Mr No No

This is a recent conversation I had with Hamish:

Me: Ok, we're going to get up and have breakfast.

H: No.

Me: Do you want toast?

H: No.

Me: Porridge?

H: No.

Me: Oh well. Can you put your dressing gown on?

H: No.

This pattern repeats itself a number of times, until I say:

"Is your name No No?"

H: No!

Easter

It's been another quiet month on the blog...a sign of life being very busy in the real world. We've had a lot of sickness lately - coughs and sniffles, and I was just recovering when I gave myself food poisoning last weekend and went downhill again. Add in the usual dose of broken sleep and well, I am exhausted!

Still - we're getting back to manageable now. We enjoyed easter day - Hamish has been learning about both the death and resurrection of Jesus, and the Easter Bunny. Very ecumenical here. I had a lovely moment with him at church this morning, where he started singing along with the congregation during the service - first time he's done that and it felt special! And then they made an easter card in Sunday school, and he 'wrote' a message in it - it was a scribble but when I asked him what it said, he answered 'He died on the cross'.

I had to explain to him that we all celebrate easter at the same time - he thought it was his easter, and we would all have our own on different dates, like birthdays! 

Then it was back home for an easter egg hunt around the front yard, organised by Adam. Hamish had a great time and both boys were keen to get into the chocolate.

A Spaceman from Planet Hamish

Life This Week

We are all sick. I have a throat infection, Adam feels yuck and exhausted, Hamish had a fever last night and didn't eat anything yesterday, and both boys have runny noses and coughs.

But, strangely enough, we all seem to feel relatively happy. I guess life is good, even when we're not 100%.

So far, we've had a few days gluten free and it's interesting how much healthier we're forced to eat. Lots of vegies, rice and meat, and fruit and yogurt. No sign of improvement in Michael's sleep yet. I'm keeping a food diary for him and me (he and myself??) which might help to pinpoint the issue. Overall I'm thinking he does have some sort of intolerance - it makes sense and makes me feel a bit better about all the sleep problems we've had - something to blame for them I guess!

Some photos

Mikey enjoying some mush. Yum!

Frogs eggs in our pond. There are heaps of frogs out there - they sound like popcorn going off all night.

Picnic kitty

Hamish and Saffy contemplate the garden

The best and worst sleepers in our family resting together!

Today Thus Far

Woken early by baby, after another restless night.

Feel very tired and unable to function.
Have coffee.
Burst into song in kitchen, to bemusement of children.


Me: You're a cheeky monkey, Hamish.
Hamish: I know mum, I know!

Go to park to meet a couple of mums from mothers group.
Feel like failure as parent as I strip H's wet shoes and socks off his feet - he made it into the water on pretext of chasing ducks.
Realise on way home that I am not failure, just only one there with two kids present. Need cloning machine.

Clean some gunge out of the pool, and spot some weird creepy crawlies in the water. On closer inspection, realise pool is teeming with the little buggers. I don't like them - they scuttle along the ground back to the water when I tip them out of the skimmer box.
Ring pool shop to be told I will have to squash the bugs - only way to get rid of them apparently. Oh, and they bite.

Finally get baby to sleep, only to have toddler deliberately open the door, waking him up.
Put toddler in his room while I try to resettle baby.
Give up.
Go to release toddler from confinement. Can't see him in room. Hmmm.
Me: Hamish?
Cupboard: Yes mum?

Drink another coffee. Don't burst into song this time.

Go to shops.
On arrival in carpark, realise baby has thrown up all over top. Is now soaked.
Find old clean baby top in boot - hurrah!
Do shopping.
Buy cupcakes.
Come home.
Eat cake.

Reflect that it's not so much what happens during the day that counts, but how I respond to it, and how I treat my kids whilst feeling fragile, that's important. I guess today isn't all that bad when I look at it that way.

On with the afternoon!

Highlight of The Day...

...was Hamish coming around the corner from the hall, wearing a cloth nappy on his head, announcing that he was "King Solomon!"

And yes, it was a dirty nappy!

I wonder what the Queen of Sheba would have thought...

Four Moments

Today is Father's Day. (Not sure where the apostrophe goes there!). We gave Adam a card in bed this morning and I enjoyed seeing him start the day with his two sons. He is a great dad. I reflected on his Pop, who passed away in January 2009. I'm sad that he's not with us today.

*****

At church, as I stand singing, listening to the voices of those around me, I remember previous times I have sung these songs, with the voices of friends lifting around me. It gives me a sense of connection with Christian friends from my old church. Although I don't keep in touch with most of them, we remain connected by our trust in Jesus, and this ritual of singing each week. I think of all the people who have sung the same songs over the course of time, and am grateful for the family of God.

*****

After the service, I give Hamish a cup of cordial from the kids' food table. It reminds me of church when I was a kid - we used to line up at an outside window at St Lukes Hornsby Heights to get our cordial, in brightly coloured plastic cups. I remember crowds of children, eagerly reaching up to the window. The cups we use today at Gosford Presbyterian Church are exactly the same, and it's a little surreal to be helping my little boy drink from one today.

*****

I open my fridge, and see the orange and mango jelly I made the day before, sitting in a blue mixing bowl. I am reminded of my childhood, watching Dad mix jelly in the kitchen. We used to have big jars of the crystals, not the little packets you get today. We'd sneak spoonfuls of it - a sugar hit! Jelly always felt like a real treat. Dad would mix it up in glass jugs and always stick a metal spoon in - something about it preventing the heat from cracking the glass.  As I look at my jelly today, I suddenly feel very rich. Its value seems so much more than the few dollars it cost me.

Toot toot!

I heard Hamish wake from his nap on Tuesday, and start singing:

"toot, toot, chugga chugga big red car.."

I opened the door.

"Hi buddy, how was your sleep?"

He looked at me seriously for a few seconds, then said "shut de door".

I shut the door.

"toot toot chugga chugga, big red car..."!

I guess he didn't want to be interrupted mid song!

Six months

Michael had his half birthday a little while ago. Six months old already! We're enjoying getting to know his personality and finding out what makes him smile. His latest trick is blowing raspberries. He can go on for quite some time - makes quite a dribbly mess.

Being Abraham (from the bible)

Hamish is adapting well to big brotherhood -he tells Michael to 'share!' as he runs off with the baby toys. They have started to make each other laugh which is just beautiful and feels like a bit of a pay-off for all the hard yards.

We hear these phrases regularly:
No, mum, no!
I do it.
I fix it!
Just one more (holding up one finger to emphasise the point!)
Cake?

Not to mention all the Wiggle-isms - at the dinner table tonight, he announced "ok everybody, time to party!"

Cheeky Monkeys

Dirt? What dirt?

Big smiles

Happy 2nd Birthday Hamish!!!

2 years ago...

....one year ago...

...and today!

The First 3 Months

Mike is now 3 months old. He's turning into quite a munchkin!

It has been a challenging 12 weeks or so. Here's the highlights and lowlights...

Good

• Having the baby! Was great to get him early and the first few weeks were relatively calm. So much better than being pregnant.
  
• Getting to use all the baby stuff again, particularly the sling. Love babywearing!
• Slowly finding a rough pattern to Mike's behaviour and taking 'two steps forward' every now and again.
• All the help we've had - from Mum, church, friends and daycare. Everyone has been really accommodating and happy to help when needed. And plenty of people, particularly church friends, have been so encouraging and supportive, reminding me that this is a season that God is in control of, and that it does get better!
• And of course, getting to know our little boy. We love him! Nothing compares to seeing your bub's face light up when you talk to them.
  

Not So Good

• The juggling act. Impossible at times.
• Sleep deprivation. Not a form of torture for nothin'.
• The unpredictability of a newborn, and the crying. We've had a lot of that (but it's getting better).
• Being physically exhausted. Holding a baby and chasing a toddler is hard work.
  
• Working out how to occupy Hamish while I deal with Michael. I rely on the TV more now - used strategically, it's a powerful weapon! I don't like having it on all that much, but trying to get a baby to sleep with a toddler climbing your leg is a recipe for disaster. Wiggles to the rescue!

Overall, I'd say the challenges have been a bit different second time around. We feel more confident in terms of baby care, and know that every thing is a stage that will pass, but trying to manage a baby and a toddler has stretched us to the limit at times. It's been weird getting used to having two kids to love. Sometimes I feel like I don't give either of them the time and attention they deserve, because I'm constantly running between them.

But things are heading in the right direction, and there's so much to love about this stage of life for all of us. We laugh a lot, and even though I know we'll look back on this as a really hard stage of life, we know it's a special time too.

Short Update

Reflux seems to be under control. Now fighting battles over sleep.

In general, things have improved but still doing the hard yards that you get with a baby.

Hamish has been sick this week - vomiting bug. Luckily he only spewed once, and then was off his food for a few days.

I feel quite worn out, but each day has good and bad moments. Trying to enjoy the good and get through the bad.

Mike is almost 11 weeks old, so we're nearing the 3 month mark. Hooray!

Goings on

Our official 'baby product tester' working hard. So many spots to sleep, so little time...

Testing out the big bed.

Bonding with Oscar (or 'Occars' as Hamish calls him!)

Things I Keep Saying

"That's not for eating!"

"What did mummy say?"

and

"Are you doing a poo?"

Aah, the conversations you have with a toddler...

Some photos

Bucket head

Hamish and I went to the supermarket today, and I bought a bucket (and some other stuff!)

On the way out, he grabbed the bucket and put it on his head. It covered his whole face and halfway down his chest.

So I walked out of the shops pushing a bucket with legs sitting up in the trolley. He thought it was pretty funny - and so did I!

Ned Kelly

Mo Town Update

Adam's mo is gaining ground - he's keeping it neat and tidy, and it's thickening up. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't mess with him.

Although he tells me he saw a man at work yesterday, who had a much more serious looking mo, who told him 'You need training wheels for that thing!"

Hamish was a little uncooperative this week so we resorted to technology to show what he would look like if we could get him to stay still long enough to 'grow' a mo!