Ethan and Benjamin grow up

Random quote

2012-02-21T12:54:00.001+11:00

Ben: See mum, that milk is from a cow, it has a cow on it, but that milk is from woolies, cause it has woolies [logo] on it.

To my international readers, "woolies" (aka Woolworths) is an large chain of grocery stores in Australia
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Feb 16th - new bikes

2012-02-19T12:42:00.001+11:00

Ben and Ethan got new bikes today!
We went to the bike park last week and I took their tricycles and their balance bikes. Their tricycles are way too small :(
And their balance bikes are way too heavy to work, we tried again without much luck. They tried their friend's 2wheeler bike with training wheels and loved it!
We shopped around all week, and finally settled on these 14" (35cm) fire rescue bikes. They love them! (luckily for us they were on special!!)

They haven't ridden two wheeler bikes much before. They had a little turn of their friends bikes last week, and a few trials at the shops. This was their first go on their own bikes.

YouTube Video

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Feb 15th - playgroup

2012-02-16T20:05:00.001+11:00

Today was another multiple birth club playgroup.
We were delighted to see that the long awaited playground renovations were completed. The favourite new attraction? A water pump!

Pump the handle and the water comes out. HOURS of entertainment right there!

Some the playgroup twins

Team work to push a box!

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Feb 14 - New shoes

2012-02-15T18:49:00.001+11:00

Benjamin informed us the other day that his shoes (joggers/sneakers/runners - what ever you like to call them) were too small. He's hardly worn them this summer, so I'm not surprised that he's had a growth spurt and they are too small. We had a look, and sure enough his little toes were all the way at the end. We went out the next day to buy new shoes for both boys. Experience tells us this is the easiest way to do things! And Ethan's were equally as old and getting small soon.
Ben wanted green shoes, Ethan ofcourse wanted blue!

We found Ben some nice black ones with green trim and green soles. He is now a size 10

Ethan got some blue and black ones with motorbikes on them, similar to his old ones. He is size 11. They have both gone up one size.

Coffee at the shops..

Messy boys !!

Playing at the park after being cooped up in the pram at the shops. It's necessary for little boys to run off that energy...

Testing out their new shoes!

YouTube Video

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Feb 13th - swimming update

2012-02-15T18:09:00.001+11:00

We are still going to swimming lessons twice a week. We are making good progress.
Here's a race from today's lesson.
Ethan is in a blue shirt with red sleeves (the instructor picks him up to save the boy that got stuck underwater). Ben is in a white shirt with blue sleeves. The both end up to the right at the end.

YouTube Video

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Feb 12th - resourceful

2012-02-15T17:58:00.001+11:00

How to get your balloon back..

YouTube Video

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Feb 11th - Jay's Place

2012-02-11T13:21:00.001+11:00

This morning we went to a Jay's Place concert.
For those that don't know, Jay Laga'aia is a children's entertainer. We know him from play school and his DVD's. Ben and Ethan were very excited to learn that they were coming to his concert this morning.
This you tube clip is the sort of songs Jay does
Waiting to go in, with our tickets

Inside. Waiting excitedly

Waiting after the show to meet Jay

Ben and Ethan with Jay Laga'aia

Signed CD

And ticket.

It was a great show! Thanks Jay!
And thanks for those who've shown concern about Tracie's ankles. She is hobbling a bit better today, but still sore.

Feb 10th - down the stairs

2012-02-10T18:16:00.001+11:00

Last night, just as we were about to get into bed, Tracie decided she needed her earphones from her bag. She went downstairs in the dark and fell down the bottom 2 steps. She sprained both of her ankles :(
She went to the (useless) doctor today who said, you're walking on them, so it's not broken. Need a sick leave certificate??
The doctor didn't even touch her ankles!
Anyway, she is taking it easy and resting as much as she can.

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Feb 9th – Feeding the ducks at the park

2012-02-09T22:44:00.001+11:00

It hasn’t rained for 2 days!!! Woooohoooo.

We went to the park, and I’ve never seen the ducks so hungry!

Ethan

Ben

Feb 8th – Mini Masterchef

2012-02-09T22:39:00.001+11:00

Ben still loves helping to cook dinner. I am beginning to think that he’s just cleverer that I first thought. You see, the chef gets to taste test along the way, and hungry boys love to taste test. Hahaha

Spaghetti and meatballs – Yummmm!

Feb 7th - Coffee

2012-02-09T22:35:00.001+11:00

I LOVE my morning coffee!

Enough said….

Feb 6th - Lizards

2012-02-09T22:31:00.001+11:00

We still get a lot of lizards in our back yard. The boys love looking at them

Feb 5th – Nintendo Wii

2012-02-09T22:25:00.001+11:00

We have owned a Nintendo Wii for years. We bought it when they first came out. We haven’t played it for AGES! It’s been sitting in our DVD cabinet gathering dust. We got it out, and after some minor repairs (removing 10cents from the disc drive) we were lucky enough to discover it still works! The boys were instantly attached. They played Mario Carts and had a great time

They enjoyed it so much the first day, they asked for it constantly the next day. Unfortunately they are not old enough to be able to play it properly. They got SUPER frustrated with it, had a massive meltdown and the Wii has been put in the cupboard until they are older!

Feb 4th – Grandma visits

2012-02-09T22:09:00.001+11:00

I missed Feb 3rd, oops!

Grandma came up, and as usual, bought some presents for the boys! It was only about 22C (68F) and cloudy. but the boys braved the cold pool to play with their new toys.

They are little battery powered penguins that swim through the water. A big hit!

Ben, jumping off the front porch.

Ethan’s turn

Ben again.

Feb 2nd - bath time

2012-02-04T10:45:00.001+11:00

Tonight we had an extra long bubble bath.

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Feb 1st – Ethan in a truck

2012-02-01T20:28:00.001+11:00

Jan 30th and 31st – New iPhone 4S

2012-02-01T20:27:00.001+11:00

Tracie and I got new iPhones. We got the iPhone 4S. We are both happy with it. It has an 8MP camera. Here are a few of my 4S photos. These pictures, like all the photos I upload have been shrunk for uploading.

Jan 30th

Jan 31st – Two tired boys. Laying on the mat, playing with our old iPhones!

Jan 29th – soccer super stars

2012-02-01T20:21:00.001+11:00

Jan 28th – random pics

2012-02-01T20:10:00.001+11:00

Jan 27th - Dora

2012-02-01T19:52:00.001+11:00

We found a Dora doll up in the cupboard. It’s a new favourite.

Ben and Ethan have been tired lately. It’s hard to get them to nap, go to bed before 7pm or wake up later than 6am.

Life’s busy when you’re 3!

Jan 27th - Bye bye brother

2012-01-28T00:37:00.001+11:00

Today Ben went to pre-school while Ethan had to stay at home with a swollen red and itchy eye. We thought it might be conjunctivitis.
Ethan cried when Ben got in the car, so Ben had to get out so Ethan could say goodbye again.

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Jan 26th – Australia Day

2012-01-26T22:55:00.001+11:00

Today is Australia Day (similar to 4th July to my USA friends). We spent the day with Aunty Shell, Uncle Michael and Nanna. It was lovely that we all had the day off. Very unusual for us!

It rained in the morning and we hung out at home. We had a nice lunch and had fun at our home.

Later in the afternoon it cleared up enough for us to head to the beach. We took the boys for their first walk out on the rocky headland.

We climbed up on this massive rock, it’s about the height of the roof of a house.

View of the beach from the rock we were sitting on (above).

Rock platform of the headland that we walked out on.

Crab in the seaweed

Ethan and Aunty Shell looking in one of the many rock pools.

Ben takes a look

Uncle Michael takes a look with Benny

Underwater photos inside the rockpool

Boys and Nanna now in the rockpool. Checking out the sealife

After the beach we headed over the hill to the bay. We had an ice-cream and walked out on the wharf.

And looked at the crabs running on the mud at low tide.

We had a wonderful Australia Day.

It was an especially nice day for Nanna Shell and I. Nanna and her family used to own a house near this beach. When Shell and I were kids we would come here for weekends and school holidays. We swam at the beach, explored the rock pools, walked out on the rocky headlands and went over the hill to the bay for an ice-cream. All the things we did today with our boys are a reminder of what we used to do when we were kids. It was great fun!

Jan 25th – Coffee and Hyperactivity

2012-01-26T22:25:00.001+11:00

Ben and Ethan usually wake up around 6-7am. They come into our bed and play with our iPhones until we wake up around 7:30-8ish. Today they woke early and fought over my phone because Tracie was at work and there was only one iPhone. I got kicked in the back half a dozen times before I gave in and got up earlier than I would prefer! When I get up they usually run down to the kitchen ahead of me. As I walked down the stairs and was daydreaming about my morning coffee and I heard a familiar sound of my coffee grinder. It took me a second to realise that hearing my grinder must mean my boys were on the bench playing with it!

I found them grinding and tamping like pro’s attempting to make me my morning coffee. They were so proud of their efforts, and with a little help from me, made a very nice coffee…

Unrelated to my morning coffee, Ben and Ethan were extremely hyperactive and full of energy today. Unfortunately for me it was raining all day today. In fact our week of summer that we experienced in early January has disappeared and it’s been raining and/or overcast for the last 1-2 weeks. The 7day forecast is rain rain rain rain rain rain rain!

I made the boys an obstacle course in the house in an attempt to expel some energy.

Ethan crawling under the table.

Jumping over the small couches

Over the blocks

Running

Ben going under the table

Ben jumping off the table

Ethan crawling under the table

Ethan’s jump

Ben running

And their favourite part, jumping into the balls on the 2 couches pushed together.

It worked! They did get out some energy!

Jan 24th – Planking?!?!?!

2012-01-26T22:00:00.001+11:00

Jan 23rd - The count down is on!

2012-01-26T21:58:00.001+11:00

January 23rd marks exactly 3 months until we leave for USA!

It's also exactly 13 weeks until we leave!!!

We have booked and paid for all flights (months ago)

We have paid for our travel insurance

We have ordered a travel money card and waiting for delivery...

Once we get the card we will start booking cars and hotels etc.

We are getting excited....

22nd Jan – Birthday Celebrations

2012-01-26T21:56:00.001+11:00

We went to Nanna’s house to celebrate Nanna’s birthday. Aunty Shell, Uncle Michael, Tracie and I made lunch….

With a little help from boys…

But mostly the boys played on Sal’s old skateboard that they found in Nanna’s garage.

Then they started flying on it! And Uncle Michael had a turn too

And Nanna’s puppies watched from the window.

Aunty Shell made a cake, and bought some lollies (candy) to decorate it. As planned, she let the boys decorate it in their own “abstract” way! It was a free-for-all decoration style that looked just perfect!

Ben was very proud of the cake he made.

Happy Birthday Nanna!

21st Jan - Tired

2012-01-26T21:38:00.001+11:00

The day after school is always a tired day for little boys….

Jan 20th – Back to School

2012-01-26T21:37:00.001+11:00

Today was Ben and Ethan’s first day back to pre-school for 2012. They are now in the Kangaroo Room (Ages 3-5). Last year they were in the Under 3’s room. They were excited and nervous for their first day in the big kids room. They had a great day, adjusted well and are keen to go back next week.

At the moment they are only going to school one day a week (Fridays). Tracie and I (Sal) work 7 days a week between us so that we can keep them home with us most of the time. We choose to send them one day a week for social skills, new experiences, time away and general pre-schooler development. We plan to increase them to 2-3 days a week before they start primary school.

Technically speaking, they will be old enough to attend primary school (Kindergarten) in Feb 2013. As their birthday is in May, we have the choice to send them when they are 4.75yrs (2013) or 5.75 (2014). At this point, we plan to send them in 2014. Next year feels too soon. They are not ready yet…..

As we work 7 days a week between us, I am usually at work when the boys finish school and Tracie usually walks home with them. This week I had the day off, and they enjoyed walking home with me, telling me about all the sights along the way.

Most of the following photos were taken by the boys….

Ok, I took this one. The boys are eating their usual after school snack of yoghurt. They call it “school yoghurt” because they usually only get this type of yoghurt in a pouch after school.

“The burnt house” – this house burnt down last year and the boys were fascinated to watch it slowly get rebuilt week after week. It’s finished now, but still appears unoccupied. Ethan often asks us “Why do we still call it the burnt house when it isn’t burnt anymore?” …….. pretty fair questions if you ask me, but it seems to be a habit now!

It was fun walking home with my big school boys.

18th & 19th Jan

2012-01-26T21:18:00.001+11:00

18th Jan – New back packs for pre-school.

School starts back on Friday 20th Jan

19th Jan – Ethan in his shop.

Jan 17th – Snack boxes

2012-01-18T22:27:00.001+11:00

The boys like to have “snack boxes” when we are out. We colour code them like a lot of things they own. Blue for Ethan, green for Ben. I fill them with different little snacks on different days, depending on what’s in the cupboard…

This particular snack box was taken to the park after swimming lessons.

Watermelon, grapes, rockmelon(cantaloupe) and cheese sandwiches.

And then later in the day, some more naked water play!

Jan 16th - Robots

2012-01-18T21:54:00.001+11:00

Ben and Ethan love pretending to be robots…

Jan 15th – Back in the Pool

2012-01-18T21:44:00.001+11:00

After our paddle pool caused our courtyard to flood (someone put it over the drain!!) we packed it away for a while. The weather was pretty miserable, so we didn’t miss it much.

As the weather has improved, we have found another place to put our pool and the boys have started to play in it again…… naked of course!

In the photos below, Ethan is dancing and being silly in the pool. He’s a funny boy…

And of course….. Ben is eating….. Ben is always eating at the moment!

Jan 14th – A basket case…

2012-01-18T21:19:00.001+11:00

We got given this basket from a neighbour. We plan to use it to store firewood in the house….

Apparently boys have other ideas for it’s uses…..

Flowers

2012-01-18T21:17:00.001+11:00

Tracie got this beautiful bunch of flowers from her Mother for her birthday..

2 days later…..

Aren’t they gorgeous!

Jan 13th – Happy Birthday Mumma

2012-01-18T21:11:00.001+11:00

12th Jan – Table cubby house.

2012-01-18T21:03:00.001+11:00

I’ve been wanting to make a table cubby house for the boys for a while now. Basically it’s the same concept as your basic sheet thrown over a table to make a cubby house….. but sewn, and slightly more fancy.

Sal’s Mum (Nanna) is a great sewer, and agreed to help out :)

We made this cubby house. It’s not quite finished. It still needs windows and a few finishing touches….

Ben and Ethan are very interested in Fireman Sam at the moment. We initially wanted to make this cubby house resemble a fire station. Apparently material with fire trucks on is is quite hard to find!….. The above design is what we came up with. The red and white striped bit is the door. It’s supposed to resemble a roller door of the fire station.

We initially planned to decorate it more with fire trucks, ladders, hoses and stuff, but in the first few days after we made it, the boys used their imagination and it became a circus tent, pirate ship and mechanic’s work shop. We have now decided less is more….. we will add some windows, but this way, it can be whatever their games and their ever blooming imagination need it to be.

11th Jan – Dancing boys

2012-01-18T20:29:00.001+11:00

Silly monkeys!

Roomba

2012-01-10T22:43:00.001+11:00

Roomba is our automatic vacuum cleaner.

The boys treat her like a person. They talk to her, and love helping us with her. A couple of times a week we pick up all the things on the floor, even their big toys like bikes, cozy truck, shop, chairs on tables and get ready to put Roomba on. They are good at helping us clean up for Roomba. They help us clean the brushes and push the ‘clean’ button to get her started.

We usually put her on right before we go out, then come home to a clean house. She is pretty good. Our open plan house is technically too big for Roomba to clean, and she does miss a few spots, but for the most part, we love having a Roomba..

This morning, as we were getting ready to put Roomba on, Ethan went up to Tracie (who was actually in the shower) and asked:

Ethan: What’s Roomba’s middle name?

Tracie: I don’t know darling

Ethan: Maybe Dora (the explorer) would know

(Ethan runs away and can be heard talking to Dora on his toy Dora phone, then comes back)

Ethan: Dora says Roomba’s middle name is Sal

Tracie: What?

Ethan: Sal, like Mummy.

Funny Boy!

10th Jan - Nightlight

2012-01-10T22:12:00.001+11:00

Occasionally, Ethan wakes in the night and comes to tell us that it is too dark in his room. Both boys sleep with rechargeable torches (flashlights), but sometimes they turn them off, and it is quite dark in their room.

Last night Ethan woke around midnight. We had to take him back to bed 6 times before he finally fell back asleep.

Today we went out to buy a night light!!!!

The boys initially wanted to buy different lights, but with some persuasion, and a few tears, we bought the fire truck below.

In the dark.

We are hoping they sleep better now :)

____________________

Cheeky boys, after a shower, and about to get ready for bed.

9th Jan – Bubbles and Swings

2012-01-10T21:42:00.001+11:00

Tracie fixed the boys’ bubble machine that they haven’t been able to play with in months. It was like a brand new toy, and they laughed and ran around the yard in delight, catching bubbles and having fun.

Then of course they played on the swings.

The boys had great fun. The incorporated their Fireman Sam games into their play. The play quite well together these days. The still fight, mostly over possession of objects, but on the whole, they are great friends and enjoy playing together.

8th Jan - Boys room redecorating

2012-01-08T20:16:00.001+11:00

Today we were out shopping and we came across these Robot room stickers and decided it was time to redo the boys room. The boys have been interested in Robots for about a year. The have talked about the and played games where they are robots, They even asked Santa for a robot. Ethan would love a real robot that walks and talks and he can tell them what to do (boss around). When we found the stickers we thought it was time for a change.We also moved the beds back to one on each side of the room so they could have a bedside table now the are getting older. They love having a draw of their own to put their own stuff in.

Here is Ethan’s bed with the new sticker’s above. He decided to keep his bed on this wall and move Ben’s bed.

Ethan trying out his new bed position. (Moved into the centre of the wall)

Here Ethan is explaining to Ben about the draw because we had already put some of his things in the draw near his bed.

It is a difficult decision for 3 1/2 year old boys to decide what goes in the draw.

Ben decided his bear could sit onto and read a book. His torch, blankie, and Charley bear went into the draw. Snow bear and more books went down the bottom. After trying unsuccessfully to fit his pillow in the draw he decided that was enough.

Ethan and his table with his bear and books on top.

Their bedroom now looks like this from the door. We will see how this new arrangement goes. Ben is now close to the door and the fan/light switch. They are getting more grown up every day and time is passing us by very quickly. My babies are growing up.

Tracie

7th Jan – Warm weather and work around the house

2012-01-08T19:40:00.001+11:00

Today was another beautiful day and we thought we would take the opportunity to mow the lawn and do some garden work. All the wet weather and the holiday season have lead to an overgrown house. Now as the boys get older we have tried to have one of us mow the lawn and the other do the edges at the same time to speed up the whole process. As we do this the boys play inside as they don’t like the noise outside. As we were outside Ethan decided he would dress up and he’s ready to help. Almost got all the snaps right. At least the noise won’t hear the lawn mower.

While we were on a role we decided to do some long overdue weeding in our back yard. This seems to be a never ending battle with the weeds. Sal decided to get up on the roof and pull some weed from the tree in the neighbours yard that hangs into our place. As she pulled down the weed down came something unexpected.

A snake skin. Not the first we have found. We have also found one in our yard in the past. The only snake we have seen so far though is the one that occasionally sun bakes on our fence. I managed to fool myself into thinking that the back yard is safe. Not necessarily true better keep an eye out.

Pretty big thing isn’t it. Ben was happy to show off the size of the skin that the snake no longer needs.

Tracie

Tracie blogging

2012-01-08T19:39:00.001+11:00

Just to let everyone know. Sal is one that has always been in charge of the blogging. She was the one who started and maintained it since the boys were born but now that is changing. Well sort of. I (Tracie) am entering the blogging world. Sal has been ‘encouraging’ (rather strongly) me to post as she works mostly evenings and has been having trouble maintaining the blog. Hopefully we will both post at different times and keep up stories of our wonderful family. So here I go.

6th Jan – sleeping boys

2012-01-06T19:26:00.001+11:00

I forgot to take any pictures today……. in my defence, I worked all day…..

But I didn’t fail….

Good night little boys..

(ps, still in toddler beds because they love them, and they fit so well in their small room.)

Jan 5th - Swimming

2012-01-05T21:38:00.001+11:00

If a picture if worth a thousand words, what’s a video worth?

The following video is today’s swimming lessons. It was the first one back after the Christmas break.

4th Jan – Nannas house

2012-01-04T22:15:00.001+11:00

It was forecast to be in the mid 30’s today and manage to reach 38C (100F). Tracie and I both had the day off (a rare event as we usually work 7 days a week between the two of us). We decided to head to Nanna’s house as she is not working today either. We had a fantastic day hanging out, and swimming in her pool.

Ben in the ring. He enjoyed it, and swam all over the pool by himself in the ring. Last summer both boys were scared of the water and going underwater and hated that very same ring. We have come a long way :)

Ethan loved the ring today too :) It makes me so happy that they are comfortable in the water this year.

Today we enjoyed playing a game with the crocodile. Ethan rides it up to an “unsuspecting” Mummy to try and get her…

Mummy gets surprised…

and attacks

and knocks him off

And then Ethan sneaks up on that poor “unsuspecting” Mummy again…

Attack again!

Ben joins the game…

So Mummy knocks them both off!

Smiley Ben thinks it’s a great game.

Poor Mummy is getting attacked by a crocodile again!

Knock him off again…

Attack Mummy again

Knock him off again (get the idea…… boys love to play their games again and again!!!)

Ethan’s turn to get that Mummy

Push him away too!!

The games in the pool were great fun. It’s so nice now that the boys are that little bit older that we can enjoy times like this.

3rd Jan – Fireman Sam

2012-01-04T21:27:00.001+11:00

Ben and Ethan love to play a game of Fireman Sam. For those who don’t know, it is a TV show, where Fireman Sam is the hero and saves people in trouble…..

In this episode (game) Ben is the poor boy in trouble. He has fallen down and calls for Fireman Sam to help him..

Fireman Sam races to his aide.

Fireman Sam is a hero, he saved the poor boy in trouble.Ben and Ethan love to play those sorts of re-enactment games. The also like to dress up in their costumes and play make believe games. Their imagination is starting to really bloom now. It is lovely to watch them play together now.

We have also rediscovered the sandpit. We haven’t used it in a while as the weather has been so rainy for about 6 weeks. We opened it and it’s a favourite again. The shade cloth that we erected a while back is fantastic. It was a very hot day, but under the shade in the sandpit was one of the coolest places around :)

Currently their favourite sandpit games are making their mummies build sandcastles, then stomping them down and digging holes and jumping in them. They dug a big hole, then stood near it, pretended the sand was really hot, danced on the spot saying “hot hot hot” then jumped in the hole….. repeat, repeat and repeat again.

They are at that age when the same repetitive game again and again is still funny on the 20th time!

Jan 2nd 2010 - pictures

2012-01-03T22:22:00.001+11:00

More photos. It’s been warmer! Yay!!!

We even managed to play outside with the water. The boys had a great time. The LOVE water play. They enjoy being the one who gets to hold the hose. The like watering the plants, and each other! They were driving their trucks in the plastic pool, and pretending they were creepy crawlies (pool cleaners). They also enjoy water fights with those syringe style water pistols that they got for Christmas. They don’t like it when the water is too cold (straight out of the tank is too cold) but enjoy it when it’s been sitting in the paddle pool for a day in the sun. It becomes warm like a bath, and it is nice :)

I like this one. It was an accident, as the camera’s auto focus chose the plant instead of Ethan….. but I like it! It’s great that summer has finally come back!

December 2011 was the coldest December years. Someone told me 50 years, then I heard 70years. I am not sure of the exact years, but it was defiantly the coldest start to “summer” i can ever remember. We are hoping January has more sun to offer.

New Years Day

2012-01-03T21:27:00.001+11:00

Well, my new years resolution of a photo a day is going well, I have taken well over 100 photos in the last few days….. now I have the HOURS of work to go through all the photos, and find the decent photos, cropping, editing and blogging them.. I don’t think I fully thought through this resolution!

So here is Jan1st. There are too many photos I know….. maybe I will get better at culling them as days go by.

Tracie reads to the boys

Cheeky Benny

Ethan

Sal plays play-doh with the boys.

We made alphabet letters

Later in the day, (while watching TV) I asked the boys to show me faces. Happy, Sad, Silly, Angry, Mad etc. This is what they showed me…

Chef Benny still loves helping with dinner.

New Years Eve

2012-01-03T21:06:00.001+11:00

We spent new years eve (day) with Aunty Shell. She came over late morning and we enjoyed the day together. We took the boys swimming, then cooked dinner. For those that don’t know, Shell is a chef, so cooking dinner with her (she cooks, we watch) is a learning experience for me. Shell teaches me how to make food taste better with seasoning and herbs and different cooking techniques to develop more flavour. She cooked us a bacon and mushroom risotto, it was yummy, and we enjoyed “helping her” :)

Risotto was yummy….. thanks Aunty Shell!

Shell stayed until about 9:30pm. Tracie and I stayed awake till about 11:30, then went to bed. I saw the clock say 12:00, and fell asleep. My kind of new years! hahaha

New years resolutions

2012-01-01T12:35:00.001+11:00

My new years resolution is to savor more of the special pre-schooler moments. I am shocked to realize they will turn 4 this year (only 4 short months away) and the beautiful age of 3 is passing me by so quickly :(

Some of my friends in the past have chosen a 'word of the year' to provide inspiration for their year. I have never chosen a word, but this year, my word is 'moments'.

I want to stop, pause and enjoy the special moments that this age has to offer.
As many of my mother friends will know, this age is also one of bickering, fighting, trials and trouble. I want to try and relax, and focus on the positives. It's an age of learning, discovery and fun. It's a beautiful age.

I also want to try and take more photos, project 365 (basically taking a photo every day of the year) sounds like a tough ask. Can it really be done?

2012 is going to be a great year.
We are all looking forward to our big American trip. The count down is defiantly on!
3months, 3weeks and 1 day to go!!!

Happy 2012 everybody :)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

New swing set from Nanna

2011-12-28T22:13:00.001+11:00

Ben and Ethan got a swing set from Nanna for Christmas. As soon as we got home from Nanna’s house, they helped us set it up in the back yard.

Well, they helped for 5mins, then went off to play!

Almost finished. . . . . .

Wooohooo – new swing set!

Ben and Ethan LOVE their new swing set. Thank you Nanna!!!!

Christmas with Nanna

2011-12-28T21:50:00.001+11:00

On Boxing Day (the day after Christmas for my USA friends) we went to Sal’s Mum’s house (Nanna’s house) to celebrate Christmas and stay for 2 nights. We had a wonderful time :)

Soon after we arrived, the boys wanted to exchange presents….. little boys find presents very exciting, and don’t like waiting too long!

Aunty Shell and Ethan

Nanna, Ethan, Ben and Aunty Shell

Nanna, and the bag we made for her.

Tracie getting her present

Ethan

Nanna and Ben
Ethan with his helicopter

Helping Nanna open her other presents

The photo frame we gave Nanna

A spontaneous game of wrapping up the boys in used wrapping paper…

and then unwrapping and tickling!

Time for Ben and Ethan’s present. Nanna wrote them a book. It starts “Where is Ben and Ethan’s present?”

The first clue asks “Is it in the pool?”…… At this point, we switched to video for the rest of the treasure hunt.

Thank you Nanna for a fantastic treasure hunt and great swing set. Ben and Ethan LOVED it!

According to the news, it’s been the coldest start to summer in over 70 years. We had a few warm days back in October/November, but most of December has been about 20-23C (67-73F) and overcast and raining most days. It managed to creep up to 28C (82F) when we were at Nanna’s house, so we jumped in the cold pool for a quick swim.

Relaxing after a swim with Uncle Michael, Aunty Shell and Ethan….. who is using Shell’s phone to take a picture of them, while Ben is using our camera to take this picture!

We had a great time, relaxing with family at Nanna’s house. We did so much more, but took the time to enjoy it, and didn’t take any other photos.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-26T11:55:00.000+11:00

It’s been a wonderful Christmas.

Going to bed on Christmas eve, Ben informed us that he would wake up for a drink in the night, and check to see if Santa had been! We tried to discourage this idea, but he was determined!

He did wake for a drink just as we were “busy” getting things ready before bed! Close call!

We placed a clothes horse (indoor clothes line) at the top of the stairs, in case he woke again in the night. It would have prevented him from going downstairs, or at least made a lot of noise if he tried.

Luckily both boys slept until 6:45am! We were awake before the boys! Ethan was awake first, and when he checked to see if Santa had been, the look of delight on his face as he saw the pile of presents was priceless! He ran to wake Ben….. and the fun began :)

Santa’s presents by the fire place

All the presents to/from Mummy, Mumma, Grandma, Ben and Ethan!

The boys started with the presents they bought for each other. We took them shopping separately and helped them choose a present to buy for their brother. It was the first time we have done it, and they loved it.

First, Ethan gave Ben his present (and helped him open it)

It is a foam rocket that you stomp on a pump and air power launches it in the air

And then Ben gave Ethan his present

and helped him unwrap it!

A Dora the Explorer book with “iphone”

“Thank you” cuddles :)

Santa’s presents!

Both boys got their robots.

And a few books too

Boys help Grandma open her present too

A shopping bag that the boys made for Grandma (fabric paint, the same as we made the teacher bags)

Boys open another present…. (excitement is pretty high at this point)

Ta-Da….. a new shop! (Thanks Grandma!)

Benny helps Mummy open her present (from Ben)

And some help for Mumma too

Mummy opens her present from Grandma

Ohhhhh, American money for our trip next year…. Thank you!!!

Ben opens his microphone

Ethan gets his present ready

A toy petrol (gas) pump

Mumma again…

Ben gives Grandma another present

A photo frame for Grrandma (we hope she can fit it in her house!)

Ben trying out his new microphone

It’s time to open the big present!

Ethan filling his new truck with petrol (gas)

Ben with another present

And Ethan

Mummy with her new electric screwdriver

Benny was getting a little present mad. He kept wanting another

Ethan was a bit over the presents and wanted to play

The last big one (another from Grandma)

A toy kitchen

Mumma assembling the kitchen

Benny with his new play-doh toy

Chaotic Christmas mess!!!

Wow, what a morning of presents and paper and chaos! I dont think I’ve ever seen a Christmas with so many presents! I am quite sure there were far too many presents!!

Here they are….

Play-doh toys

Kites

Binoculars

Sand toys and balls

Petrol (gas) pump and microphone

Shop

Kitchen

Alphie robots, books, diving rings and trains

More play-doh toys

All the rubbish!!!

Christmas Lunch

Flying kites at the park after lunch (boys first time flying a kite)

Trains we saw. We waved at the freight train and the driver blew the horn a few times. The boys loved it!

And of course Christmas in Australia wouldn’t be complete without some water play!

Wow, what a Christmas!!!

We are all exhausted, but had a wonderful day.

Merry Christmas to all my friends and family :)

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas

2011-12-24T21:54:00.001+11:00

Ok, I have to start by saying SORRY! for my blogging absence. I know it’s been almost a month, and that’s terrible. In my defence. December is an exhausting month, and I’ve been so tired in the evening I cant be bothered blogging!

So here’s the month…. Christmas style!

Setting up the Christmas Tree with Nanna

Ben, getting out the train

Nanna helps Ethan spread out the branches

So exciting!

Happy Benny

Putting on the star!

Ben and Ethan’s favourite part, the Christmas Train!

The train was most defiantly the high light of the festivities. Unfortunately this was the best picture we got of the tree. More to come on Christmas day I’m sure!

Fire place.

Our toy storage unit, and the decorations on top. (Out of reach of little hands)

Of course a photo with Santa!

We spend one Saturday in December at Nanna’s house for a Christmas party with Sal’s extended family. All the kids had a water fight, it was a first for the boys, and they LOVED it!

Tracie (Mumma)

We also spent one morning in December at the Multiple Birth Club Christmas party.

Every morning we wrote on our chalk board how many days there are until Santa comes

Benny wrote “10” all by him self!

And throughout the month, we used our home made advent calendar. It was a HUGE success. Ben was especially keen to check it every day and watch the parcels get less and less.

Also in December we made Christmas presents for the boys’ teachers. We bought plain calico bags from a local craft shop. We then decorated them with fabric paint. We made 5 of these for their teachers.

Teachers presents all wrapped up

We also gave the teachers hand made cards and rocky road.

Closer to Christmas we made a gingerbread train.

It was rather difficult and slightly disastrous!

This is how it turned out……. (it lasted 5 mins before it fell apart and melted!)

Christmas Eve, Aunty Shell and Uncle Michael came to celebrate Christmas with us.

The present giving/receiving was the highlight for the boys!

Ahhhh, Ben and Ethan’s favourite present…. A water squirting toy.

Benny LOVED it, and spent hours running round in the yard. Unfortunately at the start of the morning, it was overcast and raining…. though that didn’t bother the boys.. As the morning progressed, the sun came out, and by lunch time, it was sunny…… Due to the initial rainy/cloudy start to the day, today, poor Ben got his first ever sunburn :(

As I type, it’s 9pm on Christmas Eve…... The boys are very excited about Christmas tomorrow.

They both sat on Santa’s knee a few weeks ago and both asked Santa for a Robot. They have been good boys, so they should get a robot…. they were sure to ask Santa what type of cookies he likes. He told them chocolate chip.

Today we made chocolate chip cookies for Santa, and put them out for him with milk….. plus some carrot for the reindeer too!

It’s been a busy month, sorry again for the lack of blogging….. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Killcare Beach

2011-12-01T21:44:00.001+11:00

We took the boys to a local beach with a rock pool. They were very interested in looking in the water at the various sea creatures. Ben is trying to catch fish in his bucket.

Ethan, thinking about surfing. The water was a little cold, so he didn’t actually build up the courage to get his stomach wet!

Ben, checking out the sea life between the rocks

We found a sea anemone

And you can’t see it in this photo, but there are some worms on this rock.

Ben and Mummy (Sal)

Building a sand car (at the boys request)

Our cute wonky car. Sal made one side, and Tracie made the other…. so the wheels are different. We laughed when we realised it was a bit lopsided.

Ben and Ethan didn’t care!

Conference in the car.

Swimming with Aunty Shell, Uncle Michael and Nana

2011-11-30T21:57:00.001+11:00

We went to the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre a few weeks ago for a swim. The boys had a FANTASTIC time.

Ben

Ethan and Tracie

Ben

Ethan

Ben

Ben and Ethan on the water slide

Ethan and Sal

Sal, boys and Shell, playing with the wheel that turns the water on/off

Aunty Shell and Ben

Ethan, after just pulling the rope and wetting Sal. He thought that was a great game!

Boys wetting Aunty Shell.

Underwater Benny

Benny and Nana

Ethan and Aunty Shell

Ben and Tracie

Ethan and Aunty Shell

Nana, Ethan with Aunty Shell, and Benny with Uncle Michael

Aunty Shell and Ethan underwater

Ethan pulling that rope again.

Everyone waiting for the bucket of water to fall….

A fun morning was had by all.

Homemade Advent Calendar

2011-11-30T20:55:00.001+11:00

Today we made our own advent calendar. I was hoping that the boys would enjoy the craft activity, but their interest lasted about 5 mins!

So Tracie and Sal finished it…. We used toilet rolls, covered them in Christmas wrapping paper, and put presents inside. Odd days have a small chocolate. Even days have a miniature Christmas tree decoration that we will use to decorate a miniature tree for our table. We labelled them 1-25 and hung them on a board….. times two of course!!

The count down to Christmas is on!!

Snake

2011-11-30T20:19:00.001+11:00

We have seen a diamond python on our back fence about 5-6 times over the last 2 summers. He/She is usually spotted on the back fence in the morning sun.

We guess it’s about 2m (6ft) long!

Faces

2011-11-30T20:12:00.001+11:00

How many emotions and how many faces can a little boy have during one meal?

Photos of Ethan are posted in the order taken……(ps, we live with these messy faces every day!)

And cheeky Benny too….

Swimming Video

2011-11-15T00:19:00.001+11:00

Here is a short video Tracie put together showing off the boys swimming. They are 3.5yrs old here, and in Level2 swimming lessons.

Swimming Photos

2011-11-03T22:39:00.001+11:00

We bought our self another new camera. It was going to be a Christmas present, or bought in post Christmas sales, but a local shop had a sale last weekend that we couldn’t resist. We already own a beautiful digital SLR camera, which we LOVE, and it takes really nice photos, but it has it’s limitations……

We have bought this new camera as it is waterproof, shockproof, dust/sand proof and most importantly, essentially child proof. We bought primarily to take on our trip to America. We wanted a camera we can take to Disney World, and around other theme parks, and to the beach in Hawaii and not have to always worry about it getting wet, sandy or broken. It is a little, simple point and shoot camera, but it takes reasonable photos. It’s a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT10 in case you’re interested.

We took it to the local pool to test it out last weekend. It’s not bad for a point and shoot camera. (By the way, all the photos in the “Random Fun” post that I just uploaded were taken with this new camera). There is HEAPS of video too, but Tracie is editing it, and it’s still 6minutes long. Once she cuts it down a bit, I will upload it too.

Below are some pool photos. Ben in the green cap and goggles. Ethan has no cap and blue goggles…

I like this one, looks like he’s walking on water!

Taken by Ben at the top of the slide.

And some underwater photos…..

Ben and Ethan are doing really well at swimming these days. I’ll try and upload some video soon. We have been trying really hard to get them lots of practice with their swimming, so they will be able to have lots of fun this summer, and when we go to America next year. It is paying off, they LOVE swimming, and are improving every week.

Random Fun

2011-11-03T22:14:00.001+11:00

Some random pictures of our life, fun, games and silliness.

Ethan

Ben

Grandma and Ben

Mummy (Sal) and Ethan

Silly Faces – Ethan (Ben took this photo)

Grandma’s silly face. Ethan thinks it’s funny. (Ben took this photo)

Grandma and Ben pulling silly faces (Ethan took this photo)

Cuddles – Grandma and Ben (Ethan took this photo)

Ben

Ethan – ready for a snack

Our sandpit that we built and finished almost 18 months ago. Last weekend we FINALLY put up the much needed shade cloth. If you click on this link, you can see the story of us building the sandpit. You may also notice at the bottom, I wrote “Stay tuned – next project is a shade cloth to cover the sandpit. On a sunny day it’s VERY HOT in the sandpit”

Better late than never right!?!?!?

A photo showing the shade that the shade cloth provides at midday.

Ben and Grandma playing totem tennis.

Ben playing with the hose. Both boys love playing with the hose. It’s days like these I am so thankful for our two HUGE rainwater tanks. I don’t feel guilty about him wasting water when he can play with tank water.

See this small child’s legs poking out from underneath that Thomas couch?

He saw my iPhone on the couch. He loves playing with iPhones. After he saw it, you could see him lurking around it for a while, planning his moves……. He casually got his Thomas couch from the other side of the room and placed it on the couch. He then lurked for another minute or so, pretending to be innocent. Slowly and stealthy he wormed his way under the couch so I couldn’t see him, and started playing the iPhone. The whole time he was concocting his cunning plan, I was in the room, watching him while I pretended to be busy folding laundry. ‘’

His plan was clever, and he gets points for it! (Can you tell who it is?)

10am. The house was clean last night….. sorry you missed it!

We went to the shops and bought 2 small cheap fish tanks and nets. We got some tadpoles out of the pond in the back yard. We have 4 of them (2 in each tank). One of Ethan’s tadpoles has little legs already. We are keen to watch them turn into frogs.

Ben and Ethan on the slide at Playgroup. It was really quite this week, and the almost had the whole park to them self! A photo taken by a small child. I love the fact that he piled his fire trucks. I also love his toes at the bottom of the photo!

How well do you know the boys? Who’s toes are they?

Ethan the contortionist

2011-10-25T21:58:00.001+11:00

Can you see him? He worked hard to squash him self in my toilet cabinet. Excuse the mess, he did that to get himself in,

Singing Boys

2011-10-25T21:54:00.001+11:00

Ben was in a singing mood this morning, and I managed to capture some songs on the phone’s video. The sound isn’t that great on these, sorry….. so you might need to turn up your volume.

Wheels on the bus – at the end, the bus goes “all the way to Grandma’s house”.

We have a book called ‘Driving to grandma’s house’ and in this book they sing wheels on the bus, which is why Ben is singing it that way.

’

Ben’s version of the alphabet song. A little mixed up in the middle, as usual….. but very cute!

Incy wincy spider.

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Row row row your boat…… (with twinkle star actions!)

Ethan and Ben doing ring-a-ring-a-rosie

Ethan’s turn with incy spider. He’s a comedian, and changes some of the words to gibberish, and thinks it’s very funny!

And another “Melody” from Ethan, with random gibberish in true Ethan-the-comedian style!

Another taste of summer…

2011-10-25T21:11:00.001+11:00

We had some warm weather last week, and made the most of it outside and having fun. Unfortunately this week, it’s cold and rainy again. This spring is such a tease… warm for one week, cold and rainy the next :(

Summer fruit is out, and the boys LOVE it. They were thrilled when I served them up this fruit platter while they were playing in the water in the back yard.

We have also started to set up our slightly bigger pool This pool it about 6ft in diameter and probably about 2ft deep when full. In this picture it’s only about 10cm (3-4inches) deep, as we’ve only just started to fill it up. So far it’s only about 20cm deep, as local laws require it to be fenced with a pool fence once it’s 30cm (1ft) deep. We’ll get it fenced soon and then fill it completely.

Sorry this photo is so bad, it was taken with my iphone, through a glass window……To the left you can see Tracie and the boys under the shade of the umbrella eating yet another fruit plate.

Thanks to Shell and Michael for this umbrella last Christmas. We have used it about 10times already this spring. It goes where ever we are in the back yard, as we don't have much natural shade….. it’s BRILLIANT!

More yummy summer fruit.

Ben in the pool. He is wetting Sal’s leg with the hose.

So Sal got him back!!

Sorry about the photos. Maybe these poor quality photos are a good reason to upgrade to the new iPhone 4s!?!?!

I want that 8mp camera on that phone!! hahaha

Fun at the beach

2011-10-25T20:51:00.001+11:00

Summer is coming, and we are making the most of the occasionally extra warm spring days. We went to one of the local beaches last week, and had a great morning. For those that know the area, we went to Little Beach. For those who don’t know, it is a 600m (half mile) walk from the car park to the beach. It’s a nice walk and the boys enjoyed it. They did not know there would be a beach at the end of the walk, and enjoyed the surprise when the track opened out and they saw the sand and water. Little Beach has a fresh water creek running through the sand, with lots of river stones in the path of the water. It’s fun for the boys to play with the rocks, and we made pools and dams with the rocks.

Ben in the red shirt and hat. Ethan in blue, his hat kept blowing off as it was quite windy.

The 600m (half mile) walk uphill back to the car with two tired hungry boys wasn’t quite as enchanting as the walk down the the beach. Ethan cried for the first 5 mins, but with some clever distraction and education about the trees, bark, plants and animals we saw, the walk was over before we knew it.

In the last part of the walk as they were getting a little whingy again, we played a game of finding flowers and taking pictures with the iPhone. The following are Ben and Ethan’s photos of some wild flowers.

We are really enjoying this age, and the new adventures we can take now they are just that bit older :)

6 months to go. . . . .

2011-10-23T14:03:00.001+11:00

Today is exactly 6 months until we leave for our trip to USA.

We have booked the plane flights, but nothing else yet.

We plan to spend 7 nights with Tracie's brother (and family) in New Jersey.

Next we fly to orlando, and spend 9 nights in Florida. We will have our first day at Disney World on Ben and Ethan's 4th birthday. We will probably do 4-5 days of parks, and maybe a little road trip or day trips in between.

Next we fly to Texas and spend 5 nights with our friends.

Finally flying to Hawaii for 7 nights on the way home.

We are really looking forward to this trip. We have never taken the boys on a plane, or on such a long time away from home.

Tracie and I are desperate for some time off work, so we are counting down the months.

In the meantime, we are enjoying the warmer weather and planning the finer details of our trip.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Balance Bikes

2011-10-13T22:29:00.001+11:00

Those with a really good memory will remember that Ben and Ethan got balance bikes for their 3rd birthday. They weren’t tall enough to use them back in May, but they are tall enough now. We got the bikes out 2 weeks ago for another try, and they could reach the ground.

Balance bikes teach you to ride a 2wheeler bike by pushing with your feet on the ground. No pedals, no training wheels…. they teach you balance first, and add the pedals later. Interesting theory!

After one attempt, they could manage to hold the bike upright and walk slowly while sitting on the bike. Both boys had fun, and we will defiantly have some more practice over the summer

Bush Walk

2011-10-13T22:16:00.001+11:00

We went for our first bush walk with the boys recently. For my American friends, I know you don’t call it a bush walk, but I am struggling to remember the American words…… nature walk?? hike? …… something like that!! hahahaha Basically we went to a local nature reserve with heaps of trees and dirt and went for a walk!

Ethan wasn’t too sure about this new form of entertainment. He kept asking to go back to the car. We walked on a small circuit track and returned to the car after about 20 mins. As soon as we got to the car, he wanted to keep going! Funny boy. Ben loved every minute of it. They collected sticks, stones and general “treasurers” along the way. Unfortunately it’s been a bit wet to repeat the walk, but we look forward to doing it again :)

Ethan, Tracie and Ben

Ben

Ethan, with some trwasurers

Ben

Ethan

I liked this tree.

Checking out something in the dirt.

Ethan, pretending to be an explorer, and telling me which way to go.

Ethan and Ben. We are up the top of the mountain. Nice view up here.

Tracie and Ben

Randomly Handsome

2011-10-13T22:02:00.001+11:00

Ethan

Ben

Water fun in the warmer weather

2011-10-13T22:00:00.001+11:00

The weather is getting warmer, and there has been some beautiful spring days where the boys have managed to have some fun outside with water.

The following is some photos from a few different days over the last month.

Dancing boys

2011-10-12T15:56:00.001+11:00

YouTube Video

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Passports!

2011-09-15T11:36:00.001+10:00

We are busy planning our trip to America for April/May 2012.

First step is done, all have new passports!!!

Here they are….. de-identified of course! – I love a 3yr old mug-shot!

Swimming Lessons. 3years 4months old

2011-09-08T12:45:00.001+10:00

Ben and Ethan are going to swimming lessons on Mondays and Thursdays. They are really loving swimming lessons at the moment, and they are doing really well. Last Monday I took the good camera (I usually use my iphone) and took some photos and video with it.

Song to start….. “when all the cows were sleeping, and the sun had gone to bed….”

…. “up jumped the scarecrow and this is what he said……. i’m a dingle dangle scarecrow with a flippy floppy hat, i can splash my hands like this, and stomp my feet like that”….

Water on Ethan’s head.

Water on Ben’s head

Ben puts his face in to find the ring

Ethan’s face in to find the ring….

Not that they need encouragement to put their face under anymore. This is what they do while waiting for their turn

Kicking practice.

We are so proud of our clever little swimmers.

Just for a fun comparison, I have made two little videos of the boys swimming. The first is from a few months ago (Age 2y9m to 3y2m), and the second is from this week to see the improvement (3yr4m).