MINE

The new word - spoken very loudly and defiantly. A very useful term when you have a big sister.
Other new words include "umm, why, no, yes, and Look!" as in "Mumma - look!" (referring to a kite surfer on the beach). Other new things are having tea parties, climbing up onto the high stools, and loading/unloading the dishwasher.

Matilda's party

Time for Matilda's party. A lovely party in the park with an amazing face painter. Cheeky faces - highly recommend them.

Beach time

We were lucky enough to be put up down the coast for a few days. The cloud cover meant the beach was quiet - luckily - as the kids nuded up. The highlight was the inverse sandcastle - perfect for jumping into. You can also tell Zach has been watching Bronte closely at gymnastics.

Camping!

Bronte had her first camping trip this weekend. After some protracted negotiation, Zach stayed at home with Dad and we headed up to Elanda point with the school friends. Unfortunately, Finn got sick and had to leave, but Ava got to stay - and the girls had the most fantastic time. 

It was very cold at 5:50 in the morning. I made Bronte do a bush wee as the toilets were too far away at that time in the morning. 

Catching up on the latest goss

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Early morning at the lake

19 months - 3 times the photo for 3 times the trouble

Is it a sign of intelligence when the terrible 2s start early? Is it just because we had a girl first that Zach seems so full of energy, or is it just because we are older? This month the weaning happened and the baby is no more. Zach is cheeky-charming personified. His climbing skills continue to improve - scarily so - and he emulates all of Bronte's moves from gymnastics. His word range is steadily increasing, but his receptive language is outstanding. He particularly understands the word "no" - responding by either continuing what he was doing, but faster, or throwing the instant tantrum. Lucky he is so cute.

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4.4

Cheeky

We have an ikea two step stool. It gets dragged around the house by Zach to get up to all sorts of mischief - the main targets being the kitchen bench and the pantry. This is a very typical move, where he would have dragged his stool around to climb up and help make pancakes. I have had to move Bronte onto more advanced cooking tasks to free up the easier ones for Zach to complete. He is very loud if thwarted in this.

Hands out

As Grandma and Granddad were leaving, Grandma asked for a cuddle from Zach (he was in my arms). He shook his head "no", leaving Grandma to exclaim "Oh Zach, that make me sad". Whereupon he pushed off me and reached out for Grandma. A good cuddler is that boy.

B in a tree

Did I forget how cute they were?

Just in case I had forgotten how cute they were, Zach and Bronte on my return insisted on sitting on the same stool on the chair together to eat their dinner. And had to have lots of cuddles.

For goodness sake

I had my first keynote talk in Tokyo - which meant weaning and leaving the zachary for the longest time yet. The lead up was a bit rough, but the actual trip went very well - both for dad and the kids, and for me. Despite only being in Japan from Sunday morning till Tuesday afternoon, I managed to fit a lot of "culture" in - helped by the fact I was utterly spoilt by my hosts.

Barrels of sake are donated every year by the brewers in Tokyo to this Palace shrine - also a very popular place for weddings, and wedding photos. I got to watch 5 different couples come through - each in the incredibly beautiful kimonos.

My wonderful host, Ai.

The best place to try sake for the first time surely must be at a restaurant on the top floor overlooking Tokyo while being served divine Japanese food. Surely.

As an honoured guest ("cough") they took me to a 300 year old Japanese tea house on the campus for a formal lunch. Everything was stunningly beautiful. Not always delicious, but always beautiful.

Fete day!

Fun at the fete before mum headed to Japan. Stunning weather for a tea cup ride or two, and Bronte got to sample her first fairy floss. I can happily say she did not want to finish it.