Billy Bellenger

Rugby Training

2010-03-03T21:02:00.001+10:00

Matty signed up to the Centenary Panthers tonight, so we all went along to watch his first training session. I was all ready just in case they asked me to sign up too!!

Earning my pocket money!

2010-03-03T20:31:00.002+10:00

Yah I did it...I took out the rubbish.

Yes I am still here!

2010-02-17T14:20:00.004+10:00

okay so this blog is supposed to be about Billy's life. Bit hard when he has months of NOTHING I know I know. Well I have made a vow to myself (so I can get angry with myself if I break it) that I will take more photos this year and make an effort to record the good stuff. So much has happened and continues to happen to my family but we just get bogged down in the day to day grind. Hopefully at least you will see some more photos of how young Billy is growing and what affects his days.

xxx
The Mum

CHRISTMAS MORNING WITH THE KIDS

MATTY GIVING BILLY HIS CHRISTMAS BOTTLE...last morning bottle he had.

BILLY VISITING HIS NAN AND POPPY

HAND PAINTS FOR CHRISTMAS...AND YES HE HAND PAINTED AND WALL PAINTED AND FLOOR PAINTED!!!

My big weekend

2009-09-28T21:12:00.001+10:00

SITTING ON GRANDADS TRUCK
READING WITH GRANDMA

READING WITH MY BIG COUSIN MAREK...HE IS REAAALLLY BIG

READING WITH MY GRANDAD

What has Billy been up to????

2009-09-16T16:58:00.003+10:00

When my brother Sammy was in town he taught me how the play the drums.....

Then Mummy shocked everyone and decided to shave my head...Daddy is still not talking to her!!! I don't know what the fuss is about and just play in my sandpit whenever I can.

Cousin Dante came to visit..we had heaps of fun. But he was a bit strange and enjoyed laying down on the stairs to listen to the concrete...

...and then I laughed at him because he doesn't wear any bathers!!! He was too funny!

I had a great time at the Park with Aunty Ally, Uncle Joe, Mummy and Dante.

My life since Easter by Photos!!!

2009-06-25T13:14:00.002+10:00

Me Building Sandcastles at Grandma's beach in BALLINA

My cousin Dante and I taking a 'double up' ride in the pram in Canberra
Mummy making me read the book before she buys it..."is this a good one Billy??"

My friend Nathan playing at the water park in winter!!! We didn't care... the water goes away and then squirts up again - more often than not in our faces!

Waiting for Easter Holidays

2009-03-22T19:03:00.004+10:00

Here I am trying on my brand new lifejacket. Mummy bought this for me today so I can go with Grandad on his big boat. It has a whistle so I can let everyone know where I am. I have been practising with it and Daddy says it works very well!!

Billy

2009-03-01T15:34:00.004+10:00

HELLO HELLO CAN ANYONE HEAR ME?????????
WHATS THAT CAN YOU SPEAK UP A BIT ALL I CAN HEAR IS WOOOOOSSSHH???????????

Growing Up

2009-02-12T11:45:00.003+10:00

I want to sit here and read my books

But I don't seem to fit anymore????

Ashleigh and Sam have a new home!

2009-02-12T11:22:00.003+10:00

...and of course we went to visit. We love their unit on the canal up at Mooloolaba. So close to everything yet very quiet and on the water. We stayed the night and Ashleigh cooked us all a yummy lasagne (ummm I think SAM cooked..).

Here are some photos of our overnighter last weekend

SAM AND BILLY MAKING FACES

ASHLEIGH FEEDING BILLY LASAGNE
BILLY TRYING TO TAKE ALL THE FURNITURE OUT TO THE BALCONY

SAM AND BILLY RELAXING IN THE HAMMOCK

Beautiful Billy

2009-02-03T10:11:00.003+10:00

Thanks to the lovely Aunty Ally for her sewing skills. We have these beautiful shorts and shirt that Billy loves. The shorts won't fit him for long though as he is growing out of his clothes so fast.

The only way I could take a photo of him (keeping still for long enough) was to lay him on my bed and stand over him.
Unfortunately this lead to a big bump on his head when he decided to stand up...and then jump...mmm naughty role model mummy:)

Billy loves his cars...anything about cars. He loves being in them, driving them, touching the wheels, cleaning them...anything at all. Now he has discovered that shopping CAN be fun. He sat in the trolley for hours. Well 90mins. then realised he could get in/out by himself and that was the end of that. He kept putting his foot out so I had to stop in a hurry and this went on for another 30mins before I decided to end our shopping trip early :).

Photos of me at Jolly's house.

2009-01-18T09:27:00.002+10:00

Billy with his favourite backpack..he stuffs it full of toys and then can't stand up or keeps falling back down if he manages to get up!!!
Billy at Jollys house with his best friend Demi

OUR SPECIAL FAMILY CHRISTMAS

2009-01-02T10:43:00.002+10:00

Mummy gave everyone a big suprise for Christmas... A swim with the Dolphins at Seaworld. It was so exciting and Mummy and I were allowed in to watch and take photos. We have some really cool ones!!

Mummys Big Race

2009-01-01T16:12:00.002+10:00

Mummy was running her 25km Kurrawa Race on the 13th Dec. We all went along. It was very hot. I waited for her at the bus stop to run past
Sammy G walked with me to see if mummy could catch us...it was lots of fun getting in and out of the car to cheer mummy on.

My Cuz LJ and I playing in Perth

2008-12-07T10:50:00.003+10:00

Big Cuz Shae watched over us and she was the referee. I like this game!!

Aunty Ally bought us cheese sandwiches at the shopping centre afterwards for lunch.

Yaaahhhh playtime

2008-11-04T18:20:00.002+10:00

Look what I got for my birthday!!!!!!!

its so much fun to play in my own backyard...and the pretty colours!!! But watching Daddy get stuck in the tunnel was the best bit... :)

Billy * the cake lover * Bellenger

2008-10-31T20:36:00.007+10:00

Billys Gorgeous yummy cake by Lizzle
After a photo shoot with Lanne who had done some great photos with Billy and a birthday cake we made the assumption that Billy wasn't too interested in junk food and certainly not in touching the yukky creamy stuff (YUM!!!!) that is a cake!
So we weren't quick enough when trying to get some shots of Billy sitting in front of his beautiful, gourmet made-with-love chocolate cake from Lizzle.

We quickly had to save the cake and wash Billy's clothes as well...he was mighty upset when Sam blew out his candle thinking Billy couldn't handle it himself!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BILLY

2008-10-26T12:06:00.003+10:00

Billy turned 1 on Thursday and we have had a week of fun times and happy laughter. Poor Billy has no idea what is going on but he has been allowed to eat chocolate custard, attack a birthday cake, rip the paper on the presents and do lots of things he would usually get in trouble for!

Here are some shots of during the past few days:

I LOVED TO OPEN MY NANS PRESENTS, IT WAS FUN TO RIP THE PAPER

I GOT WORRIED THINKING ABOUT THE WORRY DOLLS GRANDMA BOUGHT ME..

AUNTY ALLY BOUGHT ME A BALLOON FOR MY BIRTHDAY..IT WAS BIG AND BLUE AND I BIT IT HARD!!!

IM A BIG BOY NOW SO I CAN CRAWL UP THE STAIRS BY MYSELF

....I LIKE IT WHEN DADDY MEETS ME AT THE TOP THOUGH

Just Practising....

2008-10-17T20:26:00.004+10:00

It was Sam's 19th Birthday and we had a big party. I got to play lots of fun games with the balloons and wear a party hat. Everyone got a party bag full of lollies...except me! Mummy said I am too too little for junk food. Daddy snuck me some!

Billys October Update

2008-10-17T20:09:00.001+10:00

I have this new game I like to play in the bath……

Eat this!

Mummy makes me open my mouth to show her if I have any other toys jammed in there….

Even Jordie gets me to show her my tongue when she thinks I have eaten her mobile phone again!!!

Happy Birthday Aunty Tess xxx

2008-10-05T20:35:00.004+10:00

Aunty Tesso’s big birthday!!!

There was almost 50 of us out to dinner for the big 50th Celebrations. It was Hawaiian theme….so daddy and I went dressed the same in our Darwin shirts.

The next day I thought mummy wouldn’t mind what I did but she kept getting grumpy at me…I was just trying to help put everything in the bin for her!

RAAF Annual Air Show

2008-10-05T20:18:00.003+10:00

It was great! It was loud and scary! It was Hot! and we had heaps of fun!!! I gave my daddy lots of big cuddles when the planes went really close and were especially loud.......

Guess What my Daddy Brought Me???

2008-10-01T07:54:00.003+10:00

Mummy said it is just like LJs!!!!!

I am not sure how to push it along though.....

Is this how you are supposed to climb on like the bike????

I didn't get out for a run yesterday....

2008-10-01T07:30:00.002+10:00

But I did get to go for a bike ride..

Daddy and Jordan watched us ride around the block and hear Billy squealing with laughter. I think I need some more time on the bike before I can pull us both up the hills around here...but it was fun and a great way to pick him up from daycare.

Photos...and more photos

2008-09-27T10:15:00.002+10:00

I got a cheap camera and have been having fun taking photos...it was so terrible not having one for so long.

I can only blame myself

2008-09-24T14:23:00.003+10:00

Billy is falling into the habit of waking up early..because from time to time I need to wake him up at 4am so he can come running with me when Allan is away.

Unfortunately this is starting to cause his whole routine to be out of whack.

...but at least he is still cute so I tend to forgive him everything. I think he wakes up in case I go without him because he doesn't want to miss out on 100 people feeding him watermelon!!!!

I hope to put up some photos tonight..we went to Harvey Normans and got a cheap $100 camera. It is pretty damn good and I think extremely good value for money. I know I won't fuss about if it gets a bit knocked around in the baby bag either - though I don't want to go through not having one every again. I felt so isolated from my e-life!!!

Billy - cutest runner in Queensland

2008-09-16T14:52:00.004+10:00

Took Billy out for a run this morning. After being laid up with a virus for the past two weeks it was great to get out for a jog...even though it nearly killed me :)

Here he is doing his stretches afterwards....my Coach said he was doing his Wrist Exercises!

Learning New Things

2008-09-10T13:54:00.002+10:00

BILLY WAVING TO HIS NAN AND POP

Billy is learning new things as he approaches his 11th Month.

He is able to wave goodbye when I drop him off (and goodbye to Jolly when I pick him up).

He is also able to stick his fingers in any powerpoint that looks dangerous or push shut any drawer / door that is likely to catch his fingers. Our house is now semi-childproof which means we can no longer freely open anything..as Allan has installed catches/locks etc to keep Billy out. Needless to say I try to keep as much stuff as I can on the kitchen bench now...to avoid the pain of trying to open a cupboard!!!

Billy is walking around a bit whilst holding onto furniture. He is very strong on his feet and at a whopping 13kg is as big as they come (excluding our very own Cousin Dante heh heh). His belly is still hanging out of his nappy and clothes and causes him to overbalance at times...but he is adjusting rather than watching what he eats.

Billy in Ballina

2008-09-10T13:52:00.002+10:00

How cool is my beautiful boy with his sunnies on in Ballina...now the hard task of getting him to keep wearing them and NOT eating them!

Bedtime

2008-09-10T13:50:00.001+10:00

This is why I can't sleep much....because Billy takes up all the bed!!!

No pretty pictures...

2008-09-10T09:23:00.002+10:00

Despite you all thinking us Queenslanders are just slacking off...it is the camera that is slacking off. It has finally died and with no replacement we are unable to take any pretty pictures.

I have a few from the mobile that I will try to upload shortly.

So until we invest in a camera....not much here to see :(

Nothing exciting happening

2008-09-05T10:48:00.002+10:00

BILLY AND I WATCHING THE WIGGLES

....we are all just chilling here.

Getting excited about the next few months. We have taken a leaf out of Grandma Gem and Grandad Bills book and decided to travel around the country...well some of us anyhow.

I am off to Gold Coast today...then Adelaide for a few days work (went to Melbourne last month)...then Perth for the wedding...then Jordie is up to Darwin to hang with Nan and Shae..so now is the quiet period.

Billy loves nothing more than to sit at the computer and watch the wiggles. Hence I have to do the blog updates when he is in bed/at school or I have to suffer through an hour of Wiggle play :)

SuperBaby

2008-08-27T18:38:00.001+10:00

Playing with Daddy in bed....

Weekend Chores

2008-08-24T10:47:00.002+10:00

Mummy was cleaning the verandah....I was cleaning the glass doors for her.....dont they look shiny..tastes good too!!!

Billy Billy Billy

2008-08-19T17:55:00.003+10:00

Crawling around and making trouble...thats what he is up to nowadays - just in case you were wondering!

Such a delightful child is our Bill but ...how do they mysteriously know where the button to the off/on TV is??
Now that he can crawl all around he is on the move everywhere..not to mention into everything. He has finally been able to do what Dante did all those months ago and turn OFF/ON the music to his Jungle Gym...yyyaaaaahhh NOT!

Billy was keen to help Ashleigh and Sam (her boyfriend) do their annual finger painting piece of art.

Satay Ballina Chicken..

2008-08-11T20:22:00.005+10:00

....serve it up with Potatoe Bake and Mullumbimby Broccoli

mmmmmmm

Stopped in at the Macadamia Castle on the way home and got some Macadamia Satay sauce that is locally produced. An absolute treat to marinate some chicken with.

Billy thought it was all boring compared to his mashed dinner.

But nothing looks yummier than my little baby all snuggled up in his sleeping bag.

Nighty night baby....1 degrees tonight so at least I know you will be warm.
xxxx
Mummy

Visiting Grandma..

2008-08-10T18:46:00.003+10:00

This weekend we took Billy down to see his Grandma and say hello. It was a wonderful visit.
We got there on Friday night in time to watch the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. Next morning we all arose to see the highlights and enjoy the smells and tastes of Grandma Gems Puff De Loonies mmmmmm they were delicious as usual with lashings of golden syrup. Jordie has been inducted into the taste and ate the plate!!

Next up we went and spent the morning on the beach...just watching the waves, the dolphins and watching Billy eat the sand. He totally loved being on the beach so we went to the shops and got him some sunnies and a new bathing suit. However we decided to eat lunch at the river sitting on the green grass of the park nearby and just watch the water so he didn't get the chance to don his bathers yet.

Back at Grandma's we received another mouthwaters treat of curry sausages and rice..with all the added herbs and spices from Grandmas home garden. It was a night for James Bond as we settled in to watch the latest one.

Back home today after breakfast at the Macadamia Castle....time to go on a diet I think!!! Needless to say Jordie, Allan and Billy are all asking me when we are next going back to see Grandma!!!!

oooopps off to catch Billy.....he is crawling everywhere now and just won't sit still!!!

Happy Days

2008-08-08T14:31:00.002+10:00

It's soooo cold here at the moment. Poor Billy has to sit VERY close to the heater to keep warm. Not that it stops him from holding the remote...typical bloke!!!

PS before you start reporting me to child safety the heater was off...he was just copying what the other kids do when it is ON!!!!

The teeth are starting to be a real problem. Not that he has grown any more for a few months....but he is starting to really chew and bite HARD on anything that comes into contact with his own mouth - okay if it is HIS fingers....not if it is my boobs!!!!!

9 Months old and counting....

2008-07-30T17:53:00.002+10:00

Me with my Grandad and Grandma overlooking the Pumicestone Passageway in Caloundra

Me on Grandma Gemma's lap....whilst she was playing Queen Sheba on a boat cruise for Great Uncle Larry's 60th Birthday.

Me again!!! Crawling all over my new rug...well Mummy said it is hers but Nan sent it to our house and I love it. Jordie thinks it is hers and keeps stealing it from Me and Mummy. It is sooo warm and cuddly.

I'm not crawling yet but trying really hard. This is me seeing how it feels to rock back and forth on my hands and feet. I love moving about but mum keeps saying "no! Billy! stay still Billy!!!

Schools Back!!!

2008-07-16T17:02:00.004+10:00

Jordie went to her new school on Tuesday. It was traumatic for all involved but we got through...the inability to pay for her fees and uniform turns out to be due to an Optus blackout and not my credit card being declined...but the experience was embarrassing nonetheless and it was only when the 3rd parents card was declined did the school decide to just issue invoices!!!

Her uniform looks great and Billy was pretty excited by it all.

When I picked her up before we headed off to collect Bill she was all freaked out and it turns out Physics and Chemistry are hard subjects...WHAT!!!??? Yeah well maybe that is why I dídn't do them!!!

Second day is much better and things look like falling into a good pattern. Now all I need to do is convince Jordie to pick up Billy each morning heh heh

My Perth Family

2008-07-09T21:45:00.002+10:00

Brianna feeding me a bottle

Lachie taking care of me at Great-Grandma's Funeral

Aunty Monica doing her big laugh...again...

He loves his Aunty......Really he does!

2008-07-09T21:37:00.001+10:00

Billy testing out the frullet (Dantes frontal mullet)

Billy pulling the frullet

Dante not liking his frullet to be touched!

Testing Testing....

2008-07-08T19:41:00.005+10:00

At last today we have internet...for a while there it felt like we were back in the old days when TV had fuzzy edges and we had to get up out of our chairs to change the channel!!! Fancy that!!

Mr Bigpond has come and replaced our modem and installed some new non-termite-infested phone lines. The computer is in my bedroom just to nurse it through the testing phase of our new connection. I thought initially moving it up here would help it get better but no...only Mr Bigpond could fix him.

In the meantime Billy has not stopped growing. He hasn't put on any weight (thank Goodness!!!) but is changing daily in his actions and rolling all over the floor. Not crawling...but we are not too keen for him to start anyhow.

So to quickly catch you all up...here are some shots from the past few weeks:

THE RUG NAN MADE BILLY...THAT WON FIRST PRIZE AT THE QUILT COMPETITION!!!!!

BILLY PRETENDING HE CAN CRAWL

BILLY CLINGING ON FOR DEAR LIFE AFTER MUMMY STOOD HIM UP ON THE BED!!

2008-06-19T15:55:00.002+10:00

Here is Billy at the OUTBACK SPECTACULAR a couple of weeks ago...woohoo ride em cowboy!

I'm missing my Daddy so mummy got me to smile at the camera so she could send him my picture....I gave him a very special "BILLY" smile.

Billys Big Day Out

2008-06-15T21:44:00.003+10:00

It started with a visit to Pancake Palace....(daddy calls it Maccas)

Followed by many hours in the car....

Then I got to eat Grandma's tasty pumpkin scones and Grandma even played with me and my trucks at my house.

And finally I got to have a cuddle with Daddy again before going to bed. I learnt how to clap today and kept doing it all night.

Phew! I am exhausted.

Books in Ballina

2008-06-11T12:57:00.002+10:00

Grandma is reading me a story....it is noisy and has lots of animals popping up.

Turn the pages faster Grandma

I am trying to catch the noisy birds...

Grandma is trying to move them away from me...

This is such a fun book, I can't wait for Grandma to read me some more pages.

......still teething

2008-05-27T14:03:00.003+10:00

He is gone past 7 months of age and this is where we find ourselves:

**Loving all foods...providing they are solid and not mushy
**Teething..he has 7 teeth now and more coming. He hasn't complained at all but is a drooling mess!
**Loves reading books...especially THE GREEN SHEEP
**Sitting up and playing with all his toys - reaching for those he can't quite get.
**not even thinking about crawling...his belly gets in the way
**gone up to WALKER nappies. He weighs just shy of 12kg.
**Put one of our carseats to forward facing - so he can talk to me on the shorter trips.
**Drinking water - he loves it and has his own cup...though he prefers it out of my cup!!
**Recognising people and feeling unsettled with strangers. No longer will he be happy to just get picked up by anyone!

All in all he is such a blessing to Allan and I and gives us such joy each day.

Thanks Aunty Bridgette!!!!!

2008-05-20T19:55:00.003+10:00

HERE IS INCY WINCY SPIDER.....

climbing up the water spout

AAARRRGGGHHHH IT BIT ME!!!!!!

heh heh heh heh.....just kidding!!!!

Billys Brother....

2008-05-18T13:45:00.003+10:00

Thanks to everyone who sent Sam a text for his 14th Birthday yesterday. He was soooo excited to get them all.

It was a tremendous day for us all round.

Sam turned 14...(I feel sooo old)
Billy said Dad da (he felt sooo good)

We went to a local Thai shop for dinner last night and it was quite good. Food was gorgeous and yummy. I stole the curry puffs off the entree plate and fed them to Billy who was wriggling around. After that he was addicted. He just sat in his chair and ate curry puffs all night. Please don't tell Aunty Ally....she might remind me how I said I would never feed my son that sort of thing...I mean really a curry puff is the Indian version of a chinese dim sim :)) **rolling around floor laughing**

Gotta go study...big exam on Tuesday and I am under a lot of stress to complete it. Costs $100US each time to sit it and no-one in our company has passed it yet. NO PRESSURE they say....we just need to be certified by Friday!!!!!!!!!!

Meet My Piglet

2008-05-15T09:05:00.002+10:00

Billy went to bed one night....I woke up to find a little piglet in his place. I'll try to take a photo today and put it up.

We have been struggling with feeding Billy solids. Mainly because I can only cook for 6 so he just never seemed to empty his plate. Baby jar foods are so runny and yucky - but THANK GOODNESS ever so convenient. When I have made up food for him myself he seems to hate the flavours and unfortunately I have a few months supply of something he doesn't seem to like....

So I have now worked out he HATES advocado..funny because everyone tells me babies love this. He adores pumpkin and potatoe. Loves his fruit too. Tonight we try some new stuff....baked beans. Wizzed up in the blender I hear it is fantastic for babes and they love the taste. Something new to try anyhow. convenient too! Must make sure to get the no/low salt variety though.

Anyhow yesterday I decided to make a whole bowl of peaches/bananna in the blender. Instead of freezing it...he ate the lot. I mean a WHOLE bowl. Adult size. Kid you not! He loved it. I had added in a bit of farex because I made it too runny but it still had some chunks of bananna so I think this is what he loved. Anyhow I am waiting still for the gigantic poo to follow...might be today at day care heh heh

If anyone has any great baby food ideas/tricks please make sure to let me know. Billy is almost 7 months old now so I am keen to get him started on a good variety of food.

Generations of mums

2008-05-11T18:05:00.003+10:00

For Mothers Day we had a wonderful lunch at Uncle Tony's with my Grandma, my mum, Allan and Billy. Not to mention the other aunts and uncles. Fresh prawns, crab dip in a hot cob, lamb chops on the BBQ, pork crackling (groan...) and all the alcohol you can imagine. Billy loved the mash pototoe most, my favourite was the icecream!!

When mum wasn't looking Billy grabbed some of the bread dip to see what all the fuss was about....

It was wonderful to see Grandma Ryall want to cuddle Billy and to have mum there to spend some time with.

Mothers Day

2008-05-11T18:00:00.003+10:00

A most delightful day!

We stayed the night down at Ret and Petes house on the Gold Coast and awoke this morning refreshed and ready to go...Billy slept through till 6am after going to bed at 8pm the night before so he was the perfect dream child. Of course Allan got him up and took him out so I could get another hours sleep which was just heaven!! I didn't realise until I got up that Allan and Billy went out and slept for another hour on the couch....not fair!!!

A perfect start to mothers day. The kids phoned through and sent messages and it was lovely to see my own mum and grandma as well. Before a big family lunch we went for a walk on the beach and Billy got his feet wet and sandy...we stopped at a cafe for a bottle and a coffee for me! Needless to say Billy was wiped out when we got home.

5 teeth, solid food, daily poos', we got it all.....

2008-05-08T18:41:00.003+10:00

NAN - TAKING CARE OF HER TWO GRANDSONS

BILLY BEING A PIRATE (yes he has LJ's tiger too!)

BILLY THIS MORNING SHOWING OFF HIS TEETH - and LJs'missing clothes.

Like cuz LJ Billy has been busy growing his teeth and now has three big ones at the top and two at the bottom. His fourth top tooth is coming down as we speak so he is loving his 'nipple grazing' at the moment!!!

The eating of solid foods has taken some getting used to. He loves to eat adult food - ie hold a chop bone, a raw bean or a piece of potatoe but try to give him some runny mashed baby food and he throws it all over the place. We are persevering and despite warnings on everything I see I tend to make his food more thicker than recommended and hence he enjoys it. I mean seriously some of the baby food is so runny you can't hold it on the spoon!!!

Thanks to all the solids and his 2-3 formula bottles he has during the day (yah no more expressing at work!!) he is having wonderfully regular poos and it is quite the entertainment to the whole household to watch him struggle and groan with his lot in life.

Billy was wonderfully looked after by his biggest sister this week. Ashleigh came and stayed with us as I had to fly to Sydney for work for a few days. She took him to daycare, fed and bathed him at night and got up to him in the EARLY morning...I say early because he woke up at 4am every night I was away heh heh missing his mother of course!!! Whilst I got a lot done on my trip and it was very beneficial to my job I missed my family dearly and am glad to be home...can someone tell me where my housekeeper and ironing lady went to???

Miss you Nan!

Billy - SIX MONTHS WOOHOO

2008-05-01T17:09:00.004+10:00

where are all my friends gone?? I have all these toys and no Dante or LJ to play with. Come back....PLEASE!! I'm even trying to copy you all and sit up straight. But not even interested in crawling.

The Dant totally ruined my high chair...or thats what I told mummy so she went and bought me a brand new one just like his and LJ's. I like being a copy cat!

Nanny was mean to me today. She took me to the doctors in my pram and told them to stick needles in me. I cried afterwards for a couple of minutes but after a nice cuddle from my Nan I was okay again. I even gave her lots of smiles and so she gave me a bottle before I had my afternoon nap. I'm going to miss my Nan when she goes.

Anzac Day

2008-04-25T13:35:00.004+10:00

Up early and into town for the big Anzac Day March. Jordie and her friend Abby came down on the train to be with us as well.

We watched for hours whilst the big procession of service men and women and families went past us. It was most exciting seeing my friend Andy go past and as we were standing in front of the Shrine of Rememberance whenever anyone went past us they screamed out "hhhhhhaaattttss offfff" "eyyyyeeeeessss leeeeeeefffftt" so I kept telling Billy they were all turning to look at him :) Andy screamed out for his squadron to look left and I waved crazy and yelled at him. ooopss might have distracted him!!

Anyhow it was a great day and emotional parade. Nothing got the crowd screaming more than the old bloke who got out of his wheelchair to walk proudly past the Shrine and dip his head respectfully......I was in tears at this stage.

Billy slept through but was rudely awoken by the bagpipes that came through shortly afterwards.

Big Sisters 19th Birthday

2008-04-23T08:30:00.003+10:00

ASH N SAM

ASH N BILLY

It was Ashleighs 19th birthday on Sunday so the family (NAN included) drove up to her new unit and celebrated with her.

We all enjoyed a nice dinner out at a Thai restaurant and had a few good chuckles over Nan's inspection of Ashelighs unit....having the door jam shut and her being locked in the toilet for over 30mins was not her idea of fun but for some reason the rest of us all thought it was hilarious. Especially when the boys that came to rescue her thought she was stuck IN the toilet and were too embarressed to break down the door.
It ended well with Matty picking the lock after many attempts and we have her back safe and sound with us again.

Billy was on his best behaviour at dinner and was a delight to all the other diners. Though I am starting to get the impression that we will be eating out less and less (which is a good thing) in favour of staying home and having early nights. Thankfully the 1.5hr drive home was peaceful also with Billy and his mummy crashed in the backseat whilst daddy drove and talked to Nan.

Nan is Great!!

2008-04-22T13:30:00.003+10:00

Nan came to visit all the way from Darwin to look after my mummy. She is even looking after me. I got to sit in the chair Dante used and had real food too.

I had porridge (Farex) and it was yummy. Most of it came out and mum then took over and scooped it back in and said I wasn't allowed to eat like Dante and had to be a clean eater. I blew a rasberry and the porridge went everywhere....Nan thought it was funny but mum wasn't impressed. She says I am cheeky and know exactly what she was saying but just wasn't listening.

Finally...an update on Billys life

2008-04-19T17:20:00.003+10:00

It has been hectic, fun, chaotic and fantastic to have the family come and stay...be it the daily visitors (Bridgy, LJ and Shae) or the new sister wife Ally and cuz Dante. Grandma Gemma doesnt even count as a visitor....she's just a regular now!

I'll have to do some stories...because we certainly had our fair share of them over the past few weeks. In the meantime here are some photos to keep you updated.

ALLY AND DANTE IN BALLINA

DANTE FEEDING

DANTE WATCHING OVER BILLY

SAM READING TO BILLY (reading him Sams Sandwich which was sams baby book!!)

LINCOLN CHECKING OUT BILLYS WHEELS

A Hell of a Day Out....

2008-03-27T07:40:00.005+10:00

Thats the slogan at Kingston Park Raceway "ITS A HELL OF A DAY OUT" and it was!!

For Matty's 16th birthday we decided to go go-karting. It was fast and noisy and lots of fun. Ash, Boyfriend Sam, Matt, Allan and Sam all raced in the karts whilst Jordy, Billy and I played air-hockey and watched. Here are some photos:

In between laps on the go-kart my big sister Ash read me my Nativity book and told me how the angels fly around (honestly she has no idea!)

Jordy took good care of me when everyone was driving and mummy was having a cup of hot chocolate.

Mummy tried to give me back my wet nappy but I just kept laughing at her....I didn't want it any more!

Guess the birthday boy didn't make the podium!!! (Actually Matt came first, then Allan but both were too shy to stand on the podium for the photo ha ha)

THE Bunny Shot

2008-03-24T16:34:00.003+10:00

As requested by Aunty Ally.....

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE......BACK TO WORK NOW!!

We are F. A. M. I. L. Y

2008-03-24T09:16:00.002+10:00

...all my brothers and sisters and me!!!

Me N Sam N My Toothbrush

2008-03-22T19:44:00.005+10:00

Sam has come to visit and I just love him, he is my big brother. Mummy was so excited to see him and he gave me a big cuddle first and I squealed with excitement. I was even a good boy driving home and talked the whole way telling him all about the things I had done since I last saw him.
Tonight at home, mummy was cooking the dinner and I got Sam to play with me. He has lovely curls and I just wanted to play with them.

All my family are here for Easter and it is a very special weekend for us. I can't wait until I get some of the eggs everyone keeps talking about!
Tonight I was a very good boy and brushed my teeth, like I do every night. At least tonight I didnt'try to brush my tonsils and choke!! Sam has silver on his teeth. Mummy says it is only for a few years and if I keep brushing maybe I won't have to have silver...but I like Sam's silver and keep trying to reach it.

I am going to bed now...because mummy says tomorrow is a very special day and I need my sleep

MY BROTHER SAM!!!

2008-03-20T09:33:00.003+10:00

Guess who comes today?????????? Yep - My brother Sam!!!

I was so excited I got up at 3am...mummy made me go back to sleep so I thought I had better do that and slept until 7am!!!
Mummy was so grumpy this morning and made me eat my milk so fast and get dressed really quickly. I dídn't get any play time at all! Mummy says I have to learn to get up at 6am or she will have to start setting an alarm.

I can't wait to see Sam. He thinks I am going to be a big boy. Well I am much bigger than when he last saw me - and I have my two big teeth to show him!!

Bills Busy Weekend - PART 2

2008-03-18T06:26:00.003+10:00

Then we had the birthday party for Matty at MONTEZUMAS Mexican Restaurant. It was great fun. They took our birthday cake to another table so I had to jump up and yell at the waiter. As it turned out the other table had bought a massive icecream cake so maybe I shouldn't have said anything....we'd still be there eating!!!

Me getting cuddles from Ash and Boyfriend Sam

This is me and my MOOSE on Daddy's lap. I like my MOOSE.

Bills Busy Weekend - PART 1

2008-03-18T06:25:00.000+10:00

We went everywhere and did everything this weekend.
Saturday morning - Billy and I went for a run on our own in the city so we could have breakfast with Aunty Tess after her 35km run!! In the meantime we took lots of photos....of the city and southbank - here are a few.

Then we went up to Maroochydore for Matty's 16th on Sunday. We spent the day at the shops all getting haircuts (Allan and Matt) and then at the beach. I thought Billy would hate it because the water was COOOLLLLDDD but he loved it. The waves were very gentle and just lapped around him. Jordie was excellent and cuddled and played with him whilst he sat in the water. Getting his swimmers off was another struggle..

Fantastic Friday

2008-03-14T18:03:00.004+10:00

What a great day.

I got out for a wee jog this morning before dropping Billy off. I came home to find Daddy and Billy fast asleep in bed together (Allan really has the knack of doing this...I need to learn it from him).

I had a full day at work and was disappointed when Allan rang to say he would be out of town tonight. However when I went to pick Billy up Jolly had my family's dinner already. It is a special dish made with marinated chicken and takes 100 ingredients to make...mmm not really but going by the list she gave me I made that up :)))

Anyhow it is a traditional Bangladesh dish call Balyini (?) I can't wait to try it tonight. Thanks goodness I DONT HAVE TO COOK!!!!!!!!

To top it all off there were two parcels on my doorstop (great thinking Australia Post) when I got home. One was the jacket I got Bill off ebay for $5.50 and the other was his Baby Book we had made. Both of which I am thrilled with and just so excited....with no one else but Bill to share the good tidings with we just had to do a photo session and blog page. All of which was too much for Billy who has promptly fallen asleep under the computer table...mmmmm maybe I had best just go eat my dinner now.

Worries of motherhood

2008-03-13T17:35:00.003+10:00

Today was a worrisome day.

You slept well...until 4.30am at least. You have been so good Billy. *hugs* The last week you have slept from 8pm promptly through till 5am. When you do wake up you lay in your bed gurgling and talking for a while and are happy to lay there until mummy is fully awake and able to come in and get you.

This morning you wanted to be fed promptly upon waking. I think it may have something to do with daddys alarm going off so noisily at that time.

After feeding you I laid down to sleep and asked you to be quiet and watch me sleep for 30mins more....to my astonishment you closed your eyes and fell asleep until 6am. It was wonderful to be sleeping with you and to get an extra hours nap in!!

The worry started when I woke at 6am for the second time that day and found you covered from head to toe in spots...they weren't there before. Then again neither was the light so I could have missed them!
You didn't have a temperature or seem fussy or any different to any other day so I took you to Jollys.

Jolly agreed that it was nothing much to worry about. Her calls to me at work to remind me that it was nothing to worry about....did nothing to stop me worrying!!!!

Daddy and I agreed to get you early and keep you under watchful eye at home - where you have proceeded to drink more booby and roll around the floor making general mischief. I am glad you are okay. I hope the dots go away soon bub and you are back to your beautiful soft, smooth baby skin. Mummy doesn't like to be worried about you.

BTW Just thought I would tell NAN - Daddy ironed (yes you heard correctly) Billys blue outfit specially before he went to work. Isn't he good!!! Now to teach him how to do his own uniforms!!!!

I'm a Big Boy Now....

2008-03-11T16:51:00.008+10:00

On Saturday I was waiting for Aunty Tess. She was out running for hours and hours. I got very thirsty waiting so I decided to have my bottle whilst mummy had her breakfast. Told you I am a big boy now!

I went to visit my Grandma at her new home. It was lots of fun and I got to sleep outside in the breeze (thats where mummy put me - on the balcony!!!).
At night time Daddy and Mummy took me to a hotel. It was my first night in a hotel...I wanted to watch TV all night but had to go to sleep. I slept in a big bed all by myself. It was pretty cool. Best bit was rolling off at 5am, my mummy was sleeping on the floor and caught me. She said she couldn't believe how I could roll over a big fat pillow...then Daddy said I was bigger and fatter! HUMPH!!

I love my daddy....he gave me some apple juice. I had to suck it from the apple.

When mummy got up very early I got to sleep with Daddy. I took up all the bed and daddy had to sleep all folded up so he wouldn't squash me...he is a good daddy.

I am counting down till Easter because all my brothers and sisters are coming to visit me. Sam is coming on a plane and the others on a train. They are soooo grown up.

7th March 2008....big event day

2008-03-07T18:37:00.002+10:00

Today I got my first tooth..

Do you think mummy could get a photo of it...ha ha ha ha

No!

My little big sis really wants to see it but she is going to have to come and visit me to see it.

2008-03-05T06:42:00.002+10:00

THIS IS HOW I USUALLY SLEEP......

THIS IS HOW MUMMY FOUND ME THIS MORNING.....

I don't usually have a pillow but it sits in the cot as I have made a habit of pushing myself from the bottom of the cot to the top and hitting my head on the walls of the cot. Today however I decided I would roll around and just see if anyone would eventually come to get me. I had a big sleep and didn't wake up at all during the night so I had lots of energy to play before my big feed. The pillow was a nice play to stop and have a rest....

In Canberra....

2008-03-02T15:55:00.002+10:00

Hello Peoples....Mummy and I are in Canberra. We go home tomorrow so mummy said she would tell more stories later.

For now here are some photos.

MY FIRST NIGHT IN MY HIGHCHAIR - SITTING UP BY MYSELF

ME WITH AUNTY ALLY AND COUSIN DANTE

GRANDMA GEMMA HOLDING ME AND DANTE

ME PLAYING WITH DANTE'S TOYS....THEY MAKE GREAT NOISES!!

THE BEES HAVE ARRIVED AT MY HOUSE..THEY ARE SO MUCH FUN!

Skating...and other stuff

2008-02-24T14:10:00.005+10:00

I am such a cool cat on my skateboard...okay so it is my brother mattys board..but he let me borrow it for a minute. I can't wait until I am older and able to ride it properly.

I love to hold onto things now...it is good when Mummy finds things like my soft cube that are big enough to not fit into my mouth. Otherwise everything I hold goes straight there...

My Daddy is teaching me how to walk. I am trying to catch up to my Cuz Dante who is standing around looking like a big boy and I want to be just like him. I can stand for 1 whole second now!!!!!! Then I do my tumbling act...which makes me and everyone else laugh.

Tumbling lessons

2008-02-23T16:54:00.004+10:00

People think I am a moviestar because I always start smiling for the camera but today I was doing my tumbling act and as soon as anyone came in the room I went shy.

Mummy got the camera but I decided to lay down on the job then...heh heh heh

It was pay back for the 30min head massage mum gave me last night to try to encourage my hair growth!!

BILLYS BABY BOOK

2008-02-22T08:41:00.000+10:00

FOOTY FEVER

2008-02-17T09:15:00.003+10:00

My Daddy and Uncle Rex took me to my first ever footy game. Mummy came too but i wasn't allowed to talk to her (unless I got hungry then I had to give her special smiles to be nice again) because she was going for the lions.

I was going for the BOMBERS!!! Uncle Rex even gave me a special footy and my very own Essendon scarf. I had a great night.

My sister Jordan and her friend Gracie came too! Gracie is my brother Matt's girlfriend :) hee hee

It was such an exciting game and my team WON!! Just when we were leaving to go home it started raining lots and lots. Mummy was carrying me and i was squealing with fun. We were running everywhere but it was still like a cold shower...Jordie and Gracie were soaked to the bone. Even Daddy had to drive home in no clothes because they were too wet. Mummy kept some dry clothes for me so I was ok but it was so much fun to be rushing everywhere and getting wet!

Happy Valentines Day Mummy

2008-02-14T19:58:00.004+10:00

I was just so adorable today....like every other day really.

But with Daddy away i was extra special for mummy and we had a giggly play time, a fun bath time
and a cute massage time. Here are the photos to prove it :)
BTW who is the silly Aunty that sent me this girls outfit amongst the boys clothes?? Mummy thought it was great to pretend she had a little girl and kept brushing my hair telling me to grow curls....

Daddy took this of us yesterday so everyone could see how Billy does his blogs....

2008-02-13T18:20:00.003+10:00

Here are some photos for my family and friends that don't see me very often....oooh that would be most of you!!!

My big sister Ashleigh giving me a cuddle....

Me asleep in my big cot this morning...mummy couldn't wake me up!!!

Me on my Magic Pillow trying to climb over the top of it...so much fun but exhausting!

My NAN Loves Me!!!

2008-02-07T21:11:00.000+10:00

My Nan must truly love me because when I got home from the doctors today I had a parcel waiting on the front doorstep.

I have MORE magic pillows to take to day care with me now - and they have my name on them!

I also can wash up with a new cloth every day - now i even know what day it is.....but it doesn't make the cloth taste any better~!!!

Heading towards the weekend...

2008-02-07T07:32:00.000+10:00

We are over the hump day and that makes me happy....that means the weekend is not too far away.

The first few days of having Bill in care for the day have been chaotic, tiring and emotionally exhausting.
Dropping him off for his first day, I cried for the whole hour to get to work. I was a mess. He was fine!!
When I picked him up I had to fight hard to get him to come home. Jolly's kids have adopted him and he likes sitting in his chair watching them play ball in the afternoon.

Jolly loves Billy because he is so soft and cuddly and is a very good eater. Jolly believes if the baby eats well then everything else will be fine. I try to remember that in the middle of the night when I am frantically trying to express more milk to feed my endless drinker!

Billy is not suffering at all from being in Day care. Allan and I are finding it tough but we had a good talk last night and decided to wait it out until Easter and then if we need to make some changes we will. Firstly we need to adjust the times Bill is in care because I don't have enough time to get to work and home at the moment and that is one of my major stresses. My job doesn't allow for me to arrive late and leave early so I have not been enjoying it as much as I hoped.

The Milking Factory is the only other thing I stress about. Billy just drinks too much!! He feeds at home 6pm, 7pm and 8pm (all small feeds for about 10min) before going to bed until 4am. Then he feeds at 4am for a big feed and again at 7am just before I drop him off. I have to leave him with 5 bottles of 100ml. Jolly said he is often hungry so 100ml doesn't do him but he still needs to have quantity of x5 to accommodate his sleeping/waking cycle. I am hanging out till Easter (7 weeks) when he will start on some solids and hopefully then the milk requirement will drop off.

I want to breastfeed Billy until he goes to school. Allan just laughs and laughs and reminds me of how I wanted to stop at 3months!!! Seriously though, it is my one connection with him and our own special bonding time so I will be very sad to give it up before he is 1 year old. However I admit that it is very hard work to continue solely breastfeeding whilst I am working 40hrs a week and travelling as well. Not to mention trying to run! It is likely the food and possibly a formula bottle will be introduced once Easter break is over. That may give me some rest so I won't have to be pumping 24/7.

I am starting to feel like it will all work. The explosion of returning to work is starting to settle and I can see the light (aka payday) so I have my fingers and toes crossed that it all works and what we are doing is in the best interests of our little family.

Any tips or comments about working mothers would be most welcome!!!

Photos

2008-02-06T07:40:00.001+10:00

MUMMY AND I AT AUNTY GLORIAS (Gloria Jeans) FOR COFFEE - LAST DAY OF MUMMY LEAVE
MUMMY SITTING WITH ME IN THE CAR HOLDING MY HAND

ME WITH JOLLY - MY TRIAL RUN ON SATURDAY. JOLLY HAS THREE KIDS HERSELF.
MY FIRST KISS - WE VISITED DADDY'S COUSIN RACHEL AND HER KIDS, KAYA, BENNY AND LITTLE LILLY (kissing me)
ME PLAYING ON MY RUG JUST BEFORE GOING TO DAY CARE FOR MY FIRST DAY ON MONDAY

Last Day of the Rest of My Life....

2008-02-03T13:55:00.000+10:00

My mummy is very sad today.

She goes back to work tomorrow morning and I head into fulltime day care with Jolly.

Jolly is a Bangladesian woman with a very nice home and a loving family. She takes care of up to 5 children in her house and I will be her special fulltime baby. She looked after me on Saturday and I liked it when she kept calling me BUBBA and rubbing my head. Mummy said she is going to love me very much which makes it easier for her to go to work every day.

To celebrate togetherness this weekend my mummy, my daddy and I have been very busy and spending lots and lots of time together. Today we went to Aunty Glorias for a coffee (that's what Mummy calls Gloria Jeans) and visited some family members I haven't seen before. Daddy's cousin Rachel and her kids. It was fun and I got to wear my new hat outside.

Yesterday when Mummy picked me up from Jolly's and stopped crying we went to the supermarket and did some shopping. Then I had a big sleep with Daddy in his bed. Last night we went to an Ethiopian restaurant for dinner with Aunty Tesso for Katy's 40th birthday (who I run with on Saturdays). Aunty Tesso said she had ordered the full banquet because they gave her two grains of rice!!!! She is funny Aunty Tesso.

My sister Ashleigh is here with me now visiting and making me smile. Mummy is very sad and busy getting all my bottles ready and washing my sheets. My mummy is going to miss me very much and I am going to miss her very much. Daddy said he will look after both of us lots this week so the family is all happy.

I will be happy if I do a poo. It has been 3 days and I am very full up and my tummy is getting too fat to put nappies on. I hope I do a poo before I go to Jolly's house or it might scare her.......

My Godmother

2008-01-29T19:30:00.001+10:00

I went to visit my Godmother today - my mummy's Aunty Rose.

She had a lovely home and big big windows so I could lay on my rug and watch the palm trees and the rain. It was nice and cool and I stayed for a long time because I was on my best behaviour.

Mummy had chicken and salad and biscuits and icecream and lots of goodies. I think we will be visiting her a lot!!!

Aunty Rose gave me lots of cuddles and kept making me smile.

I am glad she is my Godmummy.

Australia Day Weekend

2008-01-29T19:12:00.000+10:00

We are teething.....

I was going to leave it at that as all the parents out there would understand what we are going through with just those words but that would not be fair to my beautiful son.

The slobbering, crying and restlessness is intermittent and - thankfully - in between I still have my giggling, smiling, cooing baby that just lights up when his mum or dad walk in the room. It makes us proud to be able to soothe him and be the ones he looks for when he is in pain or upset. I just wish he didn't have to scream so loud...surely soon the child safety officers will come knocking to see what is going on!!!

We have a tooth on the bottom and white bits on the top (teeth threatening to come through the gums). I don't even think the bottom tooth will stay as it seems to come and go. Any advice or information on teething would be welcome!!

For pain relief, we took Bill to the pub for a beer on Australia Day...where he was accosted by the Bundy Rum girls....funny Dad didn't seem to be concerned too much with this!!!

Getting Stronger Every Day

2008-01-26T14:13:00.000+10:00

Now that I am three months old I am going to start working out and getting stronger.

The big alligator that Aunty Ally bought me helps me work out my arm and chest muscles....I am able to hold up my neck now and am getting to be a bit strong boy.

Mummy says I look funny because when I am on my tummy I work out for a few minutes and then lay down on the job and just coo. When I am on my back I push my feet and crawl all over the place...mum says I am never going to crawl - just slide everywhere. I think she wants to put some cloth nappies on so I can clean the wooden floors as I go!!!!

Three Months Old

2008-01-24T09:44:00.000+10:00

Woo hoo now we are three months old we can revert to the calendar system (ie instead of counting weeks...) Officially we are 13 weeks but I prefer to follow the months so it is less confusing!!!

Billy is sleeping soundly for his morning naps. We are struggling with the bottle at the moment because he does not like the frozen milk we have in good supply (no one told me that the milk changes flavour to suit his needs)...so I am madly trying to express as much new stuff as I can to build up a fresh bank of milk in time for him to go to day care in 10 days time. I am sure we will have a supermarket full by then so no panic really. Then again....Billy is now 7.5kg and growing each day so I think perhaps the milk supply may need to start coming in a truck!!!

Here are some more photos of our trip:

Shae and Jordan - Little Mummies to LJ and Billy

Cousin Gemma with Billy

Uncle Karl holding Billy...just before he slid off his knee and onto the floor (Uncle Karl is just sooo good with babies!)

Oma Lyn holding Billy

Back Home Safe n Sound!!

2008-01-21T08:37:00.000+10:00

It has been an extremely busy two weeks - and that is saying something when you have a three month old baby!!!

We flew up to Darwin for pops 70th Birthday and spent the days and nights catching up with all our family and friends that live up there. It was hectic but Billy loved it all and was on his best behaviour despite the humidity and our busy days. He slept well at night and gave us several 8am sleep ins which I was most impressed with.

When we arrived Nan gave Billy his belated Christmas Stocking. There is a photo of all the things she made to fill it with....it was wonderful and his stocking is now safe and sound packed away for Christmas 2008.

Sam met up with us in Darwin and loved the time he had with his brother Billy. We took lots of photos and it was sad to leave him. He took Billy to his first movie (Alvin and the Chipmunks) and helped with his first swim too! It was great to see his confidence around babies grow and he made me so proud when I heard Billy cry and turned to see it was him that ran to pick him up and cuddle him.

My two sisters that live in Darwin got the opportunity to cuddle their youngest nephew and spoil Billy rotten.

Thanks to cousin LJ, Billy also got to have lots of toys and exciting things to play with whilst he was visiting Aunty Bridgy. The photo above is Bridgy with Cuz LJ.

Once I sort through all the many photos I took on the trip I will post some more. There are heaps of ones with Billy and his cousins - especially Shae who spoilt him rotten with lots of cuddles and kisses...

ON HOLIDAYS

2008-01-16T15:07:00.000+10:00

I'll have to post some photos soon, but thought I had best jump on the computer and let you all know we are still alive and well.

Allan and I have brought Billy up to Darwin for his Pops 70th Birthday. It is today but we are having a big family party on Saturday to celebrate. Tonight Billy is going to his cousin Gemma's house to be babysat whilst the adults go out for a nice dinner. Will be interesting to see what state everyone is in after we pick him up later tonight.

So far we have been running around doing family stuff.....Nan's birthday dinner, shopping with Aunty Rosie and Aunty Bridgette, dinner at Aunty Bridgettes house and playing with LJ, visiting Lyn and Terry and cousins Bailey and Georgia, playing with best friend Nathan (and getting punched in the face....) and lots more. Billy is inundated with family and friends and thinks this is a great life up here in Darwin. He has had his first swim in the pool and spents lots of time with his big brother Sam. Life is always good when you are on holiday I keep telling him.

He has been sleeping really well - which I was scared about. We put him to bed late - so we can have him spend more time with Nan and Pop and who evers house we are at. So he has been going down at 10pm and waking up at 6am. Then back to bed for another couple of hours (unless I feel like getting up and playing with him).

Today everyone has gone out on the boat (except Billy and I )so we came in to visit Aunty Bridgette and LJ for a play day.

Photos to come......

New Years Routine

2008-01-03T12:24:00.000+10:00

We have started the Year off with a new routine in order to get Billy prepared for full time Day Care. After being soley breastfed for the past 10 weeks we have now commenced giving him bottles between the hours of 9am-5pm (to simulate working hours). It has been working wonderfully and it so amazing to see him quickly adjust his eating routine.

Previously I demand fed him whenever he had his 'hungry'cry. Now I make him wait until at least 2 hours is up and he then gets 100ml of breastmilk in the bottle. It is fantastic and on New Years Day Daddy gave him all his bottles and spent the day bonding with him. Jordie takes a turn when she can but I am still keen to keep being his primary feeder to make it seem somewhat familiar.

The bottle is no problems for him and neither is going back to the boobie for his night/early morning feeds. Amazing enough I find that he now eats more at night/morning and less in the day. This helps him be more active and attentive and have longer wake periods. The result of which last night was a sleep from 8pm through till 5am this morning. Great!!!!! Unfortunately he didn't want to go back to sleep then so I had to get up and we played for a couple of hours and had a cup of tea. Then at 7am we both went back to bed for another hour before getting up for the day.
I think this new routine suits Billy and mostly it suits his family. We can all participate and I am confident that I can leave him for periods at a time with others and he won't be fussy.

Then again...we are only on day 3 so I'll keep you all updated on how we are going. The big challenge we face next week is leaving him for a 6hr stretch as a trial daycare day - Jordie his big sister will be in charge and I will be going in for a half day at work.
We also need to get out to the shops or friends house to practice heating/giving him bottles outside of the family home. I am also quickly learning the best times of day to express the milk so I can keep up with the supply/demand of a hungry baby! 4am expressing is just exactly what I had in mind when I heard the doctor say many months ago "You are Pregnant!!!"

Life is fun!

Getting Ready to Fly....

2007-12-27T10:23:00.000+10:00

Counting down the days till we fly to Darwin now that Christmas is over.

I love this suit my brother bought me from Movieworld. It is a Superman outfit and has a real cape and all!! I was flying around in my pram this morning with my mummy. I love our morning walks.

I have to change into something else now because we are going shopping and mum says she doesn't want to fly past the shops today...she wants to actually go in and look at things. I guess I had best be on my best behaviour then...she might even buy me something!

Twas the Night After Christmas and all were in bed....

2007-12-26T18:12:00.001+10:00

...well we can dream can't we!!

Christmas was a great day at the Bellenger household. Allan and I went down to the Gold Coast on Christmas Eve to spend the night with our family. We enjoyed a few too many drinks and after just a few hours of overindulging in both beverages and delicious food we hopped into bed. Billy was very well behaved when he woke up at 4am Christmas morning - much better than his father who was severely regretting his overindulgence the night before :)

Billy quickly dressed into his working clothes and got to work delivering smiles and cuddles to everyone.

After the traditional big christmas lunch we headed home for a long christmas night playing monopoly and opening the many many presents that santa had delivered to our home. As expected Bill was spoilt by his brothers and sisters and went to bed for a very long sleep from 8 pm till 5 am. Obviously his christmas gift to his mother !!!

Boxing day saw the family hit the shops in both cars in preparation for some big spending at the boxing day sales!
Daddy Bellenger spent the day driving around Brisbane instead of sitting in front of the Cricket and was most happy about this....must have had something to do with his new GPS toy he got from the kids for Chrissy. Mummy Bellenger was delighted with her kitchen applicances and her beautiful ring that has 3 blue stones (for the boys) and two white stones (for the girls). As I mentioned....we were all spoilt this year.

Now the days inbetween Christmas and New Year are upon us and we hope to get in some serious R&R, a bit of jogging, catch up with some friends and eat lots of junk before all the New Year resolutions kick in.

Right now though....we are off to Chinese restaurant to finish that Boxing Day trend of spending every cent in the bank.

Merry Christmas and love to all xxxxxxx
Mummy

90 Years and 9 Weeks old today!!

2007-12-26T10:20:00.003+10:00

Billy with his great Grandma on Christmas day.....we had a great day!!

Getting Ready For Christmas

2007-12-23T15:11:00.000+10:00

Here I am with my Christmas Stocking Bear...and matching hat. I feel like Silly Billy but it makes me laugh!

Aunty Bridgette and Uncle Rob sent me a BIRTHDAY BEAR when I was born. It arrived just before we moved house so mum wouldn't let me have it until this week when the house was all clean. I love the bear because it is bigger than me and I can fall over on it and cuddle it. It has my name and the day I was born written on the foot of the bear so I will keep it forever. We call it Billy Bear. Mum likes that because everyone calls her Claire Bear.

Anyone Missing a Shoe?

2007-12-23T15:03:00.000+10:00

Prince Charming must have learnt a thing or two from Cinderella.....this shoe was left on the staircase of my new home. Would the owner please put their teeny hand up???

Billys Baptism

2007-12-18T21:39:00.000+10:00

After a hot service in the church...Billy just had to find somewhere to lay down and cool off.

And so another Month passes by......

2007-12-18T21:18:00.000+10:00

Wow...who could imagine what you can pack into one month of living.

Billy if this is going to be your life...I think I want my money back! The past month has been very hectic and I can't recall each day - it is all just a blur of activity and achievement. Some of the things we did:

Grandma turned 90.
Billy had his first smile.
We moved house.
We cleaned house(s)
Billy and Jordan were baptised.
My sisters came to visit.
My sisters bought their kids with them.
Ashleigh went overseas.
We did the Christmas shopping.
Billy and I had numerous doctor and dentist visits.
We queued at Medicare for several days :)))

Amongst that we continued to have our daily coffee at the local Coffee Club (remind me to buy shares) or similar cafe. Billy loves sitting in the airconditioning whilst mum relaxes and yes - has her fix of caffeine. I can't imagine what I was thinking drinking decaf for so long! Viva la Caffeine!!!!!!!

As you will see from the photos it has been fun and Billy and I are continuing to have full days with lots of family, friends and fun. We loved having my sisters and their babies come and visit. It was great to see them and see how the three babies are all developing differently and to also talk to my sisters to see what I am doing wrong or right.

Dante has grown so much since we last saw him only a couple of months ago. He has grown both literally and characteristically (okay I just made up that word I think!). He has so many expressions and noises now that I think he is just a little boy pretending to be a baby! I loved how he tried to get Billy out of his capsule!
Wasn't he suprised to be caught in the act heh heh

LJ stayed at our house for a couple of days and despite him being almost 3 months older than Billy, we were able to share toys and yes even their clothes. Both boys are about the same size. Though Billys Belly is certainly the bit that gives him his girth. LJ is long and lean and such a good looking boy. Beautiful skin that even Billy tried eating!

This morning was the Christmas run at PCRG and it was great to see everyone again. Even better - we got to dress up. Billy loved his santa's hat and loved Aunty Tesso's tinsel on her outfit. Jordan and I pushed Billy around whilst we fired water pistols at all the runners and cooled them down. After all the beautiful things Anna said about Billy I thought it best to not shoot the premier so she got away dry....

My Cuz LJ

2007-12-06T08:57:00.000+10:00

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My cousin LJ arrived today.....as you can see he is a runner.

My First Day at PCRG

2007-12-05T10:54:00.001+10:00

Mummy got me up at 4.30am to go running with her old running group. It was fun to go along but I slept most of the time and woke up for a feed just after mummy started walking hee hee.

Mummy walked 4km in total and then went to the doctor for a checkup. Officially he said we can now go for small jogs but mummy said to wait a few more weeks so we will be going to PCRG again but just walking to get me used to the pram.

Billy's Update - My weekend

2007-12-02T17:41:00.001+10:00

It all started our fairly ordinary I thought....Saturday morning my mummy was running around frantically trying to find me another outfit to wear after I had thrown up on my suit. She kept saying "hurry hurry hurry"and was going in and out of the room sqawking like a parrot. I just sat there in my blanket and planned how to dirty this new outfit she choose........heh heh

Mum took me to her running group. We got there at 6am, well ok it was 6:08am when we arrived. Running late is getting to be a habit!
We went for a great walk in my pram - my longest walk ever for 90mins. I saw a lovely lady who thought I looked smashing. Mummy said I should have shaken her hand because she was the Queensland Premier....but I was just wanting to see my Aunty Tess and Aunty Liz to show them my puppy dog ear shirt.

Mummys friends Tara and Ciaran were at breakfast after our walk and they cuddled me so mummy could eat her breakfast. It was fun to meet so many peoople. Mummy said Ciaran was a dentist so he was just looking at how my teeth were going (not!).

Katy and Mark - more of mummys' friends gave me lots of presents. I like them!!! I got this gigantic blue bear and a beautiful rug for my cot. Katy talks a lot and her and mummy are going to go walking again next Saturday because it was so much fun for all of us. I just enjoy being in my pram because with Mummy and Katy around a little boy is not going to get a word/cry in the conversation at all..........

This morning we went to mass again. The ladies love looking after me. Then mummy went to 100 different shops to buy some marshmellows so she could cook daddy some rocky road stuff...I have a snuffy nose though so mummy has been looking after me and didn't get a chance to cook it today.

Now I am just waiting for my Daddy to come home so he can give me lots of big hugs. He has been gone a long time and I miss him. xxxxxx

A Day in the Life of Billy

2007-11-30T16:38:00.000+10:00

My sister recorded a day in the life of her son and I thought it would be interesting to see what that looked like for Billy.

I heard recently that if you breastfed your baby for less than 5-10 mins it was just a comfort feed. But most of Billys feeds are for small times so I got really worried but seeing as he is putting on 30gm a week I guess he is getting the sustanance from somewhere (likely the 3am parties he keeps having!!).

This was our day - ps I will do this one day a week to get an average and to see how he changes. I will try to post each month one day to show you his progress.
PS. It is very difficult to write it all down. My pad and pen went with us everywhere but the 2am feed was just hilarious to see me writing in the dark the times......

2am - Wake up and feed
2:13 sleep. Mum changed nappy.
2:18 - 5:16 feed for 3 mins then sound asleep
5:17 - 5:28 wake up and feed, back to bed (in with mummy)
6:09 -6:17 wake up and feed, then back to sleep
7:22 - 7:24 wake up and feed (getting monotonous now) then sound asleep
Mummy shower time, Billy watching tree in window happily when she comes back.
7:45 - 7:51 finish feeding, then get dressed for day
8:12 - 8:20 grumpy still so another feed
8:20 - 9:09 playtime on my tummy and in the gym
9:09 - 9:19 Feed time
9:30 - nap time MUMS COFFEE TIME YAAAAHHHHHH
11:30am - Nurse woke me up to weigh me
12:40 - 12:49 Feed time - was starving and mummy's boobs bursting! Quick nap afterwards.
1:02 play time
1:13-1:25 feeding frenzy, mum drive so Billy in car seat just watching
2:15-2:25 feeding again, then back in car.
2:50 - 4:15 play time at Rosalie Park. Loved watching all the trees and kids. Had 2 x 5min feeds in this time as well but was awake and happy.
4:15-4:45 sleep
4:45-5:00 sitting in car seat, mum on pc while I watched her.
5:30 - 5:40 feed time again - was grumpy this time.
5:44 - 6:30 nap time. Big poo woke me up. change nappy.
6:38-6:46 feed time.
6:50 - 8:40 sleep time. Mum and Dad had dinner, BLISS.
8:41 - 8 46 feed time then back to sleep
9:05 10:10 mum woke me up. Nice long bath by daddy, some 'free willy' time and a play with dad. Mum had shower.
10:12-10:35 feed - very fussy. Finally off to bed in my COT!!!!!
2:21-2:28 woke up and fed. Mum changed nappy afterwards.
2:36-2:41 had feed on other side. Sound asleep and went back in cot.
5:54 Nappy woke me up. Mum changed me.

....And so it begins again!

Baby Clinic

2007-11-30T16:31:00.000+10:00

Like my Cuz LJ I went to the Baby Clinic yesterday for my first month checkup (at 5 weeks). Unlike LJ mum didn't get a chance to take any photos :(

Weight: 5260gm (HUGE the nurse said)
Length: 55cm (short the nurse said)
Head: 40cm (gonna big a big fella the nurse said)

My mum and dad got all upset about my length because they wanted a long baby and not a short butterball but when I got home my dad measured me and I was longer than 55cm so they think the nurse did not read the measure from the 0cm line and took it from the top of the tape. It is a brand new clinic so they were getting used to all the equipment. We are going to wait to see next week what the paedatrician says at my 6 week checkup.

Apart from that all is looking good and on Monday I am allowed to register for school. Yahhhhh.