The Story Of Us 1: May 2009

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Lachie likes his Uncle Chrish

In fact he thinks he is is own personal climbing gym. Tonight Uncle Chrish was the lucky recipient of some Lachie kisses (slobber and all).
Lucky Chrish

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Getting ready to do rolly pollies

Eden has been working like a made man of late to get our yard sewn with grass seed while the weather is still on his side.
Over the last couple of weeks he has transformed our block (I think I will always call it 'the block') from this...

... and this...

...to this.

I know the before and afters don't convey the change but believe me there is change. First of all we poisoned the jungle of grass that at one stage was taller then Chloe. Then Eden decided to 'burn off' the dead grass by himself with the aid of one plastic watering can, one plastic bucket, and a hose missing the end connection (lucky we still have our house). He then hired a tipper truck and for two and a half days moved dirt from our Uncle Kim's and his friend Sam's. I'm not sure how many loads he did but it looked like land minds had gone off all over our yard with all the piles of dirt everywhere (once again I was not quick enough at getting a photo before Eden had moved onto the next stage). For the next stage outside help was needed so we got a bobcat driver in to move dirt around and shape and smooth our yards for a day and a half. When he had finished Eden and I could not wipe the smiles off our faces, our block had been transformed and within such a short period of time we were some much closer to having a lawn (something we are hanging out for especially with two children who seem to take after their father and love being outside more then in).

Next was the sowing stage. Around 15 kilos of seed and fertilizer to match was scattered by hand. Since then Eden has spent almost every afternoon outside lovingly removing surface rocks and ensuring that everything is just right. I think Eden is very quickly turning into one of those people that love their lawn- and we don't even have a lawn yet.

On Saturday we noticed 'baby grass' starting to sprout. Today you can see a green hue all over the block, a sign of things to come.

When we first started moving dirt to the block we told Chloe that we were making a nice grassy hill for her to do rolly pollies down. Come spring I can see alot of rolly pollies happening in these parts.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

He just wanted to be wrapped...

A little while ago I wrote a post about the trails that this little man and I were sharing in relation to his sleep. Soon after that post I went to visit family with the kids and welcomed with open arms the break form trying to work out his sleep. When I got home I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach whenever I thought about getting his sleep back on track (what do I mean back...it was never on track to start with). I even put it off for another week with the excuse that he was sick.
Finally I worked up the emotional muscle to start and it was the same as before; crying, standing up in the cot, not letting me pat him. I called my sister, Vienna, as a distraction. It was the one of best phone calls I have ever made (big call, I know). Vienna has two children, a girl and a boy like me but hers are ten months older so she has become one of my parenting gurus (for lack of a better word). I seek advice and pass stuff by her all the time and I am sure Eden is sick of me saying "Vienna says...," or "Vienna did..." Anyway she had sleep issues with her oldest and when my niece, Adalia, was 8 months old Vienna packed them both off to sleep school for a week. Adalia had never been wrapped but the nurses at sleep school 'suggested' that she wrap her. Vienna thought it helped with Adalia so she suggested this to me and even though I stopped wrapping Lachie months ago, I thought I would give it ago as he is about the same age as Adalia was when she started being wrapped and it is not like it could have made matters worse. So after an hour of crying I grabbed a cot sheet and wrapped him tightly, put him back in his cot and walked out the door holding my breath. Five cries later and he was asleep, I could not believe it. Next sleep and the same thing happened, I wrapped him, a few soft cries and he dozed off. It was like a miracle. Since then we have had one sleep through and one two hour nap. He still wakes up a few times through the night and most naps are around forty minutes to an hour but it is still so much better then it was. I feel like I have got a little bit of 'me' back all thanks to a cot sheet and him just wanting to be wrapped.
(Also thanks to every one who left encouraging comments when I first posted about our battle with Lachie's sleep xxx).

Monday, May 18, 2009

She has suddenly got a thing for pancakes

We have had them often the last couple of weeks. This morning she wanted them for breakfast ...again. We keep them simple; just lemon juice with caster sugar and making cereal (that's Chloe for maple syrup). She likes the three toppings together. I don't know if it because she likes the way it tastes or if she is just adhering to the popular philosophy amongst toddlers that more is better. Either way I don't mind as she eats them all and I feel lucky that today life is not so rushed and I am able to join with her in a lazy cooked breakfast on a Monday morning.

Perfect pancake recipe can be found here.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Still novel

After a blustery night we woke up on Saturday morning to snow on the mountains in the distance and decided to go on our first 'snow trip' for the year. I wonder how long it will take for the novelty of snow to wear off? As Uncle Chrish, who is down on holidays, now lives in the land of no snow, he decided to come and share in out excitement. All the way up the mountain Chloe was chatting away about going to see 'her' snow. She has been rabbiting on about going to the snow on and off for the last few weeks after getting a new scarf, beanie and mittens. Forty minutes later we were surrounded by white. The two boys (Eden and Chrish that is) could not contain their excitement and jumped out of the car and into a snowball fight while I was left stuck in the backseat with two children and a pile of jackets, scarves, gloves and beanies to tackle. As I pulled the last beanie down firmly on a little head the boys got back into the car and decided it was too blustery out in the open and so we headed back down the road until we spied a slightly more sheltered clearing.
The snow was great- it was fresh, deep and powdery and the next fifteen minutes were filled with snow angels, dodgy snowmen, snowball fights and an attempt at tobogganing in a never used cat litter tray (what can I say it was an impromptu trip).
We attempted to take some rushed remote assisted group photos but the winds started blowing and the snow started falling so we are all squinting and after two attempts I thought it was cruel to continue just to get a nice photo. That was until I got in the car and had a look at how bad the shots we got were. I would have made everyone get out and say cheese a few more times but one little miss was already stripped of her wet clothes getting cozy and warm and I didn't have the heart. So these are some of the happy snaps we have of our babies (Chloe and Lachie's) first trip to the snow.

Can you tell she is over having photos taken?

Thursday, May 14, 2009

I only turned my back for a minute....

...and this is what happened!

Chloe opened the back door and let herself and Lachlan out for some fresh air. Lachie could not resist having a little taste of the freshly moved dirt. When Chloe saw me taking the photos of him she thought she would get in on the action and decided to try some dirt herself. Her expression was priceless but unfortunately I was not quick enough with the camera.
And after a bubble bath.....much better.

The Story Of Us 1