moon - star

2009-09-28T16:28:00.005+10:00

August

Swimming lessons. Finally we have had no ear or throat infections for a while so last term Jasper did swimming lessons after a break of nearly two years, and this term Sequoia was old enough to do proper lessons (rather than mother and baby games in the pool). Jasper has done really well going from three bubbles on his back down now to one. And with a little more practice he may be swimming freely without support! Sequoia is loviong swimming and on Thursdays at 8.30 in the morning she races to the car in her little outfit ready to go. If she could swim all day she would!! She is going to love the pool days up at the council swim centre this summer! They do their classes together and Jasper is such a lovely big brother helping his sister and reminding her of what the teacher says - especially as she finds it really hard to hear in the pool.

It has been a strange winter. We have had crazy weather with days of summer temperatures which then plunge back to winter so we can have a week where there will be temps of 30 degrees celcius followed by days of 6 degrees Celsius (86 to 42 degrees Fahrenheit) Quite scary, and they are predicting a high fire danger this summer. But on these lovely days we have had some beautiful walks. Here is a pick of jasper and Zoran in a cafe eating icecream mid-winter after we walked to Manly and back a beautiful walk along the shore of sydney harbour through bushland and past little beaches.

Here is Sequoia enjoying life up front in the window seats, you can see Jasper and Zoran behind her...

This month we went to see the dinasaur exhibit at the natural history museum. They had a fantastic activity running where the kids learnt all about how fossils are made and how dinosaurs are found and then they were able to dress up in dinosaur hunting outfits and go measuring all of the dinosaurs...

Waiting for the train into town (about a 50 minute train ride).

Watching the educator giving her talk.

Watching the little movie about dinosaurs and hot mud and how bones may be left.

Jasper looking for an allosaurus (I think???)
Jasper and Sequoia working together to measure the length of the leg.

Sequoia measuring a beautiful feathered dinosaur.

And before leaving the museum a quick ride on a stuffed dingo...

Exhausted after a full day!

But full of beans for princess play with the crown she made herself this next morning.

And as a special treat Jasper and I had afternoon tea, just the two of us, after preschool.

Tx

2009-09-26T17:17:00.010+10:00

July

We finally organised Sequoia's christening, to Zoran's mum's releif.

This is Sequoia and Nadia, Nadia became Sequoia's godmother. Nadia is Zoran's cousin who lives in Melbourne. Nadia's family looked after us when we arrived back in Australia after living overseas and welcomed us into their lives with warmth. Nadia travelled up from Melbourne and arrived on the flight just before Jess and Sups' so we had a lovely house full family. Mum travelled down from the mountains a couple of hours later.

Sequoia had a great day full of attention and playmates!! Nadia bought Sequoia's outfit, a beautiful dress and matching shoes and candles in melbourne and Sequoia loved being the dolly dressed up and twirled around! She was so pleased to have this christening she smiles or watched intently throughout the whole hour she was held sung over by the priest.

Nadia's box of things the priest asked for - a change of clothes, cross to wear, towels for the priest and Sequoia.

Early Sunday morning we drove the two hours down to Wollongong arriving at the church just in time! The priest was lovely and the orthodox christening is a beautiful ceremony with candles and prayers and fankincense and of course communion for Sequoia.

Immersed in holy water! she loved this bit!!

Prayers.

Jessi.

All dressed again.

Tasting the wine.

Jasper and his cousin Juliana held the candles and followed the priest about the church as he did his incantations.

Zoran and I held the candles after the children had enough.

Family snap

Watching in the church
After the ceremony we went to a local function centre, there were about 80 people - family and friends. Kids ran about playing and a delicious four course lunch was served. It was great to be able to share food together.

Zoran and I thanking everyone for coming and sending good wishes to family far away who couldn't make it.

The cake, which Sequoia was so happy to be in charge of cutting. We decided to make it ourselves as I love doing the icing and Zoran made it the night before as he is a fantastic pastry chef (except this time - only half the eggs went in - but it ended up delicious, just like a rich ganache!!)

After lunch some Macedonian dancing.

This song led by Nadia, Sequoia's godmother, and Jessi next to her.

Sequoia felt like she was a ballerina and spent the entire time in the centre of the dancefloor on her tiptoes!

And then back to daily life - the kids playing on the deck, and the rainbow lorrikeets coming for apple pieces...

2009-07-01T12:28:00.001+10:00

June 09
Last day of term and Sequoia's little class of 2 and 3 year olds took to the stage to shake their pompoms and point their toes!

Jasper has been sick this week so he didn't get to his class - next term we will have pics of dancing boy as well! Nothing like two year olds trying to dance on tiptoes gracefully!!
Tx

2009-06-27T19:57:00.009+10:00

June 09

Winter and rain - loads of rain - and I cant believe that Sydney is still building a desalination plant...so frustrating, what a silly wasteful way to acquire fresh water. NSW pollies, yuck!

When the rain stopped last monday the kids and I decided to pretend it was summer and drove down to the beach. We TRIED to keep our clothes on but the temptation was just too much, we TRIED to stay out of the water but it wasn't cold mum "really" come the little voices... so here are some pics from our lovely day before the rain started again, how great.

Just before we left a heron came to fish in the shallows, it was so beautiful!

Sequoia has been ticking off all of her health checks wonderful little trooper, we have been in and out of hospital this last month but it has been good. We saw the cardiologist who confirmed that she is fine, just has a small heart murmur but nothing to worry about and prem issues are all gone, then the Ear, nose and throat specialist who confirmed that although the grommets failed, she has a 1mm hole in her right eardrum so can hear normally through that ear so her speech isn't compromised at all. She will probably have grommets later in the year and maybe her adenoids out, but overall she is ok. Then we saw her opthamologist and we had been primed to fit her with glasses but her eyes have improved so much in the last six months and her vision is much better and she wont need them... wow, lots of good news! So we see Sequoia's paediatrician on Monday and get to impart all this good news...

Chloe turned five with a Harry Potter birthday party. I painted faces and Zoran took the kids around all of the activities Jenny had arranged. It was a lot of fun - but the most fun was getting all dressed up for it!

Winter magic festival in the blue mountains happened last Saturday and we went to spend the day with mum. It was a drizzly and cold day but we had a lovely time.

Playdough and drawing play in Nana's loungeroom.

Fun on the jumping castle.

I am itching to make art work but will have to settle for design work and some photography shoots which I love anyway. I have been doing logos, web design and other bits and pieces. I have also, every now and then started taking pics for me...

We took the kids into town the other week to see the vivid sydney light sculpture show - a bit amateur but great to be wandering the city after dark with the kids.

The kids loved the rainbow wall lights which mixed and shifted forming a rainbow on a wall.

How I miss the city at night! The opera house had Brian Eno's projections on it, and there was a nice little constellation piece on the roof of argyle tunnel.

It made me realise I need to grab the days that the kids have slept well and through the night before, and just find the energy to go and do things that stimulate me, before I go numb!

I am hoping to take the kids to a polish theatre performance in a couple of weeks which should be fun! More later, Tx

2009-05-26T21:39:00.006+10:00

May 09

Birthday month

Zoran and mine and Jaspers. Jasper really wanted a party (wanted to invite all of his lovely mother's group pals, as well as his entire preschool class, and some new friends we've made in music and dance activities) but too much has been happening, burst pipes, house renovations, chaos, Zoran's mum unwell... so I couldn't do one but Anita sweetly created a surprise family birthday celebration in Wollongong on mother's day. They had cake and presents and Jasper's cousins to play with and Jasper was so chuffed! Also, at the last minute, we said that Jasper could have an outing and he chose to go bowling which was another great excuse to have a birthday cake!

Alex and Jorja from music class joined us and also J's friend Chloe. Alex's sister jess who is the same age as Sequoia bowled too - and Sequoia was in the smallest bowling shoes that are available.

Zoran was amazing, taking each child through every shot and making it fun for them all while I mitigated kiddie toilet runs, drink needs, hunger pangs, and entertained while they waited for their turn.

Sequoia thought it was lots of fun - even though she could only just see over the ball stand!! She thought it was her brithday as well - on tuesday may 12, she woke up and said, mummy's birthday yesterday, JJs morrow, today is mine birthday! (Cluey little munchkin)

And cake, which jasper sweetly shared blowing out candles excitement with his sister...

Also here is the missing mosaic pic, and I will post more pics when I get them from Anita and also from Ann with whom we visited a fantastic woolly mammoth exhibition at the museum yesterday.

Txx

2009-05-09T13:20:00.005+10:00

April 2009

This month held western and eastern easter. the picture at the top is brothers, Zoran and Trene, with cousins Juliana, Daniella, Jasper and Sequoia. As zoran is Macedonian and they mark the Gregorian calendar for christian events, Easter was a week after the catholic/anglican easter. We went down to Zoran's mother's home for thursday and good friday, travelling back to Sydney on Saturday as Z had too much work to stay for the easter sunday feast as well. On friday evening we went down to the church with Zoran's brother and his eldest two, Juliana and Daniella. We all lit candles for our loved ones (I think every family member reading this had a candle lit in their honour!!) present and in other realms. The kids all had a candle each which they lit as well. Then we joined the rest of the community for a parade around the streets at 9pm, holding our candles and following the preist as he did his prayers at four corners of the streets, in memory of the marck through jerusalem. it is so nice for the kids to have this connection to their father's culture.

Our suburb reminds me of our drives through the smokey mountains (USA) at the moment. Everything is colourful and there is the first of the woodsmoke in the air. The days are sunny and pretty and nights are cool. Sequoia, as usual isn't sleeping so this last month has been a sleep deprived blur. She learnt to open the bedroom door, so when she stirs in the night she gets up and comes to us, and we lead her back to bed, and again, and again... everyone tells us that if you keep taking them back to bed they will stay there but four weeks and a lot of crying later we let her stay with us after abouot visit number four (usually around 4am by this time) so we can get a bit of sleep.

The kids have had some great home play days. We have made rocket ships out of old plastic bottles and egg cartons and we had a great holiday project of mosaic tiling the kids old play table. We all went to the hardware shop and chose a myriad of coloured tiles. Jasper loved bashing them with a hammer on the concrete steps to shatter them into tiny pieces. Then we made a freestyle pattern, laying them down on tile glue. Even Sequoia had a great time helping and getting herself covered in sticky mess. We grouted with black grout on the last day before school tern started (but ran out of grout so will finish it after our next trip to the hardware shop here is a pic of where we got to...). It was great fun!

It has been two weeks of school holidays, so we have had lots of lovely but messy home days and some great park days. Here is a pic of Jasper running across the sand playground in our local Kuringgai Chase National Park, at an inlet named Bobbin Head. We had a lovely day here with new friends lisa, and her children anna (2yrs) and Louis (1yo), and Sarah with her kids Jo (5yrs) and Evie (2yrs). They played, then scaled rocks and bush paths and we all had a picnic lunch.

But the highlight of the hols was the mad racing around baba Milicas house with the cousins. They played and played and played for nearly three days straight!

A cousonly kiss: Jasper and Daniella...

Cousin cuddle: Sequoia and Juliana...

Jasper thinking up a game to play...

And a daddy hug after a spill...

Txx

2009-04-11T16:36:00.001+10:00

2009-04-05T20:08:00.003+10:00

March 2009

We went for a rain picnic in the rotunda at the park, and then caught the train up the line - one station - and back, and kids thought it was the best day ever - hooray. Cockatoos were covering the trees so everything looked like martha steward christmas trees decorated in large birds neatly arranged through the park. (Photo above I took early morning at Monavale beach)

Sequoia discovered my lipstick - my favorite one which I never get to wear - and enjoyed the creative process of exploration in colour and texture...hmmm

And more rainy days led to pants free box play...sequoia has learnt what fun an older brother can be...

The joys of siblings when the are happy together - and asleep!

We had another round of hospital trips this month. Sequoia's hearing has been sorted out - she no longer has grommets - which is why she cant hear - they grew out only a year too early for some unknown reason. So the little blossom is back on the hospital list and has to wait until September before she gets more and probably her adenoids out too... She did and avocado challenge and seems to be no longer allergic - although they only managed to get a teaspoon into her so I am not sure how definitive it is. But there was no copious vomiting or crazy swelling.

I had some work this month which was fantastic. Two photography shoots for some yoga teachers. One was a dawn shoot on the beach. It felt so good to be behind the camera again! Here are a few images.

Txx

2009-04-05T19:32:00.006+10:00

February 2009

Jessi got married. The kids were flower girl and page boy. Sup looked handsome, Zoran was snap happy and child distracter extraordinaire. The month was the usual busy round of doctors, colds and general stuff. The kids and I got the flu, the ENT specialist has decided to book Jasper in to have his adenoids and tonsils out, hopefully his sleep apnea will improve, but the waiting list is huge so it wont happen until December. Sequoia's hearing is getting worse so we will see what happens next.

Zoran spent a while in Melbourne this month for work, so the kids and I went up for a fun trip to Tanya's in Katoomba. Mum was great as the darlings wake at stupid o'clock in the morning and dont sleep at night either so she played with them in the early mornings so I could *joy* snooze, *joy*. The mountains were lovely, the model railway was a hit, the mist kept me happy, it was so good to be away, again.

Then Zoran came back from Melb and we drove down to mountain to see him and the next day the kids and I left for Melbourne - I feel almost footloose and fancy free - except that I started getting sniffles on the plane to Melb, and the next day was too sick to move - some help I was to Jess and Sup who ended up helping with the kids while I tried not to faint too often - it was horrible, some nasty virus which turned into a stomach bug - I found out later that it was going around Katoomba and loads of people came down with it. At least mum and Jessi and Sup didn't get it, or the kids... So when I could finally move again it was the Wednesday before the wedding and I was a mad whirlwind doing everything I had planned to do the previous 7 for Jess and Sup's wedding preps - and it all worked out fine, although it was very sad to miss the bollywood hens night!. Mum was down too and Zoran arrived a couple of days before the big event.

The wedding was beautiful. The kids were their usual cheeky selves - Jasper discovered a sticky tape spool and was decorating the alter while sequoia managed to pull out the stitches which took her dress up and tripped down the aisle.

But Jess and Sup were great, and mum read her Haiawatha, and Dite read Gibran, and the bridesmaids did their thing, Sup's mum came out from India for it...

Afterwards Jess and Sup had made a picnic which we were all madly preparing the night before and the morning of the wedding, and there was plenty of food and champagne, and Tanya and I visited the flower market first thing friday morning which was a beautiful experience and came away with all the flowers for the weeding which we spent much of the day wiring into the bridal posies with some big bunches for the table.

For the lead up to the wedding Jess kept saying 'why are we doing this, it is crazy, it isn't going to work, it is all too much, why didn't we just do a quiet registry wedding' and then just after the ceremony she was saying 'wasn't it great, I'm so glad we did this, it has been so much fun, it hasn't been to crazy'... so all is good in newlywed land.

The we came home, March 1 (after a quick visit to the art gallery

and a quick pine for all things Melbourne - a lifetime ago).

2009-03-16T20:45:00.010+11:00

January 2009

Babycino is the drink of the moment in our house - frothed milk with a dusting of powdered chocolate... January was a month that ended up being quite busy. Jessi and Supratim are in India getting married in Kolkata and then celebrating in Delhi, we wished we could have been there! Jasper's walking is slowly getting better it now about three weeks after having leg casts for two months, his muscles were still weak, and he limped a lot and I was concerned about the correction but brace wear every night has improved things. We have been spending many afternoon, days and weekends renovating. The front porch is tiled in sandstone slabs laid by zoran and his dad, and grouted by me, with a decorative strip of black river pebbles. Zoran's dad stayed with us for ages helping out to the background noise of macedonian oboe music and macedonian news radio. We have a new front door, and a waterproofed, tiled and fitted bathroom/laundry downstairs. We just have to put up plaster board (drywall) and a bathroom door! We have also stripped out all of the tiles, glue and fittings (thanks to the great help of trene, Zoran's brother) in the old upstairs laundry ready for waterproofing and tiling as this is going to become the main toilet - the old toilet room will become the door to the backyard... Not having a laundry was a pain so the deck looked like this after a visit to the laundromat with TEN loads of washing...

Also, we had renderers in who rendered in a cement mix the huge retaining walls Zoran and his dad built last year to landscape the front of the house and drive, they also covered the surfaces of the interior walls downstairs which were never finished when the house was built. We spent quite some time painting all of this and also staining/varnishing the new front door which is cedar and sanding back the old side door and windows so we could varnish them to match. We still have SOO much to do, but we are getting there, in between kid wrangling, Zoran's work and doctors visit for both kids normal followups and constant colds/infections.

We were still painting on New Years Eve when at 6pm we decided to jump on a train into town to catch the fireworks!! It was so much fun. We sat on the north side of the harbour right under the harbour bridge looking across to the Opera House.
I had raided the dollar shops earlier in the day for glow necklaces and we had a ball with other other million or so Sydneysiders out for the evening. Zoran's dad had never been before and it was so nice to have him with us and the kids.

The kids were missing the cat Pushkin, who passed away from tick poisoning, (we have paralysis ticks in the yard, as well as leeches and snakes, spiders and all the other dangers of Australia!) so Jasper and Sequoia decided they would like a fish, and as we had recently been given an old second hand tank I agreed. We filled the tank and had numerous trip back and forwards to the pet store with water samples and a myriad of drops to correct the water balance until eventually it was perfect for goldfish. Jasper chose a white one with a fed crown and Sequoia chose a bright orange one. Bravely overcoming the urge to shake the bag, Jasper carried the fish home and we put them in their new home.
Both kids were so excited and they watch the fish each day. We have put the tank on mum'd console table right outside their bedroom and jasper feeds them each morning. Jasper called his fish Lillypad and Sequoia called hers Ikthy - which I thought was great as unbeknown to her, ichthyology is the study of fish.

We hadn't been down to Wollongong for a while so we took the opportunity to go down for the day and drove Zoran's dad Vanco, home after he had spent so much time up with us helping out. Jasper loves their cut down broom as it is the perfect height for him - as Milica (zoran's mother, the kid's baba, is quite short many of the things around the house are for her height which Jasper thinks is great!) Sequoia's favorite thing is raising and lowering the hill hoist - free standing clothes line then running through the wet washing, having it tickle her face!

And a pic of Milica, the kids and Zoran's aunty Maca.

We also went to the zoo and met up with Jenny and Craig and their kids, Chloe and Holly.
Jenny and Holly

Chloe, who is Jasper's age.

Sequoia LOVED it and especially loved the aquarium with the seals and fairy penguins. There was this amazing animal moment when Zoran took her to see the chimps and there is a large glass window where you can look into the enclosure. Sequoia stood at the glass and a mother chimp was frolicking with her baby when she laid back at the bottom of the glass and and her baby climbed up onto her shoulder and Sequoia put her hands up against the glass and the baby chimp mirrored her from the other side, The two babies stood palm to palm until they both became absorbed in other things!! Jasper didn't have such a good day. He tripped soon after he arrived and ended up spending the day in the pram. His foot ended up swelling up and we took him up to the children's hospital the next morning (always a Sunday when it is a skeleton staff) and three xrays later found it wasn't broken but the doctor said a bad spain exacerbated by the time in casts and weakness of the legs and feet, so he had a few weeks of pain and limping.
It was now coming up to two months since casts and Jasper still could put no weight on his big toes and we still couldn't get in to see his orthopedic specialist so I decided to book him in with another specialist down in Melbourne and as we found some cheap flights, the kids and I went down for a mini-break. It just so happened that the only day the Dr was free was also the day Jess and Sup flew home from India, so we stayed that night with them and flew back to Sydney the next day - leaving them free to have some quiet time to overcome their jet lag. The kids loved being at Jessi and Sups flat, we all slept in the one bed like a bear and her cubs, and played in the days. It was a real break for me as it was just us, there was no real housework to do apart from tidying up and cooking and no renovating to do!! Here are the kids at Jessi's (Sequoia with her trademark pout!), and one of Jess with Sequoia.

The doctor seemed to think Jasper's feet were oK but that there was still forefoot movement so he may need a tendon transfer at some stage, so now I am busy looking up Physical therapy treatments and other options. We will be seeing our surgeon up here on the first monday in April (after they cancelled and rescheduled our March appointment) so hopefully we will know more then.

Jessica and Supratim's marriage ceremony in India took a number of days. There were purification ceremonies, prayers to the ancestor ceremonies and marriage ceremonies. Here are some photos...

Four weeks until their Australian wedding - and the legal one in the eyes of the law here. The kids and I have planned to go down ten days before to help with preparations as Jessi and Supratim are doing it all themselves - self catering, organising, funding, cleanup and they have no more leave days from their jobs as all of their annual leave was used up traveling to India for five weeks!!

More soon on that!
Tamsinxx

2009-02-05T18:03:00.009+11:00

December 2008
Birthday and Christmas

Jasper making an amazing scissor feather ornament for the tree and Sequoia discovering the joys of glitter glue!

Working together they were adorable!!

in the first week of December they decorated the tree all by themselves!

Sequoia turned two on December 8th. It has been such a big year of watching her grow and change from such a tiny prem to this boisterous two year old. She couldn't hear much for most of the year and didn't speak, but in October had surgery to insert grommets into both ears and driving home from the hospital sang to the radio for the first time EVER! Since grommets she has talked more and more and is now telling us what, where, when and how for everything. It has made such a big difference to her moods and also her general pain threshold and balance, she doesn't fall over or topple the way she did, and she doesn't hold her ears and cry or bang her head on the floor anymore, hooray!

For her birthday we had a family lunch. We were going to have a little party for her little girlfriends but that couldn't happen in the end, but mother's group happened to be at our house that week which was fortunate so we made that into a little celebration.

Pass the parcel in the living room, cake on the deck and Ring'o'rosies in the back garden.

Sequoia in her party dress posted from Aunty Jessi!

Mum and I spent hours decorating cupcakes as her celebration birthday cake.

Family lunch on the deck

Great grandmother Malihe with Sequoia

Great grandma and great uncle with Sequoia

Baba (Zoran's mother) and Sequoia

Jasper had a last day of school singing performance with much wriggling and giggling!

Here is j with his preschool posse!

And Sequoia wanting to be a big kid too!

AND because it is summer mother's group all decided to go camping. It was so much fun, the four of us in our little two man tent. Alan and Daniella brought their canoe which everyone loved and the best bit - we were only twenty minutes by car from home in the local river reserve!

This year I made a gingerbread house as a fundraising night for preschool and the kids had great fun with the hammer breaking it up and eating it!

Christmas. Mum and Jessi and Supratim came to stay. It was a special christmas as two days after christmas Jess and Sup flew to india to get married!!!

2009-02-05T17:45:00.006+11:00

September, October, November 08

Sequoia is loving imaginative play, babies are dressed, walked and "creamed", food is pretend made and pretend eaten and everyone is given a voice.

They both love the computer and the baby and preschool games and sites are a real hit. Jasper does spelling games and lego games, and sequoia navigates playschool.

Halloween.
The kids went trick or treating.

Jasper's costume was great as this Dracula Wizard combo, and as he had plaster casts on his legs, it just added to the costume! So I spent a day sewing capes, painting singlet tops and making skirts and wings. Sequoia went as a moth and we picked up Chloe who was dressed as a witch to go to a Halloween get together and them trick or treating along the street.
They all had such a great time!!

Jasper's feet relapsed in August and he started casts in October, going into hospital once a week for cast changes and foot manipulation. He was great through it all, although it meant there was lots that he couldn't do. The first casts were all the way up to the tops of his thighs and he had a walking frame as movement was hard. The later ones were just to the knees so he could move around much more in them. When they came off in December he had a lot of muscle atrophy so walking was painful, but now, in early Feb he is almost back to normal and we see his surgeon in 6 weeks for a reassessment. it has been a big six months but hopefully he feet will be better behaved for him now! He wears a brace at night for 13 hours and will for the next year.
Water play was attemped with me stickytaping garbage bags over J's legs and his casts fitting into Daddy's plastic garden shoes!

Kelly was great with Jasper and he was so brave, here she is using the fibreglass saw to cut off casts - he was the only boy who laughed while all the other kids screamed!

In November Zoran grew a mustache for the month

The kids out for dinner with Tanya (my mum) and Zoran and I to celebrate Mum's birthday.

Evening play...

And a book with nana,

And finally the weather is getting warmer so we made it to the beach, which I have missed so much.

Hopefully this is just the first of many sandcastles this summer, now that Jasper is out of casts!

2009-02-05T14:38:00.005+11:00

August 08

It has been so long since I have been able to updat this blog, apologies to all our family and friends. Here is an update of the last six months...

Back into winter after being overseas and a visit to feed the ducks with our friends Jenny, chloe and Holly.

Jenny with baby Holly

Jasper and Chloe

Sequoia loves playing with Jenny's dog Rosie.

And life gets back into it's everyday rhythm -
Jasper looking all grown up in a lovely jumper knitted by Susan who, with Peter, showed us around Denmark.

Toothbrushing is the latest rage in our house, Jasper HAD to take a pic of me brushing and I felt likewise as I watched their ebullient brushing!!

And into winter pygamas and some last minute play before bed...

Lunch here at home, with Grandma Salehian, and her children my Aunty and Uncle.

We went down to Shell Cove on the south coast of NSW where Zoran's brother and family live, about 2 hours drive from here. The kids went with their Aunt Anita (ninna Anita) for a walk to the park where the drinking fountain was a highlight...

Keeping busy and trying to stay away from the mall, which is the main place to go out up here in surburban Sydney, the kids and I spent a day exploring in the Kuringgai Wildflower Garden, a reserve on the edge of a huge forest which has pathways focussed around the flora of the local region. Here are the kids walking and a couple of shots of some of the flowers which were bloom.

Sequoia looking up at the tall trees.

Jasper deciding which way next.

Sequoia letting us all know that ants are very tiny and you have to get down low to see them.

And there ends August 08.

2008-07-13T19:35:00.005+10:00

Back in the land down under...

Well, we have been home for three and a half weeks and I can no longer remember that we were away... but the weather isn't too cold or too rainy - about the temperatures we had in the Danish summer! Jasper still misses everyone! As we do too.

We came home with a thump as the kids both got colds the week we got back and Sequoia's turned into an ear infection and two burst eardrums. She sees the ear, nose and throat specialist on July 21st. Funnily, there has been little sleep for anybody. Jasper had his follow up at the children's hospital after doing a sleep study and has mild sleep apnoea, his oxygen levels are great, they didn't drop below 95 percent but he wakes every twenty minutes, so never goes into a deep sleep - no wonder he complains of being tired so much...

The kids running across the park at Pitwater. Sequoia has walked and almost runs everywhere since coming home. She is a shadow to Jasper, shouting out "JJ" whenever he is too far away to see and toddling off after him...

Back with granddad. So much to show him and tell him before having him take them to the park for endless swing rides...
It is getting chillier, some 11 and 10 degree days with jumpers and boots (Jasper is in my big boots here!!)

Ahhh, dollies...
or as Sequoia says 'dolly, dolly, dolly, mine, niiice' in a very broad australian accent. And quite loudly as she has two volumes on and loud or off.

"The wheels of the bus go round and round"... Jasper moved the dining room furniture and proudly showed me his bus, fully kitted out with plastic plate steering wheel, as well as with his very happy passengers.

It has been school holidays and the shopping centre had free circus workshops for kids which was great. Both kids got right into plate spinning. There was also juggling and stick twirling and balancing but the juggling balls were thrown and chased intentionally with our two!

J with a hoolahoop.

Nice hat, when I am not spinning it on a long stick (she really did too).
-----------------
It is now another two weeks on. Sequoia and Jasper have both been to see a wonderful ENT (ear nose and throat) specialist, Jasper is on a nasal spray to try to slightly shrink his adenoids, and so far he has been sleeping a little better, still wakes but way less snoring. Sequoia will have a small surgery to place grommets in her ears when we get a place on the list, about a 90 day wait. It will be great to have her speaking and hearing properly, so I hope this is all she will need. Even though we had felt her hearing has improved a bit, esp after all of the flights we took, and although she has about 15 words now, her hearing is still at the low level it was when she had tests at 4 months, 6 months, 12 months of age. But they do think that the drainage of the ears with the grommets will make a huge difference.

The kids got over their colds but now Sequioa and I had an awful weekend of food poisoning. I dont know what we ate, or whether it was a virus we caught but we have both been vomiting and vomiting. We are over the worst now. Sequoia seems much better than me, I moan around the house with a sticky headache and body that feels like someone has whacked it with sticks and she races around from toy to toy hardly letting anything stop her, If anything she has slept better, only one waking per night, as her body heals itself through sleep.

We have mum's cat while she is in Melbourne for a month visiting Jessi, and seeing if she would like to move back down there. The kids think the cat is is great and she has been very patient with them. She sits just far enough on our bed so that Sequoia can reach her for an almost pat, but cant really do any damage. Sequoia is hilarious, she toddles down the hall, arms outstretched yelling "puzzy, puzzy, puuzy", and upon seeing the cat, finishes with a huge "meeeooooww" (which she learnt in the exact tone and phrasing from puss herself as she travelled down from Katoomba in the cat basket in between the two kids in the back seat of the car, meowing the entire way), the Sequoia's hands move together as far as they can reach across the bed and she then says "tiggle, tiggle, tiggle" as her chubby baby fingers waggle back and forward. The cat looks up, and must think, 'at least she cant climb up here yet'...

Jasper is back at preschool, which he loves and is also playing with his lego every day. He has started making up vehicles and planes and all sorts of interesting contraptions. In the early mornings (he is always the first one up these days) he makes something new then brings it into us to show us the next progression in his building. I bought some fishing tackle boxes last week and we sorted the all of the lego into various sections but colour and size (though Z ended up doing most of it - Jaspers attention span lasted a while but not that long) - and he has been threatened with giving it away if he tips it all out - it has become the first thing he is actually really neat and tidy with.

More later,
Txx

2008-06-26T21:08:00.007+10:00

California Days

Last days in California, we will be sad to go and especially sad to be leaving Jim, Dina, James and Mikayla. It is always so hard to be so many miles from dear friends.

Cabrillo beach, us around the corner from Dina's place.

We spent time on the beach. The kids could run out their energy. We planned to walk, but each visit the kids managed to immerse themselves in the freezing sea, the fist afternoon while fully clothed!. It was lovely to realise that this is the same ocean which licks our shores back home.

Day two at least the kids managed to wait until they had swim gear on...the lure of the ocean can be overwhelming.

Cabrillo Aquarium, a brilliant, hands on educatioal aquarium with clever displays and wonderful exhibits. It was just a short walk from Jim and Dina's place.

And that night we hopped on a plane home. The kids were happy to be back but miss all the family and friends they connected with. We really felt the distance! Sequoia still isn't sleeping a week later but we hope she'll settle soon (or we will have to become nomads). Jasper is back at preschool which he has settled into quickly and life is beetling on - winter days and runny noses already gracing us!

Familiar and new toys allowed to be played with at last...

Txx

2008-06-26T20:08:00.014+10:00

Disneyland and California Adventure

A huge park, where do we start...

We all had so much fun. Jasper's highlight of disneyland was meeting Tigger, Eyore and Pooh. He bounced to tigger and gave him a hUGE high five, and gave Eyeore such a giant cuddle. he didn't want to leave, he could have chatted and chatted with them!!

We had family pics together and sequoia was a bit wary but J couldn't wipe the smile off his face!

We all tried loads of different rides. Jasper drove daddy around in a car...

Dina and James drove by as well!

James and Mikayla are seasoned riders!

J and I had some fun rides.

So did daddy.

Here Sequoia is enjoying the wait for the fantastic Pirates of the Carribean ride, with amazing anamatronics of very lifelike scenes from the movies.

Dina took Jasper and James on the train ride i the v.cool last carriage, they were very impressed!

Jim with Sequoia.

The kids had these great faces on so many rides, here they are fascinated by fairytale lnd where all of the major fairytales have been made into landscapes and you ride on a boat past them, goldilocks, Alice in Wonderland, Gupetto's workshop...

The lion king in the parade. Sequoia waved and clapped spontaneously as each float came by. She thought it was all so amazing, those little neurons were firing fast that day!

Best view of the parade.

Jasper, Mikayla and James in Mickey's house.

We stayed until the kids fell asleep during the fireworks at the end of the day!

After a rest day on Saturday, we spent Sunday at Disneyland's sistr park, just next door, 'California Adventure'.

Jasper was so excited as the Cars from the Cars movie were going to be in the parade. He saw his first puppet/stage show which was a huge hit.
Here he is watching the show.

Characters from Monsters Inc.

And went on a heap of rides.

Sequoia had a great time too and had her fair share of rides - as well as her fair share of napping!

Jim and James on a ride.

The light parade at the end of the day was wonderful and all the kids thought it was fantastic, Sequoia included.

2008-06-17T13:20:00.005+10:00

LA

Back in LA, it feels so familiar. We came over to lovely Jim and Dina's in San Pedro after a crappy flight with United Airlines, they have really become a poor airline.

On our first day the children played and played. Jasper is a year younger than James (5), Sequoia looks up to Mikayla who is 8 and who has been lovely with the kids. We went to the park to play, with views over the harbour and the ocean as well as down across San Pedro.

The park was great, with sand, swings and a wonderful climbing frame with four slides. Jasper and James played and played and played.

Sequoia explored and enjoyed peek-a-boo through the rails.

Dina and James talking through the tube.

Playing velcro catch with Zoran.

Ooh, ohh, where did the ball go?

Not all the way down, hey are there rattle snakes here...the sign says yes...

OK, I am not going down there again...

Dina with little Owen who we took to the park as well, which Sequoia thought was great as they are almost the same age.

Play at home, from the moment we wake, to the second we fall into bed exhausted...

Mikayla's rather fabulous rock collection.

Off to Disneyland next... Txx

2008-06-17T05:48:00.004+10:00

Bath

Superboy discovered leaving a red phone box in Bath...off save the world.

But he's not fussy, modern phone boxes will do as well.

We saw many of the pigs of Bath.

Ride em cowboys and girls...

It was great to see Aly and Mark and the kids. We strolled through Bath and visited a great park. Sequoia was still quite ill and they were so supportive. The kids played together and had fun.

We spent Sunday walking through the countryside, about a three hour walk after a relaxed pub lunch.

Mark at the pub.

Aly and Briony crossing the stream.

Briony being her lovely self.

Olly goofing around before we began our ramble.

We walked through fields, with wildflowers and long meadow grass, past ponies, along an old canal and by a stream. We walked until we were out of all puff, it was beautiful.

Zoran at the end of the day's walk...

Txx

2008-06-17T05:02:00.009+10:00

London.

We stayed in the youth hostel which was great, but unfortunately Sequoia became sick our first day and was miserable for our English leg - although she perked up for many sights.

Day one we walked down to the British museum. Retracing Zoran's steps through the old streets of Camden. Jasper enjoyed the kid's interactive material and tried to take Budda's pose. Sequoia loved the wooden Jungle iconography. n the way back home we stopped off at a park in one of London's squares.

The next day, while Sequoia and I were a bit under the weather, we decided to go down to the Thames and see the Tate, Modern and British. The Kids had a great time and I got to see some great art. They chased each other around the outside of the museum while we all exited due to a fire alarm! A few hours later all of east london was closed down due to the discovery of an old WW2 bomb! Luckily this did not disrupt the tube back to the hostel, and in for another night of nursing Sequoia from dark to light.

Our last day in London we caught up with Polly. Due to road closures the 40 minute bus ride (double decker red bus of course) took almost 2 hours, and just as Polly was about to give up on seeing us Zoran ran into her in the forecourt of the Natural History museum and we went to have a coffee and chat on the grass before going into a fabulous butterfly exhibition. there was a maze to walk through and interact with before entering the heated bufferfly house full of fluttering jewels, giant tailed moths and the heavy humidity that is butterfly habitat.

The kids were very cute pupas, and our resident spiders loved the web, especially our tiniest climber!

All types of butterflies surrounded us, and polly was blessed with a butterfly which landed on her and didn't want to leave her.

That afternoon we took the train to Bath. It was so great to see Polly and a shame we were sick and couldn't see more of her, or see Don this visit.
Txx

2008-06-17T04:21:00.011+10:00

On our last day in Germany we met Amir and Antje and their children Navid and Ava. Navid is a year older than Jasper and Ava is Sequoia's age. Jasper has been constantly asking when he will go to preschool in each country we have visited, so he can play with other children. He was glad to be playing with some kids his own age. It was great to meet more family. Ali and Amir are my father's cousins.

Antje, Amir and Ava in the kitchen.

Navid has a loft bed which the kids have a ball playing on.

Playing with toys in Navid's room.

Later we went to the park. On the way the kids played with everything they could find.

It had this great water pump which funelled the water into a rivulet through sand and the children could dig and play.

Navid at the pump. Jasper in the rock garden. We all played for ages in the warm weather. Each child found something fun to do!

We went to another park with a rather fabulous merry-go-round.

In the afternoon we all sampled Berlin icecream. The shop was crowded, even the pavement was full of icecream gourmets!

More play in the evening after dinner.

The kids all jumped into a busy bath together!

Before flying off to London the next morning...

2008-06-16T17:45:00.007+10:00

Germany and summer weather

After our very early start to Milan we made the flight and travelled on to Berlin and 32 degree days.

Monica made a lovely breakfast of German meats, cheeses and a strawberry flan, after which we ventured into the heart of the city to explore...

The back yard with Monica's flowers. Ali, Dariush and Zoran in the garden with the children enjoying the morning.

Monica creating a strawberry flan.

Under the brandenburg gates.

The jewish memorial which was a great piece of architecture with it's columns and undulating ground levels.

Jasper thought it was great!

Dariush was a lovely 'big brother' to Jasper and J was rapt to be sharing his room. Every morning Jasper would wake and study the fish Dariush keeps in his tropical tank. And he got Dariush to play any chance he could...

At the Sony centre Berlin.

As we have had five years of water restrictions in Sydney, jasper and Sequoia have never seen a sprinkler, so when monika put it on they were quite worried - but that soon changed...

Ali with the children...

On our second day, Moni took us to SansSoucci, the palae of King Frederick 2nd.

The palace was lovely and Jasper was intrigued by a huge hall created out of stones, gems and shells, a giant grotto. he also climbed a working old windmill which was great, with the mill stones and cogs.

The Chinese house in the gardens.

A small folly, which Zoran and Jasper danced upon! it was a wonderful visit, and great to have such hot summer scorchers after the cold ones in Denmark. And also love to see more family.
Txx

2008-06-15T02:32:00.009+10:00

Turin and La Rocca

We packed so many wonderful trips into our stay with Viv - and Zoran got lots of Italian driving practice to prepare for our 4am drive to Milan airport, I think h was the slowest driver on an Italian road.

We drove into Turin to see the film museum. It is located in the icon of Turin, a tower which has an amazing glass elevator - like Charlie's with Wonka - that ascends up through the cavernous dome to a spire on the roof where there is an observation deck. Here is the misty view through the rain.

The film museum was fabulous. Here is Jasper in the camera obscura. There were working models of the history of cinema, sets from major movies, and all sorts of special effects.

Here Jasper, Sequoia and Zoran 'fall' through a long tunnel.

Jasper and Viv watching films in style!

Sequoia also enjoyed herself!

We spent the rest of the day strolling around the city centre. Jasper played in fountains with his gumboots on.

We wandered around the palace and through the main promenades past high end italian fashion.

The next day we hunter/gathered lunch from various shores in Cavour and drove up to La Rocca for a lovely long lunch in the sunshine. We finally saw the mountains.

Zoran and the kids resting in the square after a game of football.

Through the car window.

Up on La Rocca

Jasper and Sequoia took pics of each other.

More La Rocca shots.

Another wonderful day.

2008-05-29T17:17:00.007+10:00

Wednesday and the mountains

This morning the army weatherman informed the population that today would be the driest of the week so we decided to drive up into Villa Nova, a tiny village in the foothills of the alps for a mountain walk. The tops of the mountains were shrouded in cloud as we drove up through the valley to the end of the road. All of the rain has made the mountain streams - here, called torrents (which they were today, thundering down) - full cascades and we followed Val Pellice the river of this valley, up towards it's birthplace.

Granite outcrops dripped with water and spring flowers were plentiful.

We crisscrossed the torrent on sturdy wood bridges and climbed up the stoney path.

We weren't sure if we would avoid the rain and decided to stop for lunch on a patch of grass at the side of the path as the clouds began to descend towards us.

here we are perched on a small clearing above the racing waters for lunch.

As usual Jasper amassed a collection of rocks, but instead of carting them home, he decided that throwing them into the raging waters was a must!

We wandered back down past more beautiful blooms, and the bright green of new leaves.

Viv and I in front of fast moving snow melt water.

Sequoia, exhausted by all there was to see...

We were lucky and instead of rain we had warm drafts of humid air caress us. Our legs aren't used to these steep paths - especially with the extra weight of Sequoia strapped to me and Jasper on Zoran's shoulders so we turned back after an hour and marched back down to Villa Nova, the little village constructed of stone where we began.

Some mountain animals.

Back into the cluster of houses which make up Villa Nova.

We drove home and the children fell asleep in the car after all of that mountain air! Home in time for tea, and tonight we made a toast to Giogio and also to Viv, remembering the day they met.

2008-05-29T07:10:00.013+10:00

Italy

How lovely to be back in Cavour. Viv's place is great and the kids have fun playing in the rooms, watching italian cartoons, and eating plenty of pasta both of their favorite dishes so we have happy children!

The view from the bedroom across a field of wheat.

Even though Sequoia didn't sleep the first couple of nights - and we discovered why yesterday - a new tooth - that makes three new teeth since leaving Sydney, once the tooth cut through she was much better. I think there are a couple more to come, her new ones are two molars and a front bottom tooth but the eye teeth look as if they are on their way as well.

We had a week of very unseasonal sunshine in Denmark - apparently it rains every second day there, and now we have a week of unseasonal rain here in Italy where it hardly ever rains at this time of year! But the weather isn't stopping us from exploring. Our first day we spent at home, playing and getting over the previous day's long hours of travel. So now Viv's house here has been hit by hurricane jasper and cyclone sequoia!

Jasper has made loads of Lego, including a wonderful airplane - his four year old birthday present from Viv. We ate and ate, Viv's great zucchini quiche, fresh mulberry cheese pie, salad and gorgonzola, smoked meats, and local chocolates. Then for dinner we had this wonderful fresh ravioli filled with cabbage and proscuito with a mince sauce.

Day two we walked into Cavour and bought Jasper some great gumboots which he has worn every day, splashing in puddles where ever he finds them.

We shopped for bread at the bakery, cheese, prosciuto, fresh local vegetables - zucchini still with their lovely flowers intact, every body was so lovely, Jasper was given sweets and merangues, and we are all practicing "caio" and "caio caio".

We went up to La Rocca to feed the cats and see the house.

Jasper opening the door with an amazing large old metal key.

Carlotta was pleased to see Viv but not so sure about Sequoia, I think she recognised competition to her feed bowl. The other three cats soon came to eat, all of them suspiciosly eyeing miss sequoia as she watched.

Viv and Sequoia looking across the landscape back into Cavour.

The kids had to try every bad they could find for jumping and rolling checks...

Sequoia discovered Luca's old books...

and Jasper discovered Luca's old guitar...

Viv and Jasper found an old version of Bimgo which we plan to play this week.

In the afternoon, after lunch (delicious again, isn't local food amazing, Sup would love this!), we set off to see Abbazia di Staffarda, staffardo abbey, a beautiful gothic church, monastery (no longer working) and farm still run by the order of the .

We had little handsets with translations to tour the ground which Jasper thoroughly enjoyed!

The church had an amazing gold alter which told stories of Christ and Mary in amazing details. While above and all around the walls were painted with bautiful frescoes.

For Jasper and Sequoia every part was a place to play and explore, they made up games and giggled themselves silly.

We finished off with Cappuccinos and sat out on the cobbled street by pots of Geraniums, just as the rain began, we were under the eaves and it was lovely to hear the bellowing bull and the warm heavy rain.

The long late spring days made us feel like exploring some more and we drove on to Saluzzo, planning to have a stroll if the rain stopped which it did.

The historic centre was set high on the hill with views across the valley - and on a clear day to the alps, which we haven't seen clearly yet - but we live in hope. The cobbled streets and stuccoed buildings were lovely and we saw an old stone church with great frescoes.

"Let's go this way"

Beautiful old roses grew up against the walls of softly coloured houses.

We walked down narrow streets which pitched down the hillside and tramped back up to the cars - great training for our next days walk!

Viv and Sequoia looking over the valley below.

We drove home for a late dinner of pasta pesto, great cheeses and fresh bread, we have also 'degusted' Viv's amazing veal rolled with sage and cheese, and three new types of cured meats, spinkled with olive oil and lemon juice.

2008-05-29T06:40:00.006+10:00

Denmark

We spent our last day in Odense walking along the river into town and looking around the centre. It was a peaceful Friday and here are some people rowing a boat up the river. This part of Odense has been used for boating and picnics for over 300 years.

There was a great park on the way into town, set on an island in the river. The games were all river themed with great big lily pads on springs which you could jump across, a tall slippery dip in a mountain and flying bird rides made from wood.

We set off late and had such a nice stop in the park so the museums were closed by the time we had finished lunch

but it was still good to walk the streets. We came across our third peaceful protest since our arrival. This one was preschool teachers requesting a wage rise.

The Danes love their soft ice - ice creams and our kids were very happy that there was an ice cream shop on every corner as well as vendors all through the parks and at roadsides.

Jasper asked me to document the B&B as he was intrigued that the choice of interiors in most Danish homes is white.

The walls and floors were white, unpainted or whitewashed wood was the main furniture choice and colour was introduced with artworks or rugs.

Here is the street where we were staying - a typical Odense street.

Jasper was really happy our last day here as a trampoline was delivered that morning and the boys (12 year old kids of the owners) who lived upstairs allowed him to help construct it and then have a jump!

We traveled into Copenhagen the next morning. Ely went home to Newcastle, UK and we walked our luggage (the great pile of it) into the baggage room at the main train station so we could walk around the city centre. Copenhagen was lovely and warm, the sun shining and people busy everywhere. We only had a few hours before our flight to Italy so we went to the Danish Natural History Museum. What a fantastic place!

We only got to see half of the ground floor and it was still wonderful. We saw Viking ships and bog people, amazing jewelry that still seems contemporary - gold, silverwork, coloured beads on long strings. Coins, baskets, pots, halters. Also there was a fantastic children's section were each part of the museum was repeated in small rooms where the kids could touch and feel, explore and experience. They tried on 19th century costumes,

Jasper the sailor and Sequoia the ballerina...

played in a viking ship with wooden swords and shields,

cooked over a hearth...Sequoia climbed into the oven, straight out of a Hans Christian Anderson story!

and sorted through a north african market.

We could have spent hours there but had to rush out and high tail it to the airport, a 25 minute train ride from Copenhagen, we hurried through security and raced to the plane, and flew out of Denmark, into Frankfurt, changed planes and down into Turin, Italy at 11pm. We were the last flight, the children were asleep in our arms as we juggled luggage and walked into a ne country and the welcome arms of Viv!

2008-05-23T06:26:00.013+10:00

Legoland

Yesterday Ely and I, Jasper and Sequoia went to Legoland in Billund, Denmark.

(excuse me are those your real socks?)

Jasper was sooo excited he danced along the street.

The first section of the park was miniature worlds all made of lego.

There was also the Singapore airlines 747 we flew to Denmark on!

It took almost two hours to get there, walk, bus, train and coach from the island of Fyn where we are staying in Odense to the mainland Jutland to the city of Billund, via Viyle. Ely had arrived at midnight from England the previous evening so this was her first day in Denmark.

Jasper the excellent driver - in control and ready to roll!

There were rides galore, Jasper drove a car, went on his first rollercoaster and we all went on a lego safari.

Jasper and I on the lego train

Sequoia and I went on the Safari twice. Here is Sequoia with El looking at the giraffes.

Jasper was in the front seat for his first speedy ride!

Which he loved and tried each scarry ride he was big enough for after that. Here he and El are in the spinning teacup ride. I had had too much buffet for lunch so a few of these rides Sequoia and I played to the side.

Sequoia was not to be outdone...

Even Sequoia got right into the mood, she loved the boat ride as she steered past the capitol building, acropolis and a couple of ducks!!

Sequoia map-read so that we could see everything - which we did!

And Jasper enjoyed every second of it!

There was even a room to make some lego and this is Jasper's train.

The park closed at five but we could have stayed a bit more. We then went and grabbed a few souveniers (some lego for the trip home) and decided to find some dinner before catching the coach-train-taxi this time back to Odense

Jasper doning a drawing puzzle on the train before he and his little sister decided table dance!!

past the seaside town of middlefart

arriving back around 10pm - just after dark!

This morning my grotty children had baths and showers!
Here is Miss Sequoia in the kitchen sink.

Her love of shoes is still strong. The other day in Odense she cried when I walked past a shoe shop and didn't stop - I had to go back and let her look at everything!

"OOoh new shoes"

"Now you just put one foot in like..."

"Ta da"

We had a slow day today, it was sunny and mild and we took the kids down to the river, fed the ducks and had lunch at a restaurant by the lake.

This is the forest at the end of our street where the river is.

Jasper playing on the grass

Kids together

Els and Sequoia watching the ducks (after Sequoia ate the bread instead!)

A lovely fat duck (they weren't really that hungry anyway)

Danish meal of meatballs and potatoes, with colouring books!

Very easy and pleasant! The we came back and played in the garden before a dinner of microwaved pasta, danish cheese and salad. There are no cooking applianced except a microwave and we are getting quite creative with our potions!

2008-05-21T04:36:00.008+10:00

Denmark

After more weeks of colds, coughs and general malaise, plus a big birthday for Jasper who is now 4, we suddeny decided to accompany Zoran on his work trip to Denmark and then have a couple of weeks of family holiday. We bought our tickets a week ago, and we left Sydney on Friday afternoon, and flew for 9 hours, Jasper didn't sleep he was so excited about the whole thing, and a bit worried too, but we landed in Singapore airport, the most amazingly huge airport open 24hours, and the kids ran around and played for our three hour wait for the link to Copenhagen. jasper slept well on this leg, but as Sequoia was on our laps - there were not enough basinets, three for the ten babies on board so the youngest ones got priority - she had not a huge amount of sleep and Z and I none for the 15 hours into Denmark. We arrived at 7.30am and decided to spend the day exploring the city to get us into local time, so we walked and walked and walked, also took a boat trip through the canals and took the 4pm train into Odense, (pronounced Ooo-dens-se) 1.5 hours away on the next island - Funen. We all fell into bed at 6.30pm after being awake for over 48 hours straight, but the kids woke with the first birds just before 4am, sun rose not long after! This has continued with early starts due to a mix of Jetlag and our kids being ones which like to stay up with the sun - very exhausting in the northern late spring with 17 hours of daylight. It is really cold here and I am so glad we packed our winter gear. The kids are in fleeces and hats each day.

Me soaking up some sun - note the thick jacket - outside the little apartment we stayed in on Saturday night as our B&B was full until Sunday.

On our first day in Odense we explored a bazaar which was a bit like a big veg market at home, the same sorts of things, including the plastic thongs, nicnaks and cheap plasticware, except the persian stall was amazing, rows and rows of every dried fruit and nut imaginable - from dried mullberies to multicoloured nougat, to fifty nut mixes, seeds of a huge variety, sweetmeats and tiny baked dried biscuits. We also went to a park where we saw very very big pigeons - no wonder they can be a meal in Europe they are huge and really lovely. The grass was long and filled with daisies and dandelions.

Sequoia picking flowers

Monday Zoran went to work and the kids were overtired with their crazy 3.30am start, they had a morning nap and all we managed to do was a three hour roundtrip walk to the supermarket - me pushing Jasper in the pram, a backpack on, Sequoia strapped to my front in the baby sling and two heavy bags of shopping hanging off each handle - if I dont get fit this week I will be very surprised. We got home in time for Sequoia to have a nap, jasper slept the whole morning in the pram so I played with him for a couple of hours before Z got in, it started to rain on the last block as we walked home and continued all afternoon, so we were a bit housebound. Zoran's day went well, although the jetlag has hit him quite badly. The B&B we are staying in has a wonderful garden which the kids are enjoying playing in.

Jasper inside the cubby house

Sequoia looking out the cubby's window

Jasper was very impressed with the two toned yoghurt they have here. Everything is really creamy, milk, cheese, yoghurt, it all tastes so rich. And everything has a strong smell, the meats are all types of smoked, aged or some type of deli style, and in huge array, and the cheeses too are plentiful and pungent. Danes must find our food quite bland!

Today is Tuesday, the kids all have colds. Sequoia has had an allergic reaction which began on the plane in Singapore as a horrible rash on every part of her body bot covered by clothing (we think it was something either on the hot washcloths or in the airconditioning which settled) and it has finally gone down today. As we only have my legs as transport and town is a three km walk away I haven't been able to get her to a doctor, but everything else was fine, just the cold outside air irritated the rash, until today, which was a much milder day, and by the time I walked into town her rash has gone so I didn't have anything to show to the chemist. Hopefully it is gone for good. Sequoia didn't sleep last night due to a stuffy nose so she has had a bit of a grumbly day. I put the kids in a pram lent to us by Marianne who runs the B&B,

Sequoia in the pram, it has big wheels are all the pavements are either loose pebbles, cobblestones or bumpy bricks.

Jasper was too tired to walk so he squashed in behind his sister (she did not like this one bit as you can imagine) and we followed the river through the forest into the city centre - centrum, 3.5km from the B&B.

We walked through own and bought some sketch books, jasper used his crayons to make a love impression by rubbing over a beautifully patterned draincover of a galloping horse. We shared a dill and tuna danish sandwich which was warm and delicious - jasper even ate all the herby filling! and I let the kids climb the statue in the town square.

Sprawled out this reclining nude had two happy children using her as a slide!

Jasper thought a nose squeeze was hilarious!

Sequoia was dwarfed by her foot!

The buldings are all either red-brown brick or rendered and painted in lovely pastel colours. Everybody rides bicycles and there are lots of different baby and kid carriers. Jasper took these photos as we waited at the bus stop to catch the bus back to our B&B. This is a mum with her little boy in the back carrier going past a pretty row of buildings.

Here in the background is a church tower and the bells toll every quarter of an hour, Jasper said he thought someone was getting married which was a lovely thought.

After another big day, Sequoia slept all the way home!

Txx

2008-03-29T19:39:00.004+11:00

Feb/March

All is running along, Jas and Sequoia are busy babies. Here are some pics from the park.

Sleep is still hit and miss but they are getting much better. Jasper spent a night at the children's hospital for a sleep study, we find out the results this week. Sequoia has here next hearing test in a fortnight and we will hopefully find out how much she is hearing. She is almost walking and having a lovely time exploring her world, into everything. Jasper loves his three days at preschool each week.

I will write more soon,
Txx

2008-02-01T15:50:00.005+11:00

January

I haven't mentioned that Sequoia keeps getting sick, we went up to mum's for a long weekend and she was quite ill the entire time, and then was sick again in january, and again in Feb, in December she had an adverse reaction to her immunisations and is going through a similar but not so bad reaction to her next jabs at the moment. Poor love, she hasn't had a full week with out some kind of illness or cold. But she is a trroper and through it all is learning to walk! She pushes a little wagon around the kitchen with lovely wobbly steps, she hasn't taken a free step yet but has stood up without holding on to anything. She is an incredibly adventurous baby and is constantly climbing, tumbling, crawling and cruising furniture. Jasper loves the fact that they can now play together so much more but her added mobility had increased her powers of destruction and poor J has had many a game destroyed by his curious little sister.

For the Australia day weekend towards the end of January the kids and I flew down to stay with jess and Sup. We had such a great time! It was wonderful to be back in Melbourne, it feels like a lifetime ago that I was pregnant with Jasper and we lived in this southern city.

We walked everywhere which was a welcome change from our car dependancy in Sydney. Jasper loved pushing his sister about in the pram.

And she did her best to push him as well!

Jasper cooked with supratim, the made the most delicious chapartis as well as chocolate cupcakes (here)

And Sequoia played with her uncle Supratim.

Much music was enjoyed.

And enjoyed.

We visited and beach with Jess and Sasha, a short stroll from Jessi and Supratims' apartment. We even went for a swim, even though it was windy.

Sand or sea Sequoia is in her element.

By the end of each day, poor aunty jess was EXHAUSTED!!

We had some other lovely trips in Jan, a few days at the beach before the weather got cold again, and we drove up to our friend Craig's parent's place on the NSW central coast for a lovely long day to see a backyard circus performance by family friends who come back home for christmas each year from the UK. J was entranced.

Txx

2007-12-30T15:25:00.000+11:00

Christmas

Jasper's preschool had a lovely christmas get together (with a jumping castle!) and a visit from Santa, both Jasper and Sequoia had a cuddle with the big red man.

We had a lovely family christmas with Jessi Supratim and Tanya all staying here in the house for the week,

plenty of cooking

eating (Zoran made his first ever attempt at traditional Macedonian christmas muznik.

and play - very happy kiddies!

Zoran's new nephew Thonas was christened into the Catholic faith - here is zoran's family (I am taking the pic, Zoran's sister in law Anita is Catholic)

We eventually had a day warm enough for a swim, which our tiny ball of energy loved!

And Sequoia got her first top tooth - a lovely fang - which were balanced out by the other three top teeth on the last day in December and New years day and the day after - pop,pop,pop.

We also finally had our driveway poured ready for Zoran to spend all January weekends and every day after work building retaining walls with his dad and my dad.

We went from this:

To this:

No more gum boots in the cold wet summer weather hooray!!

Txx

2007-12-15T19:57:00.000+11:00

Birthday month

December, christmas and Sequoia's first birthday - what a big month.

Sequoia's birthday was celebratated with a little party of family and mother's group friends. It was so good to reach one year - it has been such a hard year and with so many changes, Sequoia had such a rough beginning that it is so lovely to look at her now and see such a well, thriving baby - who now has teeth, and can crawl!!

Her celebration was a morning tea, and cupcakes - due to her egg allergy she had a piece of soft bread with icing - and was a very happy baby as it was her first taste of sugar!

Jessi came up for the weekend before her birthday and we had a lovely time all playing together.

The kids cousins, twins Christian and Alexander came for the little party had fun playing with Jasper and with Sequoia. (Jasper's old music machine/one man band - his first birthday present all that time ago from mother's group -is still a huge hit with the kids and especially with his little sister.

The next day Juliana and Daniella, Zoran's nieces came up to say happy birthday and have a play, while Trene (Zoran's brother) helped Zoran fit a huge steel support on the front balcony. The all had a ball with dress ups.

We have also been working on the driveway - we hoped to have it done before Sequoia's birthday but we have had a very cold wet summer and the concrete pour was held up 6 weeks due to rain!!

Here is the final earthworks.

We hired a roller mauch to Jasper's delight, which Zoran fearlessly drove up and down (over and over) the driveway cutting to compress the soil - a mix of pockets of sand and clay.

Jasper loved his chance to be up high in the roller which was four times his size!

Txx

2007-11-29T21:28:00.000+11:00

Jessica's visit

So much for writing regularly, it seems I only sit down one evening a month!! Sequoia's sleep has had it's ups and downs this month - probably thanks to three new teeth, so now she has four. So I am still an insomniac and need to do something about it before I implode. And not only teeth, Sequoia has a little more hair - almost a fluff mohawk, she also learnt to crawl 10 days ago, and learnt to pull herself up to a leaning stand the day before yesterday. Three weeks ago she learnt to clap and whenever she hears anyone say the phrase "clever girl" she sits up and gives a round of applause.

Sequoia learnt to clap by banging her sandy hands together while we were at Bronte Beach.

The down side of this (apart from me realising how non-baby-proof our house is since Jasper has grown into a "three AND A HALF, mummy" year old boy) is that she'll sit up or stand up in her cot late at night if she wakes up but cant remember how to get back down, it takes a while to console those midnight tears.

I thought jasper would not enjoy his sister becoming mobile as all of his "stuff" is now at her mercy, but after a few days of him saying "no Sequoia" and grabbing his object of affection that minute; he shifted to looking for high shelves for his bits and pieces, and promptly moving himself to the other side of the room from her when she works her way towards him; to now sitting with her, passing her things and crawling around with her... competition and adaptation at work... Jasper now watches a bit of ABCkids at some ungodly hour of the morning and Sequoia uses him as a climbing frame, while he just tilts his head so he can still see the box. So hopefully as she becomes more proficient at this movement caper, they will start to actually play with each other.

Jasper was excited about Halloween this year and wanted to be a spider, so we bought a couple of meters of felt and some lycra and I designed and sewed a spider, and not to leave Sequoia out, her costume was made by sticking cut out masking tape on to a body suit.

We went trick or treating to our neighbours which was loads of fun and Jasper had a ball trying to scare everyone as a little spider boy, and his goody bag is still going a month later.

I willed Jess up from Melbourne for a weekend and we had a lovely bonding, sisterly time, and the kids adored playing with their aunty.

The highlights were a couple of trips to the sea, nice and warm after Melbourne.

J and J swimming at Newport.

I am yearning to go down to Victoria and stay with Jess and Sup, but the kids still aren't able to fly, they both have fluid in their inner ears and may (hopefully not) need gromets - we see the specialist next week.

Jasper and Sequoia playing together

Sequoia's second sea swim (and me)

Mum is down from the mountains almost once a week which is lovely and Jasper tries to get her to do crafts with him each visit and Sequoia just grins at her and sticks out her arms.

Mum looking glamorous outside the beach shelter

Sequoia inside the shelter

Zoran is an uncle again, Trene and Anita have a new baby Thomas just two weeks ago, a lovely big boy, who slept so peacefully when we visited them south of Wollongong last weekend.

The house is mad. The hot water tank blew up last week and we were without hot water for about 10 days, the kids had bucket baths on the kitchen floor - to their delight! But Zoran has plumbed the new one today (he had a business trip to Melb in the middle of it all, lucky lucky man). The front yard has been a building site for a month,

the digger came and ripped everything up

then we had days and days of rain, so I wear gumboots, juggling babies and groceries from the house to the car as there is no more driveway, but we have a date from the concreter for the new pour - next thursday - but we cant get hold of the excavater to finish the job first!!!! Zoran and dad have build two very impressive walls full of cement at the front of the steep block, keeping the hillside from collapsing down and the drive will be behind the top wall. The neighbours (on our manicured street) drive past and have a good look at the site - surely wondering if we'll ever finish. I still have loads of planting, painting and facia to do but with only short gaps on preschool days which Sequoia is asleep it is going to take A WHILE!!

Jasper is now a robot, and has worn his robot outfit (actually PJs covered in robot cartoons) for over 48hrs - I managed to get some clean clothes on to him this evening. He is also a star jumping super hero so there is plenty of amusement. He has rediscovered his 2yr old enjoyment of household cleaning - he chopped the veg for dinner tonight and mopped the lounge room floorboards the other day. Although his favorite job is mixing cake ingredients (go figure).

I think we may even (shock horror) actually clean the windows this weekend - I reckon he'd love a spray bottle and squeegee, we could clean on the outside and have Sequoia banging at us from the other side of the glass, the house wont know itself.
All our news for now, I think...

Txx

2007-10-28T22:54:00.000+11:00

October

Sequoia is finally sleeping, the third week of October and she is no longer sniffly with a cold, and she slept more than a few hours at a time, each nigh she slept a little longer and now she sleeps from 6pm to 5am with a waking at 9pm and 3am!! It is so good, it has been two weeks now and all that is left is for me to remember how to go to sleep! I have been so used to waking up now I have a bit of insomnia - silly hey! She is such a happy baby now that she sleeps at night. She babbles even more, she tries to crawl (which has worsenned her reflux but increases her mobility and her pleasure), she sorts through her toys and lets me put her down for more than five minutes during the day. She also just got her first tooth on Oct 26! The bottom, front right one, which was very exciting. And she plays peek-a-boo by lifting a sheet over her face then suddenly bringing down and laughing! Very cute!

We are back digging the garden, The lower courtyard has now been cleared of 30 cubic metres of soil!! By Zoran and his dad!!! And we all built steps and it is waiting to be planted out with flowers and hedges. We'll see what survives the kangaroos!!!!! Here are some picks of the space before planting...

Jasper as always helped with every aspect...

More steps.

Here is the new brick wall which will hold up the bedroom. This weekend I spent sewing Jasper a spider costume for Halloween which I will post next week.

Hopefully I will get a chance to write more regularly now that we are all well!
Love to all...

2007-10-28T22:46:00.001+11:00

September

We all became sick again. Sequoia had Bronchiolitis again and was quite unwell, then I got the pnumonia, and Zoran got the flu and so did jasper, so it has been a hard month, although we did get into the garden on a sunny day. The weather shifted from really warm to very cold and back and forth so we took a while to shake off our bouts of flu and colds. Sequoia still wakes hourly through the night so I am quite a wreck, I cant believe she wakes up to start the day at 5am after so little sleep! Jasper still loves preschool. Sequoia is sitting beautifully and has learnt to bang to objects together and is very pleased about her new skill, she is eating solids now, so our kitchen is a hub of pureed food.

Here is Jasper having a story which Sequoia chills out and watches her favorite thing in the world - her brother - before she tries to lunge and grab a satisfying handful of hair!

2007-10-28T22:22:00.000+11:00

August

We all got sick, again, the flu and colds, Sequoia got bronchiolitis which was scary, but she got over it.
Sequoia still doesn't sleep at night but she is growing, not fast, but bit by bit. She sits and is starting to burble and chat which is really sweet.

We had our first holiday in years, we met friends at their lodge for three days in the mountains in Victoria, at Falls Creek. Jasper was so excited to finally see snow. We played and played, Zoran and I didn't ski or board this trip but instead made snowmen and had snow picnics. The kids survived the 7 hour car journey well, they slept through most of it!

sequoia and I rugged up for the cool weather, and the glare of the sun. The snow had melted on the lower part of the hill but up here there was enough for jasper to get very excited about.

Jasper toboggined down the hill getting braver and faster and having a hoot of a time. He had loads of energy but Zoran or I had to push him from behind as he walked up the hill or he just slid back down. So we discovered just how unfit we are!!

"I wonder what it feels like to lie here, hmmm, look up at that sky, it goes on forever..."

As a special treat Jasper learnt to fly!! Well in a sense, Zoran here is on a trampoline and Jasper is strapped in bouncing waaayyyy up high.

Zoran with Sequoia in the lodge after a big day.

2007-08-15T12:43:00.000+10:00

"And who is that fascinating baby over there, I must meet her..."

Sequioa has discovered herself, and everyone else in the mirror, she finds it very amusing to see this other baby to look at who smiles back so readily. If mummy, daddy or, her current idol, Jasper is there as well, gosh, what fun! She is still almost sitting, and now occasionally rolls over when lying down. She had three meals for the first time yesterday, but wouldn't eat anything so far today, you win some, you lose some...

Neither of my angel babies believes in sleep, so I have been dragging my eyelids along the floor today, nursing a cold, and feeling quite sorry for myself. Jasper had two nightmares last night, mainly about toys - misplacing a train and not being able to find it, then the other one was two boys who played with toys Jasper wanted to play with...it is sooo hard to be three, life is full of so many emotional speed humps. (But everything can be solved by donning a pair of underpants on ones head.)

With Sequoia things are much more straight forward - carry me and I am happy, lay me down and I am cross, leave me alone and I am sad, let me at one of my brother's toys and I am delighted (especially if I can dribble on it much to said brothers absolute discust).

We had a beautiful weekend very unlike winter and spent three days picnicing at local beaches. Mum joined us and it was like a mini holiday, but now the rain has set in and the cold has crept back into the walls. I am going to relight the fire in an hour or so.

That said, Jasper doesn't mind the change in the weather in the slightest - it is just an excuse to don a raincoat and boots and play... here he is making the most of some late fall autumn leaves.

For our beach days we went to Manly, Fairlight and DeeWhy, three very different beaches. Manly is a lovely long ocean beach, protected by a slight bay on the north head of Sydney harbour, a ferry ride from the city. Sequoia had her first wriggle of toes in sand and dip in the freezing salty sea. Mum had fun introducing her to the elements.

Manly is also a popular tourist beach, and Jasper, in his naturist best, greeted bus loads of Jaspanese tourists by posing in every group photo taken by the water's edge (I think he felt he owned this bit of beach and that they had come to see him, it was very funny, he got very cross when I suggested he let people take their own pictures and he carry on playing - no, he had to be in these important photographs mummy!)

Fairlight is a lovely harour beach, calm and pretty, with boats sailing past and rocks to play on, Jasper met two little boys and they made sandcastles together for almost three hours. We lay on the sand and even got a bit of colour from the sun, I couldn't really believe that it was winter (I can today though!). Here we are watching the Manly ferry come in to the wharf.

Deewhy was a bit dissappointing, it was loud and busy and much of the sand has washed away from the beach during the storms two weeks ago, it was really strange, not like Sydney at all. People were rude and cross with each other, we were glad it was day three of our excursions not day one! Mum has now gone back up to the mountains, and Jasper is at preschool today. So life is back to normal. But the next sunny day, I am packing up lunch and we are off to the seaside!!!

A couple of weeks ago, the local shops had a kids day, with a baby animal farm which Jasper loved. We made it a mummy and Jasper morning while Sequoia stayed home with daddy. (Sometimes days when it is just about 'you' are just what the doctor ordered.)

We touched snakes, lizards, a crocodile, (it was quite an event, Autralian style) held chicks, cuddled goats, picked up wriggly bunny rabbits and let mice run up and down our arms, their little hearts beating so fast through their rippling bodies. It was really great, but I wouldn't want to be one of the little animals - nothing like over fifty under fives chasing you around an enclosure in order to give you a "special" cuddle.

I fought off four year olds to have a little hold of a two day old chick - on the pretext of passing it to Jasper - but aren't baby animals just so lovely?

Here is an old pick of some extended family - Zoran, Viv out from italy, mum, Behnaz and Tanaz from Persia, family friends Aime with her daughter Jasmine, Jess, and Jasper.

2007-08-13T10:35:00.000+10:00

Hi,
It has been an age since I wrote. Both kids have been sick for weeks and weeks with winter bugs, and Zoran and I have caught most of them too, but we are now all well so here are some pics...

PIZZA

Jasper made his first pizza, spreading tomato.

Adding the vegetables.

Completing the masterpiece.

Eating the spoils...

Jasper playing with cars.

Little chubby pigeon.

Sequoia with her cousin Juliana.

And with Zoran's mum.

Zoran and the babies...

And my turn to play...

Tamxx

2007-06-14T19:52:00.000+10:00

Everybody growing...

As of late, it seems forever between posts, so here is a condensed few weeks...

Jasper is right in the full experience of BEING three. Starting to make jokes, funny faces, dress ups, and all kinds of imaginative play. His silly nose and glasses have been a lot of fun.

He had a group of little friends over for his birthday party, he dressed up as a cat/dog/fireman, and I did face painting for all the kids which was fun.

Everything is to be done by Jasper with NO HELP FROM MUM. This has an upside of our little person doing and trying all sorts of things, and he is getting so dexterous (he loves crafts and making this model racing car from wood was great), but the down side is big tantrums as a result of getting slightly overwhelmed or else of not being able to do something the way he wants it - especially when it is the opposite of the way everyone else wants it. Especially when there is a possible audience - middle of the street, shopping centre...

But the upsides are great! Last night after feeding Sequoia while Jasper was playing with his trains (pictured above with Viv when she was here), I came down with a well fed daughter (pictured here after her evening feed and asleep in daddy's arms)

to discover Jasper very busy in the kitchen, the step ladder had been taken to the pantry and a small bottom was visible behind the door, apparently he was looking for flour, he had already four eggs carefully broken into a bowl, which was then covered in coloured sugar sprinkles - Jasper had decided to make us all a cake!! He had spilt one egg which he had grabbed a dishcloth to wipe it up with (when he discovered how sticky raw egg is he decided to just cover it!), and was wondering what to do next - he poored the egg mix into the flour sifter and was interested to find it runs straight through... so I decided that this great enthusiasm was to be applauded and we carried on, Jasper had to do it all, so I showed him what to get and how to measure each ingredient. He mixed them with his own play whisk, and when the mix was still lumpy, we found the electric egg beater, and making sure fingers were out of the way, Jasper held it on the low-medium setting - he vibrated more than the mix. Then into the oven... and surprise it rose! The next afternoon he iced it with wonderful multicoloured icing originally in separate bowls but "wonderfully" blended on the cake into a psychodellic kaleidescope (discovered the grey when the colours all mix?). And a day later not a crumb left! (It is interesting how many things are being moved to higher and higher shelves in the pantry...)

Tonight Jasper asked where babies came from - and as cooking was so fresh in my mind I used this as an analogy to conception - the poor boy, who knows what he is thinking now... at least I didn't add that when a mummy's belly button pops out you know the baby is 'done'!!!

Sequoia is growing, almost 6 kilos now! She was babbling and babbling but has stopped in the last couple of weeks, not sure why, hmmm. She is almost sitting, her back taking on that beautiful straight baby back posture of a newly sitting infant as she is popped against a pillow or on somebody's lap. Her cheeks are very chubby and when she smiles her face glows, strangers grin at her when they see it!

She can reach out and grab toys and puit them in her mouth - this is her teddy from hospital - she was once smaller than it! She is getting more and more aware of her effect on the world and when she wants to get my attention but is in her cot she yells out "bah". Here she is willing me to wake up.

And she loves cuddles with family... a snuggle with Viv and one with Jess a 6 or 7 weeks ago.

Not much other news, Sequoia's reflux is still copious but less painfull now that she is on medication, Jasper is loving preschool. I put a piece in an ecology art exhibition at a city gallery a couple of weeks ago.

Txx

2007-05-20T20:57:00.000+10:00

I haven't written for ages, not enough sleep, and no time to even open my computer, so I have a few moments before little babe's next feed and I thought I'd put on a few pics. jasper making rainbows with coloured water.

Brotherly love!

I am now bigger than the doll!

Jasper met his 6-yr-old cousin Tanaz and her mum Behnaz who visited Australia from Tehran for the first time ever 12 weeks ago, very cool for Jess and I to meet our cousin for the first time; and also his aunty Viv visited from Italy 6 weeks ago, her first visit to Australia, and jasper's first time meeting her, also very cool, and so lovely for us to be with her again! He is now feeling quite connected to the world he lives in with all of these wonderful relatives.

A chat with dad.

Sequoia is growing, now 5kg and smiling! She has had the most horrid reflux and I feel for any parent whose child has it, she screamed for weeks until we got the right medication for her, and has been a much happier baby for the last few weeks, still vomiting loads and loads but it is now happy-ish chucking not writhing, screaming agony. And she has good days and bad so it evens out. She is growing slowly and I had to put away all her prem clothes as they no longer fit (a big milestone)!

Jasper and his friend Chloe cooking up something mischievious on the deck.

Chubby cheeks, a fair way from our little skin and bone baby not so long ago.

Zoran is busy with work qand whenever his is not at the computer he is either lugginf woodchips up the cliff face, pouring concrete, or laying tiles. Whe have a few ton of dirt to still move and some more landscaping but we are almost halfway through the landscape portion of the renovation, then we move in to serious building territory. Jessi came up to Sydney a few times and Jasper has now informed us that she and Sup are his 'other' parents!!! I'm glad he feels so loved. Here they are hanging out!

I hope to start writing more regularly, but need to download pics first, when I get time, sorry!
Tamx

2007-02-09T16:50:00.000+11:00

Two weeks at home.

Hello Baby...

Let me tell you a story...

And now for a kiss...

I can't believe we've been home almost two weeks, it feels amazing! Sequoia (yes, we have finally chosen one of the shortlisted names - sky for short) is sleeping in our room and jasper is happy to have us all here every day with him. He continues to love preschool, and is very proud of the fact that he gets there on the back of his daddy's bicycle, to the envy of all other kids whose parents drive them. Little girlie is growing well, slowly but well. We had a scare the last few weeks, a duct in her heart was leaking (PDA), we had to keep her at home with no visitors, no germs, and we spent hours on Friday at Westmead Children's Hospital seeing paediatric Cardiologists - to find that it closed all by itself and her heart is functioning healthily! They think it may have closed Thursday night as her laboured breathing was much better, and she fed without being breathless...isn't the human body and amazing thing! Apparently these baby ducts can close very quickly when the body puts out the correct hormones to trigger a response! So life is still full of dramas, just when one subsides another appears in its place - it certainly has been a stress filled three years since leaving Melbourne and moving to Sydney, the things that have happened in our lives, to us and around us...

At the childrens hospital we found this great construction kit which makes all sorts of dofferent vehicles, Jasper and i make a new one each day, either from our imagination or from instructions.

The crane was fun.

They both fell asleep in the car and were moved to the loungeroom!

Today is a beautiful windy day with strong sunshine. Zoran is out the back digging clay away from the foundations so that the subsoil drains properly and cuts out the rising damp in the house, Jasper is 'helping' him, and I am having a little break after feeding one child and attending to the other, before I start on dinner.

Sweet dreams.

Hope everyone is well, happy and finding the positive in the world.
Txx

2007-01-30T21:25:00.000+11:00

Bathtime

Two babies enjoying the water - Jasper in his first bubble bath having a great time dressing up in bubble clothes!

Now that he is a bit bigger, he can occasionally go without the eczema bath oil and can have bubbles - a big hit, even though they dont last long (as he has to have special ones for his skin).

His little sister, Sequoia, likes her quick bucket bath in the kitchen sink aswell, and kicks her pins about - neither babes like getting out!!!

Jasper received some posters from Polly and decided that the seven wonders of the world needed building out of blocks! Jasper started preschool yesterday and LOVES it - a day of play with lots of other kids, singing, sandpit, lots to do... He will be going on Mondays and Wednesdays, I cant believe he is already big enough for "school", my two and a half yr old... both Zoran and I were a bit teary about it! But his happiness is infectious!

And this little one sleeps and eats. Although the last couple of days she hasn't been doing either well!! I got 1 hours sleep last night as she was really collicy which is making her feed irritably and not sleep, and her weight gain is down, so it is off to the paediatrician tomorrow, she needs to put on 30g/day and is just putting on 15g; although she is a big 2.4kg now (5.3lbs). Ahhhh....

Tamxx

2007-01-23T15:32:00.000+11:00

Home!!

I am writing this in a peaceful house full of sleeping children. What a week it has been. I have been living in the hospital, feeding babycakes every four hours or as she demands milk. I started last Wednesday with my alarm set through the night as this tiny sleepy girl doesnt wake for her feeds but she has to have them as she is so small, so I rouse her, take off her romper suit and wake her enough to feed - not always brilliantly sucessful so I spend the next while worrying about her... She is still so little that breastfeeding is still difficult and her suck/swallow/latch coordination isn't fully developed yet - she is four weeks from her gestational due date - so she is still not quite ready for the big wide world. Jasper was not keen on Mummy going away again, so he said it was OK for mummy to go in and out of hospital to feed baby, so mum helped put J to sleep each night before tearing off to the ward to feed a hungry girl, stay at the hospital until after her morning feed and coming home for an hour to play with J, then back to the hospital, keeping up the subterfuge with regular home visits.

We were all so ready to come home by Monday afternoon! Living in a hospital is like living in a strange limbo state, a very lonely affair. It has been an emotional week trying to feed baby, dealing with oversupply of milk after pumping for 6 weeks, trying to make sure she was feeding properly - both off us ending up in tears sometimes. The first day I stayed in to feed she was exhausted the 60 grams necessary for her to put on every two days was not met - she put on only 30 grams of weight in two days. I was a bit worried but had also expected it might happen. Luckily on Saturday weigh in she put on 70 grams, what a relief.

All frocked up for the trip home.

This put her over the 2kg mark, a huge milestone - but we had to wait til monday to check whether she was still gaining - she put on 60g so we could go home! During her discharge health check the Paediatrician noticed a problem with her breathing and a murmer in her heart. She was most concerned about her breathing, which is laboured (heart murmers are common in prem babies and should clear up by gestational birth dates and dont need to be freaked out about until then). She has had difficulties since birth with her lungs and they are still very fragile, so although she can come home we have to be very careful with her - no colds or back to hospital, which means we have to do a lot of home things and screen any visitors. We have been home now for 24 hours and it feels fantastic!!

A kiss for a little sister's foot.

Tanya and Jasper were at the hospital Monday morning and Jasper refused to go home unless he was bringing his sister too, so he (yet again) was an amazingly patient 2 year old, helping me push baby's cot around to where she needed to go, reading books and pottering around a little hospital room. Zoran had to fly to Melbourne the night before and wouldn't be home til after 9pm Monday, which was unfortunate but ended up being fine. It was lovely that mum could be here to hep out!

First time in the car capsule, on the way home.

Coming in through the front door I felt my whole body relax for the first time in months, I have been holding my breath for so long, I could finally breathe!! And although we have to be careful, see a health centre nurse every three day for checks of health and weight, and watch her breathing and feeding, life can start to return to normal. Jasper was a happy boy all afternoon and couldn't contain his good cheer, jumping and playing and laughing, and I got loads of cuddles and kisses, very lovley!! (Especially after a mixture of days when Jasper wasn't keen on mummys need to be in hospitals, and mummy wasn't to be cuddled - as punsihment! Poor little tyke, he has put up with so much and is such an amazing boy.)

Through the front door for the first time.

Life with baby sister home.

Now that sister is home, Jasper has lots of work to do looking after his own baby!! (This baby is a boy baby which Viv and Giorgio gave to me, many years ago, when I turned six and now it is Jasper's special baby.). The day before she came home daddy and jasper went shopping for a pram for jasper's baby (from his Baba Milica), and some bits and pieces for sister...

Making sure baby is OK in the pram.

Are the straps done up properly?

Now baby needs a bath, then dry with the towel.

Truck needs a gentle bath too!

Tomorrow we see Dr Browne and hopefully baby will have put on weight...

Tamx

2007-01-16T14:27:00.000+11:00

Moving House

The weeks seem to move by in a flurry of constant activity. Buttercup has moved house from High Dependancy at Royal North Shore Hospital to less intensive Special Care at Hornsby Hospital - from a 50 minute drive for us one way to a 10 minute drive, which is much easier on both Zoran who was doing all of the driving as I wasn't allowed to until yesterday (although I am too tired to drive safely so zoran still does heaps of driving) - post-C-section, and easier on Jasper who can potter at home between hospital visits.

Our timetable for five weeks was:
8am - drive to North Shore
9.15 - check buttercup and chat to doctors about progress and any issues
9.30 - family touch/cares (cleaning her face, checking her temp., changing her nappy, nurse checks her feeding tube and we feed her by pushing her syringe of milk into her tube)
10.30 - express milk
11.30 - play with Jasper, find colouring book, see social worker or doctor
12.00 - start cares
12.30 - feed and if temp OK hold her out of her humidicrib for her twice a day cuddle and possible breastfeed (so she doesn't get too cold or tired)
1.30 - express milk and get lunch for Jasper and us
2.30 - drive home
3.00 - Jasper asleep (clever boy transfers from car to cot without waking)
4.00 - play with Jasper (who has been so patient all day)
4.30 - express milk
5.30 - make dinner
6.00 - eat
7.00 - bath for Jasper
7.30 - express milk
8.00 - story time and bed for jasper
10.00 - call dad come over and to be in the house (or OK if mum is here)
10.30 - express milk
11.30 - drive to hospital
0.15 - see buttercup and do cares
0.30 - try a second breast feed if she is OK
1.30 - express milk
2.15 - drive home
3.00 - sleep
4.30AM - express milk, go back to sleep

Her new house at Hornsby...

In her new crib

Our timetable now:
4.30AM - express milk
8.00 - drive to hospital
8.15 - cares
8.30 - breast feed buttercup
9.30 - express milk
10.00 - drive home
12.30 - express
1.00 - lunch for everyone
2.00 - sleep for jasper and if lucky, me
(between 2 and 4 actually do normal things - clean bathroom, shop for groceries...)
4.00 - drive to hospital
4.15 - cares
4.30 - feed baby
5.30 - express
6.00 - drive home
6.15 - start dinner
6.40-8.00 - eat, bath, bed
8.30 - express
9.15 - sleep
0.00 - wake up and drive to hospital
0.30 - feed baby and express
1.45 - back home
2.00 - sleep
4.30am - express

So much more quiet time, but still very little sleep. This coming friday she will be 6 weeks old. She now breastfeeds 3 times a day and has tube feeds the other three (which the nurses do). She is still very little, although she is growing wonderfully - 1.9kg, so breastfeeding has taken a while to get established both because attachment is physically difficult, she has a high palate and is tiny, and as she gets very tired very quickly, which is why she cant yet do all brestfeeds and the tube delivers milk into her belly every other feed.

Jasper holding her hand

Buttercup in her cot, with no monitors attached!

Her other big milestone this week is coming off all monitors. Her heartrate, oxygen levels and temperature have finally stabilised so she is now out of her humidicrib and in a little cot, all swaddled and cosy. On either side of her are two sets of twins, the other babies in the nursery. Now that she is getting stronger we can cuddle her a bit more if she is awake and get to know her. She looks around when she is awake and follows voices. She knows our voices and calms down if she is crying and we talk to her. Jasper held her hand and kissed her head yesterday for the first time. His visits are tempered with the discovery of a cupboard in the hospital patients lounge where the biscuits are kept and also the access to a movie channel where there is usually some kids movie playing but also his sister bought him 5 sticker books which she keeps under her cot for her brother to do when he comes to see her.

Looking out

The other big moment was her first bath, which she loved and swished her feet in the warm water.

So, life is moving, moving... she may come home in a week or so, and we have to start to get her sleeping arrangements organised, we need to move the piano out of our room so the bassinette will fit, and organise a change table, and bits and pieces like that.

We are all well, the garden is growing slowly as the wallabies, possums and wombat seem to eat about 50percent of what we plant. The grass is getting long and zoran is trying to find time between hospital visits, work (which is still on) and everything else to get out and finish the garden work. I am thinking again about artwork and hoping to fit somehing in the next 12 months. Jasper has an introductory day at preschool next week!!!!!

Tamx

2007-01-04T21:33:00.000+11:00

Another week

I cant believe almost four weeks has passed since buttercup was born. She is now 1.5kg, and looks bigger than she was. The doctors tried to move her into a cot a few days ago, but she found it hard to maintain her oxygen levels, so that night she went back into the humidicrib and onto oxygen, but now she is off the oxygen and breathing the equivalent of air in her 28 degree celcius environment.

Me with Buttercup.

She is also trying to breastfeed twice a day at 11am and 11pm, she gets exausted in about one minute but she is so clever for trying.

She is set to transfer hospitals tomorrow on her 4 week "birthday" from the intensive care unit at Royal North Shore to the Special Care Unit at Hornsby hospital, so instead of a two hour round trip (which we make twice daily) it will be a 15 minute round trip. Hornsby is our small local hospital and the doctors seem to think she is stable enough to be moved. I am slightly concerned, as with all changes, but it will be lovely to be able to pop in and see her at any time.

Zoran with his little girl.

Jessi and Supratim came up to see her before travelling back to Melbourne. Only parents are allowed to touch these little neonates but family can come and visit and talk and sing to the babies.

Jasper has had a lovely week playing with Jess and Sup, and also coming into the hospital most days to visit his sister, play on the floor around her cot, chat with the nurses and help press the feeding syringe to feed his little sibling.

Now that her oxygen levels are a bit better, we are exhausted but glad things are looking up after a wobbly start to the week.

Tamx

2006-12-27T15:55:00.000+11:00

Merry Christmas

On Christmas morning Jasper woke at 5.45 am and discovered Santa had visited him and put a couple of little cars (a tractor and a towtruck) in his stocking which was hanging on the end of his cot. Later we all had a big brekky, Tanya, Jessi, Supratim, Zoran, me and Jasper, then opened presents -
Jasper said: "who's this one for",
answer: "you Jasper!"
J: "OOh"
Jasper said: "who's this one for",
answer: "you Jasper!"
J: "OOOOhhh"
Jasper said: "who's this one for",
answer: "you Jasper!"
J: "OOOOOooohhhh"

Jasper had a ball, and a day of playing and playing and playing, building towers with blocks, doing puzzles and playing cars. He stayed with his family (playing with presents) while mummy and daddy went to see baby sister.

When we got to the hospital little buttercup was all dressed up in a christmas dress, with a christmas stocking hanging by her crib, and a card to us from her with her photo and teeny footprint. (Her pic at top of page)

She was stretched out with her little feet up against the crib wall, pressed against the perspex. Enjoying her christmas day.

Zoran and Buttercup...

Her daily strip down and weigh - she has put on 60 grams in 4 days, hooray.

And a Christmas cuddle with mummy. (Her head on my palm.)

When we got back home we all played then cooked up Christmas dinner of tuna steaks on a bed of spiced potatoes with a mixed greens salad with asian dressing, basil and mint. Followed by Panetone and cream, coffee and turkish delight, and a lovely sleep for all (with a few wakes for me for expressing).

Txx
PS Today she will try a breastfeed!

2006-12-24T10:11:00.000+11:00

Buttercup in her first dress.
Our little girl is now out of intensive care and in high dependancy which means she is not needing as much support, no more cpap, and she is still in her heated humidicrib but breathing air, and the nurses dress her in little clothes each day to keep her cosy.

She is the same size as trauma teddie.

She is a bit bigger than my hand.

A big stretch.

While mummy was in hospital Jessi came up from Melbourne to play with Jasper and they went to the mother's group christmas excursion to ride on the model railway. Here is Jasper and his friend Chloe at the station.

And Jess and Jas on the train.

Txx

2006-12-14T23:20:00.000+11:00

An early christmas present. Last Friday, December 8, our little girl was born by C-section at 30 weeks, weighing 1.1kg!

I haven't updated the blog for a bit as I have been in hospital and was discharged last night. Here are the two pics I had planned to upload last Wednesday!!!

Last Tuesday Jasper and I put up our Christmas tree, and it is funny the things you think about but all of this week I was so glad we had put it up and spent the afternnon searching for a branch, bringing it in and decorating it together. It was such a lovely mummy and J day.

The next morning, at our regular obstretricians appointment, Zoran and I said how I wasn't feeling that things were OK and Dr Campbell told us that we should have an ultrasound, and he booked us in right away, 15 minutes later we discovered that my BP had progressed into preeclampsia and our little one was compromised and not getting enough cord blood. We were booked into Royal North Shore hospital, a large teaching hospital with neonatal facilities and thought we'd be having a baby within the next few hours. Luckily her CTG traces were able to track her while I was given steroid injections which are to mature her lungs to improve her chances, ideally 48 hours is needed, so I was on strict bed rest in the hospital antenatal ward, with BP checks, protein checks, blood tests and CTGs of the baby. At 6.45am friday morning Zoran, all gowned up, and I, entered theatre. They gave me a spinal block,

and she was born at 8.22am by ceasarian. Here are some photos...

Three minutes old.

One day old, tucked up in her nest in her humidicrib, CPAP helping her breath and a canula delivering all other needs. She had two apneas in the first twentyfour hours and is now on cafene doses to keep from from forgetting to breathe.

Day two, with groovy sunnys for some phototherapy.

On Saturday Jasper came in with Zoran to meet his baby sister, he was so excited and exclaimed over her tiny hands and feet. The next day he made little nests for her on all of the beds and wants to bring her home (humidicrib, nurses and all) now.

Six days old. She has regained the weight she lost over the last few days. She little beanie helps keep her warm. My hand is cuddling her - this gives you an idea of her size. Her rosy cheeks are where the CPAP was held on, but has been removed.

Today, no longer on CPAP and coping well. They had to remove her CPAP yesterday as she developed a hole in her lungs and her chest cavity filled with an airbubble which was collapsing her left lung by ten percent. This morning they performed a small procedure which sucessfully removed the trapped air and she was left to have a very quiet day to allow her lung to re-expand. Her oxygen saturation levels are really good and she is very settled now, all curled up.

A tiny foot, Day 3.

She will be in hospital until close to her due dates about ten weeks. It was so hard to leave her there and come home, but it is lovely to be with Jasper. Our days are now spent divided between home and hospital, back being Bessie, expressing milk every three hours and recovering from the operation. It has been an emotional week, but we feel so blessed.
Txxx

2006-12-02T18:20:00.000+11:00

Christmas Colour

There's something lovely about Christmas when you have children around.

Today we put up the first of our decorations. Jasper very busily helping with the beautiful wall frieze that Tanya painted for Jasper's first Christmas, eventually I hope to mount these on wood and varnish them so they'll be with us for ever.

He had so much fun climbing the ladder and sticking on the 'goo' on the backs (bluetac) of the images and positioning them.

Earlier today we went to the hardware store where Jasper is a member of the kids craft club. Today Jasper made this lovely wreath out of patterned paper, we decided to add some dangly bows as well.

Then he made Jasper's first ever handmade Christmas Tree decoration. It was this felt stocking which he stapled together and had his initial drawn on. He enjoyed playing with sticky tape and staples, we both had lots of fun.

Hopefully in the next few days we'll find a branch to be our christmas tree this year and decorate that.

Hope everyone is well.

My blood pressure is much better now that I am on a load of pills, so that is good - the babe should last at least until after christmas!!! It is due in 10 weeks.

Txx

2006-11-27T20:24:00.000+11:00

Green grass

Garden update, we have laid the lawn, including underground drip irrigation and almost finished planting the beds. Zoran's father and brother came up from Wollongong about a week ago and helped lay the grass.

(Sifting stones: the amazing amount of rock involved, and this is a small sample of the stone pile)
The week preceeding that my dad, Zoran's dad and Zoran and Jasper and I sifted tonnes and tonnes of soil to separate out the rocks and, after laying out the rows of irrigation pipe, covered and raked soil across the top.

(Irrigation pipe at 30cm intervals across the site)

(The sifted soil raked over the irrigation lines)

The grass was delivered on Saturday morning and brought down the escarpment and we layed it out and pressed it down, pretty bright green on the dry site.

It is a drought tolerant variety of grass which is great although it does need regaular watering for the first three weeks to encourage the new roots to bed down, so we have set up sprinklers and have a water permit to grant us water use for the first six weeks where we start with three times a day watering and each week weaning the grass off water until it only needs water for 15 minutes twice a week in the evening, wednesdays and Sundays.

(The finished lawn!!)

The vegie patch is going well, we picked out first Zucchini today!!! We will also have loads of cucumbers and peppers in about three weeks or so. I'm looking forward to making some zucchini flower dishes, al la Giorgio!

Txx

2006-11-22T22:25:00.000+11:00

Happy Thanksgiving to our American Relatives and Friends!
Polly, Pam, Guy, Andy & also Dina, Jim, Mikayla, James and the Grandinetti family!

2006-11-21T19:24:00.000+11:00

Jasper a young admirer of contemorary art!! (Three weeks ago at Canberra Contemorary Art Space).

2006-11-20T14:55:00.000+11:00

Ballerina

Jasper found these parts of a sari which Jess brought back from India and, after see them dance on playschool last week, decided he was going to wear them and be a ballerina! He had Zoran spinning him about, then danced around with lots of stomping and kicking.

We have also been busy finishing up the very back yard. There are now three remaining bed to plant, but the grass is down and gets watered three times a day as we encourage new roots, the drainage is in place behind the house and we have to buy plants, gravel, straw and pavers. When I download the rest of the picks I'll give you an update, but until then here is Jasper having a bucket bath in the kitchen after a very muddy day of "helping" (he deicided that if he had to have a bath it had to be in the bucket!!).
Tx

2006-11-16T14:09:00.000+11:00

Cloudy beach day

Jess and I took Jasper to music class before Jess went back home to Melbourne two weeks ago and after class Jasper said "no go home mummy, lets go to the beach." And like dutiful servants off we went down to Balmoral, a lovely harbourside beach on the north side of Sydney Harbour. The weather was windy and cool, early spring weather - we have had quite strange weather patterns this year from heatwave to freezing over periods of days (it snowed in Melbourne last night but was over 35degrees celcius the other week!!) - so jess and I felt a bit chilly, but jasper's two year old body demanded that naked was the only dress code acceptable.

He even decided to swim and so jess and I with rolled up trousers, swung him through the waves, his little body skimming the whitecaps, and his laughter infectious. We played on the sand, build castles and tunnels and went for a great walk along the waters edge. It was Jess's last day, and she was going back for a job interview, so it was so great to spend such a carefree day all together. Needless to say, Jasper slept ALL the way home, and two days later, Jessi got the job! She is now Landscape Architect for the City of Stonnington in Melbourne.

2006-11-16T13:56:00.000+11:00

Festival of Joy

A few weeks ago (late october) we went up to Katoomba to see mum and all wandered down to the festival of joy, a lovely community garden festival with musicians playing beautiful tunes which drifted through the gardens. Michael had made this great labrynth over the last five months and it was officially celebrated at the festival with drumming and dancing on it (a rather unflattering pic of me but a nice one of mum). As you can see Jasper loved the labrynth and played games all over, then danced with us for ages once the music started.

Lots of kids came and the baby rollercoaster was a hit!!

Mum and I having a rest by the sandpit.

Zoran and I having a lovely break while Jasper leads Tanya and Jess around the garden, showing them all the sculptures, plants and other curiosities.

And now you can see how pregnant I am getting! I am about 23 weeks pregnant here, just before my blood pressure started it's unbehaving rise up to its current unfortunate point. Am on medication now, which seems to be working, just slightly anxious, but I guess that is normal - esp. considering how things went with Jasper... but Zoran is great and his attitude is not to worry as it is in the hands of the gods and we are all here to support each other no matter what happens.

Txx

2006-11-12T15:11:00.000+11:00

Hammock Play

Jasper has discovered the joys of a hammock and when the sun is shining he convinces one of us to spend a few minutes tumbling in and out or rocking in the hammock.

The last hammock broke but this one is a lovely one which Zoran and I bought in Mexico in 1996 and lugged in our backpack while we traveled through Central America.

Lying in it brings back lots of travel memories... and the far distance of life before children! I wonder if this hammock will be around for Jasper to have in a tree somewhere when he is the age we were - 22!