preschooler : playing pretend

So, the preschooler watched 'Finding Nemo' for the first time...

"This is Nemo and his dad. They are having a Christmas party. He (the cleaner prawn on the left) cleaned their anemone for them."

 And remember P. Sherman from 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney? The fish-stealing dentist diver?

Happy Monday.

{diver 'helmet' from a buzz lightyear suit. diver 'wetsuit' from a batman suit. diver 'goggles' rigged up with marker pen 'snorkel' by preschooler. 'diving cylinder' made from a teddy carrier. undies worn outside his clothes, preschooler's own.}

p.s Does your wee one come up with crazy fun get-ups too? I'd love to hear!

baby : 20-22 weeks

Look who's five months old.

Oh, me? Hooray!

I mean this in the cutest possible way: miss baby is chunkier than ever. She has grown the most gorgeous fat chin rolls and chubby thighs but her feet are still teeny tiny, it's a bit cute. Little pudgy person.

She has gained more control of her hands and will try to grab anything within reach, and quite a few things that are not. Toys, scarves, phones...you name it, she wants to check it. She also tries poking at my iPhone screen the way I do. Tap, tap.

I think crawling might be next on her agenda. I didn't capture it in this shoot but she's started kneeling up. I don't think her brothers crawled this early and there's definitely a part of me that would be happy for her to stay put for a bit longer (mostly the part of me that's not keen on cleaning the floor!) but mostly I can't help but cheer her on excitedly when I notice her trying out her new skills. We cheer, she grins proudly back at us.

And I was reminded upon reading this update on oscarlucinda that we haven't recorded her nicknames as yet. She has quite a few, if you'd like to hear them?

Right from the beginning the preschooler called her Rosie and then Rosabelle.
I call her Rosabelle too, and Miss Rose, Miss Baby, Miss Lady, Lady Baby, The Lady, Lady Lou, Lady Lou Who, and, weirdest of all: Ladles. Like, you know, a serving spoon.

I believe my parents refer to her as R.G.A. Which are her initials.

We also call her Sweetheart. The preschooler mimics my high-pitched motherese voice when he says it which makes the mr laugh. 'Awww, sweetheart,' the preschooler used to coo when she cried her newborn cries. He still uses a high-pitched voice when he talks to her. He also smiles huge smiles at her to get her to smile back, which she does. She looks for him, waits for him to look at her and when he does she beams, beams, beams.

Do you have nicknames for your wee ones? I love funny ones like Ladles and Spangle Dangs. Or did you have a nickname as a child? Maybe people still call you by your nickname? I'd love to hear.

{rosebud suit by petite bateau and italian leather fringed boots (that are too big, but will last!) from kids direct warehouse. handmade blanket from the baby and kids market. peony the woodland bear from sleepy king.}

giveaway : 41 orchard

Planning a new nursery? Want to freshen up the little's space? This fabulous giveaway might tickle your fancy.

baby space sponsor 41 Orchard are giving away a $150 AUD voucher for their online store full of nursery wall stickers, name stickers, cloud stickers, lurvely tree stickers and more.

All you have to do it enter is:
1. Like 41 Orchard on Facebook.
2. Like, or already be a liker of baby space on Facebook, or a follower of baby space through Google Friend Connect.
3. Peruse 41 Orchard's range of stickers and leave a comment on this post telling us,“What designs should 41 Orchard add to their range?”

And PLEASE leave your email address with your comment or email it to bron@babyspace.net.au with your comment username so we can contact you in the event that you win.

Good luck!

Winner will be chosen by random on the 12th June 2012. This giveaway is open internationally. Good luck! Please make sure you leave your email address and/or check back on this post on the above date. If the winner is not contactable within 24 hours the giveaway will be redrawn. 

preschooler : playing pretend

The baby space preschooler is a pretty interesting fellow. He loves creating characters, drawing, dress-ups and playing pretend. I thought it might be fun to record a bit of his quirkiness for all time so I asked him about today's dress-ups and this is what he said:

"Today I'm a Monster Robot Super Hero with a tiger head..."

"Monster Robot Super Heroes do things that people say. Like, um...do the washing! And the dish washing. They don't go surfing but they do take photos."

"They're friendly. They're for helping people."

room for baby : raspberry sorbet

Hi baby space readers! It's Nicole from Little Liberty. I've just completed this grey and pink nursery for a super sweet little girl named Piper. The backdrop of the geometric grey wallpaper really make all the pinks really pop. This is truly one of my favourite colour combinations -- it's sweet and contemporary all at the same time.

A handmade paper chandelier in pink ombre from Etsy hangs decoratively above baby Piper's cot.

The perfect place to put mama's weary feet up at feed time.

Completed with bedding from the Logan Collection by Olli & Lime.

Thanks Nicole! 

my favourite and my best : personalised citizens

A huggable collective of cuddly citizens? Yes please! The Citizen's Collectible create custom made personalised plushies so you can order a mini-me for everyone in the family. How cute is that?

Personalised Citizens are approx $32 AUD each plus shipping from The Citizen's Collectible on Etsy.

baby : 18-19 weeks

Oh, this little lady is one cuddly bundle of baby.

She has grown so much in the last couple of weeks and has quite a few new skills to show for it. She has been spinning in a circle for a while -- you know, lying on her belly, moving around full circle -- and now she has started to do what I call 'the caterpillar', where she kind of pushes up on her legs, face plants and wriggles forward. I've only see her do it a couple of times but I guess these are the first wriggles towards crawling. It's very funny and cute and it was nice because the mr, who is at work during the day so misses lots of firsts, was the one who originally noticed her do it.

She had her four month immunisations and was an absolute trooper. The preschooler helped out by eating the jellybeans from the doctor for her ;)

We've started to include books in our nap-time routine as well as just reading randomly throughout the day. She loves it. Sometimes she listens quietly to the story, most times she tries to grab the pages.

She dribbles a lot. Funny girl. And she's started enthusiastically flapping her arms when she's excited.

Did I mention how much we love her?

17 weeks, 16 weeks, 15 weeks, 14 weeks, 13 weeks, 12 weeks, 11 weeks, 10 weeks, 9 weeks, 8 weeks, 7 weeks, 6 weeks, 5 weeks, 4 weeks, 3 weeks, 2 weeks, newborn

{vintage dress from 1sweetdreamvintage. blue shirt and white tights gifted (thanks jen!), originally from seed. knit booties by alimrose, gifted by grandma. daisy dog by june craft. blue handmade patchwork quilt handed down from the teen.}

room for two : nostalgic creatures

Since I was pregnant last year I've slowly been converting the preschooler's room from a space for one into a room for two. It's something of a work in progress but we're enjoying it so far. Would you like to take a peek?

One of the preschooler's favourite things is the book basket by his bed. In the morning I often find it overflowing with all the stories he was reading while he was supposed to be asleep.

There are quite a few prints and artworks in this tiny room; the largest is a canvas my dad painted for the teen's very first Christmas 14 years ago. Magically it features three children that resemble the teen, the preschooler and the lady (well, one day when she's bigger). How cool is that?

I don't know how to crochet, knit or sew but I love handmade toys and linens and their room is full of them. Once I'd decided on a vintage patchwork theme I organised for matching quilts and bunting to be made. (Just quietly I was in floral sheet heaven choosing the different fabrics.)

vibe
Handmade and vintage: lovely kitsch bits and bobs reminiscent of my own childhood bedroom in the late '70s and early '80s.

who lives here
Max, 4 years old and Rose, 4 months old in Sydney, Australia.

decor
I used the painting by my dad as a jumping-off point for the colour scheme and sent the lovely Tina at Tina Magee Sews on Etsy (who made the quilts and bunting) a picture of it. She suggested fabrics that would suit. Max helped too by choosing fabrics in shades that he liked, namely yellow.
The crochet floor mat was a gift from Suzanne at Rock Stock Vintage on Etsy when I purchased the Farm Boy print. I bought the chalkboard from Ikea about 15 years ago and the cloud canopy, plastic change mat and white picture frames also from Ikea about one year ago. Adele the doll was from Warm Sugar, the seal plushie was from The Raisin Did It, the Long Dog was from June Craft and the felt fox and bear were from Sleepy King. The book basket was a pre-loved find, the doll Moses basket was mine as a child and the knit toys were all gifts for the lady and the preschooler. The handmade Waldorf doll was custom made for Max by Julie at FeeVertelaine for his third birthday.
The patchwork mat in vintage fabrics on the change table was from My Poppet, the blue plaid sunsuit hanging up was from Rae Gun on Etsy and the heart pillow was from Nature Baby. The bunny lamp was from Down to the Woods. Most of the little dresses around the room were mine as a baby and the storage trunks (there are two matching ones) were from K-Mart.

Max wrote his own name on the chalkboard. Rose had a bit of help with hers.

furniture
Max's bed is a King Parrot cot bed in white with the cot bars removed. Rose's hammock is an Amby Baby Hammock which was handed down from Max. The little white desk and chest of drawers that double as a change station were from Ikea.

The vintage Kenner Family Tree House was a Salvation Army store find. I was pretty excited to nab it for $2 AUD. You can find similar ones on eBay.

diy
The shadow box under the chalkboard was originally a jewellery box with a glass lid. I removed the lid and fixed it to the wall with 3M Command Strips. The bookshelf was a raw pine piece I painted white for Max before he was born.

challenges
Trying to find the best configuration for two in a dark, tiny space on an even tinier budget. One of the things I did to increase the light was to remove the timber Venetian blinds and replace them with a plain white blind. We also rent, so the basics like the wall colour, carpet etc had to stay as they were.

best buy
Probably the book basket (free).

top tips
I guess I'm kind of a sentimental person so I'd say if you're going for a nostalgic feel take some time to research and collect pieces from the era of your choice. If you happened to have kept things from your childhood now is the time to unearth them to see if anything suits. For the most part I found Etsy, eBay and our local markets and thrift stores to be great for treasure hunting and conjuring up unique goodies.

I hope you enjoyed our little tour into the baby space place. Thanks for visiting :)

happy mother's day

To all the mamas grandmamas and loving carers of wee ones, we hope you have a huggy kinda day.

{the preschooler is hugging organic linen pillows from nature baby.}

giveaway : We N Ty wall stickers

Yay! It's a gorgeous giveaway from baby space sponsor, We N Ty wall stickers.

The lovely Margaret at We N Ty in Melbourne is giving away one $100 AUD voucher for her online store full of unique Australian designed wall stickers.

Don't you love their storybook feel? I think the whimsical images conjure up scenes from tales like 'Mary Poppins', 'The Three Bears' and the like.

The fabric stickers are also designed with wee one's fun in mind. The doll house set comes with furniture that can be rearranged and all the stickers are non toxic, phthalate free and tough enough to be scrunched up, repositioned and used over and over again. Sounds good, right?

To enter, simply:

1. Like We N Ty Wall Stickers on Facebook.
2. Like or already be a liker of baby space on Facebook or a follower of baby space through Google Friend Connect.
3. Leave a comment letting us know which stickers you love the most out of the love the red soldier sticker set, giraffe sticker set or the doll house sticker set.

And PLEASE leave your email address with your comment or email it to bron@babyspace.net.au with your comment username so we can contact you if you are the winner.

Good luck!

All baby space readers also receive $20AUD off any order valid until 30th June 2012! Just enter the code BABYSPACE on the We N Ty online store.

Winner will be chosen by random on the 25th May 2012. This giveaway is open internationally. Good luck! Please make sure you leave your email address and/or check back on this post on the above date. If the winner is not contactable within 24 hours the giveaway will be redrawn. 


THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED. Congratulations CrystalB! 

my favourite and my best : maurice sendak

From the revolutionary Where The Wild Things Are that I read as child, studied at university, and now read to my children, to the preschooler's quirky fave, In the Night Kitchen, we in the baby space place pretty much indulge in a little Maurice magic every day. Yesterday Mr Sendak died. Today I wanted to post that we are all so grateful for what this man has brought to children's literature.

Adiós Mr Sendak, you have brought our family so much joy.

What is your favourite Maurice memory or favourite book? I'd love to hear!

lil' inspiration : chalkboard and chairs

I am totally in awe of mamas who homeschool their wee ones and if I were brave enough to undertake such a task I think this gigantic industrial style chalkboard with mismatched vintage chairs would definitely need to be a part of our school room!

Were you homeschooled? Do you homeschool your wee ones? How do you manage it? I'd love to hear.

p.s These vintage desks would also be wonderful in a homeschool room, or any room really ;)

Image found on Pinterest from Julia Bird's book Simple Style as seen on The City Sage. 

baby : 17 weeks

Have you heard about the four month-old sleep regression? No? I hadn't either. For the last week or so miss lady's sleep has turned all topsy turvy. Catnapping in the day, waking up more at night. I'm dreaming of fluffy pillows and sleep-ins (or just any sleep, really). In fact this week I slept through her crying. I have never done that before. The man woke up to her teeny cries, remarking, is that as loud as she gets? (The preschooler is a screeeamer.)

She seems impervious to my dreams (or lack thereof) and is as sunny-natured as ever. After her week of near silence, she's now got the babbling and grabbing thing down. In fact if she wants your attention she might try to grab you and squawk at you all at once.

She's started to enjoy her baby toys, with her faves being cloth books with crinkly pages and her cloth monkey and cat with long chewable limbs. Everything is fodder for chewing now.

She's been feeding more, which is part of the four month frenzy : more activity, and a leap in development is apparently the cause. I seem to remember the preschooler becoming unsettled around this time and it didn't stop until he was on solids and had gone through a sleep program at six months-old. Two more months of this? Gulp.

But hey, we got there with him, we'll get there with her. There might even be a few fancy felt headpieces thrown in along the way ;)

Have a lovely weekend!

16 weeks, 15 weeks, 14 weeks, 13 weeks, 12 weeks, 11 weeks, 10 weeks, 9 weeks, 8 weeks, 7 weeks, 6 weeks, 5 weeks, 4 weeks, 3 weeks, 2 weeks, newborn.

{on the lady: headband from eight baby legs. dress from country road, last season. on the preschooler: shirt from cotton on kids, last season.}