Ben's Art!

Apparently Picasso said that children should not be taught how to paint or draw. Instead they should be allowed to express themselves and that adults will learn from them. Well Ben's been teaching the staff over at Blinky Babies a thing or two this week.

He's progressed quickly through his impressionist phase and has more recently been working with mixed media. We're looking forward to his next project which is tipped to be a combination of edible body paint and interpretive dance.

Smarty Pantz

Ben’s been enjoying a few trips to Smarty Pantz in the last month. For those of you who don't know about Smarty Pantz I imagine that the pictures help to explain it.



My best description in words is that it’s an indoor amusement park for little-uns. Our most recent trip was on Tuesday. Ben absolutely loves the ball pool. I think it's simply his idea of heaven. He’s also pretty keen on the cars. Although he actually liked pushing them around just as much as having a ride inside one. With the recent unseasonable weather it's been a great place to meet up. The picture above was taken in Jan when our antenatal class got together. Pictured from L-R are Benji, Alfie, Paige, Darcy and Jayda. Warning to anyone intending to visit Smarty Pantz. Don't be fooled by the bright colours and squishy decor. The place can be brutal. Alfie came a cropper after some very enthusiastic, and in hindsight, rather dodgy dodgem car driving by his Mum. He's such a trooper though. Still smiling with a great big egg on his head.

To the Big Smoke

From L-R: Twins Lana and Ava (don't know which one is which), Lilly, Freya, Belle and Max

On the weekend I went to Sydney to visit the Fisher-Parkers. Bec Fisher is a friend of mine from my Westmead Kids days. It was great to catch up with Bec and her growing family. Bec had also arranged for some of the other girls from the dept to come round with their broods. The kids pictured above are just some of the many offspring that have come into the world since I was working there. Bec's two girls are Freya and Belle. I hadn't met Freya until the weekend so it was lovely to get to know her. It was also great to see Belle who is growing up quite nicely really. Bec and Mark have just finished doing some pretty extensive renos and I was the first non-family guest to stay. So I felt pretty special. Of course, Bec and I managed to have some grown up time and we were able to indulge in some yummy food and visit a fabric shop and an auction house. It was a busy weekend, but we even managed to fit in a visit to Ikea. Bec was amazing. She picked up a record haul in breathtaking time. All while carrying little Freya in the Baby Bjorn!

Ben's First Step!

Ben took his first unsupported step today!! For a couple of weeks now he’s been free standing. He’ll pull himself up on something and then let go. He can manage to stay upright for a few seconds and then generally plonks down on his bum. Today he took it "one step" further. We were in his bedroom and I had my back to him as I was putting some of his clothes away. I turned around and he was free standing near his cot. Then he put his hands up towards me and took a step! He promptly dropped on his bum and I spent the next hour trying to get a shot of him standing. I don't think we can call it walking yet. When can we call it walking? I think he's got to string at least two steps together before we officially label him a toddler. It gave me such a thrill to see that first step. What a lucky Mummy I am to have seen it! It was strange though because I also felt just a little bit sad at the same time. I feel like he’s growing up so quickly. In just five weeks he’ll be twelve months old. Before I know it he’ll be saying NO MUMMY!

Class Reunion

L-R: Dave with Darcy, ADam with Paige, Dave with Jacob, Paul with Alfie, Matt with Ben, Brett with Elliott

Last weekend we had a reunion with our antenatal classes. The Mums have been getting together regularly during the week but we haven't seen much of the Dads. We'd planned to meet at Speers Point Park, but due to the inclement weather we relocated to Beth and Paul's place. The weather actually turned out to be not too bad, so we hung out on the deck for a while.

But when Paul opened the corral gates and told the kids that there was mashed pumpkin inside you should have seen them stampede. Ben had a great time taking Paige for a double on Alfie's scooter. And later on, Matt snuggled up with Ben and Darcy. Darcy is about three weeks older than Ben, and of all the kids I've met in the recent past he looks most like our boy. Their little bodies and heads are similar shapes. They even make similar noises. Matt's pictured here having a snuggle with the two little twinnies... in fact the three of them look like triplets!!

Not really sure how they got to be so similar, Darcy's Dad is about twice as tall as Matt and his Mum isn't half as short as me. Maybe Ben'll be 7 foot!!!

Ben Loves Blankie

Ben has fallen in love and the object of his affections is soft, cuddly and warm. It took me a while to notice Blankie and Ben's relationship. I didn't understand why Ben would tootle off to his room and stand at his cot. It wasn't until the day when Blankie was located near the rails and Ben grabbed it that I realised.

We now bring Blankie out to play most days. Ben loves to hug Blankie and give Blankie lots of slobbery sucking type kisses. Lucky Blankie!!!

Ben Gets Things Moving

Ben's been pulling himself up on things for a while now. And more recently, if those things aren't bolted to a wall or significantly heavier than him he seems to want to move them somewhere else. It's all good fun until something gets between the thing he's moving and the general direction that he's going. I'm constantly clearing his path or re-directing him and his pushed object. Ben's pictured above pushing his stroller, which is one of his favourite things to move. He's also keen on pushing the vacuum cleaner, his Dino Explorer (which is still a little big for him to ride), cardboard boxes, plastic boxes with wheels ....

.....and chairs.

Hangin' With the Boyz

As usual Ben's been spending plenty of time with his mates Alfie and Elliott. Elliott dropped in for lunch today and the two of them spent quite some time discussing the nuances of modern literature. Ben told Elliott all about his favourite book. And Elliott helped Ben to understand how the phrase "the cow says moo” is actually a metaphor for post-modern multiculturalism.

Meanwhile Alfie showed Ben one of his Hermit Crabs, "Perri". The boys agreed that Perri is the coolest arthropod around. Of course this led to musings about how they could be more like Perri. This in turn led to lengthy discussions about the possiblilities of converting Alfie’s table into two exoskeletons and twelve segmented legs. They haven't totally figured it out yet. So for now they'll continue to wear their skeletons underneath their skins.

Treasure or Trash?

Matt is without a doubt an absolute gem of a man. He is my treasure. However, I am concerned that he's looking a little trashy in this get up. The tight fitting exercise gear and head dress were inspired by a recent acquisition of the above pictured rowing machine. In true àBeckett style no money changed hands for this slick piece of equipment. It was found on the side of the road. Now I am actually quite proud of the fact that many of our furnishings have come from the side of the road. I think it’s a great system. But I was not happy about the installation of this particular piece in our living room. We’d just gotten rid of a whole lot of crap and Matt replaced it with this. He guarantees me that he'll use it and subsequently transform himself into some kind of buff athletic specimen able to row across Newcastle Harbour in record breaking time. We’ve now had the rowing machine for 18 days and Matt has used it once. What do you reckon? Is it trash or treasure?

Remember the Sun???

I'm feeling a bit ripped off about summer. OK I know we need the rain and Matt keeps describing it as "money falling from the sky"…. can’t take the country out of the boy. But I just wanna go to the beach! I had to dig deep into the digital archives to find any evidence that we've made it out doors in the recent past.

I found this shot of Matt and lots of little people enjoying the intermittent sunshine on Australia Day. They were having a great time playing cricket in Jane and Trent’s backyard.

I also managed to find this shot of Matt, Ben and the Iveys which was taken the day after OZ day (another fun time; swimming and beach combing).

And finally here’s Ben pulling his "scrunchy face", sometime in Jan. His little companion is Taya, who’s Mum I met through Stocko Mums Group. This was one of the very few mornings we got to enjoy the beach. Bec (Taya’s Mum) and I took turns swimming. It was really nice to be able to actually dive into the water and then come back to a couple of happy little people. I’m pretty sure the kids had fun, particularly Taya who seemed to develop a taste for huge quantities of sand.

Daddy Learns about Dental Hygiene

Ben now has six teeth! And he knows how to look after them. He brushes his teeth whenever I do and he also brushes when he has a bath.

He's pictured above showing Matt how it's done. I guess he's gotta keep the pearly whites in good condition.

Never know when he might have to gnaw off someone's limb!

Carving It Up

Jane and Trent have bought a ski boat!! After many years of yearning, Trent's wish has finally come true. They formed a syndicate with two other couples and took possesion of the (as yet unnamed) Lewis power boat two weeks ago.

Matt, Ben and I joined the crew on Sunday and we had a great time carving up the water on the Williams River. There were plenty of tricks, which I didn't capture on film (cos I wasn't in the boat), including some impressive bare footing from Trent. Matt and I stuck to the skis (actually I came out of mine quite a lot). It was great fun. I'm still a bit sore and I could hardly move on Monday. But I can't wait to go again. It's addictive!