Happy 2nd birthday Tahlia

After a busy day out on Saturday next it was time to have the family together and celebrate Tahlia's 2nd birthday. I can't believe she is 2!! where has the time gone!! But even saying that it does feel so long ago that we were celebrating her 1st birthday. And she has grown and turned into a beautiful and caring little girl. She is the princess of the family and even has Nathan and daddy wrapped around her little finger. You go girl!

She is a real girl's girl, and loves dressing up "pweety" she says when l do her hair or dress in her a pretty dress. And have a fetish for "shoes", dolls, and hand bags. She got a handbag for her birthday and takes it everywhere. She also love Nate's cars and is always pushing something around the house and be warned if you take her Wags or Dororthy (from the Wiggles)its war.

The birthday girl

We were to have a BBQ/Picnic down at the local park but the weather was too cold and seeing it had been raining the past few days we thought it would be better to have it at home. So it was a BBQ at our house.

Opening presents with mummy, Nathan and Maddy.


Showing Poppy what she got.

We had some trouble trying to think of what sort of cake to make this year for Tahlia. We knew she loved the wiggles but could not find anything we liked for her. I knew l had a cupcake stand that l had not used yet and thought every little girl loves cupcakes. So cupcakes it was.

Here is the cupcakes.

They were white chocolate mud cupcakes, and then buttercream icing some icing was coloured. Then decorated with little stars and butterflies. Nice and easy. Thanks Nige for helping ice and decorate the cakes. Great team effort.

Tahlia blowing out the candles.

She is a bit wary of blowing out the candles and not sure of them. But she did well. We all want to thank those who came and for all the wonderful presents she was given.

Now Monday was the day Tahlia turned 2 and of course as a mother you sit back and remember the day your child was born. I can laugh at it now but l was stressing and hoping she was a girl. As the boys name we had picked was already taken by some friends who had their son two days earlier. Everyone kept telling us we were having a girl and to relax. I also remember sitting around waiting and waiting till l could go to the hosptial at 12noon for the c/section, and wondering why l could have been first off the list and hated having to wait and wait and wait.

Then after you remember about the day your child was born you remember all the milestones and things that have happened from that time till the present time. I can't believe how much she has grown and l guess l can no longer call her my baby. But then she will always be my baby girl, just like Nate will always be my baby boy. Even though when l say that to him he replys " l'm not a baby, l'm a BIG boy". He even told me he was a man like daddy once. Don't you the love the things kids say. They are always a joy.

Anyway back to Tahlia's birthday. It had drizzled most of the morning so we thought it was best not to go anywhere, and anyhow she had all these new toys to play with that the family had given her. We were to give ours to her in the evening with daddy was home from work. So Nate and Tahlia had a ball playing with all her new toys.

Tahlia in her new tent (thanks Aunty Rachel and Aunty Karen) and some of her new toys.


Tahlia and her Snow White doll (thanks Nanny and Poppy).

It's a tradition that the person celebrating their birthday can choose what dinner they would like for that evening. When l asked her answer was "chippies". So we had Roast Chicken with salad and chippies.

Tahlia blowing out her candle.

Now it was time to open her presents that we had given her.

The carebear teddy.

And what every little girl would love. A pram and set all of her own. Looks like she can't wait to get in there and play with her pram and take her baby for a walk to work. Her and Nate usually pack a bag and say "bye we are off to work" as they walk to the front door.

Whats in the box daddy?




Look mummy a baby.


Oh and even a cradle so baby can sleep.





Tahlia thinks baby is quite comfortable in her little bed.

It was quite a struggle to get both of them into their pj's and into bed. How cruel of us to give them new toys to play with and then declare it is time for bed.

And the "little mummy"

Tahlia was certainly not happy with that plan. But in the end she was happy to take her baby to bed and have a bottle so she could feed the baby.

Happy 2nd birthday beautiful girl.

Family Fun Day at Sovereign Hill

Nige's work was having a Family Fun Day for the family Christmas party. You could choose to go to Luna Park, a Fun park down Whittlesea (not sure of the name) or Sovereign Hill. We have been wanting to take the kids to Sovereign Hill for ages but had not gotten there. We could hardley refuse this great offer as it was to cost $30 for all of us and that included a BBQ lunch. For a family of 4 it is usually about $100 just to get in).

So we had been looking forward to it for a while and even had to change our plans for Tahlia's birthday party as we had actually forgotten the date of Sovereign Hill (got it muddled up), but the days leading up the weather forecast was not good at all. First they said 17 and showers we could handle that but 2 days before we were to go it was to be 11, with gusty winds, showers and then thunder and hail in the afternoon.

But we thought we would risk it and ever so glad we did. We were on the road at 8am as it was an hour and half drive to Ballarat. It was freezing and only about 5 degrees. Very odd for late November. So the kids were in their warm weather gear and had even packet a few pairs of spare clothing for them. They were bound to get wet or dirty.

It rain most of the way there, the drizzle and then even poured and we even did comment to each other " Are we the only idiots going today"..lol However got to Ballarat by 10am (opening time of Sovereign Hill) and there was quite a few people arriving at the same time. So some more brave souls.

Was not raining in Ballarat so we just needed our warm jackets on (was about 7 degrees) and off we went exploring. The first thing to look at was the area set up for panning for gold and the little creek that ran thru the middle of Sovereign Hill. No one was trying there luck at the moment, was too cold and early to be putting their hands in icy water.

You could smell the open fires in the little cabins and huts surrounding you and they were a welcome relief and offered a quick warm up to cold little hands. Nothing better then the smell of an open fire on a cold and wet day.


Smoke from an open fire at one of the huts.


The deserted creek where you can try your luck finding some gold.

The horse and cart was already making it's way down the main st with it's first passengers on it for their joy ride. Nathan could not wait to go on the horse and cart.

We have always wanted one of those old fashioned photos taken dressed in the clothing they wore in that era. So we went to the main st to check out what was on offer. Went up and made an appointment for a photo shoot.

While we waited we thought we would have something to eat in the bakery. The smell was too hard to resist and the amount of people walking out with all the food was just too tempted. Poor Tahlia chose this time to fall over (her 2nd time) and got gravel rash between her little finger. Poor child kept falling over.

Grabbed some delicious sweets and then headed to the indoor canteen area. Talk about timing, no sooner had we gotten in there the heavens opened and it hailed and poured for the next 10 mins while we sat there and ate our jam tarts and studied the map to see where to head after our photo shoot.

The kids enjoying the day out

The rain had stopped and sun started to come out so we thought it was safe to venture out into the open again. This time it was Nate's turn to fall over and fell right onto his bottom and left and nice muddy patch on his backside. Silly mummy had even dressed him in light coloured pants too. When will mummy learn.

The girls

The photo shoot went really well, except Nate went all shy and would not dress up. But with some talking to from Nige he agreed. He is funny as he is usually the one who is outgoing and will talk to anyone. Tahlia is the shy one but she was happy to wear the "pweety wress" and the "hat". We were dressed up as a "lady & gentleman".. haha

Our family photo

They put on a lovely BBQ lunch in one of the hotels that they use for functions. Was nice to have a warm lunch. After lunch we had some face painting and both kids agreed to have their face painted. While we were waiting we were watching the lady who was doing the face painting and she was so talented. A lot of little girls had little flowers on vines, and butterflies on their face and it was shame that they were to be washed off later on. I hope there are many photos to remember their face artwork.

Nathan wanted to be a cat, and while he was getting his face done Tahlia was laughing so much at him with this "funny stuff" on his face. Through-out the rest of the day she kept pointing and touching his face and laughing and saying "meow" to him. Was very amusing.

Tahlia had to try out the face paint and she had some pretty little flowers on her face. Looked so cute.

Their work of art.

Having a giggle and sharing some love.

Next Nathan wanted to try his luck in panning for gold. I am sure he had no idea what gold was but he thought putting a pan in the creek and filling it with water and stones sounded like a lot of fun. What more could a little boy ask for. He had a ball helping daddy look, but l am not sure who had more fun Nige or Nathan.

Trying their luck at finding the big one.

Wandered around a bit more, and thought we would try the horse and cart ride, but when we got there the queue was too long and they were only letting on 6 at a time and decided we would not wait around for the ride. So the kids had a ride in a cart on their own with a imaginary horse.

Enjoying the ride (yes Tahlia is laughing and meowing at Nathan).

Beautiful girl

Seeing he missed out on the horse and cart (was rather upset about that) we said he could colour his own candle. And he jumped at the chance of that. Here is his artwork.

Next we went to watch the Gold Pour and this is where Nate learnt about more gold and understood what it now meant to "search in the creek" so when we came out he said he wanted to go on a mine tour and then "look for more gold". I am sure both Nige and Nate could have sat there all day looking but it was getting late and the place was closing in 20mins. So we went and grabbed our photo from the studio and grabbed a Giant chocolate freckle and some licorice and headed home.

The kids had a ball, Tahlia was worn out so she was soon asleep with a chocolate smile on her face, l was worn out and had a spilting headache, Nige had a slight headache and all and l mean ALL the way home Nathan talked and talked about gold, gold and more gold. I think he enjoyed his day out.

I got home and went straight to bed and Nathan was still going on about his day. I am most certain that when he went to bed he was dreaming about gold.

Tahlia's first big accident

Nige has been outside starting on the side gates... FINALLY!!!!! We have lived in this house coming up to 8 years when we built it and it has taken that long to get gates up. Well they are beginging, hope they are up by Jan.

Tahlia is a wanderer.A bit like her mum at that age l hear you say.... They will never let me forget that at around age 4 l took my baby sister for a walk to the park. I had everyone looking for me the police and everything. Funny thing is l can remember sitting in the park with my sister. Was about 1km away from home too. Hopefully that will never happen to Tahlia.

She was outside yesterday with daddy and Nate. I heard a HUGE bang and went running to find her lying on the steps outside. She must have fallen. By the time l got to her the shock and kicked in and she was screaming. There was blood pouring out her nose and her mouth. She must have hit her nose on the step as she feel.

Well she did have her hat on back to front and could not see where she was walking, no wonder she fell. She then did it again about an hour later, but this time at the front door. Poor little girl what a day for her.

She is a lot better today and only has a scratch mark on her nose and upper lip. Just as well as it is her birthday next week. My kids always seem to hurt themselves before their birthday's and makes a good talking point when the photos come out.

Christmas Photo Shoot

On Cup Day the sun came out (after a wet weekend) we thought we would make the most of it and take the kids out for the Christmas Photo Shoot. The first spot we picked was the old Yarra Glen Railway Station down in Yarra Glen.

The train line used to go from Lilydale down to Yarra Glen and right thru to Healsville but of course no longer runs. They do have Trolley rides once a month from Yarra Glen to Healsville.

Here are some of the photos we got down at Yarra Glen. We are pretty impressed with them.

Photo shoot.

Then we went to have a look at Donnelly's Weir. More to see what it was like to have a picnic at for Tahlia's birthday but was so pretty there that out came the camera again and more pics were taken.

Day out to You Yangs and surrounds

We spent a day out. The weather forcast was for rain and storms later in the day but we decided to risk it and have a day out.

Drove down to the You Yangs (down near Werribee and Geelong). By the time we got there we were all starving and could not wait for our hamburgers to cook by our chef Nige/daddy. This time he actually brought hamburgers and not just the plain mince... Poor guy l will not let him forget that one.

So while Nige cooked, the kids let all their energy out and went off to explore the surounds. There was HUGE boulders to climb and lots of trees to run around. Was quite easy to get lost in this type of bush. So l was soon worn out after chasing the kids around who of course were playing and singing "we're going on a bear hunt".

Tahlia exploring

But everyone was happy to sit down and eat their hamburgers after all that running around. Was nice and warm in the sun, with a slight cool breeze. The sky was getting darker with the louds and you could feel the rain in the wind. The rain was on the way.

Nate trying out one of the boulders.

So we went for a walk over to the BIG boulder that was there. It had some amazing views across to Werribee area and even Geelong. The area is just so different to where we live and you could already see how it was dry and suffering from the drought. No much green out there.

Nige and Tahlia climbing the BIG rock.


Nate standing at the BIG rock.


Both of the kids at the rock.

After the walk we took the tourist road around the park. They now have many tracks on the other side of the park for bike riding and mountain bike riding. Saw quite a few people around the tracks on their bikes. Looked like a lot of fun and one thing to put on our list of things to try when our kids are a bit older and have their own bikes.

We promised the kids some ice-creams so headed to the information centre in Geelong and had some McDonalds cones while we looked at where to head next.

Decided to check out the Steiglitz Historic Park, in the Brisbane Ranges.

Tahlia sitting on the old Court House steps.


Tahlia in her own little world.

Nathan at the old Court House.

We thought we would have a walk around the old little town (if you could call it that now). Some remaining buildings were there and some were private homes but still kept in their orginal condtion. Just beautiful.

Renee standing out the front of the Old Court house.

Let's fill her up.

Out of registration.

We then drove thru the Brisbane Ranges and thought it would be time to head home. The sky was getting darker and the weather cooler. No sooner had we got home the heavens opened and it certainly did rain.

But a great day out.