Joels first day at school

Here is Max!

Well at long  last the day came and Max makes his entrance in fast and furious fashion.

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Summer 2010

I will try to update this post over summer as things happen.

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12/12/2010: Today Joel counted up to 212. While I thought that is pretty good for a 4 year old, I am fairly certain that he could have at least have gone on to 213. 212 it was though – He had had enough!

Some more quotes:

Joel on being scared:

Joel: Daddy – I am scared of dragons

Mark: Don’t worry Joel, dragons aren’t real

Joel: Yes but real ones are.

More on being scared:

Joel: Daddy – I am scared of dinosaurs

Mark: Don’t worry Joel, they have all been dead for 60 million years

Joel: I want them 90 million years.

Other:

“Never touch a brown spiky ball with two eyes because out might be an echidna.”

Out and about – Spring 2010

17/2/2010 Few things delight Chase more than playing in the little water fountains down at the corso in Manly.

21/10/2009 This is just an old favourite photo of Chase when he was little.

11/4/2010 Joel was playing the aeroplane game with his plum. I love spending time with the boys on Sunday mornings.

1/7/2010 Chase loves going on bush walks too, He goes in the MacPac.

27/9/2010 Morning tea down by the wharf.

  1/7/2010 Has anybody seen half a toddler anywhere?

27/9/2010 Joel enjoyed the day at the zoo, He won a DVD for best animal noise. Here he is demonstrating his famous tiger noise that startles so many unaware people. When they asked “Who wants to win a Hi-5 DVD, Joel said “I want a chocolate DVD”.

27/9/2010 I wonder what Joel is thinking?

Some favourite quotes:

Joel’s current name:

“Silly Spike Tyrannosaurus rex Joel Tiger Bear Chick Hicks Ramone Lightning McQueen Brachiosaurus Velociraptor”

Joel on bees:

“If I get stung by a bee, I will get a lobster and bite him back”

Joel on the Cretaceous-tertiary extinction event:

“The tyrannosaurus-rex ate all of the other dinosaurs and then a big rock fell from the sky and hit him”

Joel on Daddy:

“I love you Daddy… and I love the Wiggles”

Joel on the 2010 NRL Grand final:

“The Dragons beat the Turkeys because Dragons are bigger”

Chase’s first birthday

How quick did that year go! Chase has turned 1 today and we had a great day together.

It started with some play in his new bus ball pit which we exhaustively blew up the night before and filled with 125 balls. Joel came in shortly after and really made it great fun.

After brekkie we decided to go with our wet weather plan and go down to Manly Ocean world. Chase loved it there and really enjoyed looking at some fish and crawling around the interesting floors and steps.

After a bit of lunch down by the wharf in the much improved weather we headed home to let the boys recuperate.

When Chase woke up again we gave him another present – his bike seat and helmet, Just like Joel’s one on dad’s bike Chase can come now too. We loaded up and went down to Kiddies corner at Manly beach for some fun playing on the beach and fish and chips for dinner.

Happy Birthday to me

The 21st July is my birthday and there is nothing that Alison or I like doing more than spending it with family.

We set out in the Morning and met with my sister Wendi. Then over to Centennial Park for morning tea. It was perfect weather so the playground was packed, It was a good thing that Joel really just wanted to run! I am sure that we chased every bird across the five football fields.

After that we headed over to Bronte beach for lunch. It was Great. Chase was just happy being with us all having such a nice day, he is so easy going – don’t you just love him. At the end we headed home – all wrecked and enjoyed some Indian take away for dinner. What a day!

Alison’s birthday was 1st July and we did a similar thing. That time we caught the ferry across to the city, took Joel on a train ride – trains are his thing at the moment, had a nice lunch and play in the Botanical Gardens.

That is our birthdays for another year. Joel is next and we are planning a party.

Joel at 2.5

It has been a little while since I have posted some updates on Joel.

He has been coming along really well, Loves Thomas the tank engine and all things “train”

Just lately he has been making us go outside every time a plane flies over and find it in the sky, He even asked my to stop one in the sky.

He is a real chatterbox and loves telling us and anybody else that will listen about all of his little adventures.

Here are some recent photos.

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Chase at 3 months

An update on how Chase is going as we approach his 3 month birthday. Well he is really settling in well, he has slept through the night several times and is generally very happy. Joel loves him and has also definitely agreed to keep his little brother.

Nana and Poppy’s visit

Nana and Poppy were passing through Sydney on their way back from Europe and had time to kill at the airport.

That was enough for Joel and Chase to get moving. We all got up early and headed down there.

Joel was a little shy at first but soon was running around and involving them in important car play. Chase was so quiet asleep that we nearly forgot he was there.

When Chase woke up all happy and talkative both Nana and Poppy had a nurse and lots of talking and smiling.

Joel’s insatiable appetite for more planes kept us busy for most of the way home.

Chase video

Here is a video of Chase at home on his first evening here. He is looking around in amazement at his new surroundings.

I will warn you though, that this might be a bit boring to all but the very close. I will be teching him lots of new tricks very soon and will keep updates here.