Sporting stars

The week of sporting success started with James taking part in the Balgowlah Heights Primary School swimming carnival.  From this carnival, the first two in each race go forward to the district finals in March.

Well the many hours of training and $'s invested in swim coaches seems to have paid off.  James came first in all of his races and will go to the District Finals in:

• 50m freestyle (his time of 41 seconds is faster than I can do now)
• 50m backstroke
• 50m butterfly

He narrowly missed out on the breastroke - he won his heat but slowed down a bit at the end because he was well ahead - sadly it's the time that counts and he was just outside the top 2.  Not a bad effort though from our boy!

 James friend Tommy also swam well and was close to James in most races.

 Today it was my turn then Olivia.  I had my second warm up game for the Winter soccer season. After a 3-3 draw last week we were looking for a win.  We were 3-2 up with minutes to go when the Referee gave the opposition a penalty - thankfully the ball sailed over the bar and we held on for a well deserved win!

This afternoon, Olivia started netball practice - along with what looked like hundreds of other girls.  She had a great time and was really getting into it at the end of the 2.5 hour training session.

 James was bored throughout......this is how Olivia has felt for the last 5 years watching James play soccer!

 Jack sat quietly in his pram - he likes to giggle, blow bubbles and do high pitched screams at the moment - quite amusing and he smiles all the time.

The final sporting news of the week is the outcome of James' soccer grading.  After 2 hours of being 'assessed' we got the news through that James has been picked in the top group of teams (2 teams are graded 'red' out of 10 teams).  We are really pleased for him as he tried very hard in the grading session.  The bad news is that I need to be coach......

More next week.

Ken

Jack - 4 months old

Jack David Edward Reid celebrated his first four months by having an unsettled week.  Far from his normal sleep through the night routine, over the last week he started to wake at 2am, then 5am.  Just when we were thinking of checking the warranty, Emma took him for his latest round of vacinations.  Emma explained to the nurse that he was not sleeping too well and she replied "Well it's obvious why - he is starving!  Put him on solids, he is ready."

So, yesterday morning young Jack got strapped into the high chair (which looks way too big for him) and experienced Apple Puree and rice flour.  He seemed to enjoy it and kept most of it down.

Today he had the extra pleasure of Olivia feeding him.....

The kids have survived their first two weeks at school and are settled back into the routine.  James has started Band practice and Olivia starts netball next week - there is always something new for them.

This weekend has been a relatively quiet one.  Cooler weather, wind and rain have kept us more indoors than normal - other than Cricket (James), Tennis (James), Bike Ride (Ken) and Sailing (Emma). 

Lenka and Jules joined us for dinner on Saturday night which include the best beef pies ever and a little too much wine & beer.

A few more snaps below were on Emma's camera which I finally downloaded today.

The Blue Ringed Octopus we caught - in a coffee cup.

Emma and the kids at Bjorn Again - a band that pretends to be Abba. 

Jack and Ken enjoying the hammock on our recent camping trip

Ken and Jack camping

Jack trying to find some shade in the campground and avoid the snakes, 4 foot long lizzards, Peacocks and other wild things.

Olivia has stolen one of Ken's iPods.  She is like a teenager already.

Two posts in a week...Blogging service restored

I thought I'd share a few more recent snaps of Jack and the family to keep you all up to date on his progress.


A few weeks ago James took part in another Surf Life Saving Carnival - this time at Narabeen.  It was a very hot and humid day but James performed well - getting 4th in the Flag Race, through to the Semi's of the sprints and his relay team came 3rd or 4th - it was all a bit confusing at the end.

 He was cheered on by the granparents who almost coped with the heat. It may not look hot in the photos but it was high 30's with 100% humidity!

The hot weather caused a very bizarre fog to roll into Middle Harbour last week.  This shot is taken from our balcony and those of you who have been here will know that where the fog is, there is usually water.

Jack continues to grow and develop his own unique personality.  While he looks a lot like James he has his own traits.  He laughs - a lot.  He also does this excited high pitched shrill sound - unique to him and a sign that he is happy.  He's also started to chew on his bottom lip when he gets hugry - all things that are "Jack" and make him the great little baby he is.

Yesterday we decided to give Jack his first swim.  It was about 44 degrees outside and the water was about 30 degrees so we stripped him off and in he went.  He was really enjoying himself and did not even get upset when I made him dive a few feet under the water.  The picture above shows him coming up from his first dive.

He was in the pool for a good 20 minutes and loved it.  You can see the bottom lip suck in the photo below - a sure sign that it is dinner time for Jack.

More next week.

Ken

We're back!

It's been a month or so since the last Blog entry - Christmas, New Year, relatvies visiting and school holidays have kept us very busy.  But with February underway, kids back at school and life back to 'normal' I will once again have time to update the Blog at least once a week.

Since our last Blog entry:

• Jack has got older and more smiley - he is 4 months old next week!
• James has started year 3 at school
• Olivia has started year 2 at school
• I have lost 7kg in weight!!
• We've had a near miss with one of Australia's most deadly creatures

Last weekend we took the speedboat out on Pittwater on a glorious summer day.  We headed to the Basin to relax, swim and find the Coffee/Ice Cream man/boat.

As we paddled in the water Emma spotted a small creature in the water - no larger than a golf ball.  We all had a look, debated whether it was just seaweed for a while, kicked and poked it until it started to move around.  It was a little octopus and we all got very excited as we tried to catch it in our hands/kids sandals and eventually in a coffee cup.  I was very excited as I lifted the coffee cup out of the water to show off the catch....only to discover we had just caught a Blue Ringed Octopus.

After you've read this - google Blue Ringed Octopus - you will learn that it is one of the most deadly creatures in the world.  Although small, it's bite will kill and it has enough venom to kill about 40 people.  It's a considerate animal - you don't feel it's bite...but 20 minutes later you stop breathing as the paralysis sets in.  There is no antivenom.

We all felt a little silly (and lucky) and vowed never again to try and catch ANYTHING in Australia in our hands.

I've uploaded some random shots from the last few months - with brief explanations....

Jack is always happy (unless he is hungry).

 Jack enjoyed his first international tennis match - the Sydney International featured most of the women's top-10 tennis players + James Reid (see below).  It was a hot day but the sun visor helped Jack get through it.

 He is growing.....

 And always laughing.

 He had fun with his Grandparents in January.

 James was part of a group of kids who did a "Hot Shots" Tennis demo at the tennis tournament above.  He played on centre court, met Kim Cliesters, Pat Rafter and Ken Rosewall (above). We had to explain later that the "old man" was once the best tennis player in the world.  James had a great day.  Just before christmas he played in a tennis tournament for the Best 8 Kids on the Northern Beaches.  James qualified based on results of 4 tournaments he had played in during 2010.  He had a great day and got to the semi-final and ended up coming 3rd.  He was chuffed.

This last shot sums up the last few weeks.  As I write this it is 41 degrees outside and I am about to go and do exactly what James is doing above....laze in the pool.

More soon - remember you can comment on any of the Blog entries!

Ken