Keyboard letters

When I came home last night, Callum sent me out to the front gate to see something he had put there.

Diane, his science teacher, had helped him make a supplementary number sign for the house out of bits of a computer keyboard.

Back to school

Callum and Declan went back to school this week. After both of them being quite sad the holidays were finished, they seem to have enjoyed their first two days. It probably helps that they aren't yet in their new classes for this year, but have been doing makework with last year's class (Callum got to do lots of puzzle sheets, which are one of his favourite things) while all the classes are sorted out.

Declan got to be a buddy to Lachlan who has just skipped Year 1, and joined his group in Year 2 (and will be in his class this year), which he seems to have been enjoying because he gets to show off his superior knowledge of Year 1. Amusingly Lachlan is actually a month older than Declan.

And on Monday, Callum will get to be a buddy to a new Kindergartener - Luke, and came home today with Luke's name written on his hand so he will remember it on Monday. Callum is looking forward to that because he will get to see the Kindergarten playground again (one of the jobs of a buddy is to look out for them in the playground for the first few weeks in case they don't have anyone to play with).

Spit to Manly

After Declan declared yesterday that his favourite walk was the Spit to Manly, we decided to do it today.

Here are the boys having a play on Clontarf beach.

Chasing Monsters

We just had a very postmodern morning - we chased monsters around the Botanic Gardens on our iphones. We played this game. Here are Declan and Callum in danger of being eaten by a dragon.

Illness update

After we had successfully stopped Callum talking about his illness (only symptom, feeling nauseous) Evan took him back to the specialist this week, because when we permitted him to talk about it, he claimed to be feeling just as bad as ever.

After checking Callum out, the specialist said that he wouldn't do anything more, but asked Callum to stop thinking about it. Callum admitted that in the last few days, a new internet computer game he found on the internet had put all thoughts of nausea out of his head, so hopefully he'll keep forgetting.

A poor educational experience

Well for the first time ever Cal hated a Gerric course. In fact I think it's the first time he's hated any educational experience.

He did a course on public speaking. The problem was not so much the topic but the abysmal presentation. He came home on Monday having truly detested the day. It took a bit of cajoling to get him to return on Tuesday (on the basis it was an investment to ensure he didn't get blacklisted by Gerric).

The highlight of Tuesday was the chance to give Gerric some feedback. The feedback form had only one positive on it - lunchtime.

Untraining wheels

The boys have had bikes for a while, and, though I admit we've not used them much, they've been a fairly comprehensive waste of time. The big problem has been training wheels - they simply prevent the boys from learning how to balance.

So with the application of a bit of thought we've taken another route. First: lower the seats so the boys feel relatively safe. Second: remove the training wheels. Third: repeat the mantra "steer towards the direction you feel yourself falling". Finally: affix parent to back of seat to help out.

Over the course of a few days the boys have leapt forward. They can't ride yet but they are now very close - both have managed a few meters on their own. It will just take a little more practice.

I've now become a great fan of those wooden bikes without peddles you see around for little ones. I regret not having the kids learn to balance on those as a starting point.

(As an aside, the other problem with the kids bikes is that they are so heavy. The kids bikes are heavier than mine, which makes manipulating them a real pain for both child and parent.)

The wonders of technology

Aidan is staying the night tonight as he is doing a Gerric course at UNSW today and tomorrow. He and Callum are sitting in adjoining bedrooms sending each other handwritten notes on their Nintendo DSs.

Certainly quieter than the usual sleepover.

Caves

We're on our way back from the Jenolan caves with the Langdon Linigens and the Lees.

We've had an action packed few days, with adventure cave tours for the children, complete with headlamps, atmospheric tours for the grownups, and lots of running around like lunatics in the evening (children mostly).

We stayed at some cabins nearby and as well as seeing lots and lots of stalactites and stalagmites. We also swam in a couple of rock pools and climbed an enormous number of steps (including Emma who did all the steps without being carried).

Callum and Declan had a great time being with their friends for three days, and I suspect they also learned a bit of geology also.

Walking with Beasts

Declan is obsessively watching Walking with Beasts on DVD. Not only is he happily recounting what occurs, he's turning some of it into stories. Yesterday on the ferry he told me an absolutely wonderful story about a series of animals and their pack. I so wish I could capture the various expressions he used (and that he'd do that when doing his speeches at school!).

Circus in town

We went to Circus Oz yesterday. It was a great show.

In an almost perfect example of the difference between the boys, Callum laughed his head off at the slapstick elements; Declan didn't raise a smile. When asked, Declan simply said "It wasn't funny, it was exciting.'. Fair enough.

New Year Measurement

On New Year's Day, we measured the boys' heights, as always. Declan is 121 cm, and Callum is 128cm. In the last few days, I've also measured both their weights, so Declan is 22.5kg, and Callum is 25.5kg (roughly).

All Callum's measurements (height, weight, BMI) are on the 40th percentile, and Declan's height is still on the 60th, but his weight and BMI are down at the 50th.

Happy New Decade!

Happy new year to all our readers! And, Callum will tell you, Happy New Decade! Both boys were very excited at the thought of New Year, Callum because it was a whole new decade, and Declan because he was keenly looking forward to New Year at North Sydney Pool. We had all the mountain folk down - the Langdon Linigens and the Lees.

The boys were thrilled to find that there were new pool toys this year, as well as the usual fantastic water slides, and spent the best part of two hours swimming. Then we had a picnic dinner, and Declan had his face painted (as Batman). And Tom lost two teeth while eating dinner! Then at 9, we got to watch the fireworks which seemed even better than previous years.

And finally all the cruise boats on the harbour lit up with special maritime designs.

We walked home past all the revellers still waiting for the midnight fireworks, and all the children stayed up until midnight to watch those fireworks from our roof (the picture is Declan after we got home).

This morning there were some very tired children, but they all had a wonderful time.