Alexander is 4!

FOUR YEARS OLD! 

How I've actually managed to keep this one alive is a mystery to me. He is fun, full of giggles and the cuddliest. I must admit that him being 3cms from me at all times is not always my favourite thing, but we roll with it.

He loved opening his presents yesterday

 including this gorgeous personalised Alex blanket

and of course more Bluey clothes. Just for something different. Haha.

I love his whacky sense of humour and hearing his little laugh.

But most of all his little smile 😍

There are always plenty of Alex selfies on my camera roll, including this one which was definitely worth preserving.

He's our little nutter and we wouldn't change him for anything.

So, so loved by his big sister - and he would follow her anywhere she wanted to go.

The cutest little man. Our Alexander James. ❤

Happy birthday to my littlest love! 

alexander james is three!

somehow this adorable little minion made it to three years old and i am so proud of myself. my kids are now collectively 20 years old - and i feel 20 years older than i actually am as a result hahaha. alex had the best time at nanna and grandads for his party and was actually dead on his feet by the end and fell asleep fully dressed on the couch.

today he was super excited to open more presents, especially because they were wrapped in minion paper of course. highlight present for him was his new backpack - a minion one from smiggle and minion lego.

he has been my most difficult child by far, but i wouldn't change it... cause amongst the bad there is always good. even with the fact i've barely slept for 3 years, he loves to kiss me on the face 24/7 and cuddle, well force, his way into my personal space and just be 3cm from me at all times. but. i guess that means he loves me so i'll take it. i love his little face, the weird things he says, the way he loves to be with joseph even though he barely tolerates him, the way he constantly hands me things that aren't lost and says oh here's your xxxx mummy. i love that he still wants me, cause joseph sure as heck doesn't. 

i think i'll keep him. happy birthday little mate. welcome to your threenage years.

baby bunnies

last week i was just casually doing my grocery shopping at woolworths - and what should i come across in the easter section? special edition bunny print bonds onesies! oh my gosh. they were a must have, especially considering they came in both boys and girls colours. 

so. what do you do when your best friend has a baby that's a similar age to yours? buy them matching ones, then make them wear them in the middle of the day for a photo for no reason other than the fact that you and your bestie think it's a good idea. side note, i don't know if she actually thought it was that good an idea, but she let me do it anyway. you're welcome. how bloody adorable are they! the cutest little bunnies i've ever seen!

(added later: for extra amusement - every time i get out the bunny onesie now, alex says- oh millie! i like millie! so it's obviously left a lasting impression on him hahaha.)

 

toilet training alex

this little rockstar is well on his way to being toilet trained. what whatttttt. he seems to be taking to it no problems at all and is rocking the jocks while we go about our day. of course there have been accidents, but we will get there... hopefully sooner than later.

here's to no more nappies in the kendall house!

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edited to add. it's now almost a year later and he is still not toilet trained. grandma died not long after this and although he was doing great, he had to go into nappies so we could take him here, there and everywhere while we sorted out the funeral and everything else involved in it. and after that, he was completely uninterested. what a fail. let's hope it happens soon so i don't lose my mind. 

 

no more thumb sucking

well that's the thumb sucking done for this unfortunate little one. upon scooping up something up a few days ago in madeline's room and playing with it, we quickly discovered it was broken glass! but he had already cut a huge gash in his thumb, there was blood everywhere and to the dr we went.

the dr cleaned it up again, checked there was no glass in it and then bandaged it up and said it's going to have to stay on for a few days... which he was so upset about. he'd keep trying to suck his thumb then getting upset that he couldn't and then of course didn't want to go to sleep, but eventually settled and drifted off. he made sure that we knew he was unimpressed though.

we got there eventually and when the bandage finally came off and he looked like he was going to go back to thumb sucking, we quickly shoved a bandaid on it and told him it was still sore - i figured if we were this far in, it wasn't time to give up - and sure enough we made it! we are thumb sucking free!

i really felt so sorry for the poor little dude, but i am so happy that we didn't have to do it when he was even older, maddie is 9 and still going strong sucking her fingers, i have no idea how we are going to get around that one. ugh.

alex's nautical room

alex's room has been set up with some adorable things over time, and mum has added to them, with these adorable boat prints, which are actually quilted and stuck into the frames. they match the baby quilt she made for him and i loooove them! she is honestly so clever.

i mean seriously. i would never have thought to make something like that and she just blows me away time and time again.

he has all kinds of nautical things in his room and so they match perfectly with his pirates and little boat shelf and this adorable ocean style map sheet and pillowcase that i picked up at the opshop this week. 

perfection! ❤

 

alexander james: twenty-four months

oh my gosh. my baby is two! i am not at all ready for this!

but look at that little face. it's so lucky he is cute or i would have killed him a long time ago, because he is just such, hard, work.

during the last month he has:

- complained loudly if the song playing in the car isn't something he likes until you change it

- sings, yells and mumbles along with mana (moana)

calls nanna nan!

- says apple, happy!

- sings along with the song i'm so happy

- when you lay him on the change table to change him, he's always yelled and pointed for a book. but now he just says, book!

- loves the word kick!

- cutting his two year old molars

alexander is 2

i cannot believe it, but somehow we have managed to keep this adorable little human alive for two whole years! "baby" alexander turned two today! 

we got him some cute little gifts - as well as a try bike, which is a bike that grows with you... starting as a three wheeler run along trike, which can be upgraded to a two wheeler as time goes on.

he was all about the hey duggee show bag though and pulled each piece out lovingly to show them off. he was also a huge fan of the ball tower and put the balls through over and over and over.

he especially loved the little backpack that came in it!

doting big sister madeline was on hand to assist with the gift unwrapping, she is never far from his side.

my favourite gift was a little pamela allen book called "alexander's outing" about a little duckling. i bought it when was just small, ready for when he would be old enough to enjoy it.

alex spent the day being loved on by everyone, playing with bubbles and being cuddled...

the absolute perfect birthday!

but my favourite part of the day was watching his little eyes light up when i brought out a cake i had made for him. a real birthday cake. the kind our mums used to make for us as kids. baked from scratch, with yummy icing and lots of sprinkles.

he looooved it and proudly blew out his candles with maddie and joseph on hand to help.

saving yet another recipe here for future reference - i am baker white cake recipe. 

it was so fluffy and delicious.

        **************************************************

INGREDIENTS

113g butter, softened

1 cup white sugar

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 tsp. almond extract, optional

1 1/2 cups plain flour

2 tsp. baking powder

4 egg whites, room temperature 

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 160deg celcius (fan forced). Prepare 8x8 square pan.

Beat butter at medium speed until creamy, roughly 3-4 minutes.

Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy.

Stir together milk and vanilla. (If you are adding almond extract, add it here)

Sift together flour and baking powder; add to butter mixture alternately with milk mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition.

Beat egg whites at medium speed until stiff peaks form; gently fold into batter. Pour batter into prepared pans.

Bake at 350° for 35-38 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in centre comes out clean.

Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes.

Optional: Cover with white frosting.

(I used my favourite cream cheese icing from here)

frosting:

2 tbsp softened butter

55g softened cream cheese

1 cup icing sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

beat until well combined then spread on cake. delish!

 

 

alex's pirate party

today this lucky little dude had a birthday bash with family and friends in our little backyard - all pirate themed! i love, love, looove working with a little theme for the kids parties and i am not getting bored yet! this one was super fun to do!

we hired a mini kids castle for the backyard, which fit perfectly! honestly, couldn't have worked better in our space and i am so stoked that 1) there are mini options available and 2) my friend hayley just happens to have a business with her sister that hires them out. they even had little ride on animals and vehicles which she happily sent along with the castle. the kids were so happy! 

madeline and joseph were just at the top of the weight range that was acceptable so it was perfect for them to be able to play with alex and the other small kids on the castle and they had so much fun with it.

as usual, i had to go all out with the fine touches - like the cups haha

i spent ages last week with blue watercolour paint and a kitchen sponge wiping around each one for this pretty blue coloured effect. they looked so cute! worth the time and and effort? absolutely!

our tablecloth for the day mum picked up at the opshop ages ago and it was just perfect... maps and oceans and ships all over it. completed with other decorations like the mini wooden pirates i found - and themed cookies from baked on benrua. so cute!

having a ball with millie in the backyard - when he finally woke up from a decent nap. he was so tired that we put him to bed around the time everyone arrived. you gotta do what you gotta do when it comes to toddlers! this is something i have finally learned on child number 3.

look at his little face! he was so happy with his cake! thank goodness cause it took me ages fidgeting about with it. it's the first time i have made something shaped and fiddly and cute like that and it was totally worth it cause it was so fun!

the cutest little almost 2 year old i know in his little pirate stripes and deck shoes! ❤

we had lots of fun ocean themed treats, including these orange pirate ships floating on their blue jelly ocean...

an anchor of vegetables 

to eat with the capsicum octopus dip... okay i was actually obsessed with this one! how freaking cute was he? pinterest is the atual best thing ever for party ideas!

a little pirate bunting and some flags to decorate...

some other food with boats built in...

and my cake! i found this idea on pinterest too, and copied the cut out pattern and shapes to make a traditional style pirate ship! it actually worked so well and i was really happy with it

decorated with lots of chocolate "wood" - planks, beams, portholes etc... and even a plank with the mini pirates i managed to find on facebook marketplace. loved it!

maybe i'll eventually really get the hang of this cake thing haha.

pirate striped goody bags on the way out the door

with all of the fun inside - cause everyone needs a pirate tattoo and an eye patch haha.

our little pirate had the best day and we loved every minute of it with him! ❤