Cake and Decorations

The cake looked magnificent again. Deirdre the cake maker guru did a really good job and even managed to incorporate jam and cream into the main event. Luckily I had MY Strawberry Shortcake doll from 20 years ago, to add to the theme of today.
The decorations turned out exactly how they looked in my head. There is always that element of disappointment but I achieved the desired effect and lasted a little while at least.

Alicia turned 2

Today was Alicias 2nd Birthday. We had a party with lots of people and lots of decorations. The theme, Strawberry shortcake. The preparation for this party (for some reason) didn't take nearly as long. I'm not sure why this is the case, maybe I'm finally getting the hang of it. We only had one game, which was called Bean Bag Berry Toss. Thankfully it was well received and not too hard to do, unless of course you talk to mum, who had to make the berry bean bag.
Funny how you relive the birth, even though it was that long ago. I have very happy memories of Alicia's. Mainly because it was a planned c-section and a week early. It was very jovial in the operating theatre and everything went smoothly.
Alicia had a good day, opening presents, playing and generally running a muck. I'll put more photos on the link.

Rain has finally arrived

The rain has arrived in SA. It has constantly rained since Thursday. With this rain comes good things and bad. Bad - Too many accidents on the road, Brad having to empty the rubbish bin that is collecting overflow from the verandah. Good - The pool is definitely very full and there should be more water in the dams etc.

The kids haven't seen rain for a while and obviously missed the effect it has. They were quite happy to replace their thongs for their wellingtons and have a little play. More splashes the better.

Alicia and the Wiggles

Alicia has discovered the Wiggles. Though they are not referred to as the Wiggles but Tidalls. Yes, Tidalls is Wiggles in Alicia talk. She loves them, and can't get enough of them. Brad and I thought we had finally finished that phase, only to find we are only starting again.
The problem with the Tidalls is that Alicia only likes to watch Greg, Anthony, Jeff and Murray. She has no liking for Dorothy, Wags, Captain Feathersword or Henry, this can prove annoying because you have to constantly fast forward past these other characters.
So the Wiggles have triumphed and brainwashed another child. Well done, Wiggles. Looks like we will be going to another concert.

Brad and the Easternats

Whilst Ewan, Alicia and I went to Coobowie for a relaxing Easter, Brad drudged to Melbourne with Adrian and Grant (with Adrian's Interceptor in tow). They went to the Easternats in Melbourne but it was an event like no other. There was a showing of the interceptors and currently the biggest turn out in Australia ever. They had 4 Interceptors, MM2 Landau and the Big Bopper Pursuit car. Everyone was in Heaven.

A highlight was meeting Emil the feral kid in MM2, Murray the original car builder and Dennis who drove the truck and did many stunts in MM2. All were a wealth of knowledge and you can imagine the conversations that were had.

Brad and the others visited sites of MM1 and even captured some footage.

He returned home 6 days later, exhausted, excited and eager to start his car.

Alicia has no fashion sense

Who does this child belong to? Its certainly not me, at least I try to coordinate my colours even if I'm not up on the latest trends. Alicia on the other hand doesn't care what she looks like, she is not out to impress, yet. Must be following in dads footsteps or maybe I'm mistaken and this is her working attire. She certainly helped her dad the other day. He couldn't find his stanley knife, screws and pencil. She put them away.......down the pipe, which will eventually be the pipe that is attached to my ensuite basin. She can be sooooooo helpful.

Brad turned 35

Brads birthday was not a momentus occasion, more of an afterthought. The kids however, liked to blow out the candles, even though Brad specifically requested no singing. Bad luck Brad thats what you get when you have kids, they don't care who's birthday as long as there is singing and candle blowing.

Pep and Ewan

There has not always been a mutual respect for each other. Pepper had to adjust quite dramatically when Ewan came along and as he grew, she had to adjust further. I think she has coped quite well considering she has to contend with 2 ratbags.

Ewan has changed his interaction with Pep. He is less forceful and annoying, more gentle and respectful. This in turn has changed Pep, she is more accepting. She will allow him to rub her belly and won't flinch when Ewan is near by. It is nice to see this happening, maybe one day she will love him as much as he loves her.

Alicia on the other hand is a different story.

Alex turned 3

Not only are our kids growing up fast but so are everyone else's!

The birthday parties keep coming and the kids change so much from one year to the next, not only physically but their mannerisms as well.

Both the kids had a good time at Alex's but that is usual. Carly put on a great spread.

Easter at Coobowie

The kids and I went away to mum and dads caravan at Coobowie for Easter. Coobowie is located on the Yorke Peninsula, right down the bottom. Mum and dad have been going there for years and absolutely love it. The Coulter family has been down a number of times but its a little too boring for Brads liking. Anyway, the kids and I had a great time. We all fit in the caravan, mum and dad were down one end, Ewan and I were on the bunk beds and Alicia was in her porta cot. Tight and cosy. I found it very relaxing, even gaining two afternoon sleeps, so beat that.

We only went out on the boat once and that was enough for me. The kids loved it, Ewan got to drive the boat on the way back, he fished with Grandpa and Grandma (not that she caught anything) It was funny to see the kids reactions when dad caught a fish and then put it in the bucket. Ewan was fascinated to see it up close and do its thing. He did jump around a little when they came flying off the rod and onto the floor. I have to say I was a little excited when dad was catching the fish as well. We had a steady stream of fish being caught but was mindful to make sure they were the right size.

We'll go back out in the boat again, I think Ewan had a good time, Alicia must have as well because she feel asleep on the way back.

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for the relaxing time away.

Check out the photos on flickr - the link to the right.

Alicia's Birthday Invites

Why have I made it my life's challenge to come up with something different for every birthday party the kids have? Why do I inflict this much effort and pain? Mainly because its fun to do. I get a kick out of coming up with different ideas etc. This year for Alicia's 2nd birthday her theme is 'Strawberry Shortcake'.
The invites turned out a treat and were done really really quickly. Don't ask me why. The decorations for the themed party, well that's a different story. Strawberry Shortcake doesn't really do much, other than mix with strawberries and flowers but never fear, we shall prevail.
Susy has been very helpful today with her suggestions, she even raided her craft supply. I almost came out with everything I needed. Impossible you say, you don't understand how much stuff she has. But thanks for that, because I have been able to get a start on it.

The Christening

The kids were Christened on Sunday. They were both very well behaved and I think they had a good time. Ewan being that little bit older was curious about it all and I think he thought he was pretty special. Alicia just liked to get dressed up I think.

We have great god parents: Ewan has Uncle Frank and Natasha and Alicia has Uncle Frank, Aunty Susy and Aunty Leanne. The kids received some beautiful beautiful gifts that will come to mean something very dear, I'm sure.

Thank you for agreeing to be godparents, it means alot to us.

One on top of the other

The family has discovered a new trick: Alicia on top of Ewan on top of Brad. Yes, it takes days and days to discover this sort of stuff and my family has mastered it. I wish being able to do this actually earned us money or gave me more time but alas, we aren't that talented.

Learning to ride a bike

As a kid you have to master a lot of stuff in a short time. Ewan's thing (or should I say Brads thing) at the moment is to get Ewan to ride his bike without training wheels. Personally I think its a little too soon but if he learns to ride the bike then he can learn to ride a motor bike. You see, there is method behind the madness for Brad. Ewan on the other hand, isn't terrible impressed with this and generally insists on putting the training wheels back on. They both have compromised and there is only one training wheel on the bike now. Yeah, go figger.

The problem is though that Ewan doesn't ride the bike enough to get the hang of it quickly so, Brad will have to persist and not be too ambitious.

Ewan is doing a good job and hasn't run into Alicia once yet. I find this a mammoth achievement in itself.

Uncle Steves car

Uncle Steve put his car in the Motor Show the other day. It looked cool, or should I say HOT STUFF. There aren't that many lime coloured cars so it stood out really well. It looks great. and it sounds good and there has been a lot of hard work gone into it. I haven't ridden in it yet, so I can't tell you what its like.

Ice cream is nice

Its not often that Alicia has ice cream but every now and then she takes it upon herself to decide how much and in what manner. She will quite happily sit on the counter and eat the ice cream straight out of the tub. She's obviously Brads kid