We started April like we did March, celebrating a birthday. This time it was for cousin D (8 years old!). We had a lovely afternoon on their large property, enjoying lunch and a break in the rain for lots of chasing games on the lawn. Eden even played Van Helsing.
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| Baby Van Helsing |
Meanwhile in North Korea...
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| Eloise Jong-un and Daddy as South Korea |
South Coast, NSW
Every year, about this time, 3 families come together for a road trip to Ulladulla. It's a beautiful part of the country and deserved it's own post. Check it out here.
More Changes
When MissE and Mr.E started at their pre-school/daycare, we were told the government was acquiring their newly built centre for the train line. We knew this day was coming... and it's almost here. The owners purchased a property and spent a few weeks refurbishing it to suit our needs. They hope in the transition that on Friday, we leave the centre for the last time and on Monday, go to the new one, with the same staff, set-up, etc.
We had the opportunity to go to an Open Day at the new site so the children would better understand the move. It’s an older building that is currently being refurbished and unfortunately will still be ongoing when the children move there (there are still children attending day-care there! It’s a bit sad for them as the building was quite run-down). They are getting new bathrooms, kitchen, floors, skylights and a staff room. We are much happier with the outdoor play area. It’s much larger and natural with rocks and trees. The teachers are looking forward vegetable gardens and flowers!
While it is slightly closer in distance for us, it will mean main roads to work. When is someone going to make tele-portals a reality?
MissE's 1st Sleepover
MissE had her first sleepover and cousin H’s. We weren’t sure if it was going to happen but it did. We explained to her what a sleepover was the week before and gave her up until the day to think about it. At first she said no after learning we were not staying too but on the night, she was very confident about staying. We had dinner at cousin H and we asked her again just before leaving but she was set.
They had a wonderful time! Auntie L only had to speak to them once about talking and giggling but by 9:30pm, they were both asleep.
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| All tucked in! |
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| Silly faces! |
Mr.E was more upset about it. In the car on the way home, he kept asking where jie-jie was and the next morning, he thought she was upstairs sleeping still.
Reunited
Because I am back to work full-time, we have missed our playgroup. We are trying to be better at arranging a weekend play date so old friends have the opportunity to see each other (outside of birthday parties)... and I have a chance to catch-up with the girls too!
*Note: too busy playing to take photos!
ANZAC Day
ANZAC Day fell on a Thursday this year. The sun was shining so we spent the day at Putney Park with first-timer, Mr.H. We had a picnic overlooking the boats then played in the wading pools.
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| Ready for take-off |
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| Co-pilot Conor |
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| Beautiful day... |
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| MissE and MrC |
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| I see you! |
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| Yay! Beach! |
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| Eden the Builder very busy |
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| Protecting his castle after a wave claimed jie-jie's |
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| MissE's castle |
I wasn't expecting a total turn-around from the throttling three's but this month saw a few moments of it. With Mr.H now home with them on Wednesdays, he sees it the most. It's mostly when she is lacking sleep, as we saw on our road-trip. It’s the whining and forgetting of manners that drives me crazy! But Miss Charli at school mentioned it’s across the board. All the children have suddenly forgotten their manners. One incident this month saw the loss of 75% of toys in her room. She spent several days earning them back but has since been her easy-going, even-tempered-self.
Love at First Sight?
A story from Miss Charli at school. With the centre move, the old centre is seeing items removed to be re-used at the new centre. On one of the days, there were workers outside while the children were inside. Suddenly, in the middle of writing time, Eloise looked up and exclaimed "Miss Charli, look at that handsome boy outside! The one with the blond hair! He is so handsome!" She gushed several times while they were working. Miss Charli said "You should have seen her face light up!" Oh dear, Mr.H! Better get that shotgun!
Follow-up: A few days later, Eloise’s handsome prince returned. Miss Charli knocked on the window to ask if it was okay if Eloise could say “hello”. He agreed and was nice enough to play along. His name is Tom. Poor Tom was then embarrassed by MissE declaring him “SOO handsome” in front of all his co-workers. What a good sport!
Pino-key-no (or Pinocchio)
MissE takes every opportunity to tell us the story of Pinocchio. At this age, they experiment with little white lies so Miss Charli has taught the children the story of Pinocchio. When Eloise fibs we can tell because she has no poker face. We find her re-telling of this story very funny. First, because of the way she pronounces Pinocchio: Pino-key-no, and secondly, on one occasion she told the moral like this:
When Pino-key-no starts telling the truth, his
nose goes back to normal. Or you can
just push it back in.
MissE Says the Darnedest Things
I handed Eloise her breakfast this morning and she said to me, "Thank you servant". It's a bit like that, isn't it?
Note: she really did mean to say "server". We were playing restaurant where she had just ordered her breakfast. She mixed up the words, but that is a Freudian slip if there ever was one!
Busy
MissE: When I go to big school, I'm going to ask my teacher if I can be anything I want to be.
Daddy: And what's that?
MissE: I'm going to be a mama, Princess, and doctor. *Sigh. I am going to be so busy. Mama, you better live near me!
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| A family that does yoga together, stays together. |
Yoga
Doing "tree" pose with Mr.H, "I look like a MANGO!"
Me: What?
MissE: A mango, that's pink and stands on one leg.
Mr.E is 21 months
Time flies when you are having fun! Mr.E is now 21 months.
First professional haircut
I finally got to cut Eden's hair! It was getting unruly and family/ friends were commenting on his rat's tail. We went to Eloise's hairstylist, Melanie. Eden was happy to sit on the motorcycle and watch Toy Story while having his hair cut.
I was really pushing for a mohawk... maybe next time! He looked so handsome... who's baby is this???
He is very polite. After handing him something, he always says "Thank mama". His vocabulary is coming along so quickly! He is now repeating most things we say. He can also count to 5... kind of.
He continues to enjoy day-care. The teachers tell me they spend most of the day chasing the cheeky monkey. It's his favourite game. Also Mr Cheeky, shortly after Easter, he discovered he could pull a chair up to reach the chocolate eggs. He had 3-4 eggs in his mouth before we could reach him... foil and all!
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| Caught! |
Boy! is he nearly 2. Every admonishment for being naughty (climbing on tables, throwing toys, hitting his sister) is met with a very sad face and tears... lots of tears.
His favourite book is "Where the Wild Things Are" and he loves dinosaurs!
Me
You saw our "Pimp My Coupe", I've also been sewing... or trying to, again.
Sew Cute
As I mentioned before, my sewing machine and I are getting reacquainted. I made both Pocahontas (see February) and Wonderwoman costumes the night before (see March)! Hey, I'm working full-time now... last minute is now my middle name! I also had a few friends with new babies so I made these:
Special Delivery from Australia!
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| The 'Mila'. My absolute favourite dress pattern: it's reversible and perfect for baby girls who are just crawling. |
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| Pinterest inspired: for baby Zac... bow-tie onesie and baby cardigan |
Until next time...
