the boys

...have been to stay. Late January, the weather warms up and you wonder why you wanted it too - 30 degrees in Hamilton is hideous. All the junk mail says 'Back to School" and makes me want to scream! because you know you have to go to work and... Nice to play with the grandies.

 Ice creams at Duck Island.

 Paddle pool time. 

Pilots at Punnet.

birthday bash

We all survived the joint birthday party! Max was very excited and Iggy was quite oblivious but happy to tag along. An extremely hectic but fun event held at their Playcentre due to inclement weather. That brought back memories from long ago. The boys loved their gifts and the cakes!

 

the grandies

My two grandsons are about to celebrate their birthdays at a combined birthday party. That should be fun.! Obviously I'm biased but I think they're pretty cute. Iggy is so much more grown up looking than Max was at that age due to his head of hair and Max has a great grasp of language and strong opinios for a soon to be three year old.

IMG 7470 from Sheryl Madigan on Vimeo.

birthday quilt....tick

The 'I Spy' quilt was finished in time for the early birthday party. Quite an achievement considering I only started the quilting the weekend before. It's been a while since I whipped up a quilt that quickly.
Nice to know I can still do it.

party time

Max's early birthday party...

Hang out with your mates.

Check out the digger on your birthday cake.

Snaffle yourself one more pebble.

Open your presents.

don't puke on your dad

For the first year of his life, Max's dad Toby kept a blog of his experience as a new dad, baby milestones etc. Each post consisted of one of Toby's amazing illustrations. A selection of these illustrations have been published in a book titled 'Don't Puke on Your Dad' published by Beatnik publishers in Auckland. It has gone on sale in time for Father's Day and is an entertaining, informative and moving account of first time fatherhood. Of course I'm a tad biased as Max is my first grandson and I'm in the book! However I think the book is incredibly well written and fills a gap in the market for prospective dads.
Check it out at: http://www.beatnikshop.com/collections/frontpage/products/dont-puke-on-your-dad
and be sure to click the option to watch the invite clip at the bottom.

i spy quilt

The time has come the walrus said... to make an I Spy quilt!
I have to confess to squirrelling away the odd piece of fabric with this in mind over the past 20 years. Time spent with Max recently makes me realise how much he would enjoy such a quilt now that he is beginning to talk.
So I have made a start.  I am making a string quilt, having done a workshop with Sue Western at the Taupo Symposium. It is exciting as there are decisions to be made with every piece of fabric. But it will not be a calm quilt- prepare for busy craziness!!

Busy, busy

Monsters! - Max's dad Toby draws amazing monsters, so I had to have monster fabric. 

beach

Papamoa on a cloudy day.

master max

Max is learning to talk. He loves his digger, his bike, his lawnmower, his guitar, cooking (pretend), puzzles and doing what mum and dad do - taking photos and drawing!

son, brother, uncle

Spent time recently with my two kids, and it wasn't even Christmas!
It may be a while before that happens again, Daniel is off to Shanghai.
Another new perspective is observing your son as an uncle.
He approaches the role as he approaches life generally, loud and fast!

Brother and sister

Uncle and nephew

knit one purl two

I grew up in the 60s when everyone knitted. Except me. Hated it, refused to learn. Just like crocheting, which I had to get mum to teach me in 2011 so I could crochet a blanket for my then expected grandson. Well Max is 20 months old now and I am knitting him a jersey. First thing I have knitted that requires reading a pattern since I knitted his mother a very cool hooded jacket when she was about his age. That's over thirty years ago. Reading a knitting pattern is like reading another language - and I was never any good at that either. I now remember and appreciate the constant stream of gorgeous home knits my mother produced for my kids, until they weren't cool to wear any longer.
The things an Oma does.

Ma might, but Pa won't

Marmite is a Kiwi icon. No other food product fuels more debates than the "marmite or vegetmite?" question.  To add to the silliness I used to ask my kids if they wanted 'Ma might but Pa won't' on their toast.  It is reassuring to see that Max is also a marmite eater and did not succumb to the dark side during the shortage.

going to the zoo

Max and Sonya took me to the Auckland Zoo - it's amazing! They have a zoo pass and Max loves it. I think his first word just might be "giraffe'. These are my first photos with my new 50mm prime lens - nice.

beach time

Waihi beach summer, end of 2012. Max loves the ocean, so much in fact that it's scary. He just heads straight out into the waves.

christmas is for kids

It was great to have a 'kid' around on Christmas morning again - it's been a while. It took a few goes but Max figured out what it was all about - opening all those presents, even the ones that weren't for him.