Memory

We were talking about our living space yesterday, and Callum asked why we had a hook between the front room and our dining room. We told him it was for the Jolly Jumper, and started to explain what that was. He stopped us. "I remember", he said, "but Declan used to bounce between the kitchen and the dining room, and I used to get annoyed when I couldn't get past him."

I'm pretty sure that was before Callum was 2 and a half. It will be interesting to see if he keeps remembering it. It's certainly way before my first memory (which was my 3rd birthday).

More on health

Declan appears to be better, although he's still coughing. He went to school today and had a good day.

Very unfortunately Callum appears to be coming down with a cold. We're praying it doesn't get worse overnight.

Graythwaite

Our local issue is Graythwaite - a beautiful house which is in some danger of being knocked down. There are posters all over the neighbourhood which say "Act now. Save Graythwaite". Every time we go past one Callum reads it out. Now Declan does it too! As we were walking past one this morning, he stopped and passed his fingers over the words as he said "Act now. Save Graythwaite". He put his fingers over the wrong words, so he's not reading them, but I was pleased that he's got the idea of what reading is all about.

Sickness update

We kept Declan at home today from Neutral Bay Kindergarten just (we though) to be on the safe side. It had been over 12 hours since the last episode, and he seemed cheery. Well there was another small vom at around 10 this morning, and he's been absolutely fine ever since. How long does it have to be before he's officially well? I'm inclined to think that if he's fine tomorrow he'll go to school - he will have kept down a full meal for 12 hours if that happens, and gone nearly 24 hours apparently well.

Of course, writing anything about this is tempting fate...

Tempting fate

After encouraging us all afternoon yesterday with his cheeriness and apparent good health, Declan spent all night vomiting, and Evan spent all night cleaning up after him. So this morning, we were quite sceptical about his good health when he demanded food and ran around generally enjoying himself. Even so, by the evening, when he was appearing fragile, we foolishly assumed he was tired (having had very little sleep the night before and no day sleep), until he .... threw up again all over his dinner.

Tonight he went to bed early, with no further food, and regardless of what happens tonight won't be going to school tomorrow.

Chatterbox

It's crept up on me, but enough people have commented lately - Callum is a chatterbox. More than that. He could talk under wet cement. I really noticed it on holidays, when Declan would earnestly wait his turn to tell everyone who stopped to talk to us about his own latest obsessions (Thunderbirds, of course) but his turn never came as Callum segued seamlessly from the Titanic to the Thunderbirds to the Zig Zag railway to Scenic world....

Declan down and up

Declan woke this morning with horrible diarrhea. Once he'd had his breakfast he promptly vomited. He spent a miserable morning but improved towards lunchtime. After a two-hour sleep he awoke and announced he was all better. He certainly seems happy now.

House of sickness

I've been ill the last few days. Then this afternoon Declan vommed twice and Jennifer started feeling bad. Declan's also had a deep cough for the last week, but the Doctor says it's nothing to worry about.

Bottoms of wet things

In the car this afternoon Callum asked what the sea bed was. After we explained that it was the bottom of the sea, we asked him what a 'river bed' might be. He took a moment and figured out it was the bottom of the river. Declan then chimed in with: "what about the ocean floor?". It's bewildering to think that a couple of months ago we were so concerned about him not talking that we were taking him to specialists.

Difficult stuff

I think I needed to study more science at school. At the moment I'm managing to give Callum (reasonably) accurate answers to his questions, but I'm aware that I'm already reaching the extent of my knowledge of physics at least. We've always tried to give accurate, although simplified, answers to Cal's and Dec's questions - partly because we think that's the better approach and partly becuase they remember what they're told and so know when you're being inconsistent.

Over the last weeks we've been discussing that everything is made of molecules. That recently lead to a discussion of what makes up molecules. Tonight we got to what makes up atoms - Jennifer had an answer, which I recognised but couldn't have given.

So it's either start reading ahead or show Callum how to speed dial his maternal grandparents.

Solar system

Yesterday, Evan, Callum and Declan decided to build a solar system in the dining room with the balls from the toy box. Evan directed Declan to get each ball, which he gave to Callum to put in the right spot. Turns out Callum's favourite planet is Pluto (because it is cold). We admired it for a moment or two, and then it all broke down as Declan decided extra planets were needed. One got diverted to being the moon, but then the rest became space junk. Last seen, the sun was being used to play catch.

The big questions

We walked down to the Katoomba Falls while in the Mountains. Callum started asking a series of questions:
"Evan, how was water made?" [Pretty sensible reply from his Father.]
"Evan, how was the earth made?" [Thoughful pause, followed by reply centering on bits of stars coming together over time.]
"Evan, where did people come from?" [Dead silence from his Father. Laughter from everyone listening in.]

Mountain trip

We spent the last few days having a wonderful holiday in the Blue Mountains. It was a little hot, but not too bad.

Highlights:
- The boys playing with Aidan and Thunderbirds. And playing with Thunderbirds ad nausea.
- Going on the Zig Zag railway and all the scenic rail and cable-car things. Callum was especially taken with the viaducts; Declan with the fact he said "whoo-hooo0" as we descended the scenic railway.
- A truly great restaurant in Leura with grown-up meals for the parents and a lovely kids menu; and the boys sitting with us and chatting for two-hour meals on Monday and Tuesday! So civilised that the waitress was moved to write the boys a thankyou note.
- Paddling in the Katoomba Cascades (and using Callum to measure the depth of the pools).
- Declan walking all the way to the Three Sisters and back.

Painting

Declan came home from Neutral Bay Kindergarten with two paintings. For one of them, he told me the significance of each colour - yellow for the sun, blue for the sky (curiously underneath the yellow) and red for the rain (which was pouring down outside as he painted). Not something you could have figured out by yourself, but it was nice to have him explaining a painting to me.

Blue Group

Declan had his first full day at Neutral Bay Kindergarten today. By all accounts (including his own) it was a great success. He is in blue group (the youngest group), which he seriously informed me meant he wasn't a big boy yet.

When I asked him about it, he started jumping up and down with excitement, so I gather he had a good day.

Pizza

Callum rang me yesterday when I was on my way home from work, to ask me where I was. When I said I was on my way to the pizza shop, he got very excited. And when he put the phone down, he, Evan and Declan walked down to the pizza shop to meet me there.

Our local pizza shop has a wood-fired pizza oven, and a very convenient spot for Callum and Declan to stand and watch the whole process. They watch the dough being rolled out and tossed to make it a nice thin base. Then they watch all the bits and pieces being added to "our pizza" (four cheeses with secret mushrooms added) and "your pizza" (Gustosa, which has tomato and meat and other stuff).

Both the guys who make the pizza are very nice, and always engage Callum and Declan in conversation while they're watching (probably helps that we're usually the first pizza of the night).

Shower

Callum has recently decided (since visiting the holiday beach house which was sans bath) that he loves showers. To the extent that in the last week, he has only had one bath, and that was under protest.

I think he's finally got to the point where he realises that it's really fine if you get your face wet, and a shower is actually quite nice. Of course, it could be the secret influence of Uncle Rob at the holiday beach house, showerer extraordinaire...

Thunderbirds are go!

We've mentioned this briefly, but Callum (and through peer pressure) Declan have become obsessed with the Thunderbirds. Aidan has been obsessed with them for 18 months, and staying with Aidan for a week in the beach holiday house gave the boys to chance to see them first hand.

Once we got back, we weakened, and bought them some DVDs. Now Callum was looking forward to his grandparents visiting so he could show them the Thunderbirds. Callum playing the Titanic (his other obsession) gets International Rescue to come and rescue the Titanic. A push along truck that we've had since Callum was learning to walk has been turned into the Thunderbirds' launch vehicle. And every crayon in the house has been turned into a rocket.

Writing

Callum wrote his first sentence yesterday, after I asked him to write in Jane's birthday card. He asked me to write it for him on another piece of paper so he got the letters right, but the composition was entirely his own. It was "Callum's vehicle is a cow". A bit of explanation - we have a ride on toy in the form of a cow, which Callum had spent most of the afternoon riding around the house on.

I'm not sure if Jane will understand that particular type of birthday wishes.

Playing

Hugo from Chuter St came around to play today. He's almost exactly between Callum and Declan in age. He and Declan disappeared upstairs into the playroom and played together without any need for parental intervention for about half an hour, while Evan and I and Penny (his mum) sat downstairs with a cup of tea, and Callum watched the Thunderbirds.

In fact, when Penny went up stairs to see how they were going, Hugo told her "we don't need any grownups in here". They seemed to be chatting away as they played (from what we could hear from downstairs). Of course it helps that they are both obsessed with trains. But it was very pleasant to have such a long time playing without any argument whatsoever.

More on boys heights

I checked percentile rankings on the boys. Callum is 40th percentile for height, and Declan is roughly 60th percentile. I also checked where Callum's height would put him if he was a year older (as many of his classmates will be next month). He would be 5th percentile for boys, and 7th percentile for girls. So he is likely to be one of the shortest in his class.

Also, I had a look at body mass index; Callum is 40th percentile (slightly skinny for his height) and Declan is 60th percentile (stocky not fat) for his height.

Boys heights

Callum is 103.5cm and Declan is 93cm.