Funny Faces ...

Here are some of Alfie's funny faces...

If the wind changes ...



... you'll stay like that! ;0)

Bye Bye Nan and Gramps...

Monday sadly marked the end of four fantastic months with Nan and Gramps. If we have any regrets about emigrating then being away from family and grandparents easily tops the list! So having them here to enjoy life with us was fantastic. But more than that they were also a fantastic help in every way at home. Jean was very hands on around what has become a building site since Christmas filled with two demanding children (... and adults!). John enjoyed the role of site supervisor and put in so many hours on the extension preparing for painting amongst many other things. Both have been devoted grandparents...

We're missing them already... our next house guest arrives in July when Grandma Ivey arrives for three or four weeks. We are currently seeking bookings from September onwards! ;0)

Month by Month...

Two of these to update now! ;0)

Progress update ...

Things are really taking shape at home with all the platering done and the door and trim fitted. All that stands in the way are the small matters of some plumbing and having the electrics connected.

The outside is painted in a mixture of Birchstone and Beavercreek with a little Merlot thrown in, thanks to a consistent effort from anyone who can hold a paint brush it would seem. The pictures here show the outside in primer!



There is a little more outside painting to do before I turn my attentions to painting the inside. I've been making use of the tresels left here by the builders to get all the hard to reach spots done.

We forgot how hard it is ...

Funny how you forget how hard things are until you have to do it again! After a couple of weeks with Charlie where he seemed to feed and fall asleep for four hours we are now looking at feeds every hour and a half and a whole lot less sleep. While he goes on the crash weight gain diet (... 500g a week!) we are subjected to a diet of disturbed sleep.

Beth's mum and dad continue to provide extra pairs of hands while Alfie seems to be the perfect big brother. We're hoping that things settle soon, but until then we'll continue to barely function as humans. For instance I got up this morning had a wash, brushed my teeth ... (All with eyes closed!) left the bathroom, went into the bedroom and then went back to the bathroom for a wash!!!

Other than that Beth continues to work wonders despite some Mastitis this week... I'm not quite sure how she does it.

Alfie Month by Month ...

Building Progress ...

There has been a lot of progress on the build in the last couple of weeks... we're amazed how quickly things have happened. We've been talking about building since we moved in really but once we signed on the dotted line its been non stop. We now have walls, windows and a roof! We had something of a shock when we discovered that our roof which is actually made from metal sheets was in a pretty bad state and that the roof on the new bit wouldn't match and therefore be water tight!!! So the whole roof came off in one day and was replaced. The builders have worn some of the additional cost as it was unexpected, they didn't check the existing roof before starting and the fact that they don't make the profile of the old sheets any more. So it ended up cheaper than it might have been but still an expense.



I return from school everyday amazed at the speed of the work. John (Beth's Dad) has been really busy working on preparing the outside ready for painting. We also spent a couple of weekends priming the weather boards inside and out. Its good to have the new building all sealed up and to be able to access the exstension from the inside... it really gives you an idea of what it'll be like when its completed.

Next week we are expecting the plasterer and the electrician. Then it'll be the plumber, tiler and it will be time for the finishing touches! How exciting....