Friday, September 26, 2014

Favourite Photo Friday - 26/9/14

This week it's a flash back to when we were in France, just under 2 years ago.  As part of our 2 month trip we did a day trip to the Loire Valley.  One day definitely wasn't enough but we at least got a taste of some lovely Châteaus and gardens.

For years I had been hanging out to see the Château and jardins de Villandry. They didn't disappoint. We would definitely go back again, as it was truly spectacular. We went in November and I'm sure the gardens would be even more stunning in Spring.

I love the tiny little 16 month old Astrid who loved running around in her coat, hat and scarf on a cold late Autumn day.....



D80 with Tokina 12-24mm f4.0
ISO 500 focal length 12mm
Exposure: 1/320 @ f/9.0


D80 with Tokina 12-24mm f4.0
ISO 500 focal length 17mm
Exposure: 1/250 @ f/9.0


D80 with Tokina 12-24mm f4.0
ISO 500 focal length 18mm
Exposure: 1/320 @ f/9.0



D80 with Tokina 12-24mm f4.0
ISO 500 focal length 18mm
Exposure: 1/160 @ f/13.0

Thursday, September 25, 2014

All the little sleepy things.......

Babies, they grow up too quick (although some days not quick enough!)..... Still, before you know it you have a toddler. One that bounces, runs, jumps (talks incessantly) and gets in and out of bed a million times a night.  Oh for the days where they snuggled up in their sleeping bags in the cot, all cute and baby-like.



Yes Søren is sleeping on his front, we do always put him down on his back, he just turns himself over as he loves to sleep on his tummy. It's a futile exercise trying to prevent it. His sister did the exact same thing from the time she could roll.

It seems like just yesterday that Astrid was this small and still in a cot and in her sleeping bags. She only moved out of the cot (at her insistence) just after she turned 2, so a little over a year ago......
Here she is waking up on her second birthday, bleary-eyed but happy to be 2!


She looked so little back then. Now she seems so grown up in her bed, with her doona (and million toys in the bed).



She is still so peaceful when she sleeps but very definitely not a baby any more.

Once they move out of a cot and are able to escape, it's a whole different world.  A world where there is the pitter patter of tiny feet padding up to your bedroom at 3am. A world where you find your toddler in the fridge helping herself to grapes at 6am.  I also didn't realise how much I'd miss sleeping bags.... knowing they are warm and it doesn't matter if the doona gets kicked off.  Astrid loved her sleeping bags and could walk around in them quite well. Unfortunately she tried to climb the stairs in them a few too many times and it was time for them to be put away. Luckily she is pretty good at keeping her doona on!  Every time I get a new size of sleeping bag out for Søren, I marvel at how quickly he is growing up.
It was just the other day his newborn sized wraps were enormous on him.......


Now many different sizes have come out, been worn and been packed away. I remember Astrid wearing all of them too.

The speed at which they grow up does make me appreciate the cute baby sleeping in his cot, because he won't be a baby for much longer.

The tiny little baby hand, sometimes resting in the funniest poses......




The peaceful, sleepy face and the dark, long eyelashes...




The funny half-asleep faces I get when he is just waking up.......




Once he has woken up enough to move, the first thing to do is to pull yourself up on the railings, give it a good chew and give Mum a big grin....




Waking up after a nice long, peaceful nap, can't be beaten (even if Mum insisted on putting you to bed before you were ready, just because you were acting tired)........

 



They are babies for such a short time. They spend so much time sleeping and even more time fighting sleep. It's nice to remember all the little cute baby things before they aren't babies any more........



Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Astrid & Soren on a sunny Sunday afternoon........

A few weeks ago, the last weekend of Winter, we took the alpacas for a walk over to the paddock opposite our house for a bit of a chew of the grass and a gallop around.  It was a lovely sunny Sunday afternoon so we took the kids, a ball and a blanket.  I happened to throw in the camera, and here are some of the photos.......

Søren - sitting around and enjoying the sunshine.......





Some days he will happily sit and watch the alpacas and the passing birds, dogs and cars.  This day, not so much! He as happy to sit and pose for photos for about 1.2 seconds at a time.  'Look Mum, I'm being cute..... oh too late, I'm off.  Dad can try and hold me but that isn't going to contain me for long.'

Yep, he was wanting to crawl and chase the alpacas and the ball.......




 Commando crawling up and down a slope and over long grass. No problem for Søren. He was mighty quick, and wasn't even fussed about crawling over cow pats...... I, on the other hand, was not such a fan of that!

Astrid loves a good play in the paddock.  When her brother took off with the ball, she was happy to play with sticks.



She is looking mighty grown up these days. She won't often smile for the camera but she is still pretty cute!