Sometimes the simplest gifts are the best

Alex has had a great time playing wit the playdough he got foe his birthday. When we were in NZ he tried to eat Emily and Grace's homemade dough. I think he learnt from his mistake because I haven't seen him try to eat this.

Sharing ....

Alex wanted to take Ollie for a ride on his bike.

Finally big enough to go on the bike

No more tram rides to daycare. Dad is sooooo happy and Alex doesn't seem to mind being on the back of the bike.

Jolly Jumping on a Saturday Afternoon

Alex's 2nd Birthday Party

On Sunday we held Alex's 2nd Birthday Party. Once again we rented the "clubhuis" down the road and I'm thrilled that we did it. The extra effort to carry things down there was worth it. It was a lovely day - sunny but not hot - so the kids were able to play outside and run around.

The birthday cake caused a bit of angst for Mum. I did a trial run - making "Hairy" out of licorice - the weekend before, but when I showed the results to Alex and asked him if it was "Hairy" he said "NNNOOOOOOOOO". Not the response I was hoping for! So - instead, I made some cutouts to put on the cake instead. You can't actually see it in the pics, but they're slightly 3D.


Party Food


At the start of the party ....
and at the end ...


Dad and Alex in his Hairy Maclary shirt

Colouring table


Alex was scared of the jelly when I tried to get him eat it, but our friends daughter Aoife got him to eat a whole lot!

Kids playing, parents chatting


Who was brave enough to give us a drum? Owen's birthday is only a month away Kamini!

Cake!
and the baby corner! Oliver had a little doze.

Elephant!!

Grumpy sent Alex an e-card with an Elephant on it. He was most impressed by it and kept watching it again and again.

Catching Up

I'm getting there ... slowly but surely. There's still a long way to go, but scroll down for some more NZ info.

MINE

Now that Ollie can move, Alex's toys are fair game. Something that Alex isn't too happy about - we heard a lot of "mine" yesterday. I love how he tries to cover the blocks with both hands.

Oliver is on the move

It's not a traditional crawl but it gets him where he wants to go!