Here we go again

Hi all.

Its time for a long overdue catchup with the kids and their super busy lives and some recent photos for their Gran to see. Have been out of action for a while but we are back. School holidays have descended on us again and I have had to take time off from my job to stay at home with them all which is a bit of a bummer but when your husband is the boss it makes applying for time off relatively easy :). So here we go;

Kyla has turned into the social butterfly, always out and about, on the phone for hours or we have a steady stream of visitors in the house. It gets a bit tedious sometimes as with work we are pretty much stuffed and have to deal with drop offs and pick ups but guess its the joys of having a teenager. She has finally gotten us to agree to let her walk to and from school but has a strict 'be at home' time as it still worries us a bit but I have to admit that lately that buzz has worn off. Her school work hasnt suffered with her extra curriculum activities so we are quite happy to let her do as she does. She only has 10 days off school and then its off to camp for a week. Andrew has a bit of a problem with high school camps. Wonder why that would be? :P She also has just had a new haircut. Unfortunately her new obsession with her appearnce doesnt always extend to her hair which was quite long and tho she would skim over the top to make it appear nice, she never got as far as underneath and a multitude of dreadlocks started to form and after numerous warnings to do it properly she wouldnt comply. I like the shorter do anyway.

Kaytlynn isnt so social but has a couple of close good friends. Unfortunately after 6 solid weeks of up to three extra kids in the house on the weekends as well as Kylas drop bys and our boarder and my brother and his son staying with us for a while, I yelled a 'Time out' and Katy has been able to go away a bit more. For some reason her friends preferred to stay here than at their own. She is really enjoying school as always and is such a bubbly and loving nature that it is a pleasure to have her around. Not to say that she cant be very temperamental but its nice to be at this stage with her before the hormones of teenage hood hit her. She reminds us alot of her Aunty Liane. She loves to jump rope and has the ability to rope her dad, uncle and Nathan in on the act too when noone else will comply. Now that I think of it, it would make a great photo for the blog. Andrew playing jump rope hehe. It is an amusing sight.

Liam is our Roger Federer even if it is only in enthusiasm. He has really taken to the game of tennis and we are grateful for the enthusiasm that their school has for the game that sees him able to play it regularly. Hes a bit lazy when it comes to his homework though. He likes to hide it and tell us that he has none or has already done it and only brought it out once in a while to validate his claims. If it wasnt for the dedication of his teacher we would not be any the wiser. He invents some amazing stuff and we love his imagination and try to nurture it as best we could. Unfortunately the girls dont find it as amusing when they find all their stuff has been taken apart and made into vehicles or whatever his mind has thought up. I try to appease them by reminding them about some of the stuff that her dad and uncle did to some of their sisters things. That seems to work. For a while anyway.

Maddisyn is 5 in a couple of days but seems to have decided to keep the attitude of the terrible twos going. Andrew is freaking out. She reminds him so much of him as a child that he is finding it difficult to figure out an effective way to deal with some of her tantrums and mannerisms. Usually him losing his temper works as a short term solution. She is a real daddys girl tho and adores him but really like to push his buttons. She absolutely loves daycare and is a bright little button. She is back to seeing specialists tho with her glue ear. Just as we think that we have it fixed it reoccurs so we are trying to find a permenant solution before more of her hearing is lost. It might include a bit of surgery though :( but she is her fathers daughter and takes it all in her stride.

Ethan is the male version of Maddy-Rose and the terrible twos have hit early with him. He is a bit easier to control and stuff but it is still alot of hard work. Andrew is forever saying to me 'Mum was right. I would be sorry when I had children of my own and they are like me.' I have to have a giggle at his frustration. Ethan is learning so much at daycare, moreso since he started going there fulltime and its very pleasing to see the change in his learning patterns. He can fingerpaint, loves the dancing and singing sessions they have and is starting to recognise pictures and tries to put a name to them. His vocabulary is very full and we are sure he is only one step away from stringing a full sentence together. His fav words at the moment is 'Mine!', 'Yuk', 'Oh-oh' and our favorite 'See ya lata' as he sits there with a grin on his face, one hand raised and wiggling his fingers at you. I have taken to tying his hair up in a ponytail in an effort to keep it tidier and out of his face, much to his dads distaste. But he wont let me cut the back so has no choice but to let me do as I will. Ethan also has the 'No fear' complex which is a bit worrying but we have great hopes that he grows out of it before he has the same impressive medical files that his dad had as a child!!