New words

Bax' vocab is growing expedentially (a lot).

He has a new word or phrase every day.

Fighting sleep at bed time he said to me "I'm worried. It's not easy being three."

And in the weekend G and he went off on a big 'Benture' to the toy library and he loved it so much he wants to go on 'bentures' everyday now and loves stories that have princes and princesses and dragons and ponys going on bentures through forests and up mountains and to castles. He's become a real benturer.

And my favourite: This weekend he told us over and over how much he'd love to have a 'buckeroo', how having a buckeroo for tea would be the best thing ever and he loved buckeroos and they were his favourite. "Buckeroos are my favourite MummyDaddy."

It took me a long long time to work out he was talking about barbeques.

Thee devine Ms Izz

New managerie babies

We have two kittens now. Oooo ahhhh. They are so so cute, it should be illegal. The tabby one is called Beans and has a longer more adult cat tail and the black one is fluffier, bigger and his tail is a little spike. His name is Chilli. Of course.

The kids love them but G loves them more. We have had a couple of small puddles but I have outlined my strategy for dealing with them to the children and to G so we are moving forward from there. Now we just have to explain it to the kittens.

Bax is getting very good at carrying them and 'placing' them on the ground when finished rather than just dropping them.

Django is amused.

In other news: Tonight I made marmalade from the fruit I grew myself. And it is delish. I ate four teaspoons of it for supper. I wish I could send you each a jar but I only made four.

Our friend Hodge Podge

Yes Izzie does eat ice-blocks in the bath.

Life lessons

G just called, Bax had come running across the garden "Daddy daddy there's a baby bird sleeping in the stones". Poor little bird had fallen from its nest and died on the gravel.

As they came close Bax whispered "Shhhooosh daddy the baby's sleeping"

G picked it up carefully and carried it to the trees on the side of the garden. "Let's put the baby here" he siad to a serious little boy "And the baby bird can have a proper rest."

Night time chatterbox

Last night Bax couldn't sleep. I heard him chatting at 10pm and went in to ask if he was okay. His entire bed was covered in toys and books and there was only a postage stamp sized corner for him to sleep on. I asked him if he wanted to sleep in Mummy's bed and he nodded. Before he left his room he asked "Can I bring just one toy?" I said okay "Maybe my fire car?" I said sure. Then we spent nearly half an hour looking for the "fire car". In that time I found about 15 small fire engines, showed them to him one by one, "Is this it?" "Is this it?" No says Bax that's a fire truck, that's a ambulance car, that's a engine. I said "What colour is this fire car?" Red. I found another 20 cars all red and showed them to him . No. He said each time "That's a rufus truck, that's a russell in a fast car car, that's a bouncy car, that's a dump truck." He has a name for every single car. Finally I spotted a big red fire engine on the bookcase. "How bout this?" I asked. Bax smiled and nodded "How bout that! " he said.

We went into my room and I tucked him into bed and brushed my teeth. I curled up next to him. "Did you have a nice day?" "Uhhu!" he said "Did Daddy pick you up from kindy?" "Uhhu!" then I said night night and he said night night back. I closed my eyes, it was nearly 11. Then very quietly I heard "Happy Birthday to you". Bax was singing. I rolled over. "Whose birthday is it Bax?" "My birthday mummy" "Was there a birthday at kindy?" "Emma's birthday. We had a cake and cake and cake!" "Do you want to sing me Happy Brithday Bax?" I asked. He grinned then sang Happy Birthday to you about ten times before ending with a very dramatic choral "Dear Muuuummmmmmyyyyyy". I laughed then I said "Go to sleep Bax, night night" "Night night mummy" came his reply. 20 seconds of silence, then..."Mummy?" I said in my most adult voice "Bax, go to sleep" "Okay Mummy I go to sleep". five more seconds "Mummy?" Time to lay down the law. "Bax, Talk to your fire car."

Another drop of silence.

Then a whisper in the dark "Hello firecar...."

Spider man

Daddy Cool

Miss O's 3rd birthday

Miss O blows out candles. Miss O and Bax frolic together. Mz Izz concentrates on her little garden at the activity table.

calling home

I just rang home. And got Bax on the phone. "I went up the steps and slid down the pole, them rolly polly rolly pollly down the hill." I figure he's talking about the play ground. "And the see saw, and Izzie-Bella on the see saw too." He is.

He fills me in on what's been happening, asks "You at work?" Then signs off with "I love you too bubbye."

He's so full of brightness today, surprising has he had such a broken sleep, oh no wait, that was me. Sleeping in his bed, with his toe nails digging into me and me heading towards the edge of the bed. I really must cut his toe nails, but he screams so loudly when I try and shouts "Don't eat me, mummy don't eat my feet!!" SO loudly the neighbours must wonder.

I will put some pictures of the fire engine box G made in the weekend. Bax keep 'driving' into tight gaps in the garden, getting stuck then falling over and turtle-like not being able to right himself again. "I crashed I crashed my fire engine" I can still hear him yelling.

Izzie didn't get a look in. Then as we all prepared tea, she snuck out quietly and climbed inside the engine, but she's not big enough to 'wear' it so she got trapped in there and had to wiggle out from under neath.

Houdini

We are trying to get Iz to sleep in her real bed rather than the port-a-cot. She's grown out of the cot and is so uncomfy that she wakes up in the night moaning.

We tucked her up two nights ago with two duvets and tucked them right in under the matress.

At 2am G got up because he heard her crying. And he found her in the hall, in the dark looking for her dummy.

Then last night I woke up in the middle of the night and found her in Bax's room. I picked her up and she fell straight to sleep in my arms so maybe she was sleep walking?!

Not sure what to do. She can open her door and doesn't think anything of wandering around in the dark.

Bax wouldn't dream o fdoing that. He still won't get out of bed in the morning unless someone tells him he can - amazing how different they are.