Gone!!!

Here is Austin at about 6pm tonight……

and then we finally got organised enough to chop all of his hair off……

It’s not a great after photo but I think he looks a lot better!!  I also now think he really looks like Noah again.  After a few months of looking quite different to Noah at that age he now looks like him again….

This week we should be getting windows!!!!  After over 3 months of living in a house with no back windows we have finally sorted out our planning permission (well admitted defeat on that score!) and eventually found a joiner who seems to actually be making the windows rather than just talking about it like our first joiner!  We’re hoping it will make a big difference to the look of the kitchen and will also mean Richard can finish the plastering and fit the units!!!  Photo’s to follow if all goes to plan!!

So boring!!

Yet again we’ve not really been up to much.  It’s been cold and we’ve had house things to do, and now it is snowing again!!!!

At the weekend me and Richard did go out for a meal as my Mum had the kids, but really it was rubbish.  We went to a pretty posh restaurant in Manchester.  We’ve been a few times before and normally it is brilliant, pricey but worth it occasionally.  This time I had pollo penne…but found about half a square centimetre of chicken in there!  Obviously cost saving…but it’s not working as it was very empty so other people aren’t going.

On the Sunday we went to a mini show which was good, even with the snowy drive there.

This week Austin has had a cold, we think it’s the first time he’s had any sort of illness!!!  We both thought this separately so we’re pretty convinced it must be right!  He’s definitely never been pukey sick, or anything odd…  And we are almost certain it’s his first runny nose!!!  All that living on a building site must be toughening him up!  Noah was sick a few times this morning so hopefully Austin isn’t going to catch whatever that was, although Noah seems better now…just a 6 hour bug!!  And he managed to be sick while Richard was home to clean up!!!!

Nanny’s 60th

Today was Nanny’s 60th birthday!!  We went for a meal in our local carvery pub.  Unfortunately Nanny (and others) got stuck in mad traffic when a lorry decided to drop it’s potatoes all over the motorway!!!!!!!  They were really late so we had to get Caitlin and Noah’s food before they arrived and Austin gave up and fell asleep!!!  Once they got here though the food was lovely and Nanny enjoyed opening the presents that Caitlin and Noah had made for her.  The main thing they made was a money box as Nanny wanted donations to BLISS for her birthday so that a local neonatal nurse could go on one of their training days.  So me and Noah made the box and lid and Caitlin made a baby to go on the top.

After the meal we did the cake….

It was the first cake I’ve made in the new oven….and I can now safely say my cakes were always rubbish due to our old oven!!!!!!  This cake was a little bit overcooked but it was definitely the best cake I have made in a long time!!  In the middle we had Caitlin friendly whipped cream!!!!!!!!  It didn’t really whip up as much as regular whipping cream but everyone thought it tasted ok.  Caitlin has never had a cream cake before and she was very very impressed!!!!!!

Austin woke up right at the end so we managed to get one picture with him in it….

…(with his hair looking very wild again…really can’t decide if I should chop it off!!!)

Mini racing!

Years ago me and Richard both got mini scalextric type sets which we haven’t played with for ages!  Noah spotted them and asked to get them out so Richard did!!!  Noah loved it and Caitlin also did but she was also really good at it.  She got the hang of slowing down slightly for the corners and was lapping Noah all the time!

Austin thought the racing was hilarious and just sat squealing at them!!  He then decided he was going to join in….

…the track didn’t last too  much longer!!!!!!!

8 months…

….yes Austin is 8 months old already!!!!  And to think I thought the house could be finished before he was born and here we are still not done….  I got Austin weighed last week and he was 21lbs, which makes him pretty much exactly the same weight as Noah at this age (and an awful lot more than Caitlin!!)  He is rolling over a lot more (none of our kids have been keen on rolling!) but still only does it when he has to.  He is really good at sitting now and has started to stand up against things.  He still adores Caitlin and Noah and gets very excited when he see’s them.  He chats away all the time and can say da, ma, ga and ba!!!

Austin is still super smiley and chilled out, even since we got rid of his dummy!!  We thought it would be a nightmare to get rid of but he didn’t seem to really notice.  He has been chewing on his thumb but I haven’t seen him properly suck on it so hopefully he won’t!!!

His hair is getting quite long now and a bit wild looking so I am considering cutting it!  I remember having this dilemma with Noah and he looked so much better once it was cut.

Party time

Today Caitlin has been to a birthday party for someone in her class.  He was supposed to have it in December but he was sick so it was postponed until today.  It was a pirate party so at 9am Caitlin dressed up as a pirate!!!!!  By the time the party came around at 11 she’d had her eye patch and hat on for so long it was hurting her so they got abandoned.  There was the usual pass the parcel and then musical statues which Caitlin won!!!!!!

This afternoon we made a present for Nanny as it’s her birthday next week!!!!

Accents!

On Thursday we went to visit Katie and Abigail after school.  They are from Yorkshire and so have a slightly different accent to us, which is kind of a Manchester/general Northern accent!  Noah has had us in stitches saying he is going to see Abigail and “Kay…eeee” (not sure I can really type how he says it but imagine a really strong Yorkshire accent!).  I’m not sure if it’s normal for an almost 3 year old to do impersonate other accents but he does it to a few people and it’s really funny!

Anyway we had a great time playing and having tea….

and Austin practised his standing!  He seems to really be coming on all of a sudden.  He has gone from his legs being completely unable to take any of his weight to being able to hold all of it for a good couple of minutes all in the space of a week….

New places!

Yesterday we went to check out a new soft play centre.  I hate our local soft play as the play area is next to the exit and the cafe/seating area is the furthest from the exit…so in theory your child could just walk out and anyone can come in and you wouldn’t see them!  I know the exit is locked and you need to be buzzed out but your child could tailgate on the end of another family and the person manning the exit would just assume they were with them.  Or if your child is like Noah and would willingly go with someone offering sweets again their exit wouldn’t arouse any suspicion.  So the new place is perfectly (in my opinion!!) laid out….exit then seating then the playing!  All was going great until lunch time when I realised they didn’t have a microwave to heat Austin’s food.  I’m not sure if the no microwave was because they are new and just haven’t sorted it yet or one of those daft health and safety things….  If it was a health and safety thing then God help us because the man (member of staff therefore far more competent than me) put Austin’s food in the microwave complete with metal lid….  He then proceeded to give it back to me still completely frozen!!!!  Anyway really that was our only complaint, oh and the chairs were a bit wobbly!!  The food was lovely, all nice and new, set out right and quite quiet we’ll be going again!!

Then today we tried out a new playgroup.  That was good too, just around the corner from our house and nice and busy.

Staying in and playing….

The weather is still rubbish so we’ve not really been out doing anything exciting!!  I’ve been thinking of Noah’s birthday party and think I may have a plan, since it’s now just 5 weeks until he is 3!!!!!  I can’t believe how fast that has gone. 

We’ve also made 2 Christmas presents…super organised!!!!!!!!!!!

Today I tried to get a picture of the 3 of them but it is impossible.  Austin is super smiley and easy to get a shot of….

….the other 2 just do ridiculous smiles and then run away!!!

The snow has gone now so hopefully we’ll be able to get out and about again!!

A Christening!

Today we went off to a Christening.  It was a good service the vicar involved the kids and seemed quite nice.  Afterwards we went for a carvery which was lovely.  Austin had a great time just sitting there grinning as usual!!!

Caitlin and Noah had a great time, there was a face painter for the kids who was really good…she turned Noah into a blue tiger and painted flowers all over Caitlin…

There was also an amazing balloon modeller!  Normally they make a dog or a sword and all the kids are chuffed to bits, but this one made all sorts of amazing things from bugs bunny to a motorbike for Noah…

…which he loved and spent ages riding around the room on it!!!!  They all also spent ages chasing each other around the room and were completely knackered when we came to leave!