8/52

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2015."

Harrison: You had fun looking at all the Chinese lanterns in the city for Chinese New Year.

Amelie: Enjoying some well earned rest time at home, going to school is hard work!

Finley: Starting young at wanting to help Daddy.

 Harrison got to have a go at tennis for the first time as there are courts as part of the Country Club where we live and he got a tennis racquet for his birthday, he had a great time with Daddy and wants to go back for more!  We then organised a play date later in the week with one of his mates so they could have a hit around with him as he's been having tennis lessons. 

I think the novelty of starting school has worn off a bit for Amelie and she's realised she has to go five days a week!  She is pretty tired at night after the long day,  she's really enjoying just being able  to play with her toys and do whatever she wants.  She is playing schools a bit which is pretty cute, it brings back fond memories of me doing that with my siblings.

Finley had his 18 month injections which he handled so well, just a yelp when the needle went in and that was it, I expecting way worse now that he is older and more knowing.
He learnt to say apple this week which sounds super cute when he says it.

Harrison and Daddy had a fun outing together for some one on one time, mini gold, movies and lunch!

7/52

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2015."

Harrison:Wherever we go and there is water you're always looking for fish or crabs!

Amelie: Look how tall you are!

Finley: Cooking up a storm in the kitchen!

Daddy was lucky enough to be away in New Zealand for work for a few days managed to catch up with some of the family.

This week felt super busy with Daddy away and all of the activities in full swing, Mainly music started up again for Finley and I, it felt so weird going along with only one child, I really missed not having Amelie there with me too!

I managed to 'escape' for two nights this week with different dinners that were organised with friends, it felt like a real treat!

We had some kiwi friends over for a BBQ and had a great time catching up with them and their kids.  Our first chance to entertain at our new place so it felt nice getting creative in the kitchen again.

Finley has really taken to Amelie's kitchen and is always there tinkering around with pots and pans or carrying the utensils around. 

6/52

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2015."

Harrison: Secret Agent Harrison reporting for duty at your 7th Birthday party!

Amelie: You love dressing up so you had fun being a Secret Agent at Harrison's party.

Finley: Too cool with your sunnies on!

We decided to try a different beach that we hadn't been to before so we headed to Freshwater beach on the Northern beaches.  Nice to be back at the beach as we hadn't been since our trip back to New Zealand.  Harrison had a ball boogie boarding as there were plenty of waves and he was flying into shore.

Amelie did so well with her first full week at school as the previous week she had only had two days.  She has continued to do so well at drop off and goes off to line up in her class with no problem.  I was certain that she would be a bit clingy so I 'm pleasantly surprised! 

This week all of the extra curricular activities kicked off again for the term with swimming, cricket and ballet taking up four of the week days plus the cricket game on Saturday, it sure was a busy week of running around everywhere.  Poor Finley gets a bit fed up being shipped here there and everywhere!

Also a busy week for me getting the final things sorted for Harrison's birthday party on the Saturday.
We celebrated with a Secret Agent party at the local park.  All the kids had a ball being trained up as Secret Agents and being sent on a mission to find the stolen party bags. 

5/52

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2015."

Harrison: Harrison and the Giant Peach!

Amelie: It was your first day of school! We are so proud of you.

Finley: You had your first haircut this week! Looking like a little boy now.

We had a relaxing Australia Day long weekend around Sydney.  Making the most of the pool with lots of swims.
We also had a wonderful day trip up to the Blue Mountains to go fruit picking.  We went back to Bilpin where we had done the apple picking last year but tried some different orchards and came home with beautiful peaches, apples, strawberries and tomatoes.  The strawberry season was coming to an end so it made it extra exciting when you found a nice big juicy strawberry!
We had a lovely BBQ at a friends place with some non Australian friends to celebrate Australia day.  Our Scottish friends who were hosting even put Haggis patties on the menu which was interesting to try and actually tasted quiet nice!

As the school holidays drew to a close Harrison started back at school and entered Year 2 on Wednesday. A super exciting week for Amelie as she started school for the first time on Thursday!  In Australia they only do one intake a year so although she is only four and a half she made the cut off and we felt she was ready to embark on school life.  A bit of an emotional day seeing another one going off to school but I must admit it is much easier second time round.  No tears from Amelie and she was bounding ahead walking up the road to school and couldn't wait to get there! She had a wonderful first day.  Amelie also started back at ballet on the same day which is an extended class now she is at school that includes ballet and jazz and goes for an hour and twenty minutes versus the forty five minutes she was doing last year.  It was a huge day and she was exhausted come the end of it!

It was also the time for Finley's first haircut, it had grown so long and although he looked super cute we decided it was time for a trim.  Now he looks so much older with a big boys haircut!

4/52

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2015."

Harrison: Having fun with the bubble machine.

Amelie: Our big girl heading off to school next week!

Finley: You are 18 months old this week.

We've enjoyed play dates with friends this week after not seeing them since school finished for the holidays.  Lots of fun at different parks and the new Jungle Buddies indoor playground where the kids were occupied for hours!

We celebrated Harrison's seventh birthday on Thursday, a pancake stack for brekkie before an awesome day at Taronga Zoo seeing the Dinosaurs in the wild exhibition and checking out all the  zoo animals. 
Nacho's for dinner at the birthday boys request and a chocolate birthday cake for dessert!
He is having a spy birthday party in a couple of weeks so we are busy planning that! He is taking great joy in being a part of the planning process.

Harrison has been lucky enough to visit the Wests Tigers twice this week with his friend whose Dad is a Club member.  He has been able to watch the pre season training and then go to the Season Opening party.  He got all the autographs on a cap and photos with some of the players so he was stoked.

It's the Australia Day long weekend and we're hanging around Sydney.   We've got a few things planned but for the first day we enjoyed a relaxing day by the pool.

3/52

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2015."

Harrison & Amelie: You're both water babies and loved every minute of the time spent at the pool, especially playing with your new dive balls and fish you got for Christmas.

Finley: Trying out the floating ring for the first time, a little unsure, you prefer to be standing in the shallow water.

Before flying back to Sydney in the afternoon I was able to attend the baby shower of a close friend, so lovely to see her in late pregnancy and spend a lovely morning at the garden party with my friends.
The afternoon proved to be a lot more stressful with a terrible flight home with Finley he certainly wasn't on his best behaviour and I've since joked I'm not flying with him again until he's five!

It was a week of organisation with unpacking the remaining boxes from the move, the suitcases from our time in New Zealand and getting things ready for the kids starting back to school.  Not long until Amelie starts school!

A quiet weekend around home sorting the new house and getting to enjoy the perk of having the use of the pool at the Country Club.  It is such a lovely environment and the lagoon pool is beautiful and perfect for the kids.  We will definitely be making the most of it during these hot Sydney days.

Finley seems to have mastered the art of climbing this week and is constantly on the couch and coffee table!  He has settled this week with his sleeping after being thrown out with the move and then being in New Zealand.  It's so nice to be enjoying our sleep again!

Amelie is obviously getting excited about starting school and keeps on getting dressed up in her school hat, bag and school shoes! Here's hoping the excitement sticks around at drop off on the first day!

2/52

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2015."

Harrison: You loved exploring the river and braved the cool water for a swim.

Amelie: You are in your element pottering around in the water.  This was a lovely evening spent at the estuary after our fish & chips for dinner.

Finley: You were happy to sit on the rivers edge and suck the water off the river stones!

Once again we were spoilt with a lovely week of weather so we were able to make the most of it spending our days either at the beach, estuary and on one day we went on a bush walk to the river.
The estuary was probably the best spot for our family this year as it meant all the kids could potter around without worrying about the waves knocking them over and Finley's confidence grew with playing in the water.  Lots of fun was had making dams and creating little pools of warm water where they played for hours!  The big boys had lots of fun mucking around on the skim board in the shallow water.
The kids loved having the time at the holiday house and beach to spend with their cousins and a great time for us adults to catch up and play games in the evenings. 
Harrison loved the opportunity to go fishing at the wharf and for the first time on Poppa's boat! He caught his first snapper!  He also loved getting to play a round of golf at the 9 hole with Daddy and Poppa.
We took the kids to Paddington Bear at the movies and we all really enjoyed it, Nana and Poppa looked after Finley so it was really nice for us to spend some time with the older two.
We also went to the Circus that was travelling through Whangamata, the first time the kids have been to one so they enjoyed seeing what it was all about.  The acrobats were amazing.