I owe you a proper Evie post. I was so good at documenting Evie's first year. I really like to look back over the photos and posts. It's amazing to see how much my little girl has grown.

Since then I've been really slack. I want to do an 18-month post and update you with all of Evie's latest tricks. Unfortunately, I can't muster the energy to think this evening. I've had a few more days of teaching work this week and I'm exhausted. It's nice to actually be using what I've learned from my studies but it's tiring! I also haven't figured out how to manage the whole working / looking after a toddler / running a household thing. When I work our house falls apart. I really admire all the families who have both parents working. I don't know how you do it all.

So instead of a proper Evie post I'll leave you with this photo of Audrey and Evie. Annie has been looking after Evie sometimes while I work so I owed her big on babysitting hours. On Tuesday, I had both the girls for half a day. I took them to the park for a bit and then for morning tea at Bitton. In this photo they are showing me how well they jump which is why Evie looks huge compared to Audrey (Evie is standing on her toes).

On Tuesday, I totally paid back at least a full day's worth of babysitting to Annie. There was an incident but it's not something you write about on websites unless you want to get submitted to STFUParents. Suffice to say Audrey required a bath in the middle of the day and I had to wipe myself down with several wet wipes.

Evie's 18-month post is coming soon. I promise!

More photos (slideshow) on Flickr.

Audrey loves having her photo taken. When I pulled the camera out on Sunday, she crawled straight over to me with a big smile on her face.

Later on she was standing against the balcony balustrade looking out at the view.

I called to her "Audrey, smile for the camera" and she turned around with this beautiful smile on her face.

She's got the "flash a smile over the shoulder" move down. We'll work on blue steel next. Maybe we should sign Audrey up for Toddlers and Tiaras.

Now that I have a little one, I can finally try out some Christmas ideas which I've saved over the years. In the past, I'd often read about fun family Christmas traditions on blogs and I'd file them away in a box marked "for when I have kids".

One tradition I've decided to start is to make or buy a Christmas ornament for Evie each year. After seeing a super cute matryoshka doll ornament on Pinterest, I decided to make one of these for Evie's ornament this year. I embroidered Evie's name and the year on the back too, so that we can keep track. It was so cute that I decided to make one for Audrey too. Awww, two little dolls for our two little dolls.

Audrey doesn't have any problems smiling for the camera. I captured these beautiful photos of Audrey the other day. Such a smiley, happy girl.

Here is a cute photo of the cousins holding hands. Because of my cloistered uni life the girls hadn't seen each other in a while. This was the first time that they have acknowledged each other.