Messy playdate Tuesday

There are so many things I appreciate much more at home having lived away for a while.  One of the most important is friends and family, I have been so lucky that a few of my friends have children and babies close in age to mine, and even though we live in different areas of the city we have started our own playdates.

Each Tuesday we head to someone's house or host at our own and come up with our own messy playdate idea.  It works so well, we get to have a catch up, talk over coffee the challenges and joys of parenting two children, while the eldest children delve into a wonderfully sensory mess that we only have to clean up every three weeks or so!  Brilliant.

This week was the week for slime!  Amazingly the two boys were so freaked out over getting their hand dirty and slimy that it didn't last too long, but the only girl really got into it!  Eventually the boys came back to it after thoroughly discovering the backyard first and had a bit more fun.

My turn next week, I am thinking a clam shell full of coloured spaghetti would be fun, fingers crossed I can pull it off!

We are growing!

I still find it amazing that I am a mother of two, I can't imagine that it ever gets old, that sudden realisation that you were part of a pair that made these amazing and challenging human beings.  It must seem so surreal for our own mothers who remember so clearly caring for us through these same stages seemingly not so long ago.

I try to make sure that we get photos of our families together as much as I can to document the constant changes we are currently going through, especially as I am so grateful to have them close by after living in Indonesia without any family for a while.

My mum and sister joined us at a local fun day (Otto is a giraffe!), only a decade ago it was just the three of us girls, then Han, and now two delicious boys have joined our ranks.  Wonder what is coming next?

Our week.

Thankfully this week the weather has been really lovely and we have taken full advantage of it.  Swimming has started up again for Otto and he is killing it in the pool, I am so proud sitting on the sidelines feeding Hugo watching him really listen and learn a new skill.

It was a pretty quiet week at home, we didn't do anything out of the ordinary but sometimes those are the best weeks to have.

Hugo practiced his head control, which still amazes me, he was born with a strong neck anyway but the amount of control he now has is astounding.  So proud of this little boy growing before my eyes.

Otto took his park style seriously and looked very dapper with his dump truck, I am forever grateful that only a few hundred meters away we have a brilliant playground, that really challenges Otto. 

Friday afternoon it was just Hugo and I, Otto went to have some special time with my MIL and I got to soak up this precious baby all to myself.

A few pictures we took while we were hanging out at home.

These kids are forever making me pull my hair out and laugh at the same time, and trying to get an almost 3 year old to take a photo with his brother is bang on impossible, unless of course he is throwing toys everywhere!

Saturday we headed to finally buy Otto a scooter that I have been watching and waiting to go on special, we decided to head to one of our local parks to try it out and see a festival that was on at the same time.  The scooter was a hit until Otto saw all the rides, so he hasn't worked out how to ride it just yet, but I can see a trip to the park later today in our future!

Otto loved riding a horse at the festival, which is great, next weekend we are off to a party at the local riding center and I wondered how he would go, it should be a great time, especially if he gets to ride a horse again.

Hugo was really alert and loved taking in all the different smells and sights that the festival had to offer, and I got to break away from being just a mum for a few minutes and ride on one of the adult rides.  I did have a moment while I was being flung up in the air, upside down and around, that this isn't what responsible mothers do, especially while the harness is pressing into their rather full of milk breasts, but hell, every now and then it is nice to remember that before these children were born I had things that I loved to do, one of them being paying people to scare me silly!

So now it is Sunday afternoon, we have been to a park with friends this morning and even though Otto is exhausted he is refusing to nap, so I can see a movie in our future, before we head to the park to practice more scooter riding!

6 week check.

Hugo went for his six week check up this week, being the super organised person that I am we didn't make it until he was eight weeks!

The stats are in:

Weight: 5.2kg (75th Percentile)
Length: 59cm (90th Percentile)
Head: 39cm (50th Percentile)

Once again it seems as though we have made a large and long baby, and we still don't know where those genes come from, and boy does it make me scared for my future grocery bills!

Hugo has met all his milestones so far, although we did need a referral to a child physio thanks to tight neck muscles not allowing his head to move freely on one side resulting in a slight flattening of the back of his head.

We are so proud of this amazing little boy who has given so much joy and love to this family of ours already, I am dying to see more of his personality come through from behind that cheeky smile of his.

Good morning!

We have been having the best smiles come our way lately, Hugo reached that milestone a few weeks ago but was so camera shy about it, I haven't been able to catch one.  Sadly the only ones I do have are with my iphone but I am still pretty pleased to have a record of these early grins.

I have just recieved the book '1-2-3 magic', and am keeping my fingers crossed that it might help us with some of Otto's behaviour lately.  Because my goodness almost 3 year olds are a bundle of energy and excitement, and to be honest Otto is challenging me a lot lately.  Luckily I can't stay frustrated for too long and we have some wonderful time together as well.

Thank goodness the sun is shining and the park is dry today!

Another adventure

Well well, two adventures in one week!  We have had rain here all week, so by Thursday we were all going a little bit crazy staying in the house, I blame a mix of nursing hormones as well as the consistent annoying pitch of a certain toddlers whining that led me to my next decision.  I packed us all up and caught two trains into the city through the pouring rain to my 6 week doctor check up.

What I didn't factor in was that with two children to keep dry, that left no hands for me, luckily the rain held until after my appointment and I didn't look like a drowned rat until my return journey home.

Heading out.

Otto watching the stations go by.

I was amazed by Otto's memory, we used to do this trip every time I had a doctors appointment, since Hugo has arrived we haven't been on the trains at all, but he still remembers all the different names and which station we need to hop off.  I have to remember his ability for recall next time I tell him a secret!

Post doctor treat.

Drowned rat!

I think this is to be filed under 'seemed like a good idea at the time'!  Otto, Hugo (who slept the whole time) and I had a great time, it felt good to be able to still achieve getting out and doing something fun together, even if I needed quite a large glass of wine by the time we got home.  The best part of my day was seeing Otto's smile, bigger than ever.  God we love that kid.

Perfection.

Sometimes I can't help it, I think we created the most perfect little boy!

GOMA

One of the things I really missed while we lived in Indonesia was the sheer amount of activities you can do with children in Brisbane, and the best bit is that most of them are free.  Yesterday we headed to GOMA (gallery of modern art) they have a new exhibit called Fly away home by Fiona Hall.  It was wonderful, the art area was set up so beautifully and the craft itself suited children of all ages, even Otto who isn't known for sitting still for that long.

Otto was enthralled by the art area, there were birds hanging from the trees, stunning wallpaper, a video of birds enjoying their natural habitat.  To me it was a space that inspired calm (something any mother of an almost 3 yr old loves!), each art area was set up with minimal tools, just those that were needed and it was highly encouraged that everyone tidy up before they left.  I was very impressed.

The best part was that Hugo slept through the whole thing which gave Otto and I some much needed time to do some things together, well that and the coffee afterwards!

Our days.

Our days have become simple ones, we don't venture too far or for too long, I knew this was going to happen when Hugo came along and mostly I have really enjoyed slowing down the pace.  Every now and then I long for an adventure with Otto just like we did before, when I didn't have to factor in extra breast feeds and sleeps, let along all the things a newborn needs when we go out.  I know Otto misses them as well so this weekend I am really hoping we will be able to do something just the two of us.

I am looking forward to soon being able to have adventures with both boys, and watching Hugo as he discovers the world around him.  For now though our days are spent here, at home or the local park enjoying the fleeting days of having such a small and precious bundle.