Family time

It was lovely to have Mum and Dad return from the American holiday and hear about their trip. It was also lovely to see how the kids were so excited to see Nana and Poppy again.

Poppy enjoyed cuddles with Eliza after being away for 6 weeks

Daniel looking at our family book with Nana

Everybody loves Nana. So excited to have her home!

 It is also lovely to see Howie with Eliza and she just loves having sleepy cuddles with him.

And it is lovely to see her so happy with Auntie Jenny too.

Around once a month, Grayma comes to visit for lunch which is a very lovely time. It is nice to sit down and chat with her and she just loves seeing the kids, reading with Daniel, chatting with Eliza and hearing Daniel tell her stories. I do love how interested she is in her great grandkids.

Daniel was very comfortable with Grayma last visit and even helped her to the door. Very special times.

A couple of weeks later we were lucky to have Nana J come to visit for a few days. It was so lovely to see Daniel and Eliza both be so excited to see her. Eliza was having her dinner when Nana J arrived and she just couldn't take her eyes off. It was very sweet.

 On the Friday we decided to go for a trip to the Reptile Park after Daniel's swimming lesson. Eliza had a feed while Julie gave Daniel his bath then we hopped into the car. When we arrived he was excited to see the alligator chairs and again wanted to sit on them.

We were then singing 'Row, row, row your boat gentle down the stream.
If you see a crocodile, don't forget to scream. Ahhhhh' while Daniel put his leg in the alligators mouth.

We then went to look at the different alligators, lizards and snakes. Daniel quite enjoyed it and wanted to be picked up to look at them.

We then went out for the 'walk with Hugo', however, Hugo wasn't there. Instead we got to see Libby. Daniel was happy to pat her (definitely not as shy as when he patted Hugo). 

He also go to pat a kangaroo that was just relaxing on the grass. It was so placid, but very beautiful.

We then decided to have some lunch. We found a picnic table and set up the food. Daniel was quite happy to sit and eat, but also enjoyed having some breaks to run around on the grass. 

There was a very confident kangaroo who was keen on everyone's food. He was over at another table, going for people's food off the table. He then went over to some kids and was so patient while the kids kept hitting it's face (I'm so glad that it didn't retaliate, but also wished that the parents paid attention and told their kids to stop hurting it). It took a cracker from one of the kids hands and happily ate that. Then it came over to our table. Daniel was very quick to say 'No' to it when he showed an interest in his mandarin. Julie did a good job protecting the food. I just couldn't believe how confident the kangaroo was in coming up to us.

"Nooooo".

After lunch we walked to see Hugo. On the way we stopped at the kangaroo (who was still relaxing on the grass) for a photo.

Unfortunately Hugo wasn't there. I hope he's ok. Maybe he is just having a break. Eliza had some lovely hugs with Nana J while we looked at the Tasmanian Devils and Dingoes.

We then went for a bush walk, looking at different birds and animals. Daniel loved jumping in the little puddles, making a great splash. I do enjoy that the park is set up so the kids have freedom to walk around without having to hold your hand and stay heaps close.

We finished up by looking at the alligators and Eric.

We had a very tired little boy at the end of the day and a sleepy girl too (who had done very well sleeping in the ergo). It was a really lovely time out.




We have been working at Eliza getting used to the bottle. Julie got to have a turn and Eliza did pretty well. She did start to chew it toward the end, but that was ok.

On Sunday morning, before Julie flew home, we went out to breakfast. It was a lovely time and very yummy food. Daniel and Eliza did really well there too.

It was lovely seeing Nana J. We are looking forward to heading up to Hervey Bay in January and seeing all the family.

 

My kids

I am really loving hanging out with Daniel and Eliza at the moment. We are often doing different things around the house, but Daniel just loves to help out. Things like weeding - he will walk around, pulling out different weeds (he is pretty good at this too!). When cooking or making lunch, he wants to stand on his stool and 'help'. I just love watching Daniel play with Eliza. He is just such a loving boy and he really loves her - even at times when he is taking her toys. Here are a few photos of my kiddies and family.

Lovely hugs from my boy. Sometimes I get lots, other times I get told 'go away Mummy'. I will enjoy the hugs while I get them.

This is what sisters are for isn't it? For tractors to drive on?

Daniel giving Eliza a hug. He gets so excited after 'Liza touched my head, Liza touched my shirt'

Eliza is doing well at her tummy time, but still isn't getting how to roll over

Daniel is doing 'work' on his 'pooter'

Helping Mummy cook apple muffins = eating the little bits of leftover apple from the bowl

Eliza is sleeping pretty well in her cot and using sleeping bags.

She is just so precious! I could watch her sleep all day

Daniel loves giving Eliza kisses

Eliza just loves standing. I wouldn't be surprised if she went straight to standing and walking.

 

Combined 2nd birthday party

It is pretty crazy that all of our Mothers' Group kiddies are 2 years old now. It doesn't feel like 2 years since we started meeting at the Early Childhood Centre each week, each of us having no idea what we were doing. As our kids birthdays branch from June to August, we decided to hold a combined party for our kiddies in mid August. 

After a pretty crazy storm over night, the weather cleared for the party which was great. We had it at a local hall that has play equipment too and each person brought a plate of something to share. It was really nice to be able to catch up with different mummies and kiddies, especially those who can't make our weekly catch ups. It was also nice to meet some of the younger siblings as a few of us have recently had 2nd children.

The kids seemed to really enjoy themselves - moving in and out of the hall to the play equipment and the different toys. They did pretty well with sharing.

 We got a photo of all our kiddies together, well we tried to. It was like trying to herd sheep - impossible, even with trying to get the kids to touch an animal.

So then we decided to get a photo of the mummies with the kids and that seemed to work really well. They are all so grown up now!

I really do value this group of mums and the ones who couldn't make the party too. They have been such a big part of this journey of motherhood and are such a wonderful support. Looking forward to seeing all our kiddies turn 3 next year!
 

Check ups

Today I had the kids' appointment at the Early Childhood Center - Daniel's 2 year check up and Eliza's 6 months check up. The kids were very good. Eliza was tired but was pretty happy to get checked over. She is looking good, however, she has dropped in weight. On the grid in the blue book she has dropped from around 50% at birth to between 3%-15%. The nurse wasn't too concerned as Eliza looks healthy and chubby, but she did say to see what the doctor says on Thursday at her injections.

I'm not overly concerned but after all the stress with Daniel's weight when he was little, I am a little bit nervous. Hopefully eating solids will help boost her weight over the next little while as well as her milk feeds.

Daniel's check up was great. He is developing well and is growing well too. At least both kiddies are developing well. Hopefully the injections will go well on Thursday.

My brother is so funny!

I just love the bond that Daniel and Eliza have even at such a young age. They both just seem to adore each other. Eliza loves watching Daniel play, eat, chat and Daniel loves to help Eliza, play with her (or on her, or with her toys), hug her, kiss her. One morning while I was getting their breakfast ready, Daniel was chatting with Eliza. She thought he was so funny! I just love her belly laugh. I hope you enjoy the video of these 2 cuties.

 

Eliza's First Swans Game

Cheer, cheer the Red and the White...

Today was Eliza's first Sydney Swans game and Daniel's 3rd game. We had planned for us to go to a game as a family a couple of weeks ago, however, I had a high tea with some of my girls to go to so Eliza and I missed the game. Daniel went with James and Jenny and was apparently fantastic. He was engaged with the game, loved waving his flag, clapping the players, cheering on the Swans. After the game a lady who was sitting a couple of rows back apparently commented to Jenny that Daniel was great during the game, which is lovely to hear.

So when we heard that the Swans Qualifying Final was on Saturday afternoon we decided to get tickets for Daniel and Eliza too. We were pretty excited about taking them both.

At 11am we put Daniel down for a nap as we were going to be in the car for just a short trip to ANZ stadium. He was rather chatty, however, stayed in bed and eventually fell asleep which we were very pleased about as this is a lot earlier than his normal nap. Eliza then followed suit at around 12 and went to sleep pretty quickly. It was nice to be able to organise everything without the kids 'helping' us. When they woke up, we dressed them in their red and white clothes, ready for the game.

Clearly Eliza wasn't too keen on the idea of going to the game. Fortunately she didn't stay upset but was happy once the car started moving. I guess it is hard when you get woken up to go to the game.

 Once we parked the car, we popped the kids into the carriers. I borrowed a baby bjorn from a friend. I much prefer the Ergo, however, it did do the job and I was happy to borrow it as it made walking to the stadium so much easier than if Daniel needed to walk or be carried by hand.

We borrowed a pair of baby earmuffs for Eliza as the sound can be quite loud at the game and we didn't want to damage her hearing. After a bit of a fiddle to get them on properly, they seemed to work pretty well.  When the crowd suddenly cheered she had a bit of a shock but wasn't upset by it. Auntie Jenny was a great extra set of hands.

 Daniel had a lot of fun sitting next to Poppy and Daddy.

And I was excited to be at my 2nd game for the year.

 Eliza got into the action for her first game.

 Daniel had fun waving his flag, eating, getting up and down his chair, dancing, clapping.

It was really nice being there with my family. I have missed watching the Swans play live.

Eliza was very contemplative during the game. She was nice and snug wearing the Swan blanket with a hoodie.

Just before half time she started to get unsettled so I changed her nappy and popped her into the Ergo. After a little bit of patting and movement, her eyes got heavy and she fell asleep. I really do love having Ergo cuddles with my sleepy little girl.

She slept for the 3rd quarter and then a little bit of the 4th quarter. The earmuffs were fantastic. There was a lot of cheering during the 3rd quarter and only a couple of times did she open her eyes from the sound (but then straight away closed them again). They must have muffled the sound enough.

 During the 3rd quarter break, 'Can't Hold Us' was being played and Daniel enjoyed dancing with Daddy and Poppy. 'So we throw our hands up like the ceiling can't hold us...'

He then enjoyed waving the Citibank banner/Goal banner in the air and using it as a clapper.

When the Swans scored a goal, James got excited and lifted Daniel up into the air to celebrate. Daniel loved this and looked forward to more goals (unfortunately they took a while to score).

Fortunately the Swannies won so we got to sing 'Cheer, cheer the red and the white'.

Overall it was a success taking the kids to the game and a success with the Swannies winning. Hopefully they keep that up and make it to the Grand Final (and win that too). Time will tell.

 When we got home I was putting Daniel to bed and he asked to sing 'Cheer, Cheer'. He was helping me with the words. He did pretty well, although he thinks there is a banana in the song (shake down the banana from the sky) and he knows the Swans will go in and 'kick/get the ball' (instead of win overall). We will keep working on it.