TWO BIG KINDER KIDS!!!!

We've been very excited in our house this year as we now have Jack and Lucy attending the Len Jeffrey Memorial Pre School here in Belgrave South. Lucy is going to 3 year old kinder once a week and Jack is going to 4 year old kinder three times a week, for four hours at a time. He has the most wonderful kinder teacher Belinda and her assistant Coral (which is my mum's name ... seriously, where else do you find a Belinda and Coral?!). Jack has settled in incredibly well and really loves kinder. He's made lots of friends and the kids are very accepting of Jack, once they got all their tricky questions out the way. Originally I was sitting in on the sessions too but they're now doing so well that I can drop him off and pick him up, just like all the other kids. We have an aide called Susan who is looking after him until we find someone permanent to do the 3 days a week. Jack told me that he didn't want me to come to kinder ... cramping his style maybe?! Lucy is lucky enough to be able to sit in on his sessions as well if I have to stay so she has also been excelling at 4 year old kinder! This photo is their first day.And of course, poor Jack finds kinder just exhausting!! Wait til CPEC starts back, we'll have kinder Monday, Wednesday and Friday's and CPEC on Tuesday's and Thursday's. Think I'll be right next to him after our first week!

School holiday fun!

Jack & his cousin David sure love hanging out together so after a suggestion from David that we could go swimming one day, we met at Knox Leisure Works for some fun in the water. These 2 are great mates and David is very good at making Jack laugh!!
And here is Miss Lucy is her very precious 'Little Mermaid' swimsuit she got from her Grandma Sue from Utah. She just loves these and looks as cute as a button!! Looking forward to doing it again some time soon David!

Lucy turns big 3!!

We simply cannot believe it but our little tiny baby turned 3 on the 20th January. She was so excited about her birthday coming and so were we. Here is she is going to see her big present outside with Dad telling her to 'close your eyes Lucy!'

And here is the surprise ... a new swing set that well and truly put Daddy's handyman skills to the test! After a late night and an early start, he got it ready just in a nick of time.Mummy got busy in the kitchen making Lucy her butterfly cake for the day ahead. Lucy wanted to help with the final decorating.And here is the birthday fairy, ready to blow out the candles. Was a great day with lots of fun and we sure loved spoiling our girl!!

A sleep over at Granny & Pa's house

Jack and Lucy were lucky enough to have a 2 night sleepover at Granny & Pa's house during the holidays. Here is Granny telling Jack how he's not quite the little baby he used to be but now a very big boy!! Helping Granny in the gardenAnd having a sit on Pa's little tractor ... no big toys like that at our house!

A day trip to sunny Sorrento

This beautiful January day saw us take the trip down to Sorrento to catch up with our friend Ed and visit Sime & Lorraine who were down in Blairgowrie. 'Uncle Ed' was great with taking Lucy for a wander in the water, although she had to ask before they went in if there were any sharks in the water!! Once reassured, she thoroughly enjoyed it! Jack absolutely loves being outside and it always bring this beautiful smile from our boy.

Jack on the computer..

For those of you who are wondering how Jack plays on a computer, well here he is in action. The red 'switch' is for scanning and the blue switch is for selecting. The games are designed for children with cortical vision impairment and have a lot of visual and audio responses to his selections. He's getting really good at it!!! Another clever activity we've gained from CPEC.

Christmas celebrations...

The festive season for us started with the Mullan family getting together for Christmas lunch a couple of weeks early. We were treated to a delicious lunch put on by Craig's sister Helen and husband David, along with a bit of entertainment... see below!Jack was also treated to a bit of fun with his cousin David on his little jeep - as you can see, Jack not only enjoyed the jeep ride but thinks David is a pretty cool guy!! These two have a lot of fun together and Jack can mostly be heard laughing at all the funny things David says.Jack thoroughly enjoyed Christmas this year with Santa bringing some new games for his computer along with a future trip on Puffing Billy. He's also decided that he loves the wrapping paper now, last year was a disaster with people opening their presents as he used to have a melt down whenever he heard the wrapping paper!!!And lovely Lucy, Santa was very kind to her and here she is getting her first Barbie - along with clothes, a Barbie computer (learning centre) and too much more to mention. Christmas really is much more fun with the kids!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

Well here we are, Christmas time for 2009 already!!! Very late post but better late than never I figure! Below is a picture from the CPEC Christmas party where the kids received a present from Santa - Lucy has decided he is a bit of alright now and although she didn't really want to sit on his knee, this Santa didn't give her a choice!! Jack's not too sure what all the fuss is about!And here is our little butterfly girl.... she's also decided that having your face painted isn't all that scary either. Was a great day at CPEC and lovely to celebrate in a place that has become so much a part of our life. So to you and your families, we hope you have a lovely Christmas and look forward to catching up with everyone in the new year!!

Say hello to baby Ethan Thomas!

My beautiful bestfriend Melissa & hubby Brian have on the 1st December welcomed young Ethan as the 3rd addition to their family. Weighing in at a whopping 10 pound 10, and 56 cms, this young fella is almost double the weight that Lucy was when she was born and 10 cms longer!! We're absolutely thrilled for them and will just love watching him grow up.

CPEC Mum's Night Out

The last Sunday in November saw the CPEC Mum's frocked up and out on the town for a bit of fine dining at The Press Club in Melbourne. It's so lovely to be able to have a night out with the girls when normally we're trying to have a conversation over feeding kids and talking funding, communication books and all other 'kids stuff' at CPEC. I absolutely adore these girls and have thoroughly enjoyed building such wonderful friendships with them this year. They have certainly helped me get through a year of trying to 'tame the lion' in Jack!!

Daddy turns 36!

November brings around a birthday for the big fella and this year we celebrated it with the Kennon's at the local Chinese restaurant which was really yum. My brother Russell (yes, believe it - I DO have a brother!!) and his wife Michelle came down for the occasion and as you can see, Uncle Russy enjoyed licking the beaters of the cake with Lucy.

You may also be happy to know too that the goatee on Craig's face has gone.... yay!!!!

Jaz's Valedictory Dinner

My little (!) niece Jazmyn has just finished year 12 and I was very lucky to attend her valedictory dinner. Can't believe she's nearly 18 already, was a great night out to hang with the Wray girls!