29.10.12

Just Like Mumma


28.10.12

The Nursery {in Pictures}

















For now, some images I captured during an absolutely incredible day, spent with absolutely incredible people.
 
The Nursery {in Words} to come...
 
 
*pictures unedited, apart from the black and white

23.10.12

Sage's 8 Month Video {& 9 Month Photos}

 
Sage, you... at 9 months?     All kinds of wonderful.

Everything fascinates you; you explore your world with pure exuberance and excitement. Speed crawling and pulling yourself up onto anything within reach are your perfected ways of making new discoveries, usually while mummy's and daddy's backs are turned for mere seconds. Squeals of delight and animated laughter ensue as your attempted escapes and mischievous plans are foiled by being scooped up and smothered in kisses and cuddles.

Moments of tears are so, so rare - only ever if you are very tired or hurt. Our days are filled with high pitched squeals, infectious cackles and so many smiles. You chat incessantly, exploring sounds and words - your favourites being "dadad", "mumma", "warro" {hello} and "mmmmm" {when you see a cow}.

You adore...
being read to and turning the pages and lifting the flaps of books yourself {Dear Zoo is your current favourite}
taking out all of the pieces of your three wooden jigsaw puzzles - over and over again
playing with all of Rudi's dog toys, just as he prefers yours!
watching us brush our teeth and then gently rubbing our toothbrushes on your lips
other people wearing glasses, sunglasses and hats and trying to take them off
swimming at our local pool and bath time - in fact, anything at all water related
spending time outside - pulling at {and eating} the grass, grabbing handfuls of {and eating} the dirt, and watering the garden
clapping hands, waving bye-bye and fake coughing and laughing
listening to "London Bridge" on my iPhone
touching the faces of other babies and being in the company of older children
holding coffee mugs and pretending to drink from them
picking up the most teeny, tiny things from within the carpet {your fine motor skills are phenomenal!} and putting them in your mouth, of course!
being sung to sleep and laying on Daddy's chest

You're not so fond of...
wearing a hat... actually, wearing any clothes in general!
eating your previously much-loved homemade purees, preferring to eat whatever Mum and Dad have instead
sitting for long distances in your car seat
being interrupted on your quest for Rudi's food bowl
having a distance of more than 30 centimetres between us, at any time

Gone are the days when you ignored Rudi - he is now your absolute favourite 'thing' to chase, pull, observe and chastise, much to his disgust! Rudi has been ever so patient with you, even though there are many times that we're sure he has been offended by your overly boisterous {but loving!} displays of affection. We are trying to teach you to be gentle and pat his fur rather than grab, however to no avail as yet! When he barks at strangers walking by, you shake your arm at him and make a low growling sound, as if to tell him off. 

Both of your bottom teeth have popped through and are growing by the day, and your two top teeth are sitting just below the surface, ready to emerge. During the day, you still sleep in my arms - two hours in the morning and an hour in the afternoon. Your nightly sleeps have been very inconsistent, however two wakes {with two feeds} is generally the norm. 5.30 - 6.00 is 'rise and shine' time and bed is usually at 7.30 of an evening. You still regularly breast feed throughout the day and make it very obvious when you're thirsty through persistent shirt tugs and making the milk sign with your hand.

We spend our days reading and playing, singing and walking, attending baby groups and swimming, gardening and house keeping... snuggling and loving.

Thank you beautiful one, for being all kinds of wonderful, not just at 9 months, but each and every day. We love you so, so much
 
 


 

Here are your adventures as an 8 month old...





 

21.10.12

Blossoming



Last night, while browsing the recent posts of blogs I follow, I found myself drawn to reading and delving into the worlds of only a very select few. Not because the many on my list don't have incredible content; they very much do. But it is content that is no longer a correct fit for me... for where I'm at in life.

As the time to slip away and indulge in some 'me time' is an absolute luxury these days, the online community that I surround myself with needs to be filled with not only the like-minded and the inspirational, but also
    those who challenge my thoughts, ideals and perspectives on life and lead me to question my own inner values
    those who unveil a unique way of seeing the world and illustrate its beauty with incredible photography
    those who evoke delightful pictures in my mind with their seemingly simple, yet perfectly woven sentences
    those who provide such delicious food for thought and leave a most sweet, lingering aftertaste to ponder

So I politely excused myself from the following blog lists of many and afterwards felt utterly refreshed in the knowledge that my precious spare moments online will be spent with those who truly stir my spirit, not to mention, those who I simply like.

The blogging world is similar in so many ways to day-to-day life, where friendships are created through shared understandings and experiences. These friendships are then nurtured through regular contact and words filled with encouragement and thoughtful advice. These friendships are strengthened through moments of shared laughter {and occasionally} shed tears. These friendships, although formed with those whom you may never actually meet in the real world, can brighten both the heart and soul - as the essence of human existence is our innate desire for connection. Connection is encapsulated in this world of blogging in its most pure form - whether you have your own site where you reveal parts of your innermost self and disclose snippets of your daily life, or you simply enjoy sharing in the lives of others through reading their heartfelt thoughts and life's experiences.

Connection is at the heart of our shared experience in this journey through life. The online world, be it through Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter or blogging, provides us with vast and multiple ways in which to connect with others. My small step in downgrading my blog list to those who will enhance and inspire my journey, needs to become representative in all other areas of my life; from examining my acceptance of Facebook "friends" to those people in my day-to-day life who claim we have a friendship, without any amount of effort, nurturing or support.

I need to begin asking myself the tough questions, as in the end, shouldn't our one life be filled with people who enhance and inspire us? Those who brighten rather than dampen? Those who assist us in bringing about the best versions of ourselves?



15.10.12

Garden Goodness


    
Our one day dream is finally becoming a reality!
 
Whilst on the pursuit for a more simplified existence, designing and building our own veggie garden has been at the top of our figurative "must do" list for many months now. Our motivation? The thoughts of nourishing our bodies and minds with home grown goodness as well as developing and instilling in Sage an understanding of the origins of our food, right there in our very backyard. Plus, spending the longer, more sun-drenched days 'pottering in the garden' sounds like an oh-so delightful way to pass our time!
 
Before creating our garden, we spent some time deliberating on the perfect size and position for our patch by using the very technical 'string and stick' method! The discussion of measurements was not complete without entertaining melodramatics from The Diva Husband* who, in an attempt to emphasise the "enormity" of my sizing dreams, pretended to fall into the garden while picking an imaginary carrot. The Oscar-worthy performance convinced me that it was indeed necessary to move the border inward 5 centimetres... as it was revealed this makes all the difference to vegetable picking ease{!}
 
Scavenging through the garage - a treasure trove of potentials, just waiting to be realized! - Si discovered we had enough left over iron {from our house re-roofing a few years ago} to build our bed from - cutting costs in the process. Over the past weekend Mr Crafty* whipped up a frame {as you do} and whamo... our first step to veggie growing goodness was complete!
 


We filled the bed with a mixture of top soil, loam, mushroom compost and cow manure and under the advice of our amazing nurseryman friend, bought a mixture of seeds {carrots, parsnip, snow peas, beans, peas, spring onions} and seedlings {lettuce, spinach, leeks, cucumber, celery}, ready for planting today...



Many a house plant have "failed" in my "care", however I am absolutely determined to water, weed, sustain and nurture my heart out for the years to come. I cannot wait to watch our little patch grow and thrive over the coming months and I'm already dreaming of delicious salads, picked by hand, to accompany our homemade, wood fired pizzas, devoured in the warm, sweet, summer air...   ahhhhhh
 
*Sorry for the obscure nicknames given to you throughout this post, darling husband. You'll always be my Si Pie x
 
 

14.10.12

Time with Tulips




























Yesterday... a perfect spring day to visit the Table Cape Tulip Farm. Meadows awash with blossoming colour; clear, crisp Tasmanian skies and lots of love in our hearts. A truly perfect day.




*Song - Over the Rainbow by Glee Cast


10.10.12

My Little Dose of Fresh



You may have noticed Fields of Sage has had a few small design changes over the past couple of weeks. A clean, white background, fresh fonts {oh how I love me a new font!}, my mug in the top corner and now a lovely new header, designed by the delightful Katie Hepper of Katie Hepper Design. Not only is she unbelievably gorgeous and a truly beautiful soul, she is also incredibly talented, so be sure to check out her fabulous new website!

This newfound simplicity and uncluttered feel {a complete contrast to our lounge room on a daily basis!} is like my little dose of fresh air. I'm sure this little space will continue to change and evolve over time, but the one constant that I hope will always remain, is that Fields of Sage is a place where you can seek sanctuary in the knowledge that we are travelling this incredible journey of parenthood, side by side.


*Photo featured on my former blog header by Megan Bourn Photography
**Circular photo featured above my profile by Murphy Photography

6.10.12

Amber Beads



Oh, be still my beating heart!

Upon waking this morning, we discovered that Sage had cut her second tooth {and also realised this is the reason for her abundance of feeds over the past few days!}. Although a little hard to see in this photo - it's there, right next to the first!

So far, Sage's emerging teeth haven't caused her {or us} too many problems. As they are about to pop through, she tends to becomes unsettled the night before they appear, she nurses a great deal in the days leading up and she tends to play with her ears a lot.

Now that we have entered fully-fledged teething mode, we decided to purchase some amber beads for Sage to wear. Amber has been used for hundreds of years as a natural healing remedy and pain reliever, and is recommended by naturopaths and homeopathy advocates worldwide for its positive effect on the immune system. When worn on the skin, amber releases healing oils which can greatly ease the inflammation and pain associated with teething, for babies and young children. Not to mention, they look super cute!




I'm interested to see over the coming months if our amber beads give Sage any respite from her obvious discomfort when new teeth begin to surface. Do you have any teething treatments that worked for your little ones? I'd love to hear your remedies!
 



4.10.12

Sleeping Beauty

 
 
We did it!
 
Last night, Sage spent her first night away from our bedside, transitioning from her bassinet in our room to her cot in the nursery at the grand age of 8 months. The move was one I'd been resisting for the longest time and although it felt like a little piece of my heart was missing out in the darkness, I didn't have to wait long for blissful snuggles with my little love... Sage woke every hour and a half from 11pm, tallying 4 feeds in total {!}
 
But of course, the morning brings with it a whole new day, and the rising of our little sunshine!