School photos 2015

The wait is over - the school photos are in, and they're wonderful...!

Cold June long weekend...

While Dad enjoyed a bit of time up north (minimum 22 deg overnight) Mum and the boys have been enjoying very cold mornings; yesterday it was still 1 deg at 10am... Makes it hard to find something outdoors that is fun for everybody to do without freezing their socks off!

Carter enjoying a cold day at the park

But today we headed out to a new park in the city; it was a lot of fun as the kids have not been there before. Everybody was a bit tired (some have more of a reason than others!), but we just had to get the kids outside to wear them out!

Of course Carter was more bold than Lincoln, but that seems to be how their personalities are developing... 

Here's Linc with a couple of his friends from school:

Linc with Harrison (left of pic) and Jayden (right)

General update

Over a month since the last blog post! And it's basically cause there's been nothing to specially note... just life... routine... some laughs, some yelling, some sleepless nights... We've also been trying to spend a lot less money, as there may be an occasion in the near future where we need to get some cash together at short notice. More on that in a future post.

So, what's been happening...

Firstly, winter is well and truly here, with a -6 deg morning already. Still hasn't stopped Mum though who runs most mornings before Dad is even out of bed! The kids have already been a bit crook, with Carter getting a terrible case of tonsillitis. Currently, they're fine... for now...! We just got a heap of concreting done too, so it's a shame they can't use that more often as it gets dark/cold so early now!

Linc has started soccer again and I'm the coach. While I sort of regret the decision, it's a case of the better me than some hopeless parent who has never played a day in their life (I played for six years as a kid!)... the team isn't all that competent - which is fine, it's just for fun after all - but they are even worse at listening. They just Don't Listen At All. But Linc seems to be enjoying himself, so that's the main thing.

Linc's best friends at the moment is Mitchell D and G, Jayden, Harrison, Brock, Evan, Alfie, Tommy, Jack etc. etc. But there has been times where he hasn't wanted to go to school; he regularly comes home with a headache too. This combined with the perception that he wasn't progressing as well as last year triggered Mum to make an appointment to speak to the teacher. And that was interesting. Linc is in the top four most intelligent children in the class. Apparently this group of four just 'get it' well before the rest of the class and get bored when the teacher is repeating the instructions for tasks so the rest of the class can get started; Linc and the other three just want to go and do it. However, Linc doesn't follow multiple instructions very well, and doesn't cope when there is lots of background noise (chatter etc.). The teacher had a theory that maybe Linc had Auditory Processing Disorder and should be tested. Dad thought it was rubbish, but that there may be residual effects from going so long without being able to hear properly (and yes, the grommets are still in his ears!).

Auditory processing disorder (APD), also known as central auditory processing disorder (CAPD), is a hearing problem that affects about 5% of school-aged children.

Kids with this condition can't process what they hear in the same way other kids do because their ears and brain don't fully coordinate. Something interferes with the way the brain recognizes and interprets sounds, especially speech.

With the right therapy, kids with APD can be successful in school and life. Early diagnosis is important, because when the condition isn't caught and treated early, a child can have speech and language delays or problems learning in school.

Fast forward a week or two and she did the test and decided he doesn't have it. He just needs to concentrate more, which he has been really working on, much to the delight of Ms Jenkins (the teacher). She also noted that he is very sensitive (yep, like his Dad was when growing up!). He has very high levels of empathy towards his class mates, and is acutely aware of social interactions (and places great importance on these interactions).

Carter is growing so fast; he's loving school, and there hasn't been a single day where he hasn't wanted to go. His best friend is Ewan, but he has a number of friends - Jack, Noah, Zane and.... well it was Angus, but not any more(?).... so Carter says.

Happy Easter, and welcome to the family from SA!

Another Easter come and gone. It still feels like yesterday we were running around the AFP K9 site having a huge easter egg hunt. This year it was to Aunty Jo's for a a hunt inside her new house. The boys got heaps of eggs, and it was a lovely morning. We then went and met Mum for lunch before heading to the other side of Canberra to catch up with the grandparents on Dad's side who are house-sitting for a month.

The cousins - from left to right, top to bottom row: Sammy, Cameron, Sarah, Lincoln, Lizzie, Rach, Bec, Carter, Brendan and Will.

We also welcomed some family from SA and that has been nice - especially the visit to the Zoo!

A little Enlightening...

What a fabulous concept - the Enlighten Festival... a bit from the website:

Over ten illuminated nights the whole family can enjoy free and ticketed events such as blockbuster exhibitions and rare films, captivating architectural projections, intriguing live music and performances, stand-up comedy, thrilling tours into the depths of our national attractions, exclusive dining experiences and more.

So the family headed down to Upper Commonwealth Place on Friday arvo with Aunty Suze to experience the Night Noodle Markets and captivating architectural projections. It was wonderful. We were glad we got there when we did (about 1730hrs) as we hardly had to line up for food - AND we got a table and chairs! We parked at Questacon too, so the car was close (which was lucky as we had to don jackets later in the evening as the temperature dropped).

We had chicken and pork kebabs, spring rolls, pad thai and prawn dumplings. Of course the only thing Carter would eat was the prawn dumplings, while Linc chowed down on everything! To finish off we had N2 nitrogen gelato (after lining up for about 40 minutes - lucky it was worth it)...

We loved the 300 coloured boats on the lake, and the architectural projections were stunning; as a bonus treat, the International Space Station flew overhead, so of course we all waved. I'm pretty sure they would've seen the Circle Of Light (laser beams shooting up from in front of Parliament House)...

Nitrogen cloud from the N2 Gelato stand

SUGAR HIGH!!!!

SUGAR HIGH 2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Questacon looking amazing

'Patiently' waiting for the gelatos...

A hazy night added to the atmosphere - look at the people!

300 coloured boats to float your boat

Oh, and Happy Canberra Day! We headed down to Patrick White Lawns behind the National Library to see the Octonauts. Well, Octonaut - just Captain Barnacles bothered to show up... lucky we have bought awesome GOLD reserve tickets to see them all in June at the Canberra Theatre! We didn't stay long today though, Carter caught Linc's cold and has had a fever all day. Can't wait till Winter!

And I'm restaining the deck. Big job. But looking good...

Captain Barnacles is on the right...

The 26-Storey Treehouse at the theatre

From words in a book to real-life characters on a stage, the family went to see The 26-Storey Treehouse during the week. The kids really enjoyed it, although the Pirate was a little too 'real' and was quite scary (especially when a shark bit his head off!).

It was such good fun, we have bought the kids tickets to see the Octonauts Live Show in June - Gold seats, so we'll be much closer to the stage this time - Captain Barnacles, here we come!

Routine returns...

Kids at school, Mum and Dad working, we've certainly found a comfortable routine over the past month. Only one blog post for February was a bit slack, but there wasn't much to say.

After the first week at school Lincoln caught a nasty bacterial infection in his stomach, which meant he was sick almost every night and had a week off school. Mum had lots of fun collecting the bar stool sample... Carter also caught a small bug, but only missed one and a half days...

On returning to school, Linc had trouble settling in; it was only last Thursday that he finally didn't cry when dropped off; it was getting quite upsetting knowing that he really didn't want to go to school - sometimes it even made him feel a little ill - but anxiety can do that to you. He seems much better now though, so fingers crossed.

Carter has settled in really well; he is loving school and, as predicted, is having his 'individual' style of doing things constantly tested - he's a stubborn little fellow - it can be very frustrating.

Both boys have started cricket every Sunday morning; Linc loves it, but Carter only likes it when he is excelling at it - otherwise he cracks it...

We went to the Canberra show yesterday; they sting you $10 to park your car in a dusty paddock before you even get close, but that's progress for you... I'm sure it's going to a good cause... the highlight for Carter was the police display, and for Linc it was the motorbikes (although he was excited about seeing the cars, they turned out being too loud and very not fun!)... A couple of showbags later (Team Hot Wheels for Linc and Mister Maker for Carter) and everyone started getting a little tired (plus the crowds started to swell significantly) so we headed home.

Oh, and Dad sold his motorcycle.