"Ruggin Up"

There's a chill in the air in the mornings ... time to get out the blankets and wrap up warm!

Month by Month ...

Happy "Australian" Mothers Day ...

We had a great weekend this week celebrating the Australian version of mothers day. The cards had been written and the present bought. Incidentaly this was wrapped by some Girl Guides who made such a ham fisted effort of it that it looked like I had wrapped it myself. It was an early start as we were travelling down to the Central Coast about an hour away. Amy and Mitch invited us along to spend the day with thier families which was a really nice gesture. Now normally the Ivey family are up and about before the sun pops up to say hello ... typical that on this one day we had to wake the little blighters up!

With the car packed we travelled (slowly according to Mitch!) to the Entrance. We unpacked the car and started cooking breakfast. Alfie was quite taken with the skateboarders and having watched them for a while wanted a piece of the action. A mini deck was arranged and he was off, showing all the grace and balance of his father!



Charlie had a good time too ... taking the opportunity for some al fresco breakfast from mum and the odd nap here and there.



There was plenty of food, laughs and balls of various shapes and sizes! Alfie had a great time running around, kick throwing and running before scaling the great heights of the spiders web.



After a full day it was back into the car for the journey home. The boys slept most of the way and mum had a snooze when she got back ... so she did get the cup of tea and coisant in bed after all! Happy mothers day mum...

Home Sweet Home ...

It's amazing to think we are already starting to talk about Charlie being three months old! Where has that time gone? Things certainly have been busier with the two but Char has been great (... so far!) and Alfie has been a good big brother. I was lucky to get two weeks off when he was born, we also had Beth's mum and dad here to help which was great. Beth had a week on her own and then I was on holiday for two weeks.

Term Two started at the same time that Alfie's carer took a three week holiday, leaving Beth to entertain both of the little treasures on her own five days a week! I have to say that she's done an amazing job... I'm not sure where she gets all the energy and patience from! I actually think that she's really enjoyed having Alfie home a little more. I've been returning home to brick towers, fully opperational rail networks and play dough meals!



With Alfie returning to family day care today things Beth can look forward to looking after number two and hopefully thinking of herself a little more ... she deserves to!

Happy Birthday Alfie ...

Things here seem to be speeding up rather than slowing down! The extension is finished apart from all of the bits I have to do (... which is heaps!), my Saturday school sport commitments have started, Charlie has developed a insatiable appetite which requires seemingly constant feeding and Alfie has been without day care for the last three weeks due to his carer being on holiday! Life is busy... Still despite all that we managed to find the time to prepare for and then enjoy Alfie's third birthday.

We decided to celebrate his birthday at Pelican this year and invited all his chums along for the big day. The Saturday was really wet but the sun shone all day on the Sunday ... perfect. Beth and Amy set to work on the birthday cake which got its finishing touches around midnight! On Sunday morning it was all hands to the pump packing up the cars with everything we needed ... just as well Amy and Mitch had her brothers wagon (... thats an estate in the UK!) It was a great spot, parents sat and had a chat while the kids had a ball playing with the birthday presents, in the park or just having a run around. I sparked up one of the free electric barbeques and managed to cook everything to the point of being edible without burning... thats just about a first! I then decided to have a go at Aussie Rules and got smashed several times!!!



The wind picked up at the point when the candles were lit, so we resorted to a sparkler... which Alfie assumed was a firework and would explode with a BANG! He hates loud noises so cue tears during the singing of happy birthday! People seemed to have a good time, thanks to everyone that came (... welcome back Maz and Dave!) particularly those that offered to help out with everything.... Couldn't have done everything for Alfie without you.

Since then we've had a steady stream of cards and presents arriving much to Alfie's excitement. Thanks to everyone who has sent emails, presents and cards. You can rest assured that they are all very much appreciated.