Kid Talk

8:10am Wednesday @ The Brown House

Koa (in the bathroom): Mommy, I wish I had a giant penis.
Julie: And what would you do with a giant penis?
Koa: I'd wee ALL over, haha!
Julie (to Don): I think he may have that same thought but with a different answer later in life.
Don: I love you, Tasi.
Tasi: *squeal in delight*
Julie runs to get camera to capture that conversation :)

Little Artist

When we got home from our playdate I had to feed Tasi and Koa disappeared outside. All was quiet so I waited until Koa came and got me about 30minutes later. He had been creating a masterpiece on the balcony.

An artist's hands!

Sports Class

On Thursdays Koa has been taking a Sports class. He has a great instructor named Ryan and for most of the term there has only been one other boy in the class, Matt. Every week has been a different sport and as today was the last day of the session they revisited several skills they had learned.

A header:

Chest pass:

Pitching:

Kicking a goal:

Listening:


3 weeks off for school holidays (winter break) then what to do next term . . .

Growing Up

Last night I went to my first parent/teacher night . . . I can't believe my baby is growing up. The teachers have created portfolios for each child where they document what the kids are creating and learning - basically a place to read about all the smart, wonderful, amazing things our kids are doing!

I also picked up Koa's first school pictures - again a reminder of how big he is getting. School pics have come a long way since I was in preschool. Out of the 18 taken these are the ones we ordered:

The intention was to keep 2 and then to send one to each set of grandparents and great grandmas. When I asked Don which 2 we should keep he said, "I like them all." Right, but which ones should we give to the grandparents? "No, I want to keep them all. They have their own kids photos and I want mine. You can scan them in and send them." Ha ha, sorry grandmas!!!

Weekend Adventure

Saturday morning Don asked if we had any plans for the weekend. For the first time in weeks maybe even months we didn't, so we decided to go up the coast. After a brief look at places to visit and rooms to stay in we were headed on our adventure.

First stop, our favorite, Putt Putt Golf. Koa's request of course! We love that we can live in a big city but still have our little local places where the owner recognizes us and asks us how we are and comments on our kids :) And we get lollies on the way out which is what are sticking out of the boys' mouths.


Then on our way to Toukley, a small town on the Central Coast about 70 miles from Sydney. Most of the drive is through the national park so when we stopped at the rest stop to feed Tasi, Koa threw some rocks in the water, ran and touched trees, and took some beautiful photos:



This last one is me feeding Tasi in our GoGet car!

We arrived at our hotel at dinnertime so Don went inside to check us in while I waited in the car with the kids. I gathered that there was an 80s themed 21st birthday happening at the hotel after I watched young people dressed in what people born in 1988 or later would think to wear to an 80s party . . . florescent lycra! I kid you not Don ran into the door on his way out because he was looking at something other than where he was walking - too too funny :)

After dinner we finally made it to our room, which unfortunately was located just above this party (not playing 80s music). We switched rooms to one floor up and tried to make the best of it. Me trying to get the kids to bed:

By 10pm both kids were still not asleep and we were getting cranky. I knew we were in trouble when Tasi, who can fall asleep almost anywhere, could not get to sleep. I went downstairs again, this time to check out, but the manager found us a room at the other end of the hotel facing the road - don't know why they didn't tell us this earlier - but anyway, we moved. It only had a double bed so Don slept on the floor, but at least it was quiet.


In the morning we found a gift voucher under our door so ate a huge brekkie outside looking at the water.

We had several options for the day, but Koa really wanted to go swimming. I told him how cold the water but he has been begging me for weeks to take him to the pool. He stripped off his clothes and after feeling the water he decided to 'paint' with his feet and make footprints around the pool. We could have spent lots of money for fun, but instead we had a giggly boy having the time of his life, ah to be 3 again!!


Despite Koa's efforts to keep us on our holiday 'forever' we were back in the car. The boy who was 'not tired at all' asked me for my sunglasses, and 2 minutes later . . .

When asked later how his nap was he replied, 'I didn't sleep I was just resting with your glasses on.'

We stopped for lunch at the Berowra ferry dock where there was a small restaurant and several hiking trails. Koa collected rocks along the way to throw into the water.


There was a little tripping incident in which Koa cut his hand (but protected the rocks!) so we decided to finish our adventure and head home.

Happy Birthday Queen!

Yesterday was a public holiday and Don had the day off. It is in honour of the Queen's Birthday, although it isn't actually her birthday just when Australia celebrates it . . . anyway, we had the day off so whatever :)

We went on one of our favorite adventures - to Putt Putt Golf. I have talked about getting the car on my own before but wanted to give you a visual. For those who don't know, we don't own a car but are members of the car sharing network, GoGet. There is a car parked right outside the gate of our complex but since we cannot keep anything in it I have to bring both kids, both car seats, and whatever we need for the day and load it up each time - at least once a week!


Here are a few photos from our adventure:

Don instructing Koa while playing himself with Tas on his front - a great moment captured of life with 2 kids :)

All 3 of us got a hole in one before this shot!

We had to wait for the family in front of us to finish so Koa took the camera and took a picture of Don

and me.

Then I got one of him.

After the first 18 holes I had to take Tasi to the car to change, feed, and chat while the boys played a second round.

Thanks for the day off and happy birthday your Majesty!

The Gruffalo

We met the Gruffalo today! I have been hearing a lot about this character lately as the play will be coming to Sydney soon, so I bought the book over the weekend.

It is a cute story of a very clever mouse. I found Koa 'reading' it this morning, which was very sweet to hear and to see how much he remembered!

Today we went to the Broadway Shopping Centre playgroup where we met the Gruffalo.


There was a woman kind of hostessing who made Koa a sword. He was giddy with delight and of course showed off his sword fighting skills and attacked the Gruffalo - then later protected him from mice!

New Photos

What is it about Mommy and Daddy's bed that makes it so wonderful?

Girl's day out - Tasi joined me and Shannon for shopping and pedicures!

Koa holding Tasi.

Koa has been learning how to use my Nikon SLR and is getting quite good. He knows how to take pictures, load them onto the computer, and make photo books with iPhoto. Here are a few cute ones from his photo shoot as we were getting ready to go to dinner.

Out to Dinner

I have written a few times about my restaurant experiences in Australia and tonight deserved to be here too.

We went to a nearby restaurant we've been to a few times. Koa loves it because there are toys, the owner's son goes to daycare with him, and the food is good. We were having a lovely time playing and eating and the waitress came by.
"Is he allowed to have ice cream?" she asked.
"Yes."
"Which kind would he like?"
Koa, with an extremely excited look on his face, said shyly, "You tell her."

I did and then she walked away. Don and I were surprised at how lucky Koa had been the last week - on Thursday he was playing on one of those kiddie rides that you can put money in (only Mommy doesn't) and an older woman saw him and put a coin in his hand so he could ride properly, and then yesterday someone gave him their tickets they won in the mall arcade and some jelly beans at the candy store. What a lucky boy! Of course, being parents, we reminded him to say his thank yous when the waitress returned. Since we don't usually eat dessert he couldn't imagine what was taking his ice cream so long to get to the table, but when it came he did us proud and said a really big thank you and enjoyed his yummy treat.

Then the bill arrived . . . Have you guessed? Yep, the ice cream was on there.

No thank you tip included in my payment and we were reminded why we don't eat dessert as Makoa repeated everything twice and begged us to run run all the way home!

It's Raining . . .

it's pouring, the old man is definitely snoring.

There has been torrential rain today, in typical Sydney style. We left the house this morning - blue sky and no rain. By the time we reached the gate to our complex it was pouring. Luckily we had put on our raincoats just in case and were able to run under an awning to stay a little dry while the worst went by. Then we continued to Toxteth and Koa was so wet I had to change his pants when we got there!

My kids are such troopers - here we are back home after I picked him up, yup it was still pouring.

On the walk home I thought, "Wow, my kids are great, walking and sleeping in the rain without complaint." Then my mind flashed forward to them as teenagers wanting rides everywhere and I thought I will have to remind them of these days when they weren't afraid to walk or get a little wet . . . geez I am such a mom :)

Getting to know Tas

I spoke to the Grandmas this week and they both wanted to see and hear about the details of their new granddaughter. It got me thinking about the little person that Tasi has become over the past 7.5 weeks and I wanted to share with anyone who cares to read on. (I have also taken a few photos at home to post as my camera is just way to big to carry around with 2 kids. I have started researching small digital cameras so if you have one that you love please tell me about it.)

Back to the baby girl . . . Tasi loves to go out and has been an easy addition to Koa's and my usual schedule. (You know how Koa and I LOVE our routines!) Koa goes to daycare on Mondays so Tas has a mommy day - so far that has been when doctor appointments have been booked but soon they will be our fun time. Tuesdays are our floating day with no playdate scheduled - yesterday was raining so we stayed indoors, but last week we went to an under 5s activity at the Maritime Museum in Darling Harbour. Wednesdays we see Auntie Susie and Tex for a playdate - last week at their house, today a scavenger hunt at the Australian Museum. Thursdays Koa has sports class in Five Dock and then meet up with Auntie Jenny and Jamie so I take 2 kids, 2 carseats, a stroller and 2 bags to the GoGet car - I am sure I am quite a sight! Fridays Koa goes to daycare again, Saturdays is a Daddy day, and Sundays are usually the family day out - last weekend we went to a movie and the Powerhouse Museum. Man, I love living in a city with so many fun things to do!

Sorry, got off track again . . . Tasi is doing all the normal 2 month old things like cooing and trying to stand up and enjoying having a stronger neck so that she can look around. She is smiling, but is a bit reserved - Don has gotten a few, Koa the most of all, and I try to coax them out as much as possible. Tas loves the sound of and being in water - so in the mornings she sits in the bouncy chair in the bathroom while I shower and in the evenings she lounges in her bath. She loves to be bounced rather than rocked, won't take a dummy or suck her thumb, and is gassy - all of which make going to bed a bit challenging. But I can't complain too much as she has always been a rockstar night sleeper - usually waking up around 2 and 5 for a feed then back to sleep - but daytime naps aren't quite as regular or as long as I wish they were.

So that is a little about the baby girl and us. Today she was in her first 'real' outfit - this was the 3rd set of clothes I put her in by 9am - so I snapped a few pics.

And it was good that I did in the morning because the rest of the day the top of the overalls kept going in her mouth and I remembered why I usually dress my kids in one piece outfits!