So Yeah

I have to admit, that life is so much more fun for me, now that I'm not such a hardcore blogger. I've seen the light and now enjoy the boys experiences, rather than sticking a camera in their faces all the time trying to capture them. I think I might even be a better Dah for it :o)

So yeah, what have we been up too? Well, I finally got to run the big race, which I've been training 20-weeks for. The 2009 Six Foot Track race took place on Saturday 14th March and I lined up with about 850 runners, to run the 45ks from Katoomba to Jenolan. I have an injured ankle/knee/hip thing, which I knew would give out at some stage, but didn't know that it would be so early on at 12k. This meant that I had to struggle the remaining 33k on one-leg. It wasn't too bad, as I knew it would happen. My finishing time was a sad 06:36, but I finished and as you can see by the photo below, I was VERY happy :o)

The day after my race, we all drove down to Canberra, as Ade had a conference. Rather than stay at home for three-days with the boys, we decided that it would be a fun break for us. We visited The Australian Museum, which was OK, but had the best fun at The Discovery Centre, which was way smaller, but so much more fun for little people. CSIRO is a Government run Industrial Research Institute, with the Discovery Centre added onto the side of the complex. It was very much Jarvis thing, as he got to perform many experiments, and like our local Powerhouse Museum, had plenty of hands on exhibits. The biggest buzz for Jarvis though, was being able to see actual, real, live Scientists at work. He even had a mad Professor afro hairstyle for the day.

I celebrated my 43rd Birthday on Thursday, however my good friends Belinda and Emma caught me out with a surprise birthday cake and present the day before at morning tea. We all meet up at a cafe before Music Class, which is where they totally caught me off guard with my cake, a chorus of Happy Birthday and a wonderful chocolate cake. I was both touched and surprised.



As you can see by the picture below, Emma was feeling very proud of herself for catching me out and making me blush!

And look at the 'Who Me' look on Belinda's face :o)

Adrienne is such a wonderful Partner, as she now takes the boys for trips out on Saturday mornings, so that I can have some Lee Time at home. On Saturday Ade took the boys to The City farm out West, which the boys just love. As expected, they all had a wonderful time feeding and playing with the wee animals, going for tractor rides and watching the Cowboy doing tricks with his whip. Jarvis even got to milk a cow, something his Olds have never done, so we are most impressed.

Felix really enjoyed feeding the baby animals.



Our Cowboy Jarvis.

Lee

BBQ At The Garcia's

Today the whanua paid a visit to Manal, Hector, Tyler and Cameron for a BBQ. It was so nice to get our two families together, as Manal and myself spend lots of time together running and Adrienne and Hector work in the same Industry. Also, Jarvis and and Cameron are pretty close in age, with both being full of energy and get on very well, so all round, a perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

We arrived at 12-noon to find a flustered Manal in the kitchen, which I expected, as Manal is always telling me, that cooking is not one of her favourite things. Manal did make a wonderful creamy potato dish, so she can't be all that bad.

Within seconds of arriving Jarvis and Cameron were off playing upstairs, while Manal and I talked about running and Adrienne and Hector talked about Finance. I have to confess, that for a while when Manal was busy, I sat down and tried to join in on a conversation that Hector and Adrienne were deep into, but didn't understand a thing they were talking about. Ah well, I'm just the pretty House Dad who cooks, cleans and runs the house!

Lunch was wonderful and our whole family, thanks to the Garcia's, are now hooked on grilled Haloumi cheese. My god, it's beautiful and I think I'll be adding it to our shopping list each week now.

It's strange, but I'm with little people all week and come the weekend, I still find time to enjoy playing with them. As the adults drank wine and chatted 'adult stuff' inside, I found myself outside playing with all the boys. I guess it's now my full time job and nice that I don't begrudge being with little people at weekends.

We did plan to go to the park after lunch, but everyone was very tired and well fed, so we came home to crash on he sofa, as I expect our buddies did, to reflect on a wonderful lunch date with wonderful friends.

Lee

Felix's Number One Fan

I'm just going to do a quick post this time around, as I promised Felix's number one fan that I'd upload their picture.

For the last four-years that I've been blogging, I've got used to all the attention that Jarvis receives. It's a combination of his confidence and curly hair that attracts so much attention. However, over the last couple of months I've been delighted by the attention that our wee Felix has received from a couple of really nice Israeli girls, who have a business in our local mall.

The first time that Dikla set eyes on wee Felix, she was taken aback and just has to cuddle and kiss him every time that we go by. It's so wonderful to see Felix, who tends to live in his big Brothers shadow, get some attention. Felix, who unlike his Brother, takes time to suss people out, has really taken to Dikla too and is now full of kisses for his number one fan.

Dikla tells us, that every time she sees Felix, she is moved to tears, as she really, really misses her Niece back home in Israel. Hence Felix is smothered in cuddles and kisses from Dikla every time we pass. Sadly, I don't remind Dikla of anyone back in Israel ha ha! But yeah, thank you Dikla for noticing Felix and all the love and attention you give him.

Lee

There's Something About Kiwis

The boys and myself took a trip into the C.B.D in the week, as the previous day had been a home day and I think we nearly all killed each other confined to such a small house. It was a lovely day too, so it made sense to get out and enjoy the sunshine.

After playing a while in Myers department store, the boys asked if we could have lunch one level down in the cafe. It seemed like a good idea, so down the escalator we went. As I lined up to buy some lunch for the boys and a coffee for myself, Jarvis started talking to a wee girl who was about his age. So I asked the Mum, whose name was Justine, if we could sit with them, as it would be easier to have all the little people in one place. Well I say easier, as they were here, there and everywhere by the time lunch was over.

Anyway, it turned out that Justine and wee Isabella, like us, were from New Zealand, which I should have guessed, as they both had that easy going and open nature that Kiwis share. Bonus.

After a while it got a bit messy with Jarvis, Isabella and Felix running around, that I suggested to Justine that we head to a park for a play. Both Justine and Isabella were up for it, which was great, as it was fun for the boys to have a play buddy for the next couple of hours.

So it was, that we found ourselves in Hyde Park, building huts, exploring and generally having loads of fun. It was great for the boys, as they had a VERY cool play buddy in Isabella, who was just delightful. I also got to chat to Justine about home, life in Australia and general parenting stuff, so it was 'win - win' for everyone.

So yeah, that was our random meeting with a couple of fellow Kiwis, who were up from Melbourne (I think it's up) for the week. The boys had a wonderful time and would like to say a MASSIVE thank you to Justine and Isabella for being such great company - Go the Kiwis :o)

Lee

This picture is off Isabella and Jarvis breaking a stick in half, so that the next time they meet up, they can join their friendship stick together. It was big hugs all round when they said "Bye", so sweet.

Felix The Forgotten Second Child

One of the reasons why I combined Jarvis and Felix's blogs, was because poor wee Felix's blog was never getting updated. A good friend gave me some stick and called Felix 'The Forgotten Second Child', which was true when It came to blogging.

With this in mind, over the last few months I have made a big effort to ensure that I do all the things with Felix, that I did with Jarvis. For instance, the music class that we do each week is such fun and Felix really enjoys it. I also make sure that we have at least one 'Dah and Felix' trip out per week, as we did on Friday, when the boys set off to The Royal Botanical Gardens for a picnic.

I timed it so that Felix would sleep in the car as we drove from dropping Jarvis off. He did not wake until 40-minutes later when we jumped off the train at St James station. From there it was a short walk to the Botanics, where the wee guy jumped out of the stroller and spent the next couple of hours roaming the park.

I think it's not allowed, but on the quiet and with an eye out for the park wardens, Felix and I feed the ducks. Felix was not at all worried to have ducks, seagulls, ibis and various other birds clamber all over him, as they scrambled to eat the pieces of bread. As you can see from the picture below, he loved it so much, that he was full of claps.

I even splashed out the $10, as we took a ride on the train that drives around the park. Felix must have waved at everyone we passed, and just like his older Brother, is certainly not shy.

From the park, we walked to The Sydney Opera House and just went where Felix wanted to go. It's so nice to let him roam free and not see a little person like him stuck in a stroller. He must have walked around that area for a good 50-minutes, climbing, jumping and exploring. Then as we neared Circular Quay, I could see he was getting a little drowsy from the heat and playing, so we jumped back on the train, to be back in time to pick Jarvis up from school.

Developmentally, Felix is coming along very well. He has great balance and confidence and is starting to form words. The word he uses most is "Watch", as he raises his finger and expects you to watch whatever he's doing. Sometimes he just says it, without actually having something to show you and then spends a few moments scrambling around to pick something up.

Felix is also keen on pretending to be a pussy cat and meows lots, when I wrap him up in a pussy cat bed after his bath.

So yeah, all is very good with young Felix and we think that at 18-months old, he's coming on nicely. In fact, we think we might even keep him, when the hire-purchase arrangement we have him on comes to an end!

Lee

Music Class

Since we moved over to The Inner West of Sydney, I've had little luck trying to establish a group of friends to hang with, who have little people the same age as Felix. Jarvis was blessed with the most wonderful coffee group in Auckland and some cool mates in Paddington, however, as we didn't do the post-natal coffee group thing with Felix, it hasn't quite happened. However, the wonderful Belinda, whose little people also go to Jarvis school, has hooked me up with her group on a Wednesday at music class. Unlike Jarvis who did something similar in Bondi way back, and hated it, Felix has embraced the class and after only two-classes is having a wonderful time. So yeah, a massive thank you to Belinda for making it happen :o)

These are the Yummy Mummies that we do Music class with on Wednesday. From left to right are Emma, Belinda and Rachael. Music class was great fun to take part with them and their little people, but going for coffee and cake beforehand was AMAZING!



Just like Jarvis who also went to this play group when we lived In Paddington, Felix has a thing for the back wall, that is covered in heaps of pieces of ceramic. It's truly funky and we spend ages looking at and naming the various animals and things.

See, I knew buying a drum kit for Felix and Christmas would pay off. He really has the two-handed playing style down, doesn't he.

Cissy employed the on-handed technique, but also bought the tongue into play. Very cute.

And Jude, as cool as ever, went for the banging the sticks together style.

So yeah, that's music class, which we do each week with our buddies - It Rocks.

Lee

Fush 'n' Chups On Waitangi Day

I have to say that I'm quite enjoying not blogging each day now, meaning, that for me, when I do, it's quite a buzz. However, I've not too much to report this week, as we've taken it fairly easy, as we get back into the routine of Jarvis going back at school.

We did have an interesting day at Little Dynamo's though, and strangely, it was because it was so very quiet. Normally there would be hundreds of little people running around, but on Monday morning, we shared the place with about six other little people. You are probably thinking that is a great thing, but the boys really enjoy interacting with other little people, so when it's so quiet, they get a little frustrated. Oh well, we had a fun time.

Jarvis has now started to wash his own hair, not because he wanted to, but because I have had  bit of dermatitis flair up on my fingers, so keeping it out of chemicals is a good idea. He's quite enjoying washing his own hair and creates the most unusual hair sculptures. Sadly, Felix still loathes having his hair washed, rinsed or even touched!

Felix and myself have been attending music classes on a Wednesday, with our buddies Belinda and Cissy, Emma and Jude. It's quite good and Felix is more into it than Jarvis was at his age. Felix claps along and is quite a bold wee guy. But then if you have Jarvis as a role model, I guess confidence would not be a problem.

Adrienne forgot to take her packed lunch to work on Friday, so it was the prefect excuse for Felix and myself to have a city day. It's the first time that it's just been Felix and me in the city and it was heaps of fun. The highlight for both of us though was to see Adrienne for 30-minutes. We even managed to grab a quick bite to eat and drink with our beautiful Mumma/Wife.

Friday was Waitangi Day and being so far from home, we needed to celebrate in some way. To be honest, we'd forgotten about it, so our planning was very last minute. The only thing I could think of doing was to have a fish and chip dinner. The reason for this is that here in Australia, they claim that Kiwi's don't say fish and chips, but fush un chups! So yeah, seeing as we are Kiwi's in Aussie, we had a fush n chup dinner to celebrate Waitangi Day.

Lee