Excuse my absence, I couldn’t log in the last few days.
I just wanted a record of the evening before my youngest turns 6!

Excuse my absence, I couldn’t log in the last few days.
I just wanted a record of the evening before my youngest turns 6!
The first day of school for any German child, even those that are far away in Australia, is a hugely important step! It’s a rite of passage!
Arguably THE most important part of a child’s first day of school is the Schultüte. A paper cone, often homemade, filled with sweets and presents. Germans believe that the thought of attending school for every day for the next 12-13 years needs to be ‘sweetened. Really, it’s much more than that: it’s a ritual that honours the child’s changing status and the many changes this entails for the rest of the family.
It’s filled with sweets, school supplies, little gifts and trinkets and the Schultüte itself is closed at the top so the child can’t see into it. It only gets opened once their first day at school is completed. Myself and many of my German friends here in Australia love this tradition. And I spent today making a Schultüte for Max, who starts school next week.
I just wanted to share these sweet pictures from 4 years ago when Luke started school. Often a sibling will get their own smaller Schultüte.
Luke: we chanced upon a motor boat race down at the river…he was mesmerised. (Canon EOS 550D, f/8, 1/160 sec, ISO-100).
Max: cheeky face…exploring! (Canon EOS 550D, f/8, 1/160 sec, ISO-100).
Luke: this boy has been waiting for the home ice cream delivery man for weeks now, he was rewarded yesterday! (Canon EOS 550D, f/4.5, 1/50 sec, ISO-100).
Max: another ice cream photo, because he’s just too darn cute! (Canon EOS 550D, f/5.6, 1/80 sec, ISO-100).
Happy New Year! I know I am a little late and I had lots of intentions to write here sooner, but somehow it never happened. So, here’s my first post for 2017, pictures of my boys.
Luke: Busy gardening…or at least attempting it! (Canon EOS 550D, f/8, 1/160 sec, ISO-100).
Max: dummy in hand…took him a while, but this boy now loves ice cream! (Canon EOS 550D, f/9, 1/200 sec, ISO-100).
Linking up with Jodi with a portrait of my children once a week in 2016.
Luke: he has taken a new liking to football (albeit it with a basketball)…might have to sign him up for soccer! (Canon EOS 550D, f/7.1, 1/125 sec, ISO-100).
Max: I will just sit in a box here…ok! He is best entertained pottering about…not being watched too closely! (Canon EOS 550D, f/5.6, 1/80 sec, ISO-100).
Linking up with Jodi with a portrait of my children once a week in 2016.
Luke: rainy day painting…look at the concentration on my boys face! (Canon EOS 550D, f/5.6, 1/30 sec, ISO-100).
Max: this boy naps best in his pram and his rainbow blanket! (Canon EOS 550D, f/5.6, 1/2 sec, ISO-3200).
Linking up with Jodi with a portrait of my children once a week in 2016.
Luke: this one…he has been amazing in how he’s taken on our move across the continent, but other times the 5 1/2 year old comes out and we have major meltdowns. Being more settled once we find our own place and get back to a proper routine (and less TV) will be much better for him! (taken on my Nexus phone camera).
Max: TEMPTATION!!!! (taken on my Nexus phone camera).
Linking up with Jodi with a portrait of my children once a week in 2016.
Luke: getting some activities in. (Canon EOS 550D, f/5, 1/400 sec, ISO-100).
Max: just sitting around in the grass, letting the sun shine on me… (Canon EOS 550D, f/8, 1/200 sec, ISO-100).
The boys with their grandma…too cute.
Linking up with Jodi with a portrait of my children once a week for 2016.
Luke: this dude, too cool for school! He’s been coping well with our impending move, finishing Kindergarden, lots of leaving do’s and back and forth… (Canon EOS 550D, f/4, 1/320 sec, ISO-100).
Max: this cheeky boy, he’s into everything at the moment and the words ‘no’ and ‘nein’ only make him want to be even cheeker…but he’s absolutely adorable doing it! (Canon EOS 550D, f/4, 1/125 sec, ISO-100).
And I had to add this one of my two boys working together…aren’t they sweet.