Jarvis & the Trolley!

'Specially for Aunty Bec & Uncle Cairn - sorry about the dreadfully fuzzy video, I did something wrong & couldn't get it to focus!

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!

A Sunday afternoon visit to the Pumpkin Festival! (crazy Gisborne thing...).  Lucky we got the photos in - a couple of minutes later it started to bucket down, and we had to go and hide from the weather in the pub! 

Happy Birthday, Jarvis!

A family picnic, under the trees at the winery, on a gorgeous day. What a perfect way to spend a first birthday. 

A Year of Jarvis! (well, almost anyhow...)

Hopefully you'll be able to click on the collage & see a lovely big version...fingers' crossed! 

Lurking in a Suitcase?

A few days ago I heard a jingling sound, turned around, and found Jarvis buried under his toys inside a suitcase! 


I love that suitcase. I take it with me when I travel, it's even survived the baggage handlers at Brisbane airport (and got a lot of compliments from the airport workers, I guess it must be pretty boring seeing fancy black suitcases on wheels all day!). It forces me to pack lightly, is very easy to find on a baggage carousel, and there's just something about carrying an old fashioned cream suitcase that makes me feel a little bit special! It's definitely not as functional as something with wheels and a handle, but I think it's wonderful :)


I've let Jarvis use it for now, he has a total fascination with things that open & close (suitcases, doors, breadmakers...) so I figured I should channel his curiosity into something which won't lead to any more fingernails needing to be ripped off by the doctor (that was Monday's adventure). 

And just for something truly bizarre to contemplate, here I am this time last year. How on earth is it possible my little boy turns one next Saturday? I remember it all so clearly, but at the same time it feels like a weird parallel universe. 

Today's adventure - trying to get the house in some kind of order, attempt to actually cook something for dinner (for Shane & I - Jarvis is the lucky one who always gets his dinner sorted!), get out of pjs...And it's only the second day of vintage! 

I am in awe of the amazing people who parent alone, as I sat down at 7 last night after getting the lovely Jarvis fed & cleaned & storied & off to bed I realised all I'd eaten all day was a piece of toast & a piece of sushi, I was soaking wet (giving a small boy a shower is quite difficult when you're not in the shower - will just  take a shower with him tonight, at least that way I'm supposed to be wet!), I hadn't even thought about dinner and hadn't taken anything out of the freezer, the oven door exploded the other day & we don't own a microwave, so there was no way of defrosting anything, and the house looked like a bunch of marauding babies had trashed it! Thankfully they held off til today to press their first grapes, so my wonderful husband appeared & magicked up some dinner! 

Hmmmm...whatever will tonight bring! 

Who's in the lamp?

How could I forget to put this one on...I love the total wonder at what on earth's going on inside that lamp. It's almost like he's looking inside to see who's in there, maybe a few fairies, or some glow bugs. Gorgeous. 

A bit of a read in the morning!

I love it that Jarvis is crazy about books. I think he enjoys the flavour of them almost as much as looking at them & turning the pages, but it still makes me smile. His favourite book at the moment is a home made one (I am in love with my laminating machine...endless possibilities for reading material suitable for a little boy who enjoys reading as a multi sensory experience!), with photos of our summer holiday. The pictures are not so flash - I made a discovery about what happens when you buy cheap photocopy paper from a large red establishment - but he really doesn't care.

Later on today I may just do some recipe related blogging, having finally remembered to take some snaps of what we've been eating. 'Til then I shall go and see what Jarvis & BoomBoom the cat are up to :) 

Sneaky!

Look at the face on this sneaky bunny! I can see the thoughts going through his head...'Oooh, this looks like somewhere I really shouldn't be. How very wonderful!'

This is the 'oh man, you've sprung me' face. So funny - it comes with a high pitched squeaking sound. Jarvis is such a cool little guy (and obviously I'm not biased in any way...).

The Return of the Semi-Negligent Blogger.

When I looked at my dashboard this afternoon to see that the last time I blogged was February 15th, I was horrified! That is until I remembered that, with February being a short month, it was only two weeks ago. Which doesn't make me a terribly diligent blogger, but not quite so negligent as I'd thought. Anyhow, here are some ramblings from the past couple of weeks :)

Here's my wonderful friend finishing off his dinner on a muggy afternoon. He continues to devour anything put in front of him, and has a somewhat insatiable appetite. We know he's finished when food starts to fly around the room. I think Jarvis is going to enjoy frisbees once he's a little bigger...

This is Jarvis enjoying some rather heavy reading for a boy of 11 months. I found him lurking in our bedroom after tipping over a large pile of books destined for our new bookcase, currently residing on the bedroom floor. I'm thinking Bruce & Cat will have a wee giggle at his choice of reading material.

For the first time in years, our plum tree is actually giving us more than four plums. It is just superb, gorgeous dark juicy plums for every meal. We even have enough to attempt some plum chutney. Can't wait.

Must go and splash in the back yard with my beautiful family :) Part two of the adventure to come...