Last month we said goodbye to our 'Threenager'.  I really was surprised by the antics that came with being three!   But now our little man has turned four, started kindergarten and seems so much more grown up!

Source

There were lots of presents to unwrap...

The renovation of our family home definitely inspired some gifts...

It was very special to have Nanna and Cousin E staying with us during the festivities and of course the phone rang hot with calls from other relatives.

Master H loves music and isn't content with the Wiggles and Hi-5.  His current favourites include the Foo Fighters, James Brown, Daft Punk and Pharrell Williams.  Hubby M surprised us all and returned home from work with a very special gift for our budding musician.  It was a beautiful moment to see the joy on Master H's face as he grabbed the guitar and performed his rendition of Daft Punk's 'Lose Yourself to Dance' and his own composition of 'I Love Everybody' with special shout-outs to our visiting family members.

Miss O did her best to steal the limelight and started walking!

It was an easy decision for the party cake this year.  The old faithful Women's Weekly Birthday Cake book from the seventies had this great design for a guitar cake.  Thank goodness Nanna was here to help!

Happy birthday darling boy!  We love you!

Laying turf was one of our major priorities after moving back into the house.  We had the odd patch of grass but mainly an awful combination of dirt and weeds.  So Hubby M decided that on his first day of holidays, 23 December, we would get some turf down.  Amongst all of the Christmas preparations and in 30 degree heat of course!

First task on the weekend prior though was to remove the old garden shed from the corner of the backyard.  It's amazing what people will buy from Gumtree!

Then, bright and early on Monday morning, the bobcat arrived to remove the garden shed slab and prepare the ground for the turf.  Master H was very excited to see the return of some machinery!

We discovered that the garden shed slab was a tad over-designed.  200mm thick, a brick base and sitting on 400mm deep piers on the corners.  The bobcat operator had a bit of difficulty breaking it up!

Gemma was less than impressed about losing her yard for the day.  

Once the yard was cleared it was a little daunting to see the large area to be covered!  

Hubby M had just finished marking out some garden beds around the perimeter of the house and yard when the turf was delivered.  All 250 square metres of Aussiblue turf from Clifton Park.

Fortunately my Dad and brother arrived to help lay the turf.

The three guys worked at quite a pace and before long we had a back yard that looked so much bigger- especially with the garden shed gone!

Even Gemma was impressed!

The fertiliser and rain has done a world of good!

The boys are mowing every 4 days at the moment!  And loving it!  

The last year of renovating our family home felt like a combat mission at times!  So, feeling a little  battle weary I took some time out to recover.  It was so good to get back into the normal rhythm of our family life and enjoy special times with loved ones in our new home without decisions and deadlines.

Where have the last 7 weeks gone?

Celebration dinner for my Dad's retirement.

Decorating gingerbread houses with my girlfriends.

Rocking out at our church Christmas Carols.

Glow sticks all round!

Master H decorating his first gingerbread house with the cousins.

Christmas baking.

Visiting Santa.

Unwrapping presents on Christmas Day.

Hosting Christmas lunch.

Celebrating Hubby M's birthday.

Trips to the glorious beach!

Hosting New Year celebrations for friends.

Of course there were still a few necessary house-related tasks of unpacking, organising, selecting, purchasing and finishing off and I'll update you in the next few blog posts.

I hope you have enjoyed some rest and family time over the holiday season too.  Thank you for taking the time to read my blog.  I look forward to our continued friendship in 2014.