Fluffy Stash

Here is a shot of some of Sienna's fluffy stash. They're so absolutely snuggly soft.

Here are some action shots.

Animal farm fun

We went to the animal farm at Bundoora Park. Austin LOVED all the farm animals when they were behind closed fences. As soon as he saw chickens or the peacock or any other animal roaming free, he FREAKED. Thankfully Sienna was in the stroller, so I was able to manage Austin as he leaped into my arms for dear life.

When I asked him if he wanted to go on a pony ride, his first response was "no mommy, that's not a pony. That's a horsey!!!!". Duh! Silly mommy!

After his episode with the chickens & peacock, I figured there was no way this child would go anywhere near the 'horsey'. To my surprise, he had no issue with it! However, as you can see from the photos, I think he was actually in a bit of shock. He clung to the reins like no tomorrow and was in a bit of a daze the whole ride; showing absolutely NO emotion.

I was terrified that he was going to jump off or fall off. Luckily, he survived the ride and was all intact at the end.

After witnessing Austin's fear of the open-air-animals, I didn't think he could possibly be more scared of anything ever again. Well, he proved me wrong. For days prior to arriving to the farm, all he would talk about was the tractor and how he wanted to ride the tractor and how he wanted to touch the tractor and how he wanted to see the tractor...

So, after walking around the farm for a while, we finally made our way over to the tractor for a ride. We made our way to the front of the 'wagon' and took a seat on the bale of hay. As soon as the wagon was loaded with passengers, Austin flipped out (yet again) and wanted OFF. I was holding Sienna in the baby carrier (Ergo...thank GOD for that!). Austin was clinging to my shoulders on top of his sister and would not let go. Everyone was staring at us and feeling sorry for the poor child whose mother looked as though she had no idea how to manage two children on her own. There was no easy way off the wagon since it was packed with people. Luckily, someone was looking after me that day because Austin finally settled down (still sitting on my lap) and ended up enjoying the ride.

We only spent 2 hours at the animal farm, but that was the longest 2 hours O F M Y L I F E!!

Helping daddy

The other day, I was in the living room and heard Austin rustling through the fridge. I figured he was looking for a 'snack'. I walked in there when I heard cans being moved around.

This is what I found.

He was putting away 'daddy's drink'.

He was even putting them on the shelf where Arthur always puts his sodas. He asked me to help him move some other things out of the way to make room. What a good little helper!! Now if only I can teach him how to use the vacuum......

Austin's Stool

We have this little red stool that Austin has claimed as his own. He uses it in the kitchen and in the bathroom and at the dining table and pretty much anywhere he needs a 'boost'. He always wants to see what we're doing up above and this stool does the trick.

Since he was a naughty boy earlier this week, we took away his stool as punishment. He has to be on good behavior until Saturday to gain it back. Let me tell you, it has WORKED! This kid is so attached to that stool!! Here he is using it to get a boost up to his plate on the counter. When I asked him to smile and say cheese, his response was "I can't say cheese. I'm eating sauce right now." [Sauce = ketchup]

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

I tried to capture a lovely picture of my two children kissing or cuddling or laughing or ANYTHING, as long as they were together. Well, as to be expected, they just would not cooperate. Actually, AUSTIN would not cooperate. Here is the best shot I was able to capture.

That was only after these horrible out-takes:

Finally caught a smile!!

And Sienna in all her cuteness:

Happy Chinese New Year

We went to Southbank today to have Valentine's day lunch as a family. Little did we know that we were about to be swarmed with people who were out there celebrating Chinese New Year! There was a festival along the river with booths of food, games, arts & crafts, market, etc. It was really nice. Austin had a blast at the animal farm. Here are some picture from the day.

Will someone please FEED this child?!!!!!!

If she didn't look so uh-hummm....H E A L T H Y, you'd think we are starving this poor baby when you see her chomping on her arm!!!

Feb 7th

On Sunday, we went to the children's garden at the Royal Botanical Gardens. It was a pretty hot day, but the gardens are just beautiful. So, we packed up the car and ventured out with the kiddos.

Just before we left the house, I was taking a picture of Sienna wearing her cute little teething necklace. Austin said "where's mine camera!??". He ran to get it and started taking pictures of Sienna as well, while saying "click-click, click-click".

We stopped at Cafe Botanical for some 'lunch'. [This is the cafe I took you, Bren, on the day of your Aboriginal Tour at the garden.] I felt like breakfast, so I ordered some eggs with mushrooms, avocado & hash-browns on toast -- YUMMMMM. The menu said they used egg whites on this item, so I felt better about making this healthy choice to balance out all the excess fat in the other bits on the plate! Oh, how I wish I had my camera with me when they brought out the plate. Imagine whipped egg whites, like what you would do to make meringue. Now imagine a plate covered in that about 8 inches HIGH!! Yes, I kid you NOT! I couldn't even see my avocado or hashbrowns, or anything underneath. It must have been the worst dish I have EVER had. I can't believe they really serve that. Who are they kidding?!!!

Anyway, after lunch, we went back to the car to get the camera and other stuff to take to the garden. While we were unloading the car, Austin decided he wanted to "DRIVE". That's he newest thing. He always wants to drive our car. Well, we made the mistake of letting him sit in the driver's seat (no keys though) while we got everything together. He exited out the passenger door (we never opened the driver door). We returned to the car a couple of hours later feeling exhausted, overheated, thirsty and ready to jump in the car to go home. Arthur turned it on and all we heard was zzzz-zzzz-zzz; zzz-zzz-zzz. Yup, the sound of a DEAD battery. UGGHHHHH!!! Austin had turned on the headlights, the wipers and the blinkers when he was 'driving'. Normally, you hear a beeping noise when you leave lights on. But, that only happens when you open the DRIVER door. So, needless to say, our car died while we were at the garden. Luckily, we have RACV and they came to fix us up within half an hour. Lesson learned: do not let your 2.5 year old drive your car ever again!

Here are some pictures from the garden that day.

Feb 6th

Here are some misc pictures I took on Saturday.

Here is our little man, reading the newspaper (the automotive section - go figure) and then using it to play hide-n-seek.

Sienna often holds her hands in this 'praying' position. It's so cute when she does it; especially when she's on the floor, trying to roll over with her hands together like this.

Here we are at a local cafe. Austin enjoyed his babycino with lots of chocolate sprinkles on top!

Sleeping beauty