I had planned to write this post before we left on our USA trip (there will be a post on the SF part shortly) however things just got busier and busier before we left. This was mainly due to deadlines at work. So now I am writing the post on the iPad on very cold day in Seattle.
and our 2011 comic is available from this link: 2011 Comic.
December was a busy month with something on almost every weekend.
Similar to 2 years prior for Jeremy we travelled into the city and sorted out Timothy's US passport. We also met up with friends who were visiting Sydney on the weekend. Both his US and Australian passports were quickly processed and arrived before Christmas.
The weekend before Christmas us and several friends gathered at a holiday house near Berry on the south coast of NSW. Even with 6 children under 5 the house did live up to its name - Serenity. Jeremy did not enjoy going in the water at the beach nearby as the water was quite cold but he had great fun building a sandcastle with me (a budding engineer perhaps?).
Timothy has been developing well. He has been sleeping through the night since mid November which is great, though he still sleeps in a different room to Jeremy. He started out as a very serious baby but started smiling back recently and on 23rd December gave us his first outburst of laughter. We have now had several occasions where both kids have caused each other to laugh.
This year we drove to Mudgee to spend Christmas with my parents - it had been a while since we had been to Mudgee and a number of years since we had Christmas there. The weather was great and Jeremy had a great time feeding the goats and running about in the yard. Dad even found some frogs for him to look at. This Christmas Jeremy was much better at opening presents and he really wanted to play with his new toys...and Timothy's!
After a few days at home, we drove back via Newcastle to visit a good friend who gave birth to twins just before Christmas.
In late January we returned to Mudgee to take Jeremy to Western Plains Zoo at Dubbo. Jeremy had a great time at the zoo and did not have to be carried too much as he wanted to go and see the next animal. His vocabulary really increased due the visit as he is now able to name more animals.
Jeremy is starting to speak to us with multiple words - we now get "No Daddy!" instead of just "No!". He is expressing himself better too - when asked does he want breakfast he says "Yup - yogo (yogurt) please". However, he is really testing our patience as he keeps on doing things when expressly told not to (such as poking Timothy in the face or touching the computer). I think that this is either for attention or that he is bored - when he is interested in something he gives it 100% of his attention.
The common denominator in the past 2 months has been car trips with screaming children - particularly when I am driving. Timothy will be hungry and yell for a while then Jeremy will start up (usually just for attention)
No news on the garage renovation just yet - that saga is going to get its own dedicated post later on...
Hmmm this was meant to be quick / short post...