In the Garden.....

Some of our seedlings have sprouted! Yay!!
The rocket and the pak choy are through and looking nice and green - though it is evident that the boys put WAY too many seeds in each hole!!

Liam keeps trying to dig them up already and keeps asking me if they're ready to eat!! Only about 8 weeks before some of the plants should be mature......

Liam's Plan to Get More Money......

We've been talking about the boy's cousins in the UK - Silke, Ted, and Dali. Liam was sad because he hasn't been to Silke's house and wants to visit Silke like Nonna did last year. I've told Liam that it costs a lot of money for us to travel there - more money than we have - and that we'll need to start saving and maybe one day we can go there.

Liam started thinking and said "We've got the snow money (a tin with a collection of 5 and 10 cent pieces that we said we'd save for a trip to the Snow - Liam really wants to travel!!!!) and I've got my piggy bank. That's a lot of money!". I told him that it still wasn't enough and we need even more than that.

So he came up with a plan! He told Ben that he had to go to work and get more money. Today in the car before we dropped Ben off, Liam said "Dad you have to ask your boss for lots of money today. Tell him to give you all his money!"

Great idea but not sure if Daddy will still have his job if he followed his instructions!!!

Hide and Seek!

The boys - especially Liam - LOVE to play Hide and Seek.

Today I told them to hide somewhere different because they kept hiding behind the same bush. Came outside to find them here - should have left them where they were - it was a much better spot!




And here's Ewan's hiding spot!

ANZAC Day 2006

We went to the City today to watch the ANZAC Day march. Liam got to march with his Pop (Ben's Dad). Liam is the boy in the red t-shirt and Pop's carrying Liam.

A Family Cuddle and Ewan's First Song!

We had a family cuddle in bed tonight. And, as you'd expect with two boys wiggling around in between us, there wasn't much sleep going on! Liam started singing "his song" - Hey Diddle Diddle.

It went something like this:

"Cow jumped over moon. Hiddle Diddle play hiddle diddle, dog laugh and play, spoon and dish ran away, ran away."

Then Ewan got into the mood and they started singing together. Ewan really got into it and was like a little opera singer the way he pursed his lips and put his hands in the air while he hit the high notes. Then he started singing his own song and we all joined in:

"Doo Doo Laaaa, Doo Doo Laaaa" *repeat over and over*

He was so thoughtful and serious while signing it - just gorgeous!

I almost forgot the words (I shouldn't really admit that!!!) and I just called out to Ben asking what the words were. Ewan piped up with "Dooo Dooo Laaaaaaa"!!!

And now he's singing Hey Diddle Diddle too. His version:

"Cooow juuu mooo, cooow aarr mooo, mooo spoo"

Moments like these I hope I never forget......

Our Garden!

Well after killing a whole heap of seedlings a couple of weeks ago, we have decided to try starting from seed for our veggie patch.

We had the blocks of lucerne hay laid out already, so this morning just made holes in them, filled them with potting mix and water crystals, and planted our seeds. The boys ended up putting more than enough seeds in each hole so I'm hoping we'll at least get a few plants sprouting from them!

We put in some parsley, basil, and chives. And just out our back door we put some pak choy, beans, and rocket. I filled six spaces of the bottom half of an egg carton with potting mix too, and put some tomato seeds in there. They're roma tomatoes and I'm really hoping they go ok - I would love to have fresh tomatoes in the garden.

The boys had fun - although Ewan was a bit eager with the potting mix and then would try to suck his fingers - covered in the dirt! Yum! Liam also raked up a pile of dry leaves and added them to the compost.

So a very productive morning and I hope we have something to show for it soon!

Our Little parrot..... Ewan!

Ewan's vocabulary is really growing lately. He is so funny to listen to and he loves to talk!

He's taken to copying us all the time! He loves copying Liam especially which means he comes out with some hilarious things! Liam was saying "Taco's Coming" the other day - who knows why - and so Ewan chirped up with the same thing "Taco's Coming"! Crazy! And because Ben and I were chuckling about it they kept going. I doubt Ewan had any idea what he was saying but being a little Parrot and also The Entertainer around here he kept going! He loves to make us laugh.

Friday Fun at the Park!

It was a gloriously beautiful day today! Warm and sunny, with a slight breeze to keep us cool. We took our morning tea over to the park across the road from our house. The boys were very good with checking for cars before we crossed the road - I think we checked each way about 5 times before we could cross!!

Our tomato plant is still growing in the park despite being mown over multiple times by the City Council tractors! I'm planning to pull it up and transplant it in our yard...... hope no one else will miss it!

We also checked out the macadamia tree and finally found some ripe nuts! We have been waiting for weeks for the green casings to crack open. Today we found at least 20 nuts on the ground that looked in good condition. There were a few older looking ones that we left behind - we've tried them before and they weren't any good. The boys loved picking up the nuts and peeling the casings off.

Liam and Ewan did a bit of running too - down the hills mostly. It's so nice to watch them find so much joy in such a simple thing. Ewan is gorgeous as he runs down - giggling and laughing all the way. Liam is a bit more focussed and loved it when I said I'd time him - just counted as he ran to get to the top of the hill. He thought it was great and he tried so hard to run his fastest - pumping his arms as hard as he could - I think it actually slows him down but I think he thinks if his arms are going fast his legs will too!

Ewan and his Mumma

Ewan is 21 months now. It is amazing how fast the months have gone by and, although he's almost 2, he still seems like my little baby!

He is still breastfeeding and he co-sleeps with us in our bed. It is so nice snuggling up with him - especially as the weather is getting cooler. He loves sleeping in our bed and I think it would be a huge struggle to get him into his own bed - he is definately not ready to move out and besides that, we have no bed for him to go into!

Liam breastfed till he was 18 months old - he weaned himself when I was 18-20weeks pregnant with Ewan. Breastfeeding an almost 2 year old is very interesting indeed! Ewan is pretty demanding and when he wants "Mulk" he wants it NOW! He's started to pull up my shirt when he wants milk and gets quite frustrated when I'm busy or take my time giving it to him. And if I'm busy and tell him "Not right now", he get's very upset - it's like I've disowned him! He'll give me the most devestated look, and sometimes just throw himself on the floor and cry! He is gentle and caring though and has started doing up my bra, ever so carefully, once he's finished, and the way he nuzzels in next to me and is so contented after a feed is just gorgeous.

Ewan loves to be near me and loves to be held. It's lovely having so many cuddles with him and having him so close by - He does get pretty heavy though!!

Ewan has this way of making you feel special and loved. The way he looks at me with his cheeky little grin and the sparkle in his eyes is priceless. He is such a gorgeous little boy.

The Terror, The Horror!!

Sitting at the table eating breakfast, Liam suddenly leaps up from his chair and runs screaming, "Augghhhhhhhh", up to his dad. "What's wrong Liam?" he asked. "Mummy looked at me while I was drinking my milk."

Some of Our Favourite Things........

Liam.....
Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story is Liam's obsession right now! Liam was lucky enough to get a suprise present from his Pop - his very own Buzz Lightyear with wings that pop out, a laser on his arm, and buttons to push to make Buzz talk. Liam flys Buzz around saying "To Infinion!" - his version of "To Infinity And Beyond!". Buzz has some other Superhero friends in Liam's toy collection too - Batman, an inflatable Captain Underpants and a Lego Robot who has become Buzz's enemy, Zurg - although unlike the Zurg in the movie, Liam's is a "happy robot".

Keeping with the Buzz theme we have both Toy Story 1 and 2 on CD to play in the car. It is a narration of the story with bits from the movies too. Liam loves it! We have to play them whenever we're in the car although I do have mornings where it's "My choice" just for a break. Sure enough though, next time we're in the car Liam pipes up with "It's my choice today. I want my Buzz music on"!!!

Liam also spends hours with Ben building lego space centres, space buggies, and also castle's for the knights too.

Liam is a bookworm too and can sit for ages reading books. He loves longer stories now and doesn't need many pictures anymore to keep him interested. He has a favourite book about Star Wars and all the planets and characters that feature in Star Wars. He knows alot of Star Wars facts which makes his Dad very proud!!




Ewan.....
Ewan loves books - his latest thing is bringing us a book saying "Read Book" or "Read Store (Story)". He also loves ripping pages out too though which isn't so great!!
He loves animals and gets excited whenever we come across a dog or a cat. We have lots of toy animals at home and he always goes for the giraffe, penguin or dinosaurs.
Ewan is going through a bit of a throwing stage at the moment too - and with 3 levels in our house it is ideal for this "hobby" of his! He loves throwing Liam's lego creations down the stairs and watching the bits go flying everywhere as they crash on the floor!

Liam has a mind of his own!

After spending the Easter weekend at my mum and dad's, we arrived home late and decided that take away would do for dinner. Not wanting to mess around deciding where to go or what to have, and also because it was Easter Sunday and a lot of things were closed, we decided to have McDonald's.

Now I have always been honest with Liam about why we don't go to McDonald's regularly - the food is unhealthy, it costs a lot of money (for what it is) and I think it's a waste of money.

So pulling up outside McDonald's, Liam looks over and says "I don't want to go there". I asked him why and he said "Because it's not healthy". I told him it's fine to have sometimes but he stood his ground and said no. I couldn't really argue with him so we went somewhere else!

I'm so proud! He has been there in the past and loved it - loves the playground a lot - so this was a big thing for him to say no to.