Potty Training The Baby

I'm a great believer that the motherly instinct is part of the y-gene. I wonnder who will learn to pee in the potty first?

Don't Mind The Drool

Merry Christmas everyone.

A Dutiful Brother

Alex, being the kind and loving brother that he is, was always on hand to help Charlotte open her gifts.

How To Wrap A Bike

Alex looked surprised to see a bike under that wrapping paper. I realised today that quality does not make up for quantity in the eyes of a three-year old.

All I Got For Christmas

Poor Charlotte.It sucks being the third Mason kid. You are looking at the only toys that Charlotte got for Christmas and neither of them are from her parents! She got a photo album, a baby book and a story book too. We'll make up for it next year.

Cheese!

See! She can do more than just sleep now! Bright-eyed and smiley, Charlotte is a happy healthy 2 month old baby now. I guess she's looking forward to Christmas and all four of her Christmas presents.

Santa Clause Is Coming To Town

We went to have our Santa photo done today. A local shopping mall has a Santa poised and ready for photos all day and I could take my own picture! Bah humbug to those corporate Santas out there reaping their wealth during the festive season. This Santa also brought along his baby deer for the kids to man-handle. Alex's request for Christmas this year is DVDs, treats and Wiggley presents.

Is That A Smile?

It could be a smile or it could be a 'leave me the hell alone, lady'. We poke and prod at her trying to get her to smile but she'll only do it when I'm not looking. My mum has seen lots of smiles - I've seen about three!

They Call Me Two Dummies

Ella likes to walk around with one dummy (pacifier for you northerners) in her mouth and one in her hand. At least when she puts both into her mouth she can't talk anymore.

Merry Christmas

We wish you a merry Christmas, we wish you a merry Christmas, we wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year!

Party Girl

Yes, she is still gorgeous. We went to a Christmas party on the weekend and all the kids had a great time - so did the adults. Big thanks to Anjanette and Richard who put on a great party every year.

Cheesey Monsters

We had a swimming playdate with our friend Xzander and his mum Cass today. Alex now leaps into the pool with full belly-flop finish, goes under the water and loves it. He landed on his sister once which pretty much ended her swimming experience for the day. Everyone is exhausted by 11am and ready for a sleep - mums included.

Wiggles Cards

Alex likes to play the memory game with his Wiggles cards. It's not the traditional rules, though. We have to play Alex's rules. This means that he gets all the Wiggles and I get the Wiggly Friends, we have our separate piles of cards and we play separate games, but we still have to take turns. It can be hard to figure out who won.

Potty Training Dora

They say girls are easier to potty train than boys and so far I have to agree with 'them'. Ella has been asking to use the potty for about a month now and she's not even two years old! Such a clever little chicken. I think it all started with her dad and brother peeing on the lemon tree in the back yard. Ella would stand there, lift her shirt and pretend to pee just like the boys. Too funny!

All Together Now

Ella, Alex and Charlotte playing on the floor. Charlotte isn't short of admirers as both Alex and Ella compete for her attentions. Thankfully they only push each other around in an attempt to get close to the baby.

Charlotte's First Milestone

Charlotte has learned to smile! It's one of the first things babies learn to do and she loves to smile at her big brother. Alex likes to lie on the floor with Charlotte and pretend he's a baby too.

Alex's New-ish Bike

Bill and Alex fixed a bike that was given to us recently. Alex has graduated from a tricycle to a bicycle with training wheels. He's still very much in the learning to ride stage.

Isn't She Cute

Alex and Ella battle for the attentions of their little sister. They will both often say "isn't she cute" as they lean over and poke her in the eye or rub peanut butter into her hair.

Still Sleeping

Really that's all she does. And when she is awake I have my hands full and am far too busy to be taking photos.

Yawn Yawn

The life of a toddler is a busy one. Sometimes it's all jus a bit too much to handle and everyone has a nap in the middle of the day.

Hip Hip Hooray

Ella and her best friend Piper gettin wet at the Norton's place on the weekend.

Daddy Comes Home

Bill has been home for a week and has been a very busy daddy. He built a see-saw (or teeter-totter for our northern hemespherical friends), fixed an old bike that is now a new bike for Alex, did some Christmas shopping and spent a whole lot of time hanging out with me and the kids. It was a great week.

Third Child Syndrome

I have finally taken some photos of Charlotte. She's 4 weeks old now and met her daddy for the second time today. It's nice to have Bill home and the kids are super excited to have him back.

Mummy Gets High

In a good way. My friend Genny had her birthday celebration at an indoor rock climbing centre. She invited her friends and their kids and we all went up up up. I did four climbs and made it to the top of two and oh-so-close on the other two. The kids all loved it - one kid bragging that he'd done 13 climbs. Little monkeys. I think I might go back for another go.

Sleeping Beauty

A long time ago, when Baby Alex was born, Grandma and Pa came to visit from Canada. They bought a baby swing for little Alex. Once Alex had grown out of it and his little sister came along the swing was a favourite place for Ella to sleep. Then came Baby Charlotte. This is a magical swing, a comfortable swing and a godsend for Charlotte, Ella and Alex's mummy!

Cookin Chocolate Cakes

On Dora the Explorer this morning Dora made a chocolate cake for her mummy for Mother's Day. So that meant that we had to make a chocolate cake like Dora - however I wasn't going to put bananas and nuts in it and we didn't need to go on an adventure to find all the ingredients.

Bubble Baby

Just in case you can't work out the side-ways video below, here's what it was supposed to look like.

Blowing Bubbles

Ok, I know this is sideways, but you just need to tilt your head slightly and shazzam! To get the bubble machine to work you need to press a button on the front side of it. I consider this a bit of a design fault as Ella can't find the button unless she's looking at it, which means she gets a face full of bubbles. It didn't stop her though.

Eight Is Enough

It's true. Today Angela, Genevieve and I with our (in total) eight kids went into Brisbane city to visit the state library 'kids corner' and the museum. Pictured here is (from left) Piper, Darcy, Braeden, Lachlan, some ring-in that we don't know, and Alex. Not pictured is Harley, Charlotte and Ella. The library has a great program for kids and a big room dedicated to keeping them occupied while I sit and have a coffee.

Museum Madness

Ella and the T-Rex. Sounds like a movie title, dosn't it? The kids all had a play with a bunch of dinosaur toys then we went up to see the stuffed animals. I'm not sure they get a lot of cultural awareness from visiting the museum, but they certainly ran around a lot and expended a lot of energy. I expended a lot of noise yelling at them.

Look Out Behind You

Alex is holding a fossil and behind him is the T-Rex in the dinosaur garden where we had a snack later on. The kids has such a good time at the library and museum.

Yummy Yummy

OK, this photo may need some background information... Alex is a HUGE Wiggles fan. Everything in our house that is red, blue, yellow or purple becomes a Wiggle -- from coloured cups, plates, spoons, leggo, whatever. Alex has a box of leggo that he has separated into Wiggles blocks and 'yucky' blocks which are the non-Wiggles coloured ones. He has added other coloured toys and put them into a metal bowl which has become his 'fruit salad' - this is in reference to a Wiggles song.

Now for the punchline. In Alex's shirt is his 'fruit salad', which has made his belly big. The imagination of a three-year-old is astounding!

Beach Baby

This is what 6.30am at the beach in Hervey Bay looks like!

Having Fun At The Beach

Mum, Dad, me and the kids spent last weekend at the beach at Hervey Bay about 3 hours north of Brisbane - or 5 hours if you're travelling with 3 kids. Mum had booked a great apartment unit across the road from this beach. When the kids got up at 5am, they had their breakfast and after sunscreen was applied, swimmers put on and sand toys collected they were at the beach (with Nanna not mummy!) at 6.30am. Best time to be there, though, as the water was really warm and the sun wasn't too hot. We all had a fantastic weekend - thanks mum and dad, aka Terry and Mike.

Hervey Bay Pier

It's a really long pier and it was really really windy. Back in the day they ran a train from the end of the pier to unload ships that docked at the end. Now its just crammed with fishermen and pelicans looking for an easy meal. The kids had a ball running around although we had to keep an eye on them that they didn't get blown over the sides!

Time For A Rest

All that running down the pier makes us tired. We need to sit down and have a bit of a rest.

I Can't Walk Anymore Nanna

That was a really really long pier. Coming back prooved to be a bit of a challenge for Alex. But then again who can blame him when he sees that neither of his sisters has to walk back.

Alex Turns 3

What a huge day! Alex has been practising blowing out candles for months so on his birthday he did a great job. We had a party in the park with a bunch of friends then afterwards we went back to my mum's place for a swim and more junk food. The sugar high wore off at around 5pm.

Sleeping like a baby

They are so cuddly and snuggly at this age. Charlotte is a great baby, very contented and very sleepy! Today we spent the day at Angela's and Charlotte just fed, slept, fed, pooped a few times and slept some more. I think she's sleeping now... maybe I should be too.

In Bed with The Wiggles

Alex is still a Wiggles fanatic. Here he is with Murray, Wags, Anthony, another Wags and Dorothy all in bed. Ella is wearing a Henry the Octopus head band which she insists I wear sometimes too. I swear I'm going to go down to the local shops one day wearing that head band.

Introducing Charlotte

Here she is. The spitting image of her big sister only Charlotte has masses of dark hair.

The New Addition to our Family

I know you've all been waiting to see how the new kitchen looks. We're very very very happy people.

Hello Baby

This is a photo of Alex and our friends' baby girl, Harley. Alex had just come up for a quick chat and to say hello. Both Alex and Ella like to talk to little babies and, thankfully, they tend to keep their snotty, grubby fingers off them.

Rockin' On to Dorothy

We went to see the Dorothy the Dinosaur show on Monday. Alex went beserk when she came on stage. I think he's going to be a bit of a crazy groupie type when he gets older. You can just see Alex in this picture -- he's one of those kids right up the front in the mosh pit with his hands on the stage.

A Pirate Party

Alex and Ella went to a fantastic birthday party on Sunday - our friend Lachlan turned 5. There was a pirate ship treehouse, two pirate birthday cakes, a pirate treasure hunt and plenty of 'Ahoy there me harties' and sword fighting. Alex managed to keep his costume on for about 5 minutes before he decided he didn't want to be a pirate anymore but Ella, on the other hand, went to bed in hers. We all had a fantastic day. Thanks to Angela and Dave, the leaders of the pirate posse.

Smile Everyone

Piper, Alex and Ella at the park yesterday. Piper came to stay for a couple of days and she and Alex had a great time and I had a bit of an insight into what my life will be like in about 6 months time. And no, there is nothing wrong with Alex's teeth - he just has a mouth full of food. By the way, for all you Canadians reading this, this picture was taken in the middle of winter - no touque required.

Wiggly housework

Apparently Anthony Wiggle will make house calls to vacuum your house. Well, he comes to my house... dosn't he come to yours?

Keep on Truckin'

Do you think he might be a little bit too big to be sitting in the back of this dump truck? Apparently being trouser-less helps him get in and out of it. Unfortunatly the load was a bit too much for the plastic axle and he did eventually go over backwards onto the floor. Lesson learned but now we have to intervene when he puts his little sister into the truck and pushes her around the house.

Bright and Shiny at the Art Gallery

We went to the Ipswich Art Gallery for a fun afternoon of mirrors and sparkley things. The kids had a ball. The other two kids in the pictures are our friends Lachlan and Piper.

Feeding time at the zoo

Ella likes to make sure that the stuffed animals also get to have breakfast. This one ended up so soaked in milk that it also had to have a 'bath' in the washing machine. And don't worry, she also gave it a drink from her sippy cup.

A girlfriend for Alex?

Maybe he's just not ready for that kind of relationship, Piper. Try again in about 15 years!

A day at Southbank

We spent the day at Southbank with Angela and her kids Lachlan and Piper. Lots of shows, dinosaur displays and running around was on the menu for the day. The kids came home exhausted - actually, so did I.

Aunty Erin comes to visit

Erin and Angus popped in for a couple of weeks on their around Australia visit. It was fun having them here and the kids loved it. Erin hasn't changed. I especially liked the pledge she made about a week before her birthday to not drink until her birthday. That lasted until dinner that night. There are far too many nice yet cheap wines available. Love ya Erin!

I love you Grandma

Orange Pickin'

My kids love fruit. These were taken while picking oranges at their Great Grandparents place. I had to put a halt to the picking before they'd stripped the tree of all fruit that hung less than 3 feet from the ground. We went to North Queensland last weekend for a wedding and had a beautiful time. The kids were great, the wedding was fun and the bride was stunning. I'll post pictures of the wedding later.