Category: week in review

Big week. Mum and Dad celebrated their anniversary this weekend, so we had Aunty C and Uncle J come over to watch Huff and Puff for a couple of meals. Mum also spent a couple of days being sick, so Dad stepped in to look after the kids for a couple of days while Mum rested.

Huff is starting to show us her smile a bit more often.

She still loves swings, but for the first time she said “done” after a while on the swings.

She’s having trouble getting used to sleeping in Puff’s room – usually waking up somewhere between 5am and 6am after a night of otherwise unbroken sleep.

Huff has a much more animated relationship with her favourite soft toys now. One of her toy dos likes to say “oof”, and another says “lick lick”. She’s moved from saying “ba” to “please’ most of the time, and is starting to put two or three word phrases together. She can even say “pop” in the right place for the toaster song (“Toast, toast I like it a lot. Toast, toast, when will it…? Pop”).

With guests staying over, we had a large mattress in the lounge room. The kids have had a great time bouncing on it.

Dad took the kids out to feed the ducks. We’ve been saving bread crusts since the last trip, so we had plenty to feed them. Puff had a great time watching the ducks eat everything, while Huff was more focussed on getting the bread through the fence, and making quacking noises. Dad is pretty sure that Puff was yawning in this photo.

On Sunday, after Dad took the kids to church, we went out again in the afternoon for an adventure. On the way out we stopped for a Slurpee. Somehow the kids managed to work out sharing their slurpee cup back and forth without too much arguing. Puff is good at figuring out what Huff’s objection is to a situation, and making her happy again.

We made it as far as the Penrith Regional Gallery, where there are tables to play with lego. Puff played with little lego, and Huff played with Duplo and we had babycinos. We looked at the exhibition – photos for the teenagers international photographic prize, and the kids seemed to enjoy it. It was a short visit, but Huff spotted some animals, and Puff saw a few photos that he liked too.

One of the fall-back options we have when Mum is sick is for the kids to play games on our phones. It’s encouraging to see them learning how to play together and sort out their differences.

We finally had a chance to break out the digital SLR camera and take a few higher quality pictures of the kids. Puff was in great form, showing off the sense of optimism and wonder he has about the world. 

 Puff has started making up his own jokes. “What do you call it when a cat is near the back door and you play music? Mew-sic!!” and “What kind of app do you need when you’re sleeping? A nap!”

He’s great to have around.

The lead-up to Grandma’s birthday was starting to head back to being a normal week. We still had problems with the kids’ sleeping patterns. After spending just a single night away from home, they’ve been going to bed later, sleeping reasonably well overnight, but also having large naps most days.

Saturday morning we went to a cafe that has legendary babycinos. Huff maintained her sense of control, refusing any help with drinking her babycino, and happily taking tiny spoonfuls.

 

The cafe we were at had a Pacman tabletop game – Huff and Puff were pretty confused by the whole thing: Huff didn’t understand something that wasn’t a touchscreen, and Puff was struggling to make sense of how to control an onscreen character with a joystick (while thinking that his sister was in charge of all the ghosts).

 

Huff discovered an aptitude for climbing stairs (up and down) this week: we’re hoping it helps her with standing and walking, which still hasn’t happened. I know we’ll look back on this thinking of “the good old days before she could walk”, but it’s hard to avoid looking forward to seeing her achieve that milestone.

 Huff and Puff had a great time at a new Woolworths, trying out the modified trolleys that they have – a small one for small children, and a ride-in car for toddlers.

Puff and Huff had a chance to spend some quality time with Aunty C and Uncle J in a playground this week.

For Grandma’s birthday there was a visit to her work, and a chance to do some drawing and earn some stickers.

Dad has read a lot of stories to Puff this week, and – occasionally – had a chance to have the stories read to him.

Big week. A few opportunities to gather photos, especially of puff and huff playing together, which is always heartening to see. Puff in particular has sought Dad out a couple of times just to spend time with him, though Huff is increasingly looking for ways to spend time with Dad.

Here are Huff and Puff sitting together at a cafe, enjoying a meringue. 

Huff has been working hard at improving her climbing, even though she has no interest in walking unaided yet.

It’s amazing to see how her ability to move around has improved – here she is working on a slippery dip by herself!

Dad saw the Big Merino in Goulburn when he was 10, and it was a major landmark for him all those years ago. Huff seemed to be similarly excited about it, recognising it as a sheep by saying “baa!”

With lots of physical activities this week, there has been the occasional nap.

We had a couple of days in Canberra this last weekend to visit friends. We went to a reptile house – apart from the live reptiles (including the amazing pig-nosed turtle), there were large sculptures for the kids to look at (but not touch). Here’s Huff with a lizard.

Here are Puff and Huff with a statue of a crocodile.

Huff loved the lizards.

Saturday night was not a good one for sleep, but the kids were up bright and early, ready to have a buffet breakfast. Puff chose to make himself a bacon sandwich, but both Puff and Huff were keen for post-breakfast cuddles with Mum.

After breakfast (we’d slept in too late to make it to church), we went to the mint. Puff was fascinated with everything he could find to read.

He made a $1 coin (via a vending machine) for $3, which is proudly sitting on his bedroom wall at home (the first thing he did when we made it home was to track down some bluetak so he could put it up on the wall. Here he is posing for a photo (Dad had to hold him up).

When ordering a milkshake in a cafe, when it’s for a kid, you never know what you’ll get. Here we had a giant one, but Huff made good work of it.

With her brother asleep for part of the drive home, Huff had a chance to try some of Mum’s ice cream. It didn’t go entirely to plan (she’s still a messy eater), but she enjoyed it.

Today Puff and Huff had – for the most part – a quiet day at home, but there was time for some dressing up into cooking clothes.

We were out tonight having dinner together: Huff was sharing some of Dad’s pho soup – she was insistent on using the spoon to eat her soup, until she saw her brother drinking with a straw – the straw made a big difference to how fast she could eat.

Mum and Puff had a good time at dinner too.

Our little girl is growing up – here are a couple of pictures that indicate how well she can express her happiness.

She picked out this toy, and seems to have fallen in love with it a little bit.

We’re getting to the point where Puff is ready to do swimming lessons – he was swimming in a friend’s pool, using some pool noodles for buoyancy. He’s still worried about splashing in the water, but he’s happy to move around in the water a little.

Puff was really keen to help with cooking opportunities. Here he is helping make some more Milky Way cars.

Saturday was a big day. Up early, Dad took them out for a toast picnic – there’s a place near our house where you can feed ducks and other birds. We managed to have breakfast, feed the birds, and even fit in a trip to the library.

At Blaxland Riverside Park this week, Puff managed to climb all the way to the top of this structure by himself – if you look carefully, you can see him at the top floor, on the right. This is a big improvement from a couple of months back, where Dad was lifting him up the various steps.

Huff managed to spend some time getting cuddles with Aunty C.

We went out to dinner as a family. The kids were well behaved, but very animated.

Huff wanted to eat this rice, but not until she had “plated” all of it, moving it from the bowl to the large plate.

Puff and Huff visited Dad’s work a few times this week. One of the highlights for him is drinking at this bubbler – he asks to stop each time we walk past it, and he’s almost tall enough to use it comfortably.

We’re still trying to work out the balance between activity and napping: most of this week’s napping was in the car. Here they both are in sync.

It’s been another big week. Thursday night after Dad finished college we all went out for dinner (sushi train) and yoghurt). Huff wasn’t totally convinced about the sushi train – she liked watching the food go past, but didn’t quite find much to eat (though edamame beans were a definite winner).

Huff had a great time at the yoghurt place, as you can tell.

On the way back to the car, there were piggy back rides. Huff had her first piggy back ride with Dad (which was a bit stressful for Dad).

Puff had a great time getting a piggy back with Mum. He has a better sense of what’s involved in hanging on, which make it an easier task.

Saturday was another big day. Dad and Puff went on an epic 6.5km walk, and Puff managed to get through the whole thing without complaining (we stopped mid-way through for a babycino and some food to help keep his energy levels up).

After a lunchtime birthday party (where they were still quite manic), we headed to Cronulla for a picnic-style dinner watching part of the sunset. It was a bit chilly, but good to give the kids one last chance for a run-around.

The kids are continuing to get along, quite well much of the time. Here they are getting ready for their bedtime stories. Puff increasingly reads his own stories, but Dad still gets a chance to read the occasional story. Huff is liking being read to, and tends to show a preference as to which story is chosen.

Huff has moments of when she wants Mum, and when she wants Dad. Unusually on Monday night she wanted Dad to cuddle her for a long stretch – about 5 minutes without trying to wriggle away.

Today Mum took Huff and Puff down to Wollongong for lunch with her Aunt and Uncle – they were a bit poorly behaved, but still had moments of getting along.

Catching up on last week, a few pictures from the Queensland trip. Lots of babycinos.

Four generations in the one photo.

Eating all the ham out of Grandragon’s croissant. In one go.

Playing with photos of Mum, from a similar age.

And good behaviour on the flight in the way back.

One unfortunate side effect of the trip is that Huff now pulls a particular face when asked to smile for the camera – it’s not always recognisable as a traditional smile. Perhaps teaching her “teeth and eyes” might be better.

As a reward for some successes in behaviour this past week, Puff earned himself a ‘Bottomley Potts’ dog. If you look carefully, you can see Huff carrying a sheep in a similar way.

The latest music we’ve been listening to is from a kids’ artist named “Lah Lah“. Dad was at work during the concert, but Mum, Huff and Puff had a great time (even if they were quite tired from the week’s exertions).

Afterwards, Puff met the Cat in the Hat in a food court – the world looks different during school holidays!

We tried out some bath goo. It was a very fun product that changes bath water into a jelly-like goo, and then back again.

Taking advantage of a gap in Mum’s busy day, Dad managed to spend his lunch break drinking coffee with the kids.

Puff continues to be interested in reading. One of his bedtime rituals (if Dad is working back late) is to read books on the couch. Here he is enjoying “Oh, the places you’ll go”.

Mum was out playing Bingo, and Huff woke up. Here she is watching a little bit of TV while she wears herself out ready to go back to bed.

Today was a trip to Blaxland Riverside Park – Puff and Huff played together on the big tyre swing.

Another big week. Mum and Huff have been in the Gold Coast since Sunday morning to stay with the Grandragon – the Great Grandragon had to have an operation this week, and it’s been a chance to get the extended family together.

Dad has been sick, there’s been a long weekend, so extra family time has been in abundance. Nonetheless, the kids have watched a bit of TV.

We made a trip to a cafe: thought I’d take this chance to note that Puff is completely comfortable with grown-up sized furniture, even if it’s a struggle (from time to time) to have him sit properly on chairs.

Due to a little disagreement about sharing, Huff had her own macaroon and didn’t have to share. There have been a few mentions by Puff of being glad not to have to share with his sister: another new challenge to take care of in the coming weeks.

While the car was being serviced, Mum took Huff and Puff out on Friday for a trip into the Baby and Toddler Show. 

On Saturday morning, we had Huff’s car seat turned back around. She was super excited to be able to look through the windscreen instead of out the back of the car, though it’s taken some getting used to so far.

At the airport she seemed happy enough (Dad was pretty sad to see her go).

Dad and Puff made a quick detour for breakfast, and then went to church. A post-church Slurpee made sure that Puff was all smiles for his visit to Grandma and Doc’s house. 

Public holiday Monday saw Dad, Aunty S and Puff make a trip to the Jenolan Caves. On the way, we stopped at Leura. These animal statues captured Puff’s attention.

Dad was a bit worried that the darkness of the caves would give Puff some concerns, but he loved it. He was a great encourager to us (and anyone in earshot) as we walked down to Caves House (“this way, keep going, you’re doing a great job”).

We showed him the brochure, and he picked the Lucas Cave. An hour and a half, and 910 steps. Here he is at one spot in the cave:

Puff might have a career ahead of him as a tour guide at the caves. How did he put this together so fast? He has a knack for delivering something he has just heard as if it was something he’s always known.

Amazingly, even after 910 steps, he was full of energy and enthusiasm – it was a great day out. On the way home, we stopped in Katoomba for pizza: the place lets kids make a little sculpture out of pizza dough, and then bakes it in the oven: best way I’ve ever seen to keep a small child distracted while the meal is prepared.

Looking forward to Mum and Huff coming home again.

Everyone is at various levels of illness, but we still had a pretty busy week. The kids are back into having naps, as well as sleeping about 12 hours a night (sometimes interrupted, sometimes not). Another trip to Costco had the kids spotting a few different toys. Here’s one that stayed in the shop.

While she has a cold, Huff is much more inclined to sitting still with her Dad (the Slurpee probably didn’t hurt).

At a friend’s birthday party, Huff and Puff had a great time playing on the trampoline together. We’re seeing them spend more time playing together in general (though they do disagree pretty regularly).

Also at the party, they spent some time playing together on the swings.

Sunday morning Dad took Puff and Huff out for breakfast so that Mum could sleep in a little later. Puff had half a croissant, and Huff wolfed down a babycino and a marshmallow, and then seemed to lose interest in other food.

Huff was pretty happy about being at church. In Dad’s opinion, she has a great smile.

On Sunday, after church we went for a drive, and then for a picnic in the park. The kids were asleep at first, but before long, Dad, Huff and Puff were sitting on the picnic blanket while Mum sat in the car handing down all the food.

On Monday, Dad had the day of work. We went to a new cafe that had a toy shop attached. Puff loved the wombats, insisting that he and Dad both had to sit on them.

Puff is making it through the night dry; something just clicked for him, and he seems to have it all figured out.

Huff is still not walking, but she’s pulling herself up more confidently.

It’s been one of these weeks. Puff has been sick with tonsillitis – it’s given him a stomach ache and a bit of a temperature, but no sore throat, which means he’s still talking at the same pace as ever.

We’ve tried to give him some sun to help him get past it (along with antibiotics), and Huff has been along for the ride. Here she is at the beach, digging in the sand with a shell.

She’s still drifting towards walking. This morning she managed to go from standing to propping herself up on this orange toy, then sliding it along the floor as she walked, before transferring her weight to the high chair. This was all her way of explaining that she wanted to go back into her high chair for second breakfast!

A trip to Blaxland Riverside Park, this time with another friend. They wandered around a lot of the equipment at the park, and had a great time on the swings.

Grandragon sent Puff a new hat – he’s a big fan, and has even worked out how to tie it by himself!

Huff has worked out how to climb up onto the chair next to the easel, and will happily sit there and draw with a crayon. Here’s a moment in time (of course she was more chatty moments before the camera was on). 

Back to normal weeks again now: no birthday celebrations. Mum took Puff and Huff out for a big day of adventures in the stroller and on the train.

There was a stop at their favourite lolly shop to buy a large lolly shop each. These lasted a long time: they’re still going!

Huff and Puff had a great time playing at the water park. Puff was talking to some of the other kids, and Huff is a big fan of splashing. 

It was endangered species day, so there were lots of animals available for petting. Here’s Puff with a turtle.

Puff is still loving his toy laptop. One morning he was dancing to some of the songs it could play. Huff (slightly out of frame) was dancing too, in her own way.

Saturday morning we were pretty busy – there was a wedding, voting, a trip to Costco, and a trip to the park. Puff and Dad managed to fit in a babycino, although Puff was busy reading his magazine.

At the park, Puff and Dad did some climbing to reach a suspended chair.

Puff spent a lot of time running around the Olympic cauldron. By the time he was dressed for running around in the water, it had stopped falling down, so he just splashed around in the puddles.

Sunday involved a trip to Cronulla. Mum and Puff had a great time waiting for the waves to splash them while the tide came in.

Huff had her first ice cream cone. She has a rather unorthodox method of eating it.

Huff is finally looking promising as a toddler. She’s gone from not trusting the block trolley at all to being able to push it along while standing.