Amélie is such a happy, peaceful baby now and she had a lovely time watching her brother, smiling and chatting with Nanny and watching the TV for a little while too.   Such a different child, although, her mood was also affected by the amount of wind she held onto and the change to Dr Brown’s bottles has certainly made a difference.

If I can work out how to post the video from my iPhone, I’ll add that too.

Bubba is funny with her too.   He kept coming over and saying “baby” or “good girl” and kissed her on the forehead or hands.  He loves his little sister.  Of course, he still wants his time with Nanny and isn’t above sitting on his sister if she’s been on Nanny’s lap for too long.  I make sure I give him lots of cuddles and kisses too.

I decided that I would let him go outside by himself today (kind of, anyway, I stood inside and watched him like a hawk) although he was only allowed out onto the deck.  He thought he’d sneak away at one stage and I called him to come back or he’d have to come back inside so he took off.  Here he is running away along the path LOL

When he did come inside, he was watching Dora the Explorer – which he loves – and I love watching him interact with the program.   There is a naughty fox called Swiper who pinches things.  If you see him coming, you have to say “Swiper, no swiping” 3 times.  If you (and Dora) are successful in stopping Swiper, he says “Oh maaaan” and slinks off.   Bubba loves this bit and puts his hand up when he chants and then says “Oh maaaan” with Swiper.  It’s hilarious.

He is so clever with his speech.  He says full sentences, sings songs and speaks Spanish – courtesy of Dora.  I love it when he says ”Excuse me” in his gorgeous little voice.  Such a clever little Bubba.

Anyway, it’s all up to date in chronological order now. Stories aren’t too detailed but a picture says a 1000 words so I’m sure you’ll see what wonderful, beautiful grandchildren I have and how blessed I am.

They honestly are the light of my life.

Love them to bits.

He enjoyed it while we were moving but if we stopped (unless it was to look at animals) he got cranky.

Finally we took him over to the jumping castles and one was a slide. Aunty Courtney took him on because he was too little to go by himself. He had a blast. Wasn’t too keen to get off and cried for a full 10 minutes when I strapped him into his stroller and walked him back to the car. I’m thinking we might have to invest in a jumping castle of sorts for his next birthday party.

I’ve been playing with some video software and put this together. It’s crudely done but I hope I will improve as I go along. I love the relationship Bubba and Aunty Courtney have and I think it comes through so beautifully in this piece.

Jai wasn’t so keen on Santa, in fact he wouldn’t go near him and, I’m afraid, he’s not at all impressed by the easter bunny either. Seems he’s not a fan of giant costumed creatures. We managed to get a photo of him in the vicinity of the easter bunny by asking the girl to bribe him with an easter egg. Anything for chocolate.

After we saw the easter bunny, we took him over to Great-Nanny Phyllis’ place and he had fun with honorary Uncle Michael before it was time to go home. On Easter morning, after he’d spent some time with him mum and dad, I picked him and Amélie up to let their parents have some time to get ready to go out to lunch. We had a lovely time and I’m sure Bubba has consumed as much chocolate as is possible for a 2 year old. I gave them both a bath and was surprised at how much Amélie enjoyed it. Bubba was very good with sharing his water space and I got some cute photos of them together. Of course, I’ve preserved their dignity with some creative editing.

Oh, and if you’re wondering about the photos of Aunty Courtney on the coffee table… Bubba and Aunty Courtney decided to have a dinosaur roaring competition to see who was the loudest which evolved into a dinosaur stomping contest which moved to the middle of the coffee table. Of course then, it got even more exciting with a dinosaur chasing competition where Bubba would run from Courtney and jump into my arms saying “She scary”. Then he’d run straight back to her and do it all over again. They are crazy together! LOL

It was the first time Terry had seen Amélie and it was lovely to catch up with his wife Flora and their gorgeous baby Indi.

I am trying to teach him to walk with me and hold my hand and, as this was a super quick trip in to grab one thing, I decided to use it as a learning opportunity. All was going wonderfully well until he dropped his Diego (Dora’s cousin) toothbrush and dropped to the floor at the exact moment I went to move forward to the register. I had hold of his hand and those opposing forces at the exact same time dislocated his elbow. The poor little guy screamed but only for a second. I picked him up a bit confused at his outburst as he’s usually so good. When I got him to the car and he screamed again when I tried to move his arm to put his seat harness on, I realised what must have happened. Poor little darling. Imagine how awful I felt.

I took him down to the emergency room at the hospital and he was so good. If his arm was still he was smiling and chatty but, as soon as he made the slightest movement, he would scream. He won the hearts of all the other patients in the waiting room and he was seen very quickly. They pulled his arm back in and he was not impressed with the doc. His mum arrived after the horrible part (thank goodness because it was a struggle for me to see him in so much pain and I’m sure she wouldn’t have coped) and he was glad to see her. We were in an out within the hour and he was back to normal. I have a photo of him in the hospital but it’s on my phone and I can’t get it on this computer.

I was also lucky enough for Amélie to visit again during that time. She only stays for a few hours and she enjoys sleeping in Bubba’s cot. I think it’s time Bubba goes into a bed. I’ll have to try and find a toddler bed for him.

He’s such a pleasure to have around, even when I injure him. Aunty Courtney says I’m a horrible Nanny and she is the best Aunty.

We decided to visit Great Nanny Phyllis for a little while and while Bubba was off running around the block and playing in the park with Aunty Courtney, Amélie happily posed for some photos.

There is a dirt mound in my backyard that has been there since he was born and he’s never been near it. Today, his daddy let him play in it and he took full advantage. I don’t think I’m going to find it easy to keep him away from it on future visits.

Bubba had a terrific time playing with his cousins and watching his daddy climb a tree. He loved his dinosaur birthday cake that his mummy and Aunty Erin made for him and even ate some! The look on his face when we all started singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to him was priceless and I wish I had gotten a video of it. The photos will have to do.

He was one grubby boy by the end of the day but what a day it was. He stayed with me again and enjoyed cuddling up on his new giant teddy friend with Aunty Courtney before a well-earned early night.

Next day he sat and watched his favourite show, Dinosaur Train while sitting in his favourite spot – the middle of the coffee table – wearing his Buddy the T-Rex costume.

His vocabulary continues to increase as an amazing rate and he continually surprised me with all his new words. He natters away freely and, when I can understand him properly, it will be awesome LOL

Lots of photos from his birthday.

Today he had his first haircut – at almost 2 years old!

He was so good but he wasn’t so keen on the clippers and needed a big cuddle from his mum afterwards.