Laughter Lives Here - I want what he's got!

Isn't it funny that you always want what the other person has got? Even funnier when it is children. It takes a lot of explaining why things are like they are.

When Master 4 was born, Miss 8 (then 3 1/2), was torn between being fascinated and being very wary of the new family member. She thought he was cute and cuddly, but why did everyone need to cuddle him so much. And he certainly needed a lot of attention.

There was one thing that the baby boy had, though, that she wanted. As usual, she was fascinated about the differences between them. In short, the baby had a penis and she thought that was amazing.

She would gather next to me when I changed his nappy, and was right by my side at bath-time. The REAL fascination began, though, when he started crawling. All of a sudden little Miss was crawling too, right behind him, with her face down close to the ground.

You see, we let him crawl around occasionally without a nappy. To give his little behind some air. Little Miss was almost hypnotised as she crawled along behind.

Around and around the house they went, giggling and crawling. Master thought this was a great game.

Sometimes, little Miss would stop suddenly. "It's not fair, why didn't I get one of those?" It was a question we heard from her a lot.

I DARE not blink!

My baby boy has just hit another milestone. 4 years. Gone - just like that!

I remember sitting with him in the hospital, knowing that he was my last baby. Willing time to creep by slowly. Alas, time waits for no-one. This is definitely true.

We have been through a lot with him in 4 years. So many memories, that it almost seems that it was impossible to cram it into that time. We are lucky that we have evidence of many of those memories that we can re-visit. Thanks to digital photography I happily snap away, and most of the time the children are happy to play along.

We reviewed some older video footage of when our boy was a toddler. It was great to be back there again. At the flick of a switch we were transported back to chubby cheeks and curly blond hair, his funny stiff walk and love of eating with his hands. Miss 7 was, of course only 4 in the footage. The love for her brother beams from her little face, even as he pulls her hair.
I guess, if they must grow up so quickly, then I must be thankful that I have the video footage and photos to look back on. I just hope that the memories that go with them, that are still quite vivid in my mind, will stay just as fresh with me for a long time to come.

It was evident that our boy has changed in his features quite a bit since his baby days. He is now slim and athletic. His hair is now short and straight. The puffy little red cheeks are gone. But he is the same boy - cheeky, a glint in his eye, quick to cuddle, adventurous, with the cutest little grin and ready to tell you what he thinks. He has always been able to make me smile, even when he is at his naughtiest I find myself smiling at his antics and courage.

I will leave you with photos of Master 4 (no longer Master 3) at his best.

Grateful for ... people's dreams coming true

This week was most exciting for us, not to mention a lovely couple.

On Wednesday our friends welcomed their beautiful first born. They had a healthy baby boy (which they knew but it was a surprise for eveyone else).

Our friends don't live locally, but luckily for us and the maternal grandparents, they live on an island between Tasmania and Victoria. Why is that lucky? The island doesn't not have maternity facilities, so our new Mum flew off the island a month before her due date, and the new Dad came down to join her at her parents in her home town with plenty of time to spare before the BIG DAY.

Myself, hubby and the new Mum all grew up in our great little town, went to the same school. My hubby and the new Mum were in the same year and were good friends. When I married hubby she became my good friend too. We were in each other's weddings, and we honeymooned on their island. The new hubby is an island local so we were in great hands.  We might only see them once a year and talk to them on the phone but when we all meet up there is plenty to discuss. And now, even more so.