Hillsborough Hornets in the final ...

After a long season of grazed limbs, bumps, bruises, blow ups, soul searching, constantly giving me tips after each match, blood, sweat, tears as well as lots of smiles! ;0) The Hornets have made it to the (imagine fanfare trumpets!)Howzat!Thursday Night Mixed Netball Finals. We've been pretty much first or second all year, with the odd defeat against our arch enemies. We are now faced with hopefully a couple of games to decide who will be crowned champs or chumps! We have a semi final with the winners going through... so keep fingers crossed. We'll update on Thursday...

Short, Back (...front) and sides....

After Alfie's home haircut a couple of months ago it was time to allow the professionals to have a go. I'm rather envious of his flowing blond locks, although a look back at my baby photos suggest that he'd better enjoy it while it lasts because if he follows my path the blond will be followed by the nondescript mousy brown years and then .... well the rest is history! Certainly a case of hair today gone tomorrow!

Anyways he seems to have come through the ordeal okay, cutting his hair is hard when he takes so much interest in the things that people are doing! I'm no expert but I should imagine that it's hard cutting someones hair when they constantly turning to look at you!

Subscribe to What's doing down under...

I have added an RSS feed option to the blog. By clicking on the sign up to feeds button on the left hand side of this page you will get you to the RSS feed for What's doing down under? Every time I write something, the feed is updated so that it is always up to date.

Then when you next click on favourites when using Internet Explorer, or look for it on the Toolbar in Firefox you can click the orange thingy (like the picture above!) and see if there have been updates without having to visit the site.

... if all that means nothing to you just keep doing what you are doing. However if you access lots of other blogs or websites regularly then you'll probably find this add on useful. ;0)

Coldplay...

Kinda like this so I thought I'd share it on here. I'm not the biggest of Coldplay fans (Not that I dislike them either!) but I have to say that I quite enjoyed their new album.



Everytime I hear anything about Coldplay I always think about my brother and his old band that once shared the stage with them in London at an unsigned band night!

Our local...

Since May 2007 getting out on our own has become something of a logistical nightmare, although we have had some lovely nights made possible thanks to all too willing baby sitters, you know who you are! However even when we do go out we are often yawning from about 9:30pm onwards.... anyway with much of our entertaining done at home we have created our own little funky nightspot in the back room!!!



... Might have to get our names on a little plaque above the door! ;0)We offer the warmest of welcomes to all visitors from near and afar!

Gymbaroo...

With mum at work full time over the last month Alfie's gym attendance has slipped... happens to all of us! However with time on our side Alfie has been back working out at Gymbaroo, which is a gym for kids. He has progressed quite well and looks set to continue after the holidays. He is now a penguin and getting quite independent on the apparatus today supported by two encouraging if a little nervous parents!



Each session starts with the kids getting into their muscle vests, sticking in the picture in their word book (Todays session was brought to you by the word Butterfly!) an ink stamp on their hand, the placing of a special object in the Treasure Sack before some free play. Then its off for some singing, dancing and coordination stuff before hitting the gym once more. A couple of stacks latter its back to the side room for more songs and games and being held upside down by your legs before you post your name tag through the red window and make your way home! ;0)

Okay so thats all a bit tongue and cheek but it really was a good session and he certainly enjoys it. We have noticed the difference in his movement as well as his communication skills. There are also lots of routines that the children need to follow and he is certainly getting used to those. It was great to have this week off (Independent schools finish a week early!) so that I could get to go along as there is no Gymbaroo for a couple of weeks ... sorry Alfie!

Play/Dog House...

After Alfie spends most of his time playing in one at the play group we decided to look out for a play house for Alfie on eBay. I managed to pick this one up for a good price this week. It's a circa 1995 one bedroom villa with an annex, ideally suited to small boys with plenty of energy. It is of plastic construction and has been expertly assembled by Ivey & Co using the instructions!!! The house is centrally located for local amenities and looks out onto the garden...



Proud new owner!


... I'm not sure about the neighbours!




... You got yer blog photo now let me out!



UPDATE... After a rain shower this afternoon I was pleased to see that it's almost waterproof should I be banished there at any point! ;0)

Winter Weekend Away...

On the back of a very busy term at school where all too often my hand is raised for the opportunity to do more work (.. still pulling out all the stops for an opportunity next year!) and Beth working full time for the last month it was time to take a break so we booked a weekend away in Port Stephens about an hour up the coast. We managed to pack just about everything for the trip in the car, although there wasn't any room for Amy and Mitchell our neighbours so they had to drive themselves. Amy is always willing to step in and have Alfie at short notice and inexplicably refuses to take any money for having him on any of the days he's not at child care.

They are both so good with Alfie, his eyes light up when he sees them to the point that we think that he might actually think that they are mum and dad and we are the people he stays with when they are working! With them refusing to take the cash (... they do have a wedding to pay for!) we decided to take them away for the weekend.

On the Friday night we drove up the coast and found the resort where we would stay for the weekend. There were little cabins each with their own facilities, kitchen lounge etc. By the time we arrived it was getting late so Mitchell and I went out to hunt and gather. About 45mins later we returned via the Pub with some drinks and pizza. Our excuse was that the pizzas took a long time and we are sticking too it!

In the morning Alfie took the opportunity to catch up on some sleep, staying in bed well into the morning. When he woke we drove to the Toboggans Run. Alfie seemed to enjoy the ride down with Daddy, making excited Woooo noises although the tightness of his grip suggested he was a little unsure. We also took the Red Train (...well more of a tractor really!) up the hill to the maze. We managed to find our way out, with a little help from Alfie who could see over the top (while sitting on my shoulders) and underneath! We then went to Anna Bay for a bite to eat in the hope that we would see some migrating whales (.... they are all heading up the coast at this time of year) but alas nothing but the odd dolphin or two. ;0)

Later in the evening we went out for a meal in Nelson's Bay, we all had great meals followed by the largest ice creams I have ever seen! Alfie helped out eating the wafers, while Beth had the odd spoon or three.

The next day after an al fresco BBQ breakfast we went to Nelsons Bay and had a walk around. The weather was great to we went back to the cabin to get our swimmers. Alfie had a great time in the sand, although his reaction after dipping his toe suggested that the water was a little colder than his last dip. Mitchell and I managed to chuck a frisbee around (on the sand initially but the tide came in so we went in!)for an hour or so, only stopping to munch on the odd chip butty (... our education of English foods, words and customs continues!) Later in the evening it was more board games and a few more drinks...

Monday came around all too soon, although it was a great weekend with some great friends. Enjoy the slide show...

Winter Warmer...

Its fairly hard keeping Alfie inside. He loves being out in the garden because thats where the sand pit is... He often waits by the door as if to make a point, and has been known to bring his shoes to us when a less subtle hint is needed. It has been beautifully clear and crisp for the last week and so wrapping up warm before he goes out is essential.

Earning his keep...

Couch Potato...

Check out Alfie on his sofa. He likes nothing more than kicking back at the end of a long day, with remote in hand...



... sofa goes in the wash so....

Leaf it alone...

With Autumn almost gone and Winter rapidly approaching we have spent a lot of time raking up the leaves in the garden. The compost heap is full and the fire pit is piled high!





We have enlisted Alfie to assist in the leaf collection... with limited success. We even bought him his own wheel barrow and rake! He has an interesting approach. Standing in the piles and then swishing them around with a stick. Something that ... judging from the laughs ... he clearly enjoys!

Zzzzzzz..... Zzzzzz.........

Things have been pretty tiring here of late hence no updates. Alfie has been really struggling over the weekend and through this week with with a bit of a cold coupled with some teeth coming through. His chest gets fairly congested at nights and finds it hard to breath. On Sunday night he didn't settle until 2am, not ideal preparation for mum and dad to spend a day in school! He followed up on Monday night by waking up at 2am. ... we discovered that the Lake can be quite picturesque at 4:30am!

The good news however is that he seems to have got through the worst of it and so we are returning to something like a normal sleep pattern! We'll update soon...

Family Times...

Heres a video of some family time...



... featuring Alfie getting a little frustrated with a puzzle piece he can't quite get into where it fits!

My Blog Roll...

You might have noticed a change to the blog with the removal of the bit that was called These are a few of my favourite things this has been replaced by My Blog Roll which will now give you snippets of important information like the latest updates on the featured sites. I'll add more content to the blog roll as I go... there are lots of great blogs out there!

... Also the Alfie month by month pictures now run as a slideshow!



All thanks to to good people at Blogger who host all this stuff for free!

Happy Birthday....

Okay so its not the Queens Birthday until the 17th June but here in Australia what better excuse for a public holiday? Seems strange that the UK doesn't have a public holiday for the same reason, still we're not complaining.



Will be interesting to see what happens when Australia ditches the monarchy ... another referendum is on the agenda. Still in the meantime she has her use, not sure what else she positively contributes to the everyday life of the everyday person but still!

Speers Point Superpark...

Between the showers it was off to Speers Point and the new Superpark. There are free BBQs (not the weather for it today!), sand pits and heaps of play equipment to investigate. Alfie seemed to enjoy it as there were loads of other children there to watch and copy! We all had a great time before we had to dash for the car to get out of the rain...

On the outside looking in....

When inside he spends most of his time looking out, when out he spends his time looking in!



... check the hand prints on the glass!

3.... 2 ...... 1......

GO!



Alfie loves counting down from three and is joining in with the GO with gusto!

Chin ups...

Most adults can barely manage a handful... however Alfie managed to bang out over twenty on the handle bars of a very dusty exercise bike!



... no teeth were lost in the making of this video. He wasn't as close as it appears on the video!

Alfie Month by Month Album ...

Check out Alfie's month by month album at:

Click Here ...

A day in the life...

After all that talk about how busy we are, its important to recognise that there is never a dull moment for Alfie either. His days are always busy too, there is just so much to do...

... Theres the taking the baby for a walk... (I'm not sure about the whole pram thing!)



... and the painting to be done!




... but always time for a well earned rest!

An update...

Its been a little while between posts. Things have been pretty busy here with me being at school doing Hamilton work in the evenings, Beth getting work as well as doing the full time job around the home... and then there are the weekends! Last weekend I had two games of football, we managed to win one and draw the other. In the first I followed up my ball in the face with a crack to the ribs, this has been painful ever since and after struggling through a game for the Hillsborough Hornets I decided enough was enough and went to hospital.



It would seem that I've dislodged come cartilage between the ribs and this has made a small puncture my right lung. It's pretty painful and the painkillers make me feel drowsy (hardly noticed any difference!!!), but there is little else that can be done other than plenty of rest. So it's a rare day off work today (Beth had to talk me into it!) ... and no football for me for a while.

The Hillsborough Hornets...

The Hornets chalked up their fourth consecutive win last Thursday against a competitive second placed outfit. The plucky Hornets seem to have come up with a winning formula, buzzing around the court before their opponents feel the sting at the other end. It was another consistent performance built on sterling defensive work by Mitchell and Beth. Amy-Jane again controlled things from the centre, while Sally was as clinical as ever. If the big fella up front can get back onside as soon as possible after scoring rather than celebrating each goal then the future looks bright!

Me Burfdee...

Yup yesterday was my birthday and I'm only a year off playing veterans football! It was something of a busy day as weekends seem to be at the moment. It was up early to open some lovely presents from Beth and Alfie before getting off to my first football appointment, a 10am kick off with my school team. They lost 7-2 this week, coming down to Earth with a bit of a bump after last weeks rare win. The parents of the children bought a cake and the children sang happy birthday with more enthusiasm than they had mustered for the game!

It was then back home to get ready for my game in the afternoon. It was my first game of the season and we managed a scrappy 2-1 win away from home. I also managed to get a ball blasted into my face from 3 yards.... Happy Birthday! ... which resulted in a bleeding snozzer and mouth as well as some time sitting forlornly on the bench. I had a banging headache for the rest of the day and talked rubbish! (Putting it down to concussion!)Interestingly Alfie also managed to "get on" while Mitchell should have been watching him!

After that is was back home to get things ready for the cup final, Matt Sharron and the boys came around, before Mitchell and Amy arrived with a cake.



... Is this an omen Bristol City 2 Hull City 1!!!!

Ross came around later and we watched the game (12 midnight start!) although there were some very heavy eyelids (closed!) at various times before, during and after!

A great day my all accounts.. thanks for all the cards, emails and other gubbins!

Alfie Top Drawer...

Sometimes you just want to sit down and watch a little bit of TV, but all the space on the sofa is taken. I guess you just need to sit further away? - NO! There is always an answer to every problem, usually Alfie finds it. Check this video out for a solution to the TV seating issue...



Alfie is at the drawer opening stage. We find drawers open but with nothing missing so no damage done you might think! Well the reason for opening the drawer in Alfie's eyes is to either sit in it or put something inside. I had a look in my hat drawer this morning (very cold at the mo!) and found a long lost dummy!

Football Training Session #2...

Here are some pictures of Alfie's latest training session...

... Warm up... Look at the balance.... and face of concentration!


... Alfie gets on the pitch!


... Drinking fluids. Very important!


... Alfie lifts the Milk Cup (A little joke there for you football fans!!)



... This is what Alfie will look like in the Paninni Football Sticker album!



... Alfie reacts to the fact that some people actually believe that Bristol City are good enough to beat Hull for a place in the Premiership next weekend!

Clean bill of health...

It's almost a year to the day since Alfie emerged from the Hospital, after a longer than planned stay, into the Australian sunshine. Over recent weeks we have attempted in our own way to mark this most amazing event in our lives.



Since that day we have made a number of follow up visits to the Hospital so that they can monitor closely the effects that the oxygen starvation, lasting some eight minutes, had on his body. We started with monthly visits which became three and then six monthly as he thrived. While we have always been positive about the outcome there has always been the nagging worry that on one of these visits we would be given bad news. After such a traumatic entry into the world the diagnosis of "something" seemed inevitable.

Well today Alfie was back at the John Hunter and given a clean bill of health, we are raising a glass to him tonight... what a fighter, raise a glass for him too! :0)

PS .. while the cork is out raise one for the staff of the John Hunter Hospital without whom .... well it doesn't bear thinking about!

"I will play football" ... repeat the mantra!

One of the obvious dangers of living in Australia other than the poisonous ones are the risks associated with your child wanting to play inferior sports that require you to handle irregular shaped balls. I'm thinking that if I coach Alfie early enough to can reduce the risk.

So fresh from my Under 9 teams first victory in three years, in only my second game as manager, it was time to get Alfie kitted up and kicking. The boy has talent and could be the answer to England's left sided midfield problems in about seventeen years.



... I have forwarded a copy of this video to Plymouth Argyle's Youth Development Coach.

These pictures could be worth a fortune in years to come...

... Alfie and coach (AKA Daddy)


... ALWAYS cover the near post!


... "Who me ref?"

The Truck Stop ...

Alfie doesn't seem to sit still for that long. In a rare moment of rest however he will sit on his little sofa, kick back and relax. More recently his truck filled with bricks (... a birthday gift from the Murdochs) is the prefect place to climb up and chill out.



... we must teach him how to tip the bricks out before he gets in!

Nut Case...

Regular blog readers will remember a video clip from a couple of months ago of Alfie who had learned to nod his head gently in time with the music, well it would seem that now Alfie has developed his signature move into something a little more ... shall we say vigorous!



.... Parents will note the trail of devastation left by young child on their travels!

Beryls Back...

The bug is back after yet another stint back at the garage. With continued starting problems it was back to Numyers for a new starter motor. I needed our neighbour Mitchell's help on Sunday evening to get her going but she made it. I almost ran out of petrol on the way and so there was an anxious but successful attempt at a restart on the forecourt of the petrol station. I had hoped to just chuck the keys through the letter box and leave, although as with all things VW its never that easy. Firstly the garage don't have a letter box and secondly that the car door wouldn't lock. Not surprisingly despite being left overnight unlocked it wasn't stolen and nothing was taken!!!

I now have a car which starts first time and which is running (thanks to a much needed and long long overdue full service!!) better than it has ever done. Fingers crossed that there won't be a Beryl post on the blog for a while...

Spot the Difference...

Take a look at these pictures, then spot the difference...

A


B


Answers on a postcard to Alfie Won't Keep a Hat On Competition 2290, NSW Australia! ;0) Thanks to Amy and Mitchell for this picture and others, with a little Photoshopping it's almost like he actually wore the hat! We're keeping a beautiful picture of theirs for the thank you cards!

Birthday Boy...

Just found the time to update the blog after a very busy weekend.

We would like to thank everyone who sent best wishes, cards and gifts. The sending of thank yous will now need to become something of a military operation! We received so many gifts and cards that we had to split the opening into several sessions!

Thanks also to everyone who helped make Alfie's day by helping out in so many ways, you know who you all are! We had so many guests passing through the garden throughout the afternoon, sharing Alfie's big day as well as some food and a couple of drinks.
Beth and I had a great day too, in stark contrast to the same day twelve months ago, we still feel blessed that we have the Alfie that we have today.

Still that's enough words, take a look at these birthday snaps...

Alfie feeds himnself or just makes a mess... you decide!

Alfie seems to be getting the hang of his plastic fork and spoon. Until this point these implements had merely been something to bang on the table, however now with yogurt pot in hand (... and mouth!)its time for him to become a little more independent with hilarious consequences.

Here's his first effort...