186 + 82 Weeks

A lot happened this week - we had trips to Narrawallee Inlet, and also down to Dolphin Point - we even set the tent up and it didn't blow over.  We took the lilo with us, and Carmen had fun floating around on it.  The weather was amazing - too hot really, and then came Australia Day, and with it a summer cold snap that is lingering.  For Australia Day we went to the markets, and Carmie spent the whole time on the jumping castle and the merry-go-round.  Afterwards Lolo and Dida and the cousins came over for morning tea, and the kids were very excited.

The following day Carmie started her new school.  She loves it.  I was sure she would be crying on the first day, but she got stuck right in to the new toys, and she was very happy to see another girl from her old school there.  She loves the Montessori room that they have set up, and is coming home with a new understanding of things, which is really nice to see.  She also loves the back yard, which has dinosaurs in it, some slides, a canoe, sand pit, cubby house, and a pet rabbit called Larry.  Carmie did three days there this week, was excited to go every day, and when I picked her up on the last day, she was sitting with two boys, who were very obviously showing off to her, and she was giggling and laughing at them.  It was very nice to see, and I hope her excitement lasts.

As for Arley, he is learning new words, and finally has a name for his sister.  He calls her "Marmy", which unfortunately sounds a lot like Mummy, and the only way we know who he is talking about is by seeing who he is looking at.  He tried painting for the fist time this week, loves to read The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and refuses to eat any food that is not familiar, and it cannot contain any kind of sauce, or any vegetable either (except for frozen corn, peas and carrots).  He begs for cheese at every meal, and would rather have his "nak" (drink) than his actual meal.  Every time we are getting ready to go anywhere, he thinks he is being left behind, and he cries at the front door, blocking the way.  He got weighed last week, and was 13.4kgs (about 30lbs), which is on the hefty side for an 18 month old.  His Lolo made him a hat for the coming winter, and he fell in love with it and wore it for two days straight. He is a funny little guy.

At Narrawallee Inlet

 Pooped out

 Arley's first time painting

 This is how I get work done these days.

 At Dolphin Point

 Australia Day

 While Carmie was at school, we took Arley to the play cafe.  He spent most of his time sitting in the chair like a little grown up.

 Arley's new beloved hat.

185 + 81 Weeks

It has been very hot here lately, so we have been making the most of the hot weather and taking the kids to Dolphin Point and Narrawallee Inlet park whenever we can.  Seeing them having so much fun in the water makes me really love summer.  We also had a snap cold day this week, and the forecast is for rain, so it is turning out to be a strange summer.  On our trip to Dolphin Point this week, we made ourselves the laughing stock of the beach, by being the only dummies (at Jeff's insistence, mind you!) to set up our beach tent on the sand bar in the middle of the inlet.  Right in the windiest spot.  And we have a great big tent too, which took us forever to set up.  It then proceeded to get blown here and there, and, not to be done in by the natural elements, Jeff filled the sand bags more full and pegged the stakes deeper.  To no avail.  We never got to sit in our great big tent, but instead had to spend forever packing it up.  Meanwhile,  all the clever people had their lovely tents and umbrellas set up along the shoreline, facing us (and not blowing away), so we put on quite a show for them.

Arley still has a staph infection, so he is on different antibiotics now, and still not the happiest chap.  He is really trying to talk now, and he finally says Mummy (about 1000 times a day).  He loves to push cars around and read books, and spends most of his day doing one or the other.  He also has a newfound love for drawing, so he does that a lot too, which of course puts a smile on my face.

Last night I went to a meeting at Carmie's new school to meet her new teachers and see the centre.  I think it is going to be great.  They have a lot of Montessori equipment already, and the new teacher is very experienced and lovely.  Carmie is very excited because they have a pet rabbit that lives in a hutch in the back yard.  The centre is very homey, and I think it will be a good fit for Carmen.  We are just about to give up on Carmie's naps.  She takes one about every 3-4 days, and when she does, she has a hard time falling asleep at night.  Tonight she was still calling out at 10pm.  The problem is that when she doesn't nap, she can be quite a terror by dinner time.  Can anyone tell me how long this transition takes?  It is awful!  It is also hard to get her to bed early when she doesn't nap, because it is the middle of summer, and who wants to go to bed at 6:30 when it feels like 3 in the afternoon?  Besides me, that is!

184 + 80 Weeks

This week we had a few adventures, one being a trip to the library, with both the kids.  Ulladulla has a brand new fantastic library, with a kids corner, and it was a rainy day, so we thought it would be good to take the kids.  Carmie was great.  Arley, another story.  All he wanted to do was throw the crayons around the library and explore vociferously.  We traumatised the other visitors for a good 45 minutes before we left and took the kids for a walk along the harbour.  So, we won't be going back to the library in a hurry.

We went to family day at the Commercial hotel, so that Carmie could 'get her boogie on'.  We also had a nice dinner at the farm with Lolo and Dida.  And I braved taking the kids to the new park at Narrawallee by myself.  Carmie is great, but all Arley wants to do is wonder off into the car park to play amongst the traffic. 

Arley is saying more and more words, with his new words just over the past few days being giraffe, cup, and drink.  He never talks on command though.  He still screams "Pad!" at us about a hundred times a day, demanding the iPad.  He screams and yells and is a grumpy little guy, with moments of pure sweetness too.  He likes to copy his big sister, and even attempted ballet this week.  He is definitely shy and self-conscious though, and if you draw attention to him, he often refuses to continue his performance.  Carmie, on the other hand, is always the performer, loves her dress-up and make believe.  Tonight she called me up to her bedroom, crying, because she wants real fairy wings, not fake ones.  She is generally very sweet these days, unless she gets over-tired, and then she is a bit of a nightmare.  She loves to play Snakes and Ladders, and Zingo with her dad, and does so every chance that she can get.

Here is a video of Carmie telling me why she couldn't nap (she rarely does these days): 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lw6Lkbt83XE&feature=youtu.be

Making chocolate covered bananas with Mum

 Cowgirl Carmie

 At the new Narrawallee park

 Arley with his wubanubs