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.

Twinkle Toes

Today, I finally picked up Fraser's Twinkle Toes. They should have been done about 2 months ago but it took me a very long time to actually get the right sized picture into the company (I'm sticking with baby brain as my excuse.)

Aside from the fact they are in identical framing, the hands and feet look exactly the same as Oliver's. We got Fraser's done at 18 days and Ollie's done at 8. In years to come, when we get this for Baby Melke #3, we will be doing them at 28 days just to be sure that we are following the same sort of pattern ;-)

Beautiful Day for a Picnic

On Sunday, the sun was shining, the wind was blowing a gentle breeze and it was the perfect weather to head off to the park for a BBQ with some friends.

Dad did a wonderful job on cooking duties while Oliver spent some one-on-one time with everyone who came along and ate all the horrible junk food that I usually don't let him have. Bongo and Ria also bought Bear, much to Ollie's excitement, and they happily played together under Bongo's careful watch.

Fraser enjoyed his time hanging on the sun and being passed around to everyone so that they could pull funny faces at him and get some very cute giggles.

Nom, Nom

I don't think I really need to say more but I will.

Oliver's first honey soy chicken wing went down a treat. It's the first time he's eaten something and continued to say, "yum, yum" as he is eating. He loved chicken wings so much but unfortunately for him he will no longer be able to have them as just after he finished it we discovered that he is allergic to soy bean. Not fun :-(

Catching up with great friends

The other day (September 8) the boys and I all went to meet up with our friends' Abby, Maggie and Ana. Abby and I taught at Algester together and Oliver and Maggie were born only 2 months apart. Funnily enough, Fraser and Ana also have a similar age gap.

Oliver and Maggie usually don't really play together. It's more of a play around sort of play but this time they both had a fantastic time chasing ducks, finding leaves and sticks and jumping on the tables together. Oliver seemed to be a bit of a bad influence on Maggie and would sometimes encourage her to run away when Abby and I would call them back (did I mention he was pretty cheeky?) but he also seemed to look out for her as well.

I'll have to remember to take more photos next time but they we so cute playing together. They even seemed to understand each other even though Abby and I had no idea what they were talking about :-)

Oh yeah - Fraser and Ana were there also but they were pretty happy just to relax in their carriers and have a bit of a snooze. Hopefully in a few months they'll be getting to know each other also.

Monkey boy

Look what we caught Oliver doing the other day. He is so good at climbing now that he will climb up the side of the change table then jump into Fraser's cot so that he can get Berty Bear. Berty is Fraser's comforter. Fraser doesn't quite love Berty yet but Ollie sure thinks he is a great substitute for his Jiffy and a lot easier for him to get too also.

Us. The abridged version.

In 2001 I met John. It's a pretty long story so I'll leave it at that. If you haven't heard it already, maybe I'll tell it one day.

We fell in love, moved to Cairns, then moved to Innisfail and in 2006 John finally proposed. A year later we married.

We then moved to Canada for an extended honeymoon/working holiday.

While there we had a few 'minor' accidents. I ended up in a cool blue cast and John ended up with pretty major surgery. (Once again if you haven't already heard the story, maybe I'll tell it one day. This one though, is a good one)

This, however, did not stop our holiday and we continued to have a good time before returning back to Australia in 2008. We then bought our first home for our soon-to-be extending family.

In November 2009, our lives changed forever, when our perfect 'little' boy Oliver was born.

Oliver is the coolest little boy. Sweet, funny, thoughtful, just the perfect amount of cheeky, clever, an excellent dancer and gorgeous. Everyday he surprises us with new skills that he has learnt and more recently more words that he can say.

Needless to say, Oliver was so awesome that we just couldn't wait to have another baby and just before Ollie's first birthday we discovered that I was pregnant again.

In June this year, we were thrill to meet our second 'little' boy Fraser. Once again, he is adorable (we honestly do make beautiful children ;-)) He seems to be a thinker, taking in everything around him. He is usually very happy just to relax on his play mat and watch everyone go about their business around him.

It took a little while but now the boys love each other to bits. Oliver is very proud of his little brother and will point him out to everyone who comes to visit. I think they are going to grow up to be great playmates and will look after each other through thick and thin.

So for now, this is us :-)