What I see...

What a year....

Can you believe.... Our adorable baby boy is a year old! ONE! I think the time of your last ever baby goes so much faster than that of your earlier kids, each milestone seems to be bitter sweet - "the last time our baby willl _____" etc.

Quinton Thomas is an amazing little guy, he said his first word "dad" at 5 months, followed my "Mum" and "yeah yeah yeah" a week later. It has truly amazed us all how his vocabulary has progressed in just a a few short months and at such a young age. At last count he had about 25 regular words and is already repeating LOTS of the things we say.

Favourite are:

He will sit on the vacuum and sing out "vroom vroom" (or with anything with wheels, since about 8 months)

"Hey Mumma" when I walk in the room, or "My Mumma" when someone else is holding him and he wants me.

"Yay" for pretty much everytime any of his four sister walk into the room.

 He has names for most of his sister too - "Lol Lol" came first at 6 months for Lauren, followed by "eeeeshh" for Teasha at 9 months, now he just yells "MELIA" for Amelia and "sis" for Marnie.

He is now walking (three days before his first birthday party) and totters around falling down still ;)

He is still ever the most content baby we have had, very snugly and giggly, always trying to work out how things work.

He loves cars and trains, and is happy to crawl around with a barbie doll hanging out his mouth. He loves playgroup and especially loves music and will stop mid play if he hears a song he likes and starts bouncing up and down to it. His favourite song is "I like to move it" from Madagascar.

So here are our favourite photos of Quinny over the past year, we have thousands, when you have a photographer for a Mumma and four sister with iphone/ipods - there is always someone capturing your cuteness ;)

Brand new - a few hours old

One month old and just perfect.

Two months already.

Three months and a great sleeper.

Four months and very social.

Five months - and dedicated at church.

Six months and a happy, giggly boy.

Seven months and on the move.

Eight months and loved Santa.

Nine months and super funny.

10 months and on the go - all the time.

11 months and still LOVES the bath.

12 months and such a happy boy.

12 month photo for his Jungle Party invite.

I'm baaaccckkkkkkk!

Hey all,

Well the Halls are all doing well, all five kids are growing, getting older and LOUDER as kids do :)

Can you believe that this little guy is MY boy? Ten months old and just a dream baby - he is so bright and loves his four big sisters (who are just as smitten with him) says about 14 words already, tells me he has "pooooooo", asks for "bot bot", gives the best cuddles and snuggles, and is trying very hard to walk.

Hubby is working extra hard - we want to add a couple more rooms to the house later in the year to fill with the kids ;)

My photography business is blooming - just did my first market and had a new logo and marketing all designed for me - made me so excited.

and I am back scrapping again and have joined a fantastic group of girls from http://www.scrapbooksavvy.com.au come and check out the site and join our forum! I love the kits that Sarah designs - lots of colour and fun.

So here are some recent layouts I have designed for Scrapbook Savvy....

SO, they were my january layouts, don't want to overload you, so will come back later with my feb ones ;) and more about the family.

JEN ;)

Pinterest Inspired Month - Day 2

 

Today was "get organised" in our house with inspiration coming from here - http://www.crystalwilkerson.com/2011/12 and little visual inspiration...

So, for our organising, I created three folders (more to come once I go back to officeworks) with titles stuck down the sides of big A4 leaver folders such as "Bills 2012", "School 2012" and "Mummy Stuff 2012" Inside I have placed monthly cardboard dividers so we can find things more efficiently.

I also decked out a promotional diary my husband got given through work - think it had concrete and tile adds in or something along those lines, and covered the front and inside cover with patterned paper and photos.

 

I nick named it "the Book" as "if it's not in the book - it's not happening": )

On each birthday I have added a photo of the birthday person.

In keeping with tradition, I have coloured coded our family again - it is the same system and colours we use for the big calenders, toothbrushes, cups etc - easy to see at a glance who has something on when you see their colour on the board ; )

Pinterest Inspired Month!

I have made January "Pinterest Inspired Month" here in our house as January seems to be a quiet (as much as it can be with five kids) month. For those that haven't discovered Pinterest go here....Pinterest and is an online virtual pinboard - that you can store all your favourite finds on - from recipes, scrapbook layouts, home ideas etc - and once you click on the photo it will take you directly to site you found it. It is a fantastic idea.

So this month I am creating a project a day from inspiration I have found on pinterest. Crafting projects, recipes, organisation ideas, kids craft etc.

So day one: Inspiration was this -

and was found here - holiday list.

AND here is MY take on it -

I used the new summer fancy pants range to decorate the inside of the frame, adding recent photos I had taken of the kids, then once it was inside the glass, I adhered buttons and gemstones to the glass before using a whiteboard marker to write the list (that the kids had decided on) I plan to take off the holiday title after the school holidays and have a "Weekend Fun Checklist" during the school terms.

It now hangs at the end of hall for everyone see and pick our daily activities from - makes me happy ; )

Happy Pinning folks : )

Happy 2012!!!

From our family to yours - have a fantastic 2012.

goodness...life gets busy with a tribe of five!

Back again! At long last!

Well, life just gets busier and busier when you have a heap of kids!

We are all well, healthy and happy. 

So a quick update so I can come back later tonight with a party share...

  Me - back photographing again, scrapping heaps and running our church playgroup, really feel God's hand on my shoulder right now and know He has many plans for me. 
 
Will - just finished renovating a local OOSH building and working super hard to provide for our family, recently updated his car to a big 7 seater and he just loves it. Soccer just finished and he and Lauren made it to the finals but got knocked out in a thrilling twenty minute overtime. 

Loz - We are so proud of how Lauren is progressing at school, her half yearly report was awesome and she earned $80 (a dollar for every mark over 60), she loved playing soccer with the church team this year and her Dad and her knee held out till that very last game when a guy on the opposing team kicked it when she had the ball : ( - It healed quickly though, she has been enjoying a teen bible study group and recently went away to bible camp with her lovely friends. Lauren had a terrible loss recently too - a close male friend committed suicide - he was only 15, the funeral was a beautiful tribute to him and gave our girl a chance to say goodbye. She is almost 16 and has a very sensible, mature outlook on life.

Tbird - things are improving with Tbird, she has made some great new friends, is working hard on behaving and has joined girls brigade with her sisters. She is twelve now and is maturing to a beautiful young lady. Her laugh is infectious and she can make baby Quin crack the biggest of smiles.

   

 

Milly - loving school and her friends, eager to help others and shows true compassion, her creative side continues to bloom and we are often told how creative   and artistic she is - she is loving girls brigade and wants to be a vet when she grows up.

 

   the divine Miss M - our wild girl, loving kindy and all it has to offer, ever the popular one, it seems like there is party invite in her bag every week! the boys gravitate toward hers (uh-oh!) and she has many friends, she loves girls brigade too. Can be a little TOO cuddly with Quin ; ) and is SO six - she has the biggest blue eyes I have ever seen. 

 

 

 
...and the boy, our gorgeous, bouncing baby boy, growing like a weed, two teeth popped through last week without us even knowing, no tears, no screaming, no all-nighters, just "Poof" and there they were! He is the happiest little guy, and giggles constantly, a joy to all who meet him, trying desperately to sit up, and wants to do what his big sisters are doing - already four and half months and just adored by his sisters.

So that's us in a nutshell right now. The house is loud and crazy most of the time, we seem to always have extra kids hanging out, there are fights and screaming matches and tug-o-wars, but there is so much love and togetherness - we always wanted a house full of kids and our house is definitely "kid-filled" - just the way we like it!!

 

Enough said...

God has blessed me in so many ways, but none more so than with these five precious, gorgeous kids that make my life loud, busy, crazy and fun - not for second would I trade even one moment of being with them, as they grow into amazing people.

Hope you are having a great day!

back soonish JEN xo

too tired to think of a title....

ha ha! yep! tired! Not from our little guy keeping us up, but from life in general, and a bad case of "too much to think about to sleep" - the little guy is practically sleeping through most nights now and the most wonderful hubby and daddy in the world gets up when he does wake.

Just popping in the share a few pics while I am working on changes to my blog before I begin to bombard you all with a pile of creating and parties that have been occurring in our house the past few months.

Quinny at 3 weeks - so stinkin' adorable!!!

Oh! those totally adorable, kissable, sensational lips!!

Five weeks and SUPER alert!

Supporting their team - just before friday night footy on the telly - we start em' young in our house ; )

and Quinny last week - 8 weeks old and just about the happiest and most content baby boy around!

Stay tuned for big changes in the coming days - loads to share ; )

 

Oh! I am SO in love....

...With every little inch of this precious little guy - every noise or squeak, every expression - I think I had forgotten just how wonderful newborns are!!!

...and with each and every day I am growing more in love with him!

Life is GOOD!!!!!!

Introducing.......

Quinton Thomas Hall

Born Monday 9th May 2011 at 7pm

Weighing 8lb 7oz, Measuring 55cm long

Well, where do I begin?? A couple of months back I guess!

At 28 weeks I began getting high blood pressure, and Bub's head engaged, so I was put on rest and told to be prepared as I wouldn't go past 38 weeks - so rest I did, I sat, and sat, and sat! and my blood pressure continued to be high, normal, high, normal, I began being tested for preeclampsia regularly, my feet and legs began to swell, and swell and swell till to the only shoes I could squish on my poor puffy feet were a men's size 12 that my girls happily named "Mum's surfboards". After four weeks and a couple of ultrasounds, bub had decided to turn around and pulled himself up and sideways, and so I was no longer on rest, then a couple of weeks later he engaged again, and pulled himself out again - and I began to be sent to "day stay" in the pre-natal ward at the hospital so we could both be monitored.

38 weeks came and went, and then 39 and 40, where I begged to be induced, 41 weeks arrived and finally they agreed to induce me 11 days overdue and SUPER over being pregnant! I went into to hospital Sunday afternoon to have a balloon placed in my uterus to help me dilate to have induction the next day, in most cases the balloon works and most women go into natural labour - not me! 6am Monday morning we arrived at the hospital only to find out the balloon had not worked and the junior Doctor wanted to insert another and send me home - I burst into tears and maybe said a few things that aren't quite lady like, but an hour later a senior Doctor arrived to rescue me and was able to break my waters and things began to progress.

At 10am they gave me an epidural (zero pain thresh-hold here!) and then started the drip to regulate my contractions - and I blissed out and sat back and actually enjoyed the day. Hubby sat playing my Ipad, my student doctor that had been with us for a couple of months (a study for uni) read a book and I sat chatting on face-book ; )

Around 5.30pm I began feeling contractions and my fears set in and I cried, and begged my hubby to stop the pain, I told the midwives I couldn't do etc etc, they got a bit worried around 6pm when bubs heart rate dropped, at 6.40 I knew I needed to push, I told my hubby to be quiet "I know what I am doing" and for the next ten contractions I pushed in silence and at 7pm our precious perfect SON was born - rosy pink (apart from his hands and feet that were "over cooked") and after two small squawks he looked around in wide-eyed amazement. The midwives and doctors left and he latched on for a 25 minute feed straight away!

He was born with dark hair (that we think will lighten) blue/grey eyes, a button nose and the most perfect rosebud lips - just like his sisters. At 1am he fell into a deep sleep and slept till 11am the next day.

The girls arrived next morning and were smitten - the Divine Miss M was maybe a little TOO smitten - she poked him in the eye and when we asked her why, she replied "I wanted to see what colour his eyes are!"

I stayed in hospital till Thursday, and after three nights of no sleep, I decided to go home. Unfortunately I was rushed back in the early hours of Saturday morning with high blood pressure and tightening of my chest - loads of tests later, it appears I did in fact get preeclampsia - AFTER having him! Further tests also showed a partial collapsed lung that the doctors think happened before he was born.

I have been home now since Tuesday night and am slowly recovering - starting to feel like myself again, and getting my family back into a routine - Man of the house has been awesome - taking two weeks off work to be by my side and helping with Quin, his parents also stepped in and took on all four girls and kept them in their routine and got them to school etc.

Little Quinton - my little bean - he is AMAZING!!!!! He is such a good baby, very content and happy - he has pretty much put himself (and us) into a three to four hourly routine - he doesn't care what form of food comes his way (during some of the tests I wasn't allowed to hold him as I had radiation medicine to see my lungs - so I had to formula feed) he will take the breast, expressed or formula - as long as it's ready when he wakes, he will take it!! When he sleeps, he gets this massive smile on his face - like he is dreaming about something wonderful, he is very alert and checks everything out - I am so over the moon in love with him!!!!
Back soonish with a zillion more pictures of our little man! xoxoxo