mix or put patty pans in the containers or the best job of all ... lick the bowl.

We do the groceries and there is a little boy helping to put things on the counter or put "extra" things in the trolley or count the "apuls" as they go in the bag (though we are currently stuck on 2 and it never goes higher) and then when we get home help carry things into the house.

Now if only we could get him to put his toys away each night .......
and not wake up quite so early in the morning ....... roll on daylight savings!!

A Beach Holiday

With Spring in the air, the weather unseasonally warm and a short week due to the Labour Day weekend we decided to pack the van and head north for a beach and caravan holiday. What a wonderful family time.

No illnesses, relaxing location, places to visit, great weather and a visit from family (Aunty M, Uncle Mike, Jordan and Mikayla) all made it just perfect. How much fun is the beach!! Playing in the sand, digging holes and lying in them with your cousin while you eat!!

For me the most joyous moments were watching Mario stand in the sand, chase the waves, splash around and while quite hesitant at first get so excited by the ocean. Photos can't capture those little memories but the sounds and vision are locked away in my head and I can visit them any time I like.
Mario also sampled some new foods and now Peter has to share his oysters with someone else. Mario was also a "big boy" sitting up at the table in restaurants, drinking lemonade through a straw and most of the time using his spoon and fork.
Only downside was Mario made the trip home a tough one as he grizzled for the majority of the trip but then again noone likes their holiday to come to an end and he was having such a fun time. We are now looking forward to our next caravanning trip away.

More Family

Mario had had a wonderful weekend catching up with his cousins - for Lucas' 1st birthday and also catching up with other friends but also had to say farewell to his Nanny who had been staying with us for 2 weeks.

Peters Mum is not one for posing or being in pictures so she was very hard to "snap" but this one was taken on the final day as we were getting ready to drive her home

Catching up with family is always fun and everyone played together so well but trying to get 4 little children to pose for a photo together to capture the moment was near impossible. It will just be the memories and the photos that we have that will piece together that time. (The birthday boy is in the blue t shirt and he had a great time esp with the birthday cake!!)

Marios 2nd Birthday

What great presents!! Thanks Mum and Dad for the trike. There were lots of other great presents too like a mini trampoline, a gardening set so I can help Dad in the yard, toys, a T ball set, books, DVDs, clothes and shoes. Just great for being 2!!What great food!! Yum yum sausages. Oh yes and there was cake and lollies and biscuits and fruit and dips and all the food little kids love. My plate has a racing car on it.
What great hats!! We made them ourselves. We had a car theme.
What a great birthday cake!! Thanks Mum for my car. We ate it all up. I loved the wagon wheel wheels. I ate them all!!
How much celebrating was done over the past few days!!

By the way, the most popular food with all the kids - marshmallows and little boys (cocktail franfurts) on skewers!! These were shown in photos taken at Marios 1st birthday and we thought we would give them a try and maybe make them a tradition. And yes... they will be on Marios party table again for many years to come!!

So family, friends, neighbours and everyone else who has been there to celebrate you helped to make Marios first birthday with us and his 2nd one overall just the best time ever!! Thank You for making this birthday so much fun for us all.

Fun with Family

This weekend we had the joy of my sister Merran, her husband Michael and 2 children (Jordan aged 3 1/2 and Mikayla aged 8mths) come and stay (aka MMJM). We all had the most wonderful time as a family and getting out and about and seeing the sites of Canberra. We had perfect weather for what is the last month of winter. The sun shone everyday which meant we could be out and about and the kids could all run around. So what did we do .....

* we went to Tidbinbilla to play in the adventure playground, have morning tea and kick the football around

* went for walks around the neighbourhood and in the back yard to exercise the dog Charlie, get the kids out on their bikes and for us all to burn off some energy as boy did we do a lot of eating

* sat around and ate and had a few drinks, chatted and let the kids play together, read books together - which they all did so well - there was gentleness, sharing and no fighting - bathtime was chaos but when it came to bed time ... shhh there was quiet and they all slept like angels

* went to the national museum where the kids could run and play and touch and do no harm, went to story time, played around outside in the glorious sunshine and had lunch out

Family is wonderful and it is great to see the cousins playing together. We look forward to adding Lucas to the mix and seeing all the children growing up and playing together

working at the car wash

It is so much fun to be able to help wash the cars. First of all there is the bucket of nice soapy water and given it is winter nice warm water has been used.
Rather than wash the cars it is more fun to put it all over your face and you can even shake the sponge so it goes all over you. It was as much fun as a bath!! When you are finished emptying the bucket of all the water you can put it away. I am such a big help. I am sure Daddy could not have done this job without me!! I was pleased to get changed into some warm and dry clothes after I was all done.
PS I did wash the car and Mummy got it on video

I love my dog

Here is Mario with his best mate Charlie the Jack Russel. While Charlie, who is now 10, often feels like the 5th wheel in the family, there is no denying the affection between the two. Charlie puts up with a lot of patting and kissing and roughing up from Mario even though he is told to be "gentle". I think Charlie tolerates it as he knows that Mario is a good food source - from the food that gets dropped from the high chair to whatever he is carrying in his hand to what gets left over at meal times so he takes the good with the bad.

Every day we go for a walk and it always seems to end up at a park. Here we have Charlie and Mario up and ready to go down the slide.

Nanna Rose and Griffy come to visit

What a wonderful time we had when Nanna Rose and Griffy (my Mum and Dad, Rose and Les Griffith) came to visit for a few days over the weekend on their grandchildren tour. Mario loved being able to sit on Nanna Roses lap for a story but also to enjoy our evening wine and cheese - or in Marios case it was pineapple ("P") juice with his container of cheese bickies and apples.
With Griffy it was time for a slide on the giant slide. How many times did we do that!! And how cold was it. We used up plenty of energy climbing up and sliding down.
A walk in the park with Nanna Rose and Griffy was also a lot of fun as you get to play games like.... one .... two .... three .....
look how high I can go and how much fun am I having.
Nanna Rose and Griffy have now headed to Sydney to visit the other grandchildren but we have plenty of memories and photos of a wonderful few days and look forward to their next visit.

Playing with Charlie

It is just before bedtime and Charlie thinks he has the lounge and his favourite toy to himself. He has a wonderful time trying to pull it too pieces (and I have fun having to clean it up later!).
Oh no!! Mario is still awake and wants to play with it too. A tug of war results and they both hang on as noone wants to give it up.
Well, Charlie came out the winner but Mario doesn't mind as he can climb on the lounge for a good night cuddle. There is no way though that Charlie is going to let the toy go again.

Cousin Lucas comes to stay

The weather may not have been at its best but when family comes to visit, it doesn't matter. Aunty Ange, Uncle Matt and Cousin Lucas (9.5mths) came down from Richmond and spent the weekend in Canberra. It was wonderful for Mario to interact with his family and get to know them especially his cousin.No play time is complete without a play in the park and it was perfect for the two cousins to have a seesaw. I am sure there will be lots more of this as the cousins grow up together.

More partying!

It was a weekend of parties for young Mario though he saved the best for last. This party was the birthday celebration for a 3yo who also came from Heart of Mary Villa and was held at Kids Rampage. The kids eat the party food including chocolate and run around like crazy on the toys and in the ball pits and it really tires them out. It is just so much fun for kids and adults alike.

Ahoy there!!

What a birthday party ... Jesses 3rd birthday and in accordance with the theme Mario went along dressed as a pirate. He was suppose to have the bandana on his head but that lasted less than a second .. I don't even think I had it done up before it was off. He wore a belt with a big silver buckle and looked dashing.
Anyway with plenty of party food and ice cream cake Mario was in his element. Fortunately it was at a kiddies gym so he was able to burn off some of what he ate on the equipment ... then there was just all the running and playing about. No wonder he slept so well last night!!

Whose dinner is it??

Yes Charlie I am watching you eat your dinner!!
OK now I am getting a little closer ... hope you don't mind.....
Maybe you need some help ... here I will hold the container for you while you eat.
Here let me help you .... hey this is delicious .... Mum is a pretty good cook!!

To help with the dog (Charlie, almost 10) and boy (Mario 21mths) relationship we thought we would give Mario a little job (and his pocket money). Every evening Mario feeds Charlie and then watches as he eats it. Occasionally we have seen little bits of rice on Marios face but now we have caught him in the act. Don't worry though it is just mince, rice, pasta and vegies so it is nice and healthy. Charlie doesn't mind as we trained him from a pup to be comfortable with being patted and played with while he eats and we do keep an eye on the situation.

Queens Birthday Weekend

What had been planned as a family long weekend away turned belly up almost before we left Canberra. We were late leaving, by about 2 hours, so travelled in the dark to arrive at Jindabyne around 6.45pm. No sooner were we in the office to book in that Mario ... from nowhere ... vomitted everywhere. He was coverd, Peter was covered and there was nothing we could do but undress the poor little boy. Given Jindabyne was so cold he was just shivering. Peter set up the van and I got all his gear together and gave him a bath. He was sick again not long after and then again just as he was going to bed. Oh dear I guess we should have known then.

Saturday started better and we were all pleased to be away, relaxed and having a wonderful time. Mario ran around and played with his mates Charlie (9) and Jay (7) and all was wonderful ... until the diarrhoea hit. Poor little mite and there were really poor change facilities around. Mario didn't want to eat or do anything. However after his nap he perked up again and started eating and we thought all was wonderful again. How wrong we were!! He again lost his evening meal. Oh yeah and we had dramams with cooking too - there must be a leak with the gas obttles as we had no gas so I had to use the one electric cook top I had and it was a disaster. But by then neither Peter or I were hungry.

Sunday ..... it snowed ... and Mario hated it. He stood in it under protest for a photo or two - the batteries died while trying to take the photos - and he looked so sad and miserable but also cute at the same time. We packed up and came home .. and that was that.... until I came down with the same thing and then Peter got it. Not the greatest break at all.

It has all got to get a bit better than this. As we are a camping family we will try again and see how we go. We have plans for a longer trip next time ... wonder how it will go. One thing for sure, at this time of the year it will to the north where it is warmer.

Meet the Baldwin Family

To start off our blog, I need to introduce who we are .... Please meet Peter (known to everyone as Pear), Karen and Mario (our son who has only been with us 4 months from the Philippines) .
We also have a dog named Charlie (the nearly 10 yo Jack Russell). We live in Canberra Australia and this photo was taken at Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve, not far from our home but an area full of many Australian animals. It also has a great playground that Mario loved playing in. Give Mario a park and some food and a few friends to run around with and life seems pretty happy. For me, it is just watching him have a great time that makes me smile and think I am a very lucky new Mum.