Jones Family Christmas 2007

This is a photo of Zach and my Godson Steele.



Every year on the Sunday before Christmas we get together with the Jones side of the family which is my Mum's brother and sisters and their families. There are now 3 generations that get together so there's usually about 30 of us. We only get together usually once a year so it's a lot of noise and conversation flying and now that we have 6 kids under 4 it's a lot of fun watching them 'helping' to give out the presents to people. We all share from year to year who's house it takes place at and this year it was Aunty Wendy and Uncle Noel's. They live on the canal at Bribie Island so it's a great spot - although for us as parents of young children you have to constantly watch that the kids don't decide to go down the hill to the water for a spontaneous swim. Luckily all the kids were good and no fishing of children out of the water took place.

This is my Nanna!

I took this great photo of Zach and my Mum the other day. Mum is a great Nanna to all her grandkids and you can tell from this photo how much she just loves being with them. Thanks Mum, you're the best!

And on to solids we go!

Recently Zach is watching us more and more as we eat and drink and if you're holding on to him at the time he reaches out for what your eating or drinking to try and get it so we decided it might be time for solids. I think every baby's face the first time they taste solids is memorable and of course Zach's was no disappointment. As I was home by myself it was hard to hold the camera, take the photo and give him the food so this photo was as close as I got.

Bin Boys

For a while now every Friday Lochie listens out for the Garbage Truck and when it comes to our Street which is usually around lunchtime he runs to our bedroom at the front of the house to watch the truck pick up the neighbours and our bins, empty them into the truck and put the bins down again. Then either that night or the next morning, depending on what time Jas gets home from work, Lochie then goes out and helps Jason bring the bins around to the side of the house again. He's so strong he can pretty much pull the bin by himself - and we're very into doing things by ourself at the moment - drives me and Jason crazy - especially when we can't even shut a door or kitchen drawer as Lochie wants to do it himself! I'm all for independence but he sure takes it to the extreme sometimes.

5mths and still going strong!

Mr Zach is now 5 mths old and growing bigger and stronger every day - just ask my back by the end of the day. Thank goodness I have a wonderful husband who helps out when he gets home every night and gives both the boys a bath and gets them dressed for bed. Zach now loves sitting up more than lying under his playgym so thanks to an idea I got from one of my friends (thanks Ang) I'm currently using one of my laundry baskets to help him sit up and also keep all his toys within his reach. The photo also is a great shot of those very thick thighs that we tell people about. He loves working them out by standing up on your lap and jumping. He's so strong I can hardly hold on to him when he does it. I think this little man is going to be go, go, go when he's up and walking.

Happy 40th Birthday Jason!

My wonderful (and still youthful) husband turned 40 last week. On his actual birthday which was Tuesday we had a cake before the boys went to bed so we could sing Happy Birthday (more for Lochie's sake) and then we headed of to have dinner at one of our favourite restaurants while my Mum babysat the kids. I have another story about our dinner which I will explain later but back to the Birthday Boy. Jason decided some time ago that instead of just having a party for his 40th he wanted to do something different and memorable to mark the occasion so he decided that he wanted to do Tandem Skydiving. So on Sunday we and a few family and friends headed off to Suttons beach at Redcliffe (which is about 15mins north of our place) to watch him jump from 14000ft. It was a beautiful day and Jason was more excited than nervous. The jump went well and we all cheered when he landed safely. We then had a cake for him at the beach and then came back to our place for lunch as it was pretty hot at the beach and there was heaps of people (My Mum and her friend Barbara had arrived a 7.45am to get us a spot as we knew it would get busy during the day - thank you Mum!). We all then sat down at home and watched the DVD of the jump which was awesome. Jason said he had a great day and was glad that he did the jump for his Birthday.

Ok, now the story about our dinner on the Tuesday night. We were sitting in the restaurant (I won't name names) and I felt something run up the top of my leg and between my legs (I was wearing a skirt, I never wear skirts! Note to self - always wear pants) - I just froze as you would do in this kind of situation - well I didn't want to yell and make a scene. I told Jason and then tried to get rid of get rid of what every was there with my hand. Every time I put my hand close I felt tiny barbs sticking into my fingers, this is when I got a bit scared and worried that it might have been a wasp or bee or something similar. Jason gave me a tissue and I tried to remove it with that. After a few attempts I pulled the tissue out and all I could see was a leg. At this point I realised that I had to get up to get up to get rid of the rest of it so I very calmly got up and walked to the ladies toilet. After reassuring myself that nothing was left on me or my skirt I returned to the table and noticed on the way that there was a dead cockroach on the floor a few metres away from our table. I realised that this must have been the culprit and called over the waitress who apologised and said they had trouble with this from time to time as the restaurant was open at one end and so the little bugs just fly on in. We got a free desert and hot chocolate drink thanks to our friend which was very nice but I think I would rather pay for desert next time than go through that again.

Dreamworld here we come!

Every year Jason's work puts on a Childrens Christmas Party for their employees and their families. The last 2 years were Australia Zoo and this year it was Dreamworld. They are pretty awesome parties with not only entrance to the venue but they then put on a buffet lunch for everyone and Santa usually visits. Well we headed off to Dreamworld thinking that Lochie would hopefully get on some of the rides as he had gone on one when we went to Australia Zoo recently but apparently we were wrong. He was very happy to walk around and to look at the animals and other attractions but any talk about going on a ride or even the train that goes around the park he was very strongly against. Luckily for him every time we went to get on the Train it was either full in the part where they let you on with prams or the Train wasn't there. We did have a lovely day overall and Lochie had a lovely time playing on the train outside the ice-cream shop(this one didn't move or toot it's whistle which was the problem with the other one), and in the wiggles playroom for kids. It was a very different experience of a theme park for me as I'm a real adrenalin junkie and usually go on every scary ride I can. Jason encouraged me to go on one but it just didn't feel right with no one to share the excitement with on the ride (usually my sister Ros is my ride buddy, and she wasn't there). I'm looking forward to when our kids are old enough to come on the rides with me. Hopefully at least one of them will like it as much as me.

Christmas is here - hooray!

I love Christmas! I love putting up the tree (although I'm sure my husband would say I'm a bit pedantic about where to place the ornaments on the tree). I love advent calendars and counting the days down with Lochie - especially this year as he understands it even more. I love wrapping gifts and then watching the person open their present on Christmas day and hoping that they will love what we bought for them. I love getting the perfect gift for someone and watching their surprised look of delight on their face. Most of all I love being with my family and enjoying just being with them and experiencing the day through our children.
















The innocence of a baby and the attitude of a 2.5yr old! My line of "Lochie if you put the Santa hat on and let Mummy take a photo I won't ask you to wear the hat again ok" thankfully worked or otherwise you would only be seeing a photo of Zach - such a sweet baby!

3 Work Colleagues and now 3 Mums

I must have an uncanny ability to get pregnant at the same times as my friends. When I had Lochie, my 3 good friends from school and I all had babies within 3 mths of each other - all boys. This year I had Zach and then 4 of my work friends all had babies within 6mths of each other - all boys again. I caught up with 2 of them recently. Pictured is Debbie with baby Alex and Mary and baby Ben. We are hoping to do the same as my school friends and I and catch up on a regular basis to watch our babies grow together.

Ah the peace of using Hi-5 on TV

5mins before this photo was taken these three angels were running around the house like mad hatters and just as loud. But now look at them, what a change the sentence "would you like to watch something on TV?" has.

Our Big Kindy Boy

Lochie has been going to Childcare (we call it Kindy) one day a week since June this year and has recently moved up to the 2-3's group. We have been having tears again when I leave him in the morning but then when I pick him up they always say that he's had a great day! Twice he's even got Star of the Day for things like helping out the teacher and being kind to the other kids in his class (a few qualities that I wouldn't mind him bringing home from time to time). Anyway, recently they had photos done and they told me that the photo had gone well and he had even smiled but I didn't really believe them until I picked up the photos yesterday and saw it was true. It's a great photo of him and he's not doing his normal forced smile that he gives us when we try to take a photo of him so I thought I would show you too.

A busy week!

Last week we had a rather busy week. My brother Stephen got a job driving a Tower Crane up in Townsville (about 16hrs north of Brisbane for those overseas people reading this Blog) and so on Sunday night we had a family dinner to send him off and he flew up north on Tues to start work on Thursday - so far things seem to being going well for him. He has a place to stay thanks to my wonderful friend Fiona who lives in Townsville - he is staying at her Mum's house as he is only supposed to be working in Townsville until January and then his work moves to Cairns (another 4hrs north). He is enjoying Townsville, as he says it's more relaxed up there which he enjoys more. Hopefully he will continue to enjoy it and the job will be a success. My sister and her family then moved their furniture into their new house at Bridgeman Downs on Monday - they need to do some work on their house before they move in but hopefully this will happen in the new year - they are staying with her in-laws until then. Lochie, Zach and I went over on Monday afternoon to see the new house and Lochie was so excited about seeing the removal truck and Aunty Ros even took him up the ramp and into the back of the truck once it was emptied which he thought was pretty great too. Then Thursday night the Mainly Music (a music program for kids) which we attend on Mondays had a Mum's night so Mum, Ros and I headed off to make Gingerbread Houses for Christmas. We had the best time decorating them - I have a photo to show you my creation. Mum and Ros had a great idea and decided to use the house that they decorated for Ellen's Birthday Cake as she turned 3 this Sunday just gone. We will keep my house to eat at Christmas which Lochie is very excited about which is quite amusing as currently he doesn't eat any cake or lollies when they are offered to him - I'm sure this will change in the future. Friday night I had a mum's night with the mum's from Playgroup and had a lovely time - they are a great bunch of girls and we always heaps of fun catching up without having to talk around kids. On Saturday we caught up with friends Andrew, Bec & family, Kerri & Phil, Ros & the girls (we've only been trying to catch up as a group since last January so finally we did it), and then on Sunday we made out spare room into a playroom (hooray- I'm very excited - we have a lounge room with no toys in it - it looks so big now). Lochie thinks his new playroom is great. Lets hope the concept of it sets in, although I'm sure toys will still migrate to the lounge room but at least I get put them back in the playroom and shut the door so I don't have to see it. During the process of setting up the room Jason said to me "Can I just say one thing - no more toys" I think he has forgotten that Christmas is only 4weeks away - sorry sweetheart! Then we went to a family Birthday party for Ellen's 3rd Birthday - I told you it was a busy week! Hopefully this week will be quieter - yeah right, in our family I don't think that's possible.

New Play Equipment

Recently a friend's neighbour was having a garage sale and I said to let me know if they have any outdoor equipment as Lochie loves playing outside and I want to encourage that. The people did have a few items so we know have a plastic playgym with a slide, a 3 swing set and another metal slide. Lochie loves them all, especially the swings and loves to go faster and higher - my arms get a good work out pushing him.

Mower Boys

Lochie loves mowers! It's just a fact. Lochie says sometimes - "Mummy I want to talk" and then you ask him what he would like to talk about, apart from Diggers & Trucks, he wants to talk about mowers. He has a toy plastic mower but has always loved to play with his cousin Ellen's wooden mower which she got from her grandparents one year. The other day Ellen's grandmother Verna rang to say that the people that make the mowers at the Lawnton Salvation Army had a spare mower and knowing Lochie loves them, had got one for him. He was so excited and so the next weekend when Jason was out mowing our yard, of course Lochie was out helping with his mower too. Very cute indeed. Jason is going to have fun when Zach is older enough and wants to mow as well!

4mths & still growing strong

As you can see from the date of my last blog, I again have been slack and have not written anything in a while. My dear sister reminded me of this fact yesterday so here I am today. Zach is now 4.5mths and still growing strong. At his 4mths immunisation he was 72cm long and 8.5kg (both which are in the 97% for his age) To give you some perspective on how big he really is he is the same weight of Lochie at 6mths and same length of Lochie at 7mths and Lochie was considered to be a long baby. So as you can see there is nothing wrong with his health. Of course I have attached a photo of him for you to see for yourself. He gives the best smiles and is a very happy and contented baby. He has started sleeping through the last few nights but to not jinx myself I wont say hooray yet in case he proves me wrong tonight.

Our Wonderful Boys

I just thought I would post some recent photos of our boys to show how much they are growing up every day. Lochie's concepts of the world around him is growing every day and his attention to detail surprises me every day. He picks out things (usually diggers & trucks) outside the car window that I haven't even seen and describes them to a T. Zach continues to grow and is using his hands to grab more things and of course try and put them in his mouth. He also has found his voice and is now making some lovely sounds that bring a smile to our faces every time we hear them. He's also starting sleeping longer and pretty much sleeps through the night which is great for me.

Zach's first wedding

Well on Saturday Jason, Zach and I headed off to our friends Lisa and Craigs wedding at Mt Tamborine. Lochie stayed overnight with Nanna & Grandad but we had to bring Zach as I'm still feeding him. He was the perfect baby at the wedding and although I was nervous about whether he would go to sleep for the night ok he was wonderful and went to sleep without a problem while the other 3 babies at the wedding were fighting going to sleep. Due to Zach being so good Jason and I then got to enjoy the reception of the wedding which was also lovely. It was a late night though and we didn't get home until after 11.30pm. Zach then let us sleep in until 8am after waking for a feed at 5.45am and then going back to sleep. I have attached some photos of us at the wedding and I especially had to include a photo of my wonderful sister Roslyn and her husband Greg. Ros was a bridesmaid at the wedding and although my sister doesn't usually like wearing dresses and getting dressed up with make-up and having her hair done she looked absolutely stunning! Greg seemed pretty impressed also and so he should - she was the prettiest bridesmaid in my opinion - love you my wonderful sister!

Another Family Update

Well my dear sister pointed out that I haven't updated my Blog in a while so here I am. Sorry for being slack. The most recent events for us is that our little man Zach turned 3mths on Wed 10th October. I have included a recent photo of him. He's growing up so much and I can't believe he's been with us for a quarter of a year already. We had him measured and weighed again this week at the baby clinic and he's now 7.42kg and 65.5cm long. He's in the 97% for both his weight and height with these numbers. No wonder my poor back is struggling to lift him sometimes. Lochie is also great although he was home from Kindy one week with spots all over him but he's no longer spotty and went back to Kindy this week. He's now in the next class up which is for kids 2.5 - 3.5 years old so he's getting used to new teachers although he still sees his last teachers in the playground as they share the same area outside. I have also included some photos of his recent imagination at work. One is of him sitting on a blanket with his teddy having a picnic with some play food that we recently bought him and the other is of a lego creation that he made - he said it was Noah's Ark. We also went to Australia Zoo yesterday and had a great day. It was raining in the morning and we thought we may have to cancel going but it cleared up to be a great day. I think Lochie was overwhelmed with everything to look at and surprisingly touched a few of the animals. He also went on a small merry-go-round twice with Nanna once and then Daddy. He loved the shuttle bus that went around the zoo - we went on it three times he loved it so much. It will be great to go back in a few years when Zach can appreciate the Zoo as well.

The Smiles have arrived!

Well our little man Zach has started smiling. Of course I'm biased but he has the loveliest smile and his whole face lights up. Of course I get the most smiles as I'm the one who spends most of the time with him so I think that's fair payment. He's started smiling at others also in the last week so Jason is happy as the week before he was mainly smiling for me. We also went the Paediatrician last Tuesday and he is very happy with him. He is 5.8kg and 61 cm long. His weight is in the 90% so he's doing well. He's also longer than what Lochie was at the same age so I think I will be looking up to both my sons in the very near future. We also had a lovely day on Fathers Day on Sunday and headed up to Ros & Greg's for the day with Mum, Dad & Stephen also. I have included some recent photos for you to see.

The Imagination of a 2 year old.

Lochie has a wonderful imagination and it's lovely to watch him play and how he puts his imagination to work. The other morning Jason pointed out how Lochie's imagination was at work again. He has a toy truck with a trailer that attaches to the back. He sometimes pulls the top off the trailer and puts cars on the top of the flat bed off the trailer and calls it a car truck but this day he went a step further and put a oval football on the back of the truck and called it a concrete truck - how clever is that. Jason and I were very impressed. Of course I have included a photo for you to see the creation.

Nearly 6 weeks as a family of four

Well Zach turns 6 weeks tomorrow. I can't believe how quickly the time has gone. My memories of struggling to get around while I was hugely pregnant are even fading. It feels like Zach has been part of our family for a lot longer. He's still a lovely and contented baby - thank you Lord! and he's been trying to get out a full smile in the last week or so. He's a real chubba of a baby with cheeks that you just want to squeeze. He's still sleeping fairly well at night which is great but I must admit that as he grows older by the day I'm longing for the day when he sleeps through - I am so not a night time person and hate getting up but at least the feeds don't last so long anymore so I'm usually back in bed in about 30mins and he's been settling after each feed well so at least I get a bit of sleep between each feed. Lochie still thinks he's great although I think I may have to start shutting Zach's door during the day when he's asleep as sometimes Lochie goes missing and I'll find him standing next to Zach's cot. The other afternoon we were all having a rest and I woke to hear Lochie saying "wake up" I went to see where he was and he was next to Zach's cot telling him to wake up, thank goodness Zach slept through it all. He must be used to sleeping through all the noise we make, especially Lochie's tantrums. Lochie has been great about sleeping in his big bed and we haven't had that many problems with him coming out once we put him to bed. We have learnt not to let him take any toys to bed though as he just plays and doesn't sleep - only books are allowed from now on! We also have a new car - Hooray!! so we can now get out and about, although I usually have Mum with me to help manage the two of them. We've started back to Mainly Music and I think Lochie thought it was great that I took him to Kindy last week instead of Daddy or Nanna. It's nice to be back in society again instead of stuck at home! The photos are of my Dad with Zach on the weekend and Lochie with shaving cream on his face - he's very interested in being involved with everything Jason does including obviously shaving and also brushing teeth and getting dressed for work - he's always trying to walk around the house with Jason's work shoes on.

4 weeks today!

I just had to publish a photo of Zach today since he turned 4 weeks today. I also have included a photo Jason took of Lochie after his bath last night. He asked him to smile and this photo was the result - he's a cheeky little monkey. By the way I survived my first day at home yesterday without Jason but I was pretty happy to see him when he arrived home and I went to bed pretty early.

Family Update

Well I can't believe it but our little man Zach is turning one month old on Tuesday. In someways it feels as though he has been here so much longer but otherwise the time has just flown by. Zach is doing really well. For those who remember that I had a hard time feeding Lochie in the beginning and he didn't put on much weight to the point where at 3 mths we had to put him on formula for half of the day and I fed him the rest, well we went to the Well Baby Clinic to get Zach weighed again. The time before when we went he had put on 80grams which was ok but he still wasn't back to his birth weight. This time which was 10 days later he had put on 580grams. I was stunned as this was awesome as they usually like them to put on between 100-150grams a week. They had suggested I take some fenugreek herbal tablets to build up my milk supply which I had done and obviously they were working - hooray! He's still quite a contented baby and usually will settle pretty good during the night which is what I want so I can get sleep too. Lochie still loves him and is always wanting to come and give him kisses on his head. He also likes to watch Zach have a bath and when he does Zach always seems to look up and watch him which is very cute. Jason is back to work tomorrow after having 4 weeks off so we will all miss him, especially me and I'm sure that I will be waiting for his phone call at the end of the day to say he's on his way home. I have posted two recent photos but I just wanted to comment the one of Lochie. This photo was taken on Friday when we went to visit Jason's mum at Laidley. She has a push mower as you can see from the photo and Lochie remembers that she has it and asks for it to then come out of the shed. He then spends half the time we are there pushing it around. Now I have tried pushing the mower and it's not overly light so our little man must have some kind of muscles to push it by himself.