What’s been making me happy: April

April is possibly my favourite month of year, mainly on account of the weather. The mornings are now brisk, sometimes shrouded in light fog, but the days are clear and bright, and by mid afternoon gloriously warm. The countryside is green, the deciduous trees around town are starting to colour and there’s often the scent of wood smoke in the late afternoon, as people stoke their fires ready for the evening ahead. The temperatures, the vistas, the scents – it all make me feel incredibly content.

There are also a few other things that have also made me smile this month…

PLAYDATES

For the last couple of Fridays, Paul and I have had morning playdates. We’ve had them since Paul was rather small but at 19 months old, it just feels like we’re reaching a point where he’s starting to really enjoy the outings. Over the last few weeks, Paul’s horizons have expanded immensely. He loves looking and exploring and trying new things. His language is developing at a rapid pace and watching him interact with other children is just so fascinating. Although there isn’t much ‘playing together’, I get such a kick out of watching him watching others, taking it all in and then sometimes trying to replicate the behaviour or action he’s just witnessed. The playdates are a nice social occasion for me too, though with Paul hardly sitting still for any length of time now, the conversation between the adults is often had in short bursts interspaced by someone running off to stop a fall from a piece of playground equipment or to fetch another snack. Still, I think both Paul and I often come home from these get-togethers a little tired but very content.

MOVEMENT ON OUR NEW HOUSE

Progress on our new house ground to a bit of a halt over summer due to some unexpected delays completely out of Adam or my control. It’s been frustrating and at times we’ve doubted our decision to build, wondering if it would just be easier to buy a house already built. This month though, there have been some substantial developments on our block, and it now actually resembles land that’s ready for building. We’re finessing our house plans with our builder and after a bit of hiatus I’m back flipping through magazines and getting lost down Pinterest worm holes, gathering ideas and inspiration. The new block of land is walking distance from our current house and Adam, Paul and myself have had a few trips to it, working out where each room would sit on the bare earth and taking in the farmland vistas that we’ll soon wake up to every morning.

THE SEASIDE

Over Easter, our family took our first seaside holiday, as part of a visit to my parents in Queensland. Paul had been to the beach once before – but he was barely three months old and I think from memory he spent the entire time asleep in his capsule. This time though he was able to fully experience the beach and he just loved splashing in the shallows, playing in the sand and having miles of open space to run around in. Growing up on the coast I never really went on ‘beach holidays’, but with a family of my own now and a home in inland Australia I totally understand why it’s an annual tradition for so many families. Adam fondly remembers many ‘seaside’ holidays from his childhood in England and after seeing Paul’s utter enjoyment of the ocean, I’ve got a feeling we’ll be making pilgrimages to the coast on the regular basis.

What’s been making you happy in April?

Have a wonderful week.

M. x