October 22nd 2009...
These are our most recent family portraits. These are only photo's of the photo's so they are not the best quality but you get the general idea :)
August 20th 2009...
Ahh Winter is almost passed for another year and then as the weather warms up it will see the return of swimming weather...yahoo!! The boys just love our pool and there nothing better on a hot day, then picking up hot sweaty kids from school and all hanging out in the pool for an hour or so before starting dinner. Love it!!
Speaking of school, Caleb is going great guns with that of late. He had a little problem identified by the teacher a few weeks back that he had become too disruptive in class, talking, not paying attention etc and it was impacting on his work. Mrs Wotten said he could easily be the brightest boy in her class if he only applied himself more. So she came up with the idea of what she calls a 'Boomerang Book'. Each day is divided into three sections of the day and Caleb earns a stamp for each section that he is well behaved/listens well in etc. Then she writes any comments down the bottom and sends it home for us to read each day and comment back if we need to.
I gotta tell you ... it's fantastic!! He's only been on it 3 weeks and already she says he won't be needing it much longer. He's only missed one stamp in all that time and she says his behaviour and attention in class has improved 110%. Caleb has really taken pride in this and his work is already improving as a result of him working harder in class.
He is absolutely flying through his Daily Reader book that he brings home each day, I can't remember the last time he didn't get it all right on his first read through and got a new one the next day. And he is also flying through his sight words now, up to list 11, and in the top 3 kids in the class for his progress through these lists. Every time they complete 90/120/150 etc new words they go to the Vice Principal or Principal to be tested on them also and he got his award for that last week too. It's lovely that the school pays such individual attention to each child. No matter what level the staff member is they great each child by name and are always happy to stop for a chat with them. It's lovely and reassures us that we chose a great school for him :)
Outside of school it's been the usual busy times. Lot's of playing with his little brother - those two are so close now and play so well it's lovely to see :) They squabble much less then they used to and Caleb is really good at taking the time to help Talyn with any task he can't manage, he plays with him, entertains him and is always looking out for him. It's nice :))
We recently had a night away on the Gold Coast for my sisters's 40th birthday party at Dracula's Theatre Restaurant there. Julie, the boys Godmother, came with us and stayed with the boys in the motel while we both went out and we REALLY enjoyed and appreciated the rare opportunity to have a meal in peace together. The boys were angels and we are still ever so grateful to Julie for giving us that opportunity! Thanks Jules!!! We don't know ANYONE else who would have done such a thing for us...we owe you big time!!
In a few weeks we are off yet again.....this will be our last trip out of town for the year though. While we've not had a yearly solid, week long, holiday away since 2007 we have really enjoyed our frequent weekend trips this year. It's done wonders to bring us closer together as a family and the kids have just loved every second of it. They are wonderful travelers...Caleb barely says boo as he's always in the back watching his In-car DVD player all the way and Talyn just wants to eat eat eat all the way *tee-he* It's a good thing they both eat so healthy as they are both lean and fit as a fiddle :) We are now going to stay put until into the new year then plan a nice week long holiday then to somewhere further afield. Somewhere beachy and tourist like I think. Keep you posted on that one.
But I digress....yes our next trip away is for Simon's birthday (Sept 11th) We are going to the Gold Coast again but this time we are doing MovieWorld!!! We are staying in a fantastic holiday park right across the road from the theme park. We've got a two bedroom bungalow and this park not only has a giant jumping pillow like we loved at the last one but it also has a giant chess board with pieces waste height to move around! I can see I'm going to have to relent and play the birthday boy at his favourite game this trip. The boys will love going to a them park again as it's been a while and MovieWorld will be right up their ally. Caleb loves Scooby Doo right now so that will be great and there is the Warner Brother's section for Talyn also. My sister Vicki and her partner Jason are meeting us there for one of the nights and our good mate Nathan and his partner are coming for both nights. We is gonna have SO much fun!!!!!
Caleb is still very taken with his superhero type toys and cartoons but now he's also added Ben10 and Scooby Doo etc to his favorites. He loves the Boomerang cartoon channel on Austar when he thinks to watch it. He really only watches TV on weekends (same as PS2 which he can only play on weekends and even then for only a short time each day). He's usually more happy to play with his brother, play outside or do whatever we are doing for the day.
We've done a lot more family outings of late in that way too. We've developed a bit of a Tuesday habit (our one day a week take-away night) of getting them a pizza and letting them eat in at the park while they play until darktime. It's great, simple family fun and Simon and I get to relax and talk while they play then we get our dinner later when they are all bathed and into bed. I love Tuesdays!!! And this Tuesday just gone we added in a trip to another park first to feed the ducks and walk the botanical gardens paths before we went and got their pizza.
Caleb thinks pizza is just the best thing now that he can eat diary cheese. He lost his allergy to dairy some time ago now (at long last) but has only now begun to actually brave and enjoy the 'taste' of dairy. it makes everything so much easier!! He get's tuckshop once a week at school, each Friday, and now he orders a single serve pizza there every week too...he loves it that much! And I tell you what...sharing a pizza between the two boys for $6 is one cheap take away dinner! :)
Other things we've enjoyed of late has been lot's of park trips, library visits, we visit the art gallery each time we go to the library too as it's right next door. Caleb is always up for anything we suggest though which is good. Every weekend the boys and Simon now come grocery shopping with me (previously I always went alone) and it's so much more fun this way! The boys get morning tea from the bakery and they ride in one trolley that Simon pushes while I get the food in another trolley. They always have a blast and if they get bored Simon takes them blatting up and down the aisles around me and I can hear their squeals of delight a mile away :)
Caleb has also discovered seafood of late in a BIG way....both boys have. I used to be the only one in the house who ate prawns but now I'm lucky to get a look in with Simon and the boys always snavelling as many as they can *tee-he* A friend recently gave us 7 Moreton Bay Bugs and almost 4kg of gorgeous prawns that he won in a seafood raffle (he won $800 worth!!). The boys were lining up to have prawns popped into their wide open mouths like little bower birds. My fault they do that as I'd rather pop it straight in their mouth then have them wipe prawn juice all over the house...hehehe but it sure looks cute all the same.
Later that night Caleb says to me...."I pulled the poo-tube out of the prawn"....."and I ate it"....."and it tasted - - sandy!!" HAHAHAhahahaHAHAHA So funny! I had to then explain to him that he should either leave it in and eat it that way or if he pulls it out then to throw it away. Honestly?? - Kids!! *tee-he*
Cheers P
June 4th 2009...
Well it's high time I pop in again for another quick update on my boys :)
Last time I was here we were all off for a weekend in Noosa and next weekend we are off again. This time we are going back to Forest Glen tourist park that we absolutely LOVED before (see entry below March 23rd) and also spending a day at Australia Zoo. This will be our 3rd trip to the Zoo but as Talyn is at an age to really be thrilled by it all this time, Caleb will have much more fun with him too.
The two boys are just magical together and I'm so glad we were blessed with a second child (and hopefully more to come). I would never have wanted Caleb to be an only child and to see him thrive as a big brother warms my heart. Sure they fight and squabble but they also cuddle and co-operate and are always fast to kiss each other's 'owie's' better ;) And no matter where we go or what we do they always have each other to play with, travel with and enjoy. It feels like a "real" family with them both :)
We are catching up with the Caleb and Talyn's Aunty Debbie and Aunty Vicki and their families during our weekend away which will be fantastic and even their godmother Julie is planning to visit us there too. The boys really don't have any involvement from their extended family so it will be a great chance for them to connect again with my family. Sadly Simon's family all live so far away and don't stay in contact with the kids at all so we'll take what family time we can when the opportunity arises :)
Caleb continues to do great at school :) Last week was his last 'Under 8's day at the park' and he really enjoyed riding on the bus to it with all his school friends and teacher. He's doing amazing with his reading and is constantly asking us 'what does this spell or how do you spell such and such'. It still totally spins us both out that he can even read at all. Being our first child to read it's still such a novelty and we love it! Every night we read the new reader book he brings home and practice his sight words. Last week he even got a Principle's award for his knowledge of his sight words also. It's great.
He has the funniest conversations based on things he learns at school. Like last night I had to get them up out of bed in the middle of the night to pick up Simon after an Origin party. I thought Caleb was asking me if there were 'not turtles in our area?'...but what he really wanted to know was if there were 'nocturnal animals' in our area....tee-he And the day before that he was telling me all about how the sun/earth/moon orbit each other etc etc. Some of the words and concepts he grasps surprise us both. I can see I'm really going to have to polish up on my own education as he goes along just so I can keep up with him.
We have a long weekend this weekend so Caleb is really excited about that. We only allow him to play PS2 or Wii games on the weekend as we'd rather most of his time be spent more productive during the week like playing outside, with Talyn or reading etc. So he's most excited that he has 3 days he can play this weekend :) He only still get's an hour or so each day but he loves it. Also on weekends when Talyn has gone to bed he'll often get to pick a movie to watch on the computer which he really enjoys also.
Someday's I look at him and I just can't believe how fast he is growing up. *Sigh* But we are both so happy with the kind, caring, intelligent young man he is becoming. He does us proud and we never forget to tell him so every day :)
Ok....off to update Talyn's page now too while I'm on a roll!
Cheers P
April 2nd 2009...
Just a quick note to let you know I have updated Caleb's Photo page with some new pic's :)
We had Caleb's first year 1 parent teacher meeting this week and were given great results. His teacher said that Caleb was one of the brightest boys in her class and that she was constantly surprised by his memory and retention of information as well as the broad range of topics he was knowledgeable in. His reading and writing was going really well too but there is one thing he's just like mommy in....talking!! All of my report cards as a child had "Paulene distracts others around her", 'Paulene talks too much in class' etc etc and it seems my boy is just the same!!! *wink* His teacher said that when it's time to work at their desks he's fine but put them on the carpet (where they do a lot of group work) and Caleb is the biggest chatterbox in the room. She said he would easily be her top student academically if he would only listen more and talk less! Wow! So we are working on that with him more than ever, reminding him to listen when spoken to and that there is a time and place for play and chat and it's not when the teacher is talking.
For those of you who missed it the entry below has all Caleb's latest gossip. I just popped in quickly today to add the photo's and thought I'd mention the school report while I was here :)
We're off for a family weekend away to Noosa tomorrow so I have heaps to do! Later!! :)
Cheers P
March 23rd 2009...
Another year older for Caleb and time for another new page :) Where has the time gone???
Well Caleb has just celebrated his 6th birthday on Saturday so I may as well start there. When we put him to bed the night before his birthday we told him that IF he should find a present in his room in the morning he could go ahead and unwrap it when he woke up. Wisely we chose books so that it would result in quiet play but as they were books that he'd earlier asked me for from the school book club he was stoked. He later told us that he's seen the gift when he got up to go to the toilet in the middle of the night and had to pull the blanket over his eyes when he went back to bed to stop himself from looking at it so he could get back to sleep. Awww bless him :)
Once we were all up he then got stuck into his load of presents with glee. He even gave Talyn a few to open by himself as well. What a good big brother Caleb is :) And as usual...he was thoroughly spoilt! He got books, a black spider man costume he so wanted for ages, a personal radio with headphones, a toy sheriff set, clothes, cinema tickets to go to a movie with his Poppy, a crystal growing kit, and a few other bits and pieces from us. He still has a gift voucher to come in the mail from his Aunty Debbie yet too.
Then it was onto his birthday party at McDonald's. As well as his best mate Joel and his little sister Layla, he also had his two friends from next door, two old friends he hadn't seen in ages and 4 of his best friends from school. And his godmother Julie travelled from 2hrs away just for his party (Thanks Julie!!) He had SUCH a good time there and once again got spoilt with another truck load of presents including bionicles, race cars, hot wheels, lightsabers, glowsticks, tattoo's, $30 in cash to pick something he'd like from Toyworld which I know he loves to do, and many more I can't even remember now.
It was great to see him having fun with his school friends and the party hostess had them playing pass the parcel, what's the time Mr Wolf and playground fun. A great time was had by all :)
Then in the afternoon while the rest of the house napped he enjoyed playing with all his new toys. Then when we were all rested we got the boys dressed again and all headed out to a Chinese Restaurant for dinner with Poppy & Kay. It's a great place as it's self serve, all you can eat, smorgasbord so the boys were able to pick and enjoy just what they wanted to eat. Also the BEST thing about this place is that each table has a jar of felt pens on it and the table cloth is butchers paper so that the kids can draw all over the table while they eat. So much fun for them and it keeps them much happier throughout the meal :) Then they boys had fruit salad for dessert and we all had a fortune cookie each before heading over to the beach for a quick play in the moonlight before heading home again.
It was a great day for Caleb and one we all thoroughly enjoyed :)
Otherwise Caleb is doing great. He;s loving grade one with his teacher Mrs Wotten and all his friends. Every day he brings home his homework to do. Each day they have a new early reader book to read, sight words to practice and their jolly phonics to revise. It's such a thrill to see him read his book to us each night :) As you know Caleb has always been a total book work so being able to begin reading them himself is a real thrill for him :)
In the last couple of months we've enjoyed a couple of family getaways with the boys. In February we spent a night in Bargara where we were meant to go and see the hatching Mon Repos turtles but even though the turtle trip got totally washed out we had a great weekend all the same in a lovely cabin right on the beach. Then last weekend we went to Forest Glen Tourist Park for two nights and had an absolute blast!!! The only time we left the park was to go to the nearby sculpture botanical gardens because there was SO much to do in the park itself for free. We enjoyed the fantastic kids playground they had there, mini golf, tennis, swimming pools, water slides and the best invention ever - the giant jumping pillow! Picture a GIANT jumping castle with no walls or roof and adults and kids of all ages and sizes could get on this thing and jump SO high! We had an absolute blast on it!!!
I've got heaps of photo's from our holidays, the long promised pic's of his cubby house, Caleb's year 1 uniform, and his birthday pic's and party photo's to share here but since our memory card has over 1000 pic's on it already it cause our computer to wig out when we try to upload them so I'm going to get them all printed out tomorrow and put on a disc. Then it will be easier to load them and I'll come back later this week to post them on here. Will let you know when that's done.
Talk more soon.
Cheers P
