Pippa Visits the Doc

For a few days Pippa has been intermittently licking her front right paw. I inspected her paw but couldn't see a reason as to the problem but thought it might be a grass seed, so today we went off the visit the vet. Prior to going, I called to see what time I should come in as it is a very small practice which has defined surgery and consultation hours. After chatting on the phone, the vet nurse wanted us to come in ASAP as it was surgery time and if it was a grass seed then they would have to put Pippa to sleep to get it out.

When I made this phone call I was at the other end of Canberra! So Katy and I raced home, bundled Pippa into the car and drove to the vet. The vet looked at Pippa's paw - and explained that he didn't think it was a grass seed because the sore spot wasn't in the web but rather at the base of the toenail. He suggested that they keep Pippa for the arvo and put her to sleep to inspect the paw properly.

After picking up Ella and Andy, we headed back to the vet to retrieve Pippa. The vet had discovered a cut near her toenail and a very wobbly toenail (although not wobbly enough to come out). Obviously this had been causing Pippa a little bit of grief. While Pippa was under, the vet decided to check her other paws and low and behold she had a grass seed in each of her back paws!

A groggy Pippa was happy to head home with some antibiotic tablets and cream and the damage ($$) for us wasn't too bad either :)

A+

Katy visited the GP yesterday on the recommendation of the nurse. As expected the GP sent us off to have an xray. The beauty of working at an imaging place is that you can drop in without an appointment which is just what we did! Xray revealed the Katy has beautiful normal hips and we all sighed in relief...

Orienteering at Aranda

The wednesday night orienteering event was at our local haunt - Aranda Hill so we all decided to go. Unfortunately Ella and Katy both fell asleep in the pram on the way there and didn't wake up in time to do a course. Andy ran the long course getting very hot (it was about 31C). After waking up Ella preferred to socialize with the other little ones rather than go for an explore in the bush. Actually there was quite a creche going with Abby, Zoe, Max, little Mira, Sam, Roy, Makhaya, Luca, Ella and Katy!

The best part of the evening was on our walk home. Just as we were approaching the underpass, 2 people were looking at something in the grassy verge. The something turned out to be an echidna!! I'd never seen an echidna in the wild so not only was it a first for Ella but also for me!

Bits n Pieces

Katy who is now 7.5 months visited the Clinic today to check on her progress. Her stats today were - 8.0kg, 68cm long, 44cm head circumference (Ella at 7mths was 8.7kg, 68cm & 45cm). This translates into a fairly average size baby with a big head! The nurse did notice uneven creases on her legs which means we will have to visit the GP, who will probably refer us to have some sort of imaging. Ultrasound is the usual method for looking at the hip joint - although after 6 months the ossification of the bones make it difficult to assess therefore Katy will probably end up having an xray. This is to check for hip dysplasia.

On the childcare front, Katy seems to still enjoy going. Her report card each day says she has been sleeping for about 2hrs in the morning and arvo something she doesn't do at home! I'll have to find out what the secret is. On the food front, Katy has began to hold pieces of fruit (banana and pear) as well as rusks munching away happily on these.

Ella has provided a few laughs recently. One incident was when I sat down on the couch next to Andy. He had his arm stretched out so that when I sat down his hand was poking out below my armpit. This had Ella stumped as we played along to all my hands waving! Eventually she got it - well I think she did. The other incident occurred with the computer and playing Balla Balla Bambina on itunes. As she had requested to play it a few times, I decided to put it on repeat. So when she asked for it again I told her she had to ask the computer nicely and it may listen to her. She was amazed how every time she asked it would listen and play it again! Priceless!!

Holy Sh**

With two little girls, the frequency of doing clothes washing is steadily increasing. If there is not a load on the line, then there is one waiting to go up. Also trying to get paint or food stains out of clothes is a little trying too. Anyway my frustration levels reach a new level yesterday when I was folding up the dry washing only to discover bird poo on about half of the clothes! The sulphur crested cockatoos gather in the neighbours eucalypt tree at dusk madly squawking and carrying on all the while driving Pippa bonkers. It seems the other night they must of had a touch of diarrhoea! The only positive is with our washing recycling bin our lawn is getting watered heaps!

Move Over Pippa

Recently Ella has been waking up in the early hours of the morning, wandering down to our room and snuggling into our bed. Usually I hear her get out of bed followed by footsteps down the hall and I'll move over a little so she can just climb in. However the other night for some reason I woke up around 4am - there were none of the usual sounds but just as I rolled over I noticed asleep on Pippa's bed (which is next to our bed) was not Pippa but in fact Ella!

Balla Balla Bambina Part 3

Ella decided to share her love of ribbons and dancing with her little sister today. Of course Ella taught Katy how to dance with ribbons to her number 1 favourite song Balla Balla Bambina (by the Wiggles). A special moment luckily captured on video!

First Day at School

Another signpost on the road of Katy's maturity, as she started her first day at the Billy Buttons room of Acton Childcare today. Ella has been talking up this day for a week or so now. The other day we were walking to the shops when Ella spontaneously said "Dad, Ella goes to Sundews (that's the name for the toddlers room), Katy goes to Billy Buttons, Daddy goes to Yellow Flowers and Mummy stays home". I've often wondered whether Ella has any concept of what I do during the day. The fact that she calls my place of work "Yellow Flowers" indicates that she probably doesn't (or else that she knows something I don't know).

Anyway we all trooped of to the childcare centre together this morning. Nat wasn't supposed to come, but since she was called into work at the last minute, she had to drop us all off together. Nat was proud as punch and decided we need a photo of our big girls, and both of them stood still for a sufficiently long time to snap one. Somewhat surprisingly, there were no separation issues at all. Katy was bubbling along (playing with her elephant) and didn't bat an eyelid when I left. And she showed no signs of missing us when we returned (actually she was happily asleep). Which leaves the question: are we really any use at all??

Thredbo for New Years

We hatched plans several months ago to return to Thredbo for the New Years Eve weekend. Last time we did this was PK (pre-kids), and long runs, long coffee stops and sleep-ins were the order of the day. This time around there was a kids flat (us and the McCraes) with the Walders and Searles staying next door in the "sleep-in" flat. I didn't count the hours, but when daytime sleeps were included, I'm certain those in the SI flat got double the amount of sleep we did.

Nonetheless, it was a fun weekend. We took Ella & Katy on a little bushwalk, and for a total 20 mins of the walk (in three spurts) Ella trooped along with hands on hips looking like a real bushwalker. Katy seemed fascinated and waved her hands around excitedly for most of the time, until she got chafing on her cheeks from rubbing against the baby bjorn. Other activities included a trip to the pool on the rainiest day, daily expeditions to the Thredbo Village playground and playing on the stairs in the flat. For the most part the 4 kids got along well and Ella hasn't stopped talking about Abby and Zoe since we got home.

A few other milestones this week. Firstly, Katy got her first teeth -- now has both bottom teeth poking through. (A side-effect of this was a bit of teething pain which we held responsible for an almost complete cessation of milk-drinking and had us worried for a while.) Secondly, we've taken the plunge and switched Katy's seat in the car so she can face forward like a real person! First time around she burst into tears, but now seems to be pretty happy that she can see us while we're driving.

Andy's Holiday Project

The other day Andy became very enthusiastic about restoring our old outdoor cafe chairs. Purchased soon after we returned from the UK, these chairs had a woven plastic type cane seat that was very comfortable to relax in. Unfortunately by the 3rd summer of hot aussie sun, the cane began to crack and break and hence we no longer had outdoor chairs to sit in.

Rather than throw out the steel frames, we decided to restore them. Our first attempt was to get advice from furniture repair people who told us it was cheaper to buy new ones than to have these ones recovered. Undeterred the frames sat in the garage gathering dust for another year or so until last week.

After much thinking on the sofa watching cricket, Andy decided to used thin decking timber. This worked well for the seat but not for the back as the frame was curved.

The next solution was to make a waistcoat for the chair. This involved using eyelets and cord to provide the tension required for the fabric to fit the curving frame.

The finished product we think looks pretty good as well as being great to sit in! Andy's parents were so impressed with the restoration that they have commissioned Andy to restore their chairs too....