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!!