December

well where do i start!
december was a very busy month. Hannah finished pre-school
Max had physio & a hearing tests
and Kaylee pretty much whinged for the whole month.
her high pitched whiney voice is driving us all bonkers, i am forever saying to her, 'talk in your normal voice and do it with a smile on your face or I cant understand a word you are saying!!!'
............you might be laughing, but its not funny LOL!

and then we had Max's 1st Christmas

Hannahs Last day of Pre-School.

well its all over, my biggest baby is now starting a new chapter in her life.

BIG SCHOOL!

on her 2nd last day they had a pantomine and they all got there kindy diplomas, it was a great day, but Hannah is still yet to realise that shes not seeing all her friends and her teachers anymore.
hopefully her and her special friend Taylah will stay in contact though. they like sending emails to each other, but im sure she will make lots more special friends over her lifetime.

although her teacher Ivka said that Hannah would run up to her, give her a massive hug and then be off on her merry way again, she did it about 10 times she said.
Ivka also hinted to me that Hannah was one of her special ones.

we put up the xmas tree today!

I was out shopping today and thought since the girls have their nice dresses on i will get Santa photos done. but like last yr the girls got scared and stood there like stunned mullets, and had blank looks on their faces................... so i just got Max done all on his own.
he is pretty lucky really , its not very often the 3rd child gets Santa's lap all to himself LOL

when we got home we put up the tree.............................if you look closely you will see there are no decorations at the top, (Hannah & Kaylee couldnt reach up that far) the girls did the whole tree, and Max loves the train underneath, he squealed as it went past him.

we went to the circus

on Sunday we took the kids to the circus,
it was good but a bit disappointing for the girls, they didn't have any animals there!!!!

and Max fell asleep on my lap, and the noise was at night club levels, u couldn't even hear yourself talk! (he's such a good boy)
this one was the Moscow circus, i preferred the other one, Lennon bros, they at least had dogs and lions, oh and 1 monkey riding a horse which was Kaylee's favourite
so Jen you didn't miss much cost us bloody $96 to get in, and that was just for me Greg and Hannah...............kids under 2 were free so Kaylee was 2 again for the arvo LOL

the kids and I did some art work today!

Max was covered in carrots from head to toe! next time i wont give him the spoon ! LOL

Max's hosp appointment

Today Max had his checkup by the neuromusculor team at randwick childrens hospital,
I woke up at 5.30am and left home just after 6 and we got to the hosp outpatients dept with 3 minutes to spare.for his 8am appointment.
we went thru everything during my pregnancy, and the chorid plexis cyst he had while in my tummy through to all his milestones he has reached and the ones he should have reached, and they said that there doesnt seem to be any sign of the tongue tremors that the other Paed mentioned, ( i forget the name they called it. tongue ficulations ? something like that) and this was a symptom of cerebral palsy, ( cp is when the brains messages cant get thru. so if the brain tells the hands to pick something up the hands dont get the full message and they dont properly pick the object up)
his reflex's in his lower body were brisk ( not 100% sure what that meant) but they want to keep an eye on it. his upper are all normal.
he definatly has developmental delays, 1 thing they checked, he was only at the stage of an 8wk old but i cant remember what that bit was?! we went thru so much , it was alot to take in all at once.
Max has to have an MRI done aswell as another ultrasound of his brain to check the cyst again, and we have to go back up to randwick hosp in march for a follow up, and in the meantime referred us to a paediatrician down here to see every 3mths, they suggested physio , which we have already been doing, and also he suggested a speech therapist, which we have already seen once and are seeing again in 3wks time, they were impressed at how on top of it all that i am with things.( yay to me LOL)
the Dr also said Max was his 1st patient for the day and he was the best baby he had seen all month and was a great way to start his day, everyone always comments on how smiley and contented he always is, even when they drew blood from his little arm he didnt even cry!! he just looked a bit stunned.
he had to put a wee bag on to collect a urine specimen, and it was a bag with sticky tape all around the edges, and when they took it off him he laughed his head off, it was stuck to his walnut and everything i hate having band aids ripped off. guess its different with no hair under the sticky part, LOL.
they also mentioned that cp symptoms can come and go in the 1st 12 mths but they dont think he has it, but they will keep an eye on him anyway.
if i think of anything else i will come back and add it later.
im going to bed..........g'nite.

the girls wearing their present from Aunty Jen Jen

I think i shocked Greg tonight
he said he doesn't think he wants anymore kids
and i said
yeah me either
he didn't know if i was serious or not! .................

( i usually say i'd still like 2 more! LOL)

an ending

before

after

no room to stretch

so much room i could fit 3 babies in here

a bit sad for me today

i took Max's cradle out of his room and set up his cot.

He had his last sleep in his cradle this afternoon and tonight will be his 1st sleep in his big roomy cot, he looks so small in his cot now, he can even fit across rather than length ways.

I'll have to find a new place to do his night feeds now, his cot i had set up as a sofa so i would sit on that to feed him, but im hoping he actually sleeps thru the night now, ..........................maybe i could just buy a rocking chair!?! ive always wanted one but havent really had the room.

my lil' boy isnt so little anymore... boohoo!!

Camp Quality Truck Convoy

this morning the girls and Greg all woke up at 6am, Kaylee was a very bright and cheery Kaylee, normally shes a whiny cranky Kaylee when she wakes up. Hannah took a bit to get going, but they got up , got dressed and got into Daniels truck and headed to appin for the start of the convoy, they had something like 600 trucks an d a heap of harleys and other bikes. as you can see Hannah was still brushing her hair as she was about to go ....

it started at the mines off appin rd and finished at albion park, so by car the trip would be about 45mins, i think it took them about 3hrs in the convoy.

Kaylee slept on Gregs lap for about an hr, and she didnt leave her daddy's side all day.

i met them at the finish and they had jumping castles etc for the kids, it was a really good day

http://www.i98fm.com.au/co-convoy.htm

Hannah's Party

On friday Hannah and I went shopping to get everything for her party, balloons, helium tank , lollies, pies nuggets sausage rolls, all the usual party things!..... so while we were shopping we had a thickshake from wendys...................worst thing we could have done, about 4hrs later we were both gastro and vomiting...............and i still had to clean up my house for her party!

Hannah managed to keep down toast about 8pm but i was still going every hr until about 5am.
and then by the time i could actually get some sleep it was time to get up and feed Max and start the day.....................
at 10am it was my mum and Jenni to the rescue, we just put everything loose in plastic bags, and put it in the laundry, i threw the ironing basket in my room and just shut the door LOL. Mum washed up while i set up the lounge room for the big disco. (i have to put pics up later when i get them of my sis I didnt have time to take any) Jen finished blowing up helium balloons. and of coarse Greg had to talk funny to the girls, i missed it but jen said they just looked at him with weird looks cause he sounded funny and they couldnt work it out LOL
i pushed all the lounges down one end of the lounge room and set up a kids table at the other end and they danced in the middle.
I didnt think it would take much for 5yr olds to get dancing but it took a bit of encouraging.I thought they'd all just be silly together, but they didnt really. left me a bit stumped.
Hannah had 7 friends over and she had the best day, she felt so grown up, her presents were lip glosses and fancy dresses and P'j's. H & K sat on the lounge room floor once everyone left and put lip gloss on for about 2hrs,

the kids played pass the parcel, and pin the tail on the donkey. I was going to put notes in balloons and let the kids pop them to get the prize out but i totally forgot about doing that (grr)
the music was pretty loud and Max being the perfect baby, just slept thru the whole thing.
i had the curtains closed and a disco ball, but then one of the girls saw the cubby house outside and i had to go out and get them all back in again LOL.

Hannahs 5th Birthday

Hannah was up early and excited because she was 5

we went to playgroup in the morning, when all the kids sat down for morning tea, they sang happy birthday to Hannah and she got 5 big claps, then they sang to Kaylee and she got 3 big claps.

we came home, had lunch , and waited for Daddy to finish work so Hannah could open presents.

we bought her a tag reader, and a piano ( just a smallish portable type one) and she likes the tag reader the best, we had pizza for dinner and mini cupcakes for her bday cake.

we didnt do alot today because we are having her party on saturday.

too much all in 1 day!

this was my day today

9.30am drop Hannah at big school and go back home
I get home at 10am feed Max and put him down for a quick 40min sleep,
11am I go back up to the school and pick up Hannah, then she went to pre-school

we got home about 11.45 had some lunch, I tidy up a bit,(didnt get much done!!) then its off to the the physio at 1pm for Max.

2pm i get back home again, thinking I have to leave in 45mins to pick up Hannah, so i sat down fed Max ,put him to bed and made a shopping list for Hannah's bday party on saturday.

3pm i picked Hannah up, Kaylee and Max stayed home with Greg.
on the way home we stopped off at woolies to get chops for dinner, and we went into the $2 shop to get toys for pass the parcel at Hannahs party.
got home just after 4pm. Max wakes up as we walk in the door, so i feed him again,
5pm cook dinner. then at about 7pm Greg went to bed. girls put their pj's on, I fed Max and put him to bed about 8 then the girls went to bed about 8.30pm, and then i sat on here and havent moved since, and my bottom is going to sleep.

thank goodness i dont have crazy days like that everyday or i would go bonkers!!

Hannah's Day

Hannah had her 2nd orientation day today , but this time no parents were allowed in the classroom. we had to drop Hannah off at 9.30am and pick her up at 11am
as we walked in the door they had a table there with a folder for each child with a name tag.
i was having a quick chat to the teacher about the mornings activities, she gave me the folder and I turned around and said, ok Hannah lets go in, but Hannah wasnt beside me, when i asked the teacher did she see where Hannah went , she said no she didnt see, so we both went into the classroom to look for her, and there she is sitting at a table with the other kids, threading shoelaces through holes on a cardboard shoe, and she put her own name tag on and everything.
the teacher gave me a pat on the back and said what a great job i am doing with Hannah.
more like 1 less crying child for her on the 1st day of kindy next year. LOL
if i had of left without saying goodbye to her i dont think she would have cared either .

so Hannah gets in the car and I asked her
me"what did you do Hannah"
H "nothing.......we didnt do anything"

OMG its started already, for 13 yrs of my school life, everyday when i got home Mum asked me "so what did you do" and my answer would always be the same "nothing " lmao!!!

but she didnt really do anything, the teacher read them a story and taught them about putting up their hands to ask questions, and their buddies gave them another tour of the playground, toilets and canteen...................... so technically she really did do 'nothing' LOL

Kaylee's 3rd B'day

Kaylee had a pretty good day .we bought her a small dolls house and a pop-up book. - she loves books-i let her run up n down the ramp in the bank today, normally she stays with me n holds the pram but she asked can she walk on the ramp and i told her only cause its her bday, and 2 old ladies were watching her and had huge smiles on their faces, and one said to the other, oh what i would give to be able to run up n down that ramp. LOL. so i just let her go .

i think she likes her dolls house cause she hasnt stopped touching it, it has a toilet in it, and she keeps putting the dad on the loo to do a poo lmao!!!

Kaylee requested chicken snitzel and chocolate cupcakes for dinner, so thats what we had. so glad she didnt ask for mcdonalds like i used to, lol.

she even fell asleep on the lounge hugging her balloons......

my little bikini inspector LOL

we went to the beach on sunday, Hannah fell in , i knew she would , she always falls over..........

Kaylee was happy just digging holes and you can see what Max was doing.

Max

Saturday8th Max got his 2nd tooth, and the little bugger bit me while he was feeding and when i yelled OUCH! poor Max cried cause i scared him , but he hurt me ........LOL!

Max had his physio appointment today and they were very impressed with his progress. She still said he has low muscle tone, and needs work on fine motor skills, but hopefully he will get alot stronger over the next few mths. i have exercises to do with him ,its just a matter of finding time do to it 3 times a day. his next app is dec 17th.

there were 3 ppl checking Max today. the physio, the paediatrician, and some form of therapist not sure what her title is, but shes checked his fine motor skills.

last time we were there Max wasnt even reaching for anything or grabbing his feet or toys or even holding anything in his hands, but everything they said he should be doing last time, he was doing this time. so he is at the stage of a 4mth old, so he is still 2mths behind.
the older he gets and the more personality he gets im thinking he is just going to be very calm and laid back. if he cant reach something he doesnt really get cranky, where maybe another baby would get frustrated.
and they also said he doesnt actually look at an object, it just puts it straight into his mouth. so next time they want to see him more interested in 1 thing rather than putting it straight into his mouth,

Hannah's orientation day

Hannah in her new school uniform, she had the choice of skorts and a polo shirt or a dress and she wanted the dress. i will still get her the polo and skorts, as its their sports uniform too. she wears her uniform whenever she can, she will try it on, look at herself in the mirror for a while, and take it off and hang it back up, she thinks i dont see her do it LOL!

Mon 3rd Hannah had her 1st orientation day at big school, Greg and I both went up with her, ( my nice mummy came down and looked after Kaylee and Max) it was a parents and students day. she has her students day only, on next wednesday.

Hannah was very excited, we walked into the class room and the teacher remembered Hannahs name from the parents night, which put a huge smile on her face. Greg and I sat on the very small kindy chairs, ( i mean i know i need to lose some weight but those chairs make ur bum feel REALLY big!) and Hannah had some playtime with blocks on the floor til all the other kids arrived.

the teacher got all the kids to sit on the floor with crossed legs, and taught them how to raise their hand without speaking and wait til she pointed to them, and then she read a book about animals and colours. and after that they broke up into smaller groups and did different things , just to see how much the kids already knew.

Hannah was very quiet but she knew most of the answers, some of the kids could read, which made me feel bad for not teaching Hannah to read, but im sure she will learn next year properly,

she already knows how to write her 1st name, now I have to teach her to spell her last name.

there were 2 kids there that looked like they could have started kindy this yr but they had been held back til next yr, . Hannah also met her buddy whos name is Lucy and when Hannah starts next yr Lucy will have recess and lunch with Hannah and help her with the canteen and the bubblers and show her where the toilets are etc.

when we were there the buddies each took their kindy buddy on a tour of the school and the library and the computer room. and Hannah held Lucy 's hand the whole time, so she took to her straight away which is good. and Lucy was funny she said to me, "um my teacher told me Hannah has an allergy and i just want you to know that i can look after her, and its ok with me to" god love her, i tried not to laugh, all of 10yrs old and she was trying to be so grown up LOL!

MAX

thurs 30th I took Max to the baby clinic for another check
weight 7.95kg
head 45cm. didnt get his length.
Chris ( the health nurse) thinks we should have his hearing checked because he didnt react how she would have liked him to , she dropped a book on the table , and he didnt flinch or turn his head, but he was looking at the other lady who had a bright red jumper on and she was pulling faces at him , so he was distracted, and laughing at her. I dont think he has a hearing issue, but its a free test, so i might as well take him. also we did a question sheet and his motor skills are lagging and his fine motor skills are not at the level they should be at so we have been referred to the local paediatrician registrar.

tues 4th . I took Max to the Dr today, and also to the paediatrician, and the pead said his muscle tone was pretty good, but his development is at the stage of a 3mth old, so he is 3mths behind, but in the same breath he said thats going by global stats and its give or take 2 mths either side, but either way Max is a bit behind the average.
he mentioned that Max had a shaky tongue and also he scissors his legs rather than standing strongly on them, ( not exactly sure what that meant) which can be signs of mild cerebral palsy but he said no need for alarm its just something they will keep an eye on and if exercises are needed its best to do them now, so we have to just keep up with all his physio stuff
the paed also said that the cpc that Max had in his brain when he was in my tummy shouldnt have anything to do with having developmental delays, as the last test scan result came back within normal range, but it was on the highest side of the normal ,but i think i'd still like another brain scan done for my own peace of mind. but he said wait til january when we see the paed again and then get a referal for another scan to be done then.