10/52

This week I only have one photo to contribute to Project 52 - The Lad caught this shot of the Lily Bug as she sailed through the air towards him, expression fierce as she was impersonating a T-Rex at the time. As she so often does. To our youngest daughter, playing on the trampoline is not so much about jumping as high as she can, but about cage fighting. Far as she's concerned, the tramp is a fighting ring, and the opponants are all dinosaurs. With her sweeping kicks, swift claws and savage teeth, B-Rex will get you every time.

See what I mean?

Bolt huh? Should've called her Cujo.

Meet our new puppy Bolt. We've discussed bringing a puppy into our family for a long time now, though normally in a "one day when the cats all die of old age" kind of way. However this three month old SPCA girl had been giving us please-take-me-home eyes at Animates for weeks now. Six weeks! Poor thing.

 

Oh, these photos are completely misleading. Look at her - all lovely and innocent and butter-won't-melt-in-her-mouth. And she is. Until she sees a child or a cat, and then she turns into a rabid psychopath.

 

 Honestly. I mean, I love her, but she's all teeth and claws and TEETH! and what the hell was going on when I decided we needed a pup?!?!  

 

The kids have become eternal targets of her desire to chase anything that moves. Hell, they don't have to be moving. They only have to look at her and she throws herself on them in a fury of teeth and claws and snarls. And not in a 'puppy just wants to play' manner! We're talking nasty gashes and deep puncture wounds. My daydreams of a cute puppy playing nicely alongside the kids is cracking here!



 

 But we made our dog bed, and now it's time to pee in it. I'm sure the kids will eventually be able to climb down from the top of the furniture, and I'm sure our cat Pookie will eventually stop hiding in the wardrobe. It's just gonna take some patience, perseverance, and FML.

9/52

If you had been in our crazy house on Sunday afternoon and seen the kids smear green paint all over their bods then run it through the kitchen (... the hallway... the bathroom... the don'teventhinkofgoinginthatlounge!!) you would never have guessed Guy Smiley had been in hospital with breathing difficulties during the wee hours of the previous night.

But, despite being awake from 1-4am, and then up for the day from 6am - which we can probably thank a 1am dose of Redipred for - our little dude was a box of birds through most of the day. The kids got it in their heads to do some painting. Of course, they weren't talking about painting on paper. When do they ever actually paint on paper in this house?

It was at around 5.30pm that Guy Smiley (in the guise of Hulk) made his way to the computer and became very very very quiet.

Turns out, even superheros have to sleep.

The Lily Bug - As usual, she was the instigator of the madness. As usual, she kept the household upbeat, made her little brother laugh and kept the ball rolling. The messy goopy paint ball, that is. Sure, the kitchen floor may keep that green tint forever and ever, but it was all worth it.

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2013."

8/52

The Lily Bug - when Granny Greener came up to Auckland for a train trip, we hung out in Devonport for the evening, took loads of snaps, watched a couple of huge ocean liners cruise out from the harbour... And all that time, our dog mad girl couldn't take her wistful eyes of this lil fella running up and down the beach.

Guy Smiley - taking time out to enjoy a refreshing drink during  the second of two birthday parties we attended on the weekend.

Backdating like a mad woman to join in on...

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2013."

7/52

 The Lily Bug - the best way to overcome the nerve-wrecking adrenalin-pumping mortifying terror or hurtling face first down a water slide is to think (and act) like a T Rex. That'll scare them drops of water!!

Guy Smiley - making himself at home during the Lily Bug's school visit. He had been standing on the edge of the fort and, using a long plastic hockey-stick-like-thing as a fishing rod, caught a dozen fish of every size and colour. Most he threw back into the ocean, one or two he ate.... It was a gorgeous game led by his own imagination and initiative. I flicked the camera to video but - idiot me! - Accidently deleted it. :(

6/52

Guy Smiley - our adventure to the relatively new park at Tui Glen fell a little flat when we realised the climbing frames were high and huge, and completely intimidating to our little dude who could only stand on the smallest platform and gaze about in frustration.  I love this photo so much, but could only surprise him into smiling when I told him I had a poo on my head. He looked up and laughed. Fleetingly.

The Lily Bug - climbing the rope at the playground near Narrow Neck Beach. Love the determination.

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2013."

5 birthday candles...

In the days leading up to her 5th birthday, the Lily Bug grew increasingly anxious. As much as she was excited by the hype of her birthday (and the hope of her Trash Pack Street Sweeper wish coming true) she was terrified at what she would suddenly become, on the day of her birthday. Would she wake up and discover she'd grown into an adult all at once? Would she suddenly be too big to play with toys and run around a playground?

Despite our reassurances that she'd still be the same height on the 4th as she was on the 3rd, she had taken the notion of suddenly becoming a 'big' five year old to heart, and began waking from bad dreams in the night, refusing to sleep and even wetting her bed. It was only on the morning of her birthday when she woke to realise she was still a little girl, and made me measure her height just to be sure, that she finally relaxed - and got on with enjoying life through the eyes of a five year old. Which are, initially at least, very much like the eyes of a four year old.

 


Me on the other hand... I found it hard, really hard, to get excited about this particular birthday. These last five years have gone way way too fast, and no matter how much I may wish it, I just can't seem to grab Time in my hands and stretch it out, to make it last longer.

Guy Smiley - can have his cake and eat it. Though, whatever else that is hanging out of his mouth, I just can't tell you.

To be honest, the Teen and the Lily Bug don't spend a lot of time together. You know how it goes with 17 year olds... They have their own life to live etcetera etcetera... But it was nice to see them hanging out for this special event - and I made sure to snap photographic evidence. ;)

The Lily Bug's birthday cake. The birthday girl painted it herself. She had longed for a T-rex cake, and I'd used chocolate truffle mix as I usually find it easy to mold into shapes. This year, the Bug and I shaped the cake together, and she painted it. Less a T-Rex, more a Dragon, but the process of its creation became the theme of our day and as well as being incredibly fun, it was a nice way for the Bug to relax and overcome her birthday anxiety. Henceforth, a new birthday ritual for our family.

5/52

At the end of another postcard Summer afternoon spent jumping off boat ramps, chasing gulls and dogs and struggling in vain to pull out the ocean's plug, the kids stopped for a quiet (and oh-so-fleeting) moment to stand side-by-side and admire the deep blue, arm in arm. For all the pics that I snapped of them laughing in mid-air as they leapt from the ramp, or in deep concentration as they balanced along its edge, this moment was the one that defines just how beautiful their friendship is. I'm so glad to have managed to caught this scene just as it was, before one of them had a chance to look over shoulder and poke out a tongue - or shove the other one on to the sand ;)

Furiously backdating to join in on the Portrait a Week project at...

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2013."

4/52

The Lily Bug - accustomed to Auckland beaches with long stretches of sand and rock pools at low tide, Waitara's shoreline laden with smooth round stones, driftwood and the odd sun-bleached or cooking-fire charred animal bone, initially worried her. Soon enough, she had discovered a beach stone's purpose in life is to be stacked. Stacked and stacked and stacked.

The Teen - would you believe it? I caught a photo of her. Admittedly, this whole walking-along-the-tracks-hand-in-hand-with-beloved was ever so slightly set up...

Guy Smiley - devastated because he's too little to keep up in a friendly game of ball. Don't worry little peanut, it won't be too long before they'll be chasing you around the field.

Furiously backdating to join in on the Portrait a Week project at...

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2013."

3/52

I love Guy Smiley's lovely soft expression as a friend paints his face. Batman. And once the make up is on, he totally believes it.

The Lily Bug demonstrates her handstands on the trampoline. She's so proud of herself, and refuses to let me back inside even though dusk is well rolling towards bedtime and I'm swatting mosquitos as I stand at the entrance of the tramp, click click clicking...

Furiously backdating to join in on the Portrait a Week project at...

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2013."

2/52

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2013."

Best friends, and not afraid to be seen frollocking through the wilderness (aka overgrown lawn) in fairy wings.

Furiously backdating to join in on the Portrait a Week project at...

1/52

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2013."

New Years Day 2013 and the Lily Bug and Guy Smiley are trying out their skateboards on Nan's driveway. Just as I used to, once upon a time... :)

Furiously backdating to join in on the Portrait a Week project at...

New Years Day 2012

When the Teen was little, we would sometimes sit outside blowing wish bubbles. Sometimes we'd make a wish for ourselves within the bubbles, sometimes we'd wish on behalf of our friends, and sometimes we'd really push bubble magic by wishing for the world as a whole. 

Fast forward to New Years Day 2012. All the elements came together this day. The Lad managed to swing the day off work, the weather was postcard perfect, Cheltenham beach was - surprisingly - not tooo packed, and the bubbles were flowing.... 

The Lily Bug revealed her wish to me as she stood at the water's edge.

To blow a really big bubble.  

And shortly after - she did. 

The girl is now a believer in the power of bubble magic. ;)

End note: This is a post dated entry. It's currently 3rd March 2013 as I write this and being that I've been completely slack about blogging this year, I figure I'll make up for lost time by uploading some of my fav pics from Jan & Feb with 'a few' accompanying sentences...