To Find A Silver Lining

I discovered Instagram this past month... so I thought I would share with you all the cool photos I have been taking! However, they are all so cool it gets it's very own post - be prepared for a photo-heavy post with very few words ;-)!
Photos of 'lil M:

Early one morning... our little wake-up call (teething)!

First day on the Jolly Jumper - a firm favourite now!

Check out that strength... only four months old and standing tall!

And the teething starts...

Our happy little dribbler (can you see the HUGE dribble trail down his chin?)!

One serious little thumb sucker!
Photos of Button:

Multi-tasking starts young - watching Mummy cooking dinner AND drawing a picture for Daddy!

Last day of Playcentre... three paintings and two collages later ;-)!

Nothing like bribery to make a LONG trip go smoother!
Family Photos:

All her very own:

This is what comes from having a father who is a Computer Programmer... I'm not sure if I should be excited or frightened that she looks like she knows what she is doing already (let alone that at two years old she had her very own computer)!
PS - It hasn't cost us a cent, they're just parts that have been given to us that hubby has put together... so if she destroys it; no big deal!

As parents we sometimes have to make really difficult decisions... this has probably (so far), been one of the hardest I have had to make. It will seem easy and obvious to some of you, and some of you will think I am mad and am making it a bigger deal than what it is (which I probably am to be honest); but we had our last day at Playcentre today :-(.
It has been something that has been weighing on my mind for a little while now, but I keep putting off making a final call... however on Wednesday I did the deed, and sent out a goodbye e-mail, and we attended our last session today. Maybe in the future there will come a time when it will be appropriate to join up again, but right now - where we are at, it just isn't working for us anymore.
Button was just starting to slowly settle in before 'lil M was born, I expected his birth would cause disruption and was prepared... but four months down the track, and she has still not settled back to where she was (and even that was a 'bar…

In the only way a four month old can...
For every single cuddle and squish, for all the times I haven't been able to push you away or say 'NO', I am now going to pull out a hair... and as I have four months to catch up on first-off; I am going to make it one BIG pull:

And he did:

That was only half the hair he managed to pull out yesterday... poor Button got such a fright she didn't know how to react! But she took it in good faith that he didn't really know what he was doing (yeah, right), and saved up the story to tell Daddy when he got home from work!
Then later on when the kids weren't looking - we had a good giggle, and have decided he is going to be a force to reckon with soon!

LYDIA EQUALS LOVE 

ASHER EQUALS ADORE

My two year blog-a-versary has just been and passed... and I missed it!
I knew it was this month, and I should have really taken more notice of it - but it has been a little bit busy here lately, so just haven't had a chance to look into it until today; and I missed it :-(!
So here is the postthat started it all - dull and boring I know (I had blogged in a previous life, so you'd have thought I'd have written a catchier first post... but no)! 
Never mind - two years on and I now have a toddler and another wee babe, I have 25 followers and hopefully my posts are slightly more interesting... but other than that, not a whole lot has changed!

Left = Me and Button, 3 months (Aug 2010) Right = Me and 'lil M, 3 months (July 2012)
Told you not much has changed... a few more gray hairs, a few more wrinkles and another baby to love on; and that's about it ;-)!

Remember how I promised you hereand againhere, the chance to see my son and brother at the same age, posing in similar positions - just to REALLY show you how alike they are?!?
Well - here it is:

See what I mean? Can barely tell them apart (except 'lil M is just that bit cuter)!
This past weekend we popped down south, and managed to spend an afternoon with my brother and his family - so they were finally introduced to 'lil M (who is now FOUR months old; where has the time gone)!
And here is a photo of my little bro and my boy:


A glimpse into the future perhaps? Or maybe not... it'll be interesting to watch 'lil M grow up and see how much of the family resemblance he keeps... Button has changed SO much, that it is hard to recognise her now when looking back at her baby photos! 

We are hitting those toddler years FAST and THICK here in Button-land... there are big girls beds, sleep-times fast becoming a thing of the past (although NOT rest-times), tantrums, changes of mind every few seconds, teasing / joking, talking up a storm, pretending to be shy (she isn't - although she does tend to be on the quiet-side and takes a while to warm up and relax with new people), the word 'NO' is heard every few seconds, eating like a crazy starved person one second and then refusing food the next - and so the list goes on.
BUT - I think the biggest problem for us has been her issues with constipation... she just can't seem to get herself sorted out. Initially we thought it was her diet, but that didn't make much sense - yes, I'd got a bit lazy since the baby had been born; but no real excessive changes in her diet had taken place. In the end the Doctor thinks it has become an anxiety thing for her - she is holding on because it hurts to go, but of cou…

I'm just not cut out too be a Mummy...???!!!
This is not going to be a 'Poor-Me' post, or a 'Woe is me' post; not even a post begging for 'nice' comments or encouragement, or wanting any kind of feed-back post. I promise - so you can read on ;-)!
This is an observation post; and really the title and first line are just attention-grabbers - it got YOU interested, didn't it?!?
I have noticed, and I am certain I am not the only one - that children seem to be able to bring out the worst side of you (well, me anyway)! They also seem to highlight, in you, all your worst 'I'm working on that' features... especially when you start to see some of your own foibles glaring out at you from within two year old little bodies.
Yep - this gorgeous two year old is right in the middle of 'those two year old days'... most of the time she is GREAT, and a relatively easy child; but she has days (like today) when she just pushes her boundaries left, right and…

I just can't help myself...
I have got SO much to be thankful for this week, and so many 'little' posts I want to share; so I decided the best thing I could do is one post to cover them all! And the best way to do this; yet another LOVING post - lots to love, so be prepared for a photo-heavy post!




1) Hints of spring are popping up in our garden (oh - and a rainbow the other morning):


2) The other morning we had the most AMAZING sunrise I have ever seen... seriously! The colours were spectacular, and I couldn't help but take my camera out into the freezing cold and snap some pictures!

I expect these colours this time of year for sunsets... but have never seen a sunrise like this!

3) Then the morning after we had a much more 'normal' sunrise, but it also had some fantastic cloud formations fitted into it... so once more I braved the cold and took some photos:


4) And while we are on the topic of clouds and light; here are some photos I took today of some cool light and …