Sienna's 4th Birthday

Sienna Snow had her 4th Birthday party down at Baynton West Park on December 10th. We took to kids straight from India's end of year School assembly. It was really nice to spend time with the Rodoni's, Winter's, Pilkington's and Snow's. We are feeling increasingly blessed to have such good people to surround us. The kids LOVED Sienna's birthday cake that Sarah had cleverly created and came home worn out from all the events of the day.

photos courtesy of Sarah's blog :) thanks Sare x

Reeve is 4!!

Dear Reeve,

It hit me when you turned four that this year would be our last year to be just us. With India being at school every day i have had the tremendous pleasure and task of wrangling you daily. We have grown closer together as i have tried harder to understand you and how you see the world. You have grown in many ways this year. and worked hard to master your language and your movement.

This past year has seen you tackle both speech and occupational therapy. You have made steady improvement and i have broadened my arsenal of teaching tools to help you strive to be the amazing child you are! You learn through movement. Understanding this important part of your makeup has helped me help you conquer language and energy a little better than before. You like to throw your self into life, feet first! you hit the ground running and often see more clearly once the dust has settled. this can cause for some tumultuous growth, but as long as you are moving forward with minimal damage along the way we are happy.

 Through your therapies we have discovered that you love board games. your favorites are hubbabaloo and a bunny circle game from Grandma. I suspect you enjoy the one on one time it brings. You have discovered a new love of books this past year and really enjoy being read to. You love Dr Seuss and Spot. You still love your bottle for bed time.

Whilst still in Perth you attended Acro class for a term with your friends Katherine and Amalie, and then a term and a half of Trampolining with your cousin Addy. Your trampoline teacher was a Brazilian man named Andre. He was a big influence in your life. He taught you how to control your need to move by channeling it into a positive exercise. He encouraged your strengths but also reprimanded you when you would not listen. i could tell you were very fond of him and looked forward to his classes each week. I regret that you had to say goodbye when we left for Karratha. Andre was funny and we still use his funny one liners today eg "escuse me?!" and "ayeyayeyaye" and "to the toilet.. to the toilet" and "ooohlala". He made learning fun for you and i miss him almost as much as you do. To compensate for leaving trampolining we have put you into swimming lessons here in Karratha and you LOVE it. You are a water baby at heart. It has always been a calming and joyful play experience for you and you are gaining confidence quickly.

you also attend a 1 hour craft class on fridays and a 2 hour parent free school readiness program on Mondays between 11am-1pm. You love to go but cry the night before because you say you will miss me. You are sensitive and sweet. Sienna Snow is also in the theses classes which makes it easier for you to go. There is another boy named Reeve in your school readiness class and surprisingly this really bothers you! turns out you really like being the only Reeve. I am so proud of how well you can articulate your feeling, even when you do not understand their origins. You will often tell me when your 'heart is broken' or when you 'feel alone and don't know why'. On the opposite side of the coin you tell me you love me multiple times a day and you love to give heavy hugs. I worry you have been given my sadness but i am so proud of you for expressing yourself and pray you will always feel safe enough to share all of your feelings with me. You like to be alone when you feel down and will often spend time gazing out the window in quiet contemplation. I suspect you have big feelings, but considering your age and your size you manage them surprisingly well for the most part.

You love to tease people, especially your sister. It is without guile and very endearing. You love toilet humor and think farts are the funniest things in the world. a typical boy you loves to wrestle and play fight. I think i will look at gymnastics for you next year. You love music and love the song Everybody by justice crew and Gangnam Style by Psy. You also love to watch story bots on youtube. The ipad is still one of your favourite things to play. You learnt to ride your bike without training wheels and swing from the trees in our new front yard. your youthful energy exhausts and invigorates me at the same time.

Just like India, you were allowed to decorate your cake this year. You enjoyed putting on the icing and placing the sweets just right. It was a creative outlet for you and you loved every messy second of it! We saved the bottom layer to eat with your cousins the Kemps when they came to stay a week later. All the kids loved digging in.

i suspect you are an old soul son. i suspect you carry great wisdom and depth of character. You are inquisitive and thoughtful and a whole lot of fun! I love you more than i could ever say with words, and so i will try to show you that love for every day that God grants me on this earth. I will devote my life to you and pray that you will know just how loved and cherished you are!! Happy Birthday Boy!

Love Mama xoxo

 Daddy and I laugh at finding these on our phones

Boating, Bulls and Bikes

We are loving our time in the North West so far.. We have met some truly wonderful people and seen some beautiful country. Our first two weekends here saw us experiences two new activities and by weekend number 3 the kids had both learn to ride their bikes without training wheels.

The first weekend after we arrived Clinton and Sarah Snow invited us to go out on their boat to go Whale watching and stop for a picnic lunch in a small bay. We headed out early to beat the heat of the day and met Emi and Mick Rodoni, and Rowena and Nathan Winter out on the water. It was fantastic to watch the children's excitement at riding in a boat and seeing a Whale out in the ocean. It was the first time i had experienced seeing a Whale up close. It makes you feel really small and insignificant to think at how we pale in comparative size, and yet i also felt so infinite at the same time. The kids had a blast once we anchored the boat and set up for lunch. I enjoyed watching them frolic in the shallows and make new and old friendships strong. They were so happy and content. It was a great welcome to the Pilbara and i cant help but feel so grateful for this overall experience. The boat ride home was just as thrilling and i loved reconnecting with Sare and seeing Clint in his element on the water. We are so thankful to have wonderful friends here who have been so generous with their time and resources and who have made our lives so much richer thus far.

Our second weekend saw us hit up the Pannawonica Rodeo with the Rodonis (our new mates). Pannawonica  is a 2.5hr drive south east of Karratha. There was some beautiful scenery along the way to this small town. Kent and I enjoyed listening to TED talks as we headed to our very first Rodeo experience. The kids sang the occasional "are we there yet?" from the backseat, but its not a real roadtrip unless the kids complain, right?! For our first rodeo I would have to say it was a great learning experience. we learnt that we needed to provide our own seating for one thing, but we also learnt that we should have prepared India a little more for what a rodeo was. At one point she looked at me and with a little grimace on her face said "mum, i don't know if i like how they are treating these animals. it doesn't seem right?!". But the excitement of the overall experience trumped her doubts in the end i think. The little ones loved lining up for free tattoos and loved Daddy buying them an icecream. At one point, whilst the children were positioned close to the fence watching all the action unfold, a horse attempting to evade the lasso skidded past and hit the fence, hard, right in front of them. it seemed as though it was going to jump right over and land on them so all the kids dove backward and gave a collective "WOAH". Reeve turned to me with a massive grin and lashings of dirt spread across his face. he was in heaven! we decided to head home around 2pm and got in around 4.30pm. the kids slept most of the way home. It was fun and we enjoyed getting to know Mick and Emi, and their gorgeous kiddies, Tom and Millie, a little better. I can tell next year's Rodeo won't know what hit them when we arrive prepared with chairs and full gourmet picnic on hand.

Karratha is proving to fit our family well. I can see us thriving here as draw closer to one another and tackle our adventure head first, hand in hand.