8 weeks, first full night of sleep and drama!

Yes, Jack is eight weeks old on Tuesday and he prepared for this milestone by sleeping all nights last night (well until around 6am) - which is the MAJOR MILESTONE in itself.

Jack has spent most of the weekend smiling - this video gives you a brief moment.

This weekend has been all about Drama - Olivia's Drama Class performed their show - "The Wedding". Olivia played the roll of a guest at the wedding. Like most wedding there were speeches, food, the bride and groom left by car and Olivia discovered that she had bought the bride and groom the same Toaster as 3 other people, which led to her "I hope they like toast" line.

There were 4 plays, each of 15 minutes each. I know I am

biased but I think "The Wedding" was the best of the shows

and Olivia was confident and delivered her lines incredibly well. We were all very proud of her and even James clapped at the end.

Oliva discovers there are four Toasters being given as presents.The Bride and Groom leave in their "just married" car.

Oliva takes a bow.

A good weekend.

Ken

It's been a hectic month....

The last seven weeks have flown by and Jack is very much part of the family now and is getting used to the hectic routine of sports, shopping, coffe stops, school dop offs etc.

He is a great little boy - other than the odd restless night - and he is much loved by his brother and sister.

James just loves him lying on his chest and it's one of Jacks favourite places to sleep.
He took to his first bottle with no hesitation - which means we have been able to go out and leave him with babysitters (twice last week!)

Olivia still treats him a bit like a doll - but she also sings and plays the piano to help him get to sleep.


Both kids had their first Nippers Carnival last week. They both did sprints and flag races - having lots of fun with 2,000 other 8-10 year olds!!

I cannot type much more as I have Jack in one arm and typing with one hand is hard work!

Ken

It's almost 4 weeks already....

Yes, Jack Reid is 4 weeks old on Tuesday - at this rate he'll be 18 before we know it!

It's been a hectic period with lots of non-Jack activities going on as well. Janet is here, Olivia has had ballet exams, James had a swim test for Nippers and lots, lots more.

This photo was taken when we were about to leave the hospital with Jack.
Janet has been a great help - and the kids have loved her being here.
Olivia was about to go to her Ballet Exam - hence the hair style - there are very strict rules on how her hair had to be done, including the positioning of the bun on her head and the type of hair net to use! At one point Emma was going to leave me to get her ready......but common sense prevailed.
Both James & Olivia are really enjoying cooking at the moment - Junior MasterChef is inspiring them. The cake being made was a Pineapple Upside Down cake - and it was really, really good!
I get a fair bit of Jack time - he seems to enjoy lying on his Dads chest.
Olivia was banned from cuddling Jack for the last week as she had been exposed to Chickenpox - she was really good and stuck to the no-cuddle rule....thankfully no spots have shown up so she now has the all clear.
Halloween is big in Australia. Our little Devil and evil Ninja Warrior paused for a photo before heading off to collect sweets galore by doing Trick or Treat. There is a nearby street that gets closed off and the kids have a blast....and come back with bucket loads of sweets.

James just loves Jack. He is always wanting to pick him up.
Today James had to do a 150m ocean swim to qualify for a Nipper Carnival next week. The sea was quite rough (6-8 feet waves) but he made it out to the yellow buoy and back intact. This was a great effort and he is now looking forward to his first surf carnival next weekend.

An eventful 4 weeks - Jack is doing great - now weighs close to 4kg and is doing all the right things.

More soon.

Ken

Introducing Jack David Edward Reid

Some initial snaps that most of you have probably seen by now.

It's been a BIG week, and we are all very excited to have Jack home with us, but also very, very exhausted.....little Jack seems to come alive at night - and sleep all day!

More soon.

Ken

Not long now....

..in fact about 36 hours to be exact - until child #3 is delivered.

The last few weeks have passed fairly quickly (which Emma is grateful for) and we are pretty much organised - Pram is clean, Cot is built, Baby clothes sorted out, nappies purchased, short list of names agreed.

It's been school holidays and the kids have been enjoying themselves - James doing a 3 day sailing course, Olivia spending a lot of time playing with friends and starting Nippers (Surf Life Saving) - but back to school tomorrow!

Not much more to report this week - but will provide an update mid-week on the new arrival.

Ken

Olivia enjoying her BBQ lunch in Elvina Bay.
James and his friend Dan Kelly at Sydney WildLife World.
James - just finished day 3 of sailing school explaining to me what he had been doing - "Dad, I had to do the jib all day. We were going soooooo fast it was amazing!"

4 weeks to go....

This weekend felt very Spring-like. The sun was warm and we spent most of the weekend outdoors as a result.

On Saturday we headed to Manly Dam for James soccer team end of season BBQ. Before the BBQ, John & I jumped on our mountain bikes and did the Manly Dam circuit - 9.5km of rock, hills, tree roots and mud. After an hour we got to the end in one piece (just) to find out the "record" for the circuit is 24 minutes....I need to get fit. After the BBQ it was pretty hard getting back on my bike for the 5km ride home....

The kids had a blast at the BBQ - we are allowed to light fires at Manly Dam so after we did the sausages and burgers the kids spent hours experimenting with wood, mud, food scraps - to see what cooked the best!

Today was Nippers Registration. After a year off we are heading back to Junior Life Saving on a Sunday morning. James will be in the Under 9's and Olivia has signed up for the first time for Under 8's. Olivia is the most excited and insisted on putting on her new Queenscliff swimmers and cap as soon as we got home. 4 hours later - she has just taken them off to get into her pyjamas!

4 weeks to go refers to the fast approaching arrival of child #3. 12 October is the date and I spent most of this afternoon cleaning prams, building cots and generally getting organised. Our 8 year old pram looks remarkeably good - a quick hose down, spray of black paint to cover the rust and some air in the tyres made it almost look brand new. The most amazing thing today was that Emma could remember where we had left the screws for the cot! Despite not being able to ever remember where she left her car keys, she can remember where she put something seven years ago!

Emma is doing incredibly well but is starting to look forward to the baby arriving. We'll keep you posted on any developments or early arrivals.....

Ken

Fathers Day weekend

We've had a relaxing Fathers Day weekend - not too much to do, but enough to make it fun - but not enough to make us need another day off before work!

With soccer finished and cricket not yet started - we only had Olivia's swimming lesson on Saturday morning.

Despite having her goggles on upside down, she swam well and did some great work on her breaststroke and butterfly. It is quite scary that both my kids can swim butterfly better than I can.
James had his friend Noah (above) over for a sleep over on Friday morning. After playing every Wii and Nintendo DS game they had they eventually agreed to play with lego instead. The result was a ship loaded with guns, men with guns, men with axes and men with clubs. It was not a ship to mess with - and they boys were delighted.
Despite a grey and wet day I decided to get out on the bike. Along with me I took James and my good friend John and his son Stuart. We did a 14km ride along Narabeen lake all the way to the beach and back. It was muddy and we had an important rule for the ride - if there was a puddle you had to go through the deepest part. When James got back his shoes were drenched.

Sunday was Fathers Day so we headed to Manly for a breakfast in the sunshine. A great start to the day which we followed with a walk along Manly beach - watching the surfers who had great waves and offshore winds to enjoy. The kids made sand castles and we sat for a while listening to the surf and enjoying the warmth of the Spring sunshine.

So all in all a pleasant weekend that for once has not left us all totally exhausted!

Ken

Where's Wally?

james and his friend Jed at the School sports day.

Oliva at the sports day.
Crab Race.
Olivia showing off her soccer skills as part of the Where's Wally Treasure Hunt.
At the end of the Treasure Hunt the kids had to do a handprint and write down their team name.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

My wonderful wife volunteered a few months ago to organise a School Treasure Hunt. After many, many hours of planning and organising - the event was today.

The theme was "Where's Wally" - and the published of the Where's Wally books provided lots of pictures and stuff for us the school to use.

Almost 600 people joined in - making it the largest single event ever organised by the school. It was a gorgeous day, sunny, 21 degrees and we all had a great time. The Treasure Hunt involved running around Balgowlah Heights for 90 minutes following clues, finding Wally pictures and making your way back to the school. The kids loved it and the clues were pretty hard -so the adults also enjoyed it.

After the Hunt I somehow ended up on BBQ duty for an hour - so I now smell of sausages and fat.

Emma is relieved it went well - she did an amazing job. I think they raised over $5,500 which is not a bad effort for an afternoon event!

Other than Wally, it's been the usual busy weekend. We have some friends from Noss Mayo staying with us this week - they have kids the same age as James & Olivia and the kids play with them whenever they spend time in Devon. Sanchia, Geoff, Oscar and Ilana will be with us for a week - which the kids are loving.

For some reason I decided to make up for the lack of soccer yesterday (season is finished) and go for a 90 minute bike ride through the bush. Great exercise but my legs still hurt.....

While Emma was away - Ken & the kids played

Emma and her friend Kirsten treated themselves to a weekend in the Blue Mountains - children free and full of good food and late mornings.

While the ladies were relaxing I had a hectic weekend with James & Olivia, which involved:

• Rock stars
• Rock walls
• Rock caves

After the compulsory soccer matches on Saturday (James lost, I won) we headed to the local shopping centre so the kids could spend their pocket money. James was sensible and only spent $7.50 out of his $15.00 of savings. Olivia does not like too worry too much about the future - she spent $11.00 - which was a $1.00 more than she had! James & Olivia have very different approaches to money.

The big kid (me) spent this and next months pocket money on Band Hero for Wii.

Band Hero consists of a drum kit, guitar and microphone. The Band Hero game requires 'the band' to play along to various songs - it gives you guidance on what to sing, which drum to hit etc.

Here is Olivia singing David Bowies classic "Lets Dance"........

On Sunday morning while James played AFL (see dirty legs above), Olivia and I had a pleasant breakfast in Manly. The hearty breakfast prepared us for the Rock Wall challenges of the afternoon.

Indoor rock climbing is a big hit with James & Olivia - although Olivia does tend to get scared once she is about 4 feet off the ground. James was a little cautious until he realised there were lots of girls from his school there - at which point he starting getting to the top of all the climbs as the girls cheered and waved at him.......

There is also an 'indoor cave' - basically the kids climb into a hole in a wall and 5 minutes later appear out of another hole - sweaty and happy. Olivia did it with a torch, James went without. I was VERY concerned they would get claustrophobia and I'd have to crawl in after them - but thankfully they were fine!

Sports update

Sport dominates our weekends - this weekend it was two soccer games, swimming lessons and an AFL match. Last weekend it was 2 soccer games, swimming lessions, an AFL match AND a tennis tournament.

It's tiring just thinking about it.

While at the moment James is leading in terms of sports participation - Olivia is not far behind. In addition to swimming and gymnastics - she is starting tennis lessons this term and next year netball begins. Netball on Sydney's Northern Beaches is serious stuff - over 1,000 girls turn out every Saturday morning at Curl Curl Park to play - it's mayhem - but Olivia is looking forward to being part of it.

So, this weekends sports results:

1. Seaforth Wildcats U8's - won 5-1 (no goals for James but a great game)

2. Seaforth Over 35's - lost 0-4 (obviously no goals for me)

3. Manly Bombers U8 AFL - won easily (James scored 4 goals and got man-of-the-match).

Other than sport....this weekend did involve Dinner at Manly Pavillions - an excellent new restaurant in Manly that we have now been to 5 times in 3 months.....a long walk along the beach this morning and some gardening. Despite being 29 weeks pregnant Emma still got stuck into the garden and spent two hours weeding. I discovered that when cutting branches of a tree - don't stand underneath the branch you are cutting......

Olivia and her friend Kayla during a recent zoo trip.
I discovered this on Emma's camera this evening - no idea why Olivia has the make up on - but I liked the photo.
James playing in the Wimbledon Tennis Tournament - over 40 kids, James got to the 1/4 finals finising 6th. He was put out by the eventual winner.
James at the Father & Son tennis tournament last week - concentrating hard on his backhand.
Olivia pretending to be angelic.
Another shot from the Father & Son tournament - James beat me 7-6 in a thrilling match.
James dancing at the Balgowlah Heights Primary School open day this week - the sun came out and the kids put on a show for all the parents.
James at AFL this morning. He is about to do a great defensive clearance.
And here it goes!