Finally a Blog Entry!

Isla on 22nd December 2007

Dear Everyone, sorry for the slack blogging these days, been a tad busy as you will subsequently read about, so here is our summary for the year!

Isla’s stats: she is 21 months (or will be 2 next March!), 12 kg, 86cm tall and she is growing and developing so fast. At the moment she is practically running and trying ever so hard to jump. She demonstrates that she is very talented at lifting one leg very high …. But that’s not all, she can do it with the other leg too! We often find her in downward dog yoga pose or dancing around to whatever is playing on the radio. She is saying many words and is trying to put a few of them together. Isla has lovely manners and always adds “Peeeaaasss” to anything she wants to have or do (so irresistible!). She is handling her meal times with less mess nowadays and has a very good appetite… I think she is having a growth spurt right now as she is not only eating more, she seems to be having more accidents (mainly tripping over her own big feet). Isla is sleeping in a single bed now but comes into our bed around midnight. We are still Breast feeding but trying to wean down to 4 feeds over 24h (we are trying!!!). She really enjoys music, drawing and using playdoh – probably like most other kids her age. But what I think she loves most is having her mumma at home – full time!

Hand it over please!

Going for a ride

Captain Feathersword influence here I think!

Yes, when Isla was 12 months old I went back to work 2 days a week. One day Isla went to Nanna and Poppas, the other she was placed in child care. I would get Isla there early and Duncan would pick her up after school. We were all quite unhappy and stressed about it all so after 2 months we decided that for our family, it was best for me to stay at home. It was one of the best decisions we’ve made and things have gone in leaps and bounds since. I started studying Naturopathy again and also, have started a modern cloth nappy business, called Smartie Pants, with another friend, Ang, who is a stay at home mum too. We spent about 4 or 5 months designing and getting the nappy just right and we launched the business early November. Next year we will be aiming at marketing the nappies online and at baby markets! Very exciting. In the meantime you can check out our blog website SmartiePantsNappies. So my time is very busy when our young lady is asleep!

Duncan, then, has been busy too with teaching 4 grade levels this year – Prep, 1, 2 and 3. It has been a very tough year for him and his teaching partner, Maggie. Not only teaching, but Dunk was the IT co-ordinator for the school so he was always in demand whenever it came to computers or related technology. In trying to relax, Duncan and I have discovered eBay. We found it really fun to go around to garage sales, auctions and op-shops, looking for that little bargain so we could re-sell it on eBay. So far so good but we had to limit ourselves to one week on, one week off since we are a little bit toooooo addicted to watching the bids on our stuff, and then getting lost researching other bits and pieces – what a time waster!

Isla and Dunk hanging out... they have so much fun!

We have also been working on our organic vegetable garden – or should I say, Duncan has been working hard on our organic vegetable garden. He has built in the back half of our yard as gardens with a gorgeous herb spiral focal point with a little deck/platform for relaxing. It is just gorgeous and we aim at the beginning of every month to plant out our garden with what is in season. At the moment we are harvesting tomatoes (cherry, roma, green zebras & black Russian), zucchini, cucumber, squash, golden nugget pumpkin and there are some little rockmelons growing and corn soon ready.

This year we have been honoured to be invited to 3 weddings! They do say things happen in 3’s! The first was my brother Jason who wed the lovely Lindsey a

t the Roma Street Parklands in Brisbane. Duncan asked to be MC for the evenings celebrations, which he did wonderfully. The next wedding we attended was in March of our good friends Kaz and Glenn up at Caloundra on Kings Beach. It was a beautiful setting near the water and again, Duncan was MC for the reception and I was maid of honour – and it really was an honour. The third wedding we were invited to was located in the sunshine coast hinterland, Montville, just recently at the beginning of December. It was the wedding of Mark and Marita, Mark was Duncan’s boss many moons ago when he worked as an office furniture removalist. They had their reception in Maleny. At all 3 weddings, we were lucky enough to have Blair and Trish look after our Isla for us…. By the third wedding, she didn’t cry for l

ong at all (but then again she was as little older and could understand a bit more!).

Isla with Nanna and Poppa

Other exciting events for us was having Chrysa come back for a little visit and we had the opportunity to visit Robbo’s parents again out at Tannymorel (near Killarney, near Warwick). We also went on our first camping trip with Geoff, El, and the Weiss family down to Bunjalung National Park in Northern NSW (with a detour via Geoff’s parents house)– during mid winter… what were we thinking! No, actually, we had a great time despite the rain and cold temperatures. Isla really enjoyed herself and re-discovered her love of the ocean (much to my dismay!). We certainly weren’t put off by the weather and we are still trying to work out when to go again. Just recently though we had an experience totally opposite to that of camping in a 5 star resort accommodation at the Sheraton Noosa - since we had frequent flyer points to use and this was one of the redemption options. Nice. Again, it really showed that Isla has a love of water - especially the beach.

Feeling wet and cold at the beach camping

Some camping pics...here is our tent

At Noosa, Isla enjoys a backride from Dadda, and in the spa bath (so much fun!)

Also, sister Susie returned to our shores for Isla’s naming ceremony in April and because she is one of Isla’s guardian’s – it’s a lucky thing she came! Isla’s other guardian is my sister Nickole. Nickole is due to have her third bub in the first week of January so we are all getting ready for that great event now.

To finish off, we’d just like to wish everyone a very safe xmas break and happy holiday. I’m sorry that we haven’t been in contact very much but we do think of you all. Please email if you have any news! I’d like to show you some more pics of Isla smiling but she tends to just grimace at the camera these days (and then demands to see it afterwards!).