Indoor Biker

Its been horrible weather for the last few days and poor Alex has been standing by the sliding door pointing outside saying “Bike! Bike!”. Mean Mummy won’t let him outside as it is too cold and wet so, I let him bring his bike inside (thank you for the suggestion Aunty Patsy!). Alex spent ages this evening doing the kitchen, laundry, hall, living room, dining room Pro Formula 1 circuit. Eat your heart out Schumacher!!

Shopping day

Tracy and I took Alex shopping to get the last part of his present from me. We went into Farmers where Alex had great fun trying out all the buttons on the toys. Managed to find what I was looking for and he now has a dome play tent for inside and phonetic letter fridge magnets that also play the alphabet song! Went round to Tracys for chicken and coleslaw for tea. Yum!.

On the phone.

Alex had his first “real” phone conversation this evenng when Aunty Brenda rang to wish him Happy birthday. It went something like this…”Pleft blah babble. OK! Bye!!”

More words!

Gave Alex banana on his cereal today and he picked it all off and ate it. He then pointed at the table and asked for “naana”. It’s the first time he’s used words to tell me that he wants for more of something! Yes, he got more banana!!

Happy birthday Babe!!

It was a quiet day for Alex’s real birthday as we had already done our celebrating. He went to day care and Sharlene took the kids to baby music where Alex had Happy birthday sung to him. I picked him up after work and took him to McDonalds for dinner as a special treat. He was only interested in the chips but loved tearing around the playground. Unfortunately it’s a mass of tunnels but luckily he would only go a little way into it before the echoes of the other children caused him to come scuttling back to Mummy. He definitely recognises Ronald McDonald though and kept pointing to the poster saying “Nonnal”!!

A visitor in the night…

Nan and Grandma Nola stayed the night with us last night so we could all go to Cobb and Co for Alex’s birthday lunch. I slept on the couch so that our honoured guests could have a proper bed. Alex has been getting up in the night and I warned Nola that she may get a visitor. I heard Alex talking at about 7am so got up to bring him out into the living room. He wasn’t in his bed! He’d got himself up and hopped into bed with Nola and was jabbering away with Nola lying there going “uh huh” so as not to give it away that it wasn’t Mummy he was talking to. He’d been there for about half and hour and only realised that it wasn’t me he was cuddling into when I turned up at the door! We had a lovely lunch at the Cobb – glad they have a kiddies play area that keeps Alex occupied!!

Alexs birthday party

We had a lunchtime party for Alex today and had about 25 people around to the house (Bertham family, both lots of neighbours from over the back, Nadia, Connar, Cohen / Dave / Glenys, Tracy, Nola, Nan – phew!!!).
As a special treat before the party, Alex got passed over the fence to Matthew who took him for a ride in his big red firestone truck! Alex thought that was fantastic and wanted to have another go! Nan and Nola came over and did a sterling effort in helping me get the food sorted, and Sharlene turned up early to help out and gave Alex a bath. While there she asked him if he wanted to use the toilet and he went and did 1st wees on the toilet!!
Luckily it was a beautiful sunny day for the party so we had a table full of food in the conservatory, balloons everywhere, the sandpit being put to good use, chalk drawings all over the concrete, pass the parcel, and a Barney birthday cake with two candles!! Alex managed to blow the candles out all by himself!

Feilding Festival

I took Alex over to the Feilding Festival of bands, to see if he would enjoy some live music. In the hall where the bands assemble, we went and said Hi to the Feilding band before they went on stage. Alex recognised Nigel and went over to have a look at his E flat Bass. Nigel showed him how to play it so Alex had a go and managed to get a decent noise out of it! He then played a B flat Bass and a tenor horn with great success!! While at the festival, we got word of Lucas’s arrival on the other side of the world!! How exciting!!

Watch your Language, Mummy!

I knocked a half full cup of coffee all over the bench this morning and swore “sh*t!” Suddenly I hear “shi!!” followed by (giggle giggle). Alex then went round repeating that for about 5 minutes but luckily had forgotten what was said by the evening! I took off to a baby shower in the afternoon and Jen came round to look after Alex. When I returned, I wasn’t sure who had had more fun!! There had been a hive of activity both indoor and out!

Play date with Angus.

My friend Trudie from work came round for afternoon tea with her husband Brent and son Angus (18 months). Alex was still in bed having his afternoon sleep so Angus had to play by himself for a bit. Finally he got up and the two wee boys had great fun going through the toybox while we drank coffee and ate muffins!

Holiday with Mummy

Queens birthday holiday! Alex and I had a lovely day at home. I was doing the washing and Alex hopped into the empty washing basket, pointed up at the ceiling and said “Sky!”. We then spent the next hour having washing basket rides in the magic flying washing basket. Alex was spun round and round until my arms were literally falling off!!!
When I put him in bed tonight he said “Hawoo?” That really had me stumped for a minute until I realised he was after his toy “Harold the Helicopter”. I found it for him and he then said “Tator?”. He fell peacefully to sleep holding Harold in one hand and his new tractor in the other.

Boy bonding with Pete

The girls shopped at Queensgate and the boys went to the kiddies playground. Caught up with Julie D in afternoon which was fantastic. Yet another day with no sleep for Alex. Had pizzas for dinner then packed up the car and drove off home with a sleeping child in the back.

There’s a lion loose at the Zoo!

We took Alex to the Wellington Zoo this morning – it’s amazing how it takes 4 adults to supervise one nearly two year old! The lion let off a good roaring display and so I asked Alex if he could roar like a lion. He thought it was a huge game and did a pretty good rendition of a very ferocious animal!! Unfortunately the exhibit that Alex got the most animated was the digger exhibit… there are some upgrades happening in part of the Zoo and the mummy digger with her baby digger got a fair amount of attention. We went round to visit Ken, Wendy and Felix who had never seen Alex before – was neat catching up and Felix gave Alex a wee matchbox tractor from his collection. Wellington is all too exciting and so after a full on day with no sleep Alex crashed at 5pm, allowing me to have a nice relaxed evening. He rejoined us in time to watch the Super 14 final where he had great fun yelling “Go Crusaders!” at the TV screen.

Trip to Wellington

After our typical Friday night Fish and chips with Tracy, we packed the car and drove down to Wellington so see peter and Louise for the weekend. The idea was to transfer 1 sleeping child straight into bed so we could talk to Pete and Louise but Alex decided to wake up when we arrived to suss out where he was. Ended up going to bed the same time I did.

Sounds like a frog…

Well, Alex is a lot better today but still has a wicked cough on him – he keeps laughing at the sound of his own croaky laugh! Went down to the seaside, had a ride on the train and a quick play in the sand before flying back to Palmerston North. Nan got picked up by Kate and taken back to Dannevirke. - bye bye Nan!! I told Alex to get into his highchair for his evening meal – he went and got his bib, took it to the coffee table, pulled up his little chair, sat down and patted the table indicating he wanted a TV dinner! I let him.

Happy 2nd birthday to Nikki!

Nikki got to open her presents this morning and we had some scuffles as every toy Nikki had, Alex wanted and every toy Alex had, Nikki wanted!! Blew up a large amount of balloons for the party and the kids had fun trying to lie on them – not enough weight to cause a pop though. Alex kept asking for Barney to be played on the TV – Nikki and alex did some groovy dancing! End up with a bad croup attack at 4am in the morning resulting in Alex in a steamy bathroom to try and get him breathing better. He packed a tantrum – didn’t want to be picked up, didn’t want to be put down…Uncle Trevor came to see if he was OK and Alex went straight into him arms, gave him a big cuddle and settled down!! Aaawwwhh!

Ride on a Plane!!

Alex got an exciting ride on a little airplane today as we flew down to Nelson to be with cousin Nikki for her second birthday. He loved playing on the trolley until our flight was called – wanted to go round and round in circles all the time but I could see a trip to the hospital eventuating instead of a trip to Nelson! Alex loved the flight and pointed out the window at everything going “ooohhh!!”. We arrived at Nelson airport to be met by my brother. Within 10 seconds Alex launched himself into his uncles arms and made himself comfortable – so much for me thinking he wouldn’t remember him! He had lots of fun playing with cousin nikki and all her toys. The two littlies had a lot of fun “helping” put Nans bed together – it was 2 little monkeys jumping on Nans bed!

The world’s best staller…

Alex has worked out how to get out of his bed - this combined with not wanting to go to bed is creating a bit of evening “fun”. He appeared in the hallway tonight not long after being put to bed. I got up to firmly return him to bed and as I walked over to him, he looked up, waved his hand in front of his nose and said “poo!”. That’s the one thing I will take notice of and he knows it. I took him to the lounge and checked his nappy which was as dry and clean as it was 15 minutes earlier when I changed him for bed. “Alex, there’s no poo in your nappy!” I said. He looked a bit sheepish, realising he had been caught out and then “grrrunt!!!!” he tries force one out!! Unsuccessfully I might add!!

Granny Bashing

Alex was giggling and wriggling around on Nans knee this evening and he threw his head back, collecting poor Nan in the nose!! We needed tissues to mop up the blood!!
I went to kiss Alex goodnight tonight and he giggled and said “gen” (again)! Repeated the kiss –“gen” said Alex. 6 kisses later he finally had had enough!

It’s a pirate party!!

Marcus the neighbour is 4 and Alex and I went over to celebrate with him at his Pirate Party! Alex played pass the parcel, treasure hunt, musical cushions but the funniest thing was the Piñata – when all of the lollies fell out Alex picked them up and tried to give them to all the other kids. Get in there boy!! – It’s every pirate for himself!!

Visit to Leisha and kids.

Nan, Alex and I went to visit Leisha (Dannevirke neighbour from when I was a kid) for morning tea today. Her 3 have really grown! Well, it has been 5 years since we last saw them. Jack (nearly 6) had spent the morning setting up his Thomas the Tank Engine set so Alex could play with it.
The Berthams came over for the afternoon to do a spot of shopping and ended up staying for tea of fish and chips. Abby and Jonny then stayed while the rest went grocery shopping so we got out a whole lot of blankets and built a hut using two dining chairs. The 3 littlies fitted nicely in it and played happily for an hour or so…my arms were sore due to holding the chairs up to prevent them from falling with the weight of the blankets!! Alex has started saying “Happy!” every time he sees a smiley face.

Mummys Birthday!!

Clever Alex must have snuck off to the shops without his mother’s knowledge!! How else would he have managed to buy his Mum a birthday present! Alex carried the parcel from the bedroom to Mum in the living room with a very proud look on his face! Nan cooked roast while I was at work so a pleasant day was had by all!!

Mothers day!

Alex took Nan and Mummy out to Cobb and Co for lunch – unfortunately his pocket money didn’t quite extend far enough to cover the bill so Mummy had to pick up the tab. He kept standing up on the chair and grinning at the couple in the booth next to us. Alex had his first traffic light cocktail which he thought was pretty neat!!

Happy Birthday Amy!

Picked up Nan – she’s going to stay for a few weeks. My cousin’s oldest girl has turned 5 so we went to Sanson to her birthday party. Alex loved the swing so much that it was hard to get him off it. He also loved the popcorn bag and wolfed down the majority of it.

Dinner guests

Mr Bossy boots is starting to show - when he wants you to play, Alex hits the ground and says “down” – implying that he wants you to join him!
Hosted a work dinner at my house this evening as one of my team members has been promoted to another team. Alex thought it was pretty neat to have all these people round to play. He jumped on Grant, took books to Vanessa, and ordered Karen and Jenny to play with him on the floor!

Nans birthday dinner

We were invited over to the Bertham’s tonight where they were hosting Nans birthday dinner. Alex helped Nan open her presents. He loved Nans legendary pavlova! Alex and Jonny took the dolls for a walk - Alex had the pushchair and Jonny improvised by using the trolley. Abby then took Alex for a ride in the trolley which he thought was really cool!

Friday night, party night!

Alex came with me to a work colleague’s farewell this evening and had a fantastic time walking round amongst all the people grinning away. He playing in the kids bedroom and watched TV with the others - I did get a bit concerned to find him playing with all the girls toys at one stage!!

The drive home

Well, all good holidays have to come to an end so back in the car weighed down with toys we are borrowing from Toby and Noah while they are in Switzerland. We stopped at Tirau for lunch and Taupo for a swing. Called in on the Evans in Napier and ended up staying for tea. Doug took Alex out the back to pick feijoas and tried to teach him the difference between the green ones and the brown “yucky” ones that can be thrown away. Unfortunately Alex started turfing the lot saying yucky!! He thought Kate was great! Home at 11pm after dropping Nan off in Dannevirke on the way through.

Panmure outing

Well, Auntie Cathy has made a mark on my son!! Alex is now copying Cathy and saying “COOL!”
Alex and I went to visit Heather (ex COLT) and Greg – we went for a lovely walk around the Panmure lagoon between the rain showers. We found the train rides half way round – Alex cried when the train went without him as it was pouring with rain and I didn’t have his raincoat. Got home and talked to Alisa in America through Skype. Alisa made lots of funny faces and Alex reacted beautifully – he waved and babbled!

More Manurewa visiting

Went to see Tony, April, Rose (Alex’s age) and baby Ryan (5 weeks) and had a big “bandy” catch-up. Alex patted Ryan gently on the head and said “baby!” Was so weird giving Ryan a cuddle – you forget how little they are!! The two kiddies played with Roses toys outside. Rose bossed Alex around - it was gorgeous!!

Auckland Ducks!

The whole whanau went for a walk down to the Auckland Botanical gardens where we fed the ducks and went exploring in the gardens. Alex loved running through the tunnels and down the paths!
I managed to get a couple of hours shopping (by myself!) in the afternoon as Nan looked after Alex – lots of new clothes for but still couldn’t resist buying for Alex as well…
Back at the house, cousin Jono made the mistake of lying down on the floor and he got accosted by two little boys jumping all over his back!

Hi to Lou, James and Samantha.

Alex and I went for a drive today to see Lou, who I hadn’t seen since she left the UK! Since then we have both had kids. James and Samantha were lovely and Alex had a lot of fun playing with all their toys and eating Lou’s chocolate cake out on their deck! The two boys put Thomas the tank engine together on the table. Went back to Warren and Cathys for Alex to have his afternoon sleep. That evening Alex was absolutely fascinated by Uncle Warrens beard – suppose Mummys don’t have whiskers so it’s a bit of a novelty. Alex and Noah (2 months younger) are getting along like a house on fire – one shrieks and so does the other. Alex’s ear fetish strikes again – he seems to have developed fondness for Noahs ear.

Holidays!!

Yay! It’s the beginning of a 6 day weekend!!! Left about 9.30am with Nan and Alex for the big drive to Auckland – stopped at Ohakune for lunch and let Alex have a swing and a slide. He was very well behaved all the way up in the car. Got very excited when we went on the bypass through Hamilton as there were heaps of tractor and digger sales yards! We arrived at Uncle Warren and Auntie Cathy’s where we will be staying. Cousin Daniel along with wife Michelle and his two boys are staying as well as they are about to immigrate to Switzerland for a year. Alex had a fantastic time playing on the piano, which he did surprisingly musically. He also had great fun chasing Toby and Noah around.

Special farm visit with his Carer.

Sharlene was off to visit her parents in Wanganui on her family farm today and as she only had Alex, he went on a farm visit! He rode on the 4 wheeler, patted the dog, horses and a calf, helped get the cows in for milking and generally had a gereat time! I had one very tired boy delivered home that evening!!

He’s turning into a parrot!!

I’m getting lots more words out of Alex now! He’s been trying to mimic everything we say, the majority of times without success! Amy is over the moon as Alex has started saying “Amy” and “Abby”. For some reason we get a lot of “Bigger, bigger bee”!! Went to visit Jan and Kevin for lunch and saw their new house.

Visitors!

Amy and Nan came to stay today and will be here till Tuesday. Alex helped me with the housework before they arrived by doing the vacuuming – I have one very clean patch of carpet and the rest is untouched!! We went with Nan to her spin-in where Alex had great fun racing around the hall with Amy and I in tow. Amy gave him his bottle in the evening and he snuggled into her holding onto her ear!!

Fat Cat!

I think Merlyn is about to put on lots of weight – Alex has realised he can open the cupboard and get the cat biscuits out. He puts his hand into the box and delivers them into the bowl one fistful at a time. I’m just really glad he isn’t eating them!

Big Rig day in town

There was about 60 Big Rigs gathered on the Old Railway land today giving rides to the kiddies – was a fund raiser for child cancer. Alex got really excited every time one of them honked their horn!! We had a ride on wee truck and alex was in full time waving mode to all the people we went past.

Yay for the sandpit!

We spent a lovely autumn day in the sandpit. We dug and poured sand everywhere!! Was all through his clothes!! Alex went into exploring mode and climbed to the top of the fence to see the neighbours – cried as he didn’t know how to get down. He has also started talking on my mobile… “gabba blabber blibber…Bye!!!”

Did you hear about the kid who tried to blow up his mothers car?

Alex was outside playing on his bike riding round and round my car this morning while I did the dishes. There was a sudden silence and I went out to find Alex with black circular marks from his chin to the bridge of his nose. Having no idea where they came from, I did the good mother thing and took him to the bathroom and cleaned him up. “What have you got on your face?’ I asked him. We went back outside, he hopped back on his bike and rode to the back of my car where he promptly tried to blow into my exhaust pipe!! An IRA recruit in the making!!

Big Boys bed!!

Terry collected Alex’s bed from the shops warehouse today, transported it back to the house and helped us put it together. Alex kept jumping up on his bed and opening his bedroom window. He had his first sleep in a big boys bed – I think he hasn’t realised he can get out of the bed as he made absolutely no attempt to get down!! I also purchased a step for Alex to reach the tap in the bathroom – washed his hands 4 times – just because he could!!

“Mine!!”

Alex wanted my drink today and I made the mistake of saying “mine”. He then grabbed his glass and said “mine!” holding it tightly to his chest. He wants to drink out of a glass all the time and obviously thinks he’s too old for sipper cups. Mummy says different when she takes into account the increase in the changes of clothes due to water being poured down the front!!

Edmonds for dinner with Adrienne.

Got invited round to the Edmonds for dinner tonight as Adrienne was over visiting. Alex and Cohan chased each other round and round – funniest thing was when Alex tried to hide from Cohan by putting his hands over his eyes and standing still. Cohan then ran up to him and did the same!!

The world is clearer…

Neil and kids came round this morning and checked out why our TV reception is so fuzzy. Found a few vital wires were missing and some loose connections in the plug. We now have a lovely clear reception and Alex can watch Barney on Saturday mornings minus the snow storm.
Went to a work colleagues place for a BBQ in Feilding this evening – Alex had great fun kicking the ball around the back yard, ate all the chips and dip and proceeded to line all his cars up for everyone. Put him in his PJs and one wee tired boy happily cuddled Ronnie for about half an hour!!

Where’s the Easter bunny?

We drove over to Masterton today to visit Alex’s Great Grandma for Easter Sunday. Went for an Easter egg hunt for little caramel and chocolate eggs – he found them all!!! When we went to leave Alex went running straight back out into the garden to check for more eggs! Drove straight up to Dannevirke to drop Nan off home. Went over to Kates to say hi and have a coffee – Alex is playing really well with Johnny now!

Well, he has part of a bed!

Alex has recently taken to sleeping with Gus the bear in his cot. As Gus is the same size as Alex, there isn’t a hell of a lot of room left so I thought it about time to investigate the possibility of a big boys bed. We went shopping today, resulting in a single bed (on order) and the mattress in the back of the car. Set up the mattress on the ground for Alex along with his duvet. He thinks it’s great!! I’m going to do a two week transition and let him sleep on the mattress on the ground before taking delivery of the bed!

Easter Friday

Was a lovely sunny Palmy day today so Nan, Alex and I decided to have Fish and Chips down at Memorial Park. Alex hardly sat still long enough to eat but the slide got lots of use and the ducks were kept on the go!! He also found it hilarious to throw his chips one by one to the waiting duck multitude!

Nan over to babysit.

I had to go to Auckland for work today so Nan came over to babysit – shes going to stay for Easter too. Alex played on his ride-on motorbike out the back of the house and has worked out how to get the speed up. The legs are flying and he goes really fast!!
He also kept pointing at the ground getting really distressed – found out he is pointing to every leaf and moth around the place – no idea what has created that phobia.

Cheers to all!!

Alex is getting a bit shaggy so took him down to the hairdresser for a haircut. I managed to keep him still by showing him pictures and videos off the digital camera. He now looks like a real boy! The baby has gone!!
Went to change his nappy this afternoon and got the change mat out. The next thing I know, Gus the Teddy Bear is laying in Alex’s place and Alex is trying to put the nappy on him! I suppose it’s only fair that Gus should wear one too!
My work colleague Lisa had her farewell party tonight so I went down early so I could take Alex along. He had great fun running around all the boys with his Tommy Tippee cup saying “cheers”!! Was also very handy at putting the empties in the rubbish!

He’s showing promise!!

We went round to Tracys for our weekly fish and chip date tonight. She brought out her slide trumpet and played some notes on it. After dinner, Alex wandered over to where the trumpet was sitting in the open case, picked it up, put his mouth to it and tried to sing into it!

Under the duvet with the teddy bears

I’ve sorted out a duvet for Alex in preparation of the move to a big boys bed. Today I had the duvet on the couch and Alex got his two big bears and hopped under the duvet with them. I had to tuck them in.
He has also found out where the biscuit container is – I’ve taken the kiddie barrier down that keeps him out of the kitchen and he keeps dragging the container out of the cupboard but luckily he isn’t opening it up. Usually he just stands at the cupboard pointing and going “errrr!!!”

Hungry Gus

Alex’s big teddy bear Gus must have worked up an appetite playing with Alex this morning. Alex put him in the highchair and then fed him cracker biscuits – he would hold the biscuit to Gus’s mouth and then place it on his tummy!! We went round to Karen’s house and met her wee kitten Fergus – he is gorgeous!! Alex tried to play with him and threw him the ball but Fergus was a bit hesitant to play with a boisterous toddler – who would blame him!!

Relay for life

We watched the Feilding band play in a fundraising concert at the College of Education today. Alex got into his groove with a good bit of dancing. He chased Andrew (Becs oldest) round and around our group and waved “Bye” at some people sitting close by every time he completed his circuit.

He’s definitely getting taller

I can gauge his growth by how many buttons he can reach on the stereo on the bookshelf – he is now at the on/off button!! Alex managed to use his spoon properly for the first time today. He has broken the habit of turning the spoon as it goes into his mouth and letting all the food slide off. We actually managed some effective transfer from bowl to mouth!!!

The helpful gardener

It looked like rain so I couldn’t wait till Alex was in bed to mow the lawn today. I started the mower and Alex took off like a startled rabbit but with a bit of coaxing he came over to the mower. The back lawn was easy as I could mow as Alex played, but mowing the front was harder as it effectively leaves him unattended. I ended up hoisting him onto my hip, working the mower with one arm and let Alex help me push the mower. He was so proud of himself!! My arm was so sore!!!

Work family day

We had the annual summer family BBQ for my work today. Was a neat set up with food, train rides, pony rides, running races, bouncy castles, games etc! Alex was finally brave enough to attempt his first go on the bouncy castle! I still had to hold his hands but he got a good lot of bouncing in. Alex also got to pat the pony and sat on it for a whole 5 seconds before demanding to be put down. He was on the go the whole time we were there but found the most fascinating thing to be the wheels on the truck that the miniature train was transported in.

Abbys birthday party

We went over to Dannevirke today to attend Abbys 5th birthday party. She had a pool party down at the local indoor pool so there were a lot of excited kiddies floundering around. Alex had great fun with his floating devise but preferred to splash in the paddling pool and throw the soft balls around. We went back to the Berthams for lunch afterwards and Alex chased Jonny around everywhere. The two boys went missing for a while and I found them lying down together on Abbys bed! I think Alex is trying to tell me its time to loose the cot!

Naked Motorbike riding

Was a lovely warm evening and Alex got away from me when I took him out of the bath. He was out the door and onto his ride-on motorbike before I had time to grab a towel! The look of delight on his face as he rode round in the nuddy and then took off running round the garage not leaving anything to the imagination!!

Esplanade open day / dinner at the Edmonds

Took Alex down to the Esplanade Family day and watched the band, rode the train and met Ronald McDonald! Went round to the Edmonds for dinner and Alex got to play with Cohen. Jeff took the boys outside for a bit and they came back in with a lovely collection of snail shells! Cohan and Alex had great delight jumping on the bed in the spare room. The two boys had a bath together and had great fun drawing on each other with washable crayons!!

Valentines Day concert in the Square – Band of the Royal Marines

Went after work with a picnic tea to watch the free concert in the square. Lots of people there, including half the Feilding Band. Alex did a bit of dancing but spent more time trying to get the attention of all those around him than he did watching the actual band!

Commercial kid!!

Alex was pointing to his plastic plate saying something that sounded like “Bob!”. He would then give me a look like I was stupid or something. Closer investigations showed him to be pointing to the picture on his plate that just so happened to be Bob the Builder!

Memorial Park with Marcus

Was a nice day today so we went to the park with Marcus and his parents. Had lots of swings and the two boys made me dizzy with the amount of circuits they did on the adventure playground and down the slide!

He’s a thirsty bear!

Gus, Alexs big bear is obviously very thirsty according to Alex! He keeps feeding his bottle to him! We are also finally getting some regular words – alex says “Bye!” very nicely accompanied by an over enthusiastic wave! He manages to get quite a few waves back whenwe leave the supermarket as the other patrons think it a bit cute!

Waitangi Day Holiday.

Public holiday today and Alex decided to start it with a bit of weight lifting – unfortunately he is using the cat and Merlyn wasn’t that impressed with his attempt to hoist her around by her head. A quick wriggle and a dirty look directed at Alex and she escaped with no harm done. We drove Nan back to her house and popped over to the Berthams to say hi. Alex and Jonny disappeared and I found the two of them sitting on Jonnys bed talking to Barney!

Under the gate…

I returned from Wellington to find out the Alex can escape from the fully fenced back yard. He was following the cat that ran under the gate for a quick escape. Alex dropped onto his hands and knees and wriggled on after her! Oh no!!

Mummy off to 7s

I’m childless for two days as I am off to Wellington to the Rugby 7s. This is the longest period since before Alex was born. Caught up with Pete and Louise who kindly put me up for the weekend and had a fantastic time doing the whole 7s thing – funny wigs / clothes, lots of rugby action and the occasional beer… The weekend was made even more enjoyable by a tournament win to NZ!! Yay! Alex managed to get something out of mummy being away because I came back with some Thomas the Tank engine books and plenty of Pumpkin Patch clothing from the outlet store in Otaki.

Nan and Paula over.

In preparation of my up and coming child free weekend, Nan has come over to stay and brought 7 year old Paula with her to help look after Alex. It was a gloriously hot evening so I raced to pick Alex up from Day care to get home and collect my two visitors. We went down to memorial park for a swim and a play on the play ground. It was such a nice evening we changed our dinner plans and I went off and got fish and chips. We spread out picnic style on the grass with tomato sauce everywhere.

Lollipop Playland

The Bethams brought Alex back this morning with Nan in tow! We took all the kids to Lollipop Land where they all had a ball. Alex climbed on the slide, drove the car, went on the see-saw but the highlight was the merry-go-round. After the ride, Alex had a wee sulk cause the merry go round finished – look at this face! The Bertham clan came round for lunch – nice busy house!
Alex finally has a useful word!!! When something smells he says “Poo!”, screws up his nose and waves his hand in front of his nose. Very handy when the nappy is dirty…

Over to Nans to stay the weekend

Alex got to spend a couple of days with Nan so Mum could go out for a work dinner on Friday night and then attend a concert in town on Saturday night. So Mum got her first full childless day ever (slept in, went shopping, and went to the pub!) Alex went to spinning club with Nan on Friday and charmed the ladies. Exploring was fun until he pulled one of the spinning wheels over on top of himself. Alex got to play with the Bertham family a fair bit.

Not the Pohutukawa!!

Alex was playing outside this evening on his ride on toys and suddenly it went a bit quiet. I went out to find him in the porch, plucking the leaves off my newly potted pohutukawa plants and posting them into an empty lemonade bottle! As I run over to stop him, he grabbed the whole plant and up rooted it!! Alex got a telling off over not touching mummy’s plants. Normally telling offs are like water off a ducks back to this kid and he usually just carries on like nothing has happened but this time, he dropped his bottom lip and looked most woebegone!! He walked over to the gate as though he was going to leave home and kept looking at me trying very hard to hold back the tears. He then had to apologise to the tree which was replanted minus some leaves. Finally the message is getting through!!

Bonus Day with Mummy!

It a holiday today for Wellington anniversary so Alex got a bonus Mummy day! We went down to memorial park and had lots of fun on the swings and slide. Alex can run round the wee toddler adventure playground, climb up to the slide and slide down all by himself! We also took some bed down and fed the ducks – Alex was right in the middle of them all and wasn’t phased by the scrap over the bread.

The Mighty Manawatu river!

We went down to the river with Marcus and his Dad today. I carried Alex down to the waters edge, put him down and asked him to hold my hand. He shook it off and went straight into the water, which wasn’t the warmest!! Got such a fright he promptly fell over and was immersed up to his underarms! Luckily mum had a change of clothes. He stayed close beside me from then on and had great fun throwing stones into the river and making big splashes. Some of the throws were a bit off, resulting in the stone coming straight back down onto his noggin!
He can complete 15 piece wooden puzzle he got for Xmas already. He tries to have me on – he puts the pieces in the wrong place, looks at me with a grin and shakes his head – “No” says Alex. “It doesn’t go in there” completes Mummy.

Kiss from a girl!

Was dropping Alex off at Daycare this morning and while I was there, Sharlene’s other charge Nadia was dropped off. Alex and Nadia play well together but I didn’t realise they were as close as they were! They stood in the doorway giving each other big hugs and Nadia planted a big kiss on Alex’s cheek! She’s 2 so yet again Alex goes for the older woman!!

Heart stopping…

I found out the hard way that Alex can open the front door by himself. He followed me into my room when I got home from work then took off down the hall. I followed him about 10 seconds later and assumed he was out the back playing but he wasn’t in the backyard, and wasn’t behind the shed. I checked the spare room to see if he was saying hello to Merlyn but he wasn’t there either. Suddenly realised the front door was ajar so raced out the front to find Alex standing on the road eyeballing a car! The driver had seen him on the side of the road and stopped and Alex had then sauntered out to see the car. He later demonstrated how he can just reach the handle enough to pull it down and open the door. The front door is now permanently locked.

Animal sounds!

What does the cat say? “Meow” says Alex. What does the sheep say? “Baa” says Alex. What does the cow say? “Boo” says Alex. Close enough...

Himitangi Beach

We went with the neighbours out to the beach this morning as it was such a nice summer’s day. Alex actually played in the surf a bit and wasn’t as scared. Marcus and Alex built / destroyed some great sandcastles! We chased the wee boys up and down some sand dunes so as to tire them out. Stopped for iceblocks on the way home and Alex did a pretty good job on his first iceblock – I think he found it nice on his gums as he is teething again. We have had 2 molars and one more front tooth find their way through since Xmas. Tooth count has now moved to a grand total of 9!!!
Alex worked out how to climb the side fence this afternoon…his excuse was he was trying to follow the cat who has been let outside for the first time.

Temperature sensitive lad!

Alex doesn’t like his food hot. He’s started telling me so as well. If I give him a hot meal, he picks up the food, blows on it, looks over at me shaking his head and says “bo!” (rhymes with hot and without the t sound). It then gets strategically placed on the tray to the side till it is suitable cool enough.

A clean bowl…

Water conservation is not high on Alex’s list. He has worked out how to flush the toilet and every time I leave the bathroom door open, he puts the lid down on the toilet, hoists himself up and repeatedly pushes flush till the tank is empty.

Visit from the neighbours

Marcus (age 3.5) and his dad from over the back came over this afternoon to have a play in the sandpit. Was a beautiful day so we got the blow-up swimming pool out and set the sprinkler going for the boys to play in. Alex with his shoe fetish promptly tried on Marcus’s Dads sneakers that were put by the door! Better than my heels that’s for sure!

Snip snip!!

While in her charge, Nan took Alex down to the hairdressers for his first REAL haircut! It seems to have changed his whole face shape and he really is a little boy now! I have kept the clippings!
Relocated back home this evening with boy and cat. The cat was meowing from her box in the front and one wee boy was meowing in the car seat in the back, giggling away!!

Swim time!

I was hoping for this (thanks Sarah and Mat!)
Instead I got this!!!

Took Alex over to the Berthams for a swim in their paddling pool this afternoon. He is a bit of a softie - and compained and shivered like it was really cold! Toughen up kid!

New Years Day BBQ

Had the Berthams over for BBQ lunch today - I cooked the meat! Alex loves sausages as long as they are covered in tomato sauce!