Worth it.

This is what I cross that ocean for.

From my grandparents, to their 19 great-grandkids, for a grand total of 48 people (and 1 absent), there is no doubt it's worth it.

That's a lot of people taking over a campground!

and this family of course...

2 WheeeEEEELSSS!!!

I might just be slightly more excited about this than Daniel. But probably not...

It all clicked for him yesterday. 

I was running along next to him:

Mum: You're doing great, do you feel like you've really got the hang of it now? 

Daniel: Yeah, that's what I'm hearing in my head.

Mum: What do you hear???

Daniel: 'You can do it.'

He prayed last night: Thank you that I can ride a bike on 2 wheels now like everyone else, like Chris and Jake and Ryan...

I woke this morning and he was by the bed, helmet on... already been out riding.
---
And not to be left too far behind, Nick has 2 wheels he's been working on. He's been pushing the scooter around for the whole of camping, and just yesterday put a foot on and started riding. He's off!!

Firsts...

One slightly-unimpressed Daniel, with his 1st lost tooth. 

What a drama tonight when it came out. After much deliberation, he actually let me pull it out (it didn't need much encouragement). I did it before he had the chance to retract the offer!! He screamed and said nevermind, not realizing it was already out!

"Every time I feel it with my tongue it's so embarrassing!"

The neighbouring tooth is loose, as well as the top 2 big teeth. Stay tuned for an updated pic with 4 missing front teeth...

Birthdays continued

The up-side of being long distance from family when birthdays roll around: birthdays last longer because presents come in the mail!!! Now I'm a long-distance auntie, and I know about the strange phenomena of impossibility around getting presents in the mail early. It's tough. There may even have been a time, kinda recently, when a present might have arrived to a niece of mine almost 2 months late. Or more than once a pressie might have been brought to an upcoming Christmas trip months and months late! Anyway, all that to say, Laura got a FUN FUN present in the mail from Grandma (it was less than 2 weeks late, which hardly counts Grandma, you haven't even begun to compete with me!). A girlie/princess/heart/silky cape! Quite the hit. Thanks Mom.

D6

Why do kids always seem to grow up on their actual birthday? Some strange phenomena...

Happy Birthday Daniel, you are a wonderful kid and you care for the people around you. It was so fun to make the day all about you.

Highlights:

Laura and I made a superhero cake for Daniel...






















... and took it to school...

















... then another cake...




















... for the party that night...



















... and Dad gave Daniel the biggest knife in the house to cut the cake. Yeah, what boy wouldn't love THAT?!!




















... and what's a party without a few party games?






















Fun day, fun kid. Love you big Dan!

Did I really???

Been purging unneeded toys. Mostly stuffed animals. Not to worry kids, only the ones that aren't special, weren't given to you by someone..........uhhh.....yeah...sure. Then I came upon this picture today. See that cute little duck Daniel's holding in the photo? Yeah, the one he gave Laura when she was born. Well let's hope they never ask where it is...

Kid Fun

On a recent trip to Melb to visit SF friends, we wandered around the city, went on a ferris wheel, then the kids saw this trampoline bungee and were super keen... The sign said you only had to weigh 8kg (um, hello, Nick weighs more than that!!), but then they took a look at Laura and said she was too little cause the straps wouldn't cinch tight enough around her thighs. I asked if they would at least try... so they did and gave her the thumbs-up!!! YAY! I, er, ummm, I mean Laura, was thrilled!! Actually she really was. Both kids loved it and did flips. Fun FUN! I would have done it too, but the grown-up in me chickened out cause there were only kids doing it at the time... :(

Deb and Whit, thanks for the lovely morning, can't believe you got married 2 years ago already!!!

Question of the day #2

Tonight was Daniel's turn...

"Do you think there are any nocturnal people?.......... I think so, I think Santa is."

Question of the day

Going to bed tonight...
L: 'Mum, did Nick come with the name Nick?'
M: (trying to answer with a straight face) 'No, we gave it to him'
L: 'Okay, so when he was born did you ask him if he wanted a name like Nick and he said yes?'
M: 'It was right when he was born and way before he could talk at all'
L: 'Oh yeah..."

Does it ever go away??!!

I imagine it will never go away, this feeling of 'who said I could have kids and be responsible for them - 3 of them!', or 'will I seriously always be their mother like my mother was my mother??' (yes, that makes sense, if you think about it!)

I know the answers to those questions. Sometimes it just still blows my mind. Especially when I see pictures like this.

Proud, caring older brother who takes seriously the 'job' of looking after his brother and sister, is learning to read and asks questions like 'what does compassion mean?' Smiley sister who just loves being 4, is all girl and can still wrestle and make up stories about dragons and bad guys. Younger brother who is old enough for whatever it is, and will do exactly what the others are doing, including sitting in a normal chair at the table, drinking out of a normal cup, etc, etc, thank you very much. You'd think he had an independently-minded older sister as an example or something...