Prep

It's been an exciting few weeks and I have so many blog posts to catch up on.  I've been so busy with Grace's birthday parties, birthday school celebration, summer festival, dance concerts and general end of year celebrations.  It really is a crazy time of year, and although I love it, I'll be glad when all the festivities are finished and the relaxing part of my holidays begin!

Today was Grace's summer festival concert.  Both the Prep classes did a play, taking us through their first year of school and all the wonderful experiences they have had.  Grace loved being up on stage with all her friends, especially as her, Jasmine and Lily got to be butterflies!  It was lovely, but sad, as this year is coming to an end very quickly.  The Prep year is just so magical and special, and it's been such a lovely introduction for Grace to school.  The whole class have absolutely adored the teachers this year, and I don't think we could have got anyone better if we hand-picked them our self.  It was an extra special year too, as it was Miss Pam's last, she's sailing away (literally, she lives on a yacht!) to Tasmania to do her masters in Psychology.  She is one of the kindest and caring people I've ever met and always makes the children feel extra special.  I was really worried at the beginning of the year about Grace adjusting to school, but Pam and Louise have given her the most beautiful start to her school life.  She has loved this year, but it's me that is sad about her moving onto the next grade.  She is so excited to be heading into Grade 1 and all the new things that come with that - having her own desk, being able to go to tuck shop by herself and playing up at the "big" school.  To me though, it means she really is growing up.  She has learnt so much in Prep, but I could kid myself and pretend it wasn't like real school - but Grade 1 is.  I'm really excited for her that she'll be learning new things, but the time is passing so quickly and I just need it to slow down a little.

Tomorrow is her special graduation ceremony and I think I may need to pack some tissues and dark glasses.

Unwelcome house guest

We have a new house guest, and it's one that I was hoping we'd avoid, FOREVER.

Barbie has moved in, and with it she's bought all her tarty clothes, painfully high heels and unattainable figure. I've been trying to hold out the introduction between Grace and the big-breasted blonde for as long as possible, but generous Aunty Debbie excitedly handed over a stash of barbies and all her accessories today. It was totally done out of love, but I'm finding it really hard to accept her (the doll, not the Sil!) into our house.

It just feels so wrong to me to hand my 4 y/o impressionable daughter a blonde, tall, perfectly proportioned doll whilst also trying to support her in developing healthy self esteem. I know Barbie has been around for decades, and the old favourite line can be trotted out about her "But, I had a barbie and I turned out fine" The thing is, back when I was a little girl, barbie wore beautiful ball gowns, wedding dresses and simple high heels. Nowadays, she is in low-cut skimpy clothing with sky-high heels and a face plastered in make up. You can still get the long ball gowns, just with the added bonus of ample cleavage spililng over the top. Why do little girls need their dolls to look like this?

Grace, up until today, was quite happy playing with her baby dolls and dressing them up in her old baby clothes, now she's all about the black heels and the 'barely there' bikini that she can put on her extremely narrow waisted plastic friend. I guess it's partly the over sexualisation of girls now that doesn't sit right with me either. I know I can't blame it all on a plastic doll, but I think she's partly to blame. Grace is just so innocent now, and I don't some crappy doll to break that.

The mass marketing also grates on me. The aisles and aisles of pink crap dedicated to her, not to mention the masses of barbie plastered clothing and accessories seen around. So far we have avoided the hype of any mass marketing, but I'm realistic to know that it's bound to happen sooner or later. I've actually avoided telling Grace that they are called 'Barbies', instead I've asked her to pick a name. She's still trying out a few different names, but the latest one has been Lily.

I've only glimpsed at the pile of clothes, but already I've seen some that will be put away until Grace is older and replaced with something more suitable. Wendy has some patterns put away somewhere of a barbie wedding dress and some other appropriate clothing, so I might even relent and make some of them up.

Things are not so bad though, I was secretly pleased when Grace chose to take her favourite purple baby doll to bed and left barbie strewn on the floor naked and cold.

Maybe I'm over emphasising how much influence a stupid scantily clad doll has on my daughter?

***Oh, and if any of those horrid Bratz dolls ever enter my house, they'll head straight for the bin!! Even I can admit that Barbie looks like an angel compared to them!!

Diva Grace

Duane's parents decided ages that they would take Grace out one day and buy her a new pair of shoes for her birthday. Wendy loves shoes, so she thought spending a few hours trying on shoes with her Granddaughter might be a great bonding opportunity.

WRONG.

Grace is extremely fussy when it comes to what she puts on her feet. She likes thongs, Havianna's with cute embellishments preferably. She will not wear crocs but absolutely adores her silver ballet flats that she found all by herself one op-shop visit. She has a brand new pair of perfectly fitting white Birkenstocks, but will not even wear them around the house. Does she not understand how comfortable they are? Surely no child of mine would be going style over comfort in the foot department.

So yesterday Duane headed out with his Mum and Daughter on the long awaited shoe trip. Grace was given free reign over which ones she would like to try on, but was choosing ones that didn't fit her wide, broad feet or tiny ankles. After trying Spendless, Payless, Target and the K-mart - patience was getting thin.

Grace was not happy with the choices Daddy and Grandma were making. They were either not pretty enough, no strap, no sparkles, not the right colour or not in size 11. She was very decisive on what she would even bother trying on, giving a disapproving nod to those that didn't fit the standard.

The last shop left (after giving up on the first mall and heading to the 2nd) was Betts Kids. Now, I've been in there before and I know that they have lots of beautiful shoes that would have been perfect for Grace. Except the stubborn little minx only wanted one particular pair, right or wrong.

They fit all her criteria, and she was in love.

Problem was they were not in her size, but they could get them sent from another store. Also they are black patent leather, which although I would prefer her to not have a black pair, I have always harboured a fantasy to have my daughter wear a little pair of these shoes. So, they were all paid for and we just had to pop in the next day to pick them up.

So today they all headed there again. The box was opened and instead of the black pair, there laying daintily inside were a pair of the same style - but in pearl white. There was a moment of silence as the diva surveyed the box, everyone held there breathe waiting anxiously for her reaction.

"But they're not black" But it only took a moment for her to reach in and pick them up, then she sighed "Oh, they are sooooo lovely"

And I'm sure that will be the very first and last time that Grandma takes the style princess out with the generous instruction to pick whatever she wants!

Xavs 2nd Birthday and party

What a weekend! We have just come off a 3 day celebration in honour of my littlest baby turning 2.

Every year Duane takes the kids birthday off work, this year Xav's fell on a Friday which meant a lovely long weekend together.

I tucked my little boy into bed on Thursday night with a little tear in my eye. I spent the rest of the night annoying Duane, starting every sentence with "This time 2 years we were....." I am still amazed that the last 24 months have gone so quick, and yet on the other hand I really can't remember our family without Xav..strange hey!

I was planning on taking a photo of Xav at 4.07am, but just in case I missed it I took a quick one at midnight, just as the clock tuned to the 17th July.

Xav stirred when I took the pic, so I asked him if he wanted to come into our bed. Ungrateful little sod just told me "NO" and promptly rolled back over. He did come staggering in about 3am though, so I got to have my warm, snuggly cuddles in the end.

Grace had snuck in about 5am, then we all woke for the morning about 7.30am. Nothing better than lazy mornings in a big king size bed with 2 little people snuggled in the middle.

The kids were both so excited that Daddy was here in the morning. Seeing him of a morning is a real novelty for them, he gets up at 4.30am for work during the week and then early on the weekend for golf.


We lazed around on the bed, singing dreadful rendition of Happy Birthday to Xav. I snapped a few sleepy pics, then we all got ready to head out for breakfast.

We headed up to Duane's work for a lovely breakfast. It's become a bit of a tradition to go there for special occasion breakfasts. Its such a lovely place, and usually we are the only ones there so the kids don't annoy too many people! I had a yummy vegetarian omelette that has the most deliciously crispy outside, just devine! Duane had his usual big breakfast and the kids chose fresh fruit salad with raisin toast, washed down with babycinnos and copious amounts of Marshmallows! Yum!

After breakfast we headed home for a quick change into warmer attire as we were heading up the mountain. We were planning on going to O'reilleys to show the kids the wild birds and have a wander through the rainforest, but on the drive up we decided to detour and head to Mt Tamborine instead.

It was a windy trip up the mountain, Grace was looking a little pale a few times, but luckily no heaving was had over the back. We had a quick drive through the village, but pretty much headed straight to the Botanical Gardens.

It was a beautiful clear day, albeit cold and a little windy, but the kids were happy to run around in the brisk mountain air. I used the beautiful backgrounds and happy children to my advantage and went snap happy with my camera. It was a bit tough at times as the lighting was a bit bright, but I still managed to get some good shots. I should have taken my tripod as I was getting a little nervous balancing my pride and joy precariously on uneven benches. I desperately wanted to get some family pics though, I always seem to miss out on being on the "cheese" side of the pictures. However I have marsted the remote control on my camera, so there should now be no excuses!

The kids had a blast going from one section to the next. Xav zoomed by in a whirl of excitement, but Grace the little nature lover, took her time to stop and smell the flowers. There were lots of little seats, winding paths and wooden bridges, and the kids had a great time exploring everything.

After we had been around the whole area, we headed back to the car and made the trip back down the mountain. Both of the kids were buggered and promptly curled up in their car seats and fell asleep.

That night Duane's parents came over for dinner and to give Xav his present which was a wooden 3 storey car garage. Xav loves it and has spent every day zooming his cars up and down the ramps, winding them down the lift and squealing the tyres around the corners. It was a big hit!

~~Cupcakes decorated in melted chocolate!~~

Saturday we spent the day at home cooking, baking and organising for the party on Sunday. We had held off giving Xav his present from us until today, figured we could stretch the gift giving over the weekend! We gave him a shiny red metal ride on car, and he loves it! Grace had picked out some crayons that her school sells, pure beeswax block crayons that make the most beautiful colours. She excitedly gave him her present then promptly took it back, unwrapped it and then gave it to him!

Sunday was party day. I had only wanted a small get together, which was made even smaller by a few people cancelling from being sick. So even though there wasn't any kids Xav's age, he still had a blast playing with everyone.

Making the kids birthday cakes is one of my most enjoyable parts of their birthdays. I love picking out with them what type of cake they want, and then researching how to do it. As Xav wasn't exactly insisting on any particular cake this year, I narrowed it down to a few of his favourite things. It was a toss up between a clock, car or digger. He is going through a very obsessive clock phase though, so in the end we decided on that.

Slight problem though, Xav is still learning how to pronounce the L in clock. I had to stifle laughter when I heard him ask his very straight-laced Poppy where his C*ock was! I figured we had a week or so to teach him how to say it properly before the big event, otherwise it could have been interesting when someone asked what type of cake he had for his party!

Anyway, I know that a straight round clock would have been nice, simple and over and done with quick. However, he does seem to have a thing for Grandfather clocks, so in all my excitement and eagerness I committed to making a Hickory Dickory Dock cake. I searched everywhere online, but couldn't find any that were made out of fondant, only iced ones. So with a bit of creativeness I baked, cut and shaped 3 cakes into a 3d Grandfather clock. I froze the cakes (easier to ice that way) then on Saturday got to work doing the decorations. Fondant is a pain in the butt to work with. I had dyed 3 different colours, enough to make the outside of the cake and also 2 little fondant mice. Every time I went to roll out the brown, it would go streaky and stick to the board. It was a no win situations, I needed to use icing sugar to stop it sticking, but every time I used it the fondant would go streaky. Finally I worked out that if I used icing sugar mixed with cocoa, it would be fine.

~~Grace putting the candles on the cake~~

~~Hickory Dickory Dock~~

Of course I can find a million things that I don't like about it, but overall I'm happy. Xav loved it, so that's the main thing.

Xav was spoilt with lots of lovely presents. A giant wooden floor puzzle, lots of lovely books, 5 much needed t-shirts, a very special car with doors that open, an Iggle Piggle book, a wooden clock and also a car track soft mat. Everything was a hit and has all been played with by both kids.

It was a wonderful weekend, a perfect way to celebrate the youngest member of our family turning 2!

**Stupid Blogger is not putting my photos where I want them. Also took me FOREVER to upload the pics, so not all the ones I wanted are here.

Good night my baby Xav

I've just tucked my little boy into bed for the last time as a 1 year old.

In a little over 5 hours my second born baby will be officially 2 and I'm feeling a bit nostalgic for his babyhood. It felt like I blinked and it was over, one day I was birthing him and now he is a little person - it all has happened way too quickly.

I'm loving the kids stages at the moment, but I'm also finding it hard to wrap my head around not having a baby to look after. Tomorrow I'll have a 2 year old and a 3 1/2 year old, it's all a little strange.

Anyway, tomorrow should be a fun and exciting day. We are heading out for breakfast with the kids then either up the mountain or down the beach, depending on the weather. Xav will be so excited to see Duane when he wakes, it's a very rare occasion that Daddy is here of a morning! Duane always takes the kids birthdays off work, which we all love.

I'm off to bed, I think I might scoop the little boy out of his bed and into mine. I need to have him near me tonight as I try to steal his last hours of babyhood.

I'm also going to put the camera beside my bed and Duane's set the alarm at 4.07am so I can take a picture at the time Xav was born. Slightly pathetic, but one of my rituals as I remember their birth day.

My special two

My 2 little kidlets are just being so adorable lately, my heart sometimes does little flip flops just watching the 2 of them interact together.

They are just so in love with each other, its sometimes sickening to witness. Of course the love is balanced off with plenty of fighting, but most of the time it's just a big love fest.

Our mornings start with 2 little midgets snuggled up to either side (Duane gets up at 4.30, so plenty of room my morning visitors), and a long cuddle in bed when we wake at around 7.30am. The 2 little ones spend a good half hour cuddling up to each other, planting big kisses on each other and having a tickle fest. I get a look in every now and then, only ever as an object to fight over though. Oh, and I am also apparently good for reading them 10 or so books before they want to get up and greet the morning, hence the reason we haven't been rising out into the cool winter mornings until around 8am.

Once we are up the terrible twosome are still joined at the hip. Running around laughing and giggling, playing chasies up and down the hall. One usually calls out to the other, then all I hear is cheeky cackling as they rush past in a blur. Way to much energy for me, I'm more interested in wiping the sleep from my eyes and organising my morning cup of earl Grey tea.

They both have perfected the art of "egging" each other on, most of the time to do something naughty. They stifle laughs as they each encourage mischief to happen. Grace usually instigates with a "C'mon Xav, lets go stand on the table, chase the chickens, jump on Mum & Dads bed, find something really high and dangerous and launch our self off it" They are usually quiet for a bit, then I sit back and enjoy the peacefulness until my curious side takes over.

By now the 2 of them are a quivering mess, way too excited by there naughtiness to listen to any discipline. Grace will finally calm down and stop, but then little Xav pipes up with, "More, go more *Walrus?"

Apart from mischief, they do have a lot of fun playing together. They both crave being outside and the more time they spend out there, the better every ones sanity is. They love organising pretend birthday parties in the sandpit, complete with cakes, treats and presents all wrapped up. I went to the op-shop last week and bought a heap of intricate wooden bowls and stainless steel cooking utensils, which have been a huge hit. I've taken out all the plastic sandpit toys, they prefer to play with real things so all the new stuff is being well used.

They also play this cute little game at every meal. Xav pretends his fork/spoon is a person and trots it up to Grace, saying "Hello" Grace then gets her fork/spoon and stands it beside Xav's and they have long, crazy conversations. It's just adorable and I love watching their imaginations grow together.

I love watching the 2 little souls that we created enjoying each others company. I love watching their love for one another grow, and the genuine compassion they have for each other. Of course they have their moments, but most of the time if one is hurt the other is right there rubbing their "owie" and giving cuddles. That is after automatically saying "It wasn't me, I didn't hit/kick/push/hurt them" Or Xav with his instant "Sorry Walrus", even when he has done nothing wrong!

It's like watching a beautiful friendship as it develops right from the start and I get to witness every moment.

I am really enjoying both of the kids right now. We are having fantastic days, rarely scattered with trying moments. I'm not sure if I'd be jinxing myself, but can I dare say that they are both relatively "easy"? They really are, and I am finding our days run smoothly and we are all having so much fun together! Maybe I'm just getting better at this parenting gig? Or maybe I'm just in a false sense of security, and soon it will all come tumbling down? Who cares, I'm just going to keep enjoying this beautiful time of my life.

*Xav has chosen a very strange nickname to call Grace - Walrus. I have absolutely no idea where he got it from, it's not even a word that I ever remember saying to him. It all started when we were in Tas and he kept saying it all the time. I was baffled as to what he was trying to say, then finally he pointed to Grace when he said it. Since then whenever he talks about or to Grace he calls her "Walrus" and sometimes "Ace" If he calls her Ace, I ask him what the other name he calls her is and he ALWAYS says Walrus. It is very cute as he runs around looking for her saying, "Where's Walrus, Walrus is gone" It's right out of the blue, but the nickname is slowly starting to grow on me, I even find myself calling her that sometimes, and she refers to herself as "Walrus". I wonder if it will stick? Or maybe Xav is channelling my obsession with The Beatles, they have a song called "I am the Walrus"??

My little girl is growing up

I've been meaning to write a few things about Grace for a while now, we have had a few major milestones happen over the last few months.

Firstly I finally got my bum into gear and got her a big girls bed. The poor thing had been sleeping all cramped into the toddler bed, we were starting to hear a thud every time she stretched, so thought it might be time to up-size. I have spent ages searching, trying to find the perfect bed for her. I wanted it to be white, good quality and to have drawers underneath. I finally found exactly what we were looking for at a bed shop near Ikea.

It's great because there is storage also at the back of the drawers, so I have crammed all her old clothes in there (because I can't bear to get rid of any!). The drawers have all her winter clothes in them, which has freed up some space in her wardrobe. It is a king single, so it is HUGE. Enough room for us all to have a snuggle on.

I have a few new things to put on her walls, just need to find the time and motivation to do it and have it looking like a pretty little girls room.

Grace has been sleeping peacefully in her bed for the last month, I've even been known to have an afternoon siesta on it - Grace still insists on sleeping in our bed for her day sleep.

Oh and because she is such a big girl now, there are no more night nappies. Yippee!!!! My little girl has been out of day nappies for over a year and out of night nappies for over a month. The first night I was a little nervous, fully expecting a midnight bed change. I woke her up just before I went to bed and took her to the toilet, whispering in her ear to do a wee. She was still in a groggy haze, but did wee and then stayed dry all night. In the last month she has only had 2 accidents, and even those 2 were not completely in the bed. She must have done it as she was getting out of bed, but didn't make it in time. Some nights she doesn't go at all, and others she comes into our bed early morning asking to go to the toilet.

I am just so proud of my grown up little girl. Even though she has been day trained for so long, it's still so exciting to know that she is now fully trained and so independent.

Now onto other "not so good" Grace news.

She is absolutely driving me batty at the moment. I know (well I think!?) that she is being totally normal for a (nearly) 3 year old, but jees who would have thought that she could drive me so insane. It's the constant whingeing and whining that really gets to me, it grates on me and I can normally just ignore it, but when it is over and over and over again, I can't.

This has all started in the last 2 or so weeks and I have been racking my brains on how to get through this ratty stage. On recommendation I borrowed the 1-2-3 magic book from the library, hoping and praying that there would be some secret code in there on how to deal with annoying toddlers. I read it over and over, back to front - then started putting it in to practice.

This last week Grace has been in her room thinking ALOT. I'm trying to be consistant and following through with anything that I say. I tell her once what she has to stop doing, if she does it again I say "That's 1", she goes again, "That's 2", then if she dares again it's "That's 3 and straight to timeout. I had been using the hall as timeout, but now we use her bedroom. More as a place for her to calm down and be away from the fun.

It seems to be working but I really need to educate Duane about it more. She knows that she can get away with so much more from him. If it wasn't so hindering to me it would be funny. I overhear Duane saying to Grace, "That's 1, That's 2, I said 2 Grace, That's 2.5, Nearly 3 Grace, You know what happens if I get to 3, Don't Grace, I'm going to say 3 Grace"

I find myself stepping in and correcting him all the time. I've explained it all to him and he sees how I work with her, so not sure why he just wont follow through. It can be a pain in the bum actually having to stop what you are doing and put her in her bedroom, but I am hoping that the amount of times that we have to do that will decrease. Oh god, I am hoping!

She is just pushing so many boundaries and I feel so much more in control if I have a plan of attack. We'll see how it goes I guess. Apparently 4 year old are beautifully behaved though, so if it all falls apart I guess I only have another year of this lovely behaviour. It's not even like she is naughty all of the time, it's just the constant chatter, questions and running commentary of everything that she does. She constantly want to be the centre of attention and turns it up a notch if she isn't. She is constantly demanding that I watch what she is doing, or to look at the same things repeatedly.

Reading back over this makes me sound like an unattentive mum, but I do spend time with her. Unfortunately I also have another child to attend to and meals to make and housework to do. I can't be her captive audience ALL DAY LONG. I am yet to find something that amuses her for ages. She flitters between activities, unless we are outside and then she amuses herself most of the time. So we do try to spend as much time outside as possible, but most of the time she wants me out there with her - just to watch.

Oh damn I forgot, by the time that she is 4 Xav will be 21/2 which was another horrible phase. But then again, my beautiful boy has already perfected the art of the full blown tantrum so surely he will have that all out of his system by then and be a perfect little angel.

She is so beautiful and loving most of the time, it's just at the moment the constantness of her is wearing me down. She is a very "spirited" child, and I dare say that Xav will be the same. I don't want her to change her passion and excitement, I just want to maybe guide all that energy into something else. I'm thinking about enrolling her in dance classes, hopefully to help her out with concentration and taking instructions. Or not.

I say all this and yet when she goes to kindy of a Friday I miss her like crazy. I've even considered taking her out because I do love spending time with her. I'm nuts aren't I?

I know fully understand why every time we asked Mum what she wanted as a present she would just say, "Peace and quiet please." I'm sure we never gave it to her though, poor Mum.

Xavier is 8 months!

Oh dear another month has passed so, so quickly!

Little Xavier is growing up, slowly slipping out of the baby stage and hurtling towards being a toddler. Aaaahhhhh No, no no....I WANT MY LITTLE BABY!!!!!!

Okay...I am going to accept he is getting older, well I really have no other option, do I? So I will pack away all the grow suits and all in ones and accept my little boy is just that!

The last month has been a tough one for X. He has had the 2 (or maybe it was just one really long one??) ear infection, and then also the outer ear infection. They have made him so upset at times. Hopefully he is all over them now but now the dreaded teeth are causing him grief. I am always reluctant to blame things on "teeth", but I really think they are annoying my little boy. he has cut his 2 front top teeth in the last week, and now the teeth either side of them have cut too. Ouchie!

He has been busy perfecting his clapping technique, this is coming along nicely! He has started waving sporadically and also scrunching his little fists up into "twinkles"

Xavier is crawling so quickly and he is getting into everything! His absolute favourite thing is to speed up the hallway and pick the vent off the wall. We have resorted to covering up the vent with a box, but I am guessing it wont be long before he realizes he could still get to it. Today he zoomed into the bathroom and pulled up the drain from the floor. I walked in and he was sitting innoccently on the floor with the drain in his hand and a gaping big hole on the floor! He loves getting into the kitchen cupboards or jamming himself behind the fridge door when I open it.

I actually really like it now that he is confident crawling. He can get around the whole house and loves just following Grace and I around. He especially loves watching the washing machine, he sits there mesmerised by the clothes going round and round.

He is a real sticky beak, and gawks out the window every time I change him. His change table is set up beside his bedroom window and everytime, he pulls back the curtain and looks outside. It's funny first thing of a morning when its still dark in his room and he pulls back the curtain and gets a face full of sunlight! That makes him blink and his little face scrunches up!!

He pulls himself up on everything and is starting to walk around the furniture easier. The little terror has even started letting go and standing for a few seconds. I am so not ready for him to be walking, mentally I am not ready!!

Xaviers favourite toys at the moment are, anything of Grace's (shoes, socks, hair bands etc), remotes, balls, tamborine & his set of jingle bells. He has perfected his pincer grip, so nothing on the ground is safe. Everything he finds on the ground goes in his mouth, any skerrick that has been dropped. He concentrates so hard to pick it up and shove it in his gob!! I have fished out all sorts of things; cornflakes, paper, felt etc.

He loves his food and is on 3 meals a day, with a few cruskits. He has eaten everything that I have given him so far. We are still not really adventurous, mainly just fruit, vegies, cous cous, weetbix, rolled oats and toast. He handles finger foods really well and has no trouble with lumps. I think that he will take after Grace in the "good eating" stakes.

Xavier is still a "booby boy", although he doesn't treat them so well! He really needs to learn some manners when it comes to his "milk". He often just dives his head into them and starts slapping me, wanting a feed. Also when I do feed him he is so wriggly and constantly pushes and slaps me. He is getting better at actually feeding now though, not just having a suck and then a gawk around. He gets on with the job and is usually done in less than 5 minutes. I'm not really sure how many feeds a day he has, probably about 5?? He

Xavier loves his sleep and is great at it! He has just cut down to 2 day sleeps, one from 7.30am - 9am and then again from 12-1.30pm. He sometimes has a quick snooze in the afternoon, if he gets a bit grumpy. Bedtime is still 6pm and he mostly goes without too much of a fuss. I love that I can just put him down and he goes to sleep himself, make life easier!! Sometimes he wants a little bum pat, but usually he is just happy with his (pink!!) mulsin wrap and dummy!! He usually wakes once a night, and depending on how tired I am, he either goes back to his bed or spends the night with me. He is a shocker to sleep with, but I do really love the morning feed and cuddles!!

He has also started saying a new word. "Car, car, car" I'm not actually sure that is what he is saying, but we are going to claim it anyway. Very fitting 3rd word for a boy, don't you think??

If your happy & you know it......

CLAP YOUR HANDS!!!

Xavier is being a very clever little fellow! He has learnt how to clap hands and is now doing it all the time. His hands still miss each other sometimes, but he looks so cute with his uncoordinated clapping!!

He started doing it yesterday. We were having the usual 'nappy changing' battle, he was whinging and wriggling to escape. He then started clapping and I don't think that he has stopped ever since!

I woke this morning to a little cutie beside me praticing his clapping and laughing at himself. He is so adorable they way he concentrates and slaps his hands together. He is so amazed that he can do it and concentrates on his hands so intently!

Well it seems I am back to my old sleep walking tricks! Duane said that at about 2am I went in and got Xavier out of his bed and bought him in with us. Poor little boy was still asleep and I then popped him on the bed and shoved him on the boob then went straight back off to sleep. Duane said that Xavier hadn't even made a noise and wasn't really sure what I was doing! I honestly can't remember doing it and I just assumed that Duane had bought him into me last night. Strange!

On the up!

We are all better now. Thank goodness

We had a quick trip to the Dr's again on Tuesday. My head was feeling like it was about to explode, and poor little Xavier wasn't his usual happy self. Turns out I had a sinus infection and my little boy had an ear infection. So we are all on A/b's. It's tough getting them into Xavier, he hates them, not like his greedy sister who begs for more!

They must be working because Xavier is back to his cheeky self and I feel like I can function again. Gee Sinus isn't nice. I've never had the pleasure of it before, so wasn't really sure what had hit me. My face and head was always achy and my head felt like it was about to blow off.

Grace is 100% now too. She's still a little hesitant to wee sometimes, so we have had a few accidents. She's slowly getting back to normal though, Mummy just has to keep reminding her.

Last Wednesday night I heard Xavier huffing and puffing at about 2am. I left him for a bit them went in to see what he was up too. He often gets himself into funny positions and his little legs are at all angles sticking out of the cot. Well this time I was greeted by a smiling boy STANDING at the end of his cot. Well naughty Mummy hadn't dropped the cot yet, so he was standing well over the top of the cot. If he had shown anymore enthusiasm he would have toppled out! Needless to say I slept with 2 boys that night.

~Hanging out in Xaviers cot~

The next day Duane dropped the cot down to the lowest level. Xavier looks so little and far away now.....it's such a long way down. Its also so much harder for me to pat him and reassure him if he wakes. He seems a little disorientated in there now, probably just getting used to viewing his bedroom from a different angle!

Well after learning how to pull himself up the little terror is getting up on everything. He mostly just gets up to his knees, unless of course there is something that he really wants. Usually he is after Grace's textas, food or anything else that is small and a potential choking hazard! Grace keeps him under control though!! She is such a bossy big sister, "No Xavier, Uh,uh,uh, no touching Xavier, Be careful Xavier".

I have been trying to teach her that Xavier is just a baby and just wants to play. If he is touching something of hers I encourage her to get something for him to play with and take hers away. It seems to be working, but of course Xavier is constantly into her stuff!

My little Grace is talking so well. Her vocab has just increased all over again. She is stringing whole sentences together and I love having little conversations with her. The other day I just had a shower and was drying myself off. She said to me "Mummy has little belly", well I know that I don't but I was still basking in the flattery from my little princess. Then she shot me down with "Mummy has a big head". Thanks Grace. She also tells me I have big boobies and that Grace has "whittle boobies" Yeah well these boobies have been feeding you kids for the last 2 years, so no complaining missy!!

She has also started talking about herself in the first person. She bounces between talking about herself as Grace or I. She says things like "I have drink" or "It's my drawing". She also has a few funny words that she muddles up. Butterfly is "flutterfly", soap is "soup" and my all time favourite is kisses which she pronounces as "misses" I started correcting her at the start, but it sounds so cute when she asks for "misses" Or when she says she is going to give Xavier "misses" Oh gosh my little girl is growing up!

Gracie-isms!

~Grace Lily 2year 2months~

My little princess is a very quirky little character.

I just wanted to note down a few of her funny little things.

Headstands - Grace has been doing these for ages. It's like she does it when she doesn't know what else to do. She does it as a tantrum, when she's bored, when she gets excited, for attention or just whenever!

She has progressed to doing it with no hands now, and then flipping herself over. It's a little scary to watch, but she hasn't hurt herself yet so I just let her go!

Breastfeeding - My little girl has been breastfeeding for the last 7 months! Quite the achievment hey! She is all for demand feeding, that is making the dolly's feed when Gracie demands it. She sets them all up on the pillow, takes her top down and pops them on. She'll sit there for ages with her little dolly firmly planted on her chest. Sometimes she has this look on her face, kinda like she doesn't want to be breast feeding, but it's the right thing to do! So cute.

I actually love seeing her doing it though. We talk about when she was feeding and how she used to have Mummy's milk. We were lucky enough to feed up until she self weaned at 16 months and me being 30 weeks preggars with Xavier.

I wonder if she remembers? She still loves to cuddle up to me in the feeding position and "pretend" she is feeding.

I want her to grow up realising that breastfeeding is truely beautiful and normal. It is one of the things that I have cherished with both of my children, I love feeding them.

~Breastfeeding dolly~

Stealing the dog food - Yes my child eats dog food. I guess it is good quality vet stuff, but still it can't be that tasty. Every night Daddy and Grace go out the back to feed the dogs. Grace sets up the dog bowls on the ground, then pours a cup in each bowl. She then crouches down to Lily as if she just talking to her, she slips her hand in the bowl grabs a handful then runs to the clothesline. EVERYTIME!!! She turns around to look at Daddy then slips the yummy beef flavoured treats in her mouth. I guess its become a little bit of a game now, but she is so quick and looks so cheeky as she munches away. The dogs don't seem to mind sharing though, I guess they know that she'll always slip them something later!!

Food - Well apart from the dog food Grace is a real foodie! She loves such a variety of food and is always willing to give new things a try. She doesn't have much junk food and fills up on lots of healthy stuff. She loves snacking on a plate of olives or just eating an avocado like an apple. She adores salmon and tuna and would eat it every night! Rice cakes with cream cheese are a favorite as is any other type of cracker. She's not too keen on lettuce or carrot, but she loves most other vegies so missing out on those 2 wont hurt her!

Living the high life - It seems my little girl already likes living it up! Every Sunday morning Daddy and Grace head up to the Golf club for a "baby cino" and to have a few putts. Daddy is a greenkeeper there and is also lucky enough to have a membership to the exclusive course. Grace loves driving the golf cart around looking at the "roos" and "duckies". Then they go to the practice green and practice their putting. Grace has her own special little bronze putter and Daddy says that she is improving. To top the morning off they go into the clubhouse for a coffee and pancakes. Grace gets a special little baby cino, and she thinks that she is so grown up drinking it! She has met lots of well known people up there, but she just takes it all in her stride.

7 Months old

Ok who stole the last 7 months???

My littliest bubba is 7 months old today. I honestly can not comprehend how the time could go so quickly.

He is such a beautiful little boy and we are all so in love with him.

I thought I would just give a little bit of an update on what his up to at the moment.



Xavier is crawling everywhere and pulling himself up. He has a mad addiction to cords, remotes and the TV. He seems to go super fast if he sees any of these, and tries so hard to get there before Mummy. He still has trouble getting back down once he has pulled himself up. At the moment he is going for the "just let go and see what happens" approach. Sometimes it works and he just falls on to his hands but more often than not it ends in tears. He is often tumbling from the Tv cabinet or Grace's little table. He can also get himself from crawling to sitting, so clever!

He loves tags, labels, catalogues and handbags. Well the handbags he mainly sucks on the straps, but oh so cute when my little boy is playing with a bright pink handbag with "princess" printed on it! He also loves playing matchbox cars with Grace. He's a real boy and loves taking one in each hand and smashing them together, so no way will he be borrowing the family car!

Grace is also one of Xavier favourite toys! She always manages to get him either belly laughing.....or crying. See my little boy is a bit of an "easy target" or as his Dad would say "big girls blouse" He frightens so easily. He gets so engrossed in things and if he is startled the bottom lip drops and it's all tears. Grace does a crocodile thing with her hands and snaps at him with her hands, sometimes he loves it and sometimes it all too scary for my little man.

He is still enjoying his boobie about 4-5 times per day. Only quick feeds but we both enjoy the quiet time together. Xavier has also taken to soilds just as keenly as his big sister. He went straight to finger foods and lumps, none of this baby mush for him! His menu at the moment consists of peaches, bananas, nectarines, potato, sweet potato, pumpkin,brocoll, rice, rolled oats, cruskits, wholemeal bread, carrots, natural yoghurt and zucchini. It all sounds a little bland but he loves it! He's a funny little eater though. After he has a spoonfull he pops either his thumb or toes into his mouth..makes for alot of mess!

Xavier is a great little sleeper. We just pop him into bed, on his tummy with his dummy and he goes off to sleep. Sometimes he has a little sing and I have to give him a pat, but 80% of the time he goes straight to sleep. He is a good sleeper overnight, well not really at the moment because of his cold. The kids have a bath at 5pm, Xavier has boobie at 5.30pm and then plays until 6pm and then into bed. He sometimes stirs overnight, but goes back to sleep by himself. We have a little rule, if he wakes after 4am he gets to come into bed with Mummy for milk and a sleep in our bed. It works well and I love the cuddles. He sleeps until about 5.30am then has his first sleep at about 7.30am, usually for about 1 hour. His next sleep is when Grace goes to bed, so about 11am. This one is Mummy's favourite, both kids sleep for about 1hour 2omins. They both wake at exactly the same time from this sleep. It's not like they wake each other up, cause When Grace wakes she just comes out to me and doesn't make a noise. And when Xavier wakes he usually just sings to himself.

Xavier has said Mum a few times, nothing else that we can make out though! He mainly just blows rasperries and chats in his own little language.

He has two cute little teeth down the bottom and the point of a top one. Lets hope the top ones hurry up, I think they are a bit painful for him at the moment!

Well thats a snapshot into the life of my little son.

Xavier, we all love you so much. You have bought so much into our little family and we have all just fallen head over heals for you.

On the Move!

My little boy has started crawling forward!

He has been rocking on his hands and knees for ages but so far has only managed to go in circles or go backwards. Well today he has started to slowly creep forward.

Things are not safe now. It's not just my things that I have to keep out of his way, but also all Grace's stuff. Geez this is going to be hard!

Well this morning Grace woke up a little bit upset. She has a horrible cough and a runny nose. No doubt its another case of the dreaded "daycare disease"

She felt so rotten today that she fell asleep in the lounge at about 8am. When she woke I made her breakfast, just the usual. 2 vita-brits with fruit and milk. She had a little then left on her little pull out couch. She wanted to go to the toilet so I moved Xavier to a safe place in the lounge, then took her.

Well he went very quiet, which is unusual for my little squeely boy. So we went back in and this is what we found:

~Enjoying his first taste of Vita-britz, fruit & milk~

17th February 2007

Duane has been sick for the last week. Constant Diarrhea and dehydrated! That has made life interesting looking after him and Gracie!

Gracie is being incredibly cute at the moment. She is learning so many new and exciting things! She loves to copy and tries her hardest to do the same things as us!

She follows me out to the clothesline and hands me up the washing to hang out. Only problem is she must think that I am super fast because she hands them up to me at lightening speed! After all the clothes are up she hunts around for all the old broken pegs, insisting that they should be put into the washing basket! She collects as many as she can…sometimes a few rocks are thrown in as well!

She adores being outside. She loves going in and out of her cubby house…and gets super excited if any of the dogs pay her a visit! She giggles and squeals with delight…even if they are just checking out her home through the window.

She also has a sand pit but only likes to enjoy it from the outside. She hates putting her feet or god forbid sit in sand. She barely likes getting her hands in it! We mainly just build sandcastles for her to destroy with her shovel or spade! She takes great pleasure in bashing down our masterpieces! With all the fun and exciting things that she has to do outside her all time favourite is the dog water bowl! She loves nothing more than to conquer the barriers that we have erected to keep her away from it. First she goes around the sandpit cover, crawls under the chairs and over to the enticing water! She loves just playing in the water and splashing it about everywhere. Sometimes we are lucky and she forgets its there…but as soon as she hears one of the dogs taking a big sip…..her eye’s light up and she is on a mission to get to it!

Gracie also loves giving herself dizzy whizzes! She goes round and round holding her arms out like a plane. She keeps going until she is obviously struggling to stay upright then she usually veers off or falls over. However she still has some control when she falls over…usually she goes into a headstand…kinda like “dog-pose” in yoga! It’s actually been one of her favourite things to do for a while now. Sometime she gets into her pose and waves at you with both hands…balancing on her head! She loves being upside down! Crazy kid!!