tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-291858182024-03-13T09:36:51.008+10:30Adventures of Austy & MaddyA web site devoted to Austin and Madelyn, to share with friends and family and brag about our two most adorable children!Austysmumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09346287173611932120noreply@blogger.comBlogger66125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29185818.post-37551933790696384592009-11-09T20:55:00.002+10:302009-11-09T21:08:09.006+10:30Eating like a lady<div align="justify">At a recent trip to Child Youth Health (to check on Madelyn's recent weight loss), the health nurse suggested that I should be letting Madelyn feed herself. I knew that I should be, in fact always let Austin have a spoon himself when we spoon fed him even younger than Maddy is now, but with an almost 4yr old and an almost 1yr old I have plenty of mess to keep me busy as it is, so have so far tried to keep it down to a manageable level.</div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify">Tonight I decided to give her a baby fork with her pasta. Just look how well that went down:</div><div align="center"> <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SvfvLj3qRGI/AAAAAAAAB_w/--Gyv5AZG78/s1600-h/eat+like+a+lady1.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402049259940496482" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SvfvLj3qRGI/AAAAAAAAB_w/--Gyv5AZG78/s400/eat+like+a+lady1.jpg" /></a> Okay, so Mum says that ladies use cutlery to eat there meals. Something like this. Hmmm...</div><div align="center"> </div><div align="justify"><br /></div><div align="center"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SvfvLSMuMtI/AAAAAAAAB_o/mZ7uQtTYB0c/s1600-h/eat+like+a+lady2.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402049255196996306" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SvfvLSMuMtI/AAAAAAAAB_o/mZ7uQtTYB0c/s400/eat+like+a+lady2.jpg" /></a> Nope. Cutlery is SOOOO overrated. Fingers work much better. Glad I threw that fork thing on the floor.<br /></div><div align="center"><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SvfvK81hTPI/AAAAAAAAB_g/jDdGVPnK_ho/s1600-h/eat+like+a+lady3.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402049249462537458" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SvfvK81hTPI/AAAAAAAAB_g/jDdGVPnK_ho/s400/eat+like+a+lady3.jpg" /></a> And while we're at it, who needs a bowl?<br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SvfvK0InkuI/AAAAAAAAB_Y/QoGex1z9Apw/s1600-h/eat+like+a+lady4.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402049247126721250" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SvfvK0InkuI/AAAAAAAAB_Y/QoGex1z9Apw/s400/eat+like+a+lady4.jpg" /></a> Hang on, that bowl thing might come in handy. If I tip it like this I can POUR the food in. Yum!<br />Cheesy avocado pasta down the hatch!</div><div><br /><br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SvfvKmJo3wI/AAAAAAAAB_Q/FykAurJnemE/s1600-h/eat+like+a+lady5.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402049243372904194" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SvfvKmJo3wI/AAAAAAAAB_Q/FykAurJnemE/s400/eat+like+a+lady5.jpg" /></a> Okay, maybe not. I was right from the very beginning - fingers work best. I can shovel it in by the fistfull!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div><br /></div>Austysmumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09346287173611932120noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29185818.post-55817818301433952082009-11-07T15:21:00.003+10:302009-11-07T15:43:45.069+10:3010 months and counting...<div align="justify">A little overdue, but here's Maddy's 10 month update:</div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify"><em>Dear Madelyn,</em></div><div align="justify"><em></em> </div><div align="justify"><em>You are growing into such a beautiful little girl each and every day. You are loving your newfound independence, being VERY proficient at crawling even though at 10m old you have only been doing it for just over a week. It seems you like to perfect each skill before you show us! </em></div><div align="justify"><em></em> </div><div align="justify"><em>Austin is still, of course, your idol, even though he does get a bit rough sometimes now that you can crawl up and take his toys (or yours, which he is often stealing from you first!). You're so very cute when you crawl around corners looking for him and calling "Bwuvaaaah?, Bwuvaaaah?!" when you want to play. </em></div><div align="justify"><em></em> </div><div align="justify"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SvT9ys1Hy5I/AAAAAAAAB_A/_L9ejEXTQRI/s1600-h/10m+3.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 295px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401220900593322898" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SvT9ys1Hy5I/AAAAAAAAB_A/_L9ejEXTQRI/s400/10m+3.jpg" /></a> <em>You are an amazing little eater - we are always surprised at how much food you can hide in that little chubby body of yours, often eating more than your big brother at dinner time! You have gone off your milk a bit now though since sleep training means I feed you after you wake up rather than when you go down to sleep, and you are far too busy to stop for a drink when you aren't tired - you just want to keep on moving so you don't miss anything! You are certainly an active little girl now you are crawling. With Austin he wasn't ever in such a hurry, so it was a bit of a shock to us to have you getting around so quickly. We have to shut all the doors or you'd be in the bathroom all the time waiting for some water to be turned on.</em></div><div align="justify"><br /></div><div align="justify"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SvT9yeH0DSI/AAAAAAAAB-4/HyBe9WT2NM0/s1600-h/10m+2.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 308px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401220896645188898" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SvT9yeH0DSI/AAAAAAAAB-4/HyBe9WT2NM0/s400/10m+2.jpg" /></a><br /><em>You are certainly a water baby and love to swim, and the evening bathtime which is your new routine (rather than the morning shower you used to have with Daddy). At swimming lessons your favourite activity is doing "humpty dumpties" where we sing the song and you jump in. So at home in the bath (also known as the laundry sink - the perfect size and height to bath you in!) you like to get the towelling finger puppets and bounce them on the edge, and sing "Dumdudahdumdumdada" until I sing "Humpty Dumpty" for you and you splash them into the water. So very cute.</em></div><em></em><div align="justify"><br /></div><div align="justify"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SvT9yMiFRGI/AAAAAAAAB-w/GUOC2CMnUhs/s1600-h/10m+1.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 302px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401220891923530850" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SvT9yMiFRGI/AAAAAAAAB-w/GUOC2CMnUhs/s400/10m+1.jpg" /></a><br /><em>I am missing the feeding to sleep as we teach you to fall asleep all on your own. I have always loved watching as your eyes closed, you snuggled in and became suddenly heavy and I'd gaze at you for a few minutes before I put you in your cot. You are not too keen on going into the cot awake, so I need to sit with you for a little while before you decide to go to sleep, but we are getting there (I hope). You blessed us with about a week of sleeping through and I felt amazing as it was the most sleep I had had in months, but unfortunately it didn't last so we are still working hard at getting you to feel safe and happy to fall asleep and stay asleep on your own.</em></div><em></em><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify"><em>Love as always,</em></div><div align="justify"><em>Mum xxx</em></div><div align="justify"><br /><br /></div>Austysmumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09346287173611932120noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29185818.post-32480070175911547722009-10-15T11:15:00.002+10:302009-10-15T12:11:00.712+10:30The sleep saga continues... hopefully the worst is overLast night I got brave and decided that I won't wait to implement teh controlled comforting, just do a slightly gentler version of it to help Maddy learn to sleep on her own without making her more afraid of me leaving her.<br /><br />I read a couple of chapters out of a few of the books to get a broader knowledge and then had a think about my own situation since I wanted to tailor a routine to suit us rather than just follow the books and feel stuck to the rigid instructions. I realised that Madelyn's best sleep is usually the morning one, straight after her shower with Dad (if I can get her down and don't have anywhere to run off to with Austin) so I thought perhaps the water play is one of her sleep cues at present and I should work with it. <br /><br />We have always showered the kids with us in the mornings - me with Austy and Andrew with Maddy (she's too heavy for me and I'm always scared I'll drop her with the soap and water). Most do baths in the evening and I know that is the "normal" way of doing things, but with Andrew at work in the evenings it's always a mad rush to get dinner on the table with tired children who need extra attention at that time, and to get them both changed into PJ's and read stories and into bed by their respective bed times so they aren't over tired. Austin especially needs to go to bed at 7:30 on the dot as his behaviour gets out of hand if he's up later, and he never sleeps in longer the next day so it has a flow on effect when he's late to bed. So a bath in the evening was just another thing to make me run around in a panic watching the clock. We also figured that after a whole night in the same nappy, a shower in the mornings cleans the nappy area, and it's easy - since we are having showers anyway the kids just play on the shower floor while we wash (being careful not to get soap or shampoo from us onto their faces).<br /><br />But since I want Maddy's best sleep to be at night, not after her morning shower, I decided to give just her a bath in the evening. She's in nappies all day and all night so the nappy thing really isn't an issue like it is with Austin who only wears them at night and quite often soaks through it and gets his PJ top wet and needs a thorough wash. The only trick was to make it fit into what is already a rushed and busy time, and keep Austy happy at the same time. I can't bath her in the big bath or he'd want to hop in too and he takes a LOT of coaxing to get out knowing bed is not far away which often makes him late to bed with all the mucking around a night time bath causes. So I decided that she can have her bath in the laundry trough - it's a perfect size for her, and Austy can stand on his step and help. We did that last night - just a quick bath, a little play and then I got to give her a proper massage, something I used to do nightly for Austin as a baby but never have time to do for her as Austy is usually up to mischief at that time. Austy loved it as he got to play in her bath water while I massaged her and we sang songs together to make it even more relaxing for everyone. I kept the bath short so it didn't really add a lot of time into the night time routine, and hopefully I will still be able to keep it up when I am back at work and have to start dinner etc. a bit later. Austin was very pleased with the new routine and wanted to call Andrew straight away to tell him about it and how he's going to help me bath Maddy each night. It was really nice to see how much he enjoyed helping.<br /><br />Then, after I let both kids pick a book and read them to both of them tucked into Austy's bed, I said goodnight to Austy and took Maddy out for her feed. I managed to get away with a quick 20min feed instead of the 1-2hr one she has been having, as I took her off the breast every time she stopped sucking and closed her eyes. My first step is to not let her fall asleep at the breast anymore! Then I popped her in her cot awake and the controlled comforting began, but I stayed with her for the first 5 minutes rather than just leaving her immediately and then didn't leave her crying longer than the 6 minute mark rather than letting it build up to 10mins. She was asleep within 45 minutes which was better than how long the breatsfeed to sleep has been taking but she had quite a protest and each time I went back to her she was clinging to the bars of her cot screaming "Mumumumum!" - quite heartbreaking to hear since I've never really left her to cry like that in her life. <br /><br />I thought we'd had success since she was asleep so quickly but she woke every 40-60mins the whole night through. One to Maddy. None to Mum! The good thing was that the crying sessions got shorter as the night went on and for her morning nap today she was asleep in that first 5 minutes while I stayed in her room (hands on, patting or stroking while she cried, hands off when she was calm so she can learn to sleep without me patting her).<br /><br />The other thing I have introduced is a snuggle toy - she has always had a little bear in her cot while she slept but since she's now going to be left in there awake more (I have always gone to her moments after she has awoken so there has been no danger in the past) I decided that the bear really isn't safe as it has beans that could come out if she bites it, and she has already chewed off half his nose! She likes to hold my thumb when she falls asleep on the breast so I am now switching the thumb for the bunny blankie's ear or paw. I think I might make her a few simple, washable, identical snuggle toys (quite soon so she doesn't get too attached to the bunny one that I can't replace so easily). With three identical toys, we can have one for the nappy bag to use in the car or pram when out, one for her cot, and one to rotate through the wash.<br /><br />Hoping for a better night tonight.Austysmumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09346287173611932120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29185818.post-72068854226620174292009-10-14T15:06:00.004+10:302009-10-14T22:12:47.462+10:30It's time for sleep<div align="justify"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/StVkvID7VzI/AAAAAAAAB7I/NoAGl3hxt3c/s1600-h/Time2sleep.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 272px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392326889626621746" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/StVkvID7VzI/AAAAAAAAB7I/NoAGl3hxt3c/s400/Time2sleep.jpg" /></a><br /><div align="justify">You can never win. Every baby is different, and what works for one doesn't neccessarily work for another. I've learned that the hard way, and after having between 2 and 5 wake ups EVERY night with Madelyn since she was 5 months old, I think it's time for a change.</div><br />I am showing every sign of sleep deprivation, especially since she can take anywhere from 20mins to 3hrs to resettle at night. My body aches, I get dizzy spells, headaches, can't remember something I did five minutes ago let alone what on earth it was I was trying to say... getting stuck midsentence plenty of times. I don't like the person I am becoming, I don't like the way I talk to Andrew, I don't like the way I deal with Austy's temper tantrums on a particularly bad day when I am literally a walking zombie. My patience is wearing VERY thin (and when you've got two little ones patience is the most important thing in the world!), my body aches and I feel like the biggest failure of all. Many days I'm on the verge of tears, other days I hear myself yelling at Austin and cringe, especially as parents that take their frustrations out on their kids is something I really hate, and he is, afterall, only 3. There will be times when he does crazy things like bringing the hose inside and squirting water all over the floor. There will be times when he wants to pour his own milk and his own cereal and doesn't seem to understand what my issues are with the mess he creates. There will be times he wants to do things his own way. There is nothing wrong with him - perhaps he is a little more head strong than most and his clever little brain is always ticking away so he always knows exactly how to push my buttons and answer back. I just have to deal with it better. And believe me I try. We don't smack in this house, we TRY not to yell, and always apologise if we loose our cool, and practice positive parenting as much as possible. But on little sleep, those things take oh so much effort and it's very easy to let out frustrations with a short temper.<br /><br />Even though I am usually the one to get up in the night, I sometimes lose sight of the fact Andrew is waking up too. It frustrates me when he complains of exhaustion when I have been up ten times the night before while he stayed warm in bed or when I let him sleep in after such a night and I deal with the kids on my own and Austy is being particularly challenging. I envy his time out - his 4hr golf sessions (or the whole weekend away a couple of times) when I have always had at least one of the children with me and hardly even get time to eat let alone have some relaxation time. I don't want to stop him having his time out - he is right, my time out is sewing and I get to do that when the kids are in bed at night (but often get interrupted with Madelyn's bad sleep habits), and his time out is golf. We promised when we got married that we'd make sure we kept our hobbies and not hold each other back. So what needs to change is sleep. We all need more.<br /><br />With Austin we had a particularly good night sleeper but hardly a good nap during the day. He never slept anywhere but his own cot (not even the car on a rather harrowing trip to the snow and back when he was 18m old and slept all of 20mins for the whole 12hr drive!). He'd lose the plot quite easily in the daytime once he was overtired, and it wasn't until he was 6m old that I started to go with the flow a bit more and feed him when he wanted it (even if it was straight before a sleep) and stop with the rigid feed, play, sleep thing that had been drummed into me from books, advice givers, child and youth health nurses. I threw out the "no closer than 2hrly feeds" rule CYH had told me, and if he wanted a feed sooner, I gave it to him. He was a big baby and seemed to need the extra milk. As a result we got a happier baby who slept at least one good nap in the day and all night long.<br /><br />So when we had Madelyn, I decided right from the start I would feed her whenever and however long she wanted. This worked fabulously for the first 5 months. She was the happiest baby I had ever known, never cried (except those early weeks with colic), and was very content and easy going which worked in so well with all the running around I had to do with Austy. She slept in the car, in the pram, in the baby carrier (and still does if she needs to when we are out) and slept for a miraculous 12hrs straight at night, from 8pm till 8am. What changed at 5m was that we had just got back from America, with us all feeling the heavy effects of jetlag, including her, and from then on she hasn't been clear of some illness or another (or teething) for longer than a week or two. She still fed to sleep as she always had done and I never thought feeding to sleep would be a problem for us as it was clear that she could resettle since she was sleeping so well at night before then. When Austin was this age, I'd feed him directly before bed, a half an hour rocking in the rocking chair by his cot and he'd finish the feed awake and I'd pop him into his cot and wouldn't hear a peep until morning. With Madelyn - she ALWAYS falls asleep during the feed and when I try to take her off before she falls asleep, the walls almost crumble with her screams.<br /><br />They say the sleep cycle changes at 5m and separation anxiety comes in at around 8m which may be why for us, the issue has been getting progressively worse not better. We tried leaving her for 10mins before going to her, and when I go in at night I now try to sing, pat her chest or stroke her head back to sleep in the cot but she gets histerical and then I pick her up. I hold her and walk around for a bit but she struggles with all her might. I try to rock her in the chair but the screaming continues and I worry that she'll wake Austin too so I eventually give in and feed her. She's not really hungry, just looking for comfort, and after a quick 10 minute feed, and tiny little sucks, she's back to sleep in my arms. Or is she? I put her in the cot and the screaming starts all over again and we are right back where we started.<br /><br />In the day time, she generally has two good naps of at least an hour long, but is fed to sleep for both of those too, in her room though rather than in front of the TV where I do her ultra-long feed for bed (I'd go crazy sitting in her room for up to two hours staring at the walls waiting for her to go to sleep at night). But there's another mistake - letting her fall asleep where I don't want her to spend her whole sleep. When she wakes up she is histerical and so hard to resettle.<br /><br />Last night was one of those particularly bad ones. I have been dreading going to bed at night as it's the start of another torture session for me, so I have been staying up later than my body really can cope with. Then when I get into bed, I just can't settle down to sleep so I toss and turn until her next wake up, or worse, just nod off in time for her to wake me up. Last night the next wake up was at 1:28am (after I went to bed, far too late at 12:30am). I was still trying to resettle her at 3am having been in and out what seemed a hundred times. Now, remember this isn't just one bad night I am talking about, but several... for months... with no outlook of improvement and my return to work date fast approaching. At 3:30am I was back in bed but she was still screaming her little head off and I knew I had to go in there again as it was certainly not just a grizzle. I rolled over and in a plea for help sighed with an exghasperated voice to Andrew "What else can I try? I really DON'T know what else to do?". He said the wrong thing in reply. "You can turn the monitor off and let me get some sleep!" So in my sleep deprived, exhausted, frustrated state, as I threw back the covers and got out of bed I grabbed the @#%$% monitor and threw it at him (intended to hit the quilt in the bed next to him - not him) and then I stormed off to resettle the terrified and screaming baby.<br /><br />See what I mean? Not a nice wife. Not a nice Mum. Not a nice person. It's time I did something about it.<br /><br />So today after Austin's storytime and craft session at the library, I sat him at the computer to play his favourite "chicken game" I wandered over to the Family Information Zone (just a few metres away where I could still see Austy) and picked up 4 different books on baby sleeping in the hope that one of them would have something valuable to offer. Of course who has time to read though when you are so tired? I thought perhaps that I'd get some reading time during Madelyn's feeds today, but then I saw that one of the books had a DVD. So I went straight for that one. The book it came with was quite small, not a huge marathon reading session at all, and the DVD was fabulous at showing me how much crying is okay. The book and DVD set is called <strong><a href="http://www.thesleepstore.com.au/shop/Books+CDs++DVDs/Toddler+Sleep/Its+Time+to+Sleep+-+DVD++Book.html">Time to Sleep by Maree Viotto</a></strong> for anyone out there with babies in similar situations who is interested.<br /><br />I nearly skipped over the birth to 6m part since Madelyn is almost 10m now, but I thought it might have some insight for me and watched it too. I was surprised at how short the DVD was, and how easy it looked to follow. As Madelyn has been so upset by the fact I had left her crying for 10 minutes at night each time between comforting, I decided not to go straight to the "controlled comforting" the DVD suggests for her age, but try the settling techniques that I should have used in the first 6m. Remember this baby has always been fed to sleep and has no idea how to fall asleep on her own unless she's in the motion of a car, pram or baby carrier. I also know how distressed she gets when I leave the room so I knew I'd probably pack it in before it worked if I did the older baby techniques. I will quickly move onto the older baby techniques - just not sure I'm quite ready for that yet since I think she needs to know I will be there for her to get over her super clinginess of late.<br /><br />I decided to get to work on it straight away since Austy was out of the house (and part of the reason I've fed her to sleep is that it's easier with another one to worry about, since I don't have the time to go back and forth in the day time when I'm also watching him, but lately the feed is taking far too long and poor Austin is left to stare at the TV, or get up to mischief only to be told off when it's my fault for not having time for him). Also I figured it would be easier during the day when I'm not trying to sleep too and I could put everything else aside for her. She was due for a feed though... so we had to do that first rather than going back to the whole feed,play, sleep thing the DVD recommends, that I used strictly with Austin. This time though, as soon as she stopped sucking strongly and started her little comfort sucks (allbeit closing her eyes and no doubt ready to nod off at any second) I took her off the breast, took her to her room and tried the settling techniques recommended for under 6m olds. I expected that she would scream for the whole 15mins as she was beside herself the moment I extracted the human dummy from her mouth! Surprise, surprise she was quiet within 8 mins and fell asleep by herself. Instead of her good two hour nap though that she normally has at this time of the day, she woke after 40 mins - exactly one sleep cycle just as the book said. So I went in and resettled - this time it took almost 15 minutes of her struggling and screaming but I persisted and she slept another 40 mins.<br /><br />She is now happily playing in her playpen, something she hasn't done for a couple of weeks without grizzling and wanting to cling to me. I know this is just the beginning but I'm going to give it a good shot and see what happens. I decided to write it all down here, get it all off my chest and also have it to refer back to when things got tough to remind myself why I am doing this. Hopefully she is one to respond quickly to the change rather than one of those that can take up to a month - especially since I now have to switch her feed routine so that she feeds when she wakes and not when she sleeps. It's going to be a challenge but it needs to happen. Lets see how I go. Tonight is going to be a tough one!<br /></div>Austysmumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09346287173611932120noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29185818.post-14445776440756388752009-09-27T12:40:00.003+09:302009-09-27T12:43:34.352+09:30Playgroup photos<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/Sr7YIMFJ9tI/AAAAAAAAB10/3GGibFXajAQ/s1600-h/Austin+Maddy.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 325px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385979839575094994" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/Sr7YIMFJ9tI/AAAAAAAAB10/3GGibFXajAQ/s400/Austin+Maddy.jpg" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/Sr7YHvkT4TI/AAAAAAAAB1s/BVDog4bcdxA/s1600-h/JoyAustyMaddy.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 322px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385979831921140018" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/Sr7YHvkT4TI/AAAAAAAAB1s/BVDog4bcdxA/s400/JoyAustyMaddy.jpg" /></a><br />Unfortunately Andrew was away for golf when the shots were taken so the family shot is missing him. Dad, one of these is on it's way to you now.<br /><div></div></div>Austysmumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09346287173611932120noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29185818.post-11056197121763032232009-09-27T11:35:00.004+09:302009-09-27T12:36:26.822+09:309 months update<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/Sr7UmikLRwI/AAAAAAAAB1k/dY4n7yxOoXc/s1600-h/9m.jpg"></a><div>Each night as I have laid in bed before drifting off to sleep I have thought "I must do Maddy's 9 month blog post" and even thought out what to write, but now with the blank screen in front of me I have writers block! But seeing as I missed the 8m one I must push forward!</div><div> </div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 285px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385975957571561138" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/Sr7UmOfY5rI/AAAAAAAAB1c/Bl8hruaFeI0/s400/8+months.jpg" /><br /><div></div><div align="justify">At 8 months old, our darling girl was really starting to show her personality: cheeky, adventurous, snuggly, and sociable. Of course we already knew how placid and happy she has always been since the colic left her months ago. Her newest trick at 8 months was giving people "high fives" and the more tired she was, the funnier this trick became. She started waving and even adding sounds similar to "Hi" and "Bye" when she did it. She got around pretty well by rolling and then from her tummy, walking her hands up into a sitting position. She was also sort of crawling but doing it backwards, which lead to frustration when she found herself "trapped" into the corner of the room and not knowing how to uncrumple herself from the walls. She started putting ehr arms up for me to pick her up, and enjoying being wrapped for sleep, knowing that cuddles and milk were to follow. We still wrap her and tuck her into her covers as opposed to the sleeping bags we used for Austin as she sleeps like me - she doesn't move until she wakes! A snug wrap and firm covers are a comfort to her just as I like to be tucked in tight to sleep. Austy has been a wriggler since the moment he learned to roll and will toss and turn several times, losing covers and quite a hot sleeper, the carbon copy of his Dad!</div><div align="justify"> </div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 354px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385974534178894226" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/Sr7TTX8IcZI/AAAAAAAAB1U/Ee-oICeES0E/s400/9m.jpg" /><br /><div align="justify">At 9 months she has started clapping using her "princess clap" as we call it, tapping the back of one hand with the other. It's quite cute, and she is quite pleased with herself doing it. Of course her biggest love in the world (other than Mummy milk!) is her older brother and we even think she has attempted the word "brother" a few times, although it's not completely clear. We are quite impressed with her language skills and her urge to communicate with words. Austy was pretty advanced too, saying Mum and Dad from very early on (5 months) and using themfor the right person, and then "dieda" (tiger) and "durdoo" (turtle) at 10 months. While we can't be sure yet with Maddy, we think she tries to say Princess whenever she wakes up and we see her. It is a habit of ours that when we pick her up from her cot we say "Hello Princess" (Princess was the first thing we ever called her, the moment she was born). So now, before we get in with that, she says "Zez zes!" and giggles. So cute. </div><div align="justify"> </div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 314px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385974526062533394" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/Sr7TS5tCmxI/AAAAAAAAB1M/C0ZkZ7N_jOk/s400/crawl.jpg" /><br /><div></div><div align="justify">And her latest achievement, at 9 months and 3 days she started CRAWLING! No commando crawling for this little princess (of course not, that's not how princesses do it!), but perfect crawling from the very first day she did it. What made her motivated to crawl? None other than her big brother Austin! She looked like she was close for a week or three up to the day as she would get on her knees but then flop to her tummy. Last week she looked particularly energetic and enthused so I asked Austy to sit at one edge of the rug and sat her at the other. She had been watching everything he had been doing and he had just been having a ball crawling in circles around her. I asked him to call her over and sure enough she got up on those knees and made tiny little knee shuffles over to him. When she got there Austy and I clapped and cheered and she squeeled with delight, very proud of what she had done. I tried to get her to crawl to me, but she just put her arms in the air and grizzled - she knows I can pick her up if I want her!</div><br /><div></div><div align="justify">Less than a week later, the world is a huge adventure playground! She is crawling everywhere, into everything and quite frustrated when she can see something but can't touch it. Apparently now she can crawl everything should be there for her to play with! We have already had her tip Austy's playdough toys on top of herself from his little play table in the family room, and therefore start eating the tiny dried up playdough bits that were in the tub. And Austy's coulouring in things are fun to tear up apparently! I think it's time to dust off the playpen and bring it in from the shed to keep her occupied in moments when I have to turn my head. Hopefully she takes well to it, otherwise we will have to put it around Austy's table and put the toys in there that she can't have. When Austy was little we used it to cordon off the TV area and anything we didn't want him to have ended up in there as he didn't like being penned in. We'll see how she goes.</div><div></div><br /><div align="center"><em>9 month stats</em></div><div align="center">Weight: 11kgs</div><div align="center">Length: 76cm</div><div align="center">Wearing: Size 1 (12-18m)!</div><div align="center">Number of teeth : 8</div><div align="center">Newest trick: Crawling!</div><br /><div align="center"></div><div align="justify">To finish off, here's a photo that a passerby took of me and the kidlets when we were walking at Waterfall Gully on a lovely sunny day last week. Austy had a fabulous time and it was nice to feel some sunshine agaion before the rain (and hail!) returned to Adelaide. </div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385974513462664322" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/Sr7TSKw_3II/AAAAAAAAB08/T0MIflM9P3E/s400/Waterfall+Gully.jpg" /></div><br /><div align="left"></div><div align="left">And here's a couple more cute shots from our walk:<img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385974502069266338" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/Sr7TRgUmZ6I/AAAAAAAAB00/zgCwtYaSYWI/s400/wg2.jpg" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385974519866877618" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/Sr7TSin4ZrI/AAAAAAAAB1E/E0anuRfex1U/s400/wg+9m.jpg" /></div>Austysmumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09346287173611932120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29185818.post-70464490846301518172009-09-15T23:38:00.003+09:302009-09-15T23:55:27.091+09:30Goodbye Gryffin<div><br /><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381698791829744418" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/Sq-iiacpKyI/AAAAAAAABzk/c4lyolHyBNI/s320/Gryffin2.jpg" /><br /><div>Just under 4 weeks ago I noticed Gryffin had lost a little weight. I picked him up and weighed him, and sure enough half a kilo of him was not where it should be. I figured I'd better get him checked since he wasn't a big cat and the news was not good.</div><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381698800126420674" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/Sq-ii5WuZsI/AAAAAAAABzs/4mRHChHWxew/s320/goodbye1.jpg" /><br /><div></div><div>An ultrasound showed an unknown mass in his liver. The cost for operating was in the $2-3K range, and even then, it was highly probable that the surgery would be too complicated and he'd not be woken up. If by chance they did remove the lump, the average cat with liver cancer will only live for another year after the initial cancer is removed. We decided that the cost was too high for the low survival rate, and thought it best to keep him home and say goodbye our own way rather than take hm in for surgery and possibly not take him home. Especially since Austin was quite distressed about a year ago when Gryffin had to stay at the vet's for the day to hace teeth pulled (the result of picky eating that meant he wouldn't eat biscuits or hard food and therefore had tooth decay).</div><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381698806930331538" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/Sq-ijSs515I/AAAAAAAABz0/J8ICUi2SFB0/s320/goodbye2.jpg" /><br /><div></div><div>Sadly the disease turned him from healthy to emaciated at a very rapid rate and after he started using the whole house as a litter tay and didn't seem to realise he was doing anything wrong, we decided that perhaps his time was up. I took him in, and the vet had a lot of trouble finding a vein since he was just skin and bone with a very low blood pressure. She agreed that we really couldn't let him suffer any longer. So I said my goodbyes and brought home an empty cage, giving Austin his collar on a little toy siamese kitten which he is now snuggling in bed. "Goodbye Mog" is on order at the book shop to read to him. He's taking it pretty well for a not quite 4yr old.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>We'll miss you Gryffy. Even Maddy who doesn't know you're gone will miss squealing with delight when she sees you and trying to pull your ears. Austin will miss chasing you for cuddles. Andrew will miss you curling up on his lap in the evenings when he's not at work. I'm not so sure he'll miss you climbing on him to lick his desert bowl clean when we have apple crisp or chocolate self saucing pudding, but he will miss spoiling you with the cream at the end. I will be cold tonight without you to cuddle as I dream.</div></div></div>Austysmumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09346287173611932120noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29185818.post-26753147083734732942009-08-10T20:42:00.004+09:302009-08-10T20:56:29.201+09:30Look who's rolling now!<div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368294113636559650" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SoADDc0gqyI/AAAAAAAABvk/3fA2fs5GsCA/s400/tummy.jpg" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 277px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368294101182263442" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SoADCubLMJI/AAAAAAAABvc/uhtR4X5Nv0s/s400/roll+side.jpg" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368294094352398242" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SoADCU-zt6I/AAAAAAAABvU/DB_5xhc0zQM/s400/back.jpg" /><br /><div><div><div>Finally, last Wednesday Madelyn decided it was time to roll completely over from her tummy to her back. She has often rolled onto her side but not gone all the way until now. However, not being too fond of tummy time lately unless I'm giving her my arm to kick off from to help her get the idea of crawling, she worked out that rolling was the best way to get out of it. And then straight after, she flipped back onto her tum again. This girl has it sussed!</div><div> </div><div> </div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 270px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368294637456045170" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SoADh8MztHI/AAAAAAAABvs/lIEQJWnAgYk/s400/smile+with+teeth.jpg" /><br /><div></div><div>Two more teeth joined us on the weekend too - she is no longer our vampire baby as the top middle ones are filling in the gap between the other two top teeth, with bottom ones teasing us with a white mark in her gums some days, and non-existant the next. They are on the move so should be there soon too. Isn't she just beautiful?! Of course I am biased, but she is such a doll.</div></div></div></div>Austysmumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09346287173611932120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29185818.post-70699530826023727552009-08-04T22:36:00.004+09:302009-08-04T23:22:54.014+09:307 month old MaddyOh my, I am not doing too well with the Maddy updates am I? Two weeks late for this one as well, but I promise, I have an excuse!!!<br /><br />You may have read in my last post that our adorable boy was under the weather. We thought he was getting better, but then he got worse again and was falling asleep on the couch, and lucky Andrew got a rare afternoon with him snuggled up on his lap at the computer for a few hours while Austy lay there sleeping as he used to do as a baby. It turned out the poor kid had developed a chest infection, and I had too, having caught his bug off him and having "severe asthma" while I am breastfeeding (something to do with the hormones) it quickly developed into an infection. Just as we were both at our worst and awaiting the doctors appointment (it seems so hard to get in to see a GP these days, and especially with it being winter ad all manner of colds and flus going around), I was feeling rather exhausted one night when Maddy awoke quite upset and burning up. We thought perhaps she had the same bug that gave Austy and I our chest infections as that's how ours started, but when I managed to squeeze her into our appointment with the doctor the next day (after we had several failed attempts to keep panadol in her which we promised her we would never do to her again!) we discovered she had quite a nasty ear infection. It took two weeks to clear up, with some antibiotics, an just as I ditched the bottle, the temp came back this weekend. She was liek a glow worm, you know those cuddly toys that you squeeze and their head lights up? Yep, that was her, poor chicken. Not even teh dymadon that had worked miracles withher fever before, could bring the temp down so off to the GP again. We were told it is just viral and tehy took a wee sample to test to make sure as she was also starting to break out in a horrid rash, that is now blothcy all over her very puffy eyes and nose and can be seen under her fine blonde hair. She can't keep food down so has gone back to just breastmilk for a couple of days and is super clingy and not sleeping well at all. It's not nice to have a sick baby, she never cries normally, so to see her this upset is heartbreaking and Ireally don't quite know what to do with her twhen not even an offering of her favourite boobie juice will calm her down. It took ages to get her to sleep tonight despite her rubbing her eyes all afternoon. I just want her to get better again quickly and I think we've had our fair share of lurgies!<br /><br />So that's why there hasn't been a 7 month update until now.<br /><br />Weight: 9.3kg<br />Length ??<br />Teeth: 4 - two bootom ones and two "vampire fangs" (no top middle ones yet!)<br />Mobillity: Launching to tummy from a sitting position to reach things<br /><br /><em>Dear Madelyn, at 7 months you sit up sooooo well, you have a beautiful posture and love to be on your bottom 99% of your wake time. You are starting to want to move as you have discovered that not everything will automatically be handed to you by your big brother, and quite often he will play with his toys just out of reach and if you do manage to launch yourself forward from sitting to your tummy and grab something of his, he quickly removes it from your grasp. This results in you pushing up on your hands and kicking your legs, as if you are about to crawl, but alas just kicking those legs does nothingto propell you forwards. Sorry darling, that only works in the pool as you have perfected so well as you paddle and kick frantically in your swim ring or in my arms and zoom forwards.</em><br /><br /><em>You really enjoy solids and have taken to them much better than your brother did, and Daddy and I are secretly hoping some of your good eating habits will rub off on him someday. So far, we have had no luck with the "Look Austy, Maddy likes [insert vegetable here]" comments. One of your new favourites is parsnip, peas and potato puree. And we are so glad we havefound something vegetable that you will eat happily that doesn't contain any apple or pair. I am steering clear of commercial baby foods just as I did withAusty, mainly because it's cheaper and I know exactly what's in the food I make, but also because so many of them have fruit in everything and I am afraid if we don't ween you off fruit sweeteners you will take after Austy with the eating habits. (Austy has only JUST started eating cereal for breakfast, starting with the milo cereal I wasn't too keen on but bought because he picked it, it was a cereal, and he promised he would eat it, and now moving onto miniwheats that I am MUCH happier with!)</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>Blocks, stacking cups/boxes and shakers and things that you can have an obvious effect on (especially things that you can crash down when I stack them for you!) are the toys of the moment and you are really taking notice of toys that you can make noises with by yourself. I caught you picking up different rattles and shaking them by your ear just the other day.</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>You still don't say anything but "Dadadad", much to your Daddy's delight although with all this illness, you have made some cross faces and some unique sounds as if you are trying to tell us something in yur frustration for being tired and sick. Don't worry sweetheart, we're tired too and doing everything we can to get you better. Your sleeping has been attrocious - a real shock as Austy didn't warm us up to bad sleeping patterns and it s a completely new thing to us. We understand though- that ear has been bothering you and you need lots of cuddles when you feel this rotten. The worst night was this past Saturday night when you had us taking turns in the rocking chair as you'd only sleep in our arms.... yawn!</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>You're still very cute though and when we are shopping and I am carrying you in your homemade sling, you always fall asleep and we get so many comments about how precious you are (we know!). You have started to imitate kissing sounds in addition to your little sniffy trick where you scrunch up your face and breathe quickly in and out through your nose just for a laugh. As you were copying my kissing sounds I thought it was time to teach you how to give kisses. You give me and Austy kisses (normal open mouth baby ones - the kissy lips are reserved for showing off) and even Grandpa scored one the otehr day but poor Daddy has been missing out (well I guess we're even since you still won't say Mum!). You had us in fits of laughter the first few times he asked fro a kiss and you leaned for his face with open mouth, got within about 2cm then flicked your head away and giggled your cute little chuckle. Funny girl. We have a feeling you are going to be a cheeky one like your big brother!</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>Love Mummy</em><br /><em></em><br />Now what is Austy up to? He is so glad that school holidays are over as kindermusik, playgroup and storytime/crafting have all resumed to keep hi busy during the weekdays. We have had a lot of rain here lately, so activities like these break up the housebound boredom that sets in when you have a tired Mummy who doesn't want to take the baby out in the rain. He has taken to the new music songs quickly and tonight sat there with his guitar for about an hour singing them as he strumed away. Then he asked me to sing them too and told me off every time I got the words wrong - looks like I have some homework to do to learn them all myself! He's been asking me to teach him to read as he'll often pick up a book and tell a story with it's pictures. That works fine when he's heard teh story a thousand times (he doesn't skimp on detail either!) but I think he knows he's just making it up when the book is one he's never seen before like one he's just plucked from a libray shelf. So I made up some letter cue cards and then some simple word cards for words that are in his everyday life or appeal to him in some way (like "monkey" since his best friend is a stuffed monkey named Montgomery who has to do everything with him lately, including have his own bowl of cereal for breakfast). after just a few days Austy was getting about 90% of the letters correct when shown in random order, and quite often can tell me what sound they make and a few words that start with that letter. He loves it and always reminds me to cuddle and kiss him if e gets it right and I just move onto the next one. When I show him the words, he looks at the first letter and if he remembers the words on the cards that start with that lettter he will take a guess. Otherwise he looks at the other letters on the card, so he seems to be getting that letters make up words, and when we read books he seems to understand that the words are what make up the story, so I think he's more than ready for kindy now. He likes to trac the letters with his fingers and sometimes will attemt to draw a letter by copying, but I am just happy when he tries to copy a shape or scribble that I draw as it is the start to learning to write. Prekindy starts next term, and I think he is looking forward to it.<br /><br />No pics tonight - too tired, but I may come back and pop some in later.Austysmumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09346287173611932120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29185818.post-81025732384898089682009-07-11T20:34:00.005+09:302009-07-11T21:03:28.002+09:30Halfway through<div align="justify">As I was holding onto Madelyn tonight after she fell asleep and stopped feeding, I gazed at her perfect little face; her perfectly plump little lips, adorable long eyelashes (just like Austy’s), cute little button nose, and rosy cheeks. She seems so big now, such a little person instead of the tiny helpless baby she once was. I gazed lovingly at her and just as it does every night before I kiss those precious cheeks and tuck her into her cot, a smile took over my face as I wondered how she had grown so quickly before my eyes. Since she is our second baby and planned to be our last, I know how this year will feel like just a moment in her hopefully long and happy life so I try to soak up every second and capture it forever in my heart. </div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="justify"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 322px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357160767434020290" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/Slh1VaOQVcI/AAAAAAAABsc/82i3bPriGZg/s400/eyelet2.jpg" /><br />Madelyn is nearly seven months old now, a perfect, happy and placid little girl who loves to laugh and watch the world around her as everything seems to be entertainment to her. Andrew and I can clearly see the contrasts between our two beautiful children, who at times look so similar, as if they were twins born three years apart. Austin, at the same age was a real little joker. He’d try to do anything to get our attention, and when he got it (how could we not look at him when he did funny things like poking out his tongue or chatted nonsensically to himself for hours) he’d giggle and beam with pride at his own cleverness. Madelyn, just fits in perfectly to our little family by adoring everything her big brother does, and just happy to sit and watch and enjoy the smiles we all give her. She doesn’t “chat” as much as Austin did at this age, in fact the only sounds she makes are cute attempts at raspberries, squeals of delight and the usual “dadadadad” baby chatter, that really only just started a few weeks ago. I remember Austy saying all sorts of sounds by now. It’s almost as if Austy was the sort of baby who wanted to make everything happen for him, just the way he wanted it, whereas Maddy is the type to just be amused by what everyone else is doing that she doesn’t need to try and get our attention, we have hers instead! Their personalities compliment each other so well, Austy dotes on her, she adores him, and we know that they will grow up with the best friend they could possibly have in each other. And for that we feel lucky. Our two perfect kids. </div><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 334px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357160748020696322" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/Slh1UR5whQI/AAAAAAAABr8/Z5C4IMGRD70/s400/first+food1.jpg" /><br /><br />I never did get to give you Maddy’s 6 month update, things are always so busy here, and without the laptop working I am spending much less time on the net because I don’t like to be in a separate room when Austy is playing (he doesn’t like it much either – very much a Mummy’s boy, which I am soaking up while I can!). So here are her 6 month stats:<br /><br /><br /><div align="center">Weight: 8.5kg (90th percentile)<br />Length: 76cm (90th percentile)<br />Teeth: Two (bottom middle)<br />Latest trick: Sitting up unaided<br />Mobility: Still no rolling, crawling or walking (thank goodness!) but she can squirm around in a 360 on the floor and hold herself up well on her tummy. </div><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center"></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 336px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357160753597523538" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/Slh1UmrYJlI/AAAAAAAABsE/6x_-dFGm2z0/s400/solids2.jpg" /> <br /><div align="justify">Madelyn really loves her solids, however she is taking some time to get used to opening her mouth for the spoon. She tends to try and slurp it off the spoon like a soup rather than open her mouth and take the whole spoon in. So far she has mainly had fruits and vegetables, with her first taste of red meat tonight, which she loved (homemade veal with vegetables and a little apple for sweetness). Her favourite foods are banana, and apple & mango purees. She quite likes the pear and sweet potato combo too. </div><br /><br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357160761306845954" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/Slh1VDZbEwI/AAAAAAAABsU/iTfT5twOdS8/s400/hat.jpg" /><br /><br /><div align="justify"><br />Today, a third tooth cut, much to our surprise, the top eye tooth on her right. I can see a little hole where it’s matching left tooth is trying to pop out, but she has no sign of those two middle top teeth, so we joked that she is a little vampire. The tooth is well and truly out of the gum, which caught me quite off guard when I spotted it as I was trying to settle her for her morning nap and she was crying. She had a cold over last weekend and was very unsettled by it, waking 2hrly and sometimes 1hrly (lucky bleary eyed me). We suspected the 6 month immunisations had a role to play in that too, as the rotavirus vaccine is meant to hit its peak reaction at 7-10 days post dose. Her cheeks had glowed on the odd occasion but other than that, the teething signs were pretty minimal. She had been a bit grumpy this morning, trying to chew her toys, which is what made me think to look while she was crying in her cot as I patted her tummy. I expected to see a slight redness, not the sharp little tooth that sparkled at me in all its white glory! We are very pleased that she doesn’t get as upset about teeth emerging as Austy used to.<br /></div><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357160756455313010" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/Slh1UxUujnI/AAAAAAAABsM/Lk2tPzoeuGk/s400/austy+3.5.jpg" /> <br /><div align="justify">Austy is really blossoming now too. We had been having some difficulty teaching him that no means no, and in dealing with his constant need for my attention when Maddy needs me too. I borrowed a book from the toy library called “1-2-3 Magic” and followed it precisely, and like magic the monster side of our boy has vanished, and we can enjoy Austin for the bright and affectionate little boy he is. He loves to tell stories, and have them told to him, an extension of his love for books, and his way of interpreting the world around him. His favourite thing to say at the moment is “tell me a story about this day Mummy/Daddy” and then we are expected to recite with detail, everything that has happened up to that point of the day, and then continue on with what is going to happen to the little boy called Austin that is the main character of our story. If we miss a detail, we have to go back and slot it in… there’s no skipping bits! And he thinks I’m a bit silly when I try to encourage imagination, as he’s very much a tell it like it is kind of boy, and imagination only gets to come into play when he chooses it to. For example, the other day I was taking the kids to the zoo and he wanted Daddy’s binoculars. I told him that it didn’t matter as we could pretend we had binoculars. I circled my fingers over my eyes and said “See, look at my fantastic red binoculars! What colour are yours?” He looked at me as if I was silly and said “Mine are the same colour like my skin mummy”, duh! </div><br /><p align="justify">I have been teaching him to write his name and he loves how I tell him a little sentence to help with each one, like A is “up and down and across the middle” and he recites it every time he tries to draw an A or sees an A on a sign. I am encouraging him to draw using the blackboard as he never has been much of a colour in or scribble type of kid. At the 2.5yr check up CYH said his pencil grip was “immature” and had to be corrected by kindy, so I am glad I have found something that he likes to do with drawing. I draw a snail on the blackboard and he will draw over it and decorate the shell, and he loves to draw over the letters and numbers I draw on the board for him. He loves craft at the library after story time, and is now starting to colour in chunks rather than just scribbles all over the page. </p><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357163571786355106" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/Slh34pP9EaI/AAAAAAAABsk/JCFBF-moH3g/s400/sick.jpg" /><br /><br /><div align="justify"><br />Yesterday Austy came down with a virus of some kind and spiked a fever, but he is the best patient, as long as I sit and cuddle him. Just a little tricky today with Maddy wanting cuddles today too with her 4th tooth on the way. It seems the worst of it is over though and he’ll be back to his normal energetic self in no time. </div>Austysmumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09346287173611932120noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29185818.post-51953795490380573972009-06-08T21:39:00.004+09:302009-06-08T22:04:10.112+09:304 & 5 monthsBefore Maddy reaches that 6 month messy solids eating milestone, I'd better just fill you in on the monthly milestones we missed with the preparation for and return hom from that big US trip. Madelyn has now been on 7 plane flights, two more than she is months old. So what has been happening in Maddy's little world?<br /><br /><br /><br />{Pics to add - they are on the other computer}<br /><br /><br />At four months old Madelyn weighed a hefty 8.3kgs. We didn't get a chance to weigh her properly at the CYH centre as we normally do, so I don't have a height measurement, but believe me when I say she's also quite tall. She started teething symptoms like mad, but for the whole month had no teeth to show - just lots of dribble and a few more upchucks than normal. The patchy dry skin on her forehead that she'd had since she was born dissapeared and now is as smooth an luscious as every other patch of her squishy soft baby skin. She discovered a love for chewy toys she can put in her mouth, and became even more obsessed with her older brother, only he can make her laugh just by saying "Madelyn, laugh!". It's a delight to see her cackling at him as he chats away. She loves library time and has been going with just me on Mondays for a few weeks now, having special Mummy & Maddy time. She also had her first stint in the baby bouncer (similar to the jolly jumper) just before we left for the US.<br /><p></p><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344932647630862066" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/Si0D7KJs9vI/AAAAAAAABq0/ZntQgNAZOVc/s400/kickin+back.jpg" border="0" /> At 5 months, we're not sure what she weighed (second baby syndrome coupled with jetlag....) as we didn't get a chance to weigh and measure her. No real concern though as she certainly isn't underweight and is absolutely thriving on Mummy milk. Her newest trick is to pull her socks off with her teeth, and she can roll onto her side but not all the way over to her tummy yet. Most of the month was spent being carried around in the baby carrier, spending alot of time sleeping, so not much really to report on new developments, but she has discovered leaves and is fascinated by them. And still fascinated by her big brother, evben though he gets a bit too close and smothery at times. She's such an easy going little girl, quite happy to go with the flow, loves to squeal and giggle, and only started crying more this month due to not being able to be fed whenever she wanted it (the US isn't as breastfeeding friendly as Australia and it wasn't easy to find somewhere discreet to feed), and perhaps teething added to her unsettledness. But still an absolute delight. Oh and she's started to grow some hair, although noone believes us, and it's so blonde it's hard to see in photographs. Trust us - the bald patch is gone and a heathy littl blonde swirl has sprouted on the back of her darling little head.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344932644826092290" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 301px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/Si0D6_s_kwI/AAAAAAAABqs/uNc-mZuoskg/s400/dalmation+nappy1.jpg" border="0" /><br />That's all for now, as it's not too long before the 6 month update.</p>Austysmumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09346287173611932120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29185818.post-59481752348342378812009-05-29T00:00:00.006+09:302009-06-08T21:38:52.747+09:30Holiday highlightsOkay, so we've been back a little while now and it has taken me this long to let you all know how our big trip went. I do have a littel excuse - a couple of them actually. A little girl cutting teeth and a little boy settling back into normal family life. Both of them had much worse jetlag on the way back than they did on the way there, with many early mornings and trying to convince them both it was still night because it was dark outside.<br /><br /><br /><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div>Here are just a few snaps of our whirlwind US holiday:<br /></div><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340882672245147090" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/Sh6gfkI2BdI/AAAAAAAABo0/HAOhi99S2s0/s400/walk+of+fame.jpg" border="0" />Our first stop was Hollywood, where we stayed a walk away from the main drag, and decided to just explore the first day. We did the walk of fame twice - in daylight on our way to Scoobies Hot Dogs for lunch, where the dogs were delish and again after a busy day sightseeing on a moviestars homes bus tour. We went to one of the oldest Hollywood restaurants for a good bite to eat, before dragging our very tired children back to the hotel for a good sleep. Madelyn had woken us every hour that first night, so we were all pretty exhausted by the end of a full day in Hollywood.<br /><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340882688163595778" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/Sh6ggfcGRgI/AAAAAAAABpM/x6-2WiQbcok/s400/dumbo+ride.jpg" border="0" />Next on the agenda was a long but fun day at Disneyland where Austy's first ride had to be the Dumbo ride just because there was a water fountain underneath. We wished we'd hired a car as we didn't realise how long the bus trip would be - "Disneyland Express" stopped about thirty times, so not very express at all and we didn't get there until 1pm, which chewed up some good ride time. But then again there was so much to see, and as it was Austy fell asleep in Andrew's arms as they lined up for the Toy Story ride, so who knows if he could have handled more anyway.</div><br /><div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340882683739697266" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/Sh6ggO9W8HI/AAAAAAAABpE/rpgQiGTnud0/s400/disneyland.jpg" border="0" /> But he'll tell you his favourite ride was the Buz Lightyear ride where he even got to meet Buzz as we came out.<br /><br /><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340882677571564722" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/Sh6gf3-wtLI/AAAAAAAABo8/Er2s1uhTiIQ/s400/buzz%26austy.jpg" border="0" /></div></div></div></div><div>We stayed until the parks both closed, seeing the Pixar parade in one, then getting our last glimpses of disneyland via the disneyland train while the tradtional parade was on. Austy really wanted to do the train and had no idea who Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse really were anyhow so he was happy just to see Mickey as we exited the train and the parade ended. We didn't get back to the hotel until quite late, and poor Austy had been dragged from stroller to bus, to train, to stroller, to bed in a very sleepy state! </div><div> </div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340886393759705954" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/Sh6j4L3Dq2I/AAAAAAAABpk/MhfUvzzCMkg/s400/grad2.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><p>Then it was off to Michigan where I had my graduation and became a Master of Engineering in Global Automotive Manufacturing Engineering (a mouthful I know!) We enjoyed a pre-graduation reception with the Deans and Heads of Schools in the robing room, where Austy nibbled chocolate chip cookies and attacked the fruit platter that noone else seemed to be interested in. They also took some family photos of us, and some shots of me with one of my professors, Jack Hu and the Dean of Engineering, so I will post those when they arrive. For now these dodgy shots will have to do - poor Andrew had his hands full with a 3yr old who wasn't keen on sitting still and a baby who needed to sleep. The ceremony for the Engineering school was held in the Chrysler Arena. Afterwards we went out into the Michigan stadium and had a looksie while Austy safely ran and ran - it's huuuuuge! We'd skipped the earlier graduation ceremony as it was just going to make it too long a day and there was no way Maddy would take a bottle (we tried, but she spat out my hard pumped milk thinking we were trying to trick her or something!). The stadium was left open for clean up after the event which is why there is rubbish strewn everywhere, but we had to get a pic or two. Excuse my messy hair and the bunched up hat - the hat would NOT stay on despite it being a "surefit" (yeah right, they weren't expecting a pin head like mine to graduate I guess) and it was super windy.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340886388397674290" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/Sh6j334pjzI/AAAAAAAABpc/63w9XrKe7_w/s400/grad1.jpg" border="0" /><br /></p><br /><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340886391748870306" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/Sh6j4EXowKI/AAAAAAAABps/ZPiYfXcYg2U/s400/graduation.jpg" border="0" /></p></div></div></div></div><br /><p>We had a fantastic dinner with Dianne (GM TEP manager) and her husband Fred the night before graduation which was a highlight for Austy, as he grabbed her son's guitar (he apparently brings them home when a string breaks and goes and gets another so she had a few lying around) and made up his first song. He called it "In my mind" and entertained us with his musical talents at 3.5! Diane had suggested we go to the hands on museum in Ann Arbor, which we did the day after graduation. Another highlight for our boy. He wanted to go back there every day for the rest of the trip!</p><br /><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340886396430227714" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/Sh6j4VzwmQI/AAAAAAAABp0/q8BxX4MrIAk/s400/handson.jpg" border="0" /></p><p>On our last night in Ann Arbor we met up with one of the guys that I met at the TeamCenter training when I took the trip over last year and had dinner with him and his wife and their adorable blue eyed baby girl Sophie.</p><p>Next up was a busy and drizzly couple of days in New York (we actually stayed in New Jersey as it was cheaper and only a short bus ride away). By this stage the hotel hopping and late nights were starting to take their toll on Austin and at times we thought we were absolutely CRAZY taking a 3yr old on a trip like this, while Madelyn was easily pleased keeping snuggled up to me in the baby carrier form dawn until dusk. We took Austy to the ToysRus store in New York for a ride on the ferris wheel, and also did the Empire State Building, going up all those floors in a superfast lift that you could hardly feel moving. I don't think Austy fully appreciated how high up we were as the little daredevil kept climbing the wall to look over, raising the eyebrows of the people that look after security up there. Andrew and I listened to most of the recording set that we hired to learn about each of the points around the lookout balcony before Austy got bored and it was time to come down. <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344926237234501874" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/Siz-GBkHGPI/AAAAAAAABqU/TkgA9wsAvSs/s400/empire+state.jpg" border="0" /></p><br /><p>One night we stayed out just a little too late, and realised just how difficult it is to stay together with a stroller to push along after 6pm on Broadway. We couldn't believe how busy the footpaths got and it was like a human-car gridlock at just about every street crossing.</p><p>After all that we were more than ready to slow the pace down a bit with a trip over to Chicopee by car, where Marty & Leslie were kind enough to let us displace them from their condo so we could have a bit more space than the hotels had offered. We were so grateful of having two separate bedrooms and a living area (the hotel rooms had all been a single shared room with two beds in them), as we were able to put both kids to bed in their separate rooms and shut the doors so we could sit up and have some time together ourselves rather than laying in the dark and silence waiting forever for Austy to nod off. Madelyn loved the floor space too, where she could be laid on her rug and have some kicking time after all that time being carried. She learned her new trick while we were there, which was to pull her toes up to her mouth and bite her socks off. Luckily it was warm enough for no socks most of the time we were there so we just let her lick her toes to her heart's content.</p><p>We met Andrew's cousin John and his family, and Austy had a ball with Spencer and Allie, even having a good long turn on their 4-wheeler. We watched Allie's softball game... well Andrew did, I played with Austin and Spencer in the plaground there as well as a few other kids that Austy was calling his best friends by the end of the game. We also explored the Dr Suess gardens in Springfield - how cute was Austy playing amongst the statues?!<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340882691706010882" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/Sh6ggsorPQI/AAAAAAAABpU/FQjjRcEnuHY/s400/suess+2.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340886399013263122" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/Sh6j4fbmlxI/AAAAAAAABp8/QAMhbCMlb2E/s400/Suess+garden.jpg" border="0" /></p><p>And went on the Merry-go-round in Holyoke a few times.</p><p>Then it was back to LA to stop over for a couple of nights before the long haul flight home. This time we stayed in Long Beach, a really nice area, we wished we'd stayed there longer. At that stage Andrew was quite comfortable with driving on the wrong side of the road and worked out how to read which exit to take from highway to highway without going around in circles, so we drove out to Santa Monica and Malibu for a bit of a looksie.</p><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344926247087616114" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/Siz-GmRRsHI/AAAAAAAABqk/ePy8jgLzo9c/s400/santa+monica+pier.jpg" border="0" /><br /><p>All in all we had a great time, and enjoyed having some family time together. It was great to meet everyone in Chicopee, John, Kym, Allie, Spencer, Marty, Krystal, and the adorable Lily (Austy's age) and hope to maybe see some of you again over here one day. </p><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344926244573643474" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/Siz-Gc55gtI/AAAAAAAABqc/5C1nO2a8zYE/s400/malibu.jpg" border="0" /><br /><p>*NOTE* More photos to come... sorry, it just takes too long, and blogger adds in a gazillion lines between every paragraph everytime I load a pic. </p></div></div>Austysmumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09346287173611932120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29185818.post-28192358394617280062009-05-26T12:47:00.002+09:302009-05-26T12:49:33.032+09:30Just a pic to tide you over...<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/Shtftor4EWI/AAAAAAAABos/eZc6OdrQIis/s1600-h/Maddy-5m.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339967020798054754" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/Shtftor4EWI/AAAAAAAABos/eZc6OdrQIis/s400/Maddy-5m.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>I have yet to tell you about our trip to the US for my graduation, but while we get settled back in, here's a pic taken today of our 5 month old princess. She's just growing up sooooo fast!</div><br /><div></div>Austysmumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09346287173611932120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29185818.post-1220810230741495172009-03-22T10:21:00.003+10:302009-03-30T13:55:49.473+10:30No longer classed as a "Newborn"<div><br /></div><br /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SdA6TxgQSHI/AAAAAAAABmU/yXtgHWMGKlI/s1600-h/3+months+quilt.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318815271305103474" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 314px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SdA6TxgQSHI/AAAAAAAABmU/yXtgHWMGKlI/s400/3+months+quilt.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><br /><div align="justify">Well all too quickly, Madelyn reached that 12w milestone and progressed from newborn to infant and could almost pass as a 6m old going by the size of her. Until she tries to put a toy in her mouth and drops it, or misses, or until she is plonked down on her bottom and rapidly slides to the horizontal position that is. People are constantly gasping in disbelief when I tell them that she had only been in the world for 3 months last Thursday.<br /><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318815266890517170" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SdA6ThDvCrI/AAAAAAAABmM/92E8CSlwubg/s400/3+months+b.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><div align="justify">Madelyn continues to be the model baby, adored and loved by all who see her, with her happy and easy going nature, she is just perfect. She really "sings" now and loves to chat and gives us a real cackle when we chat back. She especially loves to be told she is cute (she gets a huge giggle out of that!) and makes everyone laugh with her. She still loves her milk (as can be seen by the ten rolls of fat on her legs - don't worry darling, while you're this young it's cute to be chubby and if yo're anything like your big brother those leg rolls will disappear by your 3rd birthday). She has been a tiny bit unsettled this past few days, possibly from a sore throat that Austy gave to me and maybe we gave her, or perhaps even teeth on the way (Austy got his first two at 4 months and she has been saturating her clothes with dribble and chewing on those fingers alot this week, so who knows). But her unsettledness isn't bad at all, and for any other baby you'd just think it's normal baby behaviour, as hardly any baby I have ever met cries as little as she does. She got all her tears out in those first few weeks by the looks of things.</div><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318815272970428114" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 348px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SdA6T3tTHtI/AAAAAAAABmc/gH53NgBqIFo/s400/3m+smile.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><div align="justify"></div><br /><div align="justify">Developmentally, the grasping is getting so much better now, and she loves her playmat or the rocker where she can grab onto dangly toys, or better still when I pick her up and there is all that hair to pull out - her favourite! She is still far from rolling (but I am happy with that, Austy took 7 months to roll and I kind of prefer it when you know that the baby will be where you left it when you have to duck out of the room to help a three year old go to the toilet!), but she is really strong in her back and neck. She can push up well on her tummy, and tries to sit up sometimes when laid on her back in a semi reclined position (like on our bed, propped against pillows). I have been too slack to take her down to CYH for her monthly weigh and measure yet, but I assure you she isn't fading away, but starting to really fill out those 00's and it won't be long before a wardrobe switch is required again. I'm still squeezing her into the size small nappies I made her, but really should get to the sewing machine and make her some roomier mediums so those chubby legs of hers have room to move.</div><br /><div align="justify"></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318815265869282434" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SdA6TdQQPII/AAAAAAAABmE/otNqk4pgiwU/s400/3+months.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div align="justify"></div><br /><br /><br /><div align="justify">Austy still loves her to bits, but has been heard telling me to put her down, or telling her to shhh sometimes when he's watching TV. He is really getting into his singing, and at music last week we had to bring a "statue" that he had made. Of course we had to make a monster (he has a serious addiction to the Disney movie Monsters Inc.), which in the end I had to finish with the paper mache part since he thought the flour water glue I had made was delicious. However he throughly enjoyed the painting part and got right into sticking on the spikes and glitter! He's not much of an outdoorsy type as yet, we try to encourage him to get out and play in the sand pit or kick a ball around, or even ride his bike, but he still prefers "Cutting and sticking", listening to music in his room (often bundled up under the quilt I made him, singing along), playing on the computer or acting out scenes with his little people. This last activity is one of my favourites, it's an insight into how he sees the world, and wonderful hearing all the different voices he puts on as he acts out things we have done or things he has seen.</div><br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318816580233125506" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 279px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SdA7f9pA3oI/AAAAAAAABmk/7YFA6YeKWcw/s400/rockstar.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div align="justify"></div><br /><div align="justify">He watched some swimming on TV last week too, and told us that he wanted those people to teach him, so they could show him how to swim fast and he could get a medal. His poor swimming teacher was devastated when we told her, but watching the swimming did give him the courage to jump into the pool without holding her finger (albeit with a tiny push from me *blush*).</div></div></div>Austysmumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09346287173611932120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29185818.post-62440368333528044512009-03-09T23:37:00.003+10:302009-03-09T23:58:09.904+10:30PhotographyI know I should have put them here, but as photography is a secret hobby of mine (I really need to get myself a DSLR one day but until then I am just a secret hobbyist!!) I put the photos I took of the kids today on my hobbies blog. I couldn't decide where best to put them, here or there... You can see them <a href="http://www.joystitch.blogspot.com/">here</a>. Be warned, there are a few!<br /><br />I really should do an update here too but am having too much fun with photoshop (thanks Dad) and the photos I took today (thanks to Astrid giving me a bit more confidence after she had me photograph her wedding on Saturday). <div><div><br /> </div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5311179132616695538" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SbUZSAIV3vI/AAAAAAAABjY/rX9YMGH4pE8/s400/madelyn+asleep.jpg" border="0" /><br />Just a quick few lines on Maddy - she is now over her delayed grizzle reaction from the needles and back to her super happy, giggly and contented self. We are all in awe of how she can just go with the flow, hardly cries and is super snuggly. She was dragged around on a hen's day bus tour of some wineries in Maclaren Vale one weekend, then dragged along while I shot the wedding the next. Poor girl got dumped in the corner while I snapped away playing paparazzi, and since she doesn't really demand her feeds (just shows me in other ways that she's hungry) I managed to spread them out a little more while I took photos and to fit them in around the wedding ceremony. The little girl was an angel! She fits in so beautifully, and we are constantly wondering how on earth we got so lucky! She's even a better sleeper at night than Austy was, which we thought would be hard to beat as he was pretty good, but she delights us with a full night of sleep every night from about 9:30pm until 8am. Darling girl!</div>Austysmumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09346287173611932120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29185818.post-50515207235607757122009-02-25T21:19:00.003+10:302009-02-25T22:16:49.089+10:30Two months young<div align="justify"> 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. </div><div><div><div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306698107508789762" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 337px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SaUt0AxMkgI/AAAAAAAABf8/S9p-NPuOYwo/s400/2+months.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">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.</div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306698112648929362" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SaUt0T6s4FI/AAAAAAAABgM/R-8vErVFLEU/s400/swing_yawn.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306698114666754850" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SaUt0bbycyI/AAAAAAAABgU/gtACL4aGSKM/s400/swing_sleep.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div align="justify">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.</div><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306698114684753842" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SaUt0bgFF7I/AAAAAAAABgE/b1NU9DphpGI/s400/beach.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">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. </div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306698652416749106" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 305px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SaUuTutYLjI/AAAAAAAABg0/vMnkKcRBANM/s400/DVD+watching.jpg" border="0" /> <div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">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...</div><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306698651315631730" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SaUuTqm2dnI/AAAAAAAABgk/I-OPU9YRAZQ/s400/beach+b.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><br /><div align="justify"></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306698121880130402" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 301px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SaUt02Tl02I/AAAAAAAABgc/htBQov8ekm4/s400/beach+3y.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div align="justify">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.</div><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306698652569876370" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 302px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SaUuTvR4t5I/AAAAAAAABgs/l0FbgIega6k/s400/bumper+boats.jpg" border="0" /> <div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306698654201681154" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 355px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SaUuT1W8FQI/AAAAAAAABg8/ZFchRBgMVo8/s400/fountain.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div align="justify">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! </div></div></div></div>Austysmumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09346287173611932120noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29185818.post-69368336783567005622009-02-03T23:14:00.008+10:302009-02-03T23:41:38.996+10:30Unbelievable - just three takes!<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SYg-Qe1_QHI/AAAAAAAABdM/6dboflN0C5Q/s1600-h/Austy-out-takes.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5298553414479724658" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 161px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SYg-Qe1_QHI/AAAAAAAABdM/6dboflN0C5Q/s400/Austy-out-takes.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div align="justify">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!</div><br /><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">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. </div><div align="justify"></div><br /><div align="justify">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. </div><div align="justify"></div><br /><div align="justify">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.</div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">An <strong>update on the kindermusik</strong> - 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.</div>Austysmumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09346287173611932120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29185818.post-9626932722596468112009-02-01T22:46:00.006+10:302009-02-02T00:11:25.507+10:30Surviving the heatwave<div align="justify">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.</div><div><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5297821818870953506" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SYWk4A0d9iI/AAAAAAAABcs/qtin_nxA92c/s400/handbasin.jpg" border="0" /> <div align="justify"><br />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.<br /><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5297819040097527170" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SYWiWRFQZYI/AAAAAAAABcM/fLtlTM9ATtE/s400/dinohatch1.jpg" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5297819037280350226" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SYWiWGllsBI/AAAAAAAABcE/7OoSzsIo4WI/s400/dino+hatching.jpg" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5297819041562328258" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SYWiWWiffMI/AAAAAAAABcU/PtkKjsKaC4A/s400/dinopit.jpg" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5297821822197715106" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 282px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SYWk4NNoUKI/AAAAAAAABck/fAk4bLiE3ek/s400/dinobabies.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="justify">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. </p><p align="justify"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5297819041525168322" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SYWiWWZoeMI/AAAAAAAABcc/33P6qbY0ORg/s400/dinoday.jpg" border="0" /><br />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. </p><div align="justify"></div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5297821820386196146" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SYWk4GduurI/AAAAAAAABc8/JDXnxvkCHwc/s400/smile.jpg" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5297821820256794226" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 321px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SYWk4F-4NnI/AAAAAAAABc0/GhwgnhO2vnM/s400/sparkly+cat.jpg" border="0" /> <div align="justify">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.</div><br /><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">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!<br /></div><br /><div align="justify">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.</div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify"></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5297819038406866978" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 294px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SYWiWKyK-CI/AAAAAAAABb8/SBzqC9S-BHg/s400/6w.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div align="justify">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. </div><div align="justify"></div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5297821825243923522" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 297px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SYWk4Yj5xEI/AAAAAAAABdE/iF-ypiHIz2Y/s400/smiley.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div align="justify">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...</div><br /><div align="justify">Next week we have some 6 week appointments so more on Maddy's development then.</div></div>Austysmumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09346287173611932120noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29185818.post-77111420825946014322009-01-20T12:40:00.004+10:302009-02-25T22:29:47.281+10:301 month already<div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SXUz4FuTdhI/AAAAAAAABYo/SJVp50s9IEA/s1600-h/Maddy-1m.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293193975745967634" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SXUz4FuTdhI/AAAAAAAABYo/SJVp50s9IEA/s400/Maddy-1m.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div align="justify">Little Maddy isn't so little... she's already off the charts for length and weight and almost out of her 0-3m clothes. Not surprising really since her favourite pastime is feeding! She's rewarded my efforts with a few little smiles this past week although there's still a lot of crying happening as well.<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306703245512057138" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 343px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SaUyfFUooTI/AAAAAAAABhE/gMPSS7smKOM/s400/1+month.jpg" border="0" /><br /></div><div>Here are her stats for the month.</div><div></div><div><span style="color:#6600cc;"><strong>Weight:</strong> 5.64kgs (whoa!) up from 4.1kgs</span></div><div><span style="color:#6600cc;"><strong>Length:</strong> 58cm up from 51cm</span></div><div><span style="color:#6600cc;"><strong>Head circumference: </strong>36cm up from 34cm</span></div><div></div><br /><div>I'm obviously not starving her!! And as you can se she gets plenty of love!</div><br /><div></div><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293199744577065426" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SXU5H4S0UdI/AAAAAAAABYw/iXQKPYGFClY/s400/austy+maddy+b%26w.jpg" border="0" /></div></div>Austysmumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09346287173611932120noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29185818.post-2175459732354462842009-01-09T15:49:00.001+10:302009-01-09T15:50:57.194+10:30Lizzie and Austy cuddle Maddy<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SWberTJ_0BI/AAAAAAAABWk/qpyJ0vtBgmw/s1600-h/backdrop.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289159647851171858" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 362px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SWberTJ_0BI/AAAAAAAABWk/qpyJ0vtBgmw/s400/backdrop.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>... although she wasn't quite as pleased as they were!</div>Austysmumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09346287173611932120noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29185818.post-10854295294209520012009-01-08T06:47:00.003+10:302009-01-08T13:47:25.078+10:30Almost human...<div align="justify"> I can't believe it - our little girl gave me a decent sleep last night, going down at 10:00pm (eventually, after several hours of crying and feeding) and not demanding another feed until 6:00am. Good thing Andrew convinced me that everything else can wait and we went to bed at 10:40pm. I'm amazed - she's not quite 3w old, too!</div><div><br /><br /><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5288754837720467426" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 312px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SWVugP51B-I/AAAAAAAABV8/WrpiO7x5vxM/s400/content.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">She's a bit of a chubby chops, and obviously loves her milk. I'm a bit of a jersey cow too so when I make milk, I make it in bucket loads. As a result she is stacking on the weight and at an outpatient clinic check on Tuesday (we went to ask why she is soooooo unsettled every night and see if they could help) we were told she'd almost gained a kilo since birth, weighing in at 4.8kgs (up from 4.1), which averaged out to a 57g/day gain since she left the hospital. They expect 20g/day and she's almost tripled it! So I daresay she will continue to top the charts like her brother did.</div><div> </div><div>Unfortunately we've been hearing a lot of this... every evening for hours on end...<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5288754832480812306" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 326px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SWVuf8YmPRI/AAAAAAAABV0/OEjbxUWobCw/s400/cry.jpg" border="0" /><br />...which was the reason for her check-up. But apparently it's quite normal, we were just spoilt that Austy wasn't like this.<br /><br /><br /><div align="justify">Talking of Austy, he continues to adore her and ask for cuddles one hundred times a day. </div><br /><div align="justify"></div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5288754825616942274" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 285px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SWVufi0H5MI/AAAAAAAABVs/vm7bFaKAVdc/s400/cuddles.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div align="justify">Luckily Madelyn sleeps well in the mornings, which gives Austin some Mummy time. Here he is on Tuesday having a marvelous time painting in one of his Daddy's yard tees. A smock is on order as soon as we can start getting Maddy to bed at a decent hour on a regular basis so I can find the sewing machine again. He asked me to make him one on Christmas day when he opened the easel from us. We managed to convince him that using the chalk and duster that Santa gave him would be just as much fun until I came up with the idea of adjusting Andrew's tee-shirt with a few pegs!!</div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5288754808527149986" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SWVuejJmW6I/AAAAAAAABVc/coxa9FMNeXY/s400/painting1.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><div align="justify"></div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5288754818181554034" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SWVufHHY33I/AAAAAAAABVk/rMHCGafPbM0/s400/painting2.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div align="justify">And more news on the Austy front, the poor boy had his first sting yesterday... For some unknown reason our car battery went flat and while standing on the front porch chattting away to the roadside assistance man, he grabbed at his ear, pulled something off and threw it on the ground. About 30 seconds later he started to grizzle, which quickly worked up into a pained scream. I took him inside and put ice on his ear lobe which was already bright red and blowing up like a balloon, while Andrew and the roadside assist man were on the hunt for the culprit. I managed to get out of Austy that it was black, and big and had wings, but mostly he was upset about why it bit him, and for that my only answer was because it was being naughty. All this happened while Maddy was having an unsettled period so between the two of them it was quite loud in our house with me flitting between the two of them and cuddling both simultaneously while trying to hold ice to Austy's ear which looked quite painful with two stinger holes.</div><br /><div align="justify">Andrew quickly found the source of the problem - a wasp nest under the window ledge to Maddy's room. Right where Austin was standing at the edge of the porch and just centimetres from Austin's head height. We don't know if he had touched the nest, or just had bad luck being the height he is, which might have threatened the wasps. Andrew removedd and sprayed the nest and went to the chemist for more panadol and cream. Austy was afraid to go outside again so when Andrew was sure the wasps were all gone he got Austy to come and tread on the nest and he squirted it away with the hose so now he knows they can't get him any more.</div><div align="justify"> </div></div>Austysmumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09346287173611932120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29185818.post-60790883709123711672009-01-05T09:57:00.003+10:302009-01-05T10:08:17.053+10:30I got my belliance back!<div align="justify">Those were the words Austy used this morning while talking about swimming with Daddy yesterday afternoon. We are sure he means "confidence" but hey, I think his word for it is cute, just like when he couldn't remember the word for radio at about 20months and asked to "turn Daddy's moment on". What's more, he told me that his "belliance is here to stay and it's not going to go away again!"<br /><br />So what was he on about? Well ever since he went to the toddler class at swimming and not the baby classes where I was allowed in the water with him, he has clung to the instructor, terrified to swim by himself. He had been swimming without holding on from about 12-18m but then his "bellience" dissapeared somewhere when I was no longer in the pool too. </div><div> </div><div>But look at this....<br /></div><div></div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287586890253819090" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 275px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SWFIQwiXXNI/AAAAAAAABTc/lUUj_UjIQXo/s400/Belliance.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><div>His belliance is certainly back...<br /></div><div></div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287586449956447874" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 295px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SWFH3ITSpoI/AAAAAAAABTU/naAtIGaKOEU/s400/I+did+it!.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div>He swam to the edge all by himself!</div>Austysmumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09346287173611932120noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29185818.post-83716488280837970792009-01-05T09:08:00.004+10:302009-01-05T10:11:55.546+10:30Miss Madelyn is here!<div align="justify"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SWFEYylnUMI/AAAAAAAABSk/ftHrvCcY-Kk/s1600-h/annlouncement.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287582630196760770" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 270px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SWFEYylnUMI/AAAAAAAABSk/ftHrvCcY-Kk/s400/annlouncement.jpg" border="0" /></a>Our darling daughter was just as stubborn as our mischievious son when it came to evacuating the womb! She was due on the 14th December but when I had my last check up at the obstetrician's office a few days later, we discovered she was nowhere near ready to pack her bags and get out of there. The ob feared she was going to be bigger than her brother who we had some dramas in getting out so the evacuation orders were in place for Friday the 19th.<br /><br /><br /><div align="justify"></div><br /><div align="justify">I went in on the Thursday night to have gel tape applied and get things happening. Andrew went home at 11pm to get some sleep and I tried to sleep as well. Of course, I couldn't. Knowing my baby would be there the next day, and wondering if anything was going to happen overnight, worrying whether the labour would be as long, hard and as scary as last time were all factors that got in the way of the much needed zzz's. Then just as I did drift off, someone would press a buzzer or a baby would cry and I'd be awake again. I tried to tire my eyes a bit by handstitching the binding down on the baby quilt I'd brought in for that very purpose, but even that didn't work. I think I got maybe 2hrs of broken sleep all night, giving up when I woke at 5:30am and the midwife came in to do my obs. </div><br /><br /><div align="justify">My obstetrician came in and broke my waters at 8:15am and Andrew returned at about 8:45am and we wandered the grounds of the hospital for a bit, enjoying the beautiful day and waiting for contractions to start. They did, and got nice and regular quite quickly and a "show" an hour later gave me hope that my body knew what it was doing this time (none of that happened last time until massive doses of syntocin were given!). I wanted to avoid the syntocin at all costs as I knew that meant ultra pain and contractions on top of each other for several hours (going from past experience). So I was quite pleased that the contractions were good enough for the obstetrician to leave me alone for a while. She then got caught up delivering another baby so I was silently cheering as while she was busy, she couldn't hook me up to a syntocin drip!</div><br /><br /><div align="justify">Unfortunately she did eventually get to me though at around 2:30pm, and decided my contractions weren't close enough together to do much in the way of getting that baby out. So the syntocin came. And so did my tears... until I got a grip and decided just because I needed the syntocin again it didn't have to turn out the same way, and who cared if I needed drugs, all I wanted was for this baby to be healthy enough to room in with me. The ob started the drip on the lowest dose just like last time and left me to see if contractions would get closer. About an hour after she left, I started being sick, feeling like I could cope no longer and got teary again ordering an epidural (I figured nothing else worked with Austy so why bother!). The midwife I had was wonderful and positive throughout the whole labour, perhaps realising how scared I was the second time around, knowing what I was in for, and having had a bit of a hard time of it last time. She told me it was likely to be "transition" and got the baby stuff ready to encourage me. I told her it wasn't transition as it got to that point last time and nothing had happened - it was just the synto doing it - and I still had hours to go. She wasn't convinced, so told me to wait for the obstetrician before we made the epidural call! </div><br /><br /><div align="justify">My ob arrived and checked to find I had dilated 5cm in just an hour and it wouldn't be long before I was ready to push. She suggested I use the gas and since the anesthetist was nowhere in sight I gave it a shot. I couldn't believe what it did to me - the midwife told me it was on a low dosage just like I had asked for with Austin, but a few deep breaths and I almost passed out, scaring the life out of Andrew, and I couldn't move or talk for a few minutes, easing his anguish by responding to his frantic "Joy! Joy! Are you okay?!" calls with a very slow and slurred "I'm gooo-ooone..." That was it for the gas - the ob told them to take it off me as I was too relaxed!</div><br /><br /><div align="justify">She went off for her hairdresser appointment with her three kids in tow, and then as soon as she got out of the car, her phone rang to tell her to come back to the hospital as I was ready to push. She didn't muck around as she knew the pushing stage was super fast with Austin. She just had to get her husband there to take over with the kids and then she could come back to deliver my baby. Luckily, having not had an epi, I was much more exhausted than I was at that stage with Austy, so the pushing took a little longer giving her time to get there. </div><br /><br /><div align="justify">Our beautiful little princess, Madelyn Anneliese arrived at 5:05pm, weighing exactly the same as Austy (9lb,1oz) and measuring 51cm (1cm shorter than Austy) and having a head circumference of 34cm (1.5cm less than Austy). She seemed a bit smaller than him so I don't know where she put that weight. Instead of back fat like he had, hers was deposited on her rolly little thighs. So cute! She had also had the cord around her neck, although not twice around like Austin's so she didn't have to have it cut before she was out like he did.<br /></div><br /><div align="justify"></div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287582675289223362" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SWFEbakfsMI/AAAAAAAABTE/BK-cmqSS8r8/s400/P1190506.JPG" border="0" /><br /><br /><div align="justify">As they took her to the table to be rubbed and wrapped, we both just stared in silence with our jaws dropped waiting for the cry that never came with our son until he had been whisked off to the SCN and out of my sight. And then suddenly she became nice and pink, and there it was. "Waaaaahhhhh aaaaaahhhh aaaaaaahhh!!" I can't tell you how wonderful it was to hear that sound! They handed her to me and I asked if she was going to be okay to stay with me. They told me she was, and I beamed at Andrew, realising that not only did I get my healthy little baby, but I managed the birth relatively drug free (except for the syntocin and those few puffs of gas), just as I had hoped for with Austy.</div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287582645573792418" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 268px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SWFEZr3yMqI/AAAAAAAABSs/h4-WfjQHwFg/s400/home.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><div align="justify">My recovery was quite quick too, I felt more like I had done a few push ups (thanks to holding onto the bed too tightly while I pushed) rather than had a baby. It was a huge difference to last time. She fed straight away (and for most of the first night until the midwives dragged her out of my grasp at 12:30am so I could have a couple of hours sleep until I rang the buzzer at 3am and demanded her back!). She loves her milk as much as her big brother does, and is certainly thriving on it! </div><br /><div align="justify"></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287582658119459442" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SWFEaam54nI/AAAAAAAABS0/4qkd6ciL9uQ/s400/dress.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><div align="justify"></div><br /><div align="justify">Madelyn's personality is a lot different to Austy's at the same age (except for the milk guzzling and needing milk NOW!!!). She sleeps a lot during the day, but still wants to feed all night. With him, he was brilliant at night but awake most of the day staring at everything going on around him, taking everything in. She couldn't care less - give her a full tummy and a nice snuggly wrap and she'd much rather be in dreamland! She does get a fair bit of wind pain at the moment which upsets her a bit, but it's probably from the way she guzzles at the breast like she's never been fed and will do it again just 2hrs later.</div><br /><div align="justify"></div><br /><div align="justify"></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287582664085100546" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 286px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SWFEaw1OWAI/AAAAAAAABS8/BIMOhn5ocsw/s400/playmat.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><div align="justify">Austy is thrilled to bits (as are we) and tells us often that he is glad she came out of Mummy's tummy, always asking for cuddles. He just adores her, which is wonderful to see. While the tantrums have stepped up a notch and the "listening ears" seem to spend more time switched off these days, he is always very gentle with her. We feel so very lucky to have two beautiful children, and one of each at that!</div></div><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287587874299352322" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 166px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SWFJKCZGlQI/AAAAAAAABTk/EejmbHIWA_s/s400/comparison.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div>Oh and just look at how similar they look - it's unbelievable. Both photos were taken on their first car trip, on te way home from hospital. Austy is on the left, Maddy on the right.</div>Austysmumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09346287173611932120noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29185818.post-29082611919798855112008-12-14T12:23:00.005+10:302008-12-14T13:07:02.829+10:30Austy is THREE!!<div><div><div><div><div><div>How fast does time fly when you have kids?! It still seems like only yesterday that I held my boy for the very first time and am now about to do it all again, so I thought I had better get around to updating his blog before he shares it with his new baby brother or sister.</div><br /><div>In the lead up to his own birthday Austy had a couple of other 3rd birthday parties to attend, one for his best friend James:</div><br /><div></div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279467405235793250" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SURvohxVLWI/AAAAAAAAA9M/7qtGPg2J-QI/s400/james.jpg" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279467409494649554" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 339px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SURvoxouKtI/AAAAAAAAA9U/4FoGJeGAbmo/s400/tiger.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div>and on the same day we headed to anbother party in the afternoon, this time for Lizzie:<br /></div><div></div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279467425571223426" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 314px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SURvpthrN4I/AAAAAAAAA9c/oedm1OT2I9c/s400/Austy+liz.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><div>He had a great time at both parties and although exhausted and on the verge of a tummy bug that showed itself all over our rug that night (yeuckkk!), he was very much looking forward to being a big three year old himself.</div><br /><br /><div>He had already toilet trained himself about a month before he turned 3, as Andrew and I had a couple of weeks off work with teh October shutdown, and he decided on the first day of holidays that he didn't want to wear nappies anymore. We were silently cheering as we'd pretty much had him toilet trained during the day not long after his second birthday but with the news of a new baby on the way he went backwards and decided to wear nappies and be a baby, perhaps realising that the limelight wouldn't be all his in a few months time. But as the due date drew nearer, Austy has embraced the "Big Brother" gig and just can't wait. </div><br /><br /><div>So for his third birthday, we decided to throw him a real kids party rather than the standard family gathering, hiring a jumping castle and making kiddie cupcakes with butterflies and caterpillars on them (he chose them) and playing a couple of party games. The jumping castle was a big hit with everyone, and it was gorgeous to see his litle face light up and break into a ginormous smile as the man set it up out the back. Unfortunately though, since we'd decided to save our gifts for his actual birthday, the tears came when the man came back to take it down - Austy thought we had given him the jumping castle for his birthday!! He told the man he couldn't take it because it was his and kept yelling out "Stop, I don't like it - it's MINE!!" So we had a little chat and I asked Austy if the letters on the front of the castle were Austin's name. He looked at it and sadly said to me, "No, that doesn't say Austin". I told him it was the man's name because it was his castle and we were very lucky that the man let us borrow it for the party. So Austy politely went up and said "Thankyou man, for letting me borrow your castle, I had lots of fun!" then walked inside to play with his new toys. He is such a beautiful natured little boy (when he's not throwing tantrums!) and I am so proud of the child he has grown into.<br /><br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279467430292166466" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 296px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SURvp_HPF0I/AAAAAAAAA9k/jPqylReg84Y/s400/castle.jpg" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279467965267410578" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 259px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SURwJIDRfpI/AAAAAAAAA90/2-30rD0MJ5s/s400/cake.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279467437842055106" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 290px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SURvqbPRP8I/AAAAAAAAA9s/ts1QsZO8Gl0/s400/cake2.jpg" border="0" /><br /></div><div>For his birthday from us, his main present was a bike. His first ever bike as we had no room to ride anything at the old house. He was so excited when he firts got it, but since then the novelty has well worn off... he won't give it a chance to learn how to ride and wants to be pushed everywhere which is a little hard at the moment with my bump in the way.</div><br /><div></div><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279467975209160226" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 314px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SURwJtFkjiI/AAAAAAAAA98/G3qia4ka6D4/s400/bike.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div>So what can Austy do now he's 3?</div><div>* Counts to 20</div><div>* Goes to the toilet all by himself (although sometimes he puts his jocks on with two legs in one hole...)</div><div>* Dresses himself<br />* Builds great castles with his duplo</div><div>* Amuses himself for hours with his playdough</div><div>* Plays some educational computer games by himself</div><div>* Chats constantly to everyone he sees</div><div>* Remembers his manners</div><div>* Says "Gday" to guys, and "Hello" to girls (no idea why?)</div><div>* Really good at reasoning and will develop his own theories based on little things he's heard</div><br /><br /><div></div><div>Happy birthday gorgeous boy - we hope that the next year brings you lots of fun and new experiences, and we just know that you will make the best big brother ever!</div></div></div></div></div></div>Austysmumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09346287173611932120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29185818.post-14291513110912963442008-10-10T20:57:00.004+10:302008-10-10T21:17:56.153+10:30Splish splash<div align="justify"><br /></div><div align="justify"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SO8vyB3tP9I/AAAAAAAAA50/9m6qL7ev1H0/s1600-h/pool.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5255471826706710482" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SO8vyB3tP9I/AAAAAAAAA50/9m6qL7ev1H0/s400/pool.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Today we had some lovely spring weather, so Austy delighted in "dangling" in the pool. We asked if he wanted to dangle his legs, and a split second later all the clothes were off!<br /></div><div align="justify"><br /></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><br /></div><div align="justify">Here are a couple of pics from this week's dog sitting stint - we "borrowed" Jane and Norm's beuatiful girl for a few days while they all went on a road trip. Honestly we'd take her at every chance we got, she's got such a lovely personality, and as you can see there's a little boy here that loves her to bits. When she went home, he came home and started calling her, upset that she had left before he could say goodbye :( Fortunately they don't live far away so he went up for a visit today. </div><div align="justify"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5255474807063301442" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SO8yfgkFzUI/AAAAAAAAA58/8kfjsvVYjCY/s400/with+Lulu.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5255474809882098210" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SO8yfrEJOiI/AAAAAAAAA6E/j2KBqpc3o98/s400/with+Lulu2.jpg" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5255474814441055698" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qIaxU8on2Lg/SO8yf8DFZdI/AAAAAAAAA6M/RRYfZu8W2IY/s400/lulu.jpg" border="0" /><br />We are also very proud of him as he decided 2 weeks ago that he wanted to wear jocks. No more nappies for our boy, pull-ups included. We were a bit apprehensive about those first few trips out, but surprisingly we can count the number of accidents in that time on one hand, and part of that was because of a tummy upset. So in Austy's words he is a "Grand Champion!", a title he learned from playing Pyjama Sam on the computer. Yes, that's right. Computer games. If we don't get up straight away when we hear his door open, the computer is on, logged in as Austin, and a disc put in, game loaded and boy playing quite competently on his own! Where did our baby go?<br /><br /><br />And on the topic of babies, my belly is rather huge however much to my relief, bub is spot on for dates (unlike Austy who always measured 2-3w ahead). The pregnancy is going smoothly, not much to complain about other than tiredness (bound to happen with a nearly 3yr old to chase) and Austy is very much looking forward to being a big brother. Fascinated with babies, today he couldn't stop cuddling and kissing my friend's 8 week old son, more interested in him than the equipment at the park. So far, it looks promising!<br /></div>Austysmumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09346287173611932120noreply@blogger.com0