Funny game and funny story

Went to the pool with Bax the other day and saw Tim Finn! Bax looked up at him and stared and said in a loud voice: "Daddy!" then he looked at me, thought for a moment, pointed back at TF and said (in an even louder voice): "Poppa!"

The game is: I sing a song, Bax says stop at various intervals, I stop midword, Bax says more, I start off where I left off. We can play this for hours.

Another funny little thing: Bax carries my mother's photo around the house saying Nana Nana Nana and to get him to give it back we have to say that Nana is sleepy and needs to go night night on the shelf!

And BTW does anyone know what "Abada" means? Bax says it with great gusto and emotion and for all sorts of occassions but we just can't work it out.

Special love to PhSim who is just terrific, and to EK aka CdV now that the NZIFF has finished. Love, love, love.

Out of the gate and off for a walk...

Bax is hooked. Stupid probably to get it for him in the first place but now that it's done we just have to hold on and ride the storm out. Two words: Hairy MacLary!

It is a DVD with ten five minute HM stories spoken in very fine NZEng by the lovely Miranda Harcourt and Bax could watch it all day everyday - he doesn't of course!

His favourite character is the scariest one - Scarfaced Claw the meanest Tom in town, and now when ever he sees he cat he hisses and says "Tom. Cat." with a big fullstop (could even be an exclamation point!) between the words.

I made the mistake of reciting bits I could remember while we were out on the bike one day and soon found myself puffing up a steep hill trying to get the story out and breathe at the same time! "Out of the gate...huff puff...off for a ...hiff bpuff struggle for breath...went Hairy Mc...breatheeee" while Bax sqeeled "More more!" from the back seat.

Meanwhile on the other side of the lounge....Izzie and her rolling are driving me mad. She can only roll one way and is very determined. She rolls onto her tummy sits there for a bit looking around and chuckling and then she gets tired and her head droops and she starts screaming like a stuck pig until someone comes and rolls her back!

make way for ducklings!

G has damaged his finger and because his current job involves heavy lifting he is off work. We took the kids for a lovely walk along the creek path today and there we saw an angry looking daddy-duck. A little further on we met the mummy-duck and 12!!! babies. We stood for ages showing Bax the babies and chatting about how cute and little they were and so many! Then along came a big fat rat... As the ducklings got closer to where the rat was hiding in the undergrowth we moved our own brood further away. I looked at G and knew he was thinking what I was thinking - how to explain Darwin's theory of survival to a two year old. We hurried Bax away before Mr Rat decided on his next move. Maybe that's why there are so many babies in a duck's litter (litter? flock? pack?)

rollie pollie smiley peach

Izzie rolled right over tonight. She was chasing a toy and egged on by G and I she rolled right onto her tummy and lay there smiling. She smiles a lot - everybody says so. She is a round, happy, peaches and cream sweetie, and an absolute joy.

And after going backwards for a few weeks Bax managed to pee in the potty. G pulled out an old scout camp trick and stuck Bax' fingers in a bowl of luke warm water. It worked! Bax peeed. We bounced around like crazy things - he stared at us as if to say "No big deal parents that is what big kids do isn't it?"

Last thing - you all would have laughed tonight if you had seen me in the garage trying to hide the bright red trike we've got him for his birthday in August. I finally decided on covering it with the big box Izzie's new car seat came in but the trailer bit is sticking out the bottom. Any better ideas on the back of a postcard please.

Old MacDonald had a farm...

E-I-E-I-O!! So we decided to humour Bax' love of "ammuls" and visit the local petting farm. G's dad and I took both Izzie and Bax to Old MacDonald's farm in Kiwi Valley in Henderson. First thing up was rabbits and guinea pigs and Bax was scared of them! And I started thinking oh no we've come all this way and he's going to be a drip! But when we got out to the pony rides he got his guts back and rode the little fat horse round and round. It was very cute! Didn't have my camera of course because it's broken.

Bax wouldn't get off the pony and went around about six times while the queue of kids built up behind us. He was happy to feed the donkey but not so keen on the sheep. He knows all the names of the various animals so enjoyed saying "Hello" and "Byebye" to them each in turn.

Funniest moment came as we were about to leave. There is a maze there for adults and older kids and Poppa and I dismissed it, but not Bax who shot in the turnstiles and disappeared. Of course they only went round one way so Poppa had to go in after him. I was in hysterics, I could hear them over the high wall deciding how to get out. In the end they had to buy their way out by high jacking two ten year olds who had obviously "been there done that", they escorted a very frazzled poppa and a grinning Bax to the exit. Couldn't have written a better story line!

I must not buy sweet treats for Bax at the Mall.

Went to the mall for a coffee and bought Bax a gingerbread man. He examined it thoughtfully. "Teddy!" Bax said. He carefully ate its eyes off "Night Night Teddy" said he looking a little forlorn.

I must not buy sweet treats for Bax at the Mall.

Just a little love and our darling Miss O

Sometimes life is really sh*t and then you look in the rear view mirror and see Bax and Izzie holding hands across their car seats. True, it happens. Last Friday when those bombs went off I took Bax to the pool and everything just went really wrong - tiny things but still they all pile up don't they? On a truly sh*t day...

(I made a silent promise to my old friend Cd'V that I would describe how lovely it is to have butter-balls in your life, so...)

...on the way home from the pool I looked in the mirror to see Bax grinning e-to-e and Izzie must of been doing the same and they were holding hands.

Another moment of beauty: Today Bax had his nap at H's and when he woke up I took Miss O to get him up. He was a little mimi-eyed but when he saw her he cheered right up and she reached over the porta-cot to hug him and he gave her a big hug in return. I lifted him out of the cot and gave him his teddy. Of course Miss O went for it and Bax was not having that. He ran down the corridor. About a minute later he came back though with her teddy and handed it to her. Off they went together with their teddies and a few minutes later they had turned the blocks trolley into a push chair and were careening around the house taking teddy times two for a walk.

Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this son of Barron

Got a call from the lovely lady Y at the new nursery inviting us to the annual Lantern Festival that the Steinerites put together in Winter. Along we went. It was truly magical and I have to share it with you.

A very cold night but crystal clear with the thinest sliver of a moon and many stars visible. We pulled up in the truck and the front garden of the daycare and the drive next door which leads to Y's house at the back were sprinkled with lanterns made of paper with candles inside. G carried Izzie and I led Bax into the garden where we were given a lantern for Bax to hold on a long dowel. Throughout the garden were little tableux from fariy stories: Billy gostas gruff in one; a prince and princess in another; a whole tiny farm. Bax was most impressed by the child sized cottage in the corner, he took his lantern in and wouldn't come out again for a long time, watching the other children through the little windows. As more and more people gathered and children took up their lanterns a natural procession began and we all walked solemnly through the garden, out the gate, down the drive and around Y's beautiful house all lit by candle light only. Leading us was a band of young musicians on violin and flute - there were two harps.

After the walk we stood together in the garden and ate homemade ginger and oat biscuits handed around by the older children.

We snuck off early. Izzie had fallen asleep in G's arms and Bax' eyes were drooping.

I didn't take any pics - difficult in the dark and not something I feel comfortable doing in such serene and magical little-person circumstances. I drew this picture when I got home, done late at night but while it was still fresh in my head.

Things I forgot

Tissue, dog, cat, duck, sheep, cow, sleep, door, chair, push, jump, up, down, outside, go, stop, ready steady go!

And of course I meant cuddle not cuddly (although she is very cuddly!)

Just a quick note before bed

Bax hasn't been at daycare for two weeks now and he's stopped chewing on his hands. Also, he spent today with G and is very happy, using lots of words, eating and sleeping well and no tantrums.

I took both Izzie and Bax to the plunket nurse today and she said how lovely they both are. Izzie is apparently very tall for her age. And we're not to worry about Bax and his dislike of veges, the plates of fruit will do. And we have to get his fringe trimmed because it bugs him.

Just to keep you up to speed here is a list of his words to date:
Tractor, Digger, Car, Truck, Bus, Chopper. Apple, Pineapple, Kiwifruit, Banana, Orange, Potato, Sausage, Toast, Egg, Juice, Milk, Water. Dummie, Izzie, Bubba, Daddy, Mummy. Night Night, Hello, Telephone, Byebye. Toys, Shoes, Socks, Jumper, Jacket, T'Shirt, Pants, Boots, Book, Bath, Toilet, Potty, Poo, Pee. Yum, Yuk. Nana, Poppa, Granny. Hot, Cold, Cooked. Ta, Please.

More worrying: Coffee, Rubbish, TV.

Really lovely (and we didn't know he could say until he said it to Izzie during bath time last night): cuddly.

That's us - night-night.

DJ Mix Master Bax in da house

As part of my plan to get both kids to be happy in their bedroom I have installed a CD player. At the same time Bax has worked out how to climb out of his cot - he has only done this twice so far so obviously doesn't have much of an urge to. A few days ago I had put him down for a midday snooze I after a few minutes i could hear him creeping around in his room. I let him be, wanting to see what would happen. About half an hour went by and then there was this god almighty screech of static and a loud scream. I went in to find Bax huddled and shaking. He had somehow turned up the volume on his CD player, switched it to radio and knowcked it off the station. Gave himself a hell of a fright and hasn't touched the player since.

Until today...

When I put him down he asked for some songs so, bored myself by Puffing Billy and Peter and the Wolf, I switched on National Radio and left. About ten minutes later I could hear him playing with the CD player so I went in. He was lying in bed with all of the 7 or so CD cases around him. He had pulled out the fly leaf of his favourite and was quietly telling himself the story. I could see that he had tried to get rid of National, put on his CD - hadn't managed it so had given up and was muttering to himself and pointing at the pictures from the cover. I gave in and now he is sleeping with Puffing Billy playing quietly in the background.

Animals in the Zoo and at Home

We took Bax and Izzie to the zoo and Izzie slept very comfortably in her back pack. Bax loved the animals but got most enjoyment of the fowl and the fishes. As we all peered into the fabulous giraffe pen and ahhed and awed at the might of the tall african Bax pointed dramatically and yelled "Ducks! Ducks!" and he was quite right, the giraffe share their home with a couple of pretty ordinary run-of-the-mill ducks.

Izzie has begun eating a few solids and she loves food! Unlike Bax who is going backwards in his eating. Izzie eats avocado and pear and baby rice and smacks her lips and grins. It's lovely and I can't wait to try her on my famous carrot and garlic surprise!

Coming down with a bout of the uh-ohs

Bax says uh-oh whenever he sees anything that looks like it's had an oops. For instance today we were walking to the shop and he saw a car which had had a prang and the fender had come off and he said "Uhoh Car Bump uh-oh". And yesterday he brought me his new Little Red Engine book and carefully showed me a picture of a man changing a flat tyre on a truck and told me "Daddy Uh oh Wheel Truck Daddy Uh oh". You get the picture?

A warning though: Uh oh is catching. Tonight at the rugby, amid the calls of "He's been doing it all night ref" and "Offside" I distinctly heard G say, a number of times, "Uh oh!" - the score ? 13-17 to the Lions...Uh-Oh indeed.