On Saturday we had the biggest family gathering we've had here in Melbourne for AGES! It was rather impromptu, text messages and phonecalls flying around only two days previous. Kelli, my cousin, and Bruce, her boyfriend, decided to go out for dinner with Bruce's parents and my parents (Kelli is living with my folks). And then more of us Berkeleys lobbed in, so in the end there was Mum, Dad, Kelli, Bruce, his parents, Gina & Con (they're Greek, did you work that out?!), Michelle (my cousin from Canada), Daniel (my brother), David (my cousin, Kelli's brother, who I haven't seen for at least a couple of years), Gord, Piper, Jasper and I.

That's a big family gathering, for us! Michelle and I were commenting after on what a special experience it was, because we both grew up in contexts where there was hardly any, extended family living close by. And I was talking to Gord about it tonight and worked out something else, that the space was dominated by the kids, the cousins, rather than the parents. Not saying this is better or worse, just a different dynamic than usual.

Dave and Dan have a real quirky dynamic going on between the two of them! Fun to watch, if occasionally bewildering! Mum, Dad, Dan, Dave and Michelle hung out at our place at either end of the dinner (the restaurant, where Kelli works, just happens to be a couple of blocks from our place). I managed to start and finish a little gift for someone, while other people cooed over my baby, so that was lovely for me!

The food at the restaurant was great, the chips were perfect, Gord introduced the concept of a napkin race, and then he and Dan proceeded to gulp paper, much to the amusement of everyone. And to top it all off, we ordered two slices of lemon meringue pie, to feed everyone, cos really, at that point in the night we didn't need more food. Blow me down if Piper didn't eat at least half the slice that was down at our end of the table. I was boggled, groaning about the sugar intake but laughing at her incredible capacity! When she wants to eat, man, she can eat! She is a Funk after all!

We took lots of photos, and had lots of fun doing so. I'll put the first three here - if you want to see all of them, you can check them out on our web album: http://picasaweb.google.ca/beckatack/

New blog

Oh yeah, I've set up a different blog, so i can rave on about my crafty endeavours, but there may be one or two of you out there who might be interested - if so, you can click here! At the very least, you can catch a few more photos of us...

Graffitti pose

At the Jam Factory near us (which used to be a jam factory, I believe, but is now a cinema complex), there's a passport photo booth, and I had this idea that Piper and I could pose together each month and then we'd have a record of her changing face (okay, yeah, and mine as well!). So, the strip to your right was taken on the 5th of June, and the ones to your left were taken yesterday.

As you can see, there was graffitti on the screen, which I saw as I parted with my coins, but didn't think through the implications. Anyway, you can see the result! I tell ya, I felt like an affronted citizen and almost came back with a scraper and some cleaning agent, so no one else would get a disappointing surprise after waiting for their photos. What I should have done is taken the phone number given for faults, and let them know, but I didn't think of that at the time.

What was particularly disappointing was that, compared to the first time, Piper had totally gotten the hang of making a different face for each shot - surprised then sad then angry then happy! What other emotions would you like us to demonstrate (leave me a comment!)... anyway...

And apart from that, we are well. Helen, our lovely local babysitter was over tonight, so Gord and I hit Chapel St, with Jasper in the Baby Bjorn, to find a place to eat. Found an okay Malaysian place, after walking past a nepalese, pizza, three thai, an indian, another malaysian, and a few generic, restaurants. I guess you can say that for this area - we aren't stuck for variety!

It's always good to check in with each other. Life feels rich at the moment, as it has done for a while, actually. How lucky are we...

And how are the children, you might ask? Well, Piper has been SOOO vague lately - immersed in her own little imaginative world, and also a little hard of hearing, still getting over a cold. What a combination - I find myself saying things three times before she even comprehends that I'm talking to her! She's also doing this thing where she cries at night for seemingly no reason, and it's really hard to wake her up to snap her out of it. Gord researched this and thinks it's something called night terrors... But other than that(!), she's relatively cheerful, although, now that I think about it, we did have the mother of all tantrums (so far!) this week, when she didn't want to go to be one night!


And the little lad is going sooo well. Looking at him makes me all smoochy at the moment. I remind myself occasionally that one day he too may well throw a mother of all tantrums, but at the moment, that seems hard to imagine! I saw the Mat nurse yesterday and she was very pleased with how he's going, as well she should be! He's put on more weight etc, and is holding his head up really well. Yeah, he's just so fun. I feel like we're really in a rhythm with him now, getting to know when he's tired, etc.

Oh yeah, I am SO chuffed about how we can post videos now! Thanks Gary for the webcam which enabled our first attempt (see previous post). We're hoping to borrow a proper camera from a friend and get some decent footage of all of us, I guess, but in particular the kiddliwinks, so watch this space!

Well, the rest of my family is in bed, and I think I should get myself there too. Love to all...

Jasper's debut

Here's an attempt to give you a bit better look at the lil one...

Weighing up

Visited the Maternal and Child Health Nurse today. Jasper's put on another whole stack of weight, so I thought I'd compare his & Piper's records.

Jasper birth weight: 3600g
3 weeks: 4600g
6 weeks: 5380g
Total: almost 1.8kg!

Piper birth weight: 3395g
3 weeks: 4200g
6 weeks: 4610g
Total: about 1.2kg

Doesn't really matter either way - both these kids are healthy. However, I have to say it's very satisfying having a heavier kid, and knowing that my body has provided the fuel for their incredible growth.

Other than that, we are well. Gord's working from home today. Jasper's a bit windy, which is a bummer - he's sleeping on my lap while I type one-handed! Piper had fun at childcare this morning. She looked so grown up with her backpack on and her little Nemo suitcase lunchbox, wearing the new clothes (my) Auntie Jan got her. I wanted to take a photo but she wouldn't let me...

I'm going to Dancejam tonight with some friends, so that should be fun (first time, so we'll see what it's like...).

Anyway, ciao for now...

Thought I'd better upload some more photos!
Two early morning shots, of Jasper, and the three of us in bed (don't mind the bags under me eyes!)

Dad holding Jasper when he came over while Mum was away...
Piper feeding Jasper while I was having a night off. (I'm so pleased - I have the freezer stocked with at least 6 feeds - go boobies! More freetime for me!)
Piper having fun at an Adventure Playground in St Kilda.

Craft links

Have spent the better part of yesterday and today (I mean the snippets of free time I have, or the "free-time" spent holding a sleeping baby who'll wake up if I put him down) trawling through various crafty blogs. There's a whole world of stuff out there, I tell ya - so inspiring! Such beautiful fabrics and cool knitting projects, and so much more! (I know most of you couldn't give a rat's, but I need to vent somewhere - if I talk to Gord about it, his eyes start to glaze over - just like mine do when he starts waxing lyrical about planers and routers and, yeah whatever!)

Who knows if this inspiration will turn into anything beautifully handmade, but it's pleasant to immerse myself into a dreamworld every now and then! I'm actually really chuffed at the moment just to have the time to finish some of the numerous projects I have on the go. I finished the vest I bought wool for last year, and started knitting before Jasper came along. I'm not entirely in love with the finished product, but now that I've knitted it, I'm darn well going to wear it for a bit! While we were at Mum and Dad's the other night, I pulled out the pink/red cardie I started for Piper absolutely ages ago, and fixed the big mistake I'd made, so now I'm all set to roll along and finish that. I have plans to sew up the cardie and pants I knitted for Jasper, before I even knew he was Jasper - yes, the finishing is the hardest part, often, for me! And who knows, I might actually get around to finishing the Canada scrapbook before we head to Canada again!!

The more I wind these projects up, the more headspace (or heartspace) for new projects I feel I have - it's a beautiful feeling. I'm actually being very disciplined at the moment, not engaging with anything new until these old familiar projects are done, and it's paying off... Meanwhile, I'm planning a bazillion things to make once they're done!

On a different note, I have dragged out my "Spirituality of Pregnancy and Birth" essay to revise. My lecturer, when I handed it in a year ago, suggested I submit it somewhere for publishing, so I'm trying to get this happening. It requires me to cut around 3000 words, but I had a read through recently and don't think this will be so hard. This is another project I'm trying to wind up...

Oh yeah, while I remember, I wanted to post these links, for those of you who are interested and haven't discovered them yet:

Etsy is basically like an artist/craft market, but think global, with lots of cool flash tools. Basically I could sign up, make something, and list it for sale (kinda like ebay). I'm just way excited about this, cos you can get such a cool range of stuff, and you know that someone's carefully crafted it, rather than made it under financial duress in a sweatshop. You also get something UNIQUE, not the same product from the same shop that everyone else is wearing...

Check out the Colours tool - I could play with that all day! Apart from being totally mesmerising, you can click on any colour, and it wil pull up any product listed on etsy in that colour - amazing!

Mintd seems to be an Aussie version of etsy, but I haven't explored it much yet. An Aussie site means currency and postage are non-issues.

And this is an event: 2007 Northern Exposure Artisans' Market, held in four different venues in Northcote. An opportunity to check out some cool handmade stuff in person. Obviously only of interest to those living in Melbourne.

Anyway, I'm hyped about handmade stuff at the moment, my own and other people's, as you can tell! I know most of you probably checked this site to find out more about my family, my kiddos, etc, but there you go, you get whacked with CRAFT instead! Come back in a couple of days (nursing your bruised head!) and I might have some recent photos up!

But until then, love to all...