He is squidgy and smiley. And stylish. I photographed baby Jack at home recently with his doting parents, and he was so well behaved and relaxed. He didn't even get grumpy at the end of our shoot when he was tired, he just looked all sleepy and bewildered. So cute!! If this doesn't make you broody, I don't know what will..

Erin and Adam married last week at Erin's family crib (holiday home, for the non-Kiwis amongst us) in Taieri Mouth. It was a lovely simple outdoor ceremony, where the rain held off, but the cold did not. It was freezing cold! I had a coat on, but my fingers were turning blue - poor Erin in her wedding dress. But hey, who cares how cold it is as long as you look good ey?! That's Elmer's philosophy anyway, he hates wearing coats.

Liana and I spent a couple of hours with Erin and Adam, before heading home to watch Wales lose in the rugby. The less said about that the better.......

Here are a few of my favourites.. with a couple from Liana this week too!

I found these images on a memory card from before my trip to the UK. We were in Wanaka for Karina and Nick's wedding at the end of July. A lovely winter's day in NZ...

An update on the house. It's been sanded to perfection by Steven (that took a LONG long time by the way), and wrapped in building paper.

Lots of other unseen things are happening at the moment too, like measuring and ordering and more measuring. Checking the plans, phoning the designer, ordering flashings (bits that fit around the windows and doors), deciding on which wood to have on the ceiling. That type of thing. I'm looking forward to the BIG stuff now. Plastering! Floors going in! Windows and doors!

We have all the strawbales in our barn. We have the doors and windows ready to fit. We have the wire mesh that wraps around the building that the plasterer will plaster on (he is arriving start of December). Floor man is arriving..... at some point, I don't know when. It seems we are so close to all this stuff... and yet, possibly quite far. Hmm. Do I sound vague?

For a project that was initially going to take 6 months, we have now passed the two year mark. Sometimes when people ask me "how is the house coming along?" I have to stop myself asking "The house? Is someone building a house?"  The build has become one of those mammoth entities that just plods along in the background, such a huge part of our lives that it is hard to imagine a life without it... or a life with it - with the house I mean. Imagine living in a house with more than one room, a kitchen with lots of cupboards, a bedroom for Elmer, a wardrobe in each room, an indoor toilet..... a BATH!!!!!!!!!

We bought some tree saplings this week to plant as a shelter belt behind the house and barn...

Elmer was 2 years old yesterday. He's not a baby anymore, he's my little boy. I love all the new things he can do as he gets older, but part of me can't quite believe how much time has passed. I can't believe he's been here for two whole years.

Two year old Elmer is a mix of strong emotions and thoughts, all bursting to get out of a boy who can't quite express what he wants in words yet. Numerous times per day Elmer will point at something, or pull me by the hand and say "Deh! deh! deh! deh!" (his word for Yes), answering some question he has in his head that he wants me to ask him. Most of the time I have no idea what he wants. Food? Drink? Play outside? Fish car from underneath sofa?

Elmer is sensitive and thoughtful. If something falls over (or is hurled out of his hands), he says, "Poor Car!" or "Poor Apple!" or "Poor Truck!" with real empathy for the item in question. He will spend long periods of time carefully arranging cars in a neat row, or putting his toy cars in and out of his car transporter.

He is shy with people at first, but once he gets to know them Elmer will bring friends little presents, blow them kisses, give out coy little smiles. He has a fabulous sense of humour and finds the most random things hilarious. His laugh is a deep chuckle that is completely contagious, and his huge smile is toothy and beautiful.

Elmer loves wheels, fast cars, tractors, motorbikes, trains. He loves animals, and in particular cats (I'm not a cat person at all so no idea where that comes from), plants and trees, being outside, cuddles, dancing (the heavier the beat the better), being hurled onto the sofa repeatedly, staring into space and dreaming. He is fascinated by almost everything ("Oh, WOW") and I am completely in love with him.

Happy Birthday Elmer.

Elmer the Two Year Old from Sinead Jenkins on Vimeo.

Ps - Thanks to Liana for some photographs here!