It's Raining Again

It's been a busy few months, the weeks zoom by and it's nearly Christmas. Here is a little catch up. Our dear friends Megan, Adam, Sophie and Lucy visited from Tassie in August. It was so great to see them and to see how much their little girls had grown. Ryan and Soph have been best friends since they were little babies, and it still amazes me how they adore each other even though we live so far apart. We hadn't seen Lucy since she was about two weeks old, and they had never met Liam so there was lots of cuddling and catching up to do (that was Meegs and I). It was so great to hear all the Tassie news and to hear how everyone was doing back there. We had so much fun and a lot of laughs, Ryan was so heartbroken when they left it made me so sad!! We will just have to go over for a visit soon!!

We went to a Justine Clarke (Aussie actress and children's entertainer) concert in October, Liam's first concert! It was great, I think I enjoyed it just as much as the boys. We also went to the Wiggles last weekend in Melbourne. A big day out catching the train down but the boys loved it too. Thought Ryan may be a bit sick of it now but he still enjoyed it, I figure they grow up so fast so you gotta make the most of these events before they don't want to go anymore.
Speaking of concerts....tonight Bon Jovi are playing in Melbourne and I can't believe I couldn't get tickets...lucky for me, I have a wonderful brother-in-law who has a friend that has invited my sister Leah and I to a red carpet, one off private concert in Sydney next Wednesday!!!!! Yep, Leah and I are getting all glammed up to strut down the red carpet with the celebrities and then we will be rocking all night to Bon Jovi..we can't believe it and are very nervous and excited at the same time. We just hope we don't end up on youtube for the wrong reasons!! My dear friend Jo has flown in from the US and will be in Sydney too on Thursday so we are catching up, very excited. Apparently Oprah is in Australia too, anyone else heard that? lol. You know I love Oprah, saw her twice in Chicago with Leah, it was fabulous, so if I happen to run into her I will ask how Illinois is since I left!!

Other news, dare I say it, the drought is over!!! After 10 years of drought it hasn't stopped raining for months. Huge lakes and reservoirs that were bone dry in June are now overflowing, it's simply amazing, haven't seen this much rain since I was in Tassie and haven't heard this much thunder since I was in Peoria!!! Poor farmers though, first time in years they would have had great crops, now they are ruined by flood, and Locust plagues are descending on us. Rotten things are munching away at my front garden, which ironically now they should be lifting water restrictions and I still won't have any plants!!!

One

My baby boy is one. Seems like yesterday I had this tiny little baby in my arms and now he is walking around and learning something new everyday. Liam has grown up so fast, I think he is so flat out keeping up with Ryan that he just amazes me how quickly he picks things up.

We had a quiet day at home on his birthday, Ryan helped me make a birthday cake and Liam loved it. We had a little party on the Saturday and it was a lovely afternoon, the boys had so much fun playing with their cousins, Liam loved all the attention.

Winter Fun

Well Lou has just had school holidays again, and seeing as it's the middle of winter we thought we would head north for a few days as it's usually a couple of degrees warmer...wrong.. That week a big cold front arrived across the state and it was freezing in our little cabin. We did manage to have a look around, and Ryan loved the playground outside our front door, but as we all had colds we came home a few days early. So many winter bugs going around it's hard to avoid them. I've had this cough for about eight weeks and have ended up with a cracked rib, can't tell you how painful it is, and how annoying it is, can't do anything and it's driving me crazy. So I have made a big list of things I want to get done when I feel better, including getting fit!! Can't eat Tim Tams (and the rest) and not do any exercise if you want to keep the kilo's off..

Four..

It's been a busy few weeks of birthdays, so much in fact Ryan asks "who's birthday today Mum". Lots of little friends birthdays, my sister turned forty, my little niece turned one and finally it was Ryan's turn! Four.....gosh that time has flown by. We had a couple of friends around on Saturday for a BBQ and birthday cake, then it was Mothers Day on Sunday so we had another cake at mums with the family, then more cake on the big day, then more birthday fun at kinder...it's like the birthday fiesta.

The Great Escape

My Mum and I always talk about the day when I was in my teens and she was driving me somewhere, and there sitting in the middle of the road was a baby!! This was a really busy intersection and Mum stopped the car and I jumped out and picked the baby up. I went to the nearest house and a man came to the door. It was his child, the baby must have crawled out the front door. I explained where she was sitting, and he just smiled, thanked me and went inside.....I was gobsmacked! You wouldn't believe it, a few days later the same thing happened again, Mum and I were driving along and in the middle of the road (a major road) was a toddler. Again I went to the nearest house and same thing, parent took the child and thanked me.....We just couldn't believe their reactions, and often talk about it.

A few weeks ago I was busy doing kinder paperwork, and keeping an eye on Liam as Ryan played happily outside. Then it went quiet...hhhmmm I thought. Sang out to Ryan, no answer, went outside couldn't see him, came back inside checked his room, went outside again and noticed the gate was unlocked and open...my heart sank. I raced out the front, 5pm on a Friday night and we live on a very busy road, could not see him and I didn't know where to start. There was a van parked halfway off the road with the doors wide open. It seemed like forever but I looked up and there he was riding his trike, helmet and all, down the footpath with two men and about 10 kids. I raced up to him, and I just didn't know what to say. The man told me he was riding his trike up the middle of the road with cars banked up behind him, and that he had called the police!! I still couldn't speak. It turned out it was his van parked out the front, he was picking up the kids from the school across the road and saw Ryan heading out our gate. I just took Ryan home..

Now I know why those people years ago didn't react or say anything, they must have been in shock like me and were thinking about "what could have happened". Needless to say the gates are padlocked now. And needless to say I didn't tell Mum.....

Summer News..

My New Years resolution went by the way side, as they do. I was going to blog every week...who was I kidding. These little boys keep me so busy there are just not enough hours in the day sometimes. Anyway...I'll start where my last blog left off.

We had a lovely Christmas. I took the boys out on Christmas Eve as Lou was "preparing the yard" so Santa could fit a trampoline in. Ryan was so excited it ended up being a late night. I wake up bright and early Christmas morning, so excited to see the look on Ryan's face and enjoy Liam's first Christmas. I laid there waiting, waiting, waiting....but no Ryan. He was so exhausted from the night before (it was stinking hot that day) we had to drag him out of bed!!! Eventually he sparked up and the fun began but I will know better this year!

We caught up with Naomi, Jim, Tom and Angus after Boxing Day, the four little boys had so much fun playing together, Liam thought he would practise his surfing.. We went to a Thomas The Tank day, the boys LOVED it, Ryan still talks about it.

Over the rest of summer we went to the pool lots and did day trips to the Zoo etc.

Lou went back to work and Ryan started kinder and with everything else(swimming, playgroup, daycare etc) that's where the weeks go. Now we are into Autumn and still having nice 30c days. Easter is nearly here and Lou will be on school holidays again!!! What a life.

Ryan loves going out on the bike with Lou, sits on the back saying faster, faster. He has just grown up so much lately, they seem to change alot as they get closer to four. Liam is nearly nine months and there is no stopping him. Crawls flat out, walks around furniture and ready to take off. I think he is going to be a climber as he's doing a good job already. They are so adorable, love them to bits.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Well Santa is loading up his sleigh ready to embark on his world tour and the boys couldn't be more excited. My cousin gave Ryan a Thomas the Tank Christmas book last night and he decided that 1am would be a great time to get up and read it and play with his trains...I think we will keep Christmas eve low key to ensure we all get a good nights sleep!! He is still hyper this morning and was about to go and wake Liam up to play...

With 2010 fast approaching I thought I would reflect on 2009.

January was an exciting time for us as we could finally share the news we were expecting baby number two. It would also be our last summer living near the beach.

February was a very emotional month, the decision for Lou to take the CAT redundancy and for us to up and move states didn't come easy. The absolute best part about moving to the US and Tassie were the friends we made, and although we are all very busy with our own hectic lives it's great to keep in touch every now and then, and to think of each other with fond memories.

March was another emotional month (hey, I was pregnant) Lou's mum was diagnosed with bowel cancer and has recovered well, and we were living in limbo waiting for our house to be vacant.

April arrived, we FINALLY moved in and Lou started a new job...big changes. He also started the never ending job of house renovations.

In May we celebrated Ryan's 3rd birthday, where has that time gone. We continued to unpack boxes.

June was the highlight of the year, baby Liam arrived safe and sound and is growing up so fast, 6 months old next week and crawling already. He is an active, happy little boy.

July, August, September all a bit of a blur...Having fun with our gorgeous boys and getting over winter bugs.

October and November. Lou is working on the front fence and the weather has gone from wet and cold to heatwaves, poor Sophie dog is malting one minute, freezing the next.

December is here and I have finished all my shopping. Need to wrap a couple of things and then get organised as we are going to my sisters on Christmas day, then down to visit Naomi, Jim and the boys.

It has been a wonderful year catching up with friends, looking forward to doing it all again next year. I hope you all have a fabulous chrissy and new year. To my UK and US friends, I hope the snow and BA strike don't throw your travel plans into chaos...