The rest of April

In our house April wasn't just about birthdays and starting solids. Here are some more photos.

There were two in the bed and the little one said "roll over, roll over".

New aprons for our budding chefs. Made by Nanoo.

The Bride of Frankenstein.

The B-Bear.

Little Mister and Mini-Mister.

What a glorious feeling / I'm happy again.

Our newest food critic

Buster is five and a half months old now. He hadn't been showing any of the usual signs of being interested in food but the breastfeeds suddenly didn't seem enough. So we decided we'd introduce him to food. Being a Bartley/Hobson means he is genetically inclined to love food and lots of it. He has proven this over the past week and a bit and taken to being spoonfed with ease. So far he has discovered apples, and tonight he tried pears. Just like Henry did when he was a baby, Buster sometimes cries when the meal is over.

The first mouthful. Boring, bland rice cereal.

Mouth open, ready to receive. Mmm, apple.

Henry's birthday

Our little Mister is not so little anymore. He is now five years old. He'll start school next year but for now he is just excited to be one year older.

Let the festival of presents begin.

Thank you Aisling, Rory, Ciara, Lib and Mike.

Not everyone was happy it was Henry's birthday.

"Where's my present?" cried Milly. Umm, it was your birthday yesterday Milly.

Milly's birthday

Sometimes it was hard to believe that our little poppet was still two. Now at last, she is THREE!

Yummy! Presents for breakfast.

Thank you Aisling, Rory, Ciara, Lib and Mike.

Ready for when it rains indoors.

Buster takes control of the wrapping paper.

Birthday party

We didn't really think things through when we decided to have child no.2. Don't get me wrong, we wanted more than one child and we are very happy with the children we have, it's just the timing of their births that is the problem. Milly's birthday is 19 April and Henry's birthday is 20 April. Having their birthdays one day apart means when the "big day" comes around it is double the effort - two cakes to make (well, three cakes really if you count the extra cake I have to make for Henry to take to preschool), two loads of presents to find homes for in the house, and a week either side of the "big day" of two over-excited youngsters.



This year we held another joint birthday party. With Henry starting school next year it will most likely be the last of the joint celebrations. Some pictures of the day below.

Henry requested a T-Rex dinosaur cake ...

... and Milly requested a love heart cake.

Party time! Let's open some presents! What did you get Henry?

Party table.

Funny face biscuits.

Henry's harem - Allegra, Madeleine and Luka.

Milly also found love - chocolate crackles.

Even Buster helped out as a weight for the balloons.

When too much chocolate is never enough

Easter in Australia is a wonderful time of year when we get public holidays giving us a four day weekend and the shops are full of chocolate. The kids get excited about a visit from the Easter Bunny and the adults get excited about the extra time off work and the chance to indulge or overindulge in food, drink and chocolate. Here are some snaps from our Easter.

Easter Sunday: H&M and their booty of eggs.

Easter Sunday: a post-breakfast egg.

Easter Sunday: mmmmm, chocolate.

Easter Monday: another egg hunt with Rose Logan.

Easter Monday: not everyone was happy that the egg hunt was over.

Cousins

Some family time was spent over Easter. Corin, Yin and baby Casper came to visit and some photo opportunities were taken. Buster is 9 weeks older than Casper. It was really nice to see the four cousins all together.

Buster's Hobson head doesn't look so big next to Casper.

Sharing a joke.

Knees up Mother Brown.

They might look innocent now but just give them a few more years.

Four months on...

It is hard to believe Buster is now four months old. He is a gorgeous little boy with a very placid nature and fits into the family perfectly. Henry and Milly love him completely and although we don't want our B-Boy to grow up too fast, we can't wait to see how he interacts and plays with his older siblings when he is a little older.

What a difference four months makes.

Say "cheese" Buster.

H&M dressed up for Chinese New Year. Outfits courtesy of my sister-in-law's mum in Hong Kong.


My three cheeky monkeys.

Tummy time.

Chuckles

Buster Boy is almost four months old. He doesn't say much but has an infectious smile and occasionally he lets out a bit of a chuckle.

Acca Dacca

Ever since my dad played me a live version of AC/DC's song "Thunderstruck" turned up extremely loud on a car stereo I've wanted to see them in concert. So when it was announced they were touring Australia I got excited. The complication, I was pregnant and knew our baby would only be three months old when AC/DC played Sydney, plus now that we live in Newcastle there is a bit of travel involved - how could it be done? I decided it was all too hard and by the time I had changed my mind the concert was sold out. Boo hoo.

That is where knowing the right people can come in handy. A friend, the wonderful Jen, works at the stadium AC/DC were to play at and organised tickets for us and parking to make it easy for our entry and exit (timing is everything when you're a breastfeeding mum). We also booked the services of Nanoo to sleep over and babysit. So now it was all organised. A night out just the two of us (can't remember when that last happened), and it was to see AC/DC.



We left Newcastle at 5.30pm and got home at 2.30am. My boobs were ready to explode (having missed a couple of feeds) and we were sooooo tired. No chance of a sleep in when you have three young kids.

So how were AC/DC? AWESOME!!!!! They were loud, they were sexist, they shook us all night long. Everything they did was huge - the stage, the props, the lighting, the guitar solos. They had a train burst through the stage, then later a massive blow up doll straddled the train, there were exploding cannons, and fireworks. The fans were many and varied and just as loud. I think there were 70,000 people there, from scary biker looking types, to mums and dads with their kids.

Loud, louder, loudest - they turned it up to 11.

"Whole Lotta Rosie" was certainly one giant blow up doll. The band members were ant sized compared to her.

"Highway to Hell"

A blog entry isn't complete without a picture of our three.

Super Buster

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's our little blob - Super Buster.

Super Buster is now three months old and his list of achievements is growing. So what makes Super Buster so super?

Super Buster is easy going and doesn't mind his big brother and sister poking and proding him. Super Buster can smile (he has a dimple) and is starting to laugh. Super Buster can say "aaah". Super Buster concentrates very hard at trying to grab toys hanging in front of him. Super Buster isn't interested in trying to raise his head during tummy time, he's too busy digging his toes into the floor and trying to push off. Super Buster is a good little feeder and sleeper. Super Buster loves a cuddle. After a long day there is nothing Super Buster likes more than a float in the bath followed by a massage.

Life is sweet

We truly are lucky to have such three wonderful children. Yes, they all have their moments that leave me and Michael arguing over whose genes are responsible for certain behavioural traits; but on the whole they are happy, healthy, and caring to one another - gotta be pleased with that.

"He's my baby gorgeous", says Milly.

The B-Boy and his tank top.

"I want to be in the picture with Buster." "No, I do." "No, I do." "No, I do."

Meeting their newest cousin - Casper Kobi Bartley.

Another Hobson head.

All smiles when Milly sings "I can sing-a-rainbow".

Tummy time sees our Buster face down on the floor. That Hobson head is hard to lift.