The Dower Family

Nick and I can plot our past through our experiences with Ikea. Almost 10 years ago we took our first trip out there together as poor struggling students who dreamt of having a lovely home together. On that occasion the only purchases we could fund were two bowls that cost 95 cents each but we took with us a catalogue and a truckload of inspiration. Since that time we have taken many many many more trips down the motorway to that blue and yellow design mecca. Our focus has shifted from suburban home to inner city pad back to suburban home again but it became a whole new ballgame when we went to design the as yet unborn Ollie's room. Apart from his cot and nursing chair, pretty much everything came from Ikea, including the many metres of fabric that I carefully sewed into bunting, liners for baskets and anything else I and my trusty sewing machine could fashion. And while it seems like just yesterday that I was agonising over which mobile to choose, we recognise that our littl

It has been a super crazy hectic week and I haven't really had time to bust out the SLR so this week's blog is brought to you entirely by my iphone camera. The quality of the photos isn't quite as good as the canon(!) but the flexibility it affords can't be beat. This first photo is especially dear to me. Ollie B and I were at the park on Thursday morning having a picnic when I noticed that our shoes practically matched. Click. And here is my special little bubble boy. Ollie is just LOVING having a bath tub. That's right, up until the move we didn't have a tub. It has made the last 20 months a bit tricky and most of this year we bathed Ollie in a giant plastic bucket in the bottom of our shower cubicle. It was less than ideal but Ollie didn't really know any different. Well how things have changed. In the short time we have been here Ollie has become a total bath addict. If things are running a bit behind schedule and we give him a shower he gets

We were lucky enough to be shouted flights down to Sydney for our Christmas present from Nanna Freddy & Poppy Mick so we could see Aunty Alicia and Uncle Guy.  As it is September, it took us a little while to get around to taking them! The whole trip centred around our visit to Taronga Zoo.  That day was especially special, not only because of the zoo itself but getting there by boat and seeing the monorail (Ollie can say monorail.  It is the cutest).  We saw lions and tigers and bears (Oh my) as well as zebras, elephants, snakes, a komodo dragon (super scary), giraffes, you name it.  We had the most amazing time but it turned out to be a much longer day than we expected and it totally shattered us all.  Nanna Freddy was asleep by 7.30pm and Nick and I were totally jealous! This is the closest I ever want to see Nick and Ollie with a lion. B showing off his big new ears. At the petting zoo Ollie was totally terrified of the sheep after one of the big sheep let out

We could hardly have forgotten that it was father's day around here, what with Nick's daily reminders to Ollie (and I suspect, I) that it was coming up. Luckily it was sufficiently marked with the prerequisite Darrell Lea Dad's Bag and a lovely card from Ollie (he chose it - it has turtles on it - say no more). We also treated Nick to a new coffee machine to keep Nick happy with espresso and Ollie even happier with babycinos (I'll just stick to tea). We also had a lovely, albeit rainy day in our lovely new home, listening to the sounds of the nearby jazz festival wafting up. I've made up for the lack of photos on the blogs lately with a few fun little photo sessions around the house this week. It wasn't hard to coax some cheeky smiles out of Ollie. He is quite the master of cheekyness these days. And look at those big eyes! (Technical problem - I wrote this when the top photo was next in the blog - we've swapped over to a mac this week which I'm l

Apologies for the radio silence. As you've probably guessed, the big move has just taken place. Tonight marks the 7th night that we have been in the wonderful house that we will call home for the next few years and we couldn't be happier. The move itself went as well as could be expected with a toddler in tow. It was definitely harder than any previous moves, mostly because I had to keep Obear entertained while Nick pitched in with the wiry little removalists. But also things like Ollie getting totally distressed at seeing his cot get dismantled. And deciding it would be great to kick his shoes against the walls I'd just been cleaning. Anyway... But he has settled in beautifully and is already declaring "home" when we pull up to the new house. It seems to suit us all perfectly and we are loving feeling like we are on vacation every day when we see the twinkling water. It is just so lovely to get up and go for a walk beside the water. Ollie especially love