Rules of Communication (according to Liam and Ewan)

So the boys are big talkers (at least at home - they get a bit shy when they're out!) - no one is ever without anything to say and they both want to be in the limelight with all the attention on them when they are talking.

They have 5 Golden Rules (and probably a 100 other minor ones!) :

Rule No. 1 - If they are talking, we must listen!

Rule No. 2 - We must listen until they want to stop talking.

Rule No. 3 - Everything that they say should be classed as URGENT and deserves immediate attention.

Rule No. 4 - If each statement is not acknowledged, they will repeat it 10 times just to make sure that we are listening.

Rule No. 5 - If we do not agree or their requests are not granted they will repeat it 100 times before they give up.



Ewan is getting quite good with getting across what he wants to say, though we still get stuck sometimes. We will keep taking guesses, while he says angrily and frustrated, "NO not that!". Then when we get it he'll exclaim in a matter of fact voice,

"That what me talkin' 'bout"

Very funny - especially the tone of voice!

Liam is understood easily enough, but the problem with him is that he just wants to talk and talk all day - and no, not hold a conversation with me - but for HIM to do the talking and me to do the listening and no one ever to interrupt. He gets very stroppy if he's interrupted, though it's ok for him to do it. As soon as he says "Excuse Me mum", I must stop whatever conversation I am having to listen to him. If I don't, he tells me "It's really important!". So I stop and listen, and Liam usually has something to say along these lines.... "So, in Star Wars, why did Obi-Wan......." - very important to an almost 5 year old, who loves Star Wars!!

Liam is also very authoritative - I overheard him and Ewan in the bath the other night, Liam was saying "Ewan, look up at the roof. Put your head back so I can pour water on your head" - and yes, there was Ewan, looking at the ceiling obidiently!!

Happy Mother's Day..... for last week!!

To all the wonderful mother's out there - I hope that you had a great day surrounded by those that love you!

To the world you might be just one person, But to just one person you might be the world!

We had a quiet morning at home with the boys cooking me breakfast and then playing together so that I could have a break. Afterwards we went out for a lovely lunch with my grandparents, aunt, uncle, brother, my mum and dad, and my mum's cousin from Italy, Laura. It rained too - first good rain fall for ages - so a lovely thing to wake up to.

My Three Boys!

Aren't they gorgeous!

A Morning At The Park

We went to the park a few weeks ago. The boys had a ball on their bikes and playing together.

Anyway - the pictures pretty much speak for themselves so I won't write too much!

Our Family Portrait By Liam

Liam's description of it:

Daddy is the fat one

I am the one with the catterpillar body.

And Daddy added:

Ewan is the potato

What do I think?

At least Ben has ears, a mouth and a belly button! I am lacking in those departments - but I am the only one with feet so that's a bonus!

I'll Time You!

Last night Liam, with Nonna's help, Liam took the custard apple seeds and washed them so that he could use them for craft. While he was drying them they all spilled out onto the floor.

So Liam called out to Nonna and asked her to pick them up. She said that she was busy and asked him to do it.

Clever Liam replied with "You can do it Nonna. I'll time you! Let's see how fast you can go!", with just the right level of excitement in his voice to make her think that him timing her would make it fun.... as we do to him!!

A Few Of Our Favourite Things....

Liam:




Ewan:

Ewan's Special Language

Ewan has been making up his own special little language. He says it in this little, high pitched voice - it's very cute and he knows it too!!

Here's a rundown of his words so far:

Yeppy Yeppy - Yes

Nopey Nopey - No

Loopy Loopy - Ewan

Reddy Reddy - Mummy

Doody - Daddy

Not exactly a complete language but he is always using the words he's thought up so far!

Gingerbread Biscuits!

We made gingerbread biscuits today and the boys decorated them!

Easter

For Easter we all went out to Pop's house. The boys had a wonderful time - and Heather's grandchildren were there too so they were lucky to have playmates there.

The boys got to explore the bush block, shovel horse poo, help feed the horses, have wheelbarrow rides, and best of all, hunt for Easter Eggs!

Ewan Can Draw Too!

Well he's always been able to draw - I just never knew what it was until now!!

I think Liam's drawing bug is spreading - Ewan drew his first picture last night - a spider with a happy face!

Liam Spelt A Word!

Liam spelt his first word today!

We were sitting at the table together finishing breakfast when Liam started saying "Leo". Then he said "Llll-leo. Leo starts with L".

Wow! I was suprised! So I asked him what comes next and started sounding out the word Leo. And he got it!

I know it's a simple word but I am one proud Mother!

Catch Up!

Well a long break but I'm here again! I have had a killer of a sore back for a couple of weeks - spent one whole week laying in bed, unable to sit or stand for more than 5 minutes. Talk about a drastic cure for my internet addiction!! My back is still on the mend too so have made a slow come back.

The boys are doing marvilously well. Liam seems to have grown up in the blink of an eye and Ewan is not far behind him. Thought I'd do a little timeline as a catch up and record of what's been going on:

9 March, 2007...

Ben and I spent our first night away from the boys! It was bliss having some time alone together. We went to a wedding up the coast, spent the night there, had a late breakfast out and a swim at the beach - heaven! The boys stayed with my mum for the night and had a ball despite her migrain! While we were away Ewan obviously had no breastmilk and then when we returned weaned quickly.

So after 2 years and 9 months of breastfeeding, Ewan is officially weaned! I fed Liam for 18 months, had a 5 month break, and then started feeding Ewan, which makes a total of 3.5 years of breastfeeding for me. Got to be proud of that!

12 March, 2007...

Mum stayed with us for the weekend and part of the following week after the wedding. The boys love having her around and it has been great having her stay more frequently with us this year. We have new neighbours next door and mum had them over to do some ear candling. They have 3 children aged 10, 7 and 3 - 2 boys and a girl. They are from Cape Town, South Africa, and very friendly. We've really enjoyed getting to know them and the boys are loving having kids to play with. There are also 2 children at the end of the street from El Salvador, and most afternoons they all gather in the cul de sac to play together.

Ewan is having a bit of an energy burst! He's on the go all the time and is really into climbing and jumping at the moment. He'd never really done much of both before but now he's fearless and climbing up everything with great skill, and then the rest of the time he's jumping around the house like a little rabbitt!

17th March, 2007...

I had had a sore back for a few weeks and after a trip to the dentist it all gave way. It went in to spasms and was inflamed and really painful. It all started on a Saturday too so just had to grin and bear it till I could see someone on the Monday. I spent the whole week resting in bed. Ben took the Monday off but after that it was just the boys and I. I was still in a fair bit of pain and couldn't stand or sit for more than 5-10 minutes - I was in tears as Ben drove off to work on the Tuesday. Just the thought of having to cope with the boys all by myself was scary! It all went beautifully though and the boys were fantastic. I was so proud of them - they barely argued, weren't demanding, and were so helpful. After that week in bed I was much better - and wouldn't you know it the boys were back to their old selves - at least I know how great they can be if it's needed.

My back is much better now - though still a bit sore at times with too much sitting so still not on here a lot. Have a couple of things to post so will be back soon though!

Liam's First Drawing!

I asked Liam if he wanted to draw a picture for Pop today. So he sat down with a red crayon and this is what he came up with - a spaceship with fire coming out of the bottom and a man in the top. His first drawing that isn't scribbles - very proud!

Beach Fun

We have been to the beach a few times this year and the boys have been loving it. We found the best spot to go to with kids - it's up the north coast and has a lake coming off from the ocean. So on one side you have a large, calm, shallow lake to paddle and float around (very relaxing!) and on the other side a patrolled beach. It's great!

Ewan is a bit scared of the waves but loves running around the lake. He's ok with sitting on the sand and letting the waves break on him too. Check out this pic of him and Ben being swept under a wave!!



Liam loves the waves! He has absolutely no fear and just keeps walking further and further out into the water! He gets knocked over and dumped by the waves but stills has a huge smile on his face.




Such a great day out and something that we all enjoy.

Garden Success!

We have finally had some success with our garden! We got a bumper harvest (well compared to last year where we didn't get anything!!) of tomatoes a couple of weeks ago. They were great - used them up in our pasta sauces, casseroles, and even made a tomato sauce with them to dip corn fritters in - Yum! We have heaps of mint grown, plus basil, and rosemary. Our paw paw tree is taller than Liam now - he's quite impressed by that! And we have heaps of paw paw seedlings growing for companions for it - you need a male and a female paw paw tree for them to fruit. We've had two rockmelons - one was lost to fruit flies but the other was eaten in under 24 hours! It was super sweet and just delicious! Very proud of that!!

We've got one tomato plant still going well at the moment, more rockmelons and also some pumpkins growing. Oh and I think I have a couple of capsicum plants too but not sure - they just sprouted from our kitchen scraps so we'll have to wait and see what they are!

Dancing Boy!

Liam has always had an aversion to dancing, that is until I made him some new pants.........

I wanted to take a photo of Liam in his new pants, we had Cuban music playing in the background, and Liam was suddenly transformed into a dancing boy! Luckily, he wasn't shy and was more than happy for me to take some video clips - and lots of them!!




P.S. Sorry about the shaky videoing! Ewan was on my lap and wriggling around!!

When I grow up.....

Liam has always said that he doesn't want to grow up. That he wants to stay at home with us forever and play with his toys!

Last week though all this changed. Pop and Heather asked him if he wanted to go to school. He said that he wanted to go to Uni when he is an adult. He wants to learn how to build robots at Uni.

Amazing thing is that I could so picture him doing this! Not like my crazy dreams as a young girl - I used to think that I could be an Olympic swimmer and a runner at the Olympics!!

It's weird thinking of all the possibilities that the future holds. I often wonder what life will be like when the boys are adults and what type of men they will be. It used to be absolutely, unimaginable that the boys would one day grow to be men. Now that Liam is getting older though it's becoming easier to see. Still can't get used to the fact that they will one day have facial hair though!!

Best Brother?

Ewan is sprawled out on the couch sleeping with his head resting on Ben. The boys had a late night last night with their Nonna and Dida here, and then a busy day today.

I was looking at Ewan and stroking his leg - his skin is so soft! And I said to Liam, "Is Ewan the best brother you've ever had?".

Liam replies with, "Hmmm, not really."

Ha Ha Ha!

Mummy's Tummy

So part of my New Years Resolutions was to excersise and lose weight.

It's been 5 weeks now and I am definately getting toned up. The boys have been doing regular checks of me and my tummy. The first couple of weeks, I'd come home from running in the morning and Liam would take a look at my tummy. He'd say "It's still big mum".

Tonight he asked to see my tummy after dinner. I lifted my top and Liam exclaimed with suprise, "Wow it's tiny now. You can stop excersising!".

Aww thanks Liam - I think the light was playing tricks on your eyes though and now I won't stop excersising - I'm liking it too much!