Kayaking

This morning we went kayaking from Chowder Bay again, so that the boys could show off their single kayak skills. They both did well, managing to kayak themselves back towards the zoo, dealing with the wash from the several ferries and stopping off at a small beach.

Declan also proved he could get in and out at sea, which is a useful skill.

After that there was some more jumping off the pier, with the boys showing no fear (I might have preferred a bit more...), and in fact showing the way to several other kids who were vacillating before jumping. 

Christmas

We had Christmas 10 days early this year, as we were off to Vietnam for the actual Christmas day. As Callum and Declan have figured out that Santa Claus is a mythical figure, it didn't matter that their stockings magically filled the same day we had invited the grandparents and uncles around for Christmas lunch.

A great time was had by all, with Declan, in particular, enjoying the robots he got from his uncles so much that he reviewed them for geekinsydney.

Measurement

We were away for New Year's Day, but when we got back I measured the boys. Callum was watching me carefully, and made sure the pencil was entirely level. Which means that I think I over measured them last time, as they both only added 1cm since Callum's birthday (even though they both seem to have shot up this year).

Callum is now 151cm and 43kg, height and weight both pretty close to 50th percentile, and Declan is now 144cm and 40kg, height 60th percentile, weight 70th. Declan has always seemed short in his class, so it is a surprise to me that he is 60th percentile. I guess because he has always been the youngest or close to it. (So has Callum, but because he is definitely the youngest, it seems different for him).

They have continued their very long history of being 7cm apart in height. I keep thinking Declan will catch up, but he is almost always about the same height that Callum was the year before (ie about 8 months ahead of Callum in height).

Yes Minister

Callum is really enjoying reading Yes Minister (which he has renamed yesminster, as he's also quite into puns at the moment).

So much so, that when I asked him if he liked my haircut he went into a paragraph long answer that sounded exactly like Sir Humphrey. He's even got the voice right, and we haven't shown him the tv series yet!

Kayaking and jumping

The boys and I went kayaking yesterday at Chowder Bay. It was the first time the boys had been in kayaks by themselves. They'd done enough tandem kayaking that they took to solo like ducks to water. 

We then went further into Man vs Wild training by learning to jump off a jetty into water. It was quite a jump, something like 8-10 feet, but after some hesitancy about the first jump they just didn't want to stop. 

Holiday updates

Callum and Declan have a refreshing drink after part of our ride in Vietnam

As readers of our travel blog know, we've been away over Christmas New Year. We went cycling in Vietnam, and then visited Angkor Wat, and Bangkok.

Highlights of the Vietnam bit:

• Callum was the only one of the kids to cycle the whole way (he was also the oldest), keeping up with us even on the rainy day when every other child retreated to the bus

• Declan (after not feeling right on the first day) spent the whole time riding up the front with our guide, Thang

• Declan impressed all of us with his knowledge of the Khmer empire - turns out he learned about it at Neutral Bay this year!

• Callum read the first book of the Hunger Games out loud to all the other kids - which made everyone happy

• Declan and Callum both ate a surprising amount of Vietnamese food beyond rice (although not many vegetables were consumed

• And we got both Callum and Declan dancing at the New Year's Eve disco

Cambodia:

• Callum and Declan both learned to dive properly into a pool (both in theory had known before, but forgotten)
• We have now completely delegated tech support for TV watching to Callum and Declan
• Both boys managed to charm everyone with their efforts to learn how to say Thank you in Khmer

Bangkok:

• Not so many highlights, but as we did another cycle tour around the backstreets of Bangkok, I realised just how much their cycling skills have improved in the last couple of years. They cycled on moderately busy streets (with slow moving traffic) and held their line, something it takes a fair bit of maturity to do when you are on a bike.

All in all, a great holiday, which we all enjoyed.