The lead up to Christmas was so busy that I had to let go of most of the crafting plans that I had made.

I was a bit disappointed. I had pinned lots of ideas in the middle of my uni semester. While uni is on I'm not able to craft. I plan instead and use these plans as motivation to make it through the uni semester. I was going to try to make a handmade present for all of the kiddies. But in the end I realised that my plans were unrealistic and were causing more stress than enjoyment. So I decided that in the future I would make birthday presents and buy Christmas presents. With that decision made I was able to relax.

I did manage to squeeze in this bit of Christmas crafting for the boys. On impulse I bought some Christmas sock monkey fabric when I was Windows shopping during one of Evie's late night feeds. It was really too cute to resist. I used the sock monkey fabric to make the boys some personalised quilted Christmas placemats for Christmas day. They were just the right sized quilt project for me. Not too big for me to stuff up majorly but big enough to let me practise my quilting skills.


A success I think. I'm adding personalised placemats to my list of standard present ideas.

More photos (slideshow) on Flickr.

Last weekend was also Evie's first experience of the ocean. As we drove down the hill into Copa I said "Look bubba! the ocean!". I'm sure she would have been really excited if she was awake. And if she could see it. Bit hard when you're in rear facing car seat. She did have a nice nap one afternoon in the sunshine listening to the sound of the waves crashing on the beach.

It was a bit too cold for swimming but that didn't stop the boys. Even the enormous waves didn't stop the boys. I've never seen surf so big at Copa. The waves were 3 - 4m and were crashing right up the beach. There were lots of surfers out enjoying the conditions. There were heaps of spectators too. People videoing and taking photos from the safety of the shoreline.

The boys weren't hiding from the surf though. They had heaps of fun splashing around in the waves that crashed on the shore. Leo even found getting dunked fun. He had his feet knocked out from under him by one massive wave. Richie waded in and picked him up. Leo was spluttering and covered in sand but was still happy. "Did you see THAT!" he said. We found sand in some very unusual places during bathtime that evening.

This is a great sequence of photos captured by Andrew. Annie watching the boys play in the surf. Annie running away from a monster wave. Annie realising that she should check that the boys hadn't been washed out to sea. Phew! still there.

More photos (slideshow) on Flickr.

When you're only two months old, you experience a lot of firsts. Last weekend Evie experienced her first weekend away. We headed up to Copacabana for a couple of days of winter sunshine.

We did all the normal Copa stuff.

We went to the beach.

We fed the birds. This time we used special bird seed for wild birds that we'd bought at the supermarket. It's much better for them than left over toast.

We also did new stuff.

Getting up to feed Evie in the middle of the night is a new thing for Copa. At least at Copa I have company in the wee hours. I'd often bump into Annie who was feeding Audrey. Sometimes our feeds would sync and we'd have conversations made strange through sleep deprivation. Other times I'd be just starting while Annie was finishing up. It was like a very tired game of tag.

The boys also went fishing for the first time. They caught this Red Rock Cod. Oscar was happy to throw it back but Leo wanted to put it in a container and keep it as a pet. (He would hug him and squeeze him and call him George.) They ended up letting the fish go.

More photos (slideshow) on Flickr.

Oscar and Leo are enamoured with their little sister. The other day Oscar asked Annie if he could see if Audrey was awake and ready for a feed. Leo shouted "I'm coming too" and they both sprinted off to check.

Leo is always asking if he can hold Audrey. When he does hold her if she is cranky he pats her head gently and says "there, there Audrey". Leo was boasting to Mum the other day that Audrey has lots of hair and Evie has none (poor Evie. She does have hair. It's just fair like her Dad's.) Audrey is lucky to have two such attentive big brothers looking out for her.

I think Audrey is going to grow up to be a champion sleeper. When Evie goes down for a nap I try to be careful about how much noise I make around the house. I close the cupboard doors gently. I berate myself if I drop something and it makes a loud noise. In the Bell household, Annie can be as quiet as as a mouse but it's mission impossible to get Oscar and Leo to be really quiet. They do try but even Leo's whisper is louder than an adult's inside voice. If Audrey can successfully nap in the Bell household she will be able to sleep anywhere.

Oscar and Leo were not only excited about a visit from the Easter Bunny. They were also super excited about the return of Daddy. The boys made him a special Welcome Home sign. When the Bells returned home in February, Richie had to head back to London to finish up some work. He arrived home for good on Easter Sunday.

It was funny though because he came home looking like this.

When Richie's car pulled up to Copa, Oscar and Leo both ran outside to greet him. When Richie got out of the car, both of the boys stopped in their tracks and then took a step back. They hadn't seen him for a couple of months and he no longer looked like Daddy. It then took Oscar and Leo a couple of minutes to warm up to this stranger (recently returned from a fishing trip or from logging trees in Canada or holding up stage coaches in the bush.)

The beard has gone now (thankfully!).

More photos (slideshow) on Flickr.