Dentist

Ella and I had a check up and clean with the dentist today. It was Ella's first trip to the dentist and she coped really well. Lying in the dentist chair she looked like a rabbit caught in some headlights! She hardly moved a muscle (except for opening her mouth wide like a crocodile) all the while studying the dentist very carefully. She has 20 teeth - a full baby set all beautiful and heathy.

Hogg Heavy Metal Band

Fun with the Cousins

I usually produce a monthly photo page for the grandies and great grandies. As was scrolling through the May photos (yes I'm a little bit late), I came across these ones. Last month while Patrick was away, cousins Joshua and Mia came over for a play so that Susie could get some 'me running time!' With the kids growing up quickly, it's fantastic that they can occupy themselves without too much adult interaction. Anyway off they went outside to play on the swings in the front garden. Soon they had made up a game - raking up the leaves into a large pile then swinging and kicking them everywhere followed by another swing which involved launching oneself off the swing and landing in the soft pile! They were enjoying themselves immensely and we adults all wished we were kids again..

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Grandad's Week

Grandad arrived about 12 hours after Andy left for the US. He has a few more days with us before returning back to Perth. We love having grandad here :) Our week so far...

There is always a project up my sleeve for when my parents visit. This time was no exception. In Grandad's first 24 hours we had already visited the wholesale sleeper company, ordered 1 cubic metre of river rocks and distributed them around the garden edging all the paths! The results are great.

As Monday was a public holiday, we cooked Grandad eggs (Rosie's) and bacon for breakfast then headed to the blue playground to burn it all off. That evening we celebrated Grandad's birthday (which was actually on Tuesday but as I had to work and the girls had childcare was much easier to do earlier) by cooking a lamb roast followed by birthday cake.

Tuesday was a rest day for Grandad to recover although he did have pizza ready for us when we all arrived home from work/school. The girls tomato sauce, ham and cheese pizza came with their initials on it while the basil pesto, tomato, bocconcini pizza was delicious if a bit strong (I forgot to say to Grandad to spread only a little of the pesto on the base not the whole jar!!)

Wednesday was gymnastics in the morning with the circuits based on a winter theme. Seemed pretty appropriate as it was very chilly. Back at home while Katy was sleeping, Ella wanted Grandad to play 'getting married' which involved holding hands while Ella had a baby stuffed up her dress - Grandad was having a hard time trying not to wet himself with laughter!! The afternoon saw us down at the markets picking up a few supplies.

Thursday Ella and Katy showed off their swimming skills as Grandad watched their lessons. Grandad joined us in the water after in his bathers which according to Ella were his pj's! Off to the library in the afternoon to change books.

Friday was another work/school day. Grandad went out for lunch with a friend. He also cooked us tacos for dinner.

According to Ella today has been the best (and worst) day so far. It started off with Ella riding her bike while Grandad walked the dogs around the bike path loop. Then we all caught the bus into town where Ella and Grandad had a ride on the merry-go-round. Next stop was the playground in Glebe Park followed by lunch. Perfect timing saw us back at the bus station to catch the 12.15pm bus back home. It was when I opened the front door that the fun of the day was slightly dented....

as infront of the wine rack was water!! All I can say is thank goodness we have timber floors!! I had put the washing machine on (as I usually do) when we left. The water was about 5cm deep in the hallway. The extent of the water went from the wine rack, a little trickle into the doorway of our room, up the hallway just approaching but not into the girls rooms and the worst was the kitchen although the dinning room was that wet.

The problem? Well it appears that a wire holding the seal on the door of our 10+ year old front loader washing machine came loose, wrapped itself around the clothes, pulling the seal from the door and popping the door ajar all while the cycle was in the rinse phase, trying to fill the machine with water which was just flowing out onto the floor!

So tomorrow we'll be washing machine shopping....

Happy Birthday Chicken

In early June, Katy turned 2! Originally scheduled to be at the local playground, we ended up celebrating Katy's birthday at home as grey windy winter weather set in. It was a lovely morning spent with family and friends eating pancakes! The 'talking' baby from Uncle Daryl and Aunty Michelle was the biggest hit. Katy rarely goes anywhere without baby.

Back Online

Sorry for the lack of posts last month - the hard drive on my computer decided to call it a day. So what been happening? Well lets see....

Sleep deprivation is still an ongoing issue! Ella is having difficulties keeping dry overnight - she sleeps too heavily and doesn't get upset when she does wet her pj's. The interrupted nights has also impacted on her behaviour (well I'm hoping that's why she has become a little more difficult to reason with recently). Combined with the almost impossible task of washing and drying sheets and pj's has seen Ella wearing drynites - nappy like pull ups. It's allowed everyone to take in a breath and recover for a little bit.

Katy meanwhile loves her new big bed however this too does pose new problems. We have now established a great bedtime routine. As for the day times sleeps well that is another story although on numerous occasions recently there has been no post lunch nap. Perhaps they are becoming a thing of the past?

I enjoyed a weekend away to Brisbane for a work conference. It was my second time ever away from the girls. Not having to be on a time schedule associated with children was lovely so to was the uninterrupted finished conversions! Brisbane was warm and sunny. I managed to go jogging both morning and can advise anyone who is interested in starting up a personal fitness business to head on up there. On the saturday morning I lost count of how many small groups of people were doing pilates, boxing ect. The conference itself was interesting and have already employed my new knowledge at work.

The next big event was Katy celebrating her 2nd birthday but I'll do a separate post for that.

We've taken up several new ventures since returning from our holiday. The girls are now involved in a sibling gymnastic class on wednesday mornings. Cathy, Makhaya and Luca have been doing this class for a while and we decided it would be fun to join them and it is. Each fortnight is a different theme and circuits. After free play and warm up activities, the older children head off with one coach to complete one circuit while the younger ones each with their adult join the other coach on the other circuit. After a few laps of the circuit we get to swap coaches and circuits.

After being injured for such a long period of time, I've finally decided to do something about it. Clinic 88, a local massage place runs pilates sessions so I signed up for the wednesday night classes. The pilates is all mat based in a very small group. I feel much better for doing it although it's a little on the expensive side. Unfortunately I am unable to go for the next 3 weeks as Andy is away.

Yep as I type he is awake at 3.30am in Spokane, Washington State for a conference. No doubt he will get over his jet lag when it's time to come back home. The bonus for Andy being away is that Grandad arrived and is staying for a week!