Riley and Jemma

Father time has his roller skates on!

2009-10-03T20:12:00.002+13:00

Very slack am I!! I have been putting pictures up on Facebook but neglecting here. We haven't been writing in the memory books either very well so our kids will decide that in 2009, we forgot about them!!

Jemma is a big 4 year old now. Full of life - hilarious but oh so cheeky. We crack up at the things she says but despair of her strong will and her delight in winding us up by deliberately doing naughty things (like tipping her popcorn up on the couch and then jumping in it..... ). Today, she told us at the tea table that she could see someone at the front door and I asked if she had xray vision. "No mum, I have eyes in the back of my head just like you" No flies on this girl!
She is a still a girly girl although she makes us comb her curls out each day. She wants straight hair but she has the most gorgeous curls... I hope she learns to love them.

Riley is also doing well. His favourite word at the moment is 'actually...' and he and Jemma play particularly well. I know this won't always be the way but we do feel very blessed at how well they get along most of the time. Riley will erupt and take a whack at her but she does wind him up something wicked!

Riley has started karate and seems to really like it so that is good as he is often ambivalent about any of these things. His schedule is full with drama and karate and possibly t-ball plus swimming lessons starting up.. and of course a bit of therapy thrown in. Jemma wants to do gymnastics as well as her ballet and play soccer, swimming starts for her again and we want them to do music again next year.. how do people cope with more than 2 kids? and how do kids just get to be kids these days?

Riley's birthday and another drama

2009-08-02T17:13:00.002+12:00

Well, it wouldn't be normal unless we had a "dramah" to be remembered by would it? We seem to specialise in that but as Peter and I say, at least they are minor ones and nothing too traumatic in the big picture of life.

The drama around Riley's birthday this year. His party nearly didn't happen as he ended up in the Emergency Dept being prepped for surgery last night with an incacerated iguinal hernia! But, the good news is that the surgeon was able to push it back in and although he needs an operation, it will be next week and he got to have his party. I have to say I was so proud of how brave he was and what a good boy he was. He is just such a special young boy and a really nice person to boot.

The buggar was that we didn't get back from hospital until 10:30pm and we still had the cake to decorate- the request this year was a Clone Wars starship. Peter decorated an Episodes one- xwing fighter instead and we were up to 1am doing it.. Photo below to admire. We seem to have a tradition now of a special cake and the old Womans weekly books don't do it now. They just put in a request and we madly scour the internet to find another 'mad' parent who has done it before.

So party went on- the whole class was invited and most were there. They had a ball at the gymnastic centre running around and it was a good venue for them to expend some energy and have some fun- easy entertainment for the parents. Have to laugh at how many claim they don't eat fruit and vegetables!

Disco and holidays

2009-07-26T14:51:00.003+12:00

Another month has gone by- a busy month but aren't they all?

The kids went to their first disco last term for Riley's school and had a ball. Riley literally danced from the beginning to the end. It was so cool to watch. Jemma got befriended by the bigger girls and she revelled in that.

Then we have had the holidays as well. Nana came to stay for a few days and the kids enjoyed that. Then we went off to Wellington for 5 days. We did lots, even if it rained lots. Riley loved Te Papa and the cable car. We also went to the zoo and on a train up the Kapiti coast for lunch by the sea. Jemma's favourite activity at Te Papa (apart from poking her tongue out) was the moa poo game. She loves to talk about poos!... still.....
Both are looking forward to upcoming birthdays. Poor Jemma has to wait a bit longer but Riley's party is next week- funnily enough a Clone Wars party! Jemma changes her theme and cake idea every day.

Haircuts and ballet

2009-06-13T20:31:00.002+12:00

Jemma has had her first haircut- not because she has long hair but my hairdresser suggested that it may help it thicken up and grow so she was very excited to go and get that done!

She also had her first ballet concert today which was a learning curve for her mother who didn't realise that she should have carried make up and body glitter in her bag for her 3 year old.... silly me! Jemma loved being in the concert- she was a bird and then an elephant (she is the one on the right in the group photo). She had to do the concert twice so it was a long day for her.

Jemma is really enjoying learning to write and spell words. She loves wrapping all sorts of cr..p up for us to unwrap and repeating lots back to us like "Mum, you need to be patient", "Dad are you frustrated?" Old before her time that girl. She also loves toilet humour like wiggling her bottom at us going "poo poo bum bum" then making huge raspberry sounds.. funny the entertainment she still gets out of that.

Riley also one to throw out comments at the moment but he learns his in the playground "you are just a stupid lady mum"... that one earned some time in his room! He is still obsessing over Star Wars and drawing lots of pictures etc but he also likes reading his Bible and singing hymns... so his vocation is somewhere out in the atmosphere :-)

Jeepers, another 6 weeks gone by

2009-05-21T07:55:00.004+12:00

Well, we had the holidays and our photos consist of Riley at the hospital. That was a hard week because he reacted to a drug giving him night terrors so we were very very tired. However, he was an amazing patient in the hospital. I was so proud of him... funny how they save the cantakerous behaviour until they get home :-)

Hmm... what has been happening? Jemma has stayed at ballet and is in a production in a few weeks. She is also loving her childcare and we have given kindy away- too hard for Mum to juggle with working. Jemma is a total extrovert and as we are driving home, she is trying to organise playdates so I don't have to feel guilty about leaving her at childcare. She even asked to go last Sunday to be with her friends.

The other picture is of us taking a family walk up Flagstaff. Both kids did very well with the climb. Riley was motivated by the fact we were walking on volcanic rock. Volcanoes was an interest over the holidays. Though Lego still hangs around and he is quite adept at using the computer now to go to the Lego site.

Riley had a programme review for this therapy and we have decided to sit back and reap the rewards of the last 3 years by cutting back on therapy. He is doing so well. We realise that issues will arise over the years at different stages but he is just such a clever wee kid, we thought we would relax awhile. Speaking of clever since this is where I can show off- he reads at a 9 year level (and understands at 7.5-8years) so he goes and joins a higher class for reading.... so proud of him.

Back already!

2009-04-07T15:35:00.004+12:00

Yay! Mum got to go to the Wiggles for her birthday and a photo of Sam too!! (her favourite Wiggle)

We loved watching Riley enjoy the Wiggles. He sang along, yelled out loudly and even went and gave roses to the Wiggly dancers for Dorothy. Jemma got in the aisles and danced a bit so all in all, a good age to take them to these things.

Nearly Easter

2009-04-05T20:05:00.002+12:00

Wow! 6 weeks since my last post. Where has time gone? Only 1 week to go and it is Easter time and school holidays.The list of clean outs to do over Easter is mind boggling. All those jobs I haven't been able to get onto it and of course, planning for next term. So 'holiday' isnt' the term me thinks.

Only 2 days to go and the Wiggles concert. I think I am more excited than the kids.

A busy term. Riley is loving drama lessons though adamantly refuses to play any sport so our Saturdays are going to get a bit easier. Jemma did ballet this term but is bored with it and wants to go back to gymnastics. She is actually quite good at it (not just being a precious mother) so we shall try to encourage her again later.

Riley is still doing really well at school. His reading is at 9 year old level and comprehension at 7.5years (if I can't show off on their blog, where can I show off? :-) ) so he is going up 2 classes to do his reading 2x a week so we are really proud of him.

Jemma has got the knack of most of her letters now and she loves to write her letters. She also loves adding and subtracting with our fingers so she will take off soon too I think.
Riley has an operation in the second week - tonsils, adenoids and grommets which was a shock as I didn't realise he was sick. Must be a tough kid. So his holidays won't be great.

Notice the jar of easter eggs beside the kids? I won all 353 of them yesterday!!! Riley remembered the singing bunnies courtesy of Nana so we have been driven crazy with them in the last few days!!

And Riley.. what about him?

2009-02-20T22:09:00.002+13:00

Dad met his goal at our Omarama holiday- he got Riley riding his bike without training wheels so all were pleased with themselves. Jemma got the hang of her running bike as well so won't be long before we are all out mountainbiking together.... oh yeah Mum.. wait until your hip works again!

Riley went back to school and has settled really well. What Mum was excited about is that he LOVES after school care on Tues and Thurs. I was so worried he would hate it but that is what he talks about- not his school day so that helped alleviate Mum's guilt about chasing the dollar!
Riley is really into lego at the moment and spends hours building it, looking at it on the internet and exploring Legoland in California (he thinks we are going soon... ha ha ha). He has a great imagination for building things and entertains himself for hours.

Riley thought he might like dance but tried a couple of classes and hated it so is doing swimming lessons and doing really well. He isn't doing music this year because the class clashed with Mum's staff meetings so we were all a bit disappointed in that news.

It has been so long....

2009-02-20T22:01:00.002+13:00

Over 2 months since my last post and even worse, I haven't taken any photos since our Omarama holiday!! Life has gotten very busy here as Mum heads back to work part time and although she is loving working, she is really missing her spare time, cos there ain't any!

These photos are all of Jemma in her various costumes (and Riley's) at Christmas time. Jemma is hilarious. Yesterday she wore her future school uniform to daycare. So the costume wearing continues! She is missing Mum a bit now that she is in daycare for 2 full days so a few tantrums on those nights- she is so tired by the end of the day but she loves going because she loves having people to play with all day.

Her language and reasoning continues to impress us- she loves working out whose mum or dad someone is and whether they have a J, E, M or A in their names like hers. Life is all about relationships for her. She has started ballet and loving that. It clashed with gymnastics but she chose ballet and seems happy. She is still in her 'bum bum, poo, poo, wee wee' phase as well (roll eyes) but is very helpful and likes to help make the beds, fold the washing and tidy the toys so pretty good really!! Will keep training her

Gearing up for Christmas

2008-12-18T19:50:00.002+13:00

Finally the Christmas productions are over. I think Riley is really tired. He was a great shepherd, did a fantastic job on the keyboard and was a show stealer in 'the grasshopper and the ant'. Mum and Dad eavesdropped on the lady near us going on about how good 'the little boy' was. That was Riley and we were so proud!!

Riley got a great first school report so he is off to a good start. He is not convinced about changing rooms next year but he is going from one great teacher to another so we are pleased. He has finished school so we are going to have 1 on 1 time tomorrow to celebrate.

Jemma finished her gymnastics on a high- she got a certificate for her 'fantastic high kicks on the beam' and she only takes the leotard off at nights (so Mum has to try and wash and dry it overnight....) She is hilarious at the moment as she is very much into poo poo and bum stage and she eggs Riley on to do mischief! We have to watch her like a hawk and try not to laugh.

We can't wait for Christmas. We have 3 trees up (I kid you not) and have been watching Christmas dvds and playing music. Riley is fascinated with nativity scenes and singing Silent Night and Away in a Manger so we are all excited. Riley begged for a present under the tree so we relented and put one each for them under the tree at night and didn't tell them. It was a test. By 6:05am the next morning, they had failed! So no more presents under the tree.

And if you didn't get an email advertising our elf dancing... check us out at

http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/I1dXfap067utaCmr6cN1

Riley picking up Xmas message from school

2008-12-02T20:01:00.003+13:00

Had to share this - even though not quite spontaneous. Tonight Peter and I found Riley genuflecting to the Xmas tree (mum - recognise the Santa lights?) singing Silent night so I made him do it all again for the video. So cute and nice to see the way he has embraced the reason for Christmas. He is a shepherd in next weeks school play so maybe he has been practicing genuflecting for that!
I think he likes the song as in the car yesterday while it was playing, he asked me "Mum, what's a virgin?"... "Mary is a virgin" "are all mothers virgins?", "ah...no... Mary was a special mother".... out of the mouths of babes!

Life is more fun with the babysitters

2008-11-24T20:51:00.003+13:00

Riley and Jemma had much more fun with Nat and Kris at the beach than boring old mum and dad. Riley got to be a mermaid (he was insistent that he wasn't a merman!) and they built sandcastles which Mum never does with them..(But mum HATES sand with a passion) Riley got his feet wet but that was the extent of that- Jemma not so keen on that either.

The kids are getting tired as we wind up to Christmas- though they are excited as well. Riley has started making presents to leave for Santa- we had to point out it was still over 4 weeks. Riley is a shepherd in the Christmas play so he has varied parts- a shepherd in one, playing the keyboard in the next and being an ant in the last one!

Jemma is developing her language and in particular her skills of cheekiness which although cute, need a little reining in.... She developed a song to match "Dora's lost city" song. This song talks about what is lost and how she is going to the lost city to find it and give it back. Well.... Jemma started singing that she was going to the lost city because Riley had lost his penis and she was going to find it and bring it back.... this from our new 3 year old. Riley got a bit anxious by all this and wanted to reassure us that his penis wasn't lost but we had to teach him that we don't expose ourselves at the dinner table. Oh, to be part of our family :-)

Armistice Day

2008-11-11T21:06:00.002+13:00

Jemma loves to sing the national anthem so very appropriate after an election and on Armistice Day.

More in the life of the kids

2008-11-09T19:51:00.003+13:00

Time is ticking on and getting closer to Christmas. It will be a busy time with the kids. Riley has a school concert Dec 11, music concert Dec 14, drama play Dec 15 and Jemma has a Christmas party Dec 12 and an undated Christmas kindy concert....

Dad took the kids to the model trains and Riley went on it all by himself for the first time! We were pretty proud. He even bought his own ticket. And then today at the school fair, he allowed himself to get face painted- he is a crocodile. He has been struggling to get to sleep at nights as he gets a bit anxious so he has been putting his worries in a worry box. What we have learned is that he is a great speller- tonight he spelled all by himself "train crash on the computer game". Sorry- just using the opportunity to show off! The good thing is that once he wrote his worry down, he went straight to sleep and the worry fairy comes to collect it.

Jemma has settled a bit again and she is showing a real interest in wanting to dance so will have to add that to the list of 'extra-curricular' activities. She has gotten quite strong at gymnastics and yesterday, she showed her old promise at swimming lessons.. amazing what a lollipop bribe can do! She had lost confidence being in the water without Dad even though she is tall enough but yesterday- was back to her old tricks which was great. She is still wearing a costume every day though!

Poor Neglected #2 child

2008-10-27T19:30:00.002+13:00

Wow, over a month since Jemma's birthday and no posting!! Bad, bad mummy! Just been really busy and should be working now...oops! Jemma had a good birthday and the top photo is her with some of her 'stash' so she was certainly spoiled. She had a "3" cake at childcare and a trampoline cake at home - all to celebrate her day.. twice, plus a trampoline for a present. She is doing okay in life!

How can I summarise Jemma for the past month? Hmm... challenging, charming, even more challenging, costume dresser. She wears a costume every day whether it is ballerina, bumblebee, swimming togs, fairy princess... etc... every day and on school days, she likes to wear her uniform to school to pick up Riley. I have started asking Mums at school not to say how cute she it- I figure if we can ignore it, she might stop.

Jemma is very charming with a 1001 facial expressions that crack us up on a regular basis. She is very sharp with her conversational skills and is now writing her own name. She can also poo on the toilet so that was very exciting for us and has even had 1 dry night. On the other side, she hates listening and won't accept 'no' for an answer especially when she wants piggytails and piggyback rides. It has become a bit of a war and the victor has still not been decided......

Riley is still doing well at school. Academically he is doing very well and is likely to move through at the beginning of next year. He still struggles at break times but has improved lots- he just lacks confidence but once he joins in, he is off laughing which is great.

He started drama classes this term as we thought
he might enjoy the imagination and creative play. He is so dramatic and creative at home. He goes through so much paper, sellotape and staples. He loves to create things out of paper. Today was a picture of a F111 then he stapled on the fireballs out the back! He can entertain himself for hours playing. And yes, he is enjoying the drama classes. He doesn't like the music class so much because it has gotten a little harder with 2 hands playing and Riley doesn't like to try if he thinks he will fai.

We went to the restaurant for a friends birthday and they were semi well behaved as you can see......

Both kids have gotten good at playing.
Mum and Dad are working on the courtyard at the weekends and the kids are even letting us get on with it. Riley helped me stain the retaining walls today so that is good.

Jemma is nearly 3

2008-09-23T20:04:00.002+12:00

My darling girl (well she is 90% of the time) is turning 3 tomorrow. Her hair is finally arriving and she is certainly a modern girl with her own mind! "Mummy, Daddy will ring me tomorrow because I am a big girl and it is my birthday and I am turning 3 and Riley isn't and Daddy will talk to me and say happy birthday and I will get a cake and.. and.. okay mummy?" My mind spins after a while- she is certainly a wee chatterbox and all you need to do is nod occasionally- she can fill in the gaps!

She got her trampoline early because last weekend had a good forecast and Dad is away at the moment. He knew I would try to put it up on my own so we did it together and it took ages but the kids are loving it.

In case you are wondering why you got a picture of our ugly lounge wall, it is showing Riley's space topic. He has been learning space so he built a rocket, shooting star, Mars and the moon and stuck them with LOTS of sellotape on our wall. We are just grateful that we have not yet started to redecorate....

Riley is still enjoying school though he alternates between wanting to be social and staying inside. He has a thing about too much sunlight. Apparently last week, he trailed along with the duty teacher up and down the school under the veranda last week telling her "I am not allowed too much sunlight as it will make me sick". Priceless- our son is learning to lie- I am so happy as this is actually a really important developmental stage!

Big sigh of relief

2008-08-28T09:33:00.002+12:00

Well, the first 2 weeks of school were horrendous. Riley hated it and Mum wanted to cry all the time because she felt horrible for sending him off. We worked out that I wasn't helping the situation by going and having lunch with him each day so thank goodness I am not 'too' precious and once we knocked that on the head, we haven't looked back.

Riley is doing really well- reading at a high level for his age. He is even reading out loud to the school tomorrow a passage for shared prayer (because he is the best reader in the class.. show off... ). Mum is so proud! The school is amazing, as is the teacher and they are going the extra mile in settling him. It is so encouraging and Mum is feeling so much more relaxed! We knew things were looking up when Riley played school with Jemma and made her get in her uniform.

Jemma also wants to go to school and mum would love that too. I have decided that 3 is harder than 2. Jemma is pushing every boundary known to man at the moment and what a stubborn streak!!! That came from her father of course. She is certainly a child that likes to be entertained so mum isn't used to that as she and Riley are both quite happy to entertain themselves so we get a little tired after a few hours of this.

We have to keep remembering that she is not yet 3. Yesterday, we were making Big red cars for each of them and lesson, don't let Jemma near paint. She kept standing in it and then walking over the carpet... red of course. So Mum yelled LOTS and Jemma, god love her, went off to the bathroom and washed her legs "to make Mummy happy"... Yeah, I felt bad.....

Birthday and school part 2

2008-08-07T10:36:00.003+12:00

Mum barely held it together on Tuesday morning...... her baby was going to school- he is grown up!

Riley dressed himself and looked very cute. He hadn't slept well the night before- mixture of excitement and anxiety and it was great to see his eagerness to go over. He even wore his own schoolbag... great considering he has made Mum carry it for the last 3 years to kindy!!

I went over at lunchtime to visit and he was pretty fragile but we had lunch and after he finished asking if he could come home, he went off to join in some games. Some boys said they were playing star wars so Riley jumped into a star position... we may have to teach him what star wars are. No wonder his teacher said to me he is like 'pure innocence'.

His teacher worked out quickly that he is reading so we are pleased that they can see he is a clever man and she is looking out for him. On his second day, he was even more fragile at lunchtime and wanted to make sure we would find each other after school (wee misunderstanding on the first day had meant he was distraught by the time we met up). But when I went to him at 3pm, he skipped up to me and said "I had a good time at school Mum". He is enjoying playing musical statues to hymns with some of his classmates at the break.

He is keen to get in his uniform each day and trot off which makes mum feel good. He is acting so grown up- I keep shedding a wee tear. He is such a sweetheart, though not sleeping well at night. His mind is too busy.

Nana is down staying and she hopped into bed with him for awhile last night. After awhile he asked Nana to get out. She fell out of bed doing this and all he said was "can you straighten the table that you moved Nana?"............. I love this wee boy :-)

Birthday and school part 1

2008-08-07T10:27:00.003+12:00

Well! A busy week has flown by. Riley had his last childcare on the 31 July so he had a wee party there with a train cake and some party games. That set up the 'week' of 5th birthday. Then on Sunday, we had some family and friends over for an afternoon tea and Riley got his wiggles cake that Dad decorated so well. Riley coped really well and was overwhelmed by all his presents (that is because he is spoilt!) and he is still going through them making things, reading books, playing with slot cars and games.

Jemma did okay too- some people bought her presents which was kind. This is an outfit she was given. Awwwww..... cute

Then Tuesday was the 'big day'. He finally got all his presents but he still had to go to school so he couldn't play with them all. I asked if he wanted to go to McDonalds for tea and he said "that would be a nice birthday treat mum". Bless him! It is amazing to look back on the last 5 years and all that has happened with Riley. We are so proud of him- he is a lovely intelligent boy and a joy to have around.

Rainy days and losing your marbles

2008-07-27T19:55:00.002+12:00

Well... we have had drizzle for 4 days.. a little tired of it now. However the kids have been quite good at entertaining themselves. There are 3 pictures of things we can do with marbles. In the red spinning top, Riley was inspired by Science alive where they had a similar action and from the table.. well that was just bungy jumping marbles!

Only 9 days until school now. Getting closer.. Riley is very excited by his birthday and the cakes have been chosen. So they will be unveiled at a later date. One is for his last day at childcare- a place he has been going to for 4.5 years. The other is for his family and friends afternoon tea... watch this space.

Jemma is now a kindy girl- 2 mornings a week with Riley. She is one of the youngest there but apparently she has taken to it like a duck to water. She had a boy rubbing her back and the teacher says "B... doesn't touch ANYONE!". Then she insisted on sharing news and it was about the doll she was playing with that belonged to kindy, "This is a doll and it belongs here. She has brown hair and I am playing with her" "Lachie, do you have a question?" (Where did you get her from?) "I got her from the corner - you can use her too." So once Riley leaves next Monday, I think she will be well settled.

We are back into music and gymnastics on a Saturday morning. Riley wants to do some form of dance so Mum is working out the options.. swimming starts again next term! How do parents fit it all in and with more kids??!!

Riley wanted some clarification of the facts of life last night during tea. Dad choked on his tea but Mum was ready to give a factual approach. However, some diversion was done at Dad's urging and our approach will be reviewed. Riley had asked "How does Daddy's egg help make a baby in Mum's tummy". We dealt with the fact that Daddy doesn't have eggs and managed to avoid the rest! How much should a 4 year old know? LOL

Riley's last kindy holidays...

2008-07-07T19:35:00.003+12:00

Only 4 weeks and Riley starts school. Of course, Jemma wants to go too and she has already been given her first uniform ( I haven't even bought Riley's yet!) so she is ready! In many ways Riley is ready for school- certainly academically. Socially, he is not so keen but time will tell. He is getting more confident. He built the pirate ship below all by himself so it is great that he is developing skills in doing things step by step.

The kids have been great in the snowy weather. They are not yet at the stage of knowing the word 'bored' and Riley is very good at finding things to do. Jemma tags along. She did the dishes for us the other day- not sure why she needed the cap but who are we to question?

We headed over to the playground today and Riley cursed "Oh bother" so then Jemma had to join in as well. I am just grateful that they don't have a 'stronger' vocabulary! Riley is getting better at riding his bike and Jemma has no fear- she took to putting both legs on the scooter as she rode down the ramp. She would then carry her scooter to the top of the ramp again "Is this a good idea Mum?" "um yes???" "it is a bit heavy mum" and off she goes again to land in the puddle "oh bother". Repeat this cycle for 30 minutes and the holiday time gets filled in quickly!

Winter is here

2008-06-20T11:18:00.002+12:00

The sunny weather of the Gold Coast has quickly been forgotten. The kids got to build a snowman with a downfall but it wasn't as much as last year. We are in winter groove. A lot has been happening here in the last couple of weeks. The story of the car is just too dramatic to tell but has caused us major headaches and will hurt our pocket. Mum may not be able to homeschool as she would like and could be back in the classroom before too long!

Riley's music lessons are going really well. We can't believe he is learning about notes and drawing them and playing them etc.... The yamaha system is really quite effective. Jemma will be starting gymnastics next week at the same time so she will enjoy that. Riley is looking forward to starting school in 6 weeks so we shall see how that goes.

Jemma starts morning kindy with Riley next term for 2 mornings a week. I think she will cope just fine. She has gotten very independent- especially about what clothes she will wear. I bring out 3 choices "I don't like that.. or that..or that.." So she goes to kindy in her singlet (I am not kidding...). Last week it was her togs but we negotiated (yes negotiating with a 2.75year old) that she had to wear tights and a polypro underneath. She usually accompanies this with her gumboots or summer sandals. Her favourite activity is to go through next Summers wardrobe and try it all on. She went to the supermarket the other day in her blue smocked dress (see photo end of last year) and she got so many compliments about how pretty she was that she twirled and preened until her head was too big to get through the door. Now when she puts on a skirt (that is all she will wear other than togs), if it doesn't 'twirl' she tells me that the skirt 'doesn't work'. She has worn her ballerina costume and gumboots to Rileys school class the last 2 weeks. But she doesn't like ANY of her tops at the moment. I have decided to sell some off. The way I figure it is that I don't care what she wears- I will concentrate on the bigger battles........but .......... it is doing my head in!! I presume she is not cold in her singlet.... Below is her chosen outfit- doesn't look as bad as in person. We have dots on the top, tartan skirt, striped tights, gumboots...I have to admit, she is hilarious... when you are not her mother at the frontline of course !!!!

The good news is that she is toilet training. Very few #1 accidents though #2 not so easy.. I am very grateful that she is choosing to train but.. I sort of wish that one of my children could be easily trained in something. I am hoping all my challenges are now and the teenage years will be cruisy for Mum and Dad... yeah right!!

Australia- more photos- story below

2008-06-01T13:03:00.001+12:00

Australia Trip - the story

2008-06-01T12:44:00.003+12:00

Wow! What a busy month we have had! Peter went off to the UK at the beginning of May for a conference ... and some sightseeing... But apparently it was very stressful without us... yeah right! The kids and I got a nice routine going and I think Dad was upset that we coped really well. Mum only had 2 children, not 3 to look after so life seemed easy :-)

Then the kids and I flew to Chch to meet up with Dad and stayed with Nana and Grandad a night. Then off to the Gold Coast. The trip didn't start that well- Mum thought she was dying while the plane landed but worked out she had a sinus infection. Then we had many dramas with our rental car (serves us right for picking the cheap company). THEN.. none of our credit cards or eftpos would work. PLUS the kids screamed the place down when we arrived. They had been asleep and were disorientated (maybe that is why our neighbours got revenge on us a few days later at 1:30am...). AND the kids woke at 5:16am on the first day... it finally got to about 6:15am by the time we left.

So, that is the lowlights..... We really enjoyed our time with the kids. The holiday was all about watching their faces so when they went for the 10th time on their rides, Peter and I tried to smile and wonder if we would ever get to do a ride! Movieworld was the best this time for the rides for all the family. LOVE that superman rollercoaster. Dreamworld had more variety and of course it had Wiggle World (the kids are really into the Wiggles at the moment) and we spent 3 days there because it was the cheapest to upgrade to. The kids enjoyed seaworld though Jemma wasn't as interested in the dolphin, sealion and waterski shows as much as Riley. Still a bit young.

We also visited Tropical Fruit World, Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, up to Brisbane for an afternoon on Southbank (that is the picture of the kids at the fake beach) and on the ferry. We found a great park at Southport and Mum went outlet store shopping (though Australia is not that cheap). We did the aquaduck and Jemma 'drove' it but Riley didn't want to. We spent a day travelling into the hinterland and doing a walk or two (and getting the kids to have a wee sleep in the car to catch up).

Riley coped really well. He didn't like the sand so even though we were staying on the beach, we only went the once (but Mum doesn't like sand either). He struggled with the lack of sleep and sometimes the change in plans. He was pretty focused on what he wanted to do and we had to have fish and chips on Friday night. We had to laugh as he kept track of the days and when we went to have fish and chips (found gluten free ones) on Thursday, there was a meltdown so Friday it was!!! Our wee Aspie (said very fondly of course :-) )

Jemma was great. She is still pushing every boundary that she can and asserting her independence, but that is what being 2 is about. She was quite even tempered and she slept well. As soon as we got into the car at the end of the day, she would sleep back to the holiday home. She and Riley get along really well and it is lovely to watch them in play mode... easy to forget the 'fight' mode because it is more rare. She had a wonderful tantrum on landing the plane back in ChCh and then slept through Nana and Grandads visit to the airport.

So all in all, a successful time. Riley is already planning the itinerary for 'the next May when we visit Australia'..... he better start saving :-)

Pirate children

2008-04-23T14:30:00.002+12:00

They may be dressed up as pirates but Jemma in particular is acting like a pirate- holding her parents to ransom! Not often, but every now and then Jemma wakes up in the middle of the night. She wants to come to our bed or Mum to sleep with her. If we say no, she screams and carries on to wake Riley... a loud voice for a wee miss!! So we are changing her name to 'terrorist'. Mum is her favourite at the moment. When Dad goes in to get her out of bed in the morning, she says 'no, Mummy get me' so Daddy leaves her there until she changes her mind....same with dressing her, brushing her teeth, drying her... the list goes on. She played on a trampoline for an hour the other day and when I said they had to go, I was told by her "no, I just want one more minute".. you see where we are confused between pirate and terrorist..............

We have met the challenging times with our beautifully independent and strong willed child? :-) We certainly value her strength of character but man, it is hard work training her!!

Swimming lessons have finished for the winter and both children are at the same stage. They have done well and Riley is slowly building confidence. Jemma is capable of doing it on her own... she just can't touch the bottom so we are praying she will have a growth spurt before October. They will probably be in a class together then..saves us time at the pool. Riley is wearing the cap he wanted as a reward for floating with the noodle and kickboard but noone touching him.

We are excitedly counting down to our Australia trip, though Dad goes off to England and Europe first so we will meet him in ChCh - busy times ahead especially for Mum.

Kite flying

2008-04-12T18:51:00.002+12:00

What has been happening with us?

Jemma finally posed nicely for pixifoto so hopefully we will get some good ones so that it doesn't look like we play favourites with the photos presently on the wall. It is amazing what a few months maturity will do. She was such a poser this time around, with her knee high purple boots and skirt and top!

At their childcare is a teacher mad on rugby and Jemma would never turn down having her face painted. As it is, she is slowly decimating all my make up.

Riley had his first 'wee kids wednesday' which is an hour a week preparing for school. He was slow to warm up and Mum needed to sit on the mat with him but by the end, he was leading them all around the school on a scavenger hunt. My baby is going to school in less than 4 months.... sniff... sniff...

We had a windy day today so we took the new plane kite to the park. It took a bit of building and Dad the engineer swore every which way but loose but once it was up and flying, it was worth it. Riley even flew it on his own with Dad launching it - the look of pride on Rileys face was priceless- a real confidence booster for him.

Easter has been and gone

2008-04-01T13:04:00.004+13:00

Time still continuing to fly by. We had a great Easter with both sets of grandparents joining us in Omarama. Nana managed to find another singing bunny- she has a knack for that... We went to the airshow. Jemma found it really scary and Nana took her to the family tent to de-stress. A week later, we had a conversation a bit like this. "The spitfire was a bit noisy Mum. A wee bit scary. I didn't like it. Nana looked after me in the tent. Riley was scared too" So I don't think she is quite over the trauma yet.

Riley wore earmuffs and coped better with the noise but he too did not like the fireworks at the beginning. However, he talked about the planes for ages.. still is. We put lots of pictures in his special book and he knows the planes pretty well. Though today, the train set came out so maybe we will have a new/old focus again.

Jemma has found my make up container and she likes to bring the makeup out for me to open and her to put it on 'all by myself'. She then checks herself out in the mirror... can you imagine what she will be like as she gets older???? She coloured her toenails with black vivid on Sunday whilst watching Dr Seuss ABC on the computer. Unfortunately she also coloured her face and my office chair......

Riley had a 24 hour vomiting bug last week which thankfully didn't get shared with the family (touchwood) as it looked horrible and Mum is sick of washing bedclothes. Riley likes using his new word 'vomit' though.

We are counting down to our Australia trip. I have set up a folder in my favourites of where we are staying and all the places we are going so when we are bored, that fills in 3/4 of an hour for us. 46 days to go.....

Nothing too exciting going down..

2008-03-16T19:32:00.002+13:00

Not much happening in our world still. Both the kids are doing really well in their development. Jemma is challenging at times with her quest for independence and we are pretty hard on her and have to tell ourselves off at times. She has exceptional language development for her age (buggar tall poppy syndrome!) and because Riley didn't at that age, we forget how young she really is... 2.5yo. So the tantrums and the exploring of her world is just her growing up and we are trying to let it happen without coming down on her too much. She is very cute with what she says and she has an obsession with 'sore knees' especially her own, which is chronically sore because she keeps falling over. Her swimming lessons are going so well. She is now floating on her back with just her noodle. She has a lot more confidence than Riley who is nearly doing the same. She is also very helpful which is so sweet. She loves having her hair put into a 'pony'... (yes we know it is more a pigtail but we humour her)

Riley has started extended day at kindy on Friday afternoons and he coped really well. I think he will love school with its structure and routines. It will just be lunchtimes and playtimes that he might struggle but we are pretty pleased with this thought. He is so far ahead academically, we worry that he will get bored- he read a book to us tonight that has 4-5 lines on each page. We have never taught him to read- he seems to have decoded it for himself so we are pretty darned proud of him. His music and swimming lessons are doing well too and more importantly, he is really enjoying going. Riley took the photo of Jemma and I underneath so he is quite proud of himself.

The kids went to Grandma and Grandads last weekend as Mum was running Motatapu marathon and Dad was mountain biking it. They loved their time away and this weekend, we are off to Omarama with all the grandparents and looking forward to Warbirds over Wanaka.

More new experiences

2008-02-24T20:08:00.003+13:00

We are settling into kindy and childcare and the routine of life without holidays. Riley is doing really well at present- he is a star. Today, he went with his dad on a cessna 172 plane at the wings and wheels day at Taieri. Dad could not believe how calm he was beforehand and how excited and interested he acted without driving the pilot mad with a monologue....like the monologue that drove us mad in the 3 hour wait for him to go on the plane... maybe he was all talked out! So we are just thrilled with him. His swimming and music lessons are equally successful so we have had a great start to the year.

Jemma is certainly advancing in her language development. She is 'wowing' everyone she meets and she insists on meeting everyone- certainly the extrovert of the family- taking mum out of her comfort zone when we are in public! She is also 'wowing' mum and dad with her insistence on pouring out every drink bottle she has onto the floor. We think she has the gist of fluid dynamics now but we can't convince her that she needs to stop! She is also insisting on wearing big girl undies (can you tell a boy came first- just can't call them knickers now!) but she doesn't actually like to go on the toilet.... we have a situation and it also leads to more fluids on the floor. On the good side of the fluid talk, she is doing extremely well in her swimming lessons. She is with 3-4 year olds but we still have to get in with her as she can't touch the bottom. We are trying to train her out of her spitting habit. Spitting is accompanied by 'go away- spit'..... so lady like... The day sleeps are pretty much gone now... poor mum!

Holidays are over... for now

2008-02-10T19:36:00.001+13:00

Lots has been happening for the kids in the last couple of weeks. Dad took them to the A&P show and they all went on the Ferris Wheel! Yep! We think Dad was the most nervous of the 3 of them, casting his engineer eye over the structure. So it was great to see the kids embrace such opportunities. Riley now talks about going on roller coasters... we shall see....

We have taken them to the model trains as well. Riley wouldn't ride the small steam trains on the first day but when Grandma and Grandad took him back a few days later, he went twice- so another milestone for him. He rode the minature steam tractor as well and loved it all. Of course Jemma was straight onto all of it!

Nana has been down to stay. Riley likes the fact she came down on an ATR plane and we are not sure which mode of transport Riley likes most at the moment- planes or trains..... and then his therapist taught him the mazda badge so he can identify a fair few makes of car now...

Riley is back at kindy now and only 6 months until he starts school. I think that will fly by. Jemma too is growing up quickly. She can carry on quite a conversation and has been insisting on wearing big girl undies. She even did her first wee in the toilet this evening so that was pretty exciting as well. She is definitely a girly girl as she knows whose clothes belong to who and she notices what she puts on and if it resembles anyones clothes or shoes from childcare... Riley at 4.5yo still couldn't care less what he wore- I just have to throw clothes his way and he will put them on.

They both went back to swimming lessons this week and both are doing so well. Hard to believe that 6 months ago, Riley was screaming as he got in the pool and took 2 months to wear goggles. Yesterday he just hopped in, goggles on and head all the way under. Jemma is a bit of a natural. She just does it all no worries. Riley also started his music lessons yesterday- he is doing Yamaha music school- thus the keyboard. He must have liked it as he came home and re-enacted it on Dads organ twice. Our taste of running after the kids yesterday morning gave us a sharp reminder of what the next 15 years will be like on Saturday mornings with sport and the like... welcome to parenthood!

The lazy, hazy days of summer

2008-01-24T21:05:00.000+13:00

Nothing fascinating to report. We have been enjoying the hot weather this year. Rileys bravery with boats extended to going in the ocean and having a great time. I have been taking the kids to Woodhaugh paddling pool for picnics which they have been enjoying.

Dad wants to know if I am confused and think it is still Christmas as I bought Jemma a wooden bike (see picture). It has no pedals and they learn to balance before worrying about pedalling. However, it is still a little big for her so Riley has taken off with it... pink wheels and all. Poor child. She finally gets a bike that is not a hand me down and he still gets it first. Though we make him ask to borrow it.

The kids stayed with Grandma and Grandad last weekend while Mum and Dad were in Christchurch. They had a good time sussing out the fishing boats and riding round the back lawn making mischief. Now, they get to look forward to Nana coming down to stay next week. Riley knows she is coming on an ATR plane so now he has learned to point all of those out in the sky. And his naming of cars by their badges gets more and more accurate.... On the positive side of using his brains, he is reading quite well now.

Jemma is continuing to amaze us with her talking- the sentences get longer and longer and her vocabulary is expanding all the time. She is fascinated with who is a lady or a man, big or little boy or girl, and their private parts. She also has an obsession with having a 'sore knee' as she keeps falling on it. And of course, her 'mine' phase is still going strong. She has gotten more independent and now wants to climb into the car and her car seat on her own. She and Grandad had an argument over this... not sure who won :-)

Christmas and holidays

2008-01-08T20:00:00.000+13:00

What a fantastic couple of weeks we have had! The kids loved Christmas- unwrapping presents and emptying the Santa sack. It was exciting to watch and Jemma ate all her Santa chocolates within 10 minutes! She loved her gumboots and togs and insisted on wearing them straightaway. Riley has been playing with his presents non stop since Christmas. He really loves the leapster game system we got him so that was great.

Then after Christmas, it was off to Omarama to camp in Grandma and Grandads caravan for 11 days. What a good time we had and fantastic weather. Riley didn't settle well at nights but by day, we had him in boats, even Uncle Pauls noisy jet boat. It was fantastic to see how brave he has gotten. Of course, he continually asks for our own boat now... I want a kitchen first! Dad's goal was to get him back on his bike after his confidence was rocked due to his crash and he spent a bit of time with him. Again Riley came to the party and is making great progress on the bike. Don't you just love that photo of him with Dad at the bottom.. makes our hearts melt each time.

Jemma was not really into the boats yet though she did go for one ride. But she enjoyed playing with her friend Nina in the next caravan and with the teenagers on the lakeside. Her claim to fame was at the Twizel swimming pool... nearly a code brown... she had just got out of the water though- phew! Could have been embarrassing.

It was a great time with the kids that little bit older. We could relax with our friends and they could play. Definitely our most successful family holiday thus far!

Only 5 sleeps until Santa comes

2007-12-20T20:46:00.000+13:00

It is just soooo exciting. Only 5 sleeps until Santa gets here. There are so many presents under the tree for the kids that I suggested Santa didn't need to come to our place. Riley wasn't too impressed with that.

Think Mastercard ad when you look at those box photos. Lots of presents arrived from Nana and Grandad and Riley dutifully put them under the tree. He is very good at not opening them. Anytime anyone gives him one, he says thank you and adds it to his stash. The pile is massive. Anyway, once Nanas and Grandads were put under the tree, the two of them entertained themselves for a good half hour with that box! Priceless. What a waste of money I have spent on presents :-)

We are going to have an extra opening time on Sunday so the kids get to appreciate more of their presents rather than one big opening. Oh.. to be young again. Riley loves the carols. A partridge in a pear tree (with actions) is the new favourite. He remembers all 12 things too.. I just put the pregnant pause in whilst waiting for him to say it as I can never remember them. He also likes pretending to play "Away in a manger" on the organ and insisting we sing along.
Dad showed Jemma that she can roll her tongue so that is her latest party trick. She comes up to me and rolls her tongue and says "do it Mum"... but Mum can't do it so she is most disgusted with me.

I took them to the early settlers museum to see the santa pixietown display- for ChCh people, it is from 25 years ago and seems like the old Haywrights one that was in town. Very cute.. the kids loved it but they refused to sit on Santa's knee.

So we are ready for Christmas and I think Mum is most excited. Riley went out with $10 from his moneybox to the $2 shop and bought presents for Mum, Dad, Jemma and of course Riley! He came home with change and wrapped his own present and put a label on it.. which is so cute. However, as much as we dissuade him, he keeps telling us what is in each parcel. So much for surprises!

Merry Christmas everyone. Have a great festive season.

Racing towards Christmas

2007-12-08T14:38:00.000+13:00

Only 17 sleeps until Christmas. It is so exciting this year. Riley is right into it. He decorated the tree pretty much by himself and we have been reading Christmas books and singing carols. Both kids like to sing the songs although Jemma is not as sure what all the fuss is... and Riley tells her that Santa is not bringing her anything because she is too young. However, since she doesn't understand that, there have been no dramas. The drama is when they fight over whose mummy I am. Apparently I can only be mummy to 1.

We went to the Christmas parade and Riley gave a running commentary of every float at the top of his voice, over and over.... I am not sure everyone around us appreciated it as much as we did. Jemma just waved and yelled hello to everyone until they spoke back.. you can imagine "hello girl" getting more forceful until she is finally answered, then onto the next 'victim'.

Riley had his kindy concert this week. It lasts for about 7 minutes. We videod it and it was soooo cute. Riley joined in lots and was very proud. His swimming is also coming along sooooo well. He will now put his goggles on and his face under.

Jemma insists on calling a helicopter 'hoculater'. Cute... She has also perfected the melodramatic tantrum. She throws herself down face first onto the ground and beats her arms and legs on the ground screaming.. Quite funny to walk away from. We are not used to it as Rileys more 'autistic' tantrums were more genuine through his lack of skill in dealing with the world and he couldn't just turn it off like a tap. Jemma, can stand up in the next instant and smile coquettishly at you, saying please and thank you. She cracks us up.

Once such tantrum was on Thursday. For the THIRD time, I took them to pixifoto to try and get photos without one of them sabotaging it. This time, I had to forcibly put Jemma into her dress so it was not boding well......... Needless to say she refused to have any photos taken. Riley had some lovely ones done- he was an angel.. I think he wanted the santa decoration I bribed him with. We got home and I asked to take photos of Jemma- well the first pose below is of the 'sweetest girl on the planet' and the second is of my little 'devil child' who I could happily have strangled that afternoon.

Far out... long time no post

2007-11-25T21:34:00.000+13:00

I don't even have any photos to add at the moment. Life has been really busy and we have not taken photos lately. How slack is that!

The kids are doing really well. They have seen lots of their grandparents lately. They have had 2 weekends staying at Grandma and Grandads and Nana and Grandad came down to visit for a few days... and we still didn't take photos...

Jemma is talking up a storm and developing a strong personality. She points to ladies at swimming proclaiming "boobies" or yells out at the top of her voice when you go to the toilet "no poos". When not embarrassing her parents, she is practicing her facial expressions. She has got the 'evil- I am peeved at you' one down pat! She is hilarious. She likes to steal lollipops but is very generous and always takes one for Riley as well. She also likes to push all the 'try me' buttons on the toys in the shops.

Riley is looking forward to Christmas. His proposed Santa list is verrrryyyyyy long. He is learning to defend himself verbally and getting good at arguing that 'black is white'. He is learning how to tease and be teased.. that is lots of fun. He has a long list of aspirations in life.. from being a diver to an astronaut to a rubbish collector.. Since we are making some progress in the swimming lessons, we won't quite rule out diver yet.

I have been trying to get photos taken of them together for Christmas. I have beautiful outfits for them (must take a photo to show). However, the first time, Riley packed up and we had to abandon it. Second time, Jemma packed up and so we are going for third time lucky on Tuesday.

Busy times... trip to Auckland

2007-10-29T20:58:00.000+13:00

We had a great time in Auckland. We are so proud of our kids. They had a ball and they were so good. No complaints about the time spent in traffic and travelling. However, considering we took them to many parks, the zoo, Kelly Tarltons, Waiwera hot pools, museum, Sky tower, Butterfly creek, train, ferry, I think they were pretty appreciative and exhausted from being tourists. We took lots of movie footage and it is hard to pick out the highlights. Riley talks about it lots and so does Jemma. She can say Auckland really well and talks about being in Auckland.

Both children have made lots of progress in their language. Riley is getting better at conversation and Jemma's vocabulary has rocketed. She loves to say supermarket and she is starting to talk in sentences. Her mum and dad understand her best but she is impressive nonetheless.

The two of them are still playing well together. When the pile of gravel was dropped off, it was pouring but both insisted on going out there and climbing it. A lot of pride when they reached the top. Mum sat inside watching and taking photos.

Both children have started swimming lessons. Jemma is taking them in her stride and if she does not want to do what is asked, she just says 'NO!'. She knows her mind! Riley is petrified and you would think we were sending him to his execution.Poor kid. We have to bribe him each week to get in the pool. The things you do....

Next instalment of Riley and Jemma

2007-10-10T21:33:00.000+13:00

The children have been busy- both started swimming lessons this term. Riley is struggling in confidence despite being quite capable. He is a bit of a worrier. Jemma just likes to do her own thing and she is quite confident in the water.

They really are playing nicely together and Riley is quite protective of her while Jemma adores him so it is nice to watch their relationship develop.

There has been a change around in Riley's therapy so we now have Wednesday mornings free. It is great. Today we went back to an old habit of going on the bus and visited the library, did some shopping and then went to the gluten free cafe. I am really looking forward to Wednesdays and lots of outings.

They went to Oamaru for the night again last weekend and had a great time with Grandma and Grandad- riding their bikes, feeding ducks, eating a bbq and sleeping in until 7am! Though Grandad has a lot to answer for! He was watching Bathurst and taught Riley about Ford cars so now Riley points out every Ford he sees on the street...a 'special interest' in the making...

Riley's new saying is "I don't think so"... smart alec! Jemma is still on "my turn" and she likes to disappear out the back door, get on her ride-on and take it up the drive then wait for me to come and go riding with her.

Being doing lots and Jemma is now 2!

2007-09-24T19:47:00.001+12:00

We have been very busy lately. We drove up to Mt Cargill aerial then walked the last track. Riley had seen it in the distance a lot so I thought they would enjoy it up close. They are great wee walkers the two of them.

Then we went to ChCh while Peter was at a conference and caught up with family which was great. The babes are all blowing out the candles below but it was actually Jack's birthday. Jemma was practicing for her birthday. Jemma's favourite occupation at Nana and Grandad's house was to throw the garden stones onto the lawn for Grandad to pick up. She loves gravel and stones and does this trick at home too. We travelled at night again because the kids cope better with the distance though Jemma took awhile to fall asleep and was singing Twinke twinkle little star while Riley screamed at her to go to sleep. We did get peace eventually.....though Riley has inherited his Grandads piano accordion which he tries to play with great enthusiasm.... yay....

For Jemma's birthday, we went up and stayed in Oamaru on the Saturday night. Jemma was very spoiled and she loves her tea sets. We had to go and buy some table and chairs for her and Riley to have a teaparty at in her room so we got an umbrella and deckchairs. They had a very long tea party which suited mum lots as she wasn't invited. Riley has stolen the TJ Bearytales from her and is getting great enjoyment. Her turn will come.

Dad and I made Spot cakes this year- one for childcare and one for family. She seemed happy enough - Riley helped blow the candles out. Jemma was unwrapping presents herself which impressed us and she sang Happy Birthday to everyone which was very cute. So she is now a big 2 year old and a gorgeous one at that. We are very blessed to have such a lovely natured daughter.

From pirate to dog and the leopard on the side.

2007-09-08T18:27:00.000+12:00

The kids are loving the costumes from Trade me and the toy library, especially Riley who likes to wear them to childcare or kindy. Riley and Jemma are getting better at playing together (when Riley is in the mood). The sitting on the couch one is the two of them being Humpty Dumpty.

We have started toilet training Jemma as she tells us when she has done or is doing wees or poos. However she doesn't like the potty or toilet idea so 0% hit rate for success and 100% hitrate for lots of washing for mum! I think I know who is winning this battle... but I will win the war :-)

The kids get to go on the train tomorrow with Grandma and Grandad while they cheer Mum and Dad on running the half marathon so they are looking forward to that. Dad took them gokarting last week as he convinces them that it is a good hobby... I think Dad and Grandad are the keen ones but Riley wants to do it he says. He also wants to be an astronaut and a mechanic and a firefighter and a pirate. So lots of choices for him.

Riley got in trouble last week driving with Dad. He gets a little anxious when we don't follow the traffic rules (according to him, you should stop for the red light that is 400m away...) so in the end, out of exasperation, he yelled at Dad "slow down you silly man!"...

Our snow holiday

2007-08-23T21:49:00.000+12:00

Wow! What a great time we had in Queenstown with the kids and Grandma and Grandad. We stayed at the same place as last time (check out the view from the house in a blog last September).

We all got some skiing in though I went for a run around Lake Hayes on the second day- cheaper than skiing and less painful in the feet. Riley is up on skis and Dad and Grandad were impressed with his balance and progress so we are thrilled that we may find something sporty for Riley to excel in as ball skills are not his thing at this stage. Jemma also got into ski boots and skis but only cos she was disturbing the peace of the mountain "my turn, my turn" sob sob..... next year will be her turn properly.

We also had a wonderful morning up the gondola and on the luge and chairlift. Jemma loved the luge and didn't want to take her helmet off. Riley has matured a lot in the last year and he also adored the luge and the chairlift and he talked about it incessantly for a day and how we will go on the gondola, chairlift and luge "another day". We took the kids to a restaurant with gluten and dairy free options and were proud of their manners. Though Riley was heard to ask "where's my food?" at the top of his voice... we are working on appropriate social skills LOL....

Jemma... Jemma.. Jemma... we love her dearly and I hate cliches like "terrible twos" but man, she has developed an attitude and although she is as gorgeous as ever and so cute and clever, she is developing her independence and it has got to be said.. sometimes autism is easier to bring up than neurotypical.... it is like having a first child again- we don't know what has hit us. So while we rejoice in all the things that are coming naturally to her that we had to teach Riley, we are missing the general compliance we had from Riley at that age. She is talking so much at the moment and her communication is fantastic - favourite phrases are 'my turn' 'no' 'no' and more 'no' plus her mother's favourite - 'chocolate' and she likes to identify everyones clothes and belongings... She also likes to sing songs and is great with all the words.

Riley's communication has also developed lots in the last week. He is so articulate and although a little aggressive with Jemma when he is frustrated and angry, he is also a very caring wee boy and he is keen to cuddle and 'make up' after the event.. sometimes forcibly but usually off his own initiative. He is trying to play more with Jemma- it is fantastic to watch. They learn so much off each other.

Sleeping with a wench.... ooops meant a wrench :-)

2007-08-12T20:02:00.000+12:00

Our 4th generation mechanic is in the making after Riley told us he had a wrench and he is going to be a mechanic! So he is sleeping with it tonight for practice........

The kids have been dressing up this week courtesy of the toy library. Riley even wore his crocodile suit to preschool and of course, crocodiles eat chickens.. which didn't impress Jemma too much.

Riley has really enjoyed his first week of morning kindy and Mum really enjoyed

spending a morning with Jemma on her own. You forget how easy one child is compared to two and since Riley is in anxious mode when we go out in public regarding Jemmas whereabouts at all times, it was very relaxing to just let Jemma explore in peace.

Jemma is still into 'cool' and 'wow' and Rileys new comment (where the heck did he learn this because it better NOT last) is "so what". The thing is he doesn't realise he should say it with attitude.... so it is quite funny to hear him saying it.

Riley has started learning to read and he is quite keen on it. He is reading starter books from the library at the moment so we are proud of his skills.

Happy Birthday Riley- you are 4

2007-08-05T19:56:00.000+12:00

Another milestone met today- Rileys first birthday party. He had such an exciting birthday and we are very proud of him. Mum and Dad did the cake again- Dad is a great decorator and Riley was very happy with it (little Einsteins rocket for the uninitiated!). He had some friends come over and he behaved well with great manners. He was spoilt rotten with presents and he didn't know whether he was Arthur or Martha with regards to trying to open them all and play with them all.

We are now all recovering from the day- we are not sure who is most tired- Mum, Dad, or the kids! Only a year until he goes to school... sniff.. sniff. He starts morning kindy tomorrow and that seems a big step but he is looking more and more like a young boy- no longer my wee man.

Today Jemma is modelling Nana's crochet. She insisted on putting it on straightaway when she got it. "Wow! Cool" were her exact words. The bottom photo exemplifies her- gumboots on (who would believe she owns 'proper' shoes), copying Riley (as soon as he took Superman costume off, she dragged it on), helmet (has to be worn on her bike) and her ga-ga (she knows to leave it on the bench before she leaves the house) She is our young lady with attitude! Poor girl- she is getting some longish hair around the sides and backs... but she seems to have Dad's receding hairline- no fringe to speak of.....hmmmmm....

Big trip to Oamaru and iceskating

2007-07-22T19:58:00.001+12:00

Lots has happened in the kids lives lately. They had their first trip to visit Grandma and Grandad overnight. We took the kids to Palmerston and turned them over to Grandma and Grandad. They happily waved goodbye (so did we- see we are all smiling in the bottom photo :-) ) and they had a wonderful time. Riley is still talking about it and how he wants to go to Grandma and Grandads "another day"

Both children have become more chatty in the last fortnight. Dad was away working for a week and even he noticed how much more chatty both were. We can understand half of Jemma but Riley is certainly very articulate and able to answer questions relevantly and talk away, so it is great to see them both doing this.

Though Riley is now very excited about his birthday in 2 weeks and he asked for a party which amazed us as he has never been to one, and very rarely has there been children of his age at our house. However, we will have a small one so Mum has been running around organising hats, plates, loot bags etc and of course a rocket cake of Little Einsteins is to be made (Mum cleverly deflected from the train cake- 2nd and 3rd birthdays were trains.. she wanted a change!). Riley slept with the instructions to making the cake that Mum found and he wants to know what 4 presents he is getting from us for his 4th birthday. Of course his chatter that is so great... is exhausting!

Today we went iceskating. Jemma sat in the toboggan and Riley insisted on skating so he held onto the back of the toboggan with our help and worked on his balance. He tried really hard and never fell over. He was so pleased with himself. We got some on dvd and apparently we can take photos from that but we forgot to take the camera, hence no photos here. Riley loved it and wants to go iceskating "another day".

We are testing Riley for heavy metals and future chelation goals so we needed some urine. Surprisingly enough he was happy to pee in a cup and help send it to France. However, now he wants to pee in the cup all the time and put in bottles to send to France "another day".....

Jemmas gumboot fetish has been joined by her jacket fetish to match her already present hat fetish and she also likes bangles and necklaces.... we just look at her and even Dad has to ask where she got her girly girl nature from????

PS... the rollercoaster saga

2007-07-08T18:19:00.000+12:00

Unfortunately the rollercoaster disappeared after 2 days because we have not seen another poo in the toilet. Poor old Riley is too anxious to do it there so we took it away until he is a big boy..........

I did say it could be an expensive poo! ROFLMAO

My baby girl is growing up.......... waahhhhh

2007-07-08T18:06:00.000+12:00

Yes, Jemma is becoming a big girl. She self weaned this week and we put her into her big bed yesterday to which she settled well. Where has my baby gone? I want another one..... (said of course now that I have forgotten all the sleepless nights and the intense dislike I had of my husband at the time:-) ). Oh well, 2 is a great number. I only have 2 hands to hold their hands... sniffle.. sniffle..

Jemma still has her gumboot fetish and she wears them with anything, including her dresses. Its a battle not worth fighting. I am bound to hate a lot more combinations in the years to come. Her talking has come a long way- she copies everything. She also likes to bring my handcream out to me so she can have some each day... or each hour... her hands will be her best asset.

The top photo has me trying to hold the kids back. Jemma in particular won't stand still long enough for a photo to be taken (and of course our camera is slow) so we have to catch her unawares. They have the same problem with her at childcare. She is too keen to see the end result.

They are proving cheap to entertain these holidays. Going puddle hunting in the gumboots seems to be the highlight of their day. Pity it stopped raining but they are fascinated by the frosts as well and the toy library car is a success too. Kam lent Riley his thunderbird toys while he is away and Riley is in 7th heaven- thunderbirds are go! As is typical, he sleeps with thunderbird 1. He does like to sleep with his various obsessions. We are lucky his obsessions are short and swift.

Here is the rollercoaster

2007-06-26T14:11:00.000+12:00

Did I mention it has 1114 pieces????

3.5 hours of building and this is the smaller one- only used about 800 pieces.......

He is a happy boy

Skirts, snow and ..... poos.....

2007-06-25T19:51:00.000+12:00

Jemma is now a big girl who walks everywhere and so I have started putting skirts on her... oh dear... she is a bit of a girly girl and I don't know where she gets it. Says a lot for the nature/ nurture debate. She jumps around, dances and struts in her skirts. She also likes to change her shoes 4 or 5 times daily. They don't have to be her shoes of course. Will try to get a photo of her in a skirt as she is VERY cute.

Well, the first big dump of snow came. In fact, the biggest dump since we have lived in Dunedin- nearly makes up for not getting any last year. Our backyard is a perfect slope for the kids to sled down on their inflatable kickboard. They LOVED it- though Dad and I were gutted the dvd camera ran out of batteries during filming. However, great photos to share. It was so neat to be watching them and playing with them in the snow. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow... (except for childcare days so I can go for a run :-) )

And, now for a funny story...... Many of you will know the trials we have been having with toilet training Riley for #2's.... he has been wees trained for 4 odd months but #2's have caused great consternation for lots of reasons. We had promised him a scooter or a bike but to no avail, toilet toys, stickers, you name it.... Anyhow, Riley has been going on about this rollercoaster toy that he has been admiring in the warehouse. Tonight, good old Dad (not checking with mum) says 'if you do a poo on the toilet, you can have the rollercoaster toy'. (btw dad- it is for 9 years and up and costs a bit). So Riley industriously went and tried (yes actually tried for the first time) and yay, 2 poos later. So major celebration time. Lets go to the warehouse now in the snowy conditions as this is momentous. So we all pile in the car and I warn Dad he will have to fork out as much for this as the bike probably AND build it cos Riley is too young. So... imagine our surprise to see the 'bleedin' thing is $150!!!!! Dad couldn't go back on his word as we had built this whole thing up for the last hour (plus 5 months) so Dad pays for it and right now, as Riley blissfully sleeps waiting for morning, Dad is building a rollercoaster (it can stand 1.5m high....) I think it is hilarious personally. I hope it isn't the only poo he does cos it will be an expensive poo...... at least if he is toilet trained, I can sell the last of the nappies and try to recoup some money.

The moral of the story? Ask Mum first!

Wow.. nearly a month has gone by.

2007-06-08T20:01:00.001+12:00

Well, she waited to walk but now you would think she had been doing it forever! She is also stamping her feet, trying to run and jump. She idolises Riley and tries to copy him at all times (even the things we don't want copied...).

Here she is carrying his lunchbox. She likes to take it into childcare for him. She also insisted on wearing his superman costume this morning. She calls for Riley when she wakes up... it is very cute even though Riley can be a rough big brother, she keeps coming back for more. Her favourite saying is "aww... mannnn..." and her vocabulary is growing quicker than her hair.

We went to visit the family in ChCh and it was a great success. The kids were excellent and we were so proud of their behaviour. They showed their excellent characters and enjoyed themselves. Riley loved the steam train and tram at Ferrymead as well as the planes and trains in the museums. We went out the the farm and there is a photo of the cousins that were present at the time which is a nice memento. The kids travelled beautifully at night for the first time so we feel far more optimistic about travelling.. just wait until it is dark!

Trainspotting

2007-05-14T20:02:00.000+12:00

Riley loves trains so when the model train show came to town, we took him twice and it was a mission getting him to leave each time. But don't fear Riley, we have dvd coverage for you as well!

And before you ask, NO, Jemma still does not choose to walk. She can walk a long way holding your hand, but confidence building can take time... just like a good wine.

Riley had an assessment last week and he is doing well. He has a high IQ and the most pleasing information is that his comprehension and auditory short term memory are average which is good for someone on the spectrum, so still onwards and upwards.

Jemma is learning to be a baby sister very well. She can now hit Riley and then ham up her reaction to being hit. We are sort of proud of her wily ways. And Riley being the typical Aspergers doesn't lie. "Did you hit Jemma?" "yes". Hopefully he will work out to tell us that she hits him back.

Yes, we have hair growth on Jemma as well. By Summer, we may even have to consider a haircut.... okay it is not even winter yet...but planning ahead.

Torturing Riley

2007-05-01T19:39:00.000+12:00

Yesterday we visited the gardens to see the parrots, kea and of course the ducks. Jemma loves to feed the ducks ..... but Riley doesn't. I take it in turns to respect their wishes. As you can see in the photo, it was Jemma's turn. Riley did well walking back up the hill to the aviary. He is becoming fit and such a big boy.

Jemma appears to be the type where she will only do something if really confident. She will wander around holding our hands but as soon as she realises she is walking on her own or standing, she drops to the ground. Same with learning to feed herself (which incidentally she does better than her 'male' brother who is happy to lean back and have it done for him!) Amazing the contrast in children. Riley won't try anything as he has a real thing about failure - the responsibility of ensuring high self esteem for your children. I think it means I should never go back to work and my darling husband should look to double his pay :-)

A more challenging week

2007-04-24T19:07:00.000+12:00

We have had a challenging week with Riley, not helped by his new wake up time of 5:30am. He is not a child to go back to sleep... sigh.... The latest supplement is working for him with our biomedical approach. Unfortunately it was giving him a lot of regression for a number of reasons so Mum was pulling her hair out. But we are back on track and I no longer want to adopt him out :-)

Jemma is sort of walking so don't get too excited by the newsflash.... She doesn't choose to but if you hold her hand, she will walk a great distance. Otherwise she drops to her knees. She is talking and singing lots- she also likes the action songs. Her sleep is back to normal but then tonight we noticed red cheeks and wonder about those molars... however, our fingers are crossed tightly.

We are loving the fact that the kids are growing up and we can return to a semblance of the life we once had. Peter and I ran a race as a team in the weekend and the kids tagged along easily and saw it as an adventure so we are feeling quite positive about future endeavours.

The bottom picture is the kids next door helping to build a pirate ship and have waves beside it rocking it. Great imaginations and a lot of fun to be had... the vintage coffee table (recognise it Mum?) needed some leg adjustment afterwards but we figure it is standing the test of time.

NEWS FLASH!!!!!

2007-04-15T12:57:00.000+12:00

Jemma is walking! She is taking about 4-5 steps at a time, then collapsing... usually in fits of laughter because we are yahooing and clapping so much. No photos but we have dvd recordings of it.

18 months 22 days!

Easter Holiday

2007-04-14T12:43:00.000+12:00

We had a lovely time away in Omarama over Easter. We did lots- mum and dad even got to go mountain biking together while Grandma and Grandad looked after the kids. It was very exciting to feel like DINKS for a few hours. And this is where I am supposed to say "I missed the kids and couldn't wait to get back to them..." We then left them again and went out for tea :-)

We went to Mt Cook on a brilliant day and over to Wanaka to see friends. We did a small bush walk and were thrilled to see Riley enjoy it as we would like to see our kids enjoy the outdoors as they get older.

Jemma was supposed to walk for Mum's birthday but ........ no.......... She practiced not sleeping in strange places. It was play time between 12:30am -4am most mornings. Because Riley was sleeping so well, we couldn't leave her to scream it out as she has a strong will, so we tried ignoring her while she played, and jumped up and down on Mum in the bed, pulled Mums hair to see if she would make a noise, backed off the bed whilst waving goodbye to us.................... It was actually very cute if we weren't so tired. She has gotten quite clear in some of her words (well her parents understand her). Hello, ta ta, thank you, how are you going?

Watch this space- Jemma will walk... soon...

2007-03-30T19:20:00.000+12:00

Nothing major to report from down here. Jemma is now 18 months old and holding out on walking for as long as she can! She can stand balanced and walk if you hold her hand but she likes to taunt us. I try to smile when I think of what a 'persistent' and 'persevering' teenager she will be.... otherwise I might cry :-)

Both kids have a like of music which pleases Dad no end and Riley has a phenomenal memory for words of a song. I can't remember what they were singing in the pyjama photo but they were playing nicely together .. for now.

Jemma is now saying 'iley' for Riley and she likes to practice it. She also likes to take his tea off him and eat it herself. You can imagine the wars that are now starting at the tea table. What is funny (or frustrating) is the smug smile Jemma gives when she gets what she wants in any situation.

We think Jemma is getting her molars. Dad braved his fingers by putting them in her mouth so at least we know she has a reason for being a bit grizzly at the moment.

By the way, this was an end of the day photo of Jemma standing... only onto her 3rd change of clothes of the day since she is the messiest child I have ever met!!

Hairdressers and daredevils...

2007-03-14T13:58:00.000+13:00

The kids are certainly getting up to more antics as they grow older. Jemma will never forgive the photo of her in a cap. She has a real hat fetish- likes to be wearing one ALL the time. We have to hide them from her but then today... she brought me her shoes instead....

The garden is still not a courtyard but the kids love playing out there with water on a nice day. Riley gives Jemma a shower and she tries to eat stones. Jemma is into copying Riley a lot- which isn't fun when they decide to squeal at the teatable but cute when she wants to sit on the tunnel just like him. I am glad it is going back to the toy library soon.

Rileys latest imagination trip (he has many varied and wonderful ways of entertaining himself) is to be a hairdresser. We take turns sitting down with our cape on and he brushes or tweezers our hair (figured it was safer than scissors but more painful) and Jemma is lucky because I let him use mousse on her...but not me :-)

Kids are still growing

2007-02-25T19:14:00.000+13:00

Life is ticking along here. The kids are doing really well and we are so biased towards their near perfection :-)

Riley is astounding us with his language and socialisation skills. He loves kindy and looks forward to going and what is also fantastic is the conversations he is making with us.

He and Jemma are playing together quite nicely too.......... when he is not whacking her of course! They egg each other on at the tea table screaming happily. Jemma had her first 'time out' the other night. In fact it took her 2 time outs in the laundry before she worked out it was related to her screaming. She then stopped- she's not slow on the uptake!

Jemma is still not walking but she crawls so fast, I don't think she is that motivated. Her language continues to develop and she continues to insist on wearing her sunhat from sunrise to sunset. We are now trying to hide it. Grandma and Grandad came down to look after them while we went to a wedding and Grandma didn't know that she still likes her dummy to go to sleep with so got confused with Jemma's frantic pointing. She let her grizzle a bit and when she went in 20 minutes later to check on her, Jemma had managed to get her own dummy off the chest of drawers and then lie back down and go to sleep. She knows what she wants that girl!!

The toy library is a hit as per usual. The roller coaster was very popular, with the neighbours also and now Riley is enjoying the tractor and trailer.

Great news is that Riley is now toilet trained for wees!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yay, we are getting there.

Riley starts kindy today

2007-02-07T12:00:00.000+13:00

Yay, summer weather arrived. We have been enjoying the outside weather with walks and visits to the parks.

Jemma and Riley liked playing with the unicorn from the neighbours so we acquired that. Riley likes wearing Jemma's dress up tutu which makes Dad cringe as he dances around but he also likes his 'manly' costumes too!

Riley starts afternoon kindy today and he is both nervous and excited so hopefully all will go well. The kids continue to grow and flourish and learn new skills.

Riley is fascinated with the difference between men and ladies at the moment and uses interesting times to ask to have a look. Funny though :-)

Fun at the fair

2007-01-28T13:02:00.000+13:00

The weather still hasn't been great but on our home holiday, we have managed to visit parks and paddling pools.

We went to the A&P show and were thrilled that Riley went on the merry go round. A big step for him. Jemma also loved it, she gave the royal wave to everyone as she went around.

The kids are back at childcare and seem to be enjoying it. Riley went on a trip to the museum and loved it- he was very well behaved as well. He has learned some phrases this week so we know it is a positive experience- 'watch out for me'.

Rileys toilet training is going slowly but generally positive.... for wees anyway....

Jemma is often 'walking' on her knees so still getting there. She has a huge repertoire of animal noises and she knows what she wants. She pretends to talk on the phone, wants to put salt and pepper on her tea, blow on the hot food.. in fact anything we do, she wants to copy. She is hilarious to watch.

Miss Independence

2007-01-11T12:46:00.000+13:00

I am nearly 16 months and I can feed myself. NO! I do NOT need help. Don't you dare take my spoon off me. I will use my fingers rather than let you feed me.

Yes, we now have a plastic tablecloth on the floor each night.....

I love riding my bike and wearing my helmet inside. NO! I will NOT take my helmet off until I am ready. You may take my picture- I think this is my best pose - cool and in control. I can move at about 1km per hour. No holding me back. Steering is more of a problem. Those pesky cupboards get in the way but NO, I do NOT need your help to steer either.

Our Christmas holiday

2007-01-08T20:14:00.000+13:00

We are back from 2 weeks away in Christchurch and Omarama. We had a wonderful Christmas break and watching the kids enjoy themselves was a highlight. They were able to spend time with family and that was really important.

I am struggling to have photos to post because we bought ourselves a handycam to record live footage so now, I must remember to walk around with handycam AND camera in hand.

Christmas day had Jemma in a pretty dress and scarf though she wasn't keen on the scarf... or the dress for that matter- it interfered with crawling. What a mean mummy to put that on her. Jemma is fantastic at indicating what she wants with pointing and 'talking' (or screaming if she isn't liking the result!). She loves to wear the cycle helmet and she doesn't like it to be taken off her. She also likes to be taken for rides on Riley's bike. We have now got her a wee trike and within 1 day she has learned to ride it. She is so quick on the uptake! We are hoping the movement in the legs may motivate her to walk!

Jemma loved going to Willowbank and feeding animals. She loves ducks at the moment and quacks a lot. Her favourite song is "old macdonald had a farm". She does a great imitation of Santa - instead of ho ho ho, she goes oh, oh, oh.... ahhhhhhhhhhhh just melts your heart :-)

Riley loves his new Thomas train and he concentrates on it with great intensity just like the water pistol - tongue hanging out lots. We have a number of photos with his tongue in this position. He is getting too clever. When we arrived at the caravan, his first question was 'what's missing?'- the bathroom! No flies on that boy!!

Speaking of which, we started toilet training today and have had some success so feeling pretty excited by it. Riley loves the clapping and cheering when he goes in the right place. Mum is not so excited by the new task of daily cleaning the toilet... I still think he should sit down to save me work!

We had a day in Wanaka while on holiday and we have had great weather. Now we are back home- we've unpacked all teh Christmas goodies and I had to go and buy another container- starting toy rotations now....... spoilt kiddies. We are also planning some picnics and park visits before Dad goes back to work.

Happy new year everyone!

2006-12-15T21:33:00.000+13:00

Only 9 sleeps until Christmas. I think the novelty has worn off for Riley because it is taking so long! Though he just about knows all the words to Kiwi Jingle Bells off by heart, plus a number of other carols.

The kids have been great shoppers this year. Quite happy to sit in trolleys and wander toy and Christmas decoration aisles- at Rileys directions of course- bossy buggar that he is! Jemma being the
placid wee love that she is just comes for the ride!

Jemma is so funny. She loves joining in with singing and doing the actions or the squeals at the appropriate times. Though she isn't fond of the big red man up close as shown in this photo. This is the second time Santa has given her a present and the reaction was identical.

Dad won the battle and we used controlled crying on her and she is sleeping much better through the night but now she takes an hour to go to sleep (where are those roll eyes emoticons?). She has learned to stand up...but she can't get down so we have to rescue her in the cot. Ho hum... another stage!

We had wonderful news last week for Riley by the visiting psychologist. His progress is so good that she is struggling to 'keep' him on the spectrum. So although the last year has been a lot of work, it is all paying off. We are lucky he is such a clever wee boy!

Yay... Christmas is coming!

2006-12-05T19:44:00.000+13:00

We had the childcare train trip last Monday and the whole family went which was really nice. Riley loved the train- he called it the train adventure and we were a bit nervous because at breakfast, he was adamant it needed to be a red diesel engine and ........... it was! phew....

We are building up to Christmas and it is very exciting. Mummy put the tree up a bit early but she loves watching Riley and his excitement. The tree is a bit higher to keep it away from prying hands, particularly a delightful 14 mth old who likes to explore. Alice decided it didn't have enough decorations so more have been added and soft touch mum bought a train to go around the tree for her trainloving son. Then Riley convinced Mum he needed a motion detecting 11 tune snoglobe. So luckily KMart had a 30% sale...

It was Santa parade on Sunday and Mummy couldn't go so Dad took 60 photos and Riley was able to tell Mum all about it. It was magic watching him relive it and tell Mum about all the floats including the 'elbow tross' (albatross). To think, it has been a year since we found out he was on the spectrum and to look at him now, the progress is just unbelievable.

Dad said it was also magical to watch Jemma at the parade because she was so excited and waved at everything. We missed some of these developmental things when Riley was her age, so Christmas is shaping up to be very exciting with both children.

Another exciting weekend

2006-11-19T19:26:00.000+13:00

Lots going on in our household again! The kids are great at pretend play and we have photos of Riley dressed as Superman- although he keeps crashing because he watches his cape to see if he is really flying...... Jemma is wearing her Fifi and the Flowertots costume!

We are pleased to report that as of today, Jemma has 2 forms of crawling- commando (with fantastic shoulder movements) and now..... she is up on all fours and tottering along. We have a movie of it- she is soooo proud of herself! It is very cute to watch.

Today, we had a Christmas party at the model train place. Riley was very excited to see the 'puffer trains'- they were both diesel he tells us. However, he didn't want to ride on it. He was happier to watch the small ones inside. Although he is very excited that we are going on a big diesel train to Palmerston in 8 sleeps. Because the train goes by the seaside, he hopes to see a small whale AND an iceberg.....

The kids also got a present from Santa. Jemma screamed the place down when she got close to the man in red, but Riley was happy to accept a present with Mum by his side.

An exciting weekend

2006-11-12T20:33:00.000+13:00

We have had an eventful week - mainly over the weekend where we are very proud of Riley and the progress he is making.

Though Jemma has had a good achievement as well. She slept through the night ONCE! Mummy tried her on goats milk in the hope of weaning but no go- poor girl had tummy ache and Mummy and Daddy suffered alongside her.

We have had to keep Jemma away from the tv and we have found that if we need 5 minutes peace and quiet, we can stand her up and since she can't get down, we can get a few things done :-) However, we went to Grandma and Grandads house for the night and Jemma was allowed near their tv.. she loved being able to touch the characters in the box- it was very cute to watch. She is now blowing kisses too and making great tongue noises. She is such a poppet.... during the day- a perfect child with a lovely nature but she likes to wind Riley up by upsetting his train and flinging it away- she is hilarious.

Today was Peters Xmas do- a family day and Riley just loved it. After a few hours, he worked up the courage to go in a truck for a ride, on a digger with Dad AND go in the bouncy castle (then didn't want to come out!). We were so thrilled to see this happen because he tends to be an observer and for him to take on the opportunity was great progress. He even impressed the truck driver with his comment "nice driving Marty".

Christmas may still be 6 weeks away but Riley is looking forward to it and he got Christmas duck out so we could sing the carols. Riley sang well and we caught it on video (if anyone wants a 15Mb file sent with Riley singing either Jingle bells or We wish you a merry Xmas- let us know :-) )

PS note Rileys new vest- another knitting pattern that Mum stuffed up but she means well- she just ain't built to knit. It is wearable at least

Dad went to Australia and we got tshirts....

2006-11-05T19:20:00.000+13:00

Well, Mum survived a week of solo even though Jemma decided to get a new tooth and not sleep much! Dad came back with tshirts and Jemma was scared of hers because it was furry... she got used to it after awhile and even tried to feed it by dribbling lots :-)

Jemma is pulling herself up to her knees now so getting more and more mobile by the day. She is into EVERYTHING and she is trying to talk lots. We can understand 'hello' now as well as her other words plus all the babble and tongue sounds she likes to do. Like her brother, she is a great mimic!

Riley is creating some great sentences now and can even answer the 'why' question. He just says 'why not?'. How do you argue with such logic? He is so looking forward to Christmas- he loves looking at decorations, particularly ones of Santa on .... you guessed it... transport vehicles! It will be a great Christmas this year for us because it will be so exciting to watch his reaction.

What a great weekend

2006-10-22T19:10:00.000+13:00

Lots has been happening around here. Mum finished Jemma's summer vest- fiddled with the pattern too much (it is supposed to be v-necked) but it worked out if you don't look too hard. Oops it is sideways as well.

Jemma makes us laugh so much. She can play peekaboo with herself and she crawls around the house talking to us all. She has a great nature as does Riley. We realise parents always like their children but we are very proud of how likeable our two are and we really enjoy their company.

We have a 'big boy's bike' from the toy library at the moment and Riley is doing really well on it. He is really starting to grow up.

In Dunedin this weekend was the railway centennary so steam trains galore. Riley was in his element and watching the joy on his face was just priceless for his loving parents. Yes, it borders on obsessional interest for him but .... who cares? :-) Riley even took a ride on "Joanne" and can mimic her whistle perfectly (as well as recognise it from all other whistles on the other steam trains- Dad is very proud of Riley's ear).

We were thrilled to get Riley on the train. We primed him up for 24 hours and he was just great. He hasn't stopped talking about trains since and we have had to be his carriages around the house.... over and over again while he wears his new train whistle on his head. He is 'Joanne' although we are trying to encourage him to be Thomas!

What's new at our place?

2006-10-08T21:04:00.000+13:00

We finally have a bath for the kids! They are loving it as well, although Riley doesn't like to share his toys and Jemma likes splashing so much, we all want to leave the room including Riley!

Jemma has become SUCH a character in the last couple of weeks. She is definitely not a baby anymore and I think we are in for a shock. She explores much more than Riley and if we thought Riley was sharp and determined, I think he has met his match! She takes her bib off herself, likes to scoop food out of her mouth and feed the dog. She is trying to talk and says "Ta", "ta ta" and calls for "Paddy" and "Riley" - imitating us we think. For someone who crawls using their elbows, she is fast and she appeared at the top of the stairs the other day while I was down hanging the washing out. I had to move pretty quick and now the gate has appeared! She is such a hard case- we think she will be lots of fun! She has no fear and will try anything.

Riley went fishing for the first time today and unfortunately no fish were caught. He inherited his Dad's first rod and he was so keen to practice his spinning, he had a birds nest before he left the house. Although his attention span was short, Dad was very proud of how good he was.

We have a remote controlled train from the toy library at the moment which he LOVES so we are pretty pleased. We think he will like his Christmas present. He likes to read all the toy catalogues when they arrive and then tell me we need to go to the shop to buy 'my train' or 'my dora toy' or 'my fifi toy'. We can fill in half an hour wandering toy aisles while he looks at everything.

Jemma is no longer a baby.......

2006-09-24T21:06:00.000+12:00

Jemma is now a big 1 year old! We had a lovely day. We got to put a girly dress on her and she looked so lovely. She kept playing with it and grinning as if to say she quite liked being made to look like a girl.

She got lovely presents and enjoyed them despite Riley stealing away with them though he was very good at it being HER day. We had a princess painting made for her and her room is starting to look like a wee girls room.

Mum made a yummy gluten and casein free cake and Dad helped with the decorating because he is better than Mum at that sort of stuff. Grandma and Grandad came down to see us. Lyn from next door came over and brought a present for Jemma AND the big brother. How lucky is that!

Jemma celebrated her milestone by starting to crawl. She is getting along a bit like a caterpillar- bum in the air and using her elbows. Unfortunately, the 'cage' has to go back on the tv/stereo because she likes to play with the on/off button and the volume dial on the stereo. She also likes to pull Mum's recipe books out of the bookshelf.

Jemma was able to sit at the chair for her birthday cake and it made Mum a bit sad. Her baby is becoming a toddler and since she is the last baby, Mum was feeling a little 'blue' about Jemma growing up. She has obviously forgotten all the sleepless nights of the last 6 months......

A normal week here

2006-09-16T19:05:00.000+12:00

Time is certainly flying around here. Jemma has cut 2 teeth this week with 2 more looming. Now that her sleep is better, she is back to the amazing baby that she was at 6 months- very happy and placid. She is starting to wave and says da da a lot, which as we all know means mama! We got the jetboat out from the toy library that Riley used to like. It is pretty popular with her as well.

The weather has been great so out came the sunhats. Jemma is adjusting to wearing one- that's why hers has a tie!

Riley is an expert at reading toy catalogues now. He pounces on them and then declares we are going to the shop to get "...." and "pay the lady".... A great shopper he is showing himself to be!

There is a photo of him in therapy as well- it has just been a typical week here. Childcare to give Mum a break, therapy and lots of adventures. We went on a picnic to the gardens, Jemma had an eye appointment due to unequal pupil sizes but they think she is normal. As I thought when they said she may need glasses, if she can't keep a hat on, how can she keep glasses on? (and I rolled my eyes!) but no glasses needed.

Counting down..... 1 week to the big 1 year old! Riley picked out a jungle cake for her but I am not that ambitious. After all, he just got a supermarket sponge for his first! Though I have a new gf/cf cake to try for her. Surely, it will taste better than Rileys! Stay tuned, we will have photos!

Our Queenstown holiday

2006-09-06T21:21:00.000+12:00

We have just had a wee break in Queenstown and it was great! We went to a seminar on Aspergers syndrome and learned heaps more about Riley and helping his future. We took lots of notes like the good students we are!

We found a holiday home to stay in that overlooked Millbrook and Grandma and Grandad came to help look after the kids. What do you think of the view out the front window? Magic huh?

We took Riley up the 'snowy mountain' (yes he has been watching too much Dora..) Although unsure at first, after awhile, we couldn't get him off the snow. We also managed to get him up the gondola. It is quite a quiet operation and not too many people and he hopped on so we were stoked. We had a photo of it but it hasn't uploaded properly-probably cos Dad looked horrendous in it.

We were lucky to have G and G there. Even with the cost of petrol, they spent every afternoon driving Jemma around the region while she slept. On the day we took Riley up the gondola, she slept 2 hours! It was a long car trip :-)

Jemma is nearly crawling. She is rocking on all fours. She has 2.5 weeks until she turns 1 so it would be nice if she could do it before then. Riley is making some great sentences and his reasoning is improving. It is nice to think all our interventions are working. Though he has had a couple of colds and being sick definitely makes him more autistic than usual. But we marvel at what a bright cookie he is and I would bet anything that he knows more words to songs than any other 3 year old around. He has a phenomenal memory and he knows so many songs including verses- it blows us away.

A new era beginning

2006-08-25T21:05:00.000+12:00

Aren't they nice flowers? Mum was given these because she finished work today so she could stay at home and be a lady of leisure, watching talk shows, eating bon bons and leaving us in day care all day.... or so the plan goes!

Or.... maybe she will be just as busy running around after us with our finickty and expensive diets and making sure we end up well rounded individuals! At least the pressure of producing wonderful lessons is off.

As per usual, life is busy here. Riley has spent another night with Grandma and Grandad and is getting very good at staying away. Next time, Dad probably won't have to go.

We are off to Queenstown next week for a seminar on Aspergers syndrome so we are staying an extra couple of days to have a break....hmmmm... we thought Mum and Dad learned at Easter that going away doesn't guarantee more sleep. At least the scenery will be pretty. Grandma and Grandad are coming to look after us- maybe they will do the early shift????

2006-08-13T19:29:00.000+12:00

Jemma is getting her second tooth- just look at that cheek! Could explain her grizzly behaviour yesterday..... She is also at that 'everything in my mouth' stage as you can see.

She wants to be crawling and is doing some lovely supermans on her front. She is so different from Riley who never really went through that frustrated stage of wanting to move but not being able to. Jemma gets frustrated and tells us all about it.

Riley is a good big brother. He doesn't like sharing too much - 'no sharing Jemma'. But he will play with her and bring her toys to play with. He has had a good week. He is adjusting well to the gluten and casein free diet. I made a recipe that he loves so am feeling quite pleased about that! Otherwise I end up eating the failures so as not to waste food!

He is singing tonnes at the moment. He likes to entertain the changing rooms at the pool each Sunday, much to Peters amusement/embarrassment. I asked him the other day where Nana and Grandad lived since Nana had been to stay. His answer? 'The airport'.

Happy Birthday Riley

2006-08-08T19:07:00.000+12:00

Riley had a great birthday. He was so aware this year of what happens and the changes in him were really exciting. He loved his presents and was even able to unwrap most of them himself.

He sang Happy Birthday to himself with great gusto..... many times. He loved his Thomas cake that Mum and Dad decorated. It wasn't our best effort but he was happy! Emily and Ted came over to play and help him blow out candles and Riley was really impressive the way he interacted with Emily. He has come so far!

Nana came down to visit him and Grandma and Grandad arrived on the Sunday to say Happy Birthday, along with Uncle Paul and Aunty Jo. We were really proud of his progress and his manners!!

Back on deck

2006-08-02T21:22:00.000+12:00

Well, it has been a couple of tough weeks. The computer 'died' and we lost the last 3 months of photos which is really upsetting. I have been able to copy the blog ones so that is one consolation. I have learned 2 really important words... BACK UP!

So now, I have Picasa and am working out how to use it for my photos. I can't seem to put Rileys photo on here. Need to read the help files....

Jemma has her first tooth. At 10 mths (nearly 2 weeks ago) she got it. She is also rolling around heaps on the floor. Her sleep remains a disaster- food intolerances and now bad habits.... we also think she has chickenpox! We will be able to tell more in the morning!

Riley is 3 on Saturday and all he wants is a Thomas cake! He is so cute. I hope my Thomas cake works.... I have made a gluten and casein free one... not a great taste so hopefully it will be good looking instead :-) I don't think he understands presents too much but Mum is pretty excited about his presents!

We will update on the birthday!

2006-07-16T14:21:00.000+12:00

Hi to you all

A bit quiet here as we have had holidays which means I am busy with the kids. We are also embarking on a gluten free/casein free diet so I have been researching this and psychologically preparing :-)

It has been great to see Riley developing his pretend play and the favourite at the moment is to go to bed. Jemma is forced to join in and he is unintentionally rough with her as he makes her lie down but she just laughs and thinks it is a great joke!

Riley decided today the bears needed to join in and go to bed as well. Jemma tried to talk to them but they were a bit quiet today. Riley even sung them a lullaby and said prayers with them. (He has rote learned his prayers but I am sure he really wants you all blessed ;-))

I have started recording a memories book for them each day as my memory is shocking so now they can read about their lives and I won't be able to claim they slept through the night at 6 weeks when they have their own children!!!!

So, Jemma will now be able to read about what a shocking sleeper she is at night (and feel suitably guilty about it) as well as the time she did her #2's and then smeared it all over herself...... I was nice enough not to take a photo though. We are putting in some nice memories too though like her wonderfully placid nature and tendency to play peekaboo with herself

Riley can read about all the clever things he is doing and what an entertainer he is. He walked through Mega yesterday singing 'heads shoulders knees and toes' and did the actions. Dad said it was very loud and cute until he did the 10th chorus.....

Oh dear..

2006-07-02T20:19:00.000+12:00

We all got sick... except Peter but then he went away to Te Anau for one night to leave his very sick wife (note the very;-)))))) with a sick little boy and a mildly sick little girl so he escaped the bugs (but could hear me cursing from down there!)

I am not the nursing type at the best of times- not a caring bone in me!

So to be sick and then have to (or try to) sleep with both children in the bed- one who felt like a 5 bar heater and cuddled in close and one who is small and cuddly but not getting enough blanket......... life was hard for a couple of days. They are lucky they are my children. I wouldn't do it for anyone else and if Peter gets sick.... good luck to him is all I can say!

A bad dose of the flu and Riley is still struggling- poor wee man. He is a very good patient though.

Anyway, I finished the tank top of scrap wools from my Mum so here it is and I finally knitted something that is too big rather than too small! Isn't she gorgeous? A stranger said the other day, she looked like me - I nearly fell over trying to kiss and hug her in gratitude..... though I realise she was probably only being nice :-)

Holidays now... my last one for awhile since I have resigned from work. My children are too gorgeous to miss one moment of..... (do you believe me....LOL)

2006-06-27T15:58:00.000+12:00

Hello to you all!

Hope winter isn't too cold for you. We are progressing along. Jemma is doing much better off the dairy products but still struggling with waking at night and not settling easily so mummy still has to get to the bottom of that one. So don't be fooled by the smiley photo of her in the cot. It is just that she is such a placid wee girl with a lovely temperament... from her mother of course!

She has worked out to smile for the camera as well and gets very excited when you show her the photos or videos we have taken.

Riley is pouting because I was blocking the tv and Spot was on. He is also making good progress on reading and spelling- not that we are actua lly encouraging that but he cracked us up with the poster in the photo. Started spelling the words out and he was so proud of himself. We videod it but it is too big to upload. He has gotten much better at the echolalia- doesn't repeat as much but he has gotten into the habit of saying darling- . So it is 'hi darling' 'cuddle please darling'..... etc... very cute - though Dad doesn't find it as cute as mum does! I hadn't realised I called him darling that often-- but of course he is one!

Mum is sick at the moment so she hopes that the kids don't come down with it cos then her life gets more miserable ....... Holidays soon! Yay!

Jemma wanted to post her news...

2006-06-15T20:34:00.000+12:00

My mummy is sooooo clever. She has made me better and now I sleep for longer and I don't stay awake crying and I have stopped coughing my guts out. More sleep makes me happier during the day as well and I love clapping and playing peekaboo. I lift the teatowel up myself and pull it down. What a great game!

I don't even miss yoghurt and my new custard made out of flavoured soy milk is much nice and my poos are orange because mum gives me lots more vegetables....

I am back to being the wonderful baby I used to be. (There's no praise like self praise!)

Riley is having a tough week. He seems quite tired and is tantruming more. He doesn't like failing so prefers not to try and some of the therapy is a bit challenging so he is getting frustrated. It could just be a plateau after such amazing progress but it is a bit worrying about his lack of energy. He wouldn't even walk the other day and he normally insists on walking some of the way when we take Paddy for a walk.

Now that Mum has figured out my problem, she can start working out Riley's problem. It is good to keep her brain working hard.

Bye everyone- peeka............BOO!

Winter is here

2006-06-13T18:59:00.000+12:00

Well, our trip to ChCh for Nana's birthday has been and gone. It was so nice to catch up with family and wish Nana a happy birthday.

While we were away, Dad taught Riley how to use the computer mouse and now we have our very own computer geek...oops mean whizz! He loves to play games and read books on the computer.

Both kids were sick last week. Riley tends to take illness in his stride so it is a bit of a shock to see Jemma so grizzly. She has been coughing for 3 weeks and I am no longer convinced she is sick but instead, (for a long boring list of reasons), I believe she is lactose intolerant. So we are now dairy free as of today. We hope this helps Jemma to sleep a bit better because Mum and Dad are very grumpy people now that it has been 3 weeks of continuous bad nights of hours at a time..... feel free to send sympathy vibes :-)

We feel that we have had enough dramas with our children and we would like to settle into having nothing new crop up and our children to be perfect angels for awhile until the next 'phase'.

Jemma is modelling her new 'longies' that Mum knitted and they are nice and warm for winter days, even if Dad laughs at them! Riley isn't modelling his new jersey from Great Aunty Jane cos it is a little big but next year.... watch out!!

Child Labour alive and well

2006-05-27T17:59:00.000+12:00

Riley is getting to be a big boy and was very good at helping Dad stack wood today. Dad is enjoying having his little helper around. I could go on forever about the cool things that Riley is saying and doing but I won't bore you! Suffice to say, he is one cool dude who is doing really well with his therapy. He is a very bright wee cookie! Even if he does like to suck lemons..........ewww...

Jemma has been a little unwell but remains a placid and happy wee girl. She can sit unaided for a wee while so we decided to take a photo and she decided to make a liar out of me and fall over !!!! She is now 8 months old. Unbelievable.

We are looking forward to seeing our ChCh relatives over Queens birthday and showing them how much the kids are growing up while celebrating Nana's big birthday since she is getting old and wrinkly :-)

More firsts with Jemma

2006-05-14T19:06:00.000+12:00

Long time no post! Life has been really busy yet nothing interesting to report.

However, we have a photo of Mum's first mothers' day with her TWO darlings (though Dad said Mum's hair looked okay... Mummy should know that Daddys don't know anything..!!!) and a photo of Jemma on the toy library tractor.

We also have a photo of Jemma's first shower with Dad but Dad was too shy to share his photo online! Jemma as per usual, took it in her stride and not a peep to be heard.

The children continue to sprout up and make great progress. Riley now knows his manners and is very good at using please when he wants something. He is using longer sentences as well, a well worn one is "mummy, fix it.............please!" "mummy, come here ....please" "mummy....mummy......" I think mummies are on this earth to be slaves to toddlers! He has great leadership (bossy) qualities too. When playing shopping list with us, he likes to fill our trollies as well as his own. There is a budding teacher there. Dad is okay with that as he has decided Jemma's fearless nature makes her the budding pilot!

I did it with some help from my friends

2006-04-30T18:14:00.000+12:00

A couple of potential disasters averted by Alice and Audrey and my jersey is finished. And doesn't she look beautiful?

Can't decide what to knit her next but think I will do a red based hat like her other one and then may tackle longies.

Jemma's been under the water

2006-04-25T19:45:00.000+12:00

Another week has sped by. More firsts have occurred.

Riley has started his therapy and is doing really well. He seems stimulated and being as bright as he is, will hopefully absorb what he needs to and learn the skills he requires quickly.

Jemma had her second swim but this was her first time being dunked under the water. As usual, she took the placid approach and not a word or comment to be had.

Riley is sleeping really well but of course that means Jemma isn't. Typical huh?

Grandma and Grandad came down to help out and Grandma and Jemma decided to wear matching colours so we had to get a photo to commemorate.

Our Easter holiday

2006-04-17T20:01:00.000+12:00

Easter has now been and gone and we had a wee holiday. Though holiday is not really the word when you end up in a 1 bedroom unit with small children, one of whom insists on coughing most of the night. We had a lovely time though but we made a mental note not to expect that going away might mean more sleep!!

Mummy found out she can knit while Daddy drives so Jemma's jersey to match her hat is making great progress! We went to Warbirds over Wanaka and had a great day. Riley loved the planes and he was very good- coped with all the noise and he loved looking at everything. Jemma was her usual darling self. We even caught her on film laughing- cute huh?

So now we are home and back to catching up on everything.

Jemma's new hat

2006-04-10T19:34:00.000+12:00

Here is the first thing I have knitted in 17 years! Jemma's new hat. Now I have started on a matching jersey. Not that I know how to knit- I am just good at downloading knitting videos on the web ;-)

Last week of term and the kids are getting tired... or I am using that as Riley's excuse for being a little shite today! He is a shopaholic which is hilarious cos as a baby, he would scream the place down as soon as I walked into one. Now, he gets upset as we head home."No, not this way, that way...another shop..." He has the makings of a 'metromale'.

Easter is coming and we are off on a small holiday so looking forward to that! Reading and knitting and maybe some enforced childcare as well!

Rolling and reading

2006-04-03T20:17:00.000+12:00

Jemma is nearly 6.5 mths and she finally showed some consistency in rolling onto her back by doing it 5 times!! She is so placid (or is that lazy ;-) ) that she has not bothered to move so it was very exciting to watch this afternoon. Action photos show sequence.

The pram shot indicates what we had planned today with the beautiful weather. However the puncture Peter fixed in the weekend is flat again so there is an old photo to show you. Instead we went to the dinosaur park and Jemma was in the front pack so she and I went down the big slide a few times. Riley just climbed up and down the stairs and then wanted to see the 'ocean' so we walked up to the beach so he could see it.

We are helping Riley learn to read and he is reading (ie has memorised) bus, mum, dad, Riley, Jemma, boat, maisy and thomas. The words on the blackboard are his requests but he hasn't memorised them yet. We will work on that! His new
obsession is Blues Clues and he now goes around all day singing their songs and talking to Joe!

PS. Thanks for all the comments. We love getting them.

Easter b##%%@@ bunnies!

2006-03-25T20:20:00.000+12:00

Riley was very excited to see the Easter bunnies appear again. 3 weeks before Easter was all Mum could stomach and we are SOOOO grateful to Nana for these classy singers! Riley can now sing the song himself.... even better..... "Here comes Peter Cottontail...hopping down the bunny trail...." blah blah... I wish this site had sound effects so we could inflict upon you all. The things you listen to when you don't have a gun........

We had to share a photo of Jemma's favourite expression (it also comes with sound effects). I know the photo is blurred but she loves her jumper and doesn't stop moving long enough to pose WITH expression in place. She is so cute!!

Now.... Mum, Dad and Aunty Jane... I got thinking...... yes, it took me a couple of months but I worked out how to set it up so that you can comment without signing up so will look forward to that (and to anyone elses comments :-) )

Sick children and daylight savings makes for grumpy parents

2006-03-20T21:38:00.000+12:00

Jemma proved to us that she can scream the place down this weekend. She was sick, not sure what and she let us know. It was heartbreaking to watch because she had real tears and a puffy crying face and she wouldn't sleep properly. The poor wee love is so good, it gave us a big shock. Thankfully she was back to her normal self today- sleeping, smiling, feeding etc... She loves playing with Mum's diet coke can when I have finished with it. Can she get addicted via breastmilk? ;-)

Jemma is wearing her new tights and dress which proves she is a girl despite lack of hair! If you look closely, she is a blondie like her brother, but then he has darkened up considerably in the last 6 months.

Riley is pictured with a plane that Mum found at work. He loves pretending to fly it much to his father's delight. He has been a superb wee boy today and although he has been up at 5am the last 2 mornings on top of bad nights with both being under the weather, he is forgiven because he was so much fun to be around today. He brought over a mini chocolate egg that he reached in the cupboard.... "chocolate egg..good boy Riley... mummy help fix it" so my only option was to take the wrapping off for him since he was so proud of himself!

2006-03-17T21:12:00.000+13:00

Another week has flown by. Riley enjoyed visiting Thomas and friends last week. He wouldn't go on the train but he was happy to watch. He is growing up so fast! He is starting to use larger sentences and learns quickly. He was sitting on my knee at the computer today and wanted to play a game. Once I found it, he said "Mummy, get off" and pushed me off the chair so he could have it.

Jemma has sort of graduated to 2 sleeps a day now although she hasn't settled well at childcare doing this. She slept last night from 7pm-5:20am.. the wee poppet. She is such a good girl- so happy. I just can't believe my luck with her. She is so cruisy that she STILL isn't rolling - too much effort to move. But her head is strong and she loves her Jolly jumper still. She loves watching Riley and as the photo shows, I must be starving her!

Nana was right and Mummy was wrong.

2006-03-11T13:40:00.000+13:00

A pretty uneventful week really. Mummy spent too much on the kids but now Riley blends in with his curtains in his new pyjamas and Jemma is easily kept warm in her new poncho....... I really didn't think I needed one but I will defer to my mother who is obviously far wiser than me.;-)

This is the most recent photo of the three of us (we must get another family photo- our other one is 4.5 months old....). Excuse all the mess in the background... not that I would have tidied up for the occasion :-)

Riley is now doing well in the 'big kids' room at Russell St and Jemma regularly earns title of 'best baby' ( I am sure they all do but I ignore that possibility) so Mummy can feel guilt free working!

What are the kids doing now?

2006-03-07T19:30:00.000+13:00

It has been a really busy week. It is amazing to live with these two children. They change and develop so quickly and they do some really cool things!

Having taught Riley to recite his name, we are now working on his address and he is so funny as he chants it all. He is a wonderful big brother and Jemma watches him like a hawk. As soon as I arrive to pick them up at childcare, Riley marches off to the babies room to 'go pick up Jemma'. He is very protective of her and makes us very proud.

Jemma is certainly an observer of life. She doesn't cry much and just watches and smiles. She loves people talking to her.

She hasn't quite got the solids thing sussed which is obvious when looking at her attempts with carrot and rice but she did enjoy it and she laughed lots (though who would believe me - she always stops smiling when I point a camera at her!) She loves the frozen apple though.

Peter and I had to laugh last night. After a year on and off of Riley with sleeping 'issues' we decided to google and see if he might have a sleeping disorder and what could we do about it. Well... the internet tells you everything and there is a label for everything. We did indeed find that we are not alone and Riley fits to a 't' the description for 'confusional arousal'. So who makes up these names? It doesn't stop our sleep deprivation but it did intrigue us and after all that research, Riley didn't wake last night!

A week of firsts

2006-02-26T09:46:00.000+13:00

The week started so badly and ended very well. Let me explain!

Riley's diarrhoea became 2.5 days of painful constipation. No details required but very heartbreaking and stressful for the wee man.

The nights were still horrendous as well and Mummy and Daddy weren't sure how much more they could take. But then the week turned around- well on the last day anyway!

Jemma is now trying solids and she loves them. Tries to hold the spoon in her mouth and gets grumpy when finished.

Grandma and Grandad came down for the weekend to have a trial run with Riley as Mum and Dad are going away for 2 nights in April. So Mum and Dad got to have some time together. Riley however didn't like not being in his bed and punished us all during the night!

Great great Aunt Audrey came to see Jemma. Jemma thanked her by chewing on her hands!

Riley got his FIRST dressing gown and he thinks he is pretty cool. He posed happily for this photo!

The best news is that Jemma slept through the night for the FIRST time ever. And after Riley screamed from 11;30-12:30 (even with phenergan on board- roll eyes), he slept until 7:00am!!! So we got about 6 hours solid sleep and we feel like a million dollars... please don't let us have jinxed ourselves by proclaiming it to the world..

What? No photo?

2006-02-18T20:18:00.000+13:00

We have had a big week this week and Riley has been sick- rotovirus apparently so we have been doing lots of washing and now the washing machine has broken down!!!!! So far, Jemma hasn't got it and we are crossing fingers- Mum has something and we are all very very tired. So no photos taken, and some of the ones we could have taken would have been a little gross :-)

Our weekend

2006-02-13T20:10:00.000+13:00

What a busy weekend we have had. Riley and Jemma still don't like to wake in unison so Mum and Dad are very tired because they are up and down like yoyos!

Riley loved the model train place with all its displays. We couldn't drag him away from watching them go round and round and talking about them. Dad liked the model race car that went 150mph but Riley found that noisy and he didn't like the train ride. But he really loved watching the small trains!!! Jemma was just happy being in the frontpack having a nosey!

Jemma REALLY loves the jolly jumper!

Grandma and Grandad came down from Oamaru to visit and Riley enjoyed that.

Monday is Mum's day off but our plans didn't work because Jemma decided to have an 'off' day with her sleeps. We did manage to find a new park - now called the 'fire engine' park out at Macandrew Bay so that was pretty exciting and Riley was happy to sit in that for a long, long time....until Jemma had a meltdown and we drove home again. We also visited the 'bus' park so an exciting day!

Jolly jumping Jemma

2006-02-09T19:45:00.000+13:00

Well, Mum has gone back to work and not sure if she likes leaving us wonderful children at the moment. Of course, all she needs is a cold rainy day with us grizzling and she will be pleased to be working again!

Jemma has graduated to the jolly jumper as she is nosy and likes to look around. She can stand and watch or we can raise her up for a swing. Riley loves to help the swinging and he is being very gentle (provided he is supervised). He also likes to hold her hip and 'jump' her up and down chanting "Jemma jumping" - clever lad- using alliteration at his age :-)

Our holiday in Christchurch

2006-02-05T20:13:00.000+13:00

We have just spent a week in ChCh staying with Nana and Grandad and catching up with family and friends and it still wasn't long enough!

Riley loved Orana park. The rooster was a hit as was the tractor that we rode around on and the giraffes. Other highlights for him was the aquarium in town with the seahorse and starfish and octopus and giant crayfish and.. (you get the picture!); the discovery centre at the museum; going to the airport to watch planes and all those boxes of toys that Nana had to play with. He is now also keen on doing the frametray jigsaws so a new skill to master.

Both children were a credit and really well behaved. Jemma was an angel- she slept well and played well. The only hard parts of the holiday was the driving - the trip taking 6.5 hours each way with stops etc... Thank goodness, Riley could watch Spot and Maisy dvds so we usually only had Jemma to stress about. She does NOT like being in the carseat for too long.

Highs and Lows in one day

2006-01-23T21:26:00.000+13:00

It was an exciting day because the fuzzibunz arrived and Riley and Jemma now have cloth nappies! Riley is modelling his lime green and turquoise pair. So, we may not be composting at the moment but we aren't clogging up landfills with nappies AND we are saving about $40 per week! (once we have paid for these ones of course!)

It was also a really sad day because Meg has gone to a new home and although it is for her sake so that she would get more exercise than we can give her at the moment and now she will have a 'job' to do (catching possums which she will love, especially the rolling in anything smelly) and she is going to people who will spoil her rotten! However, we are feeling pretty sad as she is a great dog with Riley and Jemma.

Life is moseying on

2006-01-19T13:30:00.000+13:00

Where is Summer? Trying to entertain a toddler inside all day is hard work!

Riley earned a toy yesterday and he got a yellow bus (matchbox type one). He then got on his hands and knees and "drove" it all the way through the mall, into the lift, out of the lift and to the car. Needless to say, his trousers need soaking and his hands were black. But he was happy. He slept with it last night and woke up with a sore chest because he had rolled on it. (no photo since he was lying on it :-) )

Riley is enjoying Jemma most of the time and he calls for hugs but she cries on his knee that is why we now use the pillow and it is very cute. He even gives her kisses (snotty open mouth things!)

Summer days

2006-01-13T18:09:00.000+13:00

Today we went for a picnic to the Woodhaugh gardens where there is a paddling pool.

Riley was slow to get in but once in, he enjoyed playing and he particularly enjoyed working out how the hose worked that was filling the pool!

Jemma has found her fingers and is definitely a thumbsucker. Using the dummy doesn't seem to deter her.

However, she also knows where her tongue is. She is trying to learn how to do a raspberry and is entertained hugely when someone does them for her... for hours on end. She loves interacting with people.

ongoing saga of Riley's bedmates

2006-01-08T13:51:00.000+13:00

Jemma can now roll onto her back and repeat it from her tummy time position. Very exciting though she looks a little stunned when she does it!

Riley has moved from sleeping with hard objects at least. He chose his sunhat last night. Who knows what will be next? Toilet training has met a snag. Riley loves to put his undies on and pull them off but he isn't keen on using a potty or the toilet. Time to leave it alone for awhile which is sort of good since we are awaiting our order of fuzzibunz. Yes, we are moving to cloth nappies- for Jemma mainly but may as well save money with Riley too! It is very exciting with all the great colours you can get.