Aiden has expanded his horizons in the culinary sense and now loves spaghetti. Not some wonderful Italian dish, sure to delight the taste buds, but plain, unsalted, unflavoured, unappealing spaghetti which he eats strand by strand sitting in his little beanbag watching his favourite video. He is now the weight of a small elephant.

Kate has taken to calling herself "Laughing Duck" after her favourite character in a new cartoon. We feel we are part of a new Indian tribe. Kate has taken to adding "said Talking Duck" onto a lot of what she says. An example; I sneezed and she said, "Bless you Mummy said Laughing Duck". She often has a commentary on what she is doing, "Laughing Duck's going to get the ball". So I wonder what name Aiden should have? 

This new cartoon favourite is called "Boo!" and we initially had no idea why 1/3 of the way through the morning children's programs Aiden was screeching  and screaming that he wanted Boo. Nothing would calm him and we realised it must be something to do with a show that had ended. Being the conscientious parents, concerned with monitoring their children's viewing habits we, of course, had no idea what makes up the particular month of programs. All that matter to us is that we have an hour of peace. Anyway there we were the next morning, anxiously poised ready to tape the brief 10 minutes of that morning's Boo!. Aiden then watched this several hundred times until the next morning when we had not one but now two episodes taped. All good fun....until the next obsession hits.

Kate and Aiden are wonderful together. They are very good friends ( as long as a favourite toy isn't up for grabs). They have hit the delightful stage where they love to play pretend and can vocalize little games. Most games are run by Kate (sorry, Laughing Duck) and they involve some humiliation on Aiden's behalf. They pretend to go shopping and they pretend to buy each other things. Their manners are amazing and we are so thankful that we have spent so much time reinforcing manners. You can hear them outside playing saying "Oh fank you Kate" "No fanks Aiden" "Please" ,etc. Of course it always backfires. Some evenings we call and let them know it is time to brush teeth. We get a delightful little voice cheerfully calling out, "No fanks Daddy". Really how can you argue? Another beauty was, "No fanks, we're not ready yet"

We all headed out shopping. Aaron and I had a child each in our trolleys. We hit the department store and after a while Kate and I headed into the supermarket, leaving Aiden and daddy to shop. In aisle one Kate started the 2 questions, "Where's Daddy and Aiden?". I patiently explained that they were in the other shop. "What's this?" I patiently explained that it was a strap for strapping the babies into the trolley but she was a big girl and didn't need it. These 2 questions were repeated endlessly down each aisle. I continued to reply patiently, reflecting on my child development studies and her need for repetition and to find meaning from the world around her. By aisle 8 I did what most parents would've done in aisle 2. I told her to keep quiet or she wasn't getting a chocolate.

Aiden can count to 20, recognise numbers in and out of order. He can also count backwards from 5. He knows all of his colours and most of his basic shapes. 

Kate can talk the leg off a chair, count to 10 minus the 6, knows all of her colours and can make up simple stories.

Amazing to think that 2 years ago they couldn't hold their heads up, and thanks to the sleep deprivation - neither could I!

Aiden has expanded his horizons in the culinary sense and now loves spaghetti. Not some wonderful Italian dish, sure to delight the taste buds, but plain, unsalted, unflavoured, unappealing spaghetti which he eats strand by strand sitting in his little beanbag watching his favourite video. He is now the weight of a small elephant.

Kate has taken to calling herself "Laughing Duck" after her favourite character in a new cartoon. We feel we are part of a new Indian tribe. Kate has taken to adding "said Talking Duck" onto a lot of what she says. An example; I sneezed and she said, "Bless you Mummy said Laughing Duck". She often has a commentary on what she is doing, "Laughing Duck's going to get the ball". So I wonder what name Aiden should have? 

This new cartoon favourite is called "Boo!" and we initially had no idea why 1/3 of the way through the morning children's programs Aiden was screeching  and screaming that he wanted Boo. Nothing would calm him and we realised it must be something to do with a show that had ended. Being the conscientious parents, concerned with monitoring their children's viewing habits we, of course, had no idea what makes up the particular month of programs. All that matter to us is that we have an hour of peace. Anyway there we were the next morning, anxiously poised ready to tape the brief 10 minutes of that morning's Boo!. Aiden then watched this several hundred times until the next morning when we had not one but now two episodes taped. All good fun....until the next obsession hits.

Kate and Aiden are wonderful together. They are very good friends ( as long as a favourite toy isn't up for grabs). They have hit the delightful stage where they love to play pretend and can vocalize little games. Most games are run by Kate (sorry, Laughing Duck) and they involve some humiliation on Aiden's behalf. They pretend to go shopping and they pretend to buy each other things. Their manners are amazing and we are so thankful that we have spent so much time reinforcing manners. You can hear them outside playing saying "Oh fank you Kate" "No fanks Aiden" "Please" ,etc. Of course it always backfires. Some evenings we call and let them know it is time to brush teeth. We get a delightful little voice cheerfully calling out, "No fanks Daddy". Really how can you argue? Another beauty was, "No fanks, we're not ready yet"

We all headed out shopping. Aaron and I had a child each in our trolleys. We hit the department store and after a while Kate and I headed into the supermarket, leaving Aiden and daddy to shop. In aisle one Kate started the 2 questions, "Where's Daddy and Aiden?". I patiently explained that they were in the other shop. "What's this?" I patiently explained that it was a strap for strapping the babies into the trolley but she was a big girl and didn't need it. These 2 questions were repeated endlessly down each aisle. I continued to reply patiently, reflecting on my child development studies and her need for repetition and to find meaning from the world around her. By aisle 8 I did what most parents would've done in aisle 2. I told her to keep quiet or she wasn't getting a chocolate.

Aiden can count to 20, recognise numbers in and out of order. He can also count backwards from 5. He knows all of his colours and most of his basic shapes. 

Kate can talk the leg off a chair, count to 10 minus the 6, knows all of her colours and can make up simple stories.

Amazing to think that 2 years ago they couldn't hold their heads up, and thanks to the sleep deprivation - neither could I!