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!

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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.

There were some late nights and early starts in our first week home.  (We really need to get some window coverings for the kids' rooms!)  There was no time to sit back and relax with the deadline of Miss O's 1st birthday party on the weekend.  Lucky she was very helpful and gave me a hand to unpack!  ;-) 

We made sure the kids' bedrooms were completely unpacked along with the bathroom, living area, dining and kitchen and closed the doors on the mess in the other rooms.  I had some serious baking to do!  I really enjoy planning parties and did my best to create a special occasion for our precious Miss O under the hectic circumstances.  I was so thankful to have the help of my sister and mother-in-law!

I put to use some gorgeous pieces from Salt & Pepper's 'Dream' range to create a pretty pastel theme for the party.  My apothecary jars were trimmed with pastel stripe ribbon and filled with lollies.  The flower shaped fairy bread added some more pretty pastel colour.  My favourite chocolate mud cakes were piped with buttercream roses and I filled more patty papers with fruit balls and flower picks.

Instead of lollipop sticks, I decided to use straws and sit my cake pops down this time.  I'm really pleased with the outcome.  They were a huge hit with the kids and adults!

I made a triple layer white chocolate mudcake with fondant icing as the birthday cake.  I ran out of time to decorate the cake with anything but the number 1 birthday candle.  Thankfully the cake plate made it look a little better and at least it tasted delicious!

Sadly the outdoor kitchen bench top had not been installed so Hubby M knocked up a chipboard top covered with a party table cloth on the morning of the party.  He's such a champ!  It was a shame not to have the sink and tap for a drinks area as planned but was a great spot for the savoury food.

The backyard was not in any condition for small children to play so we decided our best option would be to hire a jumping castle and place it directly below the deck.   With very short notice Brisbane Jumping Castles came to our aid and provided a fantastic castle with a slide.  The kids had a ball!

It was a joy to celebrate the first of many special family occasions in the house with our loved ones and see the space work just as well as we had hoped.  It is definitely now our 'home'.

And seeing the happiness of little Miss O made all the hard work worthwhile!

I've been absent from the blog but those of you following on Instagram will know that we have moved home!  As you can imagine, life has been quite hectic so it has been easier to post quick pics.  But my new toy is set up now and there's a lot to catch up on!

Our study nook.

Almost two weeks ago now we had our handover meeting and received the keys to our home!  A wave of satisfaction, relief and excitement washed over me as I walked through each room.  All of the trials were forgotten and I was thrilled with the finished result.  Well, almost finished.  We were still waiting on the bathroom bench tops and some lights and the painters needed to complete the exterior.  But nothing was going to stop us from moving in now!

Master H making himself at home during the handover meeting.

We got Mini Movers in to move the contents of the shipping container back into the house and did countless trips in the cars from the rental property.  We were very grateful that some lovely friends helped with the move and the grandparents took the children for a sleep over.

The first of many loads.

I had visions of Hubby and I enjoying our tradition of takeaway and champagne on our first night in the house but we spent the night cleaning the rental property and collapsed into bed at 1am!

I only took a few photos before we filled the house with boxes.  I'll share some pics of the completed rooms when they are not so messy!

Welcome home!

Home Sweet Home!