New developments

We finally have a new home! All ours, no more rentals. Brand new off-the-plan, and phew it's better than we expected.

A shot of Warren, THE friendliest customer service rep I've ever encountered in Australia, as he presents Master Soh the keys to our new home!

Here're some other recent shots of Aidan:

Check out his rave pants! Woot woot!

A random Duh look. He saw the camera and came straight to me.
Check out the drool stains on his shirt.

A photo at one of our mother's group meetings. We know Aidan's priorities!

Charlotte & Darcy love their toys...but Aidan loves the camera!

Shaking foundations

Aidan's doing the most adorable thing lately - he waves bye bye! So whenever someone says goodbye, he waves! How cute! Also he knows how to say Dada and Mama to the appropriate person, though not always on command - he mimics us. :-) And most importantly, his first word - Nana! For Banana, when he sees one! Or Mum-mum, when he means food, or the baby mum-mum rice crackers he loves. Although lately, his way of communicating that he wants food, especially food I'M eating is to launch into a high-pitched scream. Yikes!!

His day naps and night-sleeps are also doing VERY well. I feel we've hit a major turning point - he's been able to sleep through since 8 months, although wakes early at about 5.30am or 6am, and requires resettling, but the last week or so he's been able to stretch till 7-ish, and last couple days, 8 - 8.30am! And he's gone back to being able to sleep on his own without having me to rock and sing him to sleep - just give him a yummy cuddle and kiss, lay him in his cot, let him cry for about 2-5 mins, and he's sleeping like, well, a baby! All the way 'til the morning, good bubba. And if he does wake at night, he can generally resettle himself on his own.

So since things with Aidan are going so well after 2 months of turmoil (he's beginning to be able to occupy himself in the playpen again), what do we do? We MOVE HOUSE, so that we can shake up his world again! Gahh.... crazy fools we are, the timing's really off, but what can we do? Seems like God's dead keen to stretch and challenge us each step of the way!

In all fairness, I have to say that I'm still grateful for what we have, for my in-laws coming to help with the shift this weekend, for the relative problem-free encounters we've had with transacting for the house (the customer service rep. for AV Jennings, Warren, is SUCH a sweetheart and fantastic to deal with!), and the new house looks better than we've expected - lots of light!, we had a great recommendation for a vendor for the blinds (also very accommodating with the changes we (read: my husband) kept making), so all seems to be going well. Now we just need it to all fall into place! Settlement's on Thursday!

Take...on...me... (take on me!)

At a friend's 30th birthday yesterday... we were relivin' the '80s heydays.... woot woot!!

Daddy as a breaker, momma as a tea-dance queen. Me? I'm NORMAL!

Check out mummy's ultra-hip leg warmers!!

Exhausted

There're some days where I think I must be CRAZY to do this all on my own, in a foreign country. No parents, no in-laws, no helpers. Full-time house duties. And we're talking about just ONE kid!

No more children...no more children...no more house work please!!

A series of unfortunate events...2

It's been awhile since the elements have all come together to create a cosmic crunch that can really stretch and test the best of us, not to mention the least of us (meaning, me). This last week, in no particular order,

- Aidan's had an eye infection
- Aidan's had a fever (probably 'coz he's teething)
- We opened the cafe finally!
- We had our launch party
- Our new home's occupancy cert's been issued!
- Our car's been broken into (GPS's safe, phew)
- Window's smashed (not phew)
- Cut myself on glass from broken window (not phew)
- Saved Aidan from being cut by glass from broken window by removing a small bit on his car seat which he could've swallowed (phew)

Yikes!

To top it off, as I left the party to pick Aidan up from Ivy's, it started raining! Driving with a broken window in the rain... now that's the stuff sad songs are made off. That and discovering a huge welt on my cheek when I finally reached home (Aidan was SO cranky Ivy had to drive us back, with Stephen fetching her home after. This, at midnight! These two are my HEROES!), probably from a mozzie in Aidan's room.

What more can happen? I discovered bumps on his hands and feet, and took him to the doc's yesterday. Thankfully, it's probably a post-viral thingy from his eye infection. And last night, he woke up crying at 3am, and I couldn't go back to sleep after, so I'm pretty much a wreck today.

But thankfully, today's almost over. And Aidan's been cheerful at dinner-time. He was pretty cranky after his nap in the arvo and I stupidly gave him a bath thinking it'd calm him down (nope! Plus he peed on the bathroom floor!) And I discovered rotating his toys in his playpen FREQUENTLY at least lets him enjoy sitting in there.

Whatever the case, I believe God's really stretching my patience through all these challenges. With his 12-month mark nearing, and the toddler years (toilet-training, gulp!) coming up, I'll need oodles of it!

Ideas

With our moving date nearing (I hope! We still don't have an actual date date), I'm thinking of ways to decorate Aidan's room. He's already got some furniture from his current room, like a cot and his Ikea dresser/change table.


I really REALLY like these Threadless/Blik wall decals though...so cute!

Insomnia

The Day the Fire Brigade...

Robots

Or how about some Super Mario?




Anyway, if anyone has any good ideas on how we can decorate Aidan's room, post some comments!

Eurghh

Blech. It's the worst time to fall sick. The cafe's opening this week so EG is definitely busy, and Ellie's started work, so that means it's me and my weak body trying to keep up with my little energizer-bunny of a son! He woke up several times last night - once every two hours, so it was really hard to sleep. Plus I was feeling ill. Gagh... I'm not sure what I have, I just know I'm constantly cold even under the blanket and with the heater on, and I'm a little nauseas (NO, I'm not expecting number 2!). Hopefully after I take some panadol I'll feel better!

Anyways, here're some pics we took recently!

Aidan in Zoe-Grace's ergo-carrier. We were testing it out. He looks a little stunned.

His first 1st-birthday present from Aunty Ivy & Uncle Stephen.

Look at me and my Pooh bear push-car

I still don't quite know how to ride it, but Mama pushes me around in it. Wheee!

Patty cake, patty cake, baker's man

The new Bonds underwear commercial has got Aidan rapt with attention. I wonder if it's 'coz there are 30-odd skimpily-clad women in it - so he's thinking, "Mmmm! Food!" - or whether it's because of the clappy beat. Whatever the case, whenever it's on, his eyes are glued to the screen for those 30 secs, and I have some respite from trying to shovel more pasta into his mouth.

See it here.

In other news, Aidan's turning 11 months this Sunday! Yay! We're happily preparing for his first birthday party next month... hope the new house will be done by then!