The good and the bad

Life sure is full of ups and downs. Especially when there's two kids under two ruling the roost!

Oliver has had a pretty good run of things lately. He switched classrooms at ABC's in record time, so is now running amuck with the 2 to 3 year olds. He's almost 22 months old now, and still tracking along that 25 %ile line on the growth chart. He might not be the biggest kid, but he could be the smartest! (What do you mean, biased?!!).

Oliver's language skills have really improved since moving up a class... I guess all that time around the "big" kids and hearing them talk is rubbing off onto him. He is now starting to attempt sentences, by using several pairs of words to describe something. He will now ask to "feed the cat?" in the mornings before breaksfast - I'm glad someone remembers!

He is also not screaming/squealing quite as much. I guess (and hope!) that as his language develops more he won't feel so frustrated (exceptions to this will be expected when he's tired, grumpy, or just being a terrible two year old).

Unfortunately Oli is unwell at the moment. It looks like he's picked up another bug. He's got a temperature and all the symptoms of a cold. I hope that is all it is, so that he is ready to go back to ABC's on Monday. He's been missing his friends today.

And we still haven't come to a conclusion about his ears. The doctor has recommended we try the free ear clinic at the local primary schools in a couple of weeks time. So if that is inconclusive, we will have to ask to be referred to a specialist.

Ella is doing very well, and like her brother is tracking along the 25%ile line on the growth chart (well, the girl's version). She is learning new sounds to make each week, and has developed a delightful little squeal. She loves to look at herself in the mirror and make a few noises to see what the other baby will say back. Ella has been a bit unwell lately too, with a bit of a dodgy tum resulting in some yukky nappies (and the occasional overflow - yikes!).

Ella has just passed her 3 month milestone and got her second round of immunistaions. She was a trooper, only crying for the second jab (which, according to the nurse, was the 'stingy' one), and then recovering within about 10 seconds to be her normal self.

Ella is very similar to how Oli was at this age. As soon as she goes into her room she will start to complain about going to bed. She will cry while I wrap her up and tuck her in, but within 10 minutes she is usually settled and fast asleep. She is a very happy and cruisey baby, but really loves to have face-to-face contact (perhaps even moreso than Oli did).

To add to the good bits this month, I've been having a bit of good luck. I won a portrait photography sitting with Baby Shots in Cambridge. We have had our sitting and are waiting for the photos to be processed so we can pick the ones we want. Fingers crossed we got some good ones - they say you should never work with kids or animals!

My second dose of good luck came when I won tickets to the Air NZ Fashion Weekend in Auckland. It was a bit late notice for me to organise a trip away, so I traded the tickets for two bottles of wine. Perfect! They will be stashed in the back of the cupboard with "Mel's - HANDS OFF!" labels on them, until such time as I can enjoy a glass or two, without getting Ella drunk too!

And my third good luck story (they come in threes, don't they?) is that I won a $200 prize pack from NZMTBR magazine. It is a Vaude daypack, four boxes of muesli bars, a pack towel, drink bottle and $40 R&R Sport vouchers. Sweet!

My only regret is that I feel like my good luck will be running out, and I've used up all my prize mojo before any major prizes are drawn!

Not too much else to tell at the moment. I've not been out for many rides, just an hour or so last weekend. It was a beautiful day and a great ride, so it's got me keen to do more. I will post up some info about my current bike setup soon... I just need to ride it a bit more first!