puff and huff

We made the most of the tail-end of the Sydney festival. Kel took the kids to see the inflatable Stonehenge (called Sacrilege) – they had a great time, and queued very patiently).

After a long time of being fairly protective of the path from the car to the front door, we’re at a point where both kids can climb out of the car – Puff can even unlock the door if the mood takes him. Huff is very careful climbing out of the car (and up and down the steps), but they make the most of this little space.

For our second trip to the inflatable Stonehenge, Dad was able to come too. Here’s Puff trying out the airy floss that was on offer.

Here’s a family photo. The kids were okay about sitting still for a photo, but you could tell they were keen to get back to bouncing around madly like everyone else on the structure.

Saturday morning Dad and Puff went out for a walk so Puff could get used to his new school shoes. He was a bit surprised that his feet were sweating: something for him to get used to, sadly.

After that, we had friends over to our place, so we had lots of fun playing with all the kids who visited. There was much playing Wii, and Puff had to learn how to share his toys.

Sunday we went to church, then went to a friend’s house for Australia Day (we didn’t really take photos while we were there). It was a late finish, so the kids were pretty tired.

Monday we did some cooking at home, and then Huff slept on Dad’s chest for about an hour.

Next week, we’ll be celebrating the start of Puff’s schooling. It may be time (finally) to password protect the blog.

It’s been a slow week for photo-taking, but we managed to take a few. The kids had a chance to play a little violin for the first time. 

Huff took to it like a duck to water.

Puff was a bit more self-confident, but needed to work a little harder to figure it out.

We spent Saturday afternoon having lunch at a friends house: the kids spent much of the weekend playing with screens.

It’s been a week of trying to give them a lot of access to screens, in the hope that they end up better able to regulate their own use of the screens. So far we haven’t seen much success with it – we’re seeing the downsides of their behaviour with too much access to screens, without much of the benefit. Behold: dinner with screens – a late finish, and the kids too hyped up to go to sleep readily.

That’s about it for the week. It was good to be back at church again after a couple of weeks travelling, and the kids enjoyed having some time running around. After church, we went out to lunch with friends and watched the kids run around for a long while. Puff has also been getting back into playing some games on the Wii – he was keen to show off some exercises he’s learned from Wii Fit.

Big week. Late nights, travel, friends, lots of good things, but tired kids.

A few highlights. Huff and Puff coming to visit Dad at work. Huff was so excited she could barely keep still on the waiting chairs.

Puff, on the other hand, had the chance to try out a kid-sized recliner – it looks like he’s not going to be kid size much longer!

After his Christmas-present-related eye mishap, we took Puff back for a follow-up visit with the optometrist. All clear. He wasn’t even particularly worried about the effects of additional light coming into his eyes. A trooper.

In what seems to be a family trend, Huff had some problems with her sunglasses. It didn’t seem to bother her, though. She was still grinning away.

Friday night Dad cooked dinner for the kids (their choice of menu) so Mum could go out for a while.

Saturday night we went to the Hunter Valley Gardens to see the lights again.

Grandragon met us there too. The kids enjoyed having an additional adult around. In fact, her appearance may have been their favourite part of the surprise trip.

Huff was very cute in the sculpture garden. The child sculptures are almost exactly her size, so she was trying to dance with them and cuddle them as best she could. Puff was copying her, getting in on her act.

The child-size sculptures weren’t the only ones present. Puff had to climb up a wall to get this picture sitting next to Humpty.

Puff was very excited to see penguin light sculptures.

Huff was excited too, but mostly to be allowed to stay up as late as she did

Back at home again and the week has started up: the kids are still getting some screen time in the holidays. They’re currently both obsessing over the Toca Labs game: a mix of animated characters and the periodic table.

One of Huff’s latest tendencies is to go to sleep on Mum’s lap: hopefully we can find a way to migrate that into a longer night sleep, or longer afternoon sleep.

See you next eek: the countdown to school grows ever shorter.

Happy New Year! This is a big year for Puff – he starts school, which will mean a lot of changes for both Huff and Puff as they adjust to life apart.

On New Year’s Day, we managed to fit in gelato for lunch, a visit to Grandma and Doc, and a visit to see some friends from overseas as well! Due to a miscalculation, the kids filled up on gelato and weren’t interested in a more sensible lunch.

On Thursday, it was time for Dad to go back to work. We called in at a cafe on the way in.

The kids played in (well, near) the fountain.

Huff was a bit out of her depth playing the board game Tsuro with Puff, but gave it a go.

Puff was a bit fixated on an iPad puzzle game called “The Room”. Lots of his stories this week were about the game, and he was playing it as often as he could.

After a swim (sadly no photos) on Saturday afternoon, we ended up at a friend’s house where Huff had the chance to play with a wig. We couldn’t help but laugh at how she looked, but she was thrilled with it.

.]

Back to a cafe again, Puff was in fine form sampling babycinos, but a bit restless.

Huff was tired enough to fall asleep in Mum’s arms. Twice in one week.

Last of all was dinner with an old friend. Huff and Puff had a good time playing with their toys, but the light sabre was her favourite.

See you next week!

Christmas and New Year’s Eve – a big week, but also one characterised by relaxing. We had some new dressing up clothes. Grandragon made costumes for both Huff and Puff. After reading a lot of “Where’s Wally”, Puff asked if he could have a “Woof” costume. When he opened the costume, he said “Oh! It’s my Woof costume!”. They then wore them all day, and some of the next day.

Aunty C made a lovely costume for Huff: she liked it enough to be coaxed out of the Woof costume, at least for a while, before returning to the Woof costume.

It seemed like a good time to get the “proper” camera out for a quick session – Huff was happy to be photographed.

Puff was a bit harder to photograph – it was an exciting day.

We also called in to our neighbour as part of our Christmas tradition – the kids were somehow able to choose fruit rather than all the other treats that were on offer.

Huff slept through Christmas lunch at Grandma and Doc’s house, so Dad spent some time down at the kids table with Puff.

Huff has now reached the age where she was really excited to open presents. Here she is with a new tea party set, unable to hide the delight. When you experience the day, you miss the smiles, but looking back on the photos, it’s clear that they were both having a great time.

Boxing day morning Dad helped Puff make his Meccano set. He was getting the hang of it throughout the process, needing less and less help.

Dad also took the kids out for babycinos (well, small hot chocolates, which Huff expertly drank with a spoon), to play Tantrix.

We also went for a walk – 5kms – together to get Slurpees. Huff yet again only wanted half of hers, so we’ve moved her on to other drinks when we go out as a family.

Huff was given a giraffe costume, which she insisted on wearing immediately.

Later in the week we were back to church. We let Puff play with the tantrix tiles so he could stay quiet, but he still managed to listen to the sermon.

We also had a long overdue visit with Uncle M and Aunt ML, and we went for a walk to the park.

One Christmas present that was noteworthy was a sunflower for each of Puff and Huff. Their interest in watering it has already waned, but for the first couple of times, they were happy to look after them.

Monday we went into the city to go to the Australian Museum. We let the kids play in this fountain on the way, but it didn’t go completely smoothly and we had to get them out in a hurry.

Dad isn’t usually one for selfies, but this seemed a good way to capture how engaged the kids were with the trip to the museum. We only went to the normal dinosaur exhibition after Huff was a bit stressed when a fire engine drove past, so we opted to avoid the other, fancier exhibition. 

We spend New Year’s Eve visiting some old friends, and some family, mostly playing this game that was a gift from Uncle A – Tsuro.

So that’s it for 2013. See you next year!

More screen time than we might have hoped this week. We’re realising that Puff is far more expert at the screens that little Huff, and trying to find some screen games for her. Thus far she’s a big fan of Toca Tea Party, and Toca Kitchen Monsters.

Puff and Huff came into Dad’s work for a visit this week, and to drop off some Christmas baking. Puff (after asking permission) made up some maths problems to solve on the whiteboard wall.

Later in the week was a dentist trip for Mum, Huff and Puff. Puff is now using toothpaste when he brushes his teeth, and is the proud owner of an “adult” toothbrush.

Huff enjoyed her time at the dentist, and now has a (sigh) pink toothbrush.

Friday night we visited Uncle M and O for dinner. The kids liked being on the balcony and looking at the view, though there was some confusion about whether thunder could be seen, and lightning heard.

Dad and Puff went for long overdue haircuts on Saturday.

They were less happy at a cafe, after arguing about who should be allowed to play pick-up-sticks, and who should play dominoes.

Eventually (at a different cafe) the smiles returned.

There was even some time to pose for photos.

We also managed to find time to catch up with A&D, and Puff had the chance to play a much stronger opponent at chess. He took the defeat well, and we look forward to a rematch in a year or so. Huff also showed off her prowess in saying “Yellow” rather than “Lellow”.

Family Christmas Eve celebration this year was watching the new Octonauts Christmas Special with the kids, then dinner and a relatively early night. The kids are excited to see what will happen on Christmas Day, but you’ll have to wait until next week to find out! 

Another week: we draw closer to Christmas, and with it a sense of busyness for each day. At the same time, the normal structural events of the week are drawing to a close. We’ve had the last music class, we’re closing in on the last swimming lesson, and we’ve even had the last preschool day, and the last preschool event.

Dad decided that it was time Puff had a go at programming a computer, or at least a tablet. He’s now been reintroduced to hopscotch, and is starting to enjoy telling a computer how to do things.

The last preschool event was a disco, with picnic, and with face-painting. Puff initially wanted to be a penguin, but was persuaded to be a dog by the poor face-painter, who had to handle the whole of the preschool class in a single shift!

Dad had never been to a disco for preschool aged kids (neither had Huff for that matter). The group organising the disco did a great job involving the kids and making the dances fun. Huff loved the lights, and the music, and – when it wasn’t too crowded – liked running around and dancing.

Puff had a great time – he was trying to learn the different dance steps, though sadly has all the grace on the dance floor of his Dad. 

On Saturday Mum was out, and so Dad had a chance to spend some time with the kids. We went to the park, to the shops, then forgot one of the bags and had to go back (Puff gently teasing Dad for his forgetfulness), then did some cooking together. It was a pleasant afternoon.

Sunday was the end-of-year Sunday school presentations. Huff was very grateful to receive a book about Jonah (after a few repetitions, she was reading “her words” to the story).

Puff was given a book about Moses, and for once he didn’t just sit and read the entire thing as soon as he saw the book.

Huff has been enjoying being able to get out of her bed now that the cot walls are gone – this means that instead of one child getting up first thing in the morning (usually around 6:30am, but sometimes later), we have two kids. It’s great to hear them playing together when they’re getting along. 

One morning, Huff woke up and was showing off the glasses she’d found in a toy box. They have yellow lenses, so she was excited that the whole world was “Lellow”. We spent a bit of time practicing the way to say words – she can say “Yell”, and “Yell Oh”, but won’t say “Yellow”, preferring “Lellow” instead. Still, just having her prepared to have a go is progress!

Back next week – just before Christmas!

Another week gone and we edge ever closer to Christmas. Carols was the theme of the week, though there were quite a few cafe visits crammed in, and we had safety week at swimming lessons, where the kids swim in clothes and with no goggles – many tears were reportedly shed.

Thursday night was Aunty S’ carols service – there was a grown-up-centric reception, but the kids enjoyed snacking, and the first of several consecutive late nights. It was great to see some family members we hadn’t seen in a while. The kids sat impressively quietly through a Catholic carols service (though Huff was a bit sick of Dad picking her up and putting her back down again so many times).

Friday night was more carols, this time at Woonona. The kids had a great time listening to Uncle J on the drums, and seeing the various musical items.

It was a second late night in a row, but all par for the course this time of year.

Saturday, Dad and Puff were up early to play chess together, then we caught up with some friends and family, visited Spire Markets, and then headed across town for our own church carols. There was free face painting – Puff wanted to be an angry bird.

Dad was singing in the carols service, and the kids were in an item – this might be the first time we were all on stage together!

Then Sunday was church in the morning – Dad and Puff walked to church together and met up with the remainder of the tired family. In the afternoon the kids went shopping with Mum and the Grandragon, finding a star for the Christmas tree. Huff handed it to Puff, and he was lifted up by Dad to be able to reach the top of the tree!

Another week gone! Back to the normal pace of life, with the return of work and all the usual commitments. At the end of the year, we have a lot more little events to go to. In an attempt to slow down, we stayed home on Saturday, and Dad showed the kids Despicable Me 2. As it turned out, it was still a bit too scary for them, so we might give that a while longer.

Puff had his end of preschool concert this week: the kids were very cute, all sitting together singing a range of preschooler songs. Given how many kids there are at preschool, this didn’t seem like a good thing to upload to the internet, so instead, here is a picture of Huff playing with trucks at the preschool.

It was a bit encouraging to see that Huff doesn’t always pick the gender-specific toys, though she was using female pronouns for all the drivers. It still surprises me (growing up with mostly brothers) that Huff’s default gender for a toy is female. She even referred to her hungry caterpillar pillow pet as “she” – I’d never been conscious of the caterpillar having a gender, but I’d assumed that the caterpillar was male.

After the concert, the kids were given bags that they had decorated, and inside the bags were new picture books they hadn’t seen before. Puff was the only one who sat and read his book, even after the kids were allowed to get up and have afternoon tea.

After preschool we went out for gelato. Here’s Dad trying to photobomb Puff. We were just excited that he chose pineapple flavour instead of his traditional mango.

One of Puff’s preschool friends had a birthday, and so they had someone do face painting at the preschool – Puff wanted to be (predictably) a penguin.

Huff was a bit tired today. She’s been a bit grumpy and overtired for a couple of days, and she’s catching up on sleep.

We decorated the tree together. Huff was very excited that we have a tree – she doesn’t remember having one the previous year, so it’s all new and exciting. They did very well working together on the tree decoration.

The other recurring theme this week has been a viral video – what does the fox say – has been on high rotation. The kids have been a little obsessed with it, wanting to listen to it again and again, and Puff has been trying to learn the words, even the crazy onomatopaeic ones. 

We’re trying to find the balance between too much screen time and keeping the kids distracted at opportune times, and wanting to share with them something of the world of media that we’ve enjoyed.

Back from holidays! Dad had three weeks off, a big road trip and now back to work. We were trying to stay offline a bit more, so we’re just blogging the whole trip in one post.

Dad finished work in time to make it for the final assembly at the end of Puff’s kindergarten orientation. It’s hard to believe that his whole pre-school life is almost over – where did the time go?!

From there, it was time to pack the car, and try the kids out in the car, in preparation for the road trip.

We stopped off at Woonona, then headed to Canberra for the first leg of our journey. Huff slept in a bunk bed.

We had fun in Canberra, catching up with friends, and hiring a pedal car to ride around lake Burley Griffin.

There was an amazing park nearby, made of rocks. Huff and Puff both enjoyed it in their own way.

Huff never quite managed to get the hang of her travel pillow.

Puff managed a little better.

After Canberra, we stayed in Albury for a night, calling in for dinner at a friend’s house.

We stayed in a motel, with the kids in adjacent single bunks.

From Albury, we played at an amazing playground, then drove a little way on to Milawa where we stopped for lunch – cheese and small goods. The kids were loving another chance to run around before the drive to Melbourne.

In Melbourne, we had a quiet dinner where we were staying, then on the Tuesday we went to the Melbourne Museum. There was lots for the kids to play with, and they had a great time from the moment they arrived. 

This research library was a favourite with its magnifying gear and sample bugs to look at.

The kids section of the museum is great: really hands-on, but with lots to learn.

We managed to fit in Huff and Puff’s first tram ride.

Dad and Puff went out for an early morning exploration of cafes. Lots of coffee and lots of babycinos were consumed.

We bought a travel chess set, and Dad taught Puff how to play chess.

 He’s good, and keeps getting better.

The next morning, Huff and Puff both went out with Dad exploring cafes.

Dad also took them on a tram in peak hour, by himself. It was a little tricky, but we all made it where we were trying to go.

Next stop was Phillip Island. The night we visited, 1,230 penguins made the journey from the ocean to the shore.

Photography isn’t allowed outside where the penguins are, but when they came back inside, they were very keen to look at the gift shop. Huff was hugging all the toy penguins she could find!

Puff was a little less obsessed with the toys, but really enjoyed the penguins.

They even sat down to watch the introductory video *after* the penguins had come in.

Huff was madly exploring the space, and enjoying her free popcorn (we were among the last to leave – great parenting we know).

The next morning after everyone had some sleep, we went out to write some postcards about our trip so far.

We saw the pelicans being fed at San Remo (just off Phillip Island).

We went to the chocolate factory on Phillip island and learned how chocolate is made.

We had a family photo together.

We went to a koala sanctuary. Dad didn’t actually explain about drop-bears to them.

Another highlight was Churchill Island – a working, historical farm open to tourists. It’s definitely on the re-visit list.

There was still a bit of time for sitting at home. The kids watched some television, especially in the mornings.

Our last day Puff took his chess-playing skills outdoors.

We went to Amaze and things, looked at a lot of optical illusions, and finished off with the epic wooden maze.

It took a lot of effort to get through the maze. Not sure if Huff understood why we were celebrating, but Dad and Puff certainly were.

The kids didn’t fully understand why they were standing on a rock looking worried, but this seemed a good way to capture the optical illusions we’d experienced.

Puff spotted another chess-playing table in the restaurant afterwards, so we played one last game.

We stopped at the information centre on our way off Phillip Island to get a few more postcards, and give the kids one last stretch before the 4-hour drive to Lakes Entrance. Huff and Puff were making a mess with their “sherbay straws”.

After a quiet wedding anniversary dinner (with the kids) in Lakes Entrance, we slept, and then went to the Buchan Caves with the kids. They enjoyed it, but it was hard to photograph them in the low light.

It was fun walking around the national park a little bit in the gaps between the rain.

The next day we drove to Merimbula – we stopped off in Eden at the whaling museum first, and learned a little more about whales.

In Merimbula, Dad took the kids out for breakfast so that Mum could sleep in.

Huff seemed to enjoy it more than Puff.

The kids both enjoyed some frolicking on the beach – this was the very edge of Dad’s comfort zone supervising them.

Puff’s highlight of the time in Merimbula was playing mini-golf.

Yes, there was a certain amount of watching ABC-2 in pyjamas in the mornings while we were on holidays.

We managed a day-trip to Tathra and Bega. Here are the kids relaxing on some deck chairs. The Bega cheese factory was fun to visit briefly, but without the factory tour, it’s not quite the same.

We also visited Poteroo Palace, a zoo / animal sanctuary that we really enjoyed. We all had the chance to pat an echidna and a koala, and even a snake!

The kids were completely unafraid of the snake, by the way.

Merimbula also has a great little aquarium. Lots of the creatures there have been rescued from the wild, and are returned to the wild. Worth the price of admission – make sure you go during the feeding time, and get the full tour.

Leaving Merimbula we stopped at Central Tilba to walk around, see another cheese place, and even shop for some candy. This was the strangest couch we saw all holidays.

After that, we had one night in Batemans Bay, and then headed back to Sydney. Huff in particular had had enough of sleeping in random places, and we felt it was time to return her to her usual bed.

This let Puff get back to preschool, and so Mum, Dad and Huff went to some Sydney cafes.

Wednesday, we had the chance to try out a cafe that served drinking coconuts. Puff tried at first, but couldn’t finish the coconut.

So Huff stepped up to try as well.

We then went to our surprise outing for the kids – the Peppa Pig show at the Sydney Opera House. Huff loved it.

Puff was more contemplative, but was singing and dancing away by the end of the show.

The kids still had plenty of energy afterwards to run around on the purple carpet.

Puff made Dad breakfast in bed one morning, for no apparent reason.

Thursday we went to the Aquatic centre, and then out for a late dinner. The kids were pretty tired, but trooped through.

Friday was swimming lessons day. We were a bit early, so Puff had a bounce on the nearby trampoline.

He was asleep that afternoon, so Dad had a quick lunch with Huff.

Then on Saturday, Grandragon taught Puff (and Huff) how to use a cherry pipper. They were keen to use it, and to eat the cherries.

Sunday night we showed them Mary Poppins. Huff loved it, then lost concentration, then loved it again (and was singing “let’s go fly a kite” to herself the next day). Puff was a fan too: it was hard to keep him a reasonable distance from the TV set!

Tuesday night, with Dad back at work again, Mum had a short course to go to and so Dad took the kids out for dinner. They had a good time together, but it wasn’t quite the same unhurried pace as the holiday.

Overall, Dad is really glad for all the little memories and chances to spend time together that the holiday afforded.

See you next week!