Beach Day!

We had such an awesome day today! My Mum is here at the moment, so she is letting Simon and I sleep in a bit in the mornings and she has been getting up with Kason and Cohen when they wake up. Anyways, after breakfast, Mum, Kason, Cohen and I drove out to the airport to pick up my Dad! We got there in time to see him walking off the plane through the glass airbridge, and by the time the boys investigated Santa's big chair (Santa hadn't arrived yet) and got back downstairs, we only had to wait a few minutes before Dad came through the doors. Cohen and Kason just lit up when they saw their Grumps and went straight to him J Both boys fell asleep on the drive home, then kept sleeping for another hour or so!

After lunch, we got ourselves sorted and drove down to Port Willunga to play on the beach and go for a swim. The weather was absolutely stunning (finally we're getting some summer!), and the water was divine. I honestly think that there is very little that is more refreshing than a swim in the ocean.
The best part - Cohen's and Kason's faces when they were in the ocean with the gentle waves crashing into them. They were squealing with delight...this photo of Cohen says it all really!

They are both really enjoying having both Nana and Grumps here to play with, and we're all looking forward to Simon being on holiday from Friday - we have lots planned before my parents head up to Queensland to spend some time with two of my brothers and their families.

xxx

Canvases!

Canvases!, a photo by Road2Chaos2 on Flickr.

Not a great photo, but these are my new canvases (or is that 'canvasses'??)! I LOVE them :-D They are right inside our front door.

xxx

Jabs and Photos

Despite Cohen and Kason having their 18-month jab and a top-up jab (the government has introduced a new vaccination, and the boys were eligible for a top-up) today, we had a good one! Both boys were in a great mood, they both had a decent nap, ate lunch well, were A-MAZING getting their needles (as in, Cohen cried for about five seconds after his second needle...Kason didn't cry at all), they behaved at the shops running a couple of errands, and, possibly the best of all...they both ate their entire dinner, without me having to mix it with yoghurt!!!!!!!!!!!! Third night in a row after refusing dinner for the last two months!!! I am STOKED! I made them some new veges yesterday, not a lot though. Three months ago, the amount I made yesterday would have lasted only three days. The last two months, it would last maybe eight days...that's how little they've been eating at night. Anyways, I think I'm going to have to make some more this weekend – never thought that would make me happy!

One of the errands we had to run at the shops was picking up the two canvases I had made up. They turned out SO much better than I had hoped/expected, I'm absolutely stoked with them, and I am uber excited about putting them up! I have two spots in mind, but I need Simon here to help me decide where will be best J I'll share when they are up.

Speaking of photos...way back in July, we had some family photos taken in the city. We had an appointment to collect the ones we chose in early August, but there was no one at the studio when Simon turned up at the agreed time. We come to discover a few weeks later that the owner of the studio died quite suddenly. It has taken a fair while (four months!), but we finally got our photos back on Wednesday!!!!! I was so excited about getting them I cancelled some plans we had made so the boys and I could go into the city with Simon to collect them (this had the added bonus of being able to get into the dance studio and have a couple of dances! Kason and Cohen loved watching us...so cute!). Anyways, the prints were amazing, as I had remembered. I got home and put the disc in the computer only to discover that what we meant to be high-resolution photos were actually low-resolution. We paid for high-resolution. I was pretty much gutted. We had waited patiently (unlike some people we know of that went to the police, the TV stations etc.) for four months only to get a disc with photos at such a low resolution the only size we could reprint them is 6x4cm. After some hunting around online, I think I may have found a remedy. I'm going to have to get them printed to make sure, but I'm desperately hoping to be able to enlarge them quite a bit...we'll see though, I may be hoping a bit much.

xxx

Grumpy!

We had our Mums n Bubs Christmas party yesterday afternoon/early evening. Everyone had an awesome time, and Kason and Cohen just loved hanging out with their friends...and seeing the dogs! Unfortunately, they weren't too interested in eating while we were there and we didn't get home until about 7:15pm. Their bedtime is strictly 7pm. Everything else during the day is usually at a certain time, but with a bit of give and take depending what we have on, but bedtime? Nope, always, always 7pm. Anyways, by the time we got home, gave the boys some dinner, bathed them and got them into bed, it was 8pm. I didn't think that it would be too much of an issue for them...and it wasn't. At least, it wasn't for Cohen! He slept in until 7:30am - SCORE!!! Kason, on the other hand, was awake at 1am. I thought I'd gotten him back to sleep in his cot, so I went back to bed. Five minutes later he started crying out again. I let him cry for a few minutes, but then went in and brought him back to our bed. It still took just over an hour for him to go to sleep. And then he was awake and ready to start the day shortly after 6am. Yeah...today hasn't been super fun! He was ridiculously grumpy all day. And to make matters worse, Cohen decided to start biting again today. He hasn't done that for quite a while, but for some reason today he bit Kason four times L

Thankfully we have playgroup tomorrow morning, and some friends coming over for a playdate tomorrow afternoon, so hopefully that will distract them. And hopefully they both have a great big sleep tonight so everyone is happy tomorrow!

xxx

Christmas is coming!

Cohen and Kason have taken to walking around the house holding hands, and, surprisingly, it's usually Kason taking Cohen's hand. They usually do it when one wants to go to another part of the house - he wants to make sure his brother is coming too!

Both boys have had an awesome week, they have been in such a good mood (despite still waking up early), and we've had so much fun. And, to make it even better, it's Simon's weekend off work, so we've got a fun-filled weekend planned too J Can't wait!!! We might even put up the Christmas tree...not sure if I'm game enough, but I can always put the playpen around it. That might cause a few issues during the week come bedtime, but it'd only be for two weeks and I'm sure I can deal with that! I think Kason and Cohen will love it, especially the lights...which happens to be Simon's favourite thing about Christmas!

Speaking of Christmas, I started wrapping gifts last night! I only have a couple of gifts left to sort out, but all the big ones are done and taking up (far too much!) space in our walk-in-wardrobe and spare room. Simon and I have decided not to give each other presents this year - our present was our new car.
My Mum arrives in two weeks, and my Dad a few days after that, and I have so much planned for while they're here...not sure we're going to get through it all! We're not sure yet how long they are even going to be here for. They are heading up to Queensland at some point, but we're not sure when yet. We'll definitely be making the most of their stay though J Again, can't wait!

xxx

The Boys’ Room

So I'm finally getting around to sharing some pictures of Kason and Cohen's bedroom!

Here's the view from the doorway - Cohen's cot:

Then, this is the view of Kason's cot from Cohen's:

You can kinda see one of their sets of drawers (the only part that doesn't match!):

The wall stickers and the hanging lanterns (the colour hasn't come out too well, but they're the same colour scheme):

 And, lastly, their bedding:

I absolutely love their room now! If I could find the same fabric as their name canvases and rail covers, I'd want to mod podge it onto their drawers...but Simon won't let me, so I guess it's good I can find it. I wouldn't mind finding a rug that matches and putting that in the middle, too.  So, maybe it's still a work in progress, but I'm loving how it is at the moment!

xxx

Eighteen Months!

Dear Kason and Cohen,

Cohen & Kason

You are 18 months old!!! You are such little boys now, not babies anymore. And boy, are you two little characters!

Kason

Kason, you especially, are a clown! You just love to make people smile and laugh and you have such fun goofing about J Cohen, you are a sweetheart (most of the time!). You love giving kisses and cuddles and blowing kisses. And you both absolutely love to climb!!!! A few days ago, you both figured out how to scale the couch so you could stand on the window-sill. There really is no stopping either of you...and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Cohen

You are both saying a few words now. Cohen, you have about eight, Kason you have about 12, but you both understand pretty much everything. We ask you to sit down before your milk and your snacks, and straight away you walk over to your little couch and sit down and wait patiently. Whoever is sitting down first will pat the space beside him, asking your brother to sit down, too - it's so sweet!
Kason, you have recently discovered that you can take my hand and lead me around - you find it particularly useful when you want a snack (you take me to the cupboard), or some water (you lead me to the fridge). Cohen, you have figured out how to make the noise when you kiss, and you are constantly blowing kisses. You both blow each other several kisses on your way to bed.

Kason, you have the cutest way of saying 'dog'. You can say it properly, but instead you call dogs (and anything remotely resembling a dog) a "goggie". I really have to get it on video, it's just gorgeous! Cohen, dogs are your absolute favourite. This weekend just gone, we were skyping Nana and Grumps. Their connection dropped out, and when they called us back, you stopped what you were doing, spun around with a big surprised look on your face and yelled, "DOGGIE!!"  - they show you Fonzie each time we talk to them.

You have both started to imitate us a bit more the last week or so, especially when it comes to animal noises. You can do a lion, an elephant, a dog, a fish, and (although not an animal) a fire truck! You also both like to point to pictures of the animals to get Mummy to make the sounds and actions!

Speaking of actions, you are starting to learn the actions to some of your favourite songs - Twinkle, Twinkle and Open, Shut Them are ones you 'ask' for several times a day.

Your eating this month has been...great! If we ignore dinner! You both eat breakfast and lunch and snacks really well, but come dinnertime, neither of you are interested. You are eating less than a quarter of what you were happily eating up until 4-6 weeks ago. And even then, I have to mix it in with yoghurt or your fruit to get you to eat it L I'm really hoping that improves soon.

You both just astound me with how smart you are, and just how much and how quickly you learn. You really do love each so much, and that brings me so much joy. I love it when you kiss each other, or pat each other gently on the head. If one of you is upset, the other will usually come over and just sit nearby.

Kason and Cohen, you bring your Daddy and I so much joy. We are so proud of you both and we arejust loving watching you grow and learn and change every day. Thank you for being such amazing little boys. We love you so, so much.

xoxoxoxoxoxo