THESE DAYS

/ Pink blooms all over the house

/ We don't watch much TV in this house (and only ever PlaySchool) so Everly was enjoying her special treat - standing mere centimetres from the screen, as you do! (Notice the hand in the pocket?)

/ One beeswax candle for the birthday boy, and one amazing cake. (Everly is currently obsessed with cake! We have made a few in the past couple of weeks, and we've been reading this lovely children's story a lot lately. The other morning she found some coins on Mark's bedside table, so we told her about money and we inspected the numbers and pictures on each coin. We told her we could put them in her money box so she could buy something one day. I asked her, 'What would you like to buy with your money?' and she quickly exclaimed, 'Cake!'. Oh, this girl is most definitely my daughter!)

/ She loves pockets

/ Mark's empty coffee cup. Mark loves coffee. Me, my addiction comes and goes in waves. I'm currently only having one a week when we go to the bakery on Saturdays.

/ Toes!

/ Her first ever boiled egg. She didn't like dipping the soldiers in the soft egg, but loved it when I spread the cooled egg on her toast.

/ My favourite egg cup (by Donna Wilson)

/ I will never stop loving her curls!

/ Hiding vegetables in banana bread (thank you Claire for recommending this lovely recipe)

/ Fresh from the oven

/ Still obsessed with her stainless steel water bottle (from here) 

Joining Emily from The Beetle Shack in a weekly collection of snaps. 

JUST US TWO

 

We woke and remembered there were no bread or eggs in the house. I had an idea, something we hadn't done before. A special breakfast date, just her and I. We quickly dressed, hopped in the car and drove the short trip to nearby Croydon. There is our favourite little strip of shops and cafés, all nestled in a row on Queen St. (You will often find us here on Saturdays!)

We sat at a little table in Queen Street Café. We shared scrambled eggs and bacon on gluten free toast. I ordered Everly her first (soy) babycino. She loved the little flecks of chocolate on top, but was a little unsure about the rest of the foam. She stirred it with the spoon but left it relatively untouched. Maybe next time. Coffee for Mama in a bright yellow cup.

Everly loves to watch. She watches people talk, laugh, eat, drink. She points to them, then looks back at me, grinning. Every little nuance is a delight to this observant girl. I have to remind her not to point or stare too much.

When we'd finished breakfast, we walked around the corner to Croydon playground. It sits right along the train line, where trains come every few minutes. We hear the bell Ding-ding-ding! as the boom gate lowers to stop the traffic, signalling a train is on its way. The children run to the fence to watch the train pull up. We all wave and sometimes the driver pulls the horn - Choo choo! 

Everly's favourite part of the playground is the slide, but most of the time she is simply content wandering around, sometimes squatting to inspect flowers and leaves. Often she watches the other children - she listens to them talk, watches them play. Sometimes she'll wander up to a group of Mums and stand there, staring up at them, listening intently to their chatter. After a while I have to go over and redirect her to something else, a little embarrassed that I appear to have the only child in the whole playground who doesn't like to play on the equipment! My Everly, she is different. But, oh, I love her so!

We had a brilliant morning together, just us two. I know Everly wouldn't have realised the significance, but I wanted to take some photos and write down my thoughts from the day so I can remember it always.

SATURDAYS

We have a little Saturday morning ritual, this family of mine. After scrambled eggs at home, we head out for morning tea to Red Door Bakery in nearby Croydon for takeaway coffee and delicious pastries (Mark, an almond croissant; Everly, a plain croissant; and me, always a fruit danish). We walk around the corner to the playground where Everly is usually content to play by herself on the equipment for a few minutes, giving Mark and I precious relaxing time to sit back on the bench and sip our coffees. Then we take it in turns helping Everly up the rock wall and cheering her on down the slide, until she's had enough and it's time to go home. It's such a lovely, relaxed start to our weekend. I love Saturdays!

*More pics of Red Door treats in an old post here (mmm... pies and crème brûlée tarts!) It was one of our weekend regulars, even before Everly came into our lives. We ate there so often I wrote a little story for Adelaide's Five Thousand magazine.

THESE DAYS

 

 

A special birthday lunch for the husband - crostini with white bean mash and salsa verde, prosciutto, parmigiano reggiano and cherry tomatoes, followed by tropical fruit salad with passionfruit + vanilla dressing
We always come home from the park with a flower picked by Everly
Crazy, wild hair
Serious face while trying to work the hose gun
A bucket head out-take from 6/52
Always barefoot
Latest favourite game - being pushed in the doll stroller up and down the house by Daddy
A quick Saturday night dinner - chicken baked with white wine, shallots and mushrooms
Summer is my favourite season for fruit - these raspberries didn't last long!

Joining Emily from The Beetle Shack in a weekly collection of snaps.