11 months old

Yup, Cameron is 11 months old - where does the time go!! Easter was a blast with K cavorting and loving the Kerikeri atmosphere.... and the many many Easter chocolates! We were up before the sun to see what the Easter Bunny had brought us. With many many a groan and a wail for our aching backs - we were sleeping on very thin mattresses on the floor - we arose and shared his jubilation. The Christening went well too. Cameron was asleep until "someone" doused his wee head with cold water. He was distinctly unimpressed. He looked really sweet in his shirt and tie that his great grandmother had sent from England though. Sue made a christening cake - which looked lovely - and Chris prepared some risottos and a kumara, pumpkin and orange soup for lunch, while Sue created gluten free delicacies. The trip home was .... exciting. We stopped in Whangarei to say gidday to Colin and Ros and K managed to gain a healthy respect for animals.... along with a tiny graze on his cheek. We then took nearly SIX hours to get from Whangarei to Auckland. People had gotten out of vehicles and were walking next to the road, a man was swinging his leg out of his truck window... and no one was moving.... this was the 40 minutes in the Brynderyns in which we moved 150 metres. The boys were good, but all flesh has its limits! We struggled home tired and bedraggled but happy for our comfy bed (somewhat less comfy now that K illicitly leaps on it whenever he gets the chance!) and our pussycat. I have lined up a MASSIVE house viewing session in Pukekohe and Papakura. This should give us a feel for the areas and let us know what good/bad neighbourhoods are, which town we prefer etc etc. Realisitically we aren't going to be able to buy in the good area - not with our tiny budget - but would prefer not to live next to a P Lab or gang headquarters if possible.

The little creeper

That Cameron!!! No content with cutting 2 teeth in 3 weeks he has added a third tooth to the list. Cunningly he has done this with a streaming cold that involves hacking coughing and a terribly runny nose. Sleep training has COMPLETELY gone out the window too alas, and we will probably only get back to that after Easter/Christening.K now begs for Cameron to be put on the trampoline so they can bounce together. Cam loves being bounced around by his big brother and laughs his head off the whole time.

Kieran is enjoying kindy, and is REALLY looking forward to Easter when "the Easter Bunny brings the chocolate eggs".... so was over the moon when the kindy made easter egg baskets with 5 eggs in it.... he was very patient and waited till we got home to rip into them :)

Cats and trampolines... an unlikely love affair

Yet each morning Bandit ensures he is clinging, gargoyle like. to the edge of the trammpoline while he waits for the sun to dry it off. Once dry he scurries onto the mat where, exhausted by his efforts, he has a nice long nap.... this can go on all day - or until Kieran flings himself onto the trampoline.... and then we are treated to the sight of Bandit bouncing high in the air on the tramp with Kieran as he bounds frantically towards the exit flap....

Debt free and loving it

We have been working hard over the last few years to get rid of our debt - tricky on a single income. But we are now officially debt free. We have also changed banks to Kiwibank and have set up accounts that will ensure we have savings and that bills are paid promptly. This is very exciting. Also exciting is a range of jobs suddenly available to Chris... he has been offered a .5 research position which will help beef up the research side of his CV. Other offers are also being sorted out so things look really good - YAY!!!

We are now looking at paying for the last session at the dentist for Chris's root canal, then getting Bandit's molars removed, and then WOF'ing and selling Chris's truck. And then no more upcoming expenses - yay!!

Gala Glee

Today we visited a school gala.... big mistake, HUGE! We headed out there to meet up with Ruth who had some sleepsuits we wanted to buy, also some milk and the chance to have a catchup... we did not set eyes on Ruth while we were there, but we were treated to seeing Kieran go ape sh*t crazy. He ran around, scarfed down a bag of Lil Orbitz doughnuts and cavorted mightily....before seeing the GIGANTIC 18 foot tall bouncy castle. He was halfway up it before I caught up to him, and the operator demanded $4 from me. $4!!! And then, he got to the top, looked across the field from the immese height ....... and panicked. And what poor sod had to climb up there, in the drizzle, and talk him down.... yeah, muggins. And then I got to slide down with a gentle splashing motion, the rain lending impetis to my descent along the damp canvas.

Last night was Night 1 of sleep training, or as I like to call it - Sleeping without snackin's. C gets to have the sleepytime snack then off to bed. When he wakes he gets no snackings until midnight or later (this will eventually be removed), then has his snackin's and sleeps until morning. I set up a mattress in the spare room....Ie the one that used to be Kieran's and has a truckload of junk and boxes in it. The mattress was set up so Chris and Kieran could sleep without being woken through the night.... and there were a few squeaks.... I tidied it today and there are a mere 2 boxes left for Chris to go through. So I lay in there with C and saw K sprint past the door at 6:30am towards the bedroom, some moments later he paced back past looking very thoughtful, gasped, peered through the doorway and said " What are you DOING, in THIS bedroom?!" and came and had a cuddle with C and me. It was a lovely way to start the day, although Bandit huffily departed to warm his father's backside..... can't think why.

Happy Birthday Chris!!

Yup, Father Time has nothing on this man. Chris had his birthday today and I toiled away yesterday baking and cleaning and cooking. As a result Chris has 2 chocolate cakes, with homemade caramel icing, and a carrot cake to choose from to take to work. I also made sure the kitchen was clean and tidy so he could make his famed black forest cheesecake.... mmmm, but oh so rich!! Dinner was a sumptuous meal of sausages and sundry veges... venison and cranberry and the more traditional lamb and mint. Both very nice. The 3 of us presented Chris with a Tablet for his birthday as he had been wanting one since before Xmas.... and lo, the delight on his face when he open the Space themed wrapping paper was a treat to see.... Kieran burst into an impromptu rendition of Happy Birthday and graced his father with a kiss and a cuddle... Cameron uttered a cheery "Goo!"

Happy Birthday Chris - we love you!!

Mousepants

Aaah the joys of cloth nappies mean that at some stage or another I will sniff a child's backside and go "Phew!! Mousepants!!" 'Cos their nappies smell musty and fusty like mice :) Is that TMI? Anyway, K has not discovered the joy of using the toilet and I am inclined to let him be for a few months, before we enjoy Spring potty training - Oh, I can hardly wait. Cameron is not shy about using nappies and fills them with a vigour that has to be seen/smelt to be believed. To celebrate these occasions he ululates at some length - coining the catch phrase "poo cry" at our house. Sadly, C contracted wicked nappy rash while cutting the second tooth and it is still not 100% gone...no cloth nappies for him until his backside is pristine again. In other news I have been working on the Plunket newsletter, SMNZI stuff, TCANZ minutes and babywrangling. I must sit down and put some thought in my parenting of K, and how to react to his sheer bloody mindedness at times.... he's a stubborn wee thing, and I don't like being "shouty mummy". He is also very loving, wilful and a little boy who REALLY REALLY LOVES Space. You want his devotion? Get him a book or model about space, planets etc. He loves chatting about spiral nebulas, can name all the planets, and LOVES the stardome. We also put the Discovery channel clip "I love the .." on every morning, so he can watch the astronauts sing. Minimum of 10 iterations :) He loves those astronauts haha. He is really enjoying his 3 kindy mornings - I asked them to leave it at just the three mornings so we can do playcentre or visit friends the other 2 mornings. This may change, but for the moment it works for us. Rolling around on our floor at the moment are 3 paper mache "planets". They need painting up - but I am waiting for a rainy day before the excitement commences. The trampoline remains a firm favourite with the firstborn - what a wonderful purchase. Not only Kieran, but Cameron and Bandit avail themselves of its delights.

The clocks went back?

He's just so cute isn't he? He needs to be cos he tossed and turned and squeaked through much of last night...sigh, and woke us up at 6 this morning.... We thought it was 7 as we are poor sleep deprived parents. So he hustled and bustled about as I needed to buy Chris's birthday present - the one from his wife and sons.... and boy - THAT was a mission! After our first attempt to procure the present we went to the West Lynn Butterfly House. It was a gorgeous sunny morning, K was frolicking, C was snoozing on my shoulder and I FORGOT MY CAMERA.... Aargh. So, no new pictures of boys or Monarch butterflies. We headed home where K bounced his brains out on the trampoline and was then bounced into bed. C and I rolled around on the tramp, which he enjoyed greatly... almost as much as he enjoyed his first attempt to climb the stairs.... dammit, he's still fluffing about trying to crawl forwards so why the interest in the stairs? Tomorrow we are off to playcentre where I am running a playdough activity. I have made playdough precisely once before.... and it was arse. I also have an appointment at Kiwibank at 9am as they stuffed up our bank account transfer. yup, we turned up at 9am on Saturday and watched it get bollixed up. They need to have their "specialist" do it for us and he, surprise surprise, doesn't work weekends..... I also need to get cracking on the SMNZI minutes and admin work but I feel sure I can get it done before Wednesday... also known as Chris's birthday!!!!

The child and the pussycat went to sea....

Bandit has not been in the news recently but I assure you that our Siamese is flourishing. He has incredible tolerance with Cameron, and indeed Kieran..... and boy does he need it. Why, last night alone, he narrowly escaped having his tail pounded flat between the wooden blocks clasped in Cameron's chubby fists. He also gets clumps of fur clasped in Cameron's grasping paws. And today, Cameron crawled forwards... fuelled by his urgent desire to cuddle the cat. Bandit has also enjoyed many new experiences. His water bowl has been moved to the garage as 2 pairs of grasping paws would routinely upset it, then merrily splash in the puddles. He now sleeps on a chair next to the bed in the space where the cot used to be.... cuddled up in my dressing gown. But never fear, those long chocolate paws insinuate themselves under the covers at night.... and judicious use of claw is applied if the humans are being obtuse. And the trampoline is a wonderful sunning spot for a cat... or at least it is until a toddler leaps onto the tramp while Siamese snoozings are underway. I was treated to the sight of Bandit scuttling around (and around) the trampoline with Kieran bounding along behind. Bandit couldn't get out as Kieran always conscientiously zips up the netting behind him :) Yes, I went out and rescued the cat haha