Two months young

That's right, our little girl is two months old... already! And of course, she's growing like a little weed. Her two month statistics have her at 61cm and 6.72kg. Our little hephalump girl. But she is healthy, and happy. So very happy. She has been delighting us with the most gorgeous smiles, little giggles and quite a converstaion. She's just the most beautiful little girl, such a pleasure to have in our lives and you can tell we are just enjoying every moment, and wishing that time would just slow down a smidge so we can take it all in.

I don't remember the last time she had colic now, it is just a distant memory, and as long as I give her the two hour feed she wants at night (yes, TWO HOURS!), the gorgeous Madelyn gives me a wonderful sleep, every night. She is even starting to stretch that out past the 7am mark and waking with her brother at 8am or 8:30am some days. So nice to feel normal again. It just makes it a little hard to have kid free time since I spend the evenings feeding after putting Austin to bed.

She has discovered that her swing is actually a good thing - thank goodness as Andrew was worried we had wasted our money when she would only last five minutes before screaming her little lungs out to be picked up again. I think since she has been able to focus on things alot better she really enjoys watching the butterflies spin around which eventually lulls her off into sleepy land. She like Austy's rocker too - the one he never liked until he was at leats 6 months old, and that was only because I'd sit him outside in it. That was actually why we bought a swing, because the rocker was useless as a settling technique. She likes to play in it though, and loves to bat at the brightly coloured toys we hang on the toy bar.

Austy has been delightful too. Of course we still get normal 3yr old mischievious behaviour at times, but lately he has been so good, and also great to chat with. Today I sat down at a local shopping centre with him for a coffee and a babychino, and he told me out of the blue: "When I get bigger I am going to be a dontist and fix people's teeth". I looked at him puzzled and asked "You mean a dentist?" He said "No, a dontist - they are really good dentists" "Oh, you mean an orthodontist!" he giggled, and agreed. "When I'm bigger, and I'm going to work in THAT orthadontist shop and make him go somewhere else" he said, pointing to the balcony of the Orthodontist upstairs.

We recently rewarded his wonderful behaviour and good listening ears with a family trip to the beach, where he went on the bumper boats, the carousel, water slides and swam in the ocean, while I carried a sleeping Madelyn in the sling I made when Austy was a baby. She wasn't so impressed with the wind, so snuggled in and dozed off. So cute, I wish I'd made Andrew take a photo...

He had a great time with his Dad with me watching on, and I decided that my sling worked much better than the bought ones I used with Austy and vowed to make a new one, this time in pretty girly colours. I'm not sure if it's just because she is younger than he was when I started wearing him in a sling, or if it's just that my preferences have changed, but I love the stability the mei tai type carriers offer when I am bending down to kiss a little bump on Austy's head or crouching down to hear what he is saying.

He loves role playing at the moment, and the little people he happily threw out of their trucks and cars when he was younger are now his favourite toys. He wanders around the house talking to them and making them talk to each other, acting out everyday things like going to the shops to buy a cheesy roll. It's amusing to watch, but also quite enjoyable because he will do this for hours, keeping himself occupied and content, leaving us free to do other things (which for me is either feeding Madelyn or sorting the never ending washing piles). And today he delighted us by making them all jump back into their box at the end of the game. Bliss!

Unbelievable - just three takes!

Austy hardly ever sits still, and many of the photographs we take of him have him blurry as he runs out of the shot, or else his eyes are shut or wide as that's how he puts on his phot smile - a blink, then open wide eyes and a little cheesy grin. It's hilarious to watch... but frustrating!

So when I had to take photographs for the children's passports (getting ready for our trip to America at the end of April for my Masters graduation) I was surprised today that I only had to click the shutter three times. It's amazing what you can do with a few carefully thought out sentences. I told him that he wouldn't be allowed into America without this photo because they needed to know what he looks like in case we lose him in disneyland and we need to find him again. If he didn't stand still for the photo, I'd have to leave him with a babysitter while we took Maddy to America without him.

Okay, so it's a bit mean, but hey, how else are you supposed to get kids to pose for a passport photo with all their rules and regulations (certain size, mouth closed, looking straight at camera, etc.). It's hard enough just getting a photo of a 3 yr old at all sometimes.

Now Madelyn... I think I'll have to try again tomorrow. She has to look straight at the camera too and have the plain white/cream background and nothing obscuring her face. It would be alright if she looked straight up at the camera when I laid her on a white sheet on the floor, but there's always something more interesting to look at on the side. Or she closes her eyes and goes to sleep. Or puts her fist in her mouth. Or she opens her mouth and cries. Unfortunately 6w olds don't take instructions well.

An update on the kindermusik - today was Austin's first proper class and again he had a great time, although there was more "acting out" and imagining things thamn musical activities today, but all of the activities had music background and singing involved. Austy was his normal confident self and got straight into it, despite me sitting at the back of the room today, and not joining in. I really had to restrain myself from jumping in there and helping him with things, so this is probably going to be great thing to teach me to pull back a bit more and just let him go and learn for himself. The other mums were suprised at how confident he was, especially for a firts timer, as their children had been going for several terms and still didn't participate in all the activities or sing along. As we left, I overheard the teacher telling her husband who had joined her for their lunch break: "That boy has only just started, and you should have seen him - he was singing ALL the songs!" And they aren't songs I have taught him either - all brand new to us both. We have ordered the home materials to do it at home together too so no doubt he'll know all the words in just a few weeks.

Surviving the heatwave

The past two weeks have been super warm with every day above 35, and the past 6 above 40 degrees celicuis. Not nice, especially with a newborn, even worse when they cut the power two days in a row to conserve energy... Maddy had a cool off in the hand basin, then I found Austy there minutes later.

And poor Austy is feeling a little penned in too we think as he has been getting a bit naughty on the days we stay at home to avoid the heat. It looks like it won't cool down until around Sunday - a whole week away, but I have found when we do manage to get out, Austin gets a bit of a break from the same four walls and he is happy to sit quietly and play with his toys or watch a DVD when we get home. Here he is at the Museum of South Australia, his first ever museum visit and at a great time, as they had a dinosaur babies exhibit on and some school holiday activities. Despite the lady at information telling me I wouldn't want to go out to the activities with a new baby, and Austin was too young for them anyway, we ventured out for a look. I'm glad we did as he had a ball with the older kids, "breaking a dinosaur egg" to find a dinosaur baby (which I had to help him finish or we'd still be there), and then taking a little brush to uncover some bones in the sandpit.

There were other activities there that he would have enjoyed but it was quite warm in the outdoor tent and Madelyn was starting to stir so I stopped him there and we went inside to the exhibit. I think he probably would have been happy with just the activities (and it also would have been cheaper since I had to pay for me to take him in!) but I thought I'd show him the dinosaurs anyway. I don't think he's quite old enough to understand the whole concept of dinosaurs and their being extinct but he did enjoy uncovering the different types of dinosaur eggs in their "nests". Madelyn was an angel and slept through most of it so I really got to spend some quality time with our boy and it really made his day. We walked back to the car and she decided to wake for a feed, so we sat in the park and he played with the dinosaur puzzle I bought him as a souvenier for being so good, while I did my motherly duties for Madelyn.

The Tour Down Under was also on in Adelaide, and Austin went with Andrew to see the start of the first day, and then to the park with all of us for the start of the last day. Unfortunately I forgot the camera for our day at the park, but it was hilarious watching Austy's face as he sat on Andrew's shoulders watching the bikes go past. Preceeding the cyclist were police motorbikes with lights flashing and sirens wailing, which I think was the highlight for the boy. The cycles were over pretty quickly in a blur of bright colours but the council had put on a free community event with activities specifically for the little ones, including story telling, pony rides, jumping castle, face painting and a craft station. We invited Austy's friend James (and his mum Emma, and sister Eleanor) to join us and the two boys had some great fun together while Emma and I got to chat. Maybe Emma will send me her pics so I can blog them later. The boys were the lucky last to get their face painted before they packed it up, and both were easy to guess what they would choose to be. James was a pink butterfly of course, and Austin (who we managed to convince to be a tiger at James' birthday party instead of the pink cat he always asked to be at childcare) saw someone with sparkles and asked to be a sparkly cat. You can sort of see him here in a blur (he hardly ever sits still!) while I captured Maddy's smile on camera. He'd had a sausage sizzle after the face painting though so all the paint around his mouth was most likely swallowed! The pic in front of his favourite DVD "Monsters Inc." is a bit easier to see.

This week saw the start of the school term so I started some weekly activities which should help keep Austin amused and keep me busy so I don't keep getting to the end of the week and wondering what on earth we did and where that week went. Keeping busy seems to help me get moving in the mornings, and actually achieve something. So Fridays are now playgroup days, where Austin will become familiar with the kindy he will be attending at the end of the year and I can meet other young families. The playgroup teacher is fantastic and really enthusiastic with the children, and Austin enjoyed having lunch at the kindy tables, and songs on the rug before home-time. They had so many fun workstations set up too and Austin loved exploring them all, including building toys, waterplay, glueing and playdough.

Saturdays are still swimming day, and Austy's favourite teacher Tabitha was back last week (this is the teacher he wanted to name our baby after whether it was a boy or a girl!) so he was very excited and had his listening ears on all lesson, earning a certificate for "Free swim with floats". This week he scored another one, "15m swim with floats". It won't be long before he'll be swimming unaided either, we have let down the second chamber in each of his floaties for swimming at home and with the daily swims, he'll be a fish in no time!

And Tuesdays are probably going to be Austy's most favourite day of all. We start his first class of kindermusik on Tuesday after our introductory class before swimming yesterday. We were in their "Our time" class this week as an introduction because that class (which is for 18m - 3y) involves the parents as well and a softer approach to getting him to start since I had to do the activities with him. He couldn't stop smiling the whole time, and has been looking forward to these classes ever since I told him we would start this year while I was on maternity leave. It was his choice - music lessons (kindermusik) or "acrobatics" classes (kindergym) and he didn't have to think for very long to decide he wanted to go to music. He has always loved music in every form or style so I think he will be in his element with the kindermusik. He didn't want to leave on Saturday, and had fun chasing the littlies around at the end of the class, hugging and playing with them. His class (Imagine That) is for 3-5y so he will be the youngest there rather than the oldest but it will also involve some drama type activities which I am sure he will enjoy. I will only need to be involved at the end of the class which is probably just enough involvement for Austy, and also leaves me to look after Maddy for most of the class and get her settled in time for me to sit down with Austy at the end.

Now, what has Madelyn been up to? Other than growing and growing and growing (her 6w weigh and measure showed her at 59.5cm and 5.98kg), she has become alot more alert and settled. We are happy to announce that night times aren't so scary for me anymore (although Andrew goes back to work next week so it might be a different story then!). A few times Madelyn has actually self-settled in her cot once fed, wrapped and content. Other times I still need to hold and rock her, but not until midnight anymore, and she is feeding better and not getting so much wind pain in the evenings. Add to that the enjoyment of 7hrs of unbroken sleep for most of last week (except last night but I think that was due to the heat and our light dressing and just a sheet on her which meant she woke once because she was thirsty and twice because the room got cool and she didn't have a blanket on). She is becoming much more enjoyable (not that we haven't adored her from the start) and I am coping a bit better now too as a result.

She faired the heat better than expected, and has also started to laugh and chatter to us. It's so cute, and we love how interactive she has become. She is fascinated by the world around her, lifting her head up all the time to have a good look. She has started to really "cuddle" when she's held, wrapping her arms tight around our shoulders as we pat her back. The only dissappointing thing to report this week is that those blasted mozzies have attacked her! She has a couple of bites on her cheek, a few on her head and about six on the arm that escaped her wrap the other night. We have hardly seen a mozzie in the house but they have been in her room when we've seen them and only one or two. Luckily they don't seem to bother her much, and she hasn't broken out in huge welts like Austin used to. I feel bad for her anyway as I'm her mum and am meant to protect her from these things...

Next week we have some 6 week appointments so more on Maddy's development then.