he's three!

I can't believe it but our first born is now three!! He still loves Cars. We have everything (almost!) Cars in our apartment! I still don't know how that happened. There is obviously the characters themselves, we have Cars puzzles and even Cars story books! His toy collection is akin to a Cars shrine at the moment!

He's at the age where he is starting to understand concepts and characters. He loves going out with Ryan for coffee on the weekends, also grocery shopping because he usually gets to pop into KMart of Target and look at the toy section there.

We didn't do very much for his birthdays in previous years as he was too young too understand what all the fuss is about. But this year, all those cartoons he's been watching, he now understands more of what a birthday is all about. It's like something clicked! He knows it's something special for him - he gets a cake with candles, he get sung the Happy Birthday song, there are presents and loads of surprises!

I'm so proud of the person that he's become. He's the sweetest little boy with a heart of gold. These days, because I have my hands full with Aurelia, I've not had as much time to spend with him as I used to and there has definitely been moments of hurt and sadness but also understanding which I have been hugely surprised.

I was reading up on his development re discipline as we have somehow scraped through the terrible twos unscathed and I was prepping myself for the terrible three but the book did say that if we've not had to resort to punishments so far that don't sweat it. Don't worry about it and just enjoy him!

And we are! I love my days at home with him and I miss the days when it was only me and him. I know this time will pass soon and whilst I'm enjoying being mummy again to number two, I can't wait to have some mummy and son time again with him when she's a bit more independent!

I love you my cheeky monkey sweet as a pie Sebastian. You make us feel like the luckiest parents alive and that we rock this parenting gig! 

meet miss aurelia

It's been a month and we are slowly adjusting to life with a new little addition to our family! Sebastian has been the sweetest little boy with her and she is the most precious thing we've ever met.  I've forgotten how tiny and fragile a newborn can be! And needy! And poopy! Wahhhh!! But those newborn snuggles definitely make up for it all!

We had a massive scare at the hospital when she was born and ended up in the NICU again for a few days. It was difficult as we went through something similar with Sebastian but I knew that she was bring cared for and I would be stuck in the hospital until she was all cleared to go home so I just focused on taking care of myself and making sure my milk was coming in for when I need to feed her.

As you can tell, we're definitely more relaxed the second time around but trying to juggle both kids is definitely a balancing act and without Ryan tending to my every need and patient little Sebastian, I would have definitely drown in a sleep deprived state during this time!

Dare I say, our family is now complete and I can't wait to go back into my newborn haze! Cheerio!

before the wee one arrives

Currently 32 weeks and I'm really excited because I'm now finally in my third trimester! Woo hoo!

Being pregnant the second time around is much harder with a toddler in tow! There's definitely no time to enjoy and revel in this pregnancy. I remember having all the time in the world to check out how big Sebastian was getting each week and how he was developing. Plan the decorations and layout of his rooms. I even had time to sew him a quilt blanket! But this time, there's no time to sew a quilt, that's for sure. I don't even know how many weeks at any given time. I'm usually putting my due date into Google and getting it to spit out how many weeks I am a few minutes before I leave for my midwife appointments because I know she's going to be asking me that very question! As you can see, stark differences!

I also spend a lot of the time protecting my belly from Sebastian's hyperactive jumps or accidental kicks! This is probably the hardest bit since he's too young to understand what's going on and why mumma can no longer play rough with him or throw him over my shoulder or in the air. He's just playing as we used to always play before I got pregnant! Even though we try to explain to him that there is something in mumma's tummy and we have to be careful, I think it's difficult for a child to comprehend all that.

There's also the guilt when I'm feeling too exhausted or just blah in general to take him out so he's stuck at home with me. He's been a champ through all this though which sometimes makes me feel even worse! But two more months to go and I know it's going to be very difficult for the first few months and he's going to have to deal with one of the biggest change in his life and I'm afraid for this massive change that is about to happen but at the same time so excited for it all! Bring it on!

babymoon #2 in canberra

We definitely needed a little holiday before baby #2 arrives. It would have been so great to be able to do an adult only holiday and get a break from the little munchkin but it was soooo hard to do! We just could not fathom not taking him with us.

Lucky we are not sit on the beach and sip mojitos holiday people though with the kid (and the bump) now, we have been seriously considering those holidays. You know, those resorts with a kids club where you can leave the kids for the whole day while you laze around happily around a pool reading a book! I can see now why so many families love those holidays! We didn't even have time to leisurely plan this trip! It was almost on a whim! So the race was on to find something relatively easy to get to and had loads of kid friendly activities. Really, this was not going to be a babymoon but a holiday for our little munchkin instead before his world gets turned upside down! With it being a short 3 hour drive with loads of kids friendly attractions and awesome eateries, Canberra was a no brainer!

He loved Questacon so much that we went there twice. We loved The Cupping Room so much, we went there twice! In between that, we also visited the National Arboretum, the Dinosaur Museum, we loved the kids room in the Old Parliament House and running around exploring the Australian National Botanic Gardens.

With two kids soon, it will be no surprise if we make Canberra an annual trip with so many things to do!! 

first trip to the zoo!

Giraffe! Elephants! Tigers! These are his current favorite animals at 2.5 years old. Funnily enough, he is also scared of tigers! And dinosaurs. I hope that I'm not exacerbating his fear but it's so fun to give a mighty roar like a dinosaur or pretend to chomp him as a tiger would when we are reading his books at bedtime. He bravely journeys reading through my antics sometimes covering his eyes or hiding behind us whenever it all gets a bit too much.

Since he's started showing an interest in almost all things animals, a trip to the zoo was the most obvious next step! Can I say that he absolutely love it! Oh my goodness me, I have never been to a zoo as a kid so I didn't think how he would react to the trip but the amazement and wonder in his eyes - it's like all the animals that he's seen in his books come to life and then some! We didn't even cover half of the zoo that first trip so we can't wait to go back now and see more!

summer days

The summer days has been so hot lately! We try to go out as early as we can before the mercury rises and heading to the bush is one of our favourite activities lately.

Our go-to spot is definitely the Australian Botanic Gardens as we tend to have the track all to ourselves. It's great! Sebastian heads straight out onto the tracks now as soon as we get there while we get ourselves ready and chase after him, telling him to slow down! He loves pausing at the creek, throwing as many fallen leaves and sticks into the creek - I'm not sure what he's trying to work out but it gives us a bit of time to rest before we continue on our trek. 

He stomped on an ant's nest once and well, that was a mistake because they all rushed to attack his poor little feet! We thought he learnt a lesson from that experience but he still try to get close whenever we're near one. As long as he's not stomping on them, I guess! 

turning two

I blinked and suddenly he's two years old. It's a funny age because we're constantly waiting for the defiance and tantrums but somehow, so far, it's been pretty good! Maybe we got lucky!

It's the age when he's learned to question things, and he insists on your attention and doesn't let up until he gets it. It definitely make you miss the newborn days when they're not communicative, that's for sure! :) He surprises us everyday like how very observant he is with the tiniest detail - like the tv playing in the Channel Ten offices through the window shaded by the trees up on the hill. I walk the same pathway everyday and I have never even noticed the window!

He's also the most sensitive little guy, always checking to see if we are happy and hates it when we're sad or angry but he's quite assertive in letting his feelings be known when he's not happy! Go figure!

It was a quiet affair his 2nd birthday and I'm savoring all of it before he connects parties and presents with birthdays and at the very same time, I can't wait for that time to come! I wanna get him a cake with a theme for whatever he's into when the time comes and surprise him with presents and balloons when he wakes up in the morning and I'll probably stress about how to keep all the kids at his birthday party happy and occupied!

We've loved having you in our life the last two years, our darling Sebastian. You've grown up into this cool little dude and we can't believe we're so lucky to be your parents!