Miss M's 1st Birthday

What a wonderful day we all had. Miss M loved her party. All of her friends came and gave her lovely gifts. We had lots of food and lots of fun. There was cake and balloon animals. Lollies and love.

My little girl isn't a baby any more. She's grown into a toddler and what a character she is. Full of energy and smiles. Always ready to play.

The party was great. All my planning and preparation paid off. Just like Christmas, being organized helped heaps in the end. The theme

was red and white. We had cupcakes, popcorn, drinks, frankies in blankies, lollypop cookies and so much more.

Everything looked fantastic. I'm very pleased with how it all came out in the end. Perfect!

 The cupcakes looked great. A lot of hours went into making these. I baked them the day before and decorated them on the day of the party. A cake decorating kit came in handy and made the job tons easier. 

I also made Frankies in Blankies. They were a huge success. Not one was left! And they're so easy to make!

Christmas: What a blur...

We celebrated Christmas at our house this year. What a day! Busy, busy, busy!!! We we're so exhausted by the end but it was worth it. Joined by our families, we all had a great day.

All decked out

In the morning we frantically ran around getting the jobs done and putting the finishing touches on all the decorations. Miss M opened a few presents with us and was more impressed with the paper than anything else. We all dressed in our finest and awaited the arrival of our guests.

 Family arrived and with them came wonderful food, gifts and merriment. We all managed to sit down together and eat. And then came the gift giving.

Santa made an appearance and one little boy was beside himself with excitement. Everyone did well with the presents. The kids especially. 

It ended up being a great day. My organization and months of preparation payed off perfectly. Couldn't have asked for better. Now I just hope Miss M's 1st birthday goes as well!

Zoo News...

Another update from the Zoo. Maimunah had her baby girl on Monday 6th December, just before midnight. Both mother & the as yet unnamed baby girl are doing very well. Mai's mothering instincts kicked in and she had the new edition suckling with-in moments of the little bub being born. 

Mai is a very protective mother, spending most of her days since the birth in the nest she made in the night den covered with a sheet. Few have seen the little girl. But I did get a brief glimpse of her on Friday afternoon.  She's a tiny little bundle of red fluff, and Mai isn't really letting the public see her precious girl just yet so I feel very privileged to have caught a rare peek.

Mai about a week before she gave birth

Mai looking rather tired

Mai's first born, Menyaru. He's now 7 years old.

Mai on Friday 10th December.

         The briefest of glimpses of the baby. You can just make out a tiny leg in the middle right of the picture.

 

 

 

 

Other Zoo news: I spied some new ducklings roaming around the grounds. Not only do the exotic animals call the zoo home but a host of wild native birds do too. They use the protective confines of the zoo to breed and raise their young with out the threat of predators. And they do so very successfully. 

More new babies

It seems to be the time to be born at the zoo! Another new edition arrived on 6th of November. A new baby Black-Capped Capuchin Monkey. It's mum Possum's second baby. Keepers still haven't been able to get close enough to mum & bub to tell what sex the baby is. So until they know a name hasn't been chosen.

New baby Capuchin

I can guarantee more news from the Zoo in the coming weeks as I wish to check on the progress of all the new babies regularly. Hopefully I can capture some better images too. Especially of the new Orang-utan. So until then...  

It's been a bit odd lately...

Melbourne has experienced its second week in a row of extreme weather. It's been so tropical here that you would be forgiven for thinking you were actually up north. From torrential rain and flash flooding to violent storms and strong winds. Crazy!

But for those of us who relish these kinds of conditions it's been great. Storm chasers rejoice. The chasing season is upon us. Thursday offered a doozy of a storm, with massive thunder and lightning! Awesome!

Unfortunately I didn't catch any of the lightning this time but be sure to watch out for some pictures in the future. Enjoy these images instead!

Cloudy sunset

The storm rolls in

The sky darkens

Clouds bubble under after the storm

Sun shines through the rain

The park in the light & shadow after the rain

Rainbow

Micro World

We all have a microcosm in our backyards that we rarely notice or pay any regard. This tiny world of bugs and plants has its place though. Each insect has its job in the garden and if we encourage the good ones and tolerate the bad a balance should be established. My garden is full of wonderful creepy crawlies, not all of which I love, but I tolerate the icky ones because I know they have a job to do. 

Dragonflies on a log

Callistamon morning dew

Succulent leans towards the sun

Cactus has its own defenses

It's a weed but it's pretty up close

Green Spider on the Imperial Mandarin

Spiders living on the gate

Dragonfly

Spider taking a wander on the carport

The spiders keep the flying insects under control. The birds eat the spiders. The worms cultivate my vege patches and the Ladybugs keep the Aphids at bay. Even those pesky ants do their job. And to the Huntsmen currently living in my shed - I know you're loving the bevy of moths that come your way at dusk, just don't come after me!

A Day At The Zoo...

I know I said I would be talking about kids parties in the next post but I fancied this instead...

We went to the zoo about a week ago and it was a lovely day. We're all 'Friends of the Zoo', which means that after an initial out lay of about $80 we get a pass to go to the Melbourne Zoo for 12 months for free. It's fantastic, especially with a little one. So as a result over the past few years we've got to know all the animals pretty well. 

The Gorillas at Melbourne Zoo all have different personalities. Rigo (below) is the Silver-back and he is usually a pretty laid back kind of guy. Except when his girls get out of line.

Everyone loves the Butterfly House. I love it most towards the end of the day when most visitors have gone and there's only a few people left inside. It's calm and quiet. Peaceful.

This little bundle of joy is Ongard, our newest baby elephant. The 2 month old is always up for a play. He never fails to amaze.

This is Santan (broad faced) & Menyaru (smaller). Father & Son. The Orang House is expecting a new arrival soon. Maimunah (not pictured) is expecting.

The Great Flight Aviary is an old exhibit but is still full of wonderful sites. I caught these two Spoon Bills having a little flirt with each other. If you hang around long enough at each exhibit you never know what you might be witness to.

We go to the Zoo a lot. Look out for more updates from the Zoo in the future!                                                                                                                                                               

Christmas is just around the corner...

With Christmas only 36 days away it's time to start getting everything ready for the festive season. I have a lot to do as I am hosting Christmas day at my house for the first time this year. Everything has to be perfect. And everything has to beautiful!

I've managed to put together some bunting, I've made up a new table cloth and also turned out some lovely paper pom poms...All of which will be used on the days leading up to and the day of Christmas. All of these things I found the inspiration for online. They were all so easy to make too ( even with a 10 month old crawling around all over the place ).

Pom Poms

Bunting

 So as the weeks tick over I still have a few more things to make. Keep a look out for my latest creations. In the mean time check out www.scissorspapercake.com.au for amazing kid's party ideas, something I'll be talking about next time.