The worst bits of 2009 for Noah

Because I think Noah has such a wonderful life I couldn't think of a lot of things he disliked about 2009 except for these little beauties of course..............

#7 Santa Let's just say that Noah was definitely not a fan this year!

#6 Tonsillitis This was the sickest Noah has ever been. It slowed him down for a whole week. He had such a high temperature. Richard and I enjoyed all the extra cuddles.

#5 Photos Noah dislikes having his photo taken. I guess he is outta luck because I love taking photos of him!

#4 Shearing Noah was not a fan of the loud noise that Richard's hand piece made while shearing sheep. Noah is pictured here in Franks gorgeous fleece.

#3 Girls dress-ups enough said!

#2 Painting

#1 NO Noah really hates being told no. It rates as his number one dislike for 2009!

Noah's top 10 things for 2009

#10 Reading books One of Noah's favourite things is reading books. He would bring at least 10 books a day up to either Richard or I. We have read to him since he was a newborn and he seems to really enjoy books.

#9 Freddy & Frank In July this year we adopted Freddy the cat from the RSPCA. Noah adores Freddy and is nice to him most of the time. He occasionally chases him around the house while shouting at the top of his voice.

Noah is also very fond of our pet lamb Frank who is actually a fully grown sheep now. Richard brought Frank home to our house as his mother died while giving birth to him. I loved Frank straight away and I treated him like my baby until Noah was born. I was 8 months pregnant with Noah when Frank arrived on the scene. Noah loves him too and whenever he sees Frank now he growls at him. I think he growls because he can't yet make a "baa" sound.

#8 Dress ups Not really sure if Noah enjoys the dress ups but I know that I love them. He dressed as Peter Pan for his little friend Brooklyn's fairy party and we dressed him in a rhino costume for his own birthday party. The more ridiculous the better!!!

#7 Swimming We have taken Noah swimming (head under the water) since he was 7 weeks old. He loves the water and will happily put his head under the water and have a look around while blowing bubbles. When we let go of him he sinks to the bottom and does not show any signs of getting to the surface. Hoping to get into some swimming lessons soon to help improve his skills. We have dams in all the paddocks surrounding our house and we also have an outdoor spa which worries me. The sooner he learns to swim properly the better!!

#6 Bonnie Coming in at number 6 is our beautiful Border Collie Bonnie. Bonnie is our working dog on the farm (chases the sheep for us) and she is also our beloved pet. Bonnie is definitely Noah's best friend. Ever since Noah could crawl he has been throwing golf balls for Bonnie. Bonnie has such a lovely nature and is so beautiful to him. awww

#5 Sultannas A favourite of Noah's since he was 6 months old. Can not get enough of them. He prefers to have two packets on the go at once.

#4 Cotton buds or cotton tips or what ever you want to call them. He makes a big bloody mess with these everyday without fail. This is how I found him the other morning....One sticking out of his ear. Oh dear!! Our cotton buds are now in hiding.

#3 Cubby house In July this year Noah had his very own cubby house built for him by his Pa Fred and his Dad. Noah enjoys playing in the cuby almost everyday. I can see that the cubby house will be a hit for years to come. Special thanks to his Nanna Den & Pa for finding the cubby and bringing it to our farm.

Thanks Nanna Den for my cubby house.

#2 The ute Going for rides in the ute with his Dad is definitely one of Noah's favourite things. He loves going with his Dad in any farm vehicle but the ute is the best apparently. His little face lights up when you ask him "Do you want to go with Daddy in the ute?" The sound of the ute roaring past the house also causes major excitement for Noah.

Driving the tractor. Seeding our crops in May this year.

Hanging out the ute window

A common occurance. The 3 together.

#1 His family Noah adores all his family including his extended family. Noah has 10 Grandparent-like figures in his life (blame that on divorce). Special mention must go to his Nanna Margaret and Nanna Dee.

Nanna Margaret. Richard's Mum.

Nanna Dee. My Mum.

A bit about the Wheeldons

Let me start by wishing everyone a Happy New Year. I hope 2010 brings all that you wish for. I hope that it is also a safe and productive year for you all. My husband Richard (37 years), son Noah (17 months) and I (25 years) live in a small rural community in Western Australia. Our treasured home town of Tammin has a population of around 500 people. We live on a predominately wheat and sheep farm 25km North East of Tammin. We own 2000 acres which may seem like a lot of land to some people but it is actually considered to be a tiny farm compared to others in our area. Richard has recently finished harvesting our crops which proved to be a success this year....YIPEE for us!! It is tough when your whole livelihood relies 100% on the rain (which more often than not never comes).

Richard is your typical Australian farmer bloke. He loves catching up with mates and still manages to party with the best of them despite his age, he loves fishing and is 100% addicted to sport, any sport on TV will do but he particularly loves playing lawn bowls (don't laugh) and golf. He was once a very talented footballer (that's Aussie Rules football) but he had to hang up his boots after suffering a severe knee injury. Richard is good at most things he attempts. He is a wonderful father to our beautiful boy Noah and he is a loving husband. I like to think that as a husband he is a work in progress.....but I do love him dearly. We were married on the 16th of April 2008 in Airlie Beach QLD. I was 6 months pregnant as I walked/waddled down the isle. Some would say (including cheeky Richard) that it was a shot gun wedding. I was ecstatic to be pregnant when we wed and lucky everyone else was happy too. Our wedding was definitely one of the best days of my life. Richard's parents and his whole extended family are loving and wonderful people who have accepted me into their lives. Richard is an only child.....Maybe that explains a few things!

The latest addition to our family is of course Noah Jon Wheeldon. He arrived three weeks premature. He decided to enter this world when we were least expecting it. Richard was partying in Perth with mates when my waters broke at 3am on the farm while I was home ALONE. Let's just say that it was an eventful birth (aren't they all), a life changing experience and a total blessing. He joined our family on the 12th of July 2008 @ 8:20pm after an excruciating and long, but very normal labour. He was born on my mothers 49th birthday. We have spent the past 17 months watching him grow and I can shamelessly say I am totally addicted to him. Most my days are spent making sure he has the best time possible. He provides endless entertainment for us and our friends and family. I am hoping to share some of the memories and milestones with you all.

What can I say about me.....? I really enjoy being Noah's Mum. It is by far the best job I have ever had but it is also one of the most challenging. Not knowing what you are doing half the time certainly makes life very interesting. So far being a parent has been a huge learning curve and I feel next time round I will be more confident in my abilities. I am very eager to add to our family but Richard and I have a few things we want to do before adding to our brood. I enjoy gardening and trying to beautify our home. We have a tiny little house which we are hoping to build onto in the near future. I enjoy catching up with my friends and I am very close to my family, especially my beautiful Mum Deanne. I love living in Tammin as all the people are friendly and there is a strong sense of community. I do however love going to Perth which is about 200km away. I probably go to Perth a bit too often but I love visiting my Mum and good friend Brooke. Exciting holidays with Richard and Noah are my little piece of heaven.

2010 will hopefully be a very interesting, busy and wonderful year for us. I hope you enjoy reading my blog about our latest adventures. I only hope that my life doesn't bore people to death. I am sure there will be SOME interesting things to write about. I also want to thank my beautiful American friend Mackenzie for giving me the idea and inspiration to get blogging (I have not forgotten your 30th birthday friend and yes we are coming to see you). I have loved reading her blog so I thought maybe someone somewhere will love reading mine!!!!

Until next time......

Chow