Happy Australia Day!!!!!

I love Australia Day. 

It's the only public holiday that is legitimately celebrated by having a Barbie on what is usually a stinking hot day outdoors. I made a cob, and there was potato salad, fruit, sausages, rissoles, patties... and lots of lamb. 

This year we decided to have a small family BBQ lunch at our place, with a couple of Jayden's close friends, just because a BBQ is made even better with friends, a sandpit and a wading pool.

The boys had to be hosed down after..

The aftermath.

We ate our fill then lazed around watching tv. 

Truly one of the most relaxing days of 2014 yet.

Playing with play-doh

Jayden has started to get really interested in playing with play-doh lately. I have observed that he can spend hours just sitting by himself and playing with it.. Which is a huge win for me, because not only is he doing something educational/gaining fine motor skills, it leaves me free to watch tv.. I mean tidy/cook lunch. 

So at the toy library today he immediately walks in, takes one look around, and spots the play doh toys.. Which we borrowed. 

It even came with a recipe for playdoh!! 

Which of course, we had to try..

The result??

Hours of fun for one very happy kid!! And a whole ton of home play-doh!! Be warned - this may get very messy!! At one point, he actually looked down at the floor and exclaimed 'LOOK AT ALL THIS MESS MUMMY!!' (Yes we run a tight ship around here) and Josh was horrified when I sent him a picture of the mess, but it was so much fun and in the end everything got tidied up again before he got home (though he did feel the need to re-vacuum the floor)..

We are definitely doing this again soon! 

Random conversations with Jayden

So much time has passed since my last post. Now, at 2 years and 8 months, Jayden has begun to speak clearer in much fuller sentences. His knowledge has increased exponentially and it never ceases to amaze me exactly how much he knows and understands. The below are some conversations with Jayden (at 2y8m). They arent very significant, but this serves as a reminder to me that someday when im 80 something i can read and smile.

Jayden: "MUMMY!!! MUMMY!!!!"
Me: "YYYEESSsshhhhhh????!!!"
---- 2 weeks after...---
Me: "Jayden!! JAYDEN!!"
Jayden: "YEEEESSSShhhHHHHH???!!!"

Jayden: "I want Crack."
Me and Josh: "What did you say??"?
Jayden: "I want crack. I WANT CRACK!!!" (Starts screaming and crying)
Me: "Oh i get it - you want crackers."
Jayden: "Sniff. Yes."
Josh: "That sounds so bad!!!"

*When I went to pick him up from Grandma's house*
Me: "Okay we are going grocery shopping now!"
Jayden: "I go grocery shopping?"
Me: "Yes!!"
Jayden: "Bye AhMa! Good night!!!"
Ah Ma: "Okay Jayden are you going home now?"
Jayden: "Nooooo Ah Ma, I not going home; I going grocery shopping."

*When I pick him up from Emali* (I ply him with questions and this is the usual conversation)
Me: "How was your day?? Did you have fun?? Who did you play with?? What did you play?
Jayden: "I play... Zac.. Seth... Malachi... and Marcus... and Sofia.."
Me: "Very nice!! what do you play?"
Jayden: "I play... cars.... choo-choo-trains and I run very fast!"
Me: "You run very fast?? wow!!"
Jayden: "Yes! I run very fast!!"

*Last night in the car...*
Jayden: "I so cute!"
Me and Josh: "What?!! So is Mummy cute??"
Jayden: "NO!! Mummy not cute, Jayden cute!"
Me: "Is Daddy cute??"
Jayden: "NO..... JAYDEN CUTE!"

A trip to IKEA

We needed to return a couple of lamp shades and find a noteboard for our kitchen, so I decided to make the 20 minute drive to our local ikea store with Jayden yesterday.
Upon arrival (you know how it is with kids every excursion preferably starts as early as possible before they get cranky) we were informed that ikea does not open till 10, but the restaurant was open if we wanted breakfast. I have to admit, it was a good idea because boy did Jayden fill up on $3.95 worth of sausage, eggs, baked beans, tomato and hashbrowns, despite just having eaten a hearty breakfast of toast and eggs a mere hour before. Being full makes him less prone to being cranky, which equals me not losing my temper and thus ensuring a pleasant next few hours.
So after we returned the lamps we got credited with $20 of ikea dollars. We then went to the kids section, where Jayden fell in love with a 'shoo-shoo-tain' set which cost $20. And because I love him I decided to get it.

Now I am counting my pennies and budget in my head and praying that I will somehow have enough to get this and the noteboard (which cost $27). When I am nearing the checkout I remember that I. HAVE. AN. IKEA. VOUCHER. for $12 off for $50 spent. Suddenly I am worried that I havent spent ENOUGH!! ha ha At checkout my total comes to $48.50, so I grab the nearest thing available - a diam chocolate bar worth $2.50 which brings my total to over $51. Less $12, less $20. So I end up spending $20 all up and even got a treat for me!!

I am grateful.
Because Jayden has not yet stopped playing with his trainset and I dont actually think he will stop. He has been obsessed with trains and cars and "T-T' (Thomas the tank) and "K-Chowww" (Lightning McQueen). Damn these children toy makers must make so much money. I finally know what my parents must have felt like when my brother and I pestered them to get the latest Transformers or GI Joe set..

Welcome 2013

I don't think that its hit that its already 2013. A brand new year. This calls for a 2012 wrap up.

Main Highlights of 2012:
1. Jayden's 2nd year:
Think we can say without hesitation that Jayden has made this the best year so far. We have loved watching him grow and change. Now he is a happy 2 year old always running around. I wish i could freeze time and his growth..

2. Finished 1st year Physiotherapy
whoo hooo I am on my way!!! I won't say it was easy; infact it was quite the opposite.. Thank God for such strong loving grandparents and support that they give to us. We would not have made it otherwise..

3. Weddings!! (Serena and Ray, Lauren and Ming, Enid and Derek, Aneeta and Manish)..
Especially had the honour of being a part of Serena's big day, and seeing her marry the man of her dreams. Meant alot to me.

4. Not going to Singapore for Christmas
Okay this one was out of prudence as we are on one income at the moment. But I truly loved my Aussie Christmas. Spending time with family, friends, playing countless games of May I.. and the FOOD.. Also the week my parents came down was pretty awesome too - I dont think i have ever spent time with them ALONE alone. We even went cherry picking!

5. Josh
What can I say? The man that I married has continued his transformation into this wonderful loving giving father and husband. I am continually amazed by his sacrifices and generiosity and kindness toward his family. Love you more than life.

So now its 2013! Where do I start? In the first 3 weeks of the year we have had Jayden's 2nd birthday party, and then left him with the grandparents while Josh and I roadtripped it up to Melbourne to watch the tennis. Aussie Open. We had such a good time that we are almost planning to make it a bi-annual family trip. Managed to catch Li Na and Baghdatis, as well as the match between Neiminen and Haas. It was awesome. I have to admit, after the first day I was feeling like I would love never to see a blue court, raquets and green balls again, but mid way in the 2nd day something changed, it suddenly became addictive. Now at home the tennis is on nearly 24/7 except to allow for sesame street and peppa pig and giggle and hoot.

Here's to another awesome year!!!

Jayden's first non-nappy poo

If you think the title is disgusting just chalk it down to just another milestone that me as a mum simply has to blog about..

We've started trying to potty train Jayden. So far it hasn't been successful, but on the bright side he knows now to sit on the potty and grunt like he's doing a poo and it is extremely cute to watch.

This morning I thought I would give it another go. He had just woken up his usual happy and cheery self, and I knew he would do a poo soon. So I changed him, made his milk and sat him down on the potty, with his milk (yes, I know he usually does a poo when drinking) so giving his milk seemed to be a good option, and settled down to wait. I even told him he would get a raisin if he did a poo, which seemed to take him even smilier and happier. It was a good sign.

I sat there with him for about 15 minutes and nothing happened. At this point I had to start getting ready, so Josh came in at this point and took over - such a great dad. After 5 minutes I hear a yell.. "JAYDEN WHAT DID U DO?!!! ARGHH"

At this point I'm thinking "Josh I know you like being clean and poo is messy, but aren't we supposed to compliment and cheer like we'vejust won a million bucks since it took soooo much time and effort for the little guy to poo, if not for positive reinforcement?"

So I rushed into the toilet, only to discover that Jayden had done a poo.. on the bathroom mat. It turns out Josh had left him alone for 2 minutes while he rushed out to get a toy, and in those precious 2 minutes, the deed was done. So we scooped the poop into the potty and told him it was where it belonged. I will spare you a picture as it looked disgusting.

It was hilarious. You cant really blame Jayden afterall.
So after changing Jayden I held him close, gave him a cuddle and told him he did an awesome job on his first non-nappy poo.

The Royal Adelaide Show 2012

Last Thursday we went to the Royal Adelaide Show with Rebecca and Joash. Last year I insisted on bringing Jayden but he was so little that he did not really get into it, but this year he really enjoyed himself. It was seriously so much fun to see him Ooh and Aah-ing over everything, and there was so much to see and do. For me going to the show with a kid is a totally different experience than going by yourself. For one you find yourself Ooh-ing along and even trying to take pictures with mascots (yes the ones we try to avoid when they come right up to you, wave and try to hug you).

 And yes I finally got around to borrowing my father-in-law's NIKON d3000 camera. Here are some untouched photographs. There was seriously so much to see and do. Bubbles, Giant Tractors, Sheep Shearing.. even Becca was enthralled.

On a separate note, I have finally downloaded Photoshop and have started playing around with the program. I am still a complete noob at this - do not know most features, and all I did was change the background a little on this one but I'm pretty excited... so here's one of Jayden smiling on cue (he smiles when you tell him to), courteousy of my father-in-law. It is too cute not to share.