We spent Christmas in Perth and a strong bond was built between Luke, Alex and cousin Lucy (18 months old). Lucy was a little wary of the boisterous boys but by the end was fascinated by them. Alex in particular ‘fell in love’ and would toddle over to Lucy to hug and kiss her. It was gorgeous to see.
Having two weeks with the kids really opened our eyes up to how they’re continuing to develop. Luke is very articulate and chatty, I should also say bossy… He chats away about all kinds of things that interest them. Grandpa Bill was on the receiving end of much of this as they wandered around Fremantle stopping for coffees and riding the Cat buses. G and I see it now as he’s really happy to get on the phone and have a chat.
We don’t want to jinx ourselves but Luke’s horrendous early waking seems to be resolved. This morning he woke at 5:40am (not good I know), had some milk and went back to sleep in our bed until 7am. As you can imagine this is making a huge difference to our lives. Alex has also settled down a lot with his sleeping and last night slept through for the fourth time ever. I’m planning for a lot more of this.
Alex is displaying many similarities to Luke although their personalities are quite different. He loves to be outside and makes a break for any open door. He likes to try to push his pram around and like most toddlers prefers to be naked.
The downside to Alex as 2009 gets going is the screech he’s developed to communicate he wants
something or is unhappy with the decision been made on his behalf. He’s getting frustrated with his lack of communication skills and screeching gets his message across. He has started saying “Mum Mum” which was also Luke’s first word. He’s also got very affectionate and when I get home from work insists on hugs, kisses and generally attaches himself to me for a good 10 mins.Luke embraced Christmas although he didn’t quite get what it was all about. He decided that our time in Perth was all about presents every couple of days. His chain saw was a favourite. He has a cute way of saying that it was “Merry Christmas” and then he was having a “Happy Birthday”. He thinks
birthdays are about cakes and loves blowing out candles. So much so that he took full charge of Alex’s birthday celebrations.Our plane trips went quite well especially on the way to Perth. Both stretched a few boundaries but they are kids and coped with the flight really well. Luke has decided that planes are great because you get an ice-cream after lunch or dinner. The
way back was considerably more challenging… The result of being away with lots of excitement, later nights than usual, more treats etc meant they were both acting up and not responding to our firm requests.Luke has taken up golf and looks like he could be Inez’s new golf partner.
1 comment:
This is bad - I love the blog and have taken too long to give my side of Xmas.
We rented a place in the heart of Fremantle and just next door to John, Dalys & Lucy so we were in constant contact and Karen stayed sometimes. It was just great with Pat & I having the downstairs bedroom and the Dussuyers all upstairs.
Xmas dinner was in the courtyard so we did not have to worry about kids in restaurants (other kids, not ours).
Life was easy and the weather fine.
Birthdays were events with them just being two days apart Luke is getting the concept of birthdays as he has an active social life in Melbourne. As a three year old he is a "big boy' but with a small boy's wants sometimes, and getting to be a conversationalist. He will have to learn that Lincon freed the slaves.
Alex thinks that a birthday is similtaneous eating chocolate cake and face painting. Despite my grumpy look in the photo we did get on very well and he is very different to Luke - who he adores. I later had a reason to look grumpy when Alex ripped his fingers down my nose.
I bought Luke a rod and reel and we went fishing at a nearby jetty and he quickly caught a blowfish using Xmas ham as bait. He threw it back. On New Years Eve we all went to a park in the afternoon and this time he caught a good sized herring on polony (the cheapest sausage)and was the first person on the jetty to catch a fish. He threwt back. If times get tough he can put food on the table.
All in all it was wonderful seeing the three kids together and pretty little ladylike Lucy with those rough and tumble boys.
I love and am proud of my children and the icing on the cake are these three (soon to be four) little darlings.
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