Wordless Wednesday

Pop over to Faith Hope and a whole lotta Love for more Wordless Wednesdays.

Camera face: secret weapon of the second-born child

I read somewhere that first-borns receive 30% more parental attention than subsequent children, and that this unequal distribution of attention continues throughout their childhood.

As a middle child I don't remember receiving less attention than my older brother, but I do think he set the agenda somewhat. His interests shaped our family's culture, and influenced my childhood.  I'm not complaining; I'm proud of the fact that I can kick a decent drop-punt and I know all the rules of football - and I suspect that those skills might come in handy as Oesch grows (he is rather obsessed with footy right now).  

Doots is our first born, and although she's quite reserved and introverted, she is a pretty dominant (or dominating) force in our little family. Her love for imaginative play, making stuff, drawing, singing and story telling are having an influence on her little brother. Little Oesch loves nothing better than a big play-dough session up at the big table, sitting right next to his big sister, rolling snakes and balls and stamping shapes. 

Steve and I sometimes discuss our kids personalities and birth order, and how Doots would have been better suited as a youngest child, and how Oesch is a born leader and would have loved the top job. Their birth order is presenting them with challenges and I hope that it will be character building for both of them. Doots is learning that her actions affect others (and isn't THAT an important thing for a kid to learn) and that she is setting an example for her brother. She has learned that she can make stop him crying by singing him a song. She has learned that while it is wonderful to be happy with your own company, it is a fine thing indeed to have a partner in crime.

Oesch is big and strong for his age, and having a gentle, 'physically cautious' big sister is teaching him to be gentle. If he had a big strong brother things would be very different! His method of winning back some of that 30% difference in parental attention is charm, by the bucketload, illustrated by a camera face that has to be seen to be believed. Actually, the photos don't even do it justice. To fully appreciate Oesch's camera face one has to witness it in action - that is the transformation from normal expression to idiot grin which takes place as soon as he realises the camera is pointed his way.

I am completely camera-shy so I find this quite interesting. Here is some photographic evidence:

 

3months old - could that possibly be an early camera face? Maybe he was just happy...

Early camera face - the open mouthed version he used to do

Classic camera face - open mouth and squinty eyes. I've got video from this occasion - he drops in and out of camera face, with funny kind of sighing noises to go with it. So dramatic!

See, it's ridiculous. It's become impossible to take a normal photo of him 

This was just last week, I was trying to take a photo of Doots in her 'penguin feet' and Oesch just appeared and sat down on that chair quick as lightning. Note the hand-on-hip pose.

Sunshine-seekers find the best pizza in Hobart

A kiss in the sunshine

The week just gone has been remarkable for the arrival of spring. Sunrise is noticebly earlier all of a sudden, and Oesch's little body clock has responded like, well, clockwork. Bodyclockwork I guess. So we're up closer to 6 than 7 lately - bring on daylight savings! Here are some photos from our sunny week...

The weeping cherry tree out the front - Doots gets a lovely view of it from her room. I'm not usually a fan of the weeping ornamental, but this one does scream spring, and in summer Doots sets up house beneath its green ceiling.

 

Oesch's bare feet in the sandpit. I can't stop looking at those feet...

And these hands.

The sunshine has been lovely. We've soaked it up - through the loungeroom windows during afternoon quiet time, in the back garden mid-morning and out and about. We've played barefoot in the sandpit under the plum tree, had pikelet picnics outside with a friend from across the street, and enjoyed our first bbq of the season with friends at their place (which is always drenched in sunshine due to its excellent aspect and design) after the footy (almost)final.

     

Doots has been busy creating farms in the sandpit, in SHORTS!

Today we wandered over to Salamanca Square, a favourite spot for sunshine seeking due to it's aspect and sheltered position - you become quite tuned-in to sunny sites when you live in Hobart. The kids chased each other around the fountain and we decided to have pizza for lunch at Ciuccio. We lunched here a little while ago with friends and it may have been the best pizza I've ever had. Today it was just as good. We ordered the funghi - mushrooms, caramelised onion, goats cheese and pesto; and a rocket/prosciutto/Parmesan number. Both were really good, but the funghi was a particular winner with the kids - the topping had a yummy sweetness.  And of course, pizza is all about the base and these bases are gorgeous - thin, chewy, wood fired goodness.  And Ciuccio wins oesch & doots bonus points for the crayons and butchers paper on the tables. Bravo!

Oesch, my (ridiculously) happy dining companion

Dining with hungry little ones can be challenging, especially that dreaded period between ordering and the food arriving. Crayons and butchers' paper on every table make it so much easier, and fun for adults too.

What's your favourite tip for dining out with children?

Hope you had a sunny week too!

x Sarah

Sunday driving

Today we decided to jump in the car and go for a drive.  As we leave winter behind it seems that the time for lazy days inside are over for the year (hooray!) and everyone was feeling like a little out-of-town adventure.  

Mt Field is one of my favourite places in Tasmania, so we packed the car full of snacks and spare clothing and off we went.

I love the walk around Lake Dobson towards the top of Mt Field, but the 25kms up the mountain on a very soft mud road put paid to that idea, so we ambled to Russell Falls instead. We saw a wallaby, which delighted our German friend. She was amazed at the size of the trees.

We looked for faeries on the moss-covered forest floor.  The river was very high and there was water everywhere - Doots thought the faeries in this forest must really like to have baths.

The falls were as spectacular as ever. It's the roar of that falling water that strikes me - and the energy that charges the air.  I always feel invigorated here. So does Doots; she can't contain her awe and jumps up and down as she's being gradually drenched with water spray.

Snacks were in order. If Oesch's face looks a little misshapen, he had two nasty spills yesterday, both made his nose bleed and one left him with bruising and swelling to the bridge of his nose. Poor bruiser.

Lunch at the Possum Shed on the way home. Food was ok, but the well-stocked toy corner was great. We told ourselves to come back when it's warmer so that we can sit in the garden (there's even a sandpit).

This is the view of the river from the garden.

I even got to knit in the car on the way home.

And we baked a lemon cake when we got home. The lemons are the beautifully fragrant Meyer variety, from our very generous neighbours' prolific tree. I need to bake on Sundays, it makes me feel terribly well organised.

What did you get up to this weekend?

cars or us? on international park(ing) day

It's been seven and a half years since hubby and I packed up our snail shell and moved across 'the ditch' from Melbourne to Hobart. We initially moved for work; he was offered a job which would support an infinitely more sustainable work-life balance than the high-pressure career track he had been following. We also relocated for a change. I was keen to live 'somewhere else' for a year or two...

Hobart and the Derwent Estuary

 

We're still here because we fell in love with this little town. We got married here, and now we're raising Oesch and Doots here. We've bought a house, chosen the school, put down roots. We feel connected to the community, to the place, the topography, the history. I have even discovered Tasmanian ancestral ties on both of my parents sides, including two convicts who arrived in 1816 and 1817.  

The convict-built church at Port Arthur. My great great great grandfather might have had a hand in its construction.

Ok, I'm getting a wee bit carried away here, because in this post I really just wanted to have a little rant about the traffic situation. Because against this backdrop of wonder and love for our new home town there was one element that jarred from the beginning. The roads, the carparking and the traffic. This boutique sized city has big roads. Whoppers. One-way, multi-lane arteries that seem completely out-sized. There is a lot of land in the CBD given over to the car - roads, carparks, car dealerships; and when you throw in a second-rate public transport system it makes for quite a hostile environment for pedestrians and cyclists. Hoon culture thrives. Pedestrians actually get knocked over pretty regularly. And don't get me started on the waterfront (it's one big car park, although thankfully it's days are numbered).

Anyway, rant over! Today we visited (by car, I must confess) my old workplace Inspiring Place, a planning and landscape architecture practice in downtown Hobart, for a coffee. But not your usual 'pop in to your former office for a coffee with your former workmates' - this was much more fun and, well, public than that.  

Our German friend Jana with oesch and doots  - look how much you can squeeze into the width of a car space!

 

Inspiring Place in collaboration with visual artist Bec Stevens put on 'coffee lounge not cars' and reclaimed parking spaces as social space. The parking spaces were made super comfy for lounging with turf, straw bales and potted trees and shrubs, deck chairs, cushions and coffee tables.  Anja Boot (Barista Sista) served lattes, flat whites and in our case, babycinos, from 8 till 5. And although there was a fresh breeze coming off the mountain (we had a lovely view of its snowy summit incidently), the north facing aspect meant that it was actually quite cozy in the sun.

 

Great fun, I'd love to see this become an annual fixture (it even got met thinking wistfully about returning to work one day!)

         

Doots heads for a cozy spot

Doots said the babycinos were great (so was my latte)

Head over to Tasmanian Times for a more comprehensive read and more pictures

hello yellow!

"What's your favourite colour?" is often the first question Doots will ask if she's met someone new and is trying to get to know them a bit better.  To her, colour is really important. Colours were among her first words.  As a baby she would lie in her cradle and watch her wind-up musical mobile go around (a gift from her Aunty Catherine). There were four brightly coloured little creatures and baby Doots' eyes would follow the yellow one. Round. And around. Just the yellow one.  This story probably illustrates how much time I had when there was only one child to watch and marvel at! But I digress.  

So the yellow-love was apparent early and shows no sign of waning. If Doots could dress in head to toe yellow, eat off only yellow plates (you get the picture), she would.  Ange

pointed me in the direction of Dana at Made for her Celebrate Yellow festival. If spring sunshine and daffodils have you leaning towards yellow, have a look.  We're celebrating yellow this (southern hemisphere) spring and there might be more buttery hues in coming posts.

Meanwhile, here are some of my favourite yellowy pictures...

three perfect eggs and some lovely yellow bargains from the tip shop

my little ray of sunshine: sunday morning at the farmers market

our winter decorations (we'll be replacing these with birds for spring)

a golden felt birthday crown with a flower for every year (inspiration soulemama)

yellow gumboots for a winter ride on the magnificently restored 1890s merry-go-round in the botanic gardens (a wonderful day - we were joined by 10 interstate relatives for Doots' birthday!)

mamma bird protects her eggs in her nest

What's your favourite colour?

Vintage sheets and babycinos...

A lovely morning with my boy (let's call him Oesch from now on).  Coffee and babycino at our favourite bookshop cafe.  He usually runs straight to the corner where the highchair is kept, but today decided to sit in a 'real' chair instead. He's growing up.

And later, a parcel - don't we love a parcel? Two sets of vintage sheets, unused and still in their daggy 70's cellophane packaging. One flannelette and one a lovely crisp cotton, both with fab retro prints in the loveliest citrus shades of yellow and orange.  They were an Ebay bargain.

These beauties (however tempting it may be) are not for cutting up and crafting with (ooh, but I can't help but see cushions, aprons and all manner of patchwork loveliness).  No, these will actually be used as sheets, on my daughter's (let's call her Doots) bed. The girl is mad for yellow, and orange comes a close second - in fact orange is occasionally welcomed into the fold as part of the 'yellow family'. These sheets are going to look so cosy teamed with her lovely, thrifted, yellow woolen blankets.

Hatching

This is the first post of my first blog! I feel quite nervous and as I type this I'm wondering if I'll continue, or if this will become one of the (numerous) things I begin and lose interest in.  Time will tell.

This pic was taken a couple of weeks ago, my 4 year old Georgina was drawing 'an egg with a baby penguin inside'.  An interesting drawing don't you think? We've been talking about eggs quite a lot lately.  Our two very pretty speckled hens have recently started to lay eggs (after months of wondering if they would ever adorn their lovingly straw-filled nesting boxes!) and the children LOVE collecting the eggs and bringing them inside.  They fight over it like a pair of cranky chooks themselves. We've had a couple of dropped-egg accidents, (not to mention 19 month old Griff receiving the fright of his life when he lifted the lid and discovered one of the chooks in the nest - I don't know who screamed loudest - the child or the fowl!) but we've also been enjoying the best eggs ever - soft poached (my choice, and Stephen's), scrambled (kidlets preferred version) and tonight, a lovely eggy-bacony pasta with peas and parsley and lots of pepper.

Perhaps this first post is a kind of hatching - I've been meaning to do it for quite a while. So here goes, peck, peck, crack!