Jolly Little Jumper

I'm really scared to use the Jolly Jumper after a pretty scary experience with Oliver when he was younger, so it doesn't come out that often, and when it does I need to have John there to put it up for me. It's a little said that I fear it so much though as both boys absolutely love bouncing in it. Here Fraser's first go :-)

Bozzo

Seriously, I didn't pick this name, but Bozzo is my Nanna's new little puppy. He's so cute and little and playful and Ollie thought that he was great! It had been a huge weekend for Oliver with a few of his Aunties around to play with him so we allowed him to carry 'Giffy' around with him when it wasn't his sleep time. Bozzo didn't realise that Giffy is Oliver's beloved comforter and thought it was a play toy for him. He chased Ollie all around the front lawn trying to eat it. Good thing Ollie was in a good mood and giggled and laughed as he ran away from the little staffy.

Mayha and Brad's Visit

On the weekend of the 21 and 22nd of October we all got spend some time with Mayha and Brad. The boys loved hanging out with them. Ollie had a ball being chased by Mayha around the park while Brad and Fraser chilled out together at the picnic tables. The boys can't wait until they move a little close so that they can spend even more time with them.

Playing soccer with Daddy

One of our favourite afternoon activities is meeting John as soon as he is home from work and spending some time playing in the front year.

A few days ago John decided to have a game of soccer with Ollie. It was so cute and he even got a few little kicks in.

Ollie also enjoyed doing everything but kicking the ball and giggled as he sat on it, picked it up, rolled on it and threw it into the garden. I'm pretty sure Ollie knew he was supposed to kick the ball but being his funny cheeky self was playing the pretty entertaining game of 'do the opposite of what mum and dad says'

It was still a fun afternoon and I can't wait until Fraser can start joining in as well.

Working with Mum

I had some work to do on the computer to help John with his job, so we bought the computer out to the lounge room and Fraser sat in his bumbo to keep me company. He wasn't too impressed by it and I think he much prefers me spending me time entertaining him.

Dinner Time Chores

I don't know how this started but for sometime now Ollie has been setting the table. Each night just before dinner is ready, we will get Ollie to place the forks on the table and his water and milk. He does a pretty good job of lining them all up in the correct spot which I think is pretty clever given that we have never shown him how to do it.

Sometimes he even tries to put Fraser in his spot at the table also by wheeling his highchair up to the end. He loves his brother and likes that he gets to join us for dinner (that's the story I'm sticking to anyway ;-)

Toilet Training FAIL!! (I think we'll leave this for a few months)

Since Fraser has been born I have been very conscious of the large number of nappies that we have in the bin. Our bin is overflowing with them every week. I decided that one way we could reduce this was to bite the bullet and finally start toilet training Ollie.

To be perfectly honest he hadn't really been displaying any of the "I need to be toilet trained" signs. It was more so because I wanted him out of nappies that we began trying.

So day 1 -

I was on my own and decided that we were just going to have a nappy free day, throw Ollie on the toilet every now and again and see how we go.

Result: Ollie spent lots of time on the toilet and didn't once actually "go" one there! He did however have a few accidents in the lounge room and the kitchen but hey, that was to be expected.

Day 2 -

This was John's first day of his holidays so I figured it could be a team effort from the both of us. Nappy free again and plenty of time on the potty. Olllie managed to miss the potty and toilet each time but did do a wee in the Bumbo!! To be fair to Ollie though, the bumbo does look like one big, giant, comfy potty.

Day 3 -

It was freezing cold so I decided that it wasn't appropriate to be naked and nappy free all day as I didn't want him to get sick, little did I know Ollie already was :-( Toilet training was over and to be continued at a much later date!

Fun Times with our WA Friends

Last Wednesday, Oliver, Fraser and I ventured to Ipswich to meet up with Deena and Kaley. Deena and I used to work together when we lived in Innisfail but have both since moved to different parts of Australia. It was great to catch up and see the boys friend Kaley. She's grown up so much and is a lot more mobile than the last time we saw her. She will also hopefully be walking very soon which will mean she and Ollie can get into even more mischief when they are together.

We met at Queens Park in Ipswich which is the coolest park. It even has it's own nature centre with lots of Australian animals. The playground was great. We stuck to the smaller children's one but it had a water pump that Ollie was just fascinated with. He wasn't quite strong enough to pump the water himself but he sure gave it a go. He also loved following the water down the tracks to the bridge. Oliver is getting quite adventurous now and will often go off exploring on his own so we have to make sure that we keep a very close eye on him.

Fraser spent lots of time watching everyone play.

We had a great day and can't wait to see them again next time they are back.

All tuckered out

This little man LOVES his sleep and if we don't have him in bed on time he'll just nod off where ever!

Hanging out

It may seem like a small milestone but I'm very excited about it. Fraser has discovered that he can 'play' with his toy friends. Those fabulous hands of his that he found a few weeks ago, can help him to move his toys about so that he can look at them from different directions. It was so cute to watch him discover this skill.

Our other family member

Yesterday, Ollie and I were playing outside while Fraser was sleeping and it occurred to me that I have completely forgotten to mention the other member of our family - Phase. John and I bought Phase into our family when we were living in Innisfail. She was the only puppy in the litter that seemed to be really independent. While all of the puppies went and played together, phase walked off on her own to roll in the grass.

Independence is not her strong suit though. She loves to be with people. We have given her toys, food, a kennel and a large backyard to play with and she will sit at the door and wait for us. The only time she will more from her spot at the door is to go to the bathroom, eat the clothes from the line or until one of us goes outside to play with her or take her for a walk.

She's a nice dog but still acts like a puppy despite being almost 6 years old. Ollie really likes to play with Phase but she is almost like his sibling. They will both annoy each other and purposely do things to get on the other's nerves. Ollie will go and give Phase his hat and then cry when she takes it and Phase will run really close to Ollie and then just dodge him before she hits him. But then the two of them will sneak off to hide in the garden together. It's actually quite interesting to watch.

Mug Shots

Just gorgeous .....

Pimp our Ride

I love the new double pram that we bought a few weeks ago. It make it so much easier for me to get out and about. I've also begun going for long walks with both the boys now as well. I'm also a big fan of these beautiful new liners that I bought for the prams. Aren't they just gorgeous!?!

Tummy Time

We've discovered that Fraser is a fan of the naked or half-naked tummy time. On most occasions, when clothed, Fraser will generally plop his head on his arms and just lay there. But if he is naked he lifts his head up pretty high. He's even trying to reach out to grab his toys now. Good thing the weather is getting warmer so that he doesn't catch a cold from all of his clothes free time :-)

A gorgeous bunch of June Bugs

While I was pregnant with Fraser I joined an internet group with lots of other mums, all over Australia, who were all due in the month of June. We have met with some of the Gold Coast/Brisbane mums a few times and it is always lovely to meet up, get to know then in person and to see their beautiful little bubbies, that I already feel like I know so well.

Monday was very special. Not only did we go to meet some new more new Brisbane/Gold Coast mum's and bubs but we also got to catch up with Margot and Gabe who were visiting from Mackay. I had a lovely time talking to the ladies and Fraser was very well behaved, showing of his new smiling and giggling skills.

Once again, even though I had my camera out, I was far too busy chatting away and forgot to take many photos but I did manage to get a copy of the group shot.

Aren't our bubs all so cute :-)

Eloise and Io were both peacefully snoozing in their pram so we thought it was best not to disturb them and Lily and Tabbitha had just left so I'll have to make sure I take a photo a little earlier next time.

Weekend with Boz

Because John was away for the weekend, the boys and I decided to spend some time over at Boz and Carl's place. We started our weekend by spending the afternoon at the Wynnum playground while we waited for Boz to finish work. The whales were a hit with Ollie even though the water had been turn off for the day. It was the first time I saw Ollie singing and dancing to himself. Usually he's a great dancer but it is when we have music on. No music needed for this little cherub anymore, he just provides his own :-)

As well as performing his little dance act for all of the other children at the park, Ollie also spent lots of time getting to know the local wildlife, trying to get up close and personal to a number of the birds.

The most featured attraction for Ollie during his park visit though was the machinery that was cleaning the sand (or I assume it was anyway). No matter how hard I tried to get Ollie to play on the equipment he continued to run back to stare at this contraption (the only way I can describe it. I have no idea what it would have been called)

Fraser, of course, was also there with us and just enjoyed observing all of the action from the safety of his pram seat.

After the play at the park we went back to Jacinda's to have dinner and get the boys ready for bed. Both boys love catching up with their Aunty and Uncle. They also love playing with their dogs Bob and Molly. Ollie loved them so much that he even gave them a kiss goodnight ... ewww!

Oliver and Fraser are both wonderful sleepers but since they were visiting family it took them a little while longer to drift off. I left Oliver's door open so that he could come out and get me if he got worried at all. After about an hour, we hadn't heard a peep from either of the boys so I went in to check on them. Fraser was fast asleep, right where we left him. Ollie however had climbed out of bed and then fallen asleep right at the open door. He could have come out at anytime (where he would have gotten a cuddle and then been put straight back to bed) but instead he just lay down on the floor and fell asleep there. It is so cute but at the same time I always feel horrible when we find him there like that :-S

The rest of the weekend was filled with shopping, fish and chips in the park and more playing with Boz, Carl, Bob and Molly. We had a lovely time there and it was great to have some extra hands to help while John was away.

Dad's Weekend Away

Last weekend (September 16th - 18th) John went away with a few of his mates. Because he would be spending a few nights away from the family we thought it would be nice to all drive him up to Noosa to see him off. It was also a mini test trip before our big drive to Cairns in 2 weeks. The boys did a good job. Ollie liked dancing in the car to wiggles clips on my phone and pointing out all of the trucks that went by. Fraser slept most of the way although he would let out little cries every now and again, just to remind us that he was there.

John and his friends were staying in a beautiful home, situated on a huge block of land. Ollie loved running around. We spent about an hour there before saying goodbye to John so that the boys and I could stretch our legs before the drive home. John's friend Bongo had bought his monster truck with him. Ollie loved it. At first he pushed it around the garden making "brrm, brmm" sounds. After, John and the boys turned it on and ollie giggled and squealed as they drove it around the yard.

Fraser enjoyed having some awake time in the sun and chatting away to Bongo. Then after a feed and some more play fell asleep, snoozing peacefully until it was time for us to leave.

What are these?

Fraser has just, in the last week or so, found his hands. I can safely say that he now has a big obsession with them. There have been a few occasions where he will actually choose to play with these wonderful things that bring objects to his mouth instead of sleep (anyone who knows Fraser knows just how much he loves his sleep) Thank goodness that he is still wrapped for his main sleep times or we would have one CRANKY little bubby :-S For now Fraser thinks that hands are the greatest! Imagine how awesome he's going to think feet are!!!

Southport Rock Pools

We love these rock pools. They are fantastic and Ollie always has a great time exploring all of the water fountains and playing on the statues. We haven't been since last summer so this time Ollie was able to have an even better time because his coordination has improved so much.

Not even a heavy, swollen nappy (due to me forgetting to pack one) could stop him this time. While Fraser slept in the carrier and I socialised with some new mum friends, Ollie was jumping, splashing, kicking, floating and sliding in the water.

He and his little friend Hayden were also finding all toys that other children had left behind and having a great time playing with those in the water also.

The BBQ box

John has a box of BBQ things in the garage so that it is quick and easy for us to take when you're going on a trip somewhere or just heading out the park for lunch. It has all the usuals in it and some other not so usual items just incase I ever agree to go camping (that doesn't seem to likely for the near future but John is still working on trying to convince me.)

As we used it on the weekend, the box was still out whilst some of it contents were being put through the dishwasher. Ollie was pretty fascinated with this box. He spent most of the day wheeling it around the house, using it as a table to store his favourite toys, stepping onto it to reach things on the kitchen bench and using it as a seat when he needed a rest.

In the afternoon Ollie discovered that you could open the box! It was like all of his Christmas' had come at once. Every item in there he has access to in our own kitchen but because they were in the box it made them so much more fun to play with. Ollie especially loved the noisy pots and pretending to stir and spoon out imaginary food.