Category: week in review

This was the last week of the holidays, with Huff starting preschool today, and Puff back to school tomorrow. With the last Friday of the holidays, Dad took Puff in to the city on the train to see the coffee mornings crowd, where he caught up with a few people.

Saturday saw us head south to see a friend’s cafe, catch up with cousin E and her parents, and then double back for a garden party in the afternoon.

While with cousin E, we noticed that Puff had a loose tooth! More on that saga below.

At the garden party, the kids played Hungry Hungry Hippo with their newly made teenager friends, and Puff even had a go at freestyle scrabble for a while, holding his own pretty well.

Sunday was church, a visit to Grandma and Doc, and then a quiet afternoon at home. To round out the long weekend, we visited friends for a traditional Australia Day celebration. Huff had her first go at backyard cricket, which she enjoyed quite a bit, for a while.

Puff was a very helpful big brother to his little sister on her first day of preschool. 

She started the day by walking in to our room at 6am with her eyes closed saying “I’m sleepwalking”. From the moment we arrived at the preschool, she was keen to go in (asking when we were still in the carpark if we could leave her behind). After unpacking her food for the day, she made a beeline for the painting, and her big brother helped her out with her smock.

Here we were at the start of the day: proof of attendance.

Oh, and Puff had an exciting week from a tooth point of view. Sunday morning he lost his first tooth, leaving a wobbly front-bottom tooth in its wake. Today, he lost the second one, though he’s waiting for a custom pillow (with tooth pocket) for the second tooth to be liberated by mysterious forces.

We tried to counterbalance the material excess of Puff’s back-to-school haul with a new umbrella for Huff. She was very happy about it, but it’s a little sad to see how independent she’s becoming. We’ll adjust in time.

Not much of the school holidays left now – everything goes past so quickly! Before we know it, Huff will be 4. The kids continue to get along well – every now and again they’ll do something cute.

The kids have been taking a lot of trains through the holidays, but Huff still finds it Amazing that the seats flip over. Mum is great at packing the right mix of snacks and activities to have a great time. Puff is reading his science facts book at the moment, learning (and sharing) lots of different things from it.

The kids came in during the week to have lunch with Dad and we went to Hyde Park for a picnic, and then some soft serve.

On Saturday we went to the Central Coast to visit a friend; the kids were loving spending time on the balcony, but the best part was spending time on Caves Beach – they were splashing around in some shallow pools, and even in the surf for a while. We made sandcastles, splashed around: it was a great day.

This week Mum took the kids to IKEA – Huff wasn’t sure about Smalland at first, but decided to go in once she saw that Peppa Pig was on the TV. They both had a great time.

Oh, and bingo was back on for the year, earlier than expected, so Puff had a chance to go along – he won a meat tray, and some groceries. He was very proud.

We’ve seen a few nightmares this week. Literally! The kids come in at different times, worried about different things. Dad has been learning the skill of clarifying his sleepy thinking to answer very surreal questions with reassuring words.

This week there was a lot of public transport, with Mum or Dad supervising. Saturday, Dad caught the train in to Glebe with Puff to meet Mum and Huff, then Huff and Dad went on a public transport adventure – with her 4th birthday approaching, the window of free public transport is almost closed.

Some more details follow, but here we are showing off our new sunglasses from the shop. These were the second ones she picked – the first pair had yellow lenses and so weren’t going to provide much glare protection.

During the week, Mum brought the kids in for some lunch. Puff saw the hotdogs and was keen to give one a try. He made it about half-way through.

There was a quick trip to a lolly shop as well. Huff picked something that looked like a wand.

Puff was trying to figure out what kind of lolly he could share with Dad, but was given free reign.

As we keep trying to balance out screen time from non-screen-time, the kids have been spending more time doing analogue things.

Back to the public transport adventure. Bus ride to Circular Quay, ferry to Darling Harbour, tram to Chinatown where we saw this busker, who asked for a photo with Huff.

All Huff really wanted, though, was to ride on another train, and be able to see the seats change direction. She has simple tastes.

One other thing I wanted to capture was the way Huff (despite her still-short legs) rides on escalators. She will deliberately line up her feet in this way, so she is riding on two steps at once. We’ll see how long it lasts.

Sunday we went for lunch after church. Huff slept through the meal, but Puff asked for a milkshake. It was nearly the size of his head, but he finished it (with a bit of help from Huff) by the end of the day.

The countdown to Huff’s birthday continues next week.

Also, Puff, impatient with Huff’s inability to take his reading of a science book seriously said her talking was “259% crazy talk”. 

We caught up with friends and did a photomosaic jigsaw puzzle while the kids played with a lot of lego.

Back after some time away, so this is a two-week-update-in-one post. 

Christmas Eve we went down to have dinner with cousin E. The kids had a great time in the Christmas outfits aunty C had made (and playing screens), and it was good to see Grandragon and uncle J as well.

Christmas Day was very busy: we had presents, church, lunch with Grandma and Doc, and then some afternoon tea with some old school friends of Dad.

Boxing Day we had brunch with a friend, and the kids continued to re-read “The Book with No Pictures” to each other, even after the adults had stopped reading them.

Dad had a great time playing with the kinetic sand, and occasionally sharing it with the kids.

Dad and the kids also had a trip to the Opera House with Grandma to see a pantomime – “The Tiger who came to Tea”. We had a picnic in the Botanic Gardens beforehand, saw the pantomime (which both kids loved), and had gelato afterwards.

On the way back, we called in at the State Library to look at the Hairy Maclary exhibition – it took a while for the kids to get past the TV that was showing the episodes of the animated TV version, but they enjoyed the books as well.

We went to Canberra for an interstate break. While Mum went to do some grocery shopping, Dad and the kids went for a walk. For the kids, everything was new, and Huff was keen to explore the “towers” and other buildings, which turned out to be bus stops.

The main reason for going to Canberra was to go back to Questacon, and make sure we’d seen everything that was there. We learned a lot of different science-y things, and Puff and Huff made (among other things) some paper helicopters. We also saw a dinosaur puppet show called “The Lizard of Oz”.

We went back to the kids area of Questacon, and Huff dressed up as a vet.

The next day we went to the National Dinosaur Museum. The kids had a lot of fun playing with the large dinosaur sculptures. Here’s Huff.

Puff had an even larger dinosaur friend.

The museum was well set up for kids to visit – here’s the large dinosaur head you can walk through on the way in.

We also had some places to sit and have photos taken. Dad managed to scrunch into the background of this dinosaur egg.

We went from there to have dumplings, and then went to Koko Black. Here’s Huff having something deliciously chocolatey. 

And here’s Puff, who doesn’t like chocolate, having the one thing on the menu that doesn’t have chocolate in it.

For New Year’s Eve, we spent time with friends and their kids. Despite our best intentions, the kids made it up late enough to watch the fireworks. Here they are, playing with glow sticks (there were also sparklers).

On our last day in Canberra, we wanted to find a way for the kids to have a run around. We went back to the Tunnel Playground near Lake Burley Griffin.

Lastly in the holiday, we went to another friends’ house, and even had an ocean swim as a family (no photos). Puff was very happy with his robot lamp – have a look!

It’s the last week before Christmas. It’s been a mix of family catch-ups and shopping-related adventures.

We’ve tried to give the kids a chance to get some naps so they can survive staying up late, but it’s a balancing act: once they have had one nap, it’s hard to get them to stay in bed later in the night.

The kids had a great time opening presents: Puff is keeping a running tally of how many presents have been opened ahead of Christmas Day.

Sunday morning, to give Kel a bit of a break, Dad walked the kids to church. Huff was a bit sad that Mum was missing, as when we walked past this sign, we didn’t have two adults and two children.

We had brought some snacks: a dinner roll each. Huff decided to use hers as a mobile phone, and called Mum on it a couple of times. Once we reached these ducks, though, all bets were off. The phones quickly became duck food, which was about as good as life gets for the kids.

Despite not having much sleep, they walked all the way to church (a couple of kilometres) and then ran around for 20 minutes before church started!

It’s a good stage of life. Hope you have a good Christmas!

We’re almost at the end of the school year. Puff won an award at the school assembly, so we planned to go out for celebratory gelato (I asked him to spell “celebratory gelato” – he hesitated, but managed it). The kids actually picked a yoghurt shop over a gelato shop, and they ate everything we’d picked for them.

Dad may have helped Huff a little with her yoghurt.

There has been a fair bit of Christmas shopping this week. Huff paused to watch iView on the complementary iPad.

On Saturday, we went to watch the new Paddington movie. The kids found it a bit scary in places, but mostly enjoyed it.

Huff borrowed Grandragon’s glasses to see how they’d look.

With the end of year, all Puff’s schoolwork is coming home with him. Dad had a flick through, and found this picture in the midst of a story about umbrellas. It’s great to be a Dad sometimes.

It’s been another big week. We’re heading into Christmas party season, and the kids are starting to enjoy the trappings that go with that. We had our church Christmas event over the weekend, where we had a dinner open to anyone in the community who wanted to come along.

This will be the first Christmas that Huff understands what’s happening. She’s enjoying the Christmas traditions (like paper hats), and understands that it’s something to do with the baby Jesus.

Offered without comment: a picture of Bandit going for a ride in Puff’s car seat.

The kids went out with us to breakfast at a cafe that’s becoming an increasingly regular part of our weekend.

After breakfast, we went to the Christmas party for Dad’s new work. The kids were really well behaved, and enjoyed some time in the outdoors. Check out this giant picnic blanket!

Sunday was church, and after that, we took the kids out for slurpees (it was a hot day) and then lunch. Puff is mostly looking happy here because he had a chance to play screens.

Huff, on the other hand, is looking happy because she can. Or perhaps the toast. But mostly because she can look happy.

Oh, and today was presentation day at school. Puff won an award for his violin playing at school. As good an occasion as any for a selfie.

Just over two more weeks until Christmas!

Heading ever closer to the first Christmas that Huff is going to remember. This week saw a lot of photos taken in preparation for a cake for one of Mum’s uncles, some of which ended up being beautiful portraits of the kids. here’s what Puff looks like now:

Huff had some big days this week: one afternoon she was asleep in the car, and then came inside and went back to sleep on the couch!

When she wasn’t asleep, she was helping Puff with some important colouring in (better than screens as an in-cafe distraction).

We took both kids into a shoe shop for a size upgrade. Puff wasn’t sure about the shoes we picked for him: he’s more interested in the light-up variety, but Mum and Dad were concerned that such light-up shoes would not be deemed school uniform for sports days.

After a late night on Sunday, Mum was happy for a sleep-in. Dad took the kids out for a walk to a local cafe. Huff and Puff like the cafe because it has a wall-mounted TV. Can you tell from Huff’s line of sight?

Later in the day, we visited a friend with a new baby (and saw cousin E as well). Huff enjoyed playing with the bigger (and smaller) kids, but her favourite thing was something that created some peace and quiet.

Come December 1, Puff was allowed to help set up the Christmas tree, which he did with great fervour, enthusiasm, and a step-stool to help him reach the top branches. Huff helped too, but was harder to photograph. Dad was busy cleaning up messes from one of the other household visitors, so didn’t get a usable photo of the two of them decorating the tree. Next year!

Huff has been in increasingly good moods posing for the camera. Here she is with a leaf.

Some extra father/daughter and father/son+daughter time this week. Dad is starting to understand what each of them are looking for when spending time with them one-on-one.

For Puff, it’s a listening ear when he talks about his ideas for future (or current) ideas for video games or other ways of solving the world’s problems. For Huff, it’s catching as many trains as possible, ideally the ones where the seats can be reversed. Such seats are *amazing* – and she’s happy to tell anyone she encounters that little gem of information.

Wednesday, Mum took Huff to connect – she was a mix of good behaviour and more challenging behaviour. Here’s the calm before the storm.

We also took her for her pre-school orientation: she made seven artworks (4 paintings and 3 collages) in an hour and a half. We’re going to need bigger walls (or more strict curation processes).

A few screen-related treats this week, including the kids playing different games on the Wii: it seemed to be a war of attrition, each choosing a longer game than the other. Puff’s 41-minute bike riding effort seemed to be the high water mark, but there’s still time for that record to be broken!

On Saturday morning, Dad was doing sermon prep, and then in the afternoon we took the kids out for lunch. Huff slept through the whole thing, so it was a great chance to listen to Puff tell us his take on the world.

The next day, after Dad’s sermon was preached, we visited friends who were in Sydney for the weekend, and had Yum Cha. Our kids are big fans of the desserts at least!

While Mum took our friends for a drive, Dad offered to take the kids home via public transport. We had a great adventure, looking at the Christmas decorations that already adorn the QVB. And catching *three* trains on the way home, due as much to trackwork as to an attempt to create childhood memories.

Monday Huff and Mum had new haircuts. Huff’s is slightly easier to tie up than it was… is there any other criteria for a toddler’s hair style?

Today Dad had the rare chance to spend the day doing all the kid stuff. The school run, then a trip into the city to – well, to catch a train – drop off some paperwork, then go through the botanic gardens, past the opera house, to grab a coffee, and then two trains home. We stopped for a couple of photos.

Huff did an incredible amount of running. She runs with such utter conviction and happiness. It’s hard to imagine something more completely happy than the way Huff runs on the grass in the botanic gardens.

Huff is getting taller, Puff is getting taller.. the tiny children we used to have are slowly being replaced by these little people. Huff is showing more interest in reading letters and numbers, in her environment. As we walked through the gardens, she was asking me to read statue plaques and bench seat dedication signs to her. It’s great to watch her mind develop.

We’re still in search of the perfect lunchtime distraction for Huff when Mum and Dad try and have lunch together: we could be onto a winner with the noodles. Huff was a big fan.

Dad had the chance to spend some extra time just with Huff this week. The two of them went into the city on Friday for coffee mornings; Huff was really well behaved (pretty keen on spotting jacaranda trees on the train) and had enough energy to manage all the walking involved in the day’s adventure.

Saturday morning was a chance to have breakfast with a friend. The kids had fun jumping around on the footpath outside the cafe, and then relished some coveted screen time while we caught up.

Swimming continues to progress: both kids are moving forward in leaps and bounds. Huff was reclining here after taking one of these chairs and climbing up onto the trampoline while she waited for her brother to finish his lesson. She managed to get on and off the trampoline by herself, a first.

It wasn’t all time with Huff (though it was mostly photos of her). Puff and Dad went for a slurp walk after church on Sunday, and caught up on the week’s events, plus Dad has had a chance to do the school run a few times.

Taking photos is getting to be a distraction on both sides of the camera: it makes the kids think about playing screens, and can distract the adults too.