you'll always be my baby girl

with a slightly improved photo...

Its not a very good photo (in relation to the light & set up of the shot) but its the only one I took that shows how proud she was yesterday to be marching down to kindy for her first day. I was apprehensive...

how would she go around soo many new children (my girl is not always the most sociable)

would she keep all her clothes on when she went to toilet (she has a tendancy to come back from the toilet needing help to redress)

does she remember that I will come back for her (does she know that I am counting down the minutes until I can walk back to pick her up)

will anyone understand her when she finally comes out of her shell (or will the other children look at her like she is strange and walk away)

will she want to go back next week and the week after and the week after (for the next 6 *yes 6* school terms)

as it turns out she didnt miss me or need me to be there to shield her from the world but I am on guard and prepared to put my protective arm around her should she so need it at ANY time.

He's just a litle bit proud of himself...

& so are we!!

Xander is well & truely sitting by himself now & he loves it. Olivia also loves it because she now thinks he is capable of playing 'row-row-row your boat' & I let her do 1 round but then have to put a stop to it because he is not that steady yet. But it is soooo nice to see them "playing" together.

The only thing that Xander loves as much as sitting right now is trying to crawl. He gets up on his knees & hands but cant quite hold it long enough to figure out what to do next. I love watching him try.

Also, I just wanted to share this photo because Neil & I love it so much that we make Olivia show everyone that enters our home. She painted it while we were camping at Edithburgh just after new years & it lives on her bedside table.




But we just adont know what to call him, if you ask Olivia every dog is Jetty....

tampeen

Today Olivia & I were playing on the trampoline & I had a housewife moment where I was thinking of all the things I could be doing while Xander was sleeping, so I told Olivia that I had to go do other stuff. She did not like this idea at all (& she was playing so nicely with me) so I promised that when Poppy came over tonight we could eat dinner on the trampoline, she decided that this was a great deal & let me hop off.

When dinner was ready this evening I asked both the girl to take their clothes off cause we were having pasta & it can get messy, especially when you dont have a table to eat off of (& quite frankly what child doesnt like to get naked). As we were walking out Poppy kept saying over & over again "tampeen, tampeen, tampeen". I think it was a hit!!!


In other news, Xander is finally big enough to go in the Jolly Jumper, I have been waiting for this because I remember how much Olivia LOVED it & Xander did not dissapoint. It must feel so effortless and free to be up on your feet after being at foot height for 5 & a half months. Oh the joy!!

I also have to say that my little man is an absolute trooper. Every time I change something on him he laps it up & takes it completely in his stride without skipping a beat. This last week has seen him start solids & he sooo looks forward to whatever is served up to him, infact if I dare to take a break to feed myself he gets quite impatient. I also stopped wrapping him for sleeps in the last week & you wouldnt even know that anything has changed, he goes to sleep just as easily as he always has & sleeps for just as long.

just testing...

let me know what you think of my brand new signature

picture this....

Woman comes home & lets dog in the house, but although the front screen door is closed it is not locked & the dog somehow instictively knows this & seizes this opportunity to make a run for it. Right out the front door and door the road, on the hunt for only he knows what. The woman is right behind him calling his name, yelling STOP, BAH, SIT, STAY & anything else that she thinks may momentarily distract him from his goal, long enough to just get a hold of his collar. Behind the running woman & the disobedient dog is a crying, screaming 3 year old & inside the house is a 4 month old who has been unceremoniously dumped on the couch (probably should have been the floor).

The woman thinks she is in luck on 2 seperate occasions when someone stops to pat the dog, but to her amazement neither of them take hold of the dogs collar despite the obvious chase that is ongoing. Halfway down the road the woman starts to think about the impact of just letting the dog run without being chased *would he just stop & come home on his own* *if he didnt come home would his real family mind too much* *surely they havent grown attached to him in 5 years*, but no she decides to continue despite the image in the back of her mind of the 2 screaming children.

So across roads, down the street & around the corner the chase continues until they reach a small "park" where the woman decides to change her tack & pretends to have a "treat" for the dog (hey, it works when she wants the 3 year old on her side).

Finally the dog heads towards the woman & she is able to take hold of his collar. From that moment on the treat is forgotten and the dog is lead home by his collar. Every now & then he decides to rebel and get away but there is no way that the woman is letting him get away now. They are almost home & she can hear the children still crying just around the corner when the clip on the collar gives in, this is the last straw, she picks up the dog & carries him the rest of the way, glad that he was put on a diet recently.

Once they get home the dog is sent out into the back yard & the woman then turns her attention to recovering. She is unable to talk when her mother calls & needs to strip off her t-shirt & lay on her bed with the ceiling fan on full blast to try & cool down & get her breath back. Water, she needs water!!!

Awww, but I cant stay mad at little Jetty Boy.


ps: incase there was any doubt.... a maternity bra is NOT appropriate attire for running

i can just feel the excitement, can't you?

This is the closest that either Poppy or Lolly got to cracking a smile when the firetruck came to visit us at Playgroup. Neither of them were very impressed!!!

we love him as if he were our own

Yesterday we took in a temporarily homeless Beagle. Jetty is his name & tracking down food is his game. He is my sister, Kristie's dog and we are looking after him for a little bit while they go on holiday, personally I wish I was going on holiday instead of having Jet but he really is the next best thing.

Olivia is just beside herself with excitement everytime he walks into the room (i hope she gets over that soon) & has already mastered "BAH" to tell him off. But hasnt quite figured out when to say it, she says it when he is snuffling through the dirty clothes on the floor in the laundry but happily stood by & watched him eat the wafer sticks in a container in the lounge room without saying a word. Maybe she was just in awe of his bravado cause she never thought to just take one without asking......

We do love you Jet. But dont expect to see Amy for the next couple of weeks.