This weekend we went to Sydney for a cousin's wedding. We took the opportunity to take a mini-break as a family and although it rained and rained and rained (and rained some more) we had a wonderful time. Three nights away flew by. It is the first time our boy has been to Sydney and he was a bit shell shocked. The crowds threw him, and he was rather off his game in the hustle and bustle. It brought out his rude side, with Clark shouting 'go away' at the strangers that we passed in the street. Unfortunately we missed out on going to the Zoo, which was one of the big reasons we took an extended break away. Clark learnt about disappointment, and thankfully handled it with grace. We did go to the Aquarium and also the Australian Museum, both which caused delight and trepidation in our little man. He was thrilled with the Monorail and I am so happy that he managed to have a ride before they shut it down forever. The whole holiday really was geared around Clark, which of course is how it should be.I have spent my life traveling to and from Sydney, and it was strange not only to not visit my old haunts, but also to visit new ones.
It was really lovely to get to see Clark meet my family that he has not met. Trying to explain to him who people are and how they relate to him, and also feeling incredibly proud of my little family. Yes, Clark was rambunctious at the wedding, however what is one to expect from a two year old? Calling out 'what comes next?' during the wedding reception thankfully had people smiling. Later during the reception, my usually shy boy decided he wanted to play with the older boys running around the dance floor. He had met a little boy (5) who tried to engage with Clark, however Clark ran away and hid. Later when we were sitting down, he asked me about the boy and when asked, said he wanted to play with him. I encouraged him to do so, and he asked me to come. I was terribly proud when upon my answer of 'Mama will sit here and watch you' he got up and ran off to find the boy. He had a ball, and we struggled to convince him to leave the party and head home. I loved seeing him playing with the other children, engaged and happy. I delight so much in seeing him interact with other children, not only because I so want him to make friends, but because I see another side to his personality. This part of him that is separate to me and means that one day he will go off into the world a whole and individual being.
I want to start with 'this is late' however I never seem to blog until about Tuesday it seems. Our weekends are full and by Sunday night I am exhausted. This Monday my brother turned 30 and we went out to dinner to celebrate (Clark and I without Glenn, as Glenn was unwell). Happy Birthday Uncle Ben!
Clark went to his first real movie this week. Well, an extended Dinosaur Train feature, but real movie for him. I took him to the movies when he was a babe in arms to a couple of Reel Mums sessions, however I really do not want to count the Black Swan as his first movie! He loved it! Wide eyed amazement at how big the screen was, sitting up on his seat, eating an apple. I see many more movies in his future.
This is Clark on the way out, ready to go the movie. With his new back pack all the way from England (thanks Uncle Steven) and his new hooded vest... courtesy of me! I started a sewing course a bit over a year ago, and this was my second project. I stopped sewing for many months, but thanks to the new sewing club I have joined (Stitch and Shout seems to be our best name so far) I have finally finished the vest. It is super cute. I hope to finish the pants soon. Thankfully the vest looks super cute with jeans!
This weekend I promise to take more photos. For I only pulled the camera out one morning last week and only took 6 photos. More effort required!
Clark and I went for a morning walk on Sunday to the park. More time was spent on the way to and from the park playing with shadows, rather than at the park itself. Clark is fascinated with shadows at the moment with endless requests at dinner time for his father to create shadow puppets on the wall... more often than not a request for a dinosaur. The light created perfect silhouettes on our walk on Sunday, with Clark running, chasing my shadow and jumping on it after every few steps. Such simple moments that really made our weekend more full.
I just love how Clark can know so many different animals and dinosaurs by name. His language grows daily, with 'asking questions' my focus right now. I do also love how he counts on his fingers as he lists animals or names or people in our family. And when he cannot remember a name he pauses, pointing to the next finger and asks "what comes next?". My very clever boy. My clever boy who bows when we tell him he is a clever boy. One hand on his chest, one hand behind his back... and bow.
What I love most about a long weekend is that we really get to have a weekend. Laundry and housework doesn't seem as urgent as there is an extra-bonus day. That I am at the end of a four day weekend helps too. And of course a four day weekend for me means two three day workdays, which is something I really need right now. We have done a lot of cooking from scratch this week to keep our health levels up including a delicious chicken stock. There is something so calming and satisying about providing your family with food that you know is free from anything nasty and full of everything that is good. Stocking our freezer for winter ensures we have extra meals on hand for those dark cold evenings when Clark has had a long day at the office (and his Mama and Daddy have too).
We spent a lot of time this weekend with our dearest and Clark had an extremely social weekend. He went to the chook show with his Nanna (and saw his Grandad doing what he loves), the library with his Dad and Carlyle and we all went to test out a new park with Cathy. Today once nap time is over we will visit his Nanna Joyce. All of this social activity has had Clark a bit overexcited at times, which really is all the more reason to get outside and brave the foggy grey skies.
It has been cold lately and I have rarely wanted to venture out. Grey foggy skies, brisk winds... winter is upon us. So the last two weeks I have reached Sunday afternoon with the realisation that I have not taken many photos. A few on my iPhone, but that is about it. And of course we end up with indoor photos with rubbish lighting.
So this Sunday afternoon, once Clark was home from seeing his beloved cousin Chelsea for her birthday, I quickly snapped a few photos while Clark played with the balloons he brought home. I was impressed with how big he blew the balloon, and he was quite shocked too. I love the way in this photo that he is holding the balloon so carefully between his fingers. And watching it to see if he is successful in blowing it up.
Anyway, quick post as it is Wednesday and the week is flying by. Happy Wednesday people!
My boy loves to roar. He loves Dinosaurs that roar, lions that roar, tigers that roar... you get the picture. He also is not great at knowing when is a good time to roar and when is not. We had a rough twenty-first week of the year, with lots of boundary testing and little patience. Our boy stomped one minute and was in tears the next. Whether it was in the lead up to Saturday's full moon (Clark was born on a full moon) or just something in the wind, it was not helped by being snuffly and blocked up. While you and me may become a bit hard of hearing when we are all blocked up with a cold, Clark's unilateral hearing loss means he really does struggle more when sick.
I had a rough week myself and on Thursday when picking up our most precious bundle from childcare was informed that Clark had been playing fairly roughly most of the week. It was being noticed more when he playing with toys of animals that roar. Clobbering another child in the head with a big heavy plastic lion while roaring is generally not considered appropriate. Mind you, he had been on the receiving end of the same thing earlier in the week. In an attempt to curb this behaviour, the teachers in his room at childcare have decided to not let Clark play with the animals that roar. Hoping it will calm him down perhaps. While my husband and I have been joking about how Clark may now only play with mice and bunnies, I have been feeling a little sensitive about it. Because my boy loves to roar. And he is great at roaring. He adores dinosaurs and knows their names. It is something that he is confident with. And I do not want to take this away from him. So the Mama Lion in me comes out and I want to defend my boy. Yes, we work with him on appropriate behaviours and inside voices, but I also want to make sure that his environment is appropriate to his hearing ability. I will follow through on removing Ryan the Apatosaurus when his tail is repeatedly used to fling a lesser (but usually harder) toy across the room, but I also will ensure he has enough quiet time at the end of a busy day of straining to hear above the general ruckus.
Sometimes it is hard to know when to accept other's assessment of what is happening for my child, and when to push back knowing that I know my son and what he needs. I have many years of this ahead of me, and have been so grateful this week for the other mothers-of-boys around me who have given me good advice on trusting my instincts and that we know our boys best.
And let's all be honest. Who doesn't want to romp and stomp (and roar) like a T-Rex sometimes?
The cold has truly set in this week! And this weekend we lapped up as much of the (almost) winter sunshine as we could. It was a big gardening weekend for us, and Clark really loved helping us. He raked and dug and followed us around all weekend. The leaves have almost all turned and this Japanese Maple has the last of them. Not for long however as the wind blew them off faster today than we could rake them.
It was also a very social weekend, surprisingly. We went to a lovely 1st birthday party on Saturday, and my shy boy made an appearance. Snuggled in to Glenn for the first half an hour, and then sitting with me quietly to the side while he had some afternoon. After a while he warmed up and was running around playing with the balloons happily. For we did learn this week just how much our boy loves balloons! A few friends commented on how he seemed like a different boy from when he arrived, and each time I made a joke about adding sugar and giving him a chance to warm up. However the thing is, our boy is shy sometimes and that is ok. I read a blog post this week by the lovely Kelle Hampton (http://www.kellehampton.com) and she wrote about her girls and allowing their beautiful personalities to shine, be that shy or otherwise. While I encourage Clark to come out from behind my legs or from being buried in my chest, I think sometimes that this is more for the benefit of others. Yes, I want Clark to feel comfortable and to not be nervous around others, and I do not want him to miss out because of his shyness, however I also need to accept that this will happen in its own good time. Shy should not be seen as a negative or lesser part of Clark's personality, but just another layer that makes up the wonderful boy that he is.
