Justin turns 2!

Our baby turned 2 and he is definitely not a baby anymore, more like a little boy. The theme this year was sharks! Justin had a "party" at school where his class sang to him and they all ate mini cupcakes. He kind of knows what a "birthday" is and definitely knows it's his special day where he is the centre of attention. We had Justin's party at the park, the same one as last year, but it was freezing! Even though the sun was shining, there was a wind which made it chilly. On the menu was lasagne, garlic bread and lamb curry. For dessert we had cupcakes, cheesecake and green bean soup. The kids had a ball racing their scooters up and down and the bubble gun was also a big hit. Justin got super-shy when everyone sang happy birthday to him but dug into the shark-shaped biscuits I had baked as soon as the singing was over. Unfortunately, it was so windy we couldn't even light the candles so Justin didn't blow any out. As a thank you to everyone for braving the cold, we invited them over for tea to thaw out. It was a squash but at least we were warm :)

Happy birthday Justin, can't believe you have been part of our lives for 2 years. It has gone by so quickly yet we can't remember life before you. You bring a smile to our faces and make our hearts burst with love, we love you lots! Love mehmeh and dada

Justin drawing on his present from us

Justin's party at school

Our big boy!

Racing with Ali 

Blowing bubbles with Nic

The shark cupcakes

Opening presents with aunty Lou-Lou

Blue Mountain

My mom and dad are visiting us again and it's been busy, but a good busy. Bg had some time off too so it really was family bonding time. Last Tuesday we drove up to the Blue Mountain which is about a 2hr drive from here and is a World Heritage Site. It was freezing out there but we all had a good time as the sun was shining and the skies were clear and blue. We walked around the quaint little town of Leura enjoying a Moroccan lamb pie and perusing the shops.  One of the attractions are the Three Sisters which according to Aboriginal legend, are three sisters who were turned into stone by a witch doctor for their own protection. We also took the steepest railway in the road down into the ancient rainforest and took the steepest cable car in Australia back up. Justin enjoyed both rides and kept asking for more. We ended off the afternoon with afternoon tea and cake and scones. 

Walking around Leura

Three Sisters in the background

Getting a kiss from Justin

Afternoon tea

Justin choosing ice cream over his babycinno

Playing hide and seek

Mother's Day Classic

Row and Justin planned a such lovely Mother's Day for me. The Mother's Day Classic is a 4km or 8km walk or run around the Domain which is part of the botanical gardens. This walk is in support of breast cancer awareness. We had a very early start to the day and had to be up and out of bed at 6am and it didn't involve breakfast in bed. After quite a rough night with Justin's lack of sleep, I was quite grumpy and very tempted to cancel our big walk but I pulled myself together and was determined to enjoy my Mother's Day. After a quick breakfast and a much needed caffeine fix, we headed downtown ready to participate in this huge event. Our friend Lisa had already registered us and was waiting and lucky for us, because there were so many people, it really was a very well supported event. There was a sea of pink and some of the participants were wearing tags which said why they were running and for whom, like one elderly man was walking because he had just lost his sister last month and his wife is currently undergoing treatment. It was really nice to see that there were all ages participating, from the very young being pushed in their prams, young children to teenagers, young men and women to elderly men and women. There was such a good vibe and it was a very pleasant walk. We did the 4km walk and were finished in 2hours. We then rewarded ourselves with a delicious brunch in Surrey Hills. On our way home, Row took Justin to the playground which gave me the opportunity to come home and have a much needed nap. 

My Mother's Day is not over quite yet, my own mummy (and daddy) arrive later and we will be having dinner at Bg and Louise. 

Happy Mother's Day to all the mummies who do a wonderful job raising children whom we are so blessed to have.

Receiving a BIG Mother's Day kiss 

Morning warm up 

Mario and Luigi showing us how to stretch and warm up

Some of the participants

Lisa, Justin and I

Taronga Zoo

Since visiting Sydney in 2008, I have been wanting to go to the zoo and finally, today, we made the trip out. The weather was cooperative, blue skies, sun shining and no chilly breeze.  Since Tuesday, when Row planted the thought of seeing the sharks and koalas, Justin has been telling me everyday that daddy is taking him to see the sharks, the koalas, the kangaroos and the crocodiles. Justin woke up this morning and the first thing he said to me was, "Dadda sharks!" he was so excited. We decided to take the ferry from Circular Quay instead of driving to the zoo and Row remarked that he felt like a tourist again, sitting on the ferry in the harbour, admiring the Opera House and Harbour Bridge and marveling at the pretty city that we are lucky enough to live. When we arrived at the zoo, I think Justin might have felt a bit deceived and also overwhelmed as he didn't seem too excited. He was very well behaved, sitting in his pram and not wanting to walk, seemed tired and grumpy. We decided to show him the koalas and kangaroos first but that didn't really make up for the "deceit". Then he saw the monkeys and he saw how they were swinging from branch to branch and the ice breaker....a monkey hanging upside down! That was the highlight of the whole visit for Justin! From that point on, Justin slowly thawed and started enjoying the zoo. We went to the sea lion show which he kind of enjoyed but wasn't too impressed; we showed him the mommy and baby elephants, we went to see the penguins, the gorillas, the crocodiles....still not showing as much interest as if we had gone to the aquarium or wildlife world. Eventually, Row and I decided to stop for lunch and while looking for somewhere to eat, we were hoping that Justin would fall asleep in the pram. He didn't but that was okay, he ate lunch with us and then made  friends with a little boy who was also eating lunch. Finally, Justin really started enjoying the zoo, running around, pointing at the animals, making the noises the animals make. We knew he was in his element when he sat down next to some random lady and her little boy and Justin just started talking to her telling her what sound the lion makes! 

We thought we would be done by lunch time as we made sure we got there early but there are so many exhibits and shows that it turned out to be quite a long day. We saw so many animals and I must admit I felt at home in the African Watering Hole section, seeing the lions, ostriches, pygmy hippos, meerkat. My personal favourite were the giraffes who definitely have the best view of Sydney. 

To end off this exciting day, we took a cable car down from the zoo to the ferry. Justin was comfortable sitting there with me and asked for more when we had to get off. The poor child passed out on the ferry ride home. 

It was a nice family day out for us and we had such a good time. I would recommend the zoo to any future visitors as it did not disappoint!

Trying to see which type of kangaroo is the same height as Justin

Hanging upside down like the monkey!

Looking for the crocodile 

Measuring Justin against a baby giraffe

My personal favourite 

Justin sitting on a baby rhino

Pretending to be penguins

Sitting in the cable car

 

The month of April

Can't believe how quickly this month has gone by. Our last set of visitors left early April and now we are gearing up for the next set, my folks, Row's uncle, some friends from Hong Kong and a cousin from Cape Town....shew, May is going to be busy month. 

After Ann, T and Aidan left, Row really had to knuckle down and study for his Actuarial exam (which he's writing today as I type this post). Row was going into the office early in the mornings to get some studying in before work and then also on the weekends as it was just too noisy with Justin in the house. 

Aidan and Justin

Summer has ended and autumn has brought the cold and rain which has kept us housebound for many a day. After Justin's last bout of illness, he has become an avid Shrek and Cars fan and can name some of the characters.  He can say "Shrek", "Mater" and "Doc" but the ironic thing is that he can't say his own name yet :P This has also resulted in a lot more TV watching and it hasn't helped that we are cooped up in the house when the weather is disagreeable. Having said that, his vocabulary has since increased.   
This little boy  (sadly I can no longer say baby) has shown us more and more how independent he can be by brushing his teeth, putting on his socks and slippers, putting on and taking off his pants and taking his own zipper jumper off. His stubborn streak is also growing more vivid as his tantrums have become increasingly frequent because he wants to assert his independence and takes strong offense should you try to assist him if he seems to be struggling or because he is so frustrated at not being able to do what he wants to do or tell you what he needs or wants. Everyday is a minefield that has to be carefully navigated so as to avoid these tantrums and I have learnt to pick my battles otherwise it just seems that we are constantly butting heads. 
Justin was showing some interest in going to the toilet and we were getting excited thinking that the end of nappies was drawing nearer. Some mornings and most evenings before bath time he would sit on the loo but never did anything. I eventually went out and bought a toilet training seat that fits onto the toilet and a children's book about how the little baby bear is now a big bear and uses the potty....this has just resulted in him shying away from the toilet and now he never wants to sit on the loo. But we haven't made a big issue of it and we haven't forced him, we shall just let nature take its course ;) Sleep.....our constant issue that never seems to resolve itself. Justin loves his new bed and likes sleeping in it....with me next to him!!!!! This has lead to a lot of tears (both mine and Justin's), a lot of shouting and screaming (again, both me and Justin) and a lot of sleepless nights (all round!) Because we had visitors around the same time we were transitioning Justin to his big bed, it seemed easier to just lie in bed with him till he fell asleep both at nap time, bed time and wakings in the middle of the night.  Now that our visitors are gone, I have tried to stop that and it's been a difficult time in the Ming household. Long story short, a few nights ago, I tried a different approach and Justin's sleep seems to be getting better. He's still waking up at night but not as frequently, we were looking at 3-4 times a night, the last 2 nights it's been once or twice and he goes back to sleep relatively quickly. I will not say it's perfect or that it's improved dramatically but just this teeny tiny bit of improvement has given me hope. 

Justin and his posse watching Shrek or Cars

Easter weekend was really quiet as the weather was horrible and Row was studying. Justin had an Easter egg hunt at school and his teacher said he was the king of the hunt! They said he is so observant and managed to find most of the eggs. Thursday was a bit of a nightmare as we picked him up from school and he was on a sugar rush and came crashing down with lots of tears and tantrums. Which lead me to hide all his chocolate eggs and ration him. 

Justin's Easter spoils

So that's it for April and now we await May and Justin's 2nd birthday! 

Peace out!

Weekend In!

What a miserable weekend! And the weather had nothing to do with it, on the contrary, the sun was shining and the skies were blue. It turned out to be such a mis weekend because all 3 of us fell sick....and here's the interesting bit, none of us have the same illness! Although we think Justin is the cause of all this (poor baby, we'll blame the germs from daycare!) From last Sunday, Justin had diarrhoea and really bad nappy rash, so bad that we couldn't wipe his bum without him screaming and crying and writhing away in pain while also trying to cross his legs to deny us access. Thankfully by Wednesday it stopped and he went to daycare as usual on Thursday and started developing a cough and runny nose. Still no cause for alarm as he went to daycare on Friday although Row wasn't feeling so great and stayed home and in bed (anybody have a cure for the man cold, it would be much appreciated!) Friday night Justin started with a fever and had a restless night of sleep. I wasn't in the best shape as I picked up Justin's stomach bug and so we all spent a miserable weekend together at home. Stuck indoors, there's not much else to do but put the TV on. Justin loves loves loves The Wiggles and that is what he's been watching, along with Barney, Cars and Finding Nemo. Today we also decided to bake banana muffins as we had 3 bananas going vrot (rotten) and my little baker had so much fun helping me. We still haven't eaten the muffins so not sure how well they taste plus we're not sure if other people would want to eat the muffins we made while we were sick. But don't they look delicious?

Justin checking his temperature

Mixing the bananas, sugar and egg

Sifting the dry ingredients

Voila!

Watching The Wiggles over and over and over and over and over again......Justin started learning the actions to the songs. This song is called Rock a-bye Bear, a real big hit with our son! The words are "Everybody clap your hands *clap hands*, Everybody sing *la la la*, Bow to your partner *bow*, Hands in the air *put hands up*,Rock a bye bear, Bear's now asleep *sssh sshhh ssshhh*. He usually pre-empts the actions :)

Day trip to Central Coast

We recently had another set of visitors from South Africa; Row's cousin, Lee-Ann, her husband Terence and their adorable little boy Aidan. Lee-Ann is also cousins with Diona who lives on the Central Coast so we organised a day trip and even hired a Pajero for the day. Guess who were the most comfortable passengers and who were the least comfortable! Each time we go there, Justin grows more and more comfortable with the family and the surroundings. That day was no different; he remembered they have a trampoline and that is where he headed to straight away. Usually Justin seems to play more with Nicholas but that day he seemed to play more with Catherine. They had so much fun together, jumping on the trampoline, drawing on the chalk board and mowing the lawn. Diona's delicious roast veggie lasagne, spaghetti bolognaise and sticky date pudding did not disappoint! Justin also had his first taste of an ice lolly which he loved but thankfully could not finish so had to palm it off to dad. It seemed like a long day but both kids and adults had a very nice day!

The boys in business class; the mums in cattle class!

Catherine and Justin eating ice lollies

Becoming more and more of a dare devil!

Having loads of fun on the trampoline

Yummm, this is so good!

Whee! whee!!!

Taking turns to mow the lawn

Drawing lines on the chalk board

Aidan and Justin watching Nicholas bake doughnuts on the iPhone