Sense and Sensibility-ness-ing-ly

Much loved family dog. Passed away last night with my parents at her side. 

Run free little one....

It's really hard to discipline a child when something they've done or said has your partner in stitches, and you're struggling to keep your "angry" face on...

I managed to score a few hours working from home this afternoon, and was greeted with a great deal of joy and glee by the kidlets. After Daddy managed to get some time to take his shoes off and sit down and speak with Mummy (approx 15 minutes after arriving - lots of cuddles to be had, cricket to be played), I settled down next to Michelle to catch up on something. Lily came over and was entranced at identifying where our belly buttons were - her's is easy to find! She went over to Luke to find his, however as he was busy watching one of his favourite shows (The Adventures of Bottle Top Bill and his best friend Corky) he was not in a mood to be distracted. She leaned over him to try to find his belly button and he, using his feet, pushed her away quite forcefully.

I will pause at this point and mention that Lily is in no way defenceless - now that she has a serious set of teeth in her head, all is fair game and up for a bite if she's upset or angry. Be warned, all of you.

Lily went to bite Luke in retaliation (in some place boys never want bitten - that was his most exposed part at that point!), and he got mad and went to kick her again - we intervened. I called Luke over and spoke with him about his behaviour and how in no way was it acceptable to kick anyone, especially his sister. Then, as a part of apologising to his sister and is de rigeur in our household, he was instructed to give Lily a kiss and a cuddle and say sorry. Lily leaned straight in, all puckered up for her apology kiss. Luke was not having any part in it.

"Put your mouth away, Lily", he demands.

Michelle looses it. I'm there trying to keep my disciplinarian face on, instructing my son to continue with the apology ritual - give your sister a kiss and a cuddle and say sorry. Lily leans in all puckered up again, and Luke says no and tells her to put her mouth away again. Michelle's a giggling mess, I'm starting to laugh, by this time Luke has given Lily a token kiss and cuddle and squeezed out a 'sorry Lily' and both kids have come over and started cuddling and laughing with/at us.

That's it... my job as a disciplining ogre has been entirely white-anted by the raucous laughter filling the room. I'm done.

Recently I have been privileged to be asked to share some parenting experiences and have been following the stories of some parents from around the globe. Be warned, the first two may just break your heart, but on a lighter note, reading Bel's experience of impending motherhood is an absolute delight.

http://kyahsjourney.livejournal.com/

http://goodtimesdelgadostyle.blogspot.com/

http://memoirsfromhell.wordpress.com/

A couple of weeks ago, we had lunch at McDonalds and the kids shared a Happy Meal and received the obligatory toy - in this instance a Star wars figure. So all week, Luke has been saying things like "Hi Star Wars, I missed you today" or "Goodnight Star Wars, see you in the morning" *kiss kiss*.

Until he asked me the name of the toy.

"It's Obi-wan Kenobi" I told him.

"Oh" says Luke. "Hello Obi-one Kenobi-two."

I cut up an apple for the kidlets morning tea. I told Luke he couldn't hop down to play until he'd finished because he insisted he wasn't hungry after one bite, although moments before he was "starving" - for a biscuit. I went to make a coffee.

Suddenly, his apple was all gone.

Hmmm....

Mysteriously, Lily's bowl was very full of sliced apple...

I looked at Luke with that "mother look" and was informed...

"I was sharing!"

 Luke started Day Care this morning, just one day a week for now. He has been talking about it for ages – what he will do, what he will say, and what he will play with. The first thing he said today was “Yining (his carer) will love to see me!” which is just lovely. I am glad he was/is so excited and happy about it, but I miss him already… He was so busy when we left he barely had time to say goodbye. Ah well, at least I will have some one-on-one time with Lily.

I was putting Luke to bed and he was messing about so I said he had to have a good night's sleep as we had friends coming for lunch tomorrow.

He asked "What about daddy going to work?" and I said daddy would be here too, so he asked when would daddy go back to work.

"Daddy isn't working at that place anymore, he is going to get a different job, somewhere else".

Oh, thoughtful look. "So we can't go to the shops anymore" he said. Oh heck, how do I explain this to a 3 year old??? It wasn't exactly a question I had expected but clearly he understands that daddy goes to work so we can buy stuff.

"Yes, we can still go to the shops" I said.

And then, the ultimate statement "I will get a job so daddy doesn't have to work".

My precious sweet boy....I managed to hold back tears until I got out of there.

I was in the kitchen this morning and Luke decided to go in the study for something. He knows Lily is not allowed in there without mum or dad so he shut the door in her face. Her first two fingers of her left hand were SHUT in the hinged side.

I moved fast but twenty seconds is a long time when your baby is screaming.

At first I thought they were cut off because they were white and squashed but then the blood flowed. Amongst all the screaming (from her) and tears (from all three of us) I was able to determine that they are just badly bruised between the knuckles. Very swollen and with blood blisters and torn skin. She can use them but it clearly hurts because whenever she goes to grab something, she holds up her hand and cries.

She wouldn't eat much brekky but had a feed and fell asleep - a bit early for her nap but I think it's the best thing for her after the shock.

Luke has been very quiet ever since.

On Easter Monday, I got to do something with Luke that I have always dreamed about sharing with my kids.

We went to the movies together.

Not all of us – just Luke and Daddy. I stupidly weird how proud I was to be walking into the cinema with him. We waited (and waited!) in line to get our tickets for ‘Horton Hears A Who’, we marched up the stairs towards our cinema – wisely stopping for a toilet break first – and then Luke handed our tickets to the cinema person and in we went.

I expected the cinema to be packed and it wasn’t, so we got to pick our seat which was good. We settled down to watch the film and enjoy. He was most impressed that the lights went down!

To preface this, he has sat down and watched animated movies on TV at home (that shows some stamina in itself with all those ads), however I suspect that the aforementioned ads are what allow him to get through – he can get up, walk around, do ‘stuff’ in the ad breaks and then settle back down for the movie when it is back on. He can also walk around during it and pick up a toy, annoy his sister, whatever. When it comes to the cinema there’s none of that, and he still handled it pretty well. His eyes were wide many times, I think just due to the enormity of the screen (well, compared to a 2 year old anyway). A scene when the vulture is trying to capture the clover that has the Whoville speck on it scared him a little (the vulture pops out of nowhere) – it made him physically jump – but he recovered fine. We talked a little about the movie as we were going to help him process everything (‘Elephant is sad’; They (the Whos) are funny’; ‘He (JoJo) not talking’; etc). Helped me keep up with the plot, anyway…

There was some standing up moments, some sitting down moments, some stretching out across the next chair moments, but I never once had to tell him to stop messing around. He was pretty transfixed by the film – it is very entertaining and one worth getting on DVD to watch again later. A lot of fun with something in it for all ages.

He enjoyed a drink pre-prepared by Mum, as well as some special lollies we snuck in (stupid ‘no outside food’ rules) which Daddy spaced out over the course of the film. Once we were done, we stopped off for another toilet break on the way out and went off to meet Mummy and Lily for lunch.

It was a fun time. I know he didn’t enjoy the movie like I did, but then I am hoping we get the chance to enjoy many, many more movies together. He was such a treat to take out, and while I do not expect him to remember it when he is 21, I sure will… one of those ‘my little boy is growing up’ moments, all wrapped up in a ‘this is exactly how I dreamed this experience would be – how fun sharing my passion for movies with my son’ vibe.

…but I digress… ;)

It’s been a busy month since I last wrote. For a start, Lily is well and truly walking, talking and climbing now! She is extremely (over)confident and waddles around at speed, sometimes vanishing before your very eyes it seems! She has connected waving with saying bye-bye and hi, as well as mumma, dadda, “ul” (Luke) and various other words; “cuggle” (cuddle) is a fave at the moment, as is blowing kisses – lots of lip-smacking – and coming up with a big open mouth to kiss. Too cute. She has discovered how to wedge her toes in the smallest crevice possible to reach something that has caught her eye so we have to be extra careful about leaving things anywhere! Unfortunately, as Luke before her, she has inherited the biting gene, and will draw blood if you’re not quick enough. She was highly unimpressed with Grandma and Grandad Alais at first, which was extremely distressing as they were here for two weeks, and specifically to babysit the children while Steve and I attended his work dinner and stayed away overnight. However, everyone survived, although there were a few phone calls exchanged when we initially left. Eventually she was happy enough to be left alone with them and Luke, although she still remains clingy and MOPS is proving to be difficult as she will not stay in the bubs room with the carers.

It's turning out  (already) to be one of those months where if it can go wrong, it will/has/has the capacity to/is looming large on the horizon like it's gonna.

The kids are both going through a difficult stage at the same time. Michelle isn't sleeping well at all because of it, and I'm not helping because I could sleep through the house falling down around me. Even when I somehow hear Lily or Luke of a night and get up to help, thinking we've got away clean and I've managed to settle said child without waking Michelle - I find out in the morning I still did, and Michelle was up to the kids anyway 3 other times. Fricken' useless.

Add to this that for whatever reason Lily's become really clingy, and freaks out if she can't see Michelle. This mostly happens when she's tired, but that can be as simple as she woke up 5 minutes ago and has pushed through the "I'm feeling OK" phase. So, it's pretty constant. Somehow, Michelle has hurt her right wrist too... making it hard for her to pick anything over 20 grams up. This includes the children.

Me... well, I'm trying hard to help, however seemingly only making things worse. It doesn't help that in the list of 'important things to do/look after/care about' I'm about number 6,234,534,322,667,279 on the list. I think that number is optimistic. I shouldn't care - I do. I should be supporting my wife and being all nice and selfless and a Godly husband and all that. I keep screwing that up good and proper (just re-read this paragraph to see how well I'm doing that!).

My head feels think with confusion, anger, tiredness, confusion, depression, rejection, confusion... like a think mist rolling across a dark english moor at midnight. Did I say I feel confused?

Of course, in all this, Michelle has all of this and more (aces high, for all you poker fans out there). So who am I to complain? Why should I complain? It's not worth me complaining.

I should open a big, fat can of toughen up and get on with life. I should, but I really can't find it in the fridge right now...

It seems everyone in Australia has an opinion on this situation - and it's time for mine.

As reported by every media outlet in Australia and working on being the same overseas, a Narre Warren South 16 year old teenager arranged a party on Saturday 12 January at his parents place while they were out of town. That in itself isn't worth the attention it has received... except he posted the details for the party on his MySpace page and 500 people turned up (I'm guess that about 470 of them, conservatively, weren't close personal friends of the kid). Havoc ensued. Neighbours understandably called Police due to the general chaos, and the intial attending officers were forced back by the sheer number of the crowd and the fact they were attacked leaving their car pretty damaged. The Victorian Police air and canine wings, along with additional ground forces, were mobilised to assist with the dispersal of the party-goers.

If the situation was left at that, surely that would be bad enough. Property had been damaged by those attending/crashing the party. Neighbours effectively stuck in their homes due to the mob outside. Police resources used where they shouldn't have needed to be to sort out a mess that shouldn't have happened. Some silly kid should have learnt you don't post details of your party on your internationally accessible MySpace page.

The situation only grew in newsworthiness and gob-smackedness when the media fronted the area the next day to film the "aftermath". Cameras were greeted with half-to-almost-totally naked teen boys running down the street for the camera's sake. The organiser of the party, when questioned by the media had no remorse whatsoever. By no remorse, I mean he was revelling in the attention he got, even posing with the newspaper article on the debacle on the front step of the house for the cameras. It only got worse through this week as more and more media wanted a piece of the teen. His parents - on holiday - were tracked down for their view. The sunglasses he wore and refused to take off garnered their own section of media attention by themselves. The Victorian Police commissioner threatened a $20,000 bill for their services over the weekend. It only gets crazier with a Sydney nightclub promoter suggesting the teen had a career opportunity with him once he turned 18.

Then, yesterday, he got arrested.  :)

Now there's suggestion that child pornography has be identified as being supplied by he or one of the other party goer.
As he is only 16, I'm guessing that the "child pornography" may be naked/near naked pics of his friends... but I'm not sure that makes it any better.

It's just ludicrous on a whole number of levels.

The kid is 16 and one would think smart enough to know:
(a) don't list your party details on the internet
(b) don't talk to the media when you're clearly in trouble
(c) TAKE THE DAMN SUNGLASSES OFF and put some clothes on!
(d) When your parents come home, it's time to face up to the music not take off with friends and avoid what's coming to you
(e) don't talk up what happened to the media like it was the coolest thing in the world and none of the bad stuff is your fault

Responsibility time, kiddo. Wake up and smell the reality of what you've done.

I was listening to Triple M's Wil & Lehmo as I drove home yesterday and they were on board too. They'd built the whole second hour of their show around him - lout or legend. Wil thought he was a legend (and put a pretty good case - who else recently has stood up to a tabloid current affairs host and basically enraged them with their "I don't care" attitude), Lehmo put a spectacular case of him being a lout. It's everywhere.

The bottom line is this - not only does the kid need to take responsiblity for what he's done, where there was cost or damage incurred he should be responsible for that, and he should also be smacked upside the head by every Australian who thinks he's a jerk. Those that think he's cool can cuddle him better afterwards.

He's a tool, plain and simple - and his parents/step-parents who are calling for him to be punished can't dodge their responsiblity either. At 16 he's still their problem. Whilst the parents possibly shouldn't be subjected to the public smack upside the head-ing they certainly need a good roasting. They let him grow the attitude that has birthed this monster. The left unchecked the ego which is now the sunglasses. They are the ones who left him at home while they went away for a nice holiday together (which I am sure they'll now not do again until he is 53).

I do appreciate that by blogging on the situation I am only building his infamy. Trust me, if I saw him walk down the street, I'd "MySpace party" him. Jerk.

Putting Luke to bed last night, he looked at his baby photo on the table in his room and said "I'm not a baby anymore". I agreed, so he went on "I'm a big kid now". Almost in tears, I nodded. My little man is growing up.

The final statement, just to be sure I knew, "I have a mouth. I can talk".

And with that, he hopped into bed, satisfied.

At least he made me smile!

Just came in from getting the washing off the line, Luke greets me with a big hug like I've been gone for days instead of a few minutes, feels the sweat on my neck and says with all the seriousness only a two year old can muster, "Mummy, you're melting."

Today marks one week that we've been working with Luke on his toilet training.

To say it is going spectacularly is probably gushing (pardon the puns that will appear through this whole entry!) a little too much, however here we are 7 days later and he is reliably letting us know "Mummy/Daddy, I need to wee wee!". A two and a half year old bladder has the trickiest trigger you ever saw - the amount of time between the recongition signal that reaches the brain that is then converted into speech to then the relaxing of the muscles that control his bladder is atomically short. So when the call goes out, you act NOW and everything else has to wait (or all of a sudden you've an extra cleaning job to perform after you eventually get him off the toilet).

Initially, we talked up the fact that he was a big boy now and doesn't need a nappy during the day around the house. When he goes out he wears a special pull-up nappy that will catch and make the wearer 'aware' of the situation, but isn't designed to retain the contents like a normal nappy. The practical nature of wanting to check was pretty much stalking him for the next few days, taking him to the toilet every 30 minutes and sitting on there, encouraging him to do his business. We've had a few accidents initially and a growing number of successes as each day flows into the next. He also has a special night-time nappy that more often than not is totally dry when he wakes up. This is also a good sign.

Now, a week passed, and we don't need to watch him as closely (at least as often!) and he comes to us to tell us he needs to wee. You should see us jump when he does! Sometimes we get some false alarms - I think Michelle's record with him is 3 in 2 minutes - and apart from one or two mini incidents he's taken to the whole process astoundingly well. He likes wearing his "unnapants", he looks so different now that it's actually his butt we see from behind and not a nappy, and he's just taken that step further from us in the independence stakes as he grows up that little bit more... mind you, this bit of growing up I don't mind, as I really don't want to be changing the nappy of a 9 year old.

The icing on the cake was tonight. Luke hadn't done a poo in 2 days. I thought he was gonna pop, and then we'd all know about it. After a couple of false "I need to wee" alarms, one finally stuck and he did have to wee and then I got "I have to poo, Daddy". Without trying to gross anyone out - BOY, did he poo! Got one out, he said he was OK, so off we got and cleaned up and underpants on when "I need to do more poo". Undies off, straight back on the loo, and he sure did. So he ended up sitting on the loo for about 10 minutes - not one of them wasted. He even had a visit from his incredibly inquisitive crawling baby sister which he found to be most amusing. After cleaning up the second time, he promptly and quite proudly stepped out to tell all that would listen that he did two poos. He did way more - but at least he understands he did more than one.

At least I'll have one thing I can remind him about when he grows up and is intently full of himself for whatever reason, and thinks he is all that - I know... I KNOW his poo stinks...

To co-incide with the release of the latest upgrade of the blog (and to put to rest the calls from the bleachers about wanting updated photos of Luke & Lily)... here is a new gallery of photos of Luke & Lily, including the occasional shot of the Beloved and the slowly-but-ever-shrinking me.

We all do look lovely sometimes, don't we!

Click on this link, or any of the photos to view the entire collection (all 71 images!) or simply click on the 'Gallery' link in the top right corner and go from there...

Someone has threatened to report us for child abuse. Their reasoning? Our children are starving (which is why they're not sleeping) - all because we wouldn't let Luke have a second piece of chocolate cake at 4pm so he would eat his dinner and he had a big I-haven't-had-enough-sleep-and-I-want-cake-NOW tantrum.. The spirit of Christmas is alive and well...

Ha ha ha...or should that be ho ho ho???

WARNING TO PARENTS

Taken from http://www.news.com.au Tuesday November 6 2007

AN award-winning children's toy has been recalled because it contains a chemical which turns into a dangerous party drug when metabolised in the body.

Chinese-made Bindeez, which won the 2007 Australian Toy of the Year award at the Melbourne Toy and Hobby fair, contains hundreds of beads which can induce seizures, drowsiness or a coma if eaten. The beads should contain a non-toxic glue but instead contain the chemical which the body metabolises into gamma-hydroxy butyrate (GHB), also known as fantasy or Grievous Bodily Harm. All Bindeez products would be removed from sale, Minister for Fair Trading Linda Burney said today, and households with the toy were urged to get rid of it.

"This Bindeez product is Australian Toy of the Year, it is extraordinarily popular," Ms Burney said.

Ms Burney said an investigation into the toy, which is manufactured in Hong Kong, also would look at whether the substitution was deliberate. Two children in NSW, a two-year-old boy and a ten-year-old girl, have been admitted to hospital in the past ten days after eating the beads.

Ever since I started playing music, it has been a primevil urge to ensure that my kids are keen on it too. I'm not gonna force them to play... I at least want their musical knowledge and history to be broad and deep.

I had in the cupboard for a while a ukelele that I gave to Luke to be "his guitar", just like Daddy. He's loved it. Too much. He over-tightened the strings and cracked the neck. It's been held together by gaffa tape for like 6 months now, and it's almost done (ahhh, gaffa tape, just like the Force - what CAN'T it do?!).

So, on the weekend I said to Luke that we'll go shopping for a new guitar for him on Monday, knowing we were going to the shops. BIG mistake. Almost all of Sunday and all day today all we hear from him was "new 'tar" (new guitar). Incessantly. Talk about making a rod for my own back!

Seriously though, it has warmed the cockles of my heart. He stood with me yesterday as I prepared some music for worship and as I played and sang he stood there with his taped-up guitar and played, danced and sang with me. I could not have been prouder. Then he started again...

"New 'tar?"

"New 'tar?"

"Daddy, new 'tar?"

"Yes Luke, we'll find you a new guitar."

So we went shopping today. Could we find one? NO! In all of Mt Ommaney shopping centre, we checked K-Mart, Big W, Woolworths and anything that looked like it might sell kids toys. Nothing. So after his nap he and I had a little more shopping to do at Forest Lake Village. We checked The Warehouse, Crazy Clarks and Aldi, and STILL NOTHING. We are planning to go to the big new IKEA tomorrow (ahh... the well-planned week off) to "look", and if we don't come home from there with a "new 'tar" I know a music shop on the way home that had better have one, otherwise they may have a Schwartzenegger/'Jingle All The Way' moment from one themolk.

He is being very patient, though. He knew as we walked around all the shops that we were looking, and when we didn't find one it was "no 'tar?". You could hear the disappointment in his voice, coupled with a steely determination to find a new guitar.

If nothing else, at least I've taught him about what a disappointment his Dad really can be sometimes...  ;)  ...and that, when it comes to finding that special musical instrument, you should never, ever give up.

...and yes, it has been a very long time since I was here, just before Luke's first birthday as it happens. A lot has happened since then, the most notable being that we had another baby, Lily Hannah, and all the joy/stress/love/sleepless nights a newborn brings.

A few of the latest pics of the brood as they get bigger...

Aren't the lovely??!!  :)

It's been a while since I gushed over the kids. Figured now was as good a time as any. Really must update with some photos and video too. Maybe this weekend (don't hold your breath!).

Luke is growing seemingly by the day. He's become much more coherent (to us) with his communication, is is certainly the auditory mirror people warn you that your kids will become. For example, as Michelle, Lily and he were heading off upstairs for a bath - Daddy was to help, but was dragging the chain, he came back from the bottom of the stairs to tell me to "huh-up, Daddy" (hurry up, daddy). I'm sure it won't be the last time I hear that.

Phrases are coming out of his mouth all the time - "Di wat" (drink of water), "Di milk" (drink of milk), "(SIGH)... Si Daddy" (silly Daddy), etc. Then there is the extremely articulate "Hello Daddy/Mummy" that appears from time to time, and we've finally convinced him that it's OK to say please and thank you in a voice louder than a whisper. I think he learnt from us whispering in his ear trying to teach him his manners in the first place that that you are supposed to whisper when you say please and thank you. Now we get a definite "PEASE!" (yes, that's please) when he wants something (still needs reminding occasionally).

He is so entertaining. Like last night - I was nursing Lily while Michelle had a shower and watching him run around (and I do mean around - in circles) the lounge room with rings on his arms shouting "Ca! Ca!". I asked - it wasn't catch, although he did then stop and throw them in the air. When he was finished, he walked around with his hands on his hips breathing in and out quite hard like he'd just finished a marathon. Just classic. He still loves mowing and digging at every chance he can get. He totally gets what it means when Daddy goes into the garage of a morning ("Daddy bike!"), and loves to watch me ride off.

The funniest thing was this morning when I had already gone and kissed Michelle good bye, then kissed him good bye, but he insisted I hadn't "Ki Mummy! Ki Mummy!" yet, so Michelle came over and we had to kiss again before he would let me leave. "Si Daddy". He is totally getting more interesting by the day, and working is so getting in the way of me wanting to spend all day with him.

Lily is also growing - just over 3 months and really starting to grow into her own skin. She's getting heavier too, which is important. She certainly is feeding enough! The most spectacular thing is happening, though. When we put her down of an evening (anywhere between 8:30pm and 10:30pm (the earlier the better), she sleeps until at least 6am (we're up from about 5:45am anyway)!!!! Just unreal. If it wasn't for Luke cutting his two-year old molars we'd be sleeping full nights every night. It is making for a much more peaceful household... but it does mean Michelle feels like a bit of a bovine having to feed Lily very regularly during the day. She also isn't sleeping too much during the day, but as Michelle and I have discussed that is a small price to pay for a whole night's sleep.

Lily and my relationship at the moment, however, is strained (to say the least). Generally, when I hold her or play with her, she is quite contented with the attention - happy to smile, gurgle, hold my finger, etc. Of late, however, she has decided to act as a teen (who can't speak, or change her own nappy... you get what I mean) and scream at me for no apparent reason. All the time. Whenever I have her. Not just cry, but yell like I ripped her arms off or something. ALL the time. It is quite upsetting, as I am being really careful with her, and do enjoy holding her and playing with her but she clearly, for whatever reason, does not want me to be holding her.

This is making it pretty tough for me, as I am battling internally - she's my daughter and I love her, and I want to hold her and care for her... but why should I bother when all she wants to do is scream at me like she just saw Michael Jackson walking towards her? It's stupid, and I will hang in there... it just hurts. Emotionally. And she's only 12 weeks old! Imagine how she'll be able to hurt me when she can talk; wear the clothes she wants to; date boys; take the car; etc!

But that's the stupid part. Lily's 12 weeks old, and she hurts me this much already (I'm sure she doesn't mean to). It's setting a bad precedent for the many exertions of will to come...

Did a little housekeeping last night, and was able to get the last month's worth of photos off our camera. There are some cracking highlights to be seen by following the image links below...

The Life of Luke & Lily

Our new fish tank

Luke Samuel Molkentin, b 8:37pm 04/05/2005. Hasn't he grown in the last year!

Getting bigger by the minute, it seems. Michelle and I reflected last night on the fact that the last 2 years seem (now) to have flown, but we can still remember quite vividly his joining us in the world. He is growing into a lovely little boy - loving, empathetic, demanding (at times), caring, compassionate, energetic, and full of life... as you'd expect a two year old to be.

Presents so far include a Bob the Builder tool belt with tools (and the buckle plays an annoying circle of Bob quotes - the batteries will run out soon, I think!), a Bob the Builder 'follow me' remote control Scoop, more books (Harry the Dirty Dog; Possum Magic - a Mem Fox classic), a soccer ball and some Tiny Teddies, some Bob the Builder gumboots and another book... can you see a pattern forming?! Again, a special birthday BBQ with Uncle Sols and Aunty Catherine tonight - including cake and everything!

Now, I know by blogging about this that I am simply asking for trouble, but we had to share...

Lily is 5 weeks old tomorrow. The past few weeks have, on the whole, been pretty good settling into being the parents of two under two - with the exception that encouraging Lily to sleep at night has been (sometimes) insanely difficult, leading to at least one if not two frazzled and over tired parents. We are getting there - this week we've had some minor wins with Lily asleep and into her cot before 11pm most of the time.

I must share that last night, however, we put her down at 9pm with relative ease (Michelle thinks she was having a growing day) and she slept - uninterrupted - until 5am the next morning!!! That's a whopping 8 hours!!!

What the...?

Why? We dunno. Can we make her do it again? GOD I hope so. Will it become a regular thing? Please God, what can we do to make it permanent? (I know that Christendom is based on the whole "no sacrifical offerings needed any more as the greatest sacrifice has been made", but in this instance I am ready to go out and hunt a massive bear as an offering to make this one stick. Michelle did wake in complete panic (to her credit) at about 4:30am and had to go and check that Lily was OK. She was, Michelle couldn't get back to sleep, and Lily was up half an hour later anyway.

I did get to hold Lily as she fell asleep tonight listening to rain - REAL rain - falling on our roof this evening at about 8:45pm... a storm cell passed over and dumped a bunch of the wet stuff on our bit of Forest Lake. Our tanks will have been added to, and Lily got to hear thunder and rain on our colourbond roof for the first time in her life (let's hope it isn't the last!).

Now... I wonder when she will wake up tonight? The only bad thing out of this so far has been that it looks like Michelle has developed mastitis in one of her breasts... so it's off to the doctor's for some anti-biotics tomorrow.

This may sound really condescending - and in no way is it meant to be - but I am so proud that Michelle, Luke and Lily have gone on their first outing together.

We needed some shopping, and Luke really needed his haircut, so Michelle braved Forest Lake Village with them all by herself. The one thing she thought was amazing was that so many people commented to her that they were happy for her that she'd had her baby - and she didn't even know any of them! Even one of the ladies in the newsagent, which we hardly go to. Weird... perhaps she is on to our big "Truman show"-style experiment, in which case I need to sort out my exit strategy...

While I do not think I've fallen this far just yet, after last night I think I am the worst Dad in the world...

I do not think there is anything that can prepare you to be the parent of two kids. While I do not suggest we have it the hardest of anyone (some friends and church just went from 1 kid to 3 kids with the birth of twins!), someone told us that the most difficult change is from 1 kid to 2 kids... the added grabs for attention, the learning of the first kid to understand that Mum and Dad can no longer lavish their total attention on them all the time, etc. That, and don't throw your second child over your shoulder accidentally (it is amazing the muscle memory you develop with kid 1 and how that isn't such a good thing with kid 2!).

The past few nights Lily has decided to be a right pain (or in pain) when it comes to bed time. Michelle says she is sleeping pretty well and reliably through the day, and then even last night she was feeding as I came home (approx 5:15pm) and slept happily through dinner and into the early evening (through Luke's bedtime and Michelle's shower) and then fed again... but from there, she really didn't want to settle. At all. Of course, with last night being a repetition of the night before and the night before that, both Michelle and I are feeling like walking zombies. To make matters worse, I (tried) to be the good husband and take Lily from Michelle to settle her in her room so that Michelle could sleep. That was fine for the first 20 minutes...

For some reason still to be determined - she may have been hungry again! - she fired up big time. There was no way I could hold her, no amount of patting, no amount of wrapping or unwrapping that would get her to settle down. Whilst we are trying to subscribe to the Dunstan Baby Language, at 10:30pm at night when you are sleep deprived and your lovely new air raid siren will not shut up... it gets hard to tell the difference between "owh" and "eair".

I lost my temper. This time I was good - I laid her in her cot and just stood there and tried to calm myself down. Then Michelle walked in, and two sleep deprived parents in the same room with the crying child and both conscious that the noise may wake the sleeping two year old in the next room is NOT a great combination. Words were said. Parenting values and skills were called into question. Suggestions of alternative sleeping arrangements were offered. All of which was apologised for this morning and accordingly forgiven, but at the time, it made for no fun for anyone. Conveniently last night, Michelle tells me that after she fed her and cuddled her a bit, she went right down and slept until about 4am when I changed her and handed her to the mothering milk machine (hereafter known as the MMM, and all that Michelle feels like at 4am), at which point she fed and went back to sleep until nearly 9am this morning (I wish - I know I fell alseep on the bus this morning - this is why I sit in the back seat).

So, I need to keep my cool in the face of craziness better, I need to be more patient when I am tired - and with everyone... not just Lily, and I need to be aware that when we are both tired, the best answer (as hard as it may be for my brain to comprehend) is for me to sleep and let Michelle handle it. She is a smart woman  - much smarter than I - who has and will wake me if she is too tired or can't cope herself. I think I just make things worse (now, there are many who will agree with that statement about a lot of things, and many who would suggest that 9 months and 2 weeks ago it was me making things 'worse' that initiated all of this, but those people should just keep their mouths politely shut quite firmly).

So... tonight... I dunno. We rest in the fact that Lily will sleep - eventually. At least it is Good Friday tomorrow which means a public holiday here (and Monday due to Easter Sunday) and there will be ample chance for catching up on sleep and for me to assist during the day also. I know Lily will sleep through soon enough, and I had forgotten how hard this was when we did it with Luke, but DAMN... I see why people with too much money employ nannies and au pairs to "look after the kids" so that they can get some sleep.

Selfish, well-rested, able-to-function, calm rich idiots.

It was bound to happen - I just didn't think this early in their lives with me. Luke AND Lily have both managed to surprise and disgust me at the same time (both for different reasons)...

LUKE - He was very closely watching Lily feed ("eat! eat!") with Mum, when he looked at back of her head. Mum dutifully explained that Lily's bones in her head weren't yet joined, but they would be soon. Luke simply pointed and said "beeping"... what the?! At least, that's what we thought until we realised he saw her head moving where the blood flow was pulsing in the top of her head. He has no concept of beating, but there are lots of things that beep in our house, so this curiously was how he chose to describe her pulse!

LILY - I had completely forgotten just how repulsive newborn's nappies can be - TAKE THIS AS A WARNING NEW DADS TO BE! When babies are first born, they pass meconium as their first few poos. It is really black, sticky and tar like. I was warned by a good friend and father of 4 that it is pretty disgusting, and it's easy to be put off by it with your first kid. I survived Luke OK, but I have learnt there is a bowel movement that kids pass that is even worse than this - the first few that come out after the Mum's milk kicks in and it MIXES with the meconium. Lily caught me yesterday... it was straight from the bowels of hell. I'm not talking metaphorically here either - this poo was the complete absence of God. It looked evil, smelt evil, sounded evil, felt evil through the nappy, and tasted ev.. don't worry, didn't go there.

Today I brought my two girls home, one for the first time.

I've created a gallery of some shots from yesterday and today, including the obligatory shots with Michelle's parents and Lily, all four of us (Molks, that is) and a couple of Luke nursing Lily for the first time, etc. To see them, either click on the gallery link on the top right, and then click on the first entry, or simply click here.

As you can see, we now have two apples of our eye. God is very, VERY good. If you pop around we have a shot to show you of Lily that shows just how much she looks like her brother... you'd almost think they came from the same gene pool.

BTW, I fell down the stairs carrying one and a half buckets full of water this afternoon and I think I broke one of my toes. Not a little one, either, but the first toe after the big toe on the right foot. I really did my right ankle in too. Ouch and then some. I'm OK, the water mopped up fine, and it was trauma that we all didn't need at 5pm. Stupid drought and water restrictions making us capture water from the showers as they heat up. But more on this later... this one is about Lily, Luke and my growing family...

Steve, Michelle and Luke Molkentin are pleased to welcome into this crazy, mixed up world the latest edition to their clan - Lily Hannah.

Born: 19/03/07, 7:15pm
Weight: 3.14 kg (6lb 15oz)
Length: 50 cm

Both Mother and Baby are doing exceptionally, currently enjoying a stay at the Mater Mother's Hosptial in Brisbane, Australia - bed #415. Visiting times are 3-8pm... you're welcome if you're interested to pop in. It should be most interesting at about 3pm tomorrow (20/03/07) when Luke meets his little sister for the first time. I'm expecting initial interest, followed by complete disinterest when he realises there is more to see in the hospital than just one room and that the baby has brought HIM a present!!!  ;)

I'll save the recount (and all the "interesting" medical descriptive bits) of the whole birth for Michelle, but on the whole and largely due to the fact the that this time her epidural worked for pretty much all of the labour, things went well and she was able to have a VBAC just as she had hoped.

A new game, invented by Luke and myself over the past few months, that combines all the skill of football, the rigour of a triathlon and the beauty of cautious and controlled violence.

Equipment required:
- 2 balls, various sizes - we use a medium green nobbly ball and a McDonalds give away small soft football (from 1999 when they sponsored the NRL ball)
- a balloon - the bigger the better
- as of today, Luke's push mower (previously featured here)

Field:
Anywhere you want, however we predominantly play it in the entrance hallway and the study (but sometimes spill over into the rest of the house)

Rules:
1. There are three halves, played at any length you want (usually as long as Dad can last).
2. Either ball is to be kicked/thrown, at random, at the other player, with the aim of not hurting anyone under 5.
3. There is no rule 3.
4. If a player drops or loses the ball, the other players should gather the ball and give it back to the person who had posession and the game will continue.
5. There must be at least 8 minutes of chasing the person with the ball per half.
6. If squealing ensues, a squealing break of no longer than an hour will be taken.
7. The mower can be played at any point in the game.
8. If a player retreats to the study, they should be reminded the game is still on.
9. At all times, each player must be encouraged to throw and catch the ball to each other as often as possible.
10. Tackling is the only way to secure posession of the ball. If the person tackled releases the ball, the tackle must stop until the ball is given back to the person being tackled before the tackling can recommence.
11. Rule 11 was over-rated and only slowed the game down, so it was eliminated at the last meeting of the World Luke Football Authority (WLFA).
12. A safety pillow play can be introduced to the match, although this is not usually accepted until the third half.
13. If the ball is thrown out of bounds (over the kitchen gates), the game is stopped until the ball can be retrieved, and then restarted at the whim of the youngest player (this has known to be days, even a week).
14. Water must be taken by all players at all half time breaks.
15. In this house, we obey the laws of thermodynamics.
16. Female players/Mums can only take part in Luke Football if they initiate the game, or if they are dragged into it by the youngest player. Pregnant Mums are often included as refs, although this role is largely ceremonial and offers no real change to the outcome of the game.
17. All other toys/implements/couches/etc are out of bounds until someone introduces them to the game.
18. Tackling can only take place on a couch or soft grass. If a tackle is to occur and you are nowhere near a couch/soft grassy area, the person tackling must carry the tacklee to said place and engage the tackle there.
19. If there is no giggling or laughing within the first 2 minutes of the game, the game should be abandoned immediately.
20. Where possible, ignore all looks of derision from other adults in the area - they are only looking at you like that because they have forgotten what it's like to have fun.
21. The game ends after the second half time break when the balls are kicked away and not chased again for some apparent reason... usually when the youngest player finds something more interesting to do. Or if they throw up.
22. Injury time is taken after the game is complete, and consists of the adult(s) involved having their injuries attended to.

Yes, we've had sex twice now.

Here is the well overdue first shot of Bump v2.0 Molkentin - brother/sister to Luke.

Those with sharp eyes will note that this ultrasound is now 3 months old (oops - have I been that busy?). With Michelle now at that lovely and uncomfortable 33 week stage, she's really tired and made even more so by a demanding nearly 2 year old that doesn't quite know why things are changing, but has caught on that things ARE changing. He gets that there is a baby in Mummy's tummy, but I don't think that he realises that it is going to come out yet. He'll find out soon enough, that's for sure.

Think of us as March will certainly become the month of the surprise - v2.0 is due on March 25, but I personally think that s/he will come earlier than that.

So we made it... we think. Don't want to jinx it or anything, but Luke has settled back down to sleeping through the night. He may wake (so Michelle tells me - I don't hear it), but he is able to go to sleep again all by himself. This is good.

It is not good that Michelle is having trouble sleeping. I'm hoping that's just because of the pregnancy, and that within the next 8 weeks we'll just go back to newborn sleeping cycles - so in about 2 years we should be all good!  ;)  All of this just in time for us to move him into his own new "big" bed, so that the baby can have the cot. To be fair he is almost too big for that now anyway, but as it is all he has known I am sure we'll score some trouble over it.

At least we were able to get a gate to go across the landing at the top of the stairs so that we can shut it at night and know if he gets up that he won't decide to climb down the stairs... he'll just come in and bash on our bed when it is time to get up! Mind you, we'll have to do something for Bryn (one of our cats) as she refuses to jump over the gates herself - so it'll mean bringing up her food and water so she doesn't perish without them overnight. If it's not one animal, it's another...

...and the weekend only got more cruel...

Please note, before I proceed with our tale of woe, that it is not listed here to gain sympathy or to curry favour - simply to inform you gentle reader of how things are progressing.

Saturday night, and Luke seemed to go down to sleep OK. Michelle and I were out planting some plants we purchased that morning (it was too hot during the day) at 8:30pm when we got the call that my Dad had been taken by Ambulance to the PA Hospital here in Brisneyland with "heart issues". Mum rang and asked me to meet her in there for support and a lift home in case Dad had to stay in overnight or whatever.

I made it to the hospital by 9:45pm, and kept Mum & the patient (piccys to come) company. The doctors thought he was OK by about 1am so I took them home, and was in bed with Michelle - who hadn't slept too well either has Luke had been up and down a little - by about 1:30am looking forward to dreamland. Other plans were afoot, though.

Luke woke us both screaming at 3:30am, and could not be placated. We managed to settle him down eventually, but he wouldn't go back to sleep - I think I snuck an hour while Michelle tried to settle him, but by 4:30am she was tired and at her wits end too. So, Dad to the rescue, I sat on the floor next to the cot and cooed and coerced and convinced him to co back to sleep by himself... by about 5:30am. Michelle and I then promptly went to sleep, only to be woken by him again at about 7:00am. This wouldn't have been so bad, except he wasn't going back to sleep, and we had a morning tea long arranged at a friend's place for 9:30am.

We made it through Sunday, somehow. Michelle and Luke skipped church, and I wished I had slept at some point during Sunday (Luke managed 2 hours) and I led worship at church (which I don't think was my finest moment, but I think it went OK). Crashed into bed at 9:30pm, only to have Luke wake crying again immediately. Michelle got him and brought him to bed with us (it settled him - at that point it was all we cared about), and apparently not too long later she took him back to bed (I was asleep). He woke again at 10:30pm, at which point I decided everyone needed sleep more than I needed comfort, so I laid down on the floor of Luke's room with my hand up through his cot side so he could grab it and know I was there, and proceeded to try to sleep in the room with him.

Michelle told me this morning that I was snoring so loud it woke her and she was afraid it would wake Luke, so she came into me - he was awake but untroubled, and I rolled over or something. Luke (I'm told - I don't remember it) woke about 1am but settled again, and I woke at 3:30am enough to go back into our bed, but he woke again at I think 4-something-am and I went back into him until about 5:30am (figuring if he woke up now it wouldn't matter so much). He slept until about 7am.

My neck is killing me, although I found the floor of Luke's room surprisingly comfortable. It's now 10pm Monday night, and I am about to go to bed. Luke went down as normal at 7pm, but stirred a couple of times (within 5 minutes to have the air con off and his fan back on - he wanted it the other way around when I was changing him to go to bed; and again another 5 mintues later, but that was solved with a dose of baby Nurofen, a drink and one more pleading prayer for uninterrupted sleep). Michelle felt Luke's gums before he went to bed, and said she could feel his 2 year old molars under his gums on his left hand side. Maybe it's that - although there haven't been the same signs as when he has teethed every other time. We think it's either that, growing pains, or he is starting to be cogniscant of his dreams and is waking up and cannot separate them from reality initially. All I know is for me to hold to the fine strands of mental health I claim to have remaining... he has to go back to sleeping through again VERY soon. I can't cope with him and an overtired 30 week pregnant wife who is worried about him and impending bub at the same time.

Here's hoping there is no post script or addendum to this sad and tiring tale...

What a way to start 2007...

The past few days, Luke's body clock has been considering 4:30am the right time to wake up - and I mean wake up. To boot, both he and Michelle have had various levels of a cough that is really dry and makes them hack a lot. Both of these things have caused no end of sleep deprivation in the household at the moment.

This morning, enough was enough. We decided that we should try to convince him to go back to sleep as it was too early to be up. This took 90 minutes of crying and screaming... but it eventually worked. So, he ended up having another hour of sleep from 6:00am. We didn't, of course, but he did.

I'm shattered, and I'm not sick (yet). Michelle is shattered and is sick, but we can't give her any medicine that would help as she is pregnant. Luke is just about over it, and bright and bubbly because he had an extra hour of sleep. Grrr...

About time Luke started to pick up some of the tasks around the home and do his fair share, so he can earn his keep...

N.B. You'll need the latest version of Adobe (Macromedia) Flash installed to view this movie file, and as the file is about 6MB it will take a short time to download. If you don't know where to look for the Flash thing, click on this link here and follow the prompts to install it...

So, I finally got the shot of Luke's fat lip - and we'd looked after it so well it had pretty much gone down. SIGH... and least you might see the end of what I was talking about in my previous post (it's the red bit directly in line below his left nostril - the other bit is shadow or lunch I didn't clean off his face properly).

The rest of these photos are just some of the interesting things he has gotten up to in the past while. My apologies for the quality of the photos in a couple of instances... while the resolution on my PDA may be OK, if someone moves at the critical time, or if there is too much light... well, that's just how it is...

...and it's all because of me.

I know he likes to follow me around the house when I get home, and I really should look behind when I am pulling my guitars out of the study cupboard. I didn't.

Yesterday, I pulled the guitar out like I normally do, and swung it back to get it out of the wat of the door. Luke had walked in behind me ever so silently (first time in WEEKS!), and I swung it into him. This in itself wouldn't be a problem if it had bumped him in the chest and knocked him over... except that it didn't. It hit him fair on the bottom lip, and sent him spread-eagled on the floor in the study. Many tears flowed...

I felt so bad.

When I got a chance to look at it (after cuddling him and putting a cold washer on it), I could see that one of his teeth had punctured his lip from the inside too. Ouch.

I feel so bad.

This morning when I got up I had a look at it again. From the outside it doesn't show very much at all. Barely swollen and everything. Taking a closer look inside, and it's pretty blue/black...

I feel so bad.

All that on top of one of the crappiest days of my life - everything just seemed to go wrong. If I get the chance, I'll take a photo of it to whack up here to you can all help me feel bad about it too. Plus we'll need some evidence for the Department of Community Services.

...and up! He just seems to get bigger, more talkative (some words make sense) and more active by the day.

So, to celebrate the fact that he wants to rule the world, we've taken some commemerative shots for your viewing pleasure. They're in the gallery (link to the top right), or simply click here...

Lots more pictures to go up shortly, but I thought it was well worth it showing off Luke in a photo I took on my new phone when we went shopping last week.

He is a bit of a lady killer, isn't he. Not literally, though. Which is just as well. Wouldn't want to have to explain that to anyone: "Sorry about that, but my 18 month old son just killed your wife... bit messy I know, but what can you do?! Kids these days!..."

You know what I mean.

Just put up some more photos of Luke... what a little boy he has become!

You can see them by clicking on the "Gallery" link, or just click here. He is starting to learn to use the 'big' toilet, and we are teaching all about what it means to be a big brother, now that he'll have those responsibilities from March 2007!! We are all very excited!

Mainly due to the complete lack of time I now seem to have to blog (which is a shame, I know!), I thought I'd scrape up 5 minutes and put up a couple of the latest photos of Luke. 14 and a half months old now, he is growing and growing and growing, and becoming more of his own little individual daily.

He's just so beautiful...

Luke Samuel Molkentin, b 8:37pm 04/05/2005.

Presents so far include a cement truck full of blocks, a pull along phone, some pj's, a pair of socks and a few cards... with more pressies and a cake that Mum & Dad made to come!

We went shopping the other week, and while waiting for Mum I decided to put Luke down in the car with Humphrey.

You can tell he is pretty happy about it! Then there was a chance for his other favourite past time - pushing buttons...

I'm loathe to tell him that if we put some money in the slot below the steering wheel, the car does "stuff". At this stage, it's fun enough just playing with the stationary car with the weird bear.

With Luke now starting to go down without too much trouble of an evening again (after a concerted team effort), there's the little additional issue of his two daytime sleeps. Previously he has been going down OK for his morning and afternoon nap, but only after a feed. With Michelle wanting to cut down, and soon out, all his feeds - after all, he's eating nearly a full sandwich plus at lunch - there's that little issue of how do we convince him to go to sleep for his naps.

This morning he fell asleep on my shoulder. My bad. He did sleep for two hours though - but I take absolutely no credit for that. This afternoon... well, let's see... it's 3:45pm, we've been going since 3pm... and he is still standing up at the edge of his cot, crying his lungs out. "Surely it has to stop soon?" I hear you think. Not so. When we were first settling him into his night routine, I think it took us a week. That said, he should be partially used to it...

...You'd think, anyway...

Oh well, 10 minutes is up - time to try to soothe the crying beast...

...and that wasn't successful, so here's to 10 more minutes of screaming...

Yes indeed, our little angel is stepping out and chatting away whilst doing so! His favourite phrases seem to be "I did it" and "That's that". Luke was actually due on this day last year but kept us waiting a bit so birthday celebrations are still to come in a few weeks. We seem to finally have got bedtime to a kiss goodnight and "see you in the morning" - such a relief. He still wakes every now and then but that could be his teeth playing up as he has eight (four each top and bottom) and two more on the way. He is investigating more and more and likes to wander off by himself (in the house of course!) and then returns to tell us all about his adventure down to the kitchen! He has also started to climb the stairs in ernest, especially when there is a toy waiting for him halfway up, but we really have to watch him at night as he touched one of the stairlights and burnt his finger. I grabbed him the instant I saw him reach for it and thought he hadn't even touched it but there was a big blister on his finger. Fortunately it has healed up well. The hardest part of this age is his tantrums when he becomes really frustrated trying to communicate and we have no idea what he wants, or when he tries to feed himself and it all gets too much so it gets chucked on the floor as far away as possible - a bit annoying but all part of growing up I guess.

Just thought I'd pop up some of the latest photos of the boy for you to enjoy like we do...

All the latest pics can be found at http://themolks.com/gallery.asp.

Well, here we are after less than a week of trying to get Luke to sleep through the night. To be honest, we haven't been super successful at the controlled crying but he does seem to be sleeping better (I say with all fingers crossed!) as last night he went for nearly 7 hours. The hardest thing is trying to stop him falling asleep when he breastfeeds - this is nigh on impossible and no books tell you how to do that. How can you tell a hungry baby that he has to scream himself silly until he falls asleep only to wake up hungry three hours later - what's the point in that? Last night he ate a huge dinner, had a feed, then a nap at church and I thought we might get away with putting him to bed when we got home, so Steve had a go but Luke was having none of it and was virtually hysterical after half an hour of trying so I gave in and fed him. But, like I said he slept from 9.30pm until 4.30am, with a couple of disturbances in between (a little crying/grizzling which woke me but I left him and he settled) and then he was happy to have his nappy changed, a quick feed and straight back to sleep. Is it the full tummy? The CD we have on loop in his room? The fact that he cried so much before he went to bed? Or the power of prayer? To top it all off, both Steve and I have a cold (my second in two weeks) so we really need him to be sleeping so we have a chance to recover and hopefully he won't get sick too. Ah, the joys of parenthood.....

For those of you who don't yet have kids, I hope this doesn't put you off. For those of you who have been blessed with the little blighters, whether now or many, many years ago, you may feel our pain. Luke has decided not to sleep through the night. He decided this without consulting his adoring parents, probably because we neglected to consult him about moving house just when he was settled enough to sleep through the night at three months of age. Even when he was newborn, he generally only woke once a night for a feed, then it was back to bed. Now however, it has become a ridiculous 4 or 5 times that he wakes up between 8pm and 5am. So, after much research, we concluded the only thing we could do to maintain our sanity and our relationship, was to put him to bed and let him cry...and it breaks my heart. Last night was our first "real" go (we had tried previously but I had given in when he sobbed hysterically for an hour) and it took 1 hour and 25 minutes and even then he was whimpering as he slept. It was fine at first, he was happy to play in his cot but then he realised we weren't going to pick him up, and we knew that we had to win this battle or suffer countless more sleepless nights. I had fully intended never to nurse him to sleep before he was born. I knew all the theory, and now know the horrible reality of what happens when you allow him to go to sleep in your arms every night. Anyway, he slept until about 1.30am - stirred a few times prior to this but had re-settled himself, which is the idea, so I fed him, and then he slept again until 4am, when he decided it was playtime. Steve tried to get him back to sleep but he wasn't keen on the idea so I dealt with him as Steve goes off to swim at 5am. Thankfully he did have an early morning nap after he played so I got another 10 minutes of sleep. So, we can only hope this is a good start and that he will be a little easier to settle every night from now on. (Apologies to the neighbours - they must have thought we were trying to strangle him last night!)

Luke is 7 months old this Sunday. I have less idea about what to do with him now than I did 3 or 4 months ago.

He is really growning into his own little person. His own little non-sleeping though, crying when he wets his nappy when he is asleep, getting up 3-6 times a night person. It has both of us at our sleep-deprived wits end.

Most of the time when he wakes up, it is a nappy. However, there are times when he wakes up for seemingly no other reason than he woke himself up when he rolled over, and that's that. I nearly had a success with him last night by changing his nappy and then giving him a drink and singing to him - he almost went back to sleep. In the end, he had a feed with Mum and went back to sleep, however when I brought him into the bedroom and put him on the bed he sat up like he was ready to play. Cute, but not helpful.

So here we are... no idea why he isn't sleeping through (he did for a while, and then stopped about the time we moved), and it's getting a little silly.

I'd write more, but I'm just too tired...

On my way to work after a swim this morning, Michelle rang to let me know that Luke now has two teeth - a matching one on the left front bottom. So, now, he has his two front bottom teeth.

This clearly explains why he was such a pain between 11pm and 1:30am last night.

So, two down, 18 or so to go...  oh crap...

Seeing as how I have been wasy to busy with work/parenting/life/building up to Christmas, I thought I'd post a picture of Luke up here from his Baptism (29/10/05) - more to come shortly on his bit of the website...

In other additionally interesting news, Luke has finally cut his first tooth (bottom, centre, his right). We felt it yesterday as just the little sharp bit popping through, and it hung around all day - Michelle rang me today to tell me that the whole tooth has popped through now, so it is really official. Will try and get a photo as soon as I can.

He is a seriously fun and happy little person. It melts my heart to come home and see him playing on the floor with Mummy there too, and to hear Mum ask him "who's that?" and see him look around, see me, and smile with a grin as broad as the horizon.

Enough gushing... must get onto fixing up/updating his bit of the website so you can all gush too.  ;)

All things considered, he did pretty well... and there's a lot to consider...

This past weekend, we flew to Adelaide for the wedding of Emily Payne and Richard Franklin. Emily is a good friend of Michelle's, and was the maid of honour when we were married in 2001. The wedding was lovely - very Richard and Emily (well, Emily at least) - and a good time was had by all. We even got to meet a few of their friends and start relationships with them of our own.

The biggest killer about the whole weekend was the time of the flights down to Adelaide and back - both were around 6am. That in itself wasn't a problem, but getting up to get ready and leave and get to the airport in time for both was - 3:30am get on Saturday morning and Monday morning. This really provided no big issue for Luke, as he proceeded to sleep in the car on the way to the airport, and then be up and wide awake at the airport because there was so much to look at and so many people to smile at.

He really enjoyed looking at the planes and being in the plane - so many people to look at! He didn't mind taking off, but landing was a bit of a problem. Michelle ended up twisting him around in his belt and feeding him as we landed in Brisbane on the way home - that helped. He was really good on the way to Adelaide - even slept on the seat in between us so we could have breakfast - I am sure he could adapt to this travelling thing quite well.

With this big alteration to his routine, it did mean that he was pretty grumpy come later that afternoon, and it also meant he didn't sleep too well on Saturday or Monday night. Hopefully it should all be better and settle down this week (note I said hopefully).

He is becoming happier with having to sit in his high chair and eat solid food (why is mushed up anything called "solid" - there is nothing solid about it!?!?), and by happier I mean it takes him less time each time to start eating. He usually eats about 1/3 to 1/2 a tin at a time, and I am sure will progress to much more as we start to prepare food for him rather than purchase it. At this point we are just trying him on different tastes to see how he goes with things, and on the whole he is liking pretty much everything.

It was great for Michelle to catch up with her cousin Keith and his wife Gay, who she hasn't seen for nearly 20 years. They, of course, loved Luke and spoilt him (and us) rotten. It will be wonderful to keep in touch with them and maybe even see them early next year up here in Brisbane.

Luke is still furiously trying to sit up - he'll have a baby sized six pack in no time. Rolls over at the drop of a hat and when you least expect it, but only when he wants to. When on his stomach we can see him try to sort out moving, including putting his bum up and waggling it around, but he hasn't worked out doing both his arms and his legs at the same time yet.

He really is inquisitive too. I wasn't kidding when I said he will smile at anyone, and when they don't smile back he looks back at us with a look as if to say "Why didn't that person smile at me? Why aren't they happy too?", then promptly turns to smile/stare at someone else to see how they react. When someone smiles at him, he gives them a wry grin with the side of his mouth, that becomes a full smile and he then buries his head in your shoulder like his all embarassed or coy or something...

Many milestones to come, many enjoyed so far. I won't say that I have got this parenthood thing down, but I am getting there (and probably still will be getting there when I am 65!).

Now... to get everything sorted, planned and finalised for Luke's Baptism (2pm Saturday Oct 29 - we'll keep you posted)...

Just a quick one... Luke rolled over for the first time all by himself on Tuesday 30 August. Michelle rang me at work to tell me, and then Luke couldn't help but show off to Dad when I got home.

Of course, the minute we pulled the video camera out to get some footage for my parents, he couldn't even be cajoled into it. Then, later, he did it without warning all by himself again. Smart kid.  ;)

Soon he'll be asking for the car keys (yeah, good luck!).

Well, he is about three and a half months old now, and (to me) he is just getting stronger and more enjoyable by the day. We are very lucky that our little man has such a pleasant disposition... very little crying - unless he really means it, he is sleeping pretty well at night, and he has perfected this coy little smile he trots out to everyone who is wanting to offer him some affection. On the downside though, he is still a little vomity and can sometimes be a little be needy in the "hold me, carry me" stakes. I guess that comes with the territory.

He certainly has his Mum and Dad wrapped around his little finger!!

He is now also extremely active, trying to roll over almost any time you put him down on his back. He does pretty well - gets to his side, but hasn't worked out that if he dropped his legs back down he'd probably go all the way. I am sure it will come. Almost everything is being shoved into his mouth to chew (especially his fingers, although he hasn't yet worked out you don't have to put them in so far that it makes you retch), and will gladly suck on your fingers/hand/arm/the nappy when he is particularly hungry. He has found his voice again, this time with a vengeance. Squealing can be the order of the day, especially when he is happy or talkative. Not all the time, just as a punctuation to the sentence, or to get your attention (trust me, it works). He certainly enjoys his reading time with Mum & Dad, is quite happy watching the cats walk past or eat their food, and is still interested in the big noises trucks make.

The cats have taken to him in quite a protective way. When he is, for whatever reason, very upset and really crying, they always come to investigate and try to sooth him. Both Bryn and Molly almost seem maternal about it - for example, Michelle was changing him on this table the other day and for whatever reason (we don't know) he was screaming blue murder. Both cats came in and meowed like they were wondering what was wrong. Both of them streched up from the floor to look at him and meow a little bit more like they wanted to help him stop crying... like they wanted to take care of him too [SPECIAL NOTE FOR MY PARENTS:: Rest assured, Mum & Dad, they are not interested in jumping in the cot with him - there are much nicer/warmer/safer places to sleep than in the cot with him - he is much bigger than they are now!!!].

Today will be his first big drive - we are going down to Uralla to celebrate Gerry Alais's 80th birthday with all the family. Now, that's a 5 and a half hour drive anyway, but we're not sure how he will cope with it. I am honestly expecting at least two 30-45 minute stops to be dropped into it for feeding and general baby-ness, but that adds an extra hour and a half to the overall journey time.  I guess we will see how he goes... and then do it all again on Sunday after church. I do know he knows who he is going to see - when I mentioned that we were going to see his Grandma and Grandad Alais today, he was quite happy about it. Mind you he is also happy when I mention his Grandma and Grandad Molky, or for that matter, a feed.

Father's Day is almost upon us. The only reason I mention it is that it was Father's day 2004 that we found out that Michelle was pregnant. So, nearly 12 months since we found out our lives would be changed forever, changed for the better... a journey that I would never swap for anything (and here's hoping to at least one more journey - three more if I have anything to say about it!!).  ;)

At least that's what we say to Luke quite often as he lays on the change table having his nappy attended to.

Now, I appreciate at two months not a lot is going on, however Michelle and I will swear to you he is starting to repeat sounds he hears us making. Not least of all the phrase "all good". Except that most of the time it pretty much comes out as a throaty gargle of baby spit. We did however hear him make a sound that even I thought was him saying "all good". And I am the biggest cynic around when it comes to 'super' children and all that. I know it is months before we start to get words as a concious repsonse to something he needs or wants, but hearing him start to try to repeat sounds he hears from us is an amazing thing - it is the start of his personality developing. Which is even weirder, because for so long he was thus "bump" in his Mum's belly, and even since he's been born he's just been a baby. Now he is starting to turn into his own little person.

It's all very exciting. He's a big boy, too. We compared him to a lovely little girl two months older than him - he is as big, and weighs as much. What a hoofer!! Hopefully all this extra size grows him up (like his mum) and not out (like his dad). He's always going to be a big boy - that's a Molkentin thing - but I am continuously interested in seeing just how the mix of Michelle and my DNA affect him.

OK, at the risk of sounding like one of those stupid baby-brained gushy dads... I really didn't like seeing Luke have his 2 month old immunization needles today. Even more so, I didn't like having to hold his leg still while it happened.

I am completely down with the need for immunization. I do not think that for a minute Michelle and I were not going to have Luke immunized. It's not a lot of fun to watch, but what are the options... polio, mumps,  other nasty things... not fun at all. I do not understand how parents can seriously suggest that they do NOT want to have their child immunized (particularly when most likely they were as a child, especially these days). It's just plain stupid.

Luke's face was actually pretty interesting to watch... from relatively calm (he did have a full nappy, and was a bit hungry) to screwed up in pain and shock in about a nanosecond. He cried for about 20 seconds, and then stopped. Then promptly got the second needle, so more tears (yes, actual tears). Dr Adams, who has been with us through the whole pregnancy, is great - extremely practical and pragmatic. We've really appreciated all she's had to say so far... no doubt she will get to know Luke well. Dr Adams also had an intern with her today - Joe - and he got to administer his first needle to a baby with Luke's second needle. Everyone has to have a first. May as well have been Luke as anyone else.

Our little bloke continues to grow, seemingly getting heavier by the day. When I get a moment I will reorganise his part of our website, so that the pics are more accessible and not so many on the one page. Of course, there are some new ones to add, so I'll have to get that sorted too. He weighs about 6kg now, is almost 60cm long, and is pretty well into baby size 00. He is smiling at will, and interested in all sorts of things - Michelle told me he was fascinated with the garbage truck coming to empty the wheelie bins. He heard the noise and had to watch it do the bins, drive down the street, turn around, do the other side and drive off - and apparently wouldn't look at anything else until it was done. Talk about fixations. One minute we get him a bobcat (see here), the next we'll need to get him a garbage truck to play with!!!

He is enjoying being read to - already we have enjoyed a dinosaur number counting book and Green Eggs & Ham ('I do not like them, Sam-I-am'). He was given a children's picture bible, so lots of stories in that to read to him... he enjoys looking at the colours of the pictures when I read to him. It's a start of what we hope will be a life long enjoyment of books and reading. Guitar lessons start next week.  ;)

Michelle and I would like to offer a MASSIVE THANK YOU to all our family, friends, workmates and everyone else who has sent through their well wishes, welcomes and pressies for our little bloke, Luke.

He has been incredibly spoilt - lots of clothes, some books, a couple of very cool mobiles, lots of soft toys (including "Son of SuperTed"... maybe I've said too much!!), and he's been the recipient of many, many special hugs. I am sure that with his first Christmas not too far away he'll score even more - he'll have his own room to decorate how he wants by then.  ;)

Michelle and I are settling in well to parenthood - still so much to learn, still so much to screw up. Luke had his 6 week check-up yesterday, and was deemed "acceptable" by all accounts. He will now also show up on our Medicare cards more importantly, after a visit to them after the doctors. Our little dude has really started to develop - he is holding his head up by himself a with a lot more strength and control; his smiles are definitely not wind-based... he's a grinner, and he certainly chooses when to smile; and he has taken to reminding you he is hungry if you are holding him - by tapping you (usually) on the arm with a pretty tightly clenched hand. I am just continually amazed at the small person that is developing right in front of my eyes... as my little mate grows, his personality is starting to develop and we can see that not only will Luke be a definite presence wherever he goes, he will be an enjoyable one.

So - thanks. If you check back here at my blog every so often, you'll be kept up to date with the latest stuff happening in our lives as a family and independently. There will be more than a few entries about Luke too, I'd imagine - and photos (he can only be a "bump" for so long). I figure if you come and check out the blog at your leisure - and feel free to make comments on whichever entries you like - then we will not be bothering you with update e-mails or big e-mails full of photos. Consider yourself not pressured, but welcomed into our lives...

6 weeks old and not a scratch on him... other than those he has done himself (do you know how hard it is to cut a baby's fingernails?!?!).

Luke is absolutely the apple of his Dad and Mum's eyes. As he should be. He is starting to smile all by himself, for no apparent reason (mental note: he may be plotting against us - don't trust the boy), and much more aware of his surroundings when awake. He is starting to follow moving objects as they travel through the room... and by 'moving objects' I do mean me, and let's face it, that's a pretty big object to focus on, so how could he not follow it. He loves bath time, and had his first bath with Mum last night - now that he is 6 weeks old, it also means that Mum can almost return to normal as far as lifting and doing things, although she should still take it pretty easy to start with.

Michelle is particularly happy about being allowed to drive again - she hasn't been able to for 6 weeks due to our car insurance stating that our policy would be void if she did and had an accident (due to the surgery). We also have an appointment with Dr Adams next Tuesday morning where both Luke and Michelle will get checked over, and no doubt will be given a clean bill of health. After that, however, we will throw caution to the wind as we go to the local Medicare/Family Assistance Office to: (a) lodge our family benefits form (including the baby bonus claim); & (b) get him officially added to our medicare cards. He already offically exists - we have his birth certificate - now we need to ensure he is able to be supported properly by the government and by Medicare. BTW - have you seen the family benefits form lately??? Sheesh, you need a degree in crap just to be able to interpret it.

As I said to Michelle the other night, I am enjoying seeing Luke grow up (mental note #2: we need to take more photos) and he is all nice and stuff, but I really am looking forward to the time when he becomes a lot more interactive - so he and I can start playing together, reading together, etc. I know we can play with him now and all that, but let's face it... all we get as far as feedback now really isn't a whole lot (unless you include his vomiting and what comes out the bottom). Smiles and stuff are good... bring on the hugs, I say.

I really do not know how everyone else coped - but I guess they have.

We had an incident last night, where Luke just decided that his afternoon had been interrupted so much that he didn't want to go down to sleep. Just stay up and eat, and not even get winded. So, subsequently, there was a period from about 7:30pm to 10:30pm where two very frazzled and tired new parents (we were trying to get him to go down so that we could go to bed at 8:30pm!!) struggled through with an over-tired infant and thinning patience.

It was really hard - battling the tiredness, not being able to (at times) get him to stop crying, not being able to get him to burp - we knew at least he had some wind, and most importantly not getting him to go down to sleep. Finally, it happened. I think it was the constant rocking, mixed with some spinning from side to side. We're not sure HOW we did it - so next time, we'll have to video it so we know what to do in case of emergency.

He did sleep. We crashed. To his credit, because we'd given him a bath, he slept until 3am, fed, and then pretty much was down again by 4am. The alarm went off at 6am WAY too soon after that.

In retrospect, I am honestly amazed the effects of over-tiredness can have on two normally quite rational human beings, particularly when coupled with 'screaming-for-no-apparent-reason' baby. At one point, I thought I was going mad. I think it was the hopelessness I felt, that I knew I couldn't do anything to calm him or help him. Now, I know that experienced parents are chortling to themselves over this, thinking "wait until you see what comes next". I am sure I will look back on all this with the same humour. Later, though - I'm just too tired now.

So, we live in hope that soon... very soon... he may start to settle into a proper night time routine that will see him sleep through. Like I said, we live in hope.

OK, so this is only day 4 away from Michelle and Luke, and I miss them. Luke may have been the cause of interrupted sleep, and have some of the most amazingly awful nappies known to me - but incredibly, I miss seeing him, holding him, seeing him with his Mum. Obviously I miss Michelle also, but it is different times now - I miss her heaps too.

At least I get to see them tomorrow evening. Apparently he now weighs 5kg, and is growing by the week. Michelle must be feeding him pretty well.  ;)

Luke is 3 weeks old today.

• Sleep really isn't that important any more... for me, anyway... (it would be if I could get it in unbroken stints of more than 4 hours)
• There are always more nappies - always
• Joy can be found in the smallest of smiles or glances
• Love is more than an experience - it is a way of life
• A child can never have too many "aunties" and "uncles"
• Our gift from God brings hope and joy to many, many more people than just us - and he is only 11 days old!
• There are many TV programs that aren't as important as we thought they were 12 days ago
• I REALLY want to move into our new place, now...
• Cuddles from Grandma's and Grandad's are very special, and the boy doesn't mind them either
• You can choose not to be a gushy dad... but what's the fun in that?!
• Even at 2:30am, watching your wife feed your child is an amazing experience (if you can keep your eyelids open long enough to enjoy it)... if not a bit weird
• Everything, and I mean EVERY THING, now works on ESBT (Eastern Standard Baby Time)