Archie's 2nd Birthday

I am backtracking a little now, back to the 8th of Jan when we celebrated Archie's 2nd Birthday. It was a great day for a small gathering and we managed to have a ball outside, with the kids in their swimmers zipping down the slide!
Last year was a little full on, so this year we decided to keep to immediate family, plus Aunty Kath and Uncle James, Andy and John and Archie's girlfriend, Ava :)
With the cake finally finished, the Mickey Mouse theme was in full swing and Archie was grinning from ear to ear with his Mickey ears on all day!
He absolutely adores his grandparents and he is so lucky to spend a lot of time with them, so much so that he calls Poppy John 'Johnny!' oh dear...
Archie was surrounded by his cousins (4 girls), Ava and the rest of the family all day and he just loved every minute of it! Here are a few pics from the day :)

Archie started off the day with a few gifts, we tried to keep it low key and snuck a few unopened xmas gifts in there!

                                          The Mickey ears are on early in the day!

                               My new couch from Nanna and Poppy John, just loooove it!

                                          Baby Zoe getting in on the Mickey action!

                                           My Mickey Mouse mud cake effort :)

                                                 Nanna with sweet Samara

                                                The kids catching up on the goss!

                                                          BUBBLES!!!

 Time for cake :) Archie was adorable and couldn't believe everyone was singing for him, so sweet. If only we had got it on video :(

 The day rolled into the night with the boys carrying on outside and the girls inside, talking baby names! Princess Mary had her twins on Archie's Birthday, which seemed very fitting given our special connection with Denmark.
Another party over at the Fraser's! I do love entertaining, always have and always will :)

January 2011

My hope of being able to write on my blog every week is proving to be somewhat of a challenge! Like all families, we lead a busy life, squeezing everything possible into each day, but I just can't seem to get to the old blog!
We were so looking forward to chilling at home after the busy festive season and we have enjoyed it so much. Time together at home without golf clubs is like gold for us and I have seen how Archie has loved every minute of it.
But now, it should be time to get back in the swing of things, pack the bags and get on the road again. But unfortunately, we have hit a big wall. Poor Marcus been diagnosed with a degenerated/bulged disc (C5-C6). It initially caused some grief back at the Aussie Open in Sydney in early December. Since then, it has really gone down hill and he is in excruciating pain- wearing a neck brace, taking many pain killers and in general, not able to do a lot. He was hoping that with rest and drugs, it would heal, but the last week it has got even worse. It breaks my heart to see him in so much pain and a little worried about his career and the near future. He has been seeing specialists and having treatment (call me the taxi driver!) and they have now decided that he needs to be operated on to replace the disc. The surgeon is very hard to get into, so at this stage, all we can do is wait. He has an appointment on the 1st of Feb, so hopefully soon after, they will operate. There is risk involved and I know this is in the back of his mind, but recovery is surprisingly quite quick, approximately 4 weeks. So although it means he will miss several months of crucial tournaments, he really has no choice for his health and future career but to operate now.
There are plenty of people in harder situations than us- the recent floods have caused so much grief and we also have a friend who, in his early 30's is having intense chemo therapy. Life definitely hands out some cruel cards and ours is not that bad when one puts it into perspective.
But for someone who is always on the go and such a positive person, dedicating himself tirelessly to a sport that he loves, he has found it really hard to deal with. Thank goodness for Archie in our lives- the forever smiling happy go lucky boy that he is :)
So today, as I sat back watching Archie play outside, I tried to capture the endless smiles he brings to us and for a moment, life's pressures were forgotten about.

Words can't describe how much happiness you bring to us Archie John, we can't wait 'til your little sibling arrives in July for you to play with.

Festive Season

All of a sudden, Christmas and New Year have passed in a flash and sadly, we are already busily planning for 2011!
Since we returned from Singapore, we stayed home for 2 weeks, then off we went again, to Sydney and then Coolum for golf. It was a great 2 weeks away with lots of activities. In Coolum, we stayed at the Hyatt on course which is magic! We rode our bikes to the beach and played with the crabs and sand for hours on end. We had afternoon naps and then back we went to the pool. It was a lovely finish to what was a busy year for Marcus and he too enjoyed himself after his rounds with a few beers n pizza.
Marcus then continued on to Thailand for his last of 8 straight tournaments, whilst we came home and prepared for our O'Donoghue/Houlihan Xmas party to be held at our house. We had a great day with everyone together, Santa visited and we ate way too much!

The happiest boy in the world with his new back pack from Lib and Digger from Santa!

The kids had a ball which is the main thing and Nanna and Patty loved seeing everyone together.
Jacquie was a the queen chef, making sushi and salads, what would we do without Jac!
The following week, Marcus returned and we decided to have an xmas party with friends that we haven't been able to see the last few months. It kinda blew out a little and we ended up having nearly 40 for dinner! Jac was to the rescue again with nibbles (too many though, thanks to my ambitious ideas!) and then we cooked a ham on the bbq and had it with salads and burgers which was a big hit! We topped it off with Lemon Meringue cup cakes and slices galore. Alas, the following day was very very quiet as I was a tired pumpkin! With all these parties and social outings, it is very tempting to enjoy a vino or two, but with Baby number 2 on the way, I have been very well restrained!
We are thrilled that another junior is on the way, Archie points to my tummy and says 'Baby', hopefully he thinks it's as exciting as we do! I am 13 weeks now and have had a great first tri-mester with no sickness at all, just a  little tired and extra hungry. All very similar to my first pregnancy, so I am intrigued to see whether it's a pink or blue one! I am due on 11th July- which sounds so far away, but I am sure that with all we have planned in next few months, it will go very quickly!
That might have to do for now, loads more to write but it will have to wait 'til next entry :) Time to attack the study and get back into a few canvas orders that are patiently waiting for me :)