2011!

Happy new year!

I'm not usually into making resolutions, but here are my goals for this year.

- Spend more time with my kids laughing, playing, and having fun

- Limiting Jimmy's television veiwing time

- Incorporate more music into our day through singing, rhythm games, and listening to all genres of music

- Do more baking, with or without the children's 'help'

- Do more sewing. I would like to complete at least one project a week (doesn't sound like much but I'm very slow), and limit my WIPs to two at a time

- Do regular flute practice. Don't know how or when I'm going to acheive this...maybe on Saturdays before or after my students?

- Organise some gigs for my band and improve my improvisational skills.

- Keep the house tidy and do one big cleaning job per week, eg. clean the fish tank, clean the blinds, vacuum (that is a big job for me).

- Spend less time on the computer

- Try not to be so nasty to my stepdaughter

- Eat more, exercise more, and put on a couple of kilograms

- Walk the dog more than once a week

Christmas!

My day started at the usual time of 5am. Jimmy woke at about 5:30 and so did his big sister. Jimmy and T found their stockings on the tree and got their little gifts out- an Iggle Piggle finger puppet for Jimmy and a bag of marbles for T.

Daddy woke around 6:15 and then it was present time. Jimmy was not in a very good mood. He was very excited about his first present (a big bag of 2nd hand plastic sea creatures) but he was annoyed that we kept trying to make him open more gifts. I think we gave him far too many little presents and it was a bit overwhelming for him. Next time we will give him one or two gifts instead.

We all did very well. T was happy with her presents. She got 2 books, a snowflake charm for her 'Pandora' bracelet, a really cool quilt cover set with Japanese dolls on it, 2 tops, a DIY craft box, a DS game, a Lego truck, a Hallmark Christmas ornament, and a Smiggle pencil case.



Elizabeth got a cute handmade hat, a handmade knitted doll, a mummy made quilt, 2 tops, a dress, 2 nappies (one mummy made), a toy (from big sis) and some books to share with Jimmy.



Jimmy got the sea creatures, a Kidorable frog umbrella, a tiny Duplo set with 4 pieces in it, a Duplo paint with water book, 3 Click Clack wooden vehicles, a small John Deere tractor, a mummy made quilt cover set, and a set of Mr Men books from big sis.



Daddy got a Star Wars Lego encyclopaedia, a Star Wars Lego Brickmaster book, The Pacific DVD box set, and a Star Wars Lego set which he bought for himself.

I got a fantastic slimline hi-fi thingy with a CD player and Ipod dock. I don't have an Ipod but DH does, and the CD player in my stereo isn't working so I really missed having music in the lounge room. I love it!




We headed over to the in-laws' around 10:30. On the way, the creme caramel I'd made the day before lost some of its sauce when we went around a corner. I had soooo much trouble making the damn sauce (it took 5 attempts) so I was almost in tears!



We got spoiled rotten by MIL, FIL and BIL. Jimmy got a scooter with flashing lights on it, finger paint, a smock, and an art pad. I got some sewing stuff, T got 8 charms for her bracelet and some earrings. DH got books and an awesome remote control helicopter. My family turned up just before lunch and gave the kids some nice gifts. I didn't really speak to my mum all day because she was down the other end of the table and I made myself busy so I didn't have to speak to her. I'm surprised Jimmy remembers who she is sometimes.



The food was fantastic and my desserts were a hit. The creme caramel was out of this world, and the fruit tarts were delicious too. It all became a bit much for Jimmy at about 3pm when he fell asleep on his little wicker chair in front of the TV.







T went to her mum's house in the afternoon where she will be staying until the weekend. I'm really enjoying the break from her as she has been very difficult lately. We notice that if she doesn't see her mum for about 3 weeks, her behaviour becomes very erratic. It had been 5 weeks since she'd last seen her mum, so needless to say, things were a bit tense here. I wish her mother would spend more time with her.

DH is on holidays for 4 weeks now. We have recently refinanced our mortgage and have put a bit aside to do some home improvements. Our roof was supposed to have a restoration done a few weeks ago but the weather has been too wet. Hopefully the rain will stop soon because we would like to have all the work done before DH goes back to work. As well as the roof, we are having a repair done to one of the supports for the roof, 4 new ceiling fans installed, and a new back patio built. DH will be tearing down the existing patio and chopping down all the trees in the garden to make room for an extended section of patio roof. If there is enough time and/ or money left, we will have all our gutters replaced because it looks like Niagara Falls outside when it rains.

On a sad note, tomorrow marks 5 years since my dear old dad passed. I miss him still, and dearly wish he could see his grandkids, but the pain isn't as raw as it was 5 years ago. It has become more of a dull ache that I have learned to live with.
So much has changed since then- I have graduated from university, become engaged, married, and given birth to two amazing children. I know he would have adored Jimmy and Elizabeth.

Some recent creations

This is my grand total of FOs for the last two or three months. I very rarely get (or make) the time to sew lately. I plan to change that. I always seem to have 3 or 4 works in progress at a time, and I need to just concentrate on one before I move onto another. First up is Elizabeth's Christmas outfit. I love the dress pattern. It is actually a top- the dress would have come down to Elizabeth's ankles! I prefer dresses that skim over the bum for babies and toddlers, both for ease of crawling and nappy-showoffability!

I actually made another dress from this pattern the week after I finished it, but didn't take photos. I plan to make another one soon, modifying it to be fully reversible, and with snaps at the shoulders instead of a zipper on the back.



A nappy for Kristie's bub. This was my first time doing applique on a nappy. It would have turned out better if I could actually draw a mushroom!



It wasalso my first attempt at a cotton panel, AND adjustable rise! Kristie assures me that the nappy is performing well.



And these are some shorts for Kristie's bub, made using fabric she sent me. It's so cute! I made an adjustable waistband for the first time. I really need to learn to ask for help or research when I attempt new techniques instead of making it up as I go along!



This was my 2nd attempt at an adjustable rise nappy. I just can't seem to get the legs to roll inwards, but I'm very happy with everything else. The fit is awesome, and my booster system is super thirsty. I use a double layer snap in trifold, and a double layer, fleece topped hourglass snapped onto the trifold.



Elizabeth's cot quilt. It was bloody hard work. Yet again, my first real attempt at a quilt, and yet again, I made it up as I went along. It looks very pretty, just don't look at the fine details!



Jimmy's quilt cover and pillow cases. This was really hard too. I'm sure he'll love it.

I wanted to make a quilt cover for T but ran out of time and patience, so I bought her one from Spotlight with cute Japanese dolls on it that I saw her eyeing off.

Today, Jimmy was involved in his very first concert.
His daycare centre put on its Christmas concert, and even though he only goes one day a week, I thought it would be nice for him to be involved, so we went along.

It was the funniest concert. It was very hard to see him because we were all sitting on teeny tiny toddler chairs, and he was sitting near the back of all the performers, but I did see enough to know that he didn't do very much singing. None at all, in fact. He just sat there and sucked his thumb the whole time! At least he didn't cry like some of the others- that would have broken my heart.

Afterwards, Santa came and when it was Jimmy's turn to go see him, he was terrified. His big sister had to grab the gift because Jimmy wouldn't even look at Santa.



He was happy to get the present, though. It was a little book and he just adores books.



This afternoon T had her ballet break up party. Ms Ripoff Merchant was handing out a few awards, and when she got to the 'funny awards', she talked about a particular student who talks non-stop in every lesson. As soon as she said that, I knew who she meant. My stepdaughter can talk the ears off a concrete elephant.

I tried to take some pics of the kids to send away to relatives. I only managed to get one nice one of all three of them, but Elizabeth has a kind of funny expression on her face. Oh well, it will have to do, because I'm not one of those mums who will go to any length to get the perfect photo.


I do love this one of Elizabeth. She looks so sweet, cheeky and kissable! She sat for about a minute while I took some photos. She's still very wobbly.

Christmas is coming!

I'm getting excited. Even though we're not religious at all (in fact, we are die hard atheists), there's just something magical about Christmas. Especially when you have children. I remember the excitement and anticipation surrounding Christmas when I was a kid.

My sister and I had traditions that we would carry out every year. We would watch the old Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer movie (the one with plasticine figures), and lie underneath the tree, staring up into the branches. On Christmas Eve, we would sleep in the same bed (either hers, mine or the spare bed) and read Christmas books, then when we were tired, would whisper excitedly, "See you on Christmas! Shh, stop talking, go to sleep!"

We would wake up super early, run into the lounge room, and marvel at the presents under the tree. While we waited for Mum and Dad to wake up, we would examine the parcels and decided on an order in which we would open them. Then when Mum and Dad finally stirred, after what seemed like a million years, we would leap onto their bed and say, "Merry Christmas!" and then kind of act like we'd forgotten about the presents, just bursting for them to say, "Well, go and get the presents!" We would be so happy with everything we got. One year, all we wanted was our own Cabbage Patch Doll each, but didn't think that we would get them because they were fairly expensive, and we were beside ourselves with excitement when we each received one.
Mum chose our gifts very carefully every year.

I have been buying presents for my children since halfway through the year. I always think ahead to Christmas and keep an eye out for the items I want at bargain prices. I don't spend a lot and I prefer to buy a few well made things instead of loads of plastic crap. I did want to make many of the gifts myself this year but it looks like only Jimmy's quilt cover and Elizabeth's cot quilt will be made in time.

It's very difficult buying presents for Tiffany, when she is used to getting so much stuff from her mother. For the first few years David and I were together, we would spend at least $200 on gifts for her, and she would cry because she was upset that we didn't give her enough. That really used to upset me because I would spend so much time choosing what to buy her, and her mother would just buy her enough toys to fill a toy store. Over the years, we have gradually spent less on her, and she now realises that our gifts are carefully chosen, as opposed to her mother, who last year spent over $1000 on stuff that has mostly remained untouched to this day.

I can't wait to eat lots of yummy food and watch my children have fun. I really love spending time with my in-laws. My brother in law will be here for the first time in a few years which is great. I thought about not bothering to invite my sister and mum but thought it's probably easier to keep the peace.

I've been neglecting my little ol' blog lately. It's not for lack of computer time- far from it. I've been spending way too much time on Facebook and just general net surfing. Plus, I really don't think I have anything interesting to say!

Elizabeth is an absolute joy. She is almost sitting now- she has sat up for about 10 seconds a few times. She does this hilarious attempt at crawling whereby she throws her arms and legs forwards then drags her body over to where her limbs are. It is very funny to watch.

She is eating heaps of food. We're not really doing baby led solids per se; rather, I give her the same foods we eat. If what I'm eating needs to be eaten with a spoon (porridge, bolognese sauce,rice), then I will feed her; otherwise, she feeds herself. Her favourite finger foods are pawpaw, banana, pear, rice and corn thins, cheese, and omelette. I don't puree anything and I certainly don't buy baby food- never have, never will. I'm not saying that there is anything nutritionally wrong with commercial baby food. It is just completely wasteful to buy tiny little jars of food when babies can eat normal family foods.

Jimmy has had a run of illness lately. Firstly he had bullous myringitis- very painful blisters on his eardrum, then suspected measles. He's fine now and all of his spots are gone, but he had to miss 2 days of daycare. It's so difficult to get him back into the swing of things if he misses a day when he only goes one day a week.

He is such a clown. He says the funniest things- this morning he said to me, "Can I fart on your head?". He loves playing hide and seek, chasey, and Duplo. He has quite an obsessive personality and likes things to be 'just so'. He cannot walk past the recliner in the games room without putting it in the recline position (regardless of whether someone is standing in front of it and gets knocked in the shins!), and lately he has made a ritual of peeing into a cup when he gets into the bath.

Me- I'm good. I'm expressing 3 times a day for Elizabeth. I am finding it really easy to get up at 5:15am every day. I never would have thought that I could survive on 7 hours of sleep every night!

Something very exciting is happening this weekend...my band is having its first rehearsal! I just can't wait. I love playing my flute in the orchestra but it can get a bit boring. Playing in big bands is so much fun. I am looking forward to getting my saxophone playing back up to a good standard as I haven't really played since 2005 when I was gigging every weekend with the Chancellor Big Band.

We've had a few big green tree frogs around lately. It's so nice to see and hear them. We've lived here for almost 5 years and have only seen one other one in that whole time.




Elizabeth has 2 teeth now. They are very cute. She has been grizzling a fair bit during the day, but has mostly been happy. She's still sleeping really well at night.

Jimmy and I went to Dreamworld last Wednesday and had a really great time.
DH spent this weekend laying new turf in the little area next to the pool, so we'll be spending a lot of time there during summer. The swing set will be installed there and I'm going to find a little wrought iron table and chairs so I can sit out there with a cuppa.
I have been doing a lot of sewing lately- two dresses for Elizabeth, a nappy for someone special, and some more work on Jimmy's quilt cover.
My band has its first rehearsal in 2 weeks and I'mso incredibly excited.
Life is good.

Some facts about Elizabeth

Elizabeth looks nothing like me- I've finally realised and accepted this fact! She is a Mac, through and through. The only things she has inherited from me are my not-so-desirable characteristics: my pale skin; 'freaky long toes' as Himself calls them (second toes longer than big toes-quite common); inverted nipples (mine aren't any more, thanks to almost 2 years of a baby/breastpump pulling them out); and my teeny tiny frame.

She drinks approximately 900mL of expressed milk per day.

She sleeps for an average of 11 hours a night...unbroken! And no, I don't drug her!

She loves rolling around. As soon as she is put on the floor or a bed, over she goes!

She doesn't have any teeth yet. Jimmy had his first tooth around 7 months.

She isn't sitting up yet. Jimmy started sitting the day after his first tooth came through.
She does love to sit up and have her arms held for her to keep her steady.

She has way too many nappies. Another one is on its way to her (a girly frog one- HOW could I resist?) as well as 3 embroidered minky cuts, not to mention all the minky I already have. Ooops!

She is still wearing size 000 clothing, at 8 months of age! She wears 00 as well, but I'm trying to squeeze a little more wear out of the 000s!

The colour red really, really suits her. I think we may have to make it her signature colour!

She weighs between 6.5 and 7 kg (I think). Jimmy was at least a kilogram heavier at this age. She's so petite and sweet!

She is starting to eat a bit more food. She loves banana, rockmelon, brocolli, porridge with apples and boob milk, Weetbix with apples and boob milk, bolognese sauce...in fact, everything I offer her, she gobbles up.

Oh, I almost forgot this- she has a mild tongue tie, and a mild labial adhesion. I had never heard of the latter, and the former surprised me because so many doctors had poked around in her mouth without noticing it! The paediatrician didn't express any concern for either condition, and didn't recommend surgery.

She has terrible cradle cap that I haven't really worried about up until now, but it's getting worse, so I am treating it every day with almond oil.

Her favourite place to be is sitting on her mummy's hip. If I am not in her line of sight, she gets very cranky indeed.

She has the cheekiest grin I've ever seen, and her dimples melt my heart.

She thinks her big brother is the funniest thing in the world.

She is the most beautiful gift I could ever have asked for.

Day one of healthier lunches

I did the grocery shopping today and bought loads of yummy vegies. I decided to stop buying tinned corn kernels, coz hey, it's not that hard to take the kernels off a cob. Into my Tupperware chopper-uppy-thing went cauliflower, broccoli, yellow capsicum, and mushrooms. I sauteed them all in some olive oil and garlic, then added some diced tomatoes and tomato paste. I decided to buy some tortellini as a special treat.



It was a hit for the first 5 or so minutes, until I made the mistake of asking him to use his spoon and not his fingers. He got the shits about that!



His little sister certainly enjoyed hers.



After some cajoling, I convinced Jimmy to sit down at his little yellow table (had to bribe him with the telly- we have it turned off during meals) and he managed to eat a bit more.

He ate most of his dinner tonight too- fish fingers, chips and Greek salad. And over this meal, my stepdaughter complained that the food I make is too healthy. WTF? It's not her fault though; her mother is in her ear all the time.

Happy girl playing with her brother's Lego.



Playing Lego together. So cute!


We went to Dreamworld last week. Jimmy went up and patted the 'big daddy' kangaroo, but would not go near this ridiculously cute baby one. I think it may have had something to do with the fact that the big one was lying down, and this one was standing up.


My handsome boy on the train at Dreamworld. We left Elizabeth with her Gran because Dreamworld is not baby friendly at all.


Jimmy on his 'purple horse' at Dreamworld. I love spending time with my little guy one-on-one. He's so much fun, and so incredibly interested in everything going on around him.

Jimmy is really enjoying his Thursdays at day care. He is always playing with a nice little boy called Billy. Apparently he eats all his vegetables at lunch time there. He's become a very fussy eater at home and it's frustrating me. Tonight we had yummy chicken schnitzel with sugar snap peas, carrots and mashed tatties, and he wouldn't try any of it. I have been a bit lazy with lunches lately, and have been letting him have baked beans or spaghetti (the salt reduced ones, but they're still junk) so I'm going to be a bit more strict now and hopefully he will eat a good lunch every day. When it comes to meals, everyone gets the same food. I will cook foods that everyone likes, and occasionally throw in a new ingredient or try out a new dish, but nothing adventurous. The kids can choose to eat it or not eat it; I can't force them. If they don't, no other food will be given until the next meal/snack time. For now, Jimmy doesn't seem to care if he eats nothing for dinner. I hope it changes some time soon.

Elizabeth is really happy and laughing, smiling and rolling around heaps. She's still not sitting by herself, but I'm not worried. She's still a great sleeper at night time and is usually in bed by 6pm and sleeps until about 5am, waking a couple of times for her dummy. I never in a million years thought that one of my babies would use a dummy.

Jimmy draws at his easel every day. The other day he said to me, "I draw a Jimmy!" and this is what he showed me. I was amazed- you can clearly see two eyes and a mouth shape. I don't know if it was a total fluke or not because he has only ever drawn circles and scribbles.

I dragged this art desk out of the garage yesterday. We gave it to T for her 3rd birthday and it hasn't seen the light of day since we moved to this house 5 years ago. Jimmy was sooooo excited when he saw it. It came with a heap of number and letter magnets and he's already learned to recognise T, O, P, 4 and 5.


We went to the botanic gardens today and E had a lovely roll around on the picnic blanket. It was so hot today- I actually got sunburnt! Who gets sunburnt in September?!

I love this pic of Elizabeth! A cheeky smile and wearing all handmade stuff. I love seeing her in clothing that has been lovingly made by someone.

This is Jimmy on his first full day of daycare. He doesn't look too happy, but he hates posing sometimes. This was actually at the end of the day. He loves 'school' so much. He has a little friend called Billy- they are always playing in the sandpit together when I go to pick him up.


My cheeky smiley girl. She is just so gorgeous lately. It is so nice to be able to enjoy my baby.

Caution: This may be very distressing to read. However, I think it's beneficial to read it. The news this week featured many stories about the 9 year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, but no-one seems to care about other tragedies that have occurred in Eastern or Third World countries.

I just watched Four Corners on the ABC. It was about the flooding in Pakistan.

My god, my heart is breaking.

They were filming in a 'ward' (a corridor of the hospital) for children affected by diarrhea (sp) following the flood. The doctor was telling the reporter about some of the patients- one of them a one-year-old girl suffering from diarrhea, malnutrition, dehydration and abdominal distension.

While they were filming, the girl stopped breathing and died.

Her mother carried her out of the room alone, looking completely lost and bewildered. Someone said, "Her eyes are open, close them with some water". So she did. Then she continued walking down the corridor with her dead baby.

The world is so unfair. I want to cry and cry and cry.

I've had a pretty crappy week.

I absolutely despise 5pm-6pm. Elizabeth screams from tiredness and hunger, Jimmy runs around the house like a nutcase, annoying T (purposely, because she reacts so strongly) and she yells at him. I'm trying to get the point across that she is his role model, and needs to speak to him calmly and remove him from the situation if he refuses to co-operate,but she just shouts "Jimmy! NO!!!" straight away.Soooooo frustrating. Jimmy has been pushing his boundaries a lot lately, and I have to keep reminding myself that he is a two year old boy and that it is completely normal. DH doesn't get home until at least 6:30, by which time Elizabeth is asleep, Jimmy is still running around like a feral animal, T is sitting on her arse watching TV, DH's dinner is cold, and the kitchen is a mess.

I had a very bad mummy moment tonight. I smacked my boy on the bum, hard. :(
I did it purely out of anger and frustration, without any warning whatsoever. He was so shocked that he burst into tears and ran to his daddy.
I felt so terrible afterwards that I could have cried. DH laughed it off but it really depressed me. I do not want us to be parents who smack our children. It's pretty nonsensical to tell him not to hit his sister, then hit him.

I have mega family shit going on. My mum and sister are like strangers- I can't believe I am even related to them. We have absolutely nothing in common. They don't give a crap about my kids. They don't realise how lucky they are.My dad would have been an awesome granddad and he never got the chance.

Jimmy went to day care twice this week. The first day, I left him for just over an hour. He cried on and off, but was mainly happy and participated in the activities. Yesterday, I intended to leave him for a couple of hours, but after an hour the director called me and told me that he was very upset. So I drove back as fast as I could without breaking the speed limit, ran up to the door, and saw him happily doing a jigsaw puzzle. Apparently he calmed down just after the phone call. I stayed and watched him through the window for 10 minutes, and then, satisfied that he was happy, went to the post office. When I came back, they were playing outside and when I went up to him, he said, "Hi, Mummy! You came back!" I gave him a massive cuddle and told him that I'd always come back, then he ran off to play some more. It took me 15 minutes to convince him to leave.

On the way out, he noticed all the beds lined up on the floor for nap time and told me that he'd like to sleep there one day.

I plan to take him for another short visit next week, and a full day the following week, but we'll see how he goes.

I'm feeling a bit lost lately. Elizabeth is still not what I'd call a happy baby, although she does have lots of good moments. I raise my voice at Jimmy far too often. I'm sick to death of bottles, expressing, nappies, cooking, school runs, mess, and a house that has so much that needs fixing, it would probably be cheaper to knock it down and rebuild it.

I think this is an appropriate moment to list five things that I'm thankful for.

1) I have a beautiful family

2) We are paying off our own house, which is on an awesome block of land in a fantastic area

3) I have amazing parents-in-law who would do anything for me, DH and the kids

4) My husband's salary is substantial enough for me to stay home with my children without having to make too many sacrifices

5) We live in a beautiful part of the world

Good mum?

When I tell people that Elizabeth is bottle fed, most of them assume that she has formula. So it's very interesting guaging their reactions when I tell them that I express for her. They fall into two categories:

"Wow, what a great gift you are giving her!"
The people who say this say it sincerely, and truly have admiration for what I do. Even though they may not necessarily be breastfeeders, they appreciate that I am giving my daugher the very best Nature has to offer.

"You're a good mum, aren't you?"
Now, the ones who say this say it with a look on their face that they try to hide...a look that says "Why would you bother doing that when there are so many good formulas nowadays?" I'd love for someone to say that to me, so I can tell them exactly why I bother!

I express for my daughter because my milk is nutritionally superior to anything in a tin; it's free; I'll never have to make a mad dash to the shop if I run out; and it's better for the environment!

On another note, last night in the bath I offered E some booby, and instead of screaming like she always does, she opened her mouth really wide and stuck out her tongue! She had a teeny tiny little feed (about 5 seconds)- not much, but something!

I tried again today, and the same thing happened, but this time she stuck with it for a bit longer- she had a couple of 15 second sucks! After a few minutes, she got really cranky, so I stopped.

It's funny that I had resigned myself to never breastfeeding her, and now she is interested! I guess that babies really do feed off our emotions...now that I'm not obsessing about it, she has relaxed more.

I'm not getting my hopes up just yet, but it's a step in the right direction!

Wow, I haven't blogged for a while! Probably because I don't have anything interesting to say!

Hmmm, let's see...

Elizabeth is now 6 months old. That's 6 months of expressing an average of 4 times a day, washing bottles twice a day, boiling the kettle countless times each day...it is so tedious, and I've got another 6 months until I reach my minimum goal!


Breastfeeding has gone out the window completely. I tried doggedly for about 2 weeks to put her on the breast once a day. She would turn her head away as soon as she saw it, and cry after a few seconds. While she cried, I took advantage of her open mouth and shoved the nipple in. She would attach every time, have a few sucks, then come off screaming. Every session was the same. I've decided that I don't have the patience or energy to pursue it. I feel like a failure in some ways, but then when I think about the awesome job I'm doing of providing her with nature's best, I don't feel so bad.




She still cries a lot...pretty much every time I put her down *sigh*. However, she is a lot happier than previously. She smiles heaps and loves sitting on my hip, looking around at everything. She has had a few nibbles of food and is showing a great deal of interest in it. I'm not going to do the spoon-feeding-mush thing with her. It will be very interesting explaining the concept of baby led solids to my husband and MIL!





Jimmy is as hilarious as ever. He is really using his imagination. He makes animals out of his hands (crabs, dogs and birds) and makes machinery (cement mixers, rubbish trucks, cranes) out of anything he can get his hands on.
He loves drawing and has recently learned how to draw circles and straight(ish) lines.
He loves exploring outside, annoying the dog, plane/helicopter/machinery spotting, and animals.
He's such a beautiful little boy. We are so lucky to have him!

We are going to give day care another go. We're going for a visit tomorrow. We'll see how it turns out!

I am still struggling to put on weight. At the moment I am the lightest I've been since my dad passed away. I have no arse and I hate the feeling of the bum of my jeans sagging all the time. At least I have some boobs though!

I'm slowly trying to get back on top of the housework. Our house still resembles a war zone but I have managed to vacuum twice in the last fortnight (!!!!) and take a bag or two of crap to Lifeline every Monday. I'm selling or giving away all of the clothes the kids have outgrown, as well as the nappies that don't work for us or are too small. I have been baking once or twice a week, and am staying on top of all the washing- nappies one day, clothes or towels or whites on the alternate days.


Ok, sick of typing now.

Elizabeth

Thought I'd better do an update on our lovely girl.

Since her surgery, she is like a different baby. She sleeps during the day, IN HER COT, for up to an hour at a time, compared to thirty minutes in the motorised swing. She puts herself to sleep about 8 times out of 10, instead of needing to be fed to sleep all the time.

She has started rolling onto her tummy and reaching out for things in front of her. She loves talking and has huge conversations with herself while waiting for one of her slaves to attend to her.





Her little nose and mouth look amazing. She needs to wear her nasal stent for another couple of months, but it doesn't bother her.

She is feeding well and frequently (compared to a lot of babies). We switched her from her cleft palate teat to a regular teat as she was guzzling her feeds in 30 seconds flat. I am expressing 4 times a day and this yields approximately 800-1100mL of milk.

We have been trying to breastfeed, but the more I try, the more disheartened I feel. She attaches really easily, but refuses to suck and will just push away. I will keep trying but I don't know for how long.

She is just such a joy and always has a smile for anyone who passes into her line of sight. It's hard to imagine the dark days of her first three months. There were days when I truly felt that I was a failure, and I couldn't see any light at the end of the tunnel. I'm so glad she has turned a corner and I am able to enjoy being her mummy.