Amy - 46/365 - Perth, WA, AUS

Hello :) My name's Leila and I'm teething my two-year molars. Guess what?!? Teething hurts, so I've had my hands and fingers crammed in my mouth all weekend long ... ouch!

PHOTO DATE: Saturday, June 5, 2010

Amy - 45/365 - Perth, WA, AUS

Mmmmmm.... my lunch from today that I photographed to track my WW points when I got home.

Chad came home yesterday (Th) with the Man Flu, so Leila and I stayed clear of the house by shopping the day away :) So, I was lucky enough to see more friends over an impromptu lunch today. We meet Kristy, Olwen, & Sue at Miss Maid's, shopped 'til we dropped (or cried because nap time was love overdue), and treated ourselves to ice cream for the (messy) drive home!

PHOTOS DATE: Friday, June 4, 2010

nancy - 44/365 - Orlando, Florida USA

June 3

Ni Hao, he says.

Wo ai ni Mama.

Jana is teaching him chinese and he's enjoying speaking it.

Ni Hao my sweet boy. Wo ai ni VERY MUCH.

nancy - 43/365 - Orlando, Florida USA

June 2

Hard to believe he's sitting on his own. No more pillow, though I put them down just in case because the floor isn't so forgiving. I find myself excited for this stage of play and sad that the baby is growing up.

nancy - 42/365 - Orlando, Florida USA

June 1.

Moments like this are why we wanted to have two children. I was running around trying to get the house ready for the cleaners, fold and put away laundry, prepare for the first day of swim lessons, fix breakfast and amuse both kids. Knowing how busy I was, John grabbed a few books and climbed on the bed with Owen and his toys. They just laughed and giggled in their own little language for much of the morning. John "read" the book to Owen and "made" us all smoothies. The yellow canister was the blender, the red cubes were strawberries, the blue cubes were blueberries, the green cubes were yogurt, and a few shakes of the bumblebee for honey. Just put the red top on the canister, shake and serve. Yummy!

Awesome.

Amy - 44/365 - Perth, WA, AUS

Thank goodness the red wagon was strong enough to handle this load, because I barely was!!! After the half mile, uphill walk home ... I was exhausted and sweating (in the winter)! All the giggles I heard walking home is one of the best parts of parenting :) I love it!!!

Oh! I am thankful for my iPhone, too, so I could capture this spontaneous threesome overload on the way home!

PHOTO DATE: Thursday, June 3, 2010

Amy - 43/365 - Perth, WA, AUS

Today was another "Mommy & Logan" day and we had a great time together! We went to the park and he willing (for the most part) participated as my "model" during the playtime, so I could practice taking pictures outside and using the sun to my benefit (plus, I played around a bit with perspective). All of this just adds to my preparation for a friend's wedding that I am photographing in October. It's in the afternoon and outside, so I anticipate that the sun and shadows could be either my worse enemies or best friends!!!

PHOTOS DATE: Wednesday, June 2, 2010

LOCATION: Piney Lakes Reserve

nancy - 41/365 - Orlando, Florida USA

May 31

It is HOT. Hot, hot, hot, HOT. And humid.

The tomatoes agree.

While they are still prolific it is now too hot for them to set any more fruits. Decline has begun.

We have been perplexed as to why we have huge sunflowers and no blooms. We discovered this weekend that squirrels are eating them. grrrrrrr...........

Amy - 42/365 - Perth, WA, AUS

Today was a beautiful, sunny first day of winter day in Perth! Perfect for meeting up with friends at Hillarys Boat Harbour for lunch and chit chat. I had a chance to catch-up with Kelle before she left with the girls for Ohio and Robin before she moves to Houston.

Sometimes it's difficult, as an expatriate, to make new friends (shocking for me, since I am soooo not shy)! I find that many Australians are hesitant to let me into their circle or get to close to me, knowing that we will only be here for 3-4 years. And this location is unique from a company standpoint, since we all live in many different suburbs and not on a compound, like so many other oil locations. However, I have built some amazing friendships with the other wives in our company and know I am building friendships that will last for years. It is inevitable we will soon be separated with new assignments, but I have faith and hope that our paths will cross again soon.

PHOTO DATE: Tuesday, June 1, 2010

LOCATION: Hillarys Boat Harbour

Amy - 41/365 - Perth, WA, AUS

Ahoy, mates!!! I'm about to play catch-up with a week's worth of photographs...

Alas, Lynsie's pink camera has been found! She has a little Samsung point and click camera from Christmas two years ago that was buried in a pile of kids' school art projects :) I always crack up when I download her pictures off the camera ... she takes a wide variety of pictures, ranging from odd to amazing. Above she is posing for me to take a few pictures of her, to have addition to all of the self-portraits (yes, she is in a laundry basket "ship")!!!

Here's my favorite self-portrait she took:

We talk a lot of what love is and means in our house. She looks so serious here and I wonder what she is thinking about?!? One of the biggest and most important lessons that we stress is to love yourself :)

PHOTO DATE: Monday, May 31, 2010

nancy - 40/365 - Orlando, Florida USA

note the river running down the street

May 30

The summer rains have begun, a few weeks early, messing with our swimming and playdate plans on a regular basis. While we are a bit bummed the humidity arrived so early, the yard is quite happy.

nancy - 39/365 - Orlando, Florida USA

photo by the amazing Andrea!

May 29

Wednesday afternoon she sent a text. The babysitter was booked and reservations for 4 were made. After contacting no less than 10 potential babysitters, we begged my Mom to come to town and babysit so we could go out with our friends.

So worth it. The meal, conversation and company was fabulous. We need to do it again soon.

xoxoxo

nancy - 38/365 - Orlando, Florida USA

May 28

One of the biggest surprises about life with children is the inordinate amount of time I spend in the kitchen, cooking and washing dishes. Sometimes it drives me crazy because I really like a clean, organized kitchen. Other times I remind myself how blessed I am to be standing in this sweet little kitchen, cooking my children meals, and peering out the window at our little neighborhood.

Nancy - 37/365 - Orlando, Florida USA

May 27

6 month appointment today, a few weeks late.

"He's a big & healthy boy!" the doctor said. This is no shock to me and my tired arms. "Boy he sure does have alot of energy." tell me about it.

Notes about this month:

• 17 lbs 10 ounces
• off the charts on height and weight
• 7 teeth (almost 8)
• sits on his own, though he's still a bit wobbly
• doesn't yet have a command of consonant sounds, but can squeal like a pterodactyl. often sounds like a wild animal.
• scared of madeline.
• wakes up, on average, two times per night. me? I'm OVER. IT.
• adores his brother and thinks he's hilarious. the feeling is mutual.
• has recently become picky about eating. seems to be a little too early for this, in my opinion. will eat almost anything if i combine it with sweet potatoes.

I can't believe that 6, almost 7 months, have passed.

Amy - 40/365 - Perth, WA, AUS

This is what a typical moment at our dining table looks like! One of my goals during this photo challenge is to document the little details of life and I laughed when I looked at the table on a walk pass. It's covered with Chad's work stuff that has been pushed out of the way for Lynsie's craft project (which looks much tidier now than it did an hour ago before bed) ... too funny :) Thankfully, I just framed the picture right, so you cannot see the laundry basket at the opposite end left by me. There are some times when I beyond frustrated with the mess of life and other times it makes me smile. Good thing, tonight, I can go to sleep with a smile on my face, knowing I have a lot of picking up/cleaning to do on Monday!

Have a great week!!!