#90

Feeding the Munchkin.

I don't remember Wombat having SUCH sharp teeth... I know I worked out an attachment position with him which didn't hurt (it involved me getting him to open his mouth as wide as he could.) The same trick isn't working with Munchkin. Don't get me wrong - I'm not even thinking of weaning him for another 6 months at least - but I'm glad he is so keen on solid food. He eats really well and only nurses two or three times during the day, usually before naps.

Nights, though... I wouldn't give up having his cuddly little body in my bed for the world... but the 10+ feeds each night are giving me plenty of suffering to offer up for Lent lol.

#89

From the time he was three months old, Wombat practically lived in his Jolly Jumper. He loved it and would bounce happily for hours. Up until now, Munchkin has been deprived of that same pleasure, partly because his head is so large, we wanted to make sure his neck had a chance to develop the strength it would need, and partly because the house is so much more cluttered now with Wombat's toys that there's really no room to hang it!

Today, I took pity on Munchkin's desperate desire to be standing up and walking with the rest of us. I hung the Jolly Jumper on a tree branch outside. You can see from his face how much he hated the experience!!!

#88

Wombat gets a little frustrated by photos of snowmen, since he has never seen snow. I am proud of his creativity, however. He was very stubbornly creating a "dirt man", so I helped him add some details which he was rather pleased with.

#87

Day number 2 at the Camden Show.

Wombat's highlight of the show was the petting tent, with day old chickens and ducklings, baby goats and sheep, fluffy hens and rabbits (which he fed on carrots).

Munchkin was happiest with the knitted finger-puppet chicken I bought him from the Alpaca display. We are seriously thinking of getting a pet alpaca :D They are very popular and do well around here and would be a lot of fun for the boys.

I dropped a second snail and will add a link here when I get a chance to blog about her.

#86

Today was the first day of the Camden show. We bought a membership pass this year so we could go both days, seeing as we have entered our hen, Rosie, and want to be able to check on her (she survived the experience, but didn't win lol).

Here is Yeti showing Wombat how to pat a camel (very carefully, lol) and Munchkin seriously studying the workings of a steam pump.

I also dropped one of the spare snails I made while designing Wombat's present. You can see it here.

#85

Here's Munchkin, having gotten hold of one of Wombat's snails. Wombat is never big on snuggle toys - he rarely gets really attached to toys, especially if they don't have wheels lol... Munchkin, on the other hand, is a real snuggle bug.

Oh, I forgot to tell you what Wombat named them - Tedea, Walmie and Peamo. Don't ask me why!!! That's Peamo in Munchkin's paws.

#84

To redeem myself after the birthday cake fiasco - here is something I did put a lot of effort into. Three cute snails, with crocheted shells!

The snail-racing mat isn't finished yet as I rarely get the chance to use my sewing machine and when I tried to do it in a hurry, it went all snarly on me (needs a good clean and oil).

Instead, the snails are perching here on another birthday present which I put a lot of research into: Georello GearTech. Wombat enjoys turning the handle and watching everything move but finds it frustrating to put together (my job lol). I am hoping we will spend more time creating our own designs together - but we shall have to corral Munchkin first as he keeps trying to eat the pieces. I love the fact that it is completely made in Italy, and can be expanded over time. I really REALLY would have liked to get him the Gears! Gears! Gears! Movin' Monkeys set - he would have found that SO much more fun & played with it non-stop, but I couldn't find a stockist in Australia and shipping from the US was way over my budget.

#83

Wombat with his new birthday camera.

(It's a Kodak EasyShare Z8612 IS - probably a lot fancier than most people would consider giving a three year old lol, but Yeti and I felt he was ready after practising with a kiddy camera since Christmas. It has the added advantage that I can borrow it for things my camera doesn't do well - it takes brilliant sky shots, for example...)

#82

Wombat's 3rd birthday.

My family will probably disown me for the lack of effort which went into the cake lol - a marble cake from Woollies - I offered to make Finley the Fire Engine, but this was what Wombat chose!!! I did make chocolate cherry nut cupcakes, but they were a bit of a failure, too. Even the Bob the Builder candle was a rerun as we saved it from last year.

Look at that smile! He certainly doesn't care :D

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, my darling!

PS - I did end up making Finley - out of cardboard boxes... and out of lego... and out of playdough... just not out of cake lol

#81

Did I mention that Wombat was spending LOTS and LOTS of time playing with that sap?

#80

Sun shining through sap from a black wattle. Wombat is spending lots of time playing with this stuff at the moment. It's really sticky, gummy stuff.

#79

Happy anniversary Yeti!

This is our 17th year together, and we were married on our 12th anniversary, so it is also our 5th wedding anniversary :D

(The rose is Cecil Brunner - one of my favourites - and Yeti's, obviously, for he planted it long before I moved out here!)

#78

Wombat is following in his grandmother's footsteps - kinda! She is a cake decorator. Here, he has 'created' a birthday cake out of buttons and a shell. Can you guess what is on his mind at the moment???

#77

"Flowers for you, Mummy!"

#76

Wombat's new word - "pollination".

#75

Munchkin discovers Scotch Finger biscuits.

(Cloudscome - I have added some more information to yesterday's froggie - including a link to his song :D)

#74

Another frog - but SUCH a cutie :D

It's not easy, being green...

(These frogs are like chameleons - they mottle from green to brown depending on what they are sitting on.)

He is an Eastern dwarf treefrog (Littoria fallax). Click here to hear his song (will open Windows Media Player - or go to the Littoria fallax link to use Quicktime).

#73

Who has seen the wind?
Neither I nor you.
But when the leaves hang trembling,
the wind is passing through.

Who has seen the wind?
Neither you nor I.
But when the trees bow down their heads,
the wind is passing by.

{Christina Rossetti}

#72

A dull, uninspiring rainy day today... so here is another pic from the beach yesterday!

#71

Corrimal beach, near Wollongong. Yeti and Wombat splashing in the rockpools.

#70

My next drop for the Toy Society. I suddenly realised we were going to the beach tomorrow, so I grabbed the first piece of fabric I found in my craft cupboard and a bunch of embroidery threads... shortly afterwards this 'tweet' pair of lovebirds were hatched.

#69

Return of the autumn winds...

I must say, I am quite resentful of those neighbours lol... a few years ago, I could photograph that hill and see nothing but grass and a few cows... now there's a house and a great big shed in the way (to say nothing of my jealousy - wish I had a storage shed like that lol)... and if despoiling the view were not bad enough, they also have the LOUDEST voices and the brattiest kids you could imagine. Instead of cows, we now get dirt bikes.

And people wonder why we're thinking it's time to move... (I wouldn't last 10 minutes in a city!)

#68

Hitching a ride - see the beetle on the ball?

#67

I love Autumn - my flowers all return after the heat of summer, and I can pick bouquets for the house again.

#66

The male orbweaver - tiny compared to the female.

#65

A female orbweaver, wrapping up a 'stinky bug'.

#64

Another view of "our" tree, still in its summer colours.

#63

Wombat in his "tree house".

We have started tracking the seasonal changes to this tree. If you are interested, you can follow its progress here.

#62

Wombat loved the Wall-E movie so much, he insisted on planting his own "boot"!

Yeti donated the old boots, and I dug up a violet for one boot and an aloe leaf for the other. Then Wombat helped me plant them (and insisted one of the laces be used to tie them together!)

(Steff, I never got the chance to reply, but I think Wall-E should be just fine for Princess. Wombat is the most sensitive TV watcher I can imagine - he even runs out of the room if one of the Bob the Builder machines makes a mistake, in case it gets in trouble lol... there were a few things we needed to explain, but after watching once or twice with parent-narration, he is fine with it. Interestingly, the only movie he has been really good with from start to finish is Surf's Up - the one with the surfing penguins lol).

#61

You're probably tired of seeing frogs (and bugs) by now - but too bad! I like to photograph them - and we have SO many different types - it's fascinating. One day I will have time to research what they are all called. In the meantime, I just take their pictures!

These two were living in an old garbage bin. Wombat likes me to lift him up so he can say hello to them.

#60

A naked Munchkin - who loves to try standing by himself (even though he's not quite crawling yet)... especially if there's a chance of getting his hands on some Wombat toys! Good thing Wombat is really nice about sharing :)