A Dog's Life

Things have been a bit tough for the dogs since Ben came along. The picture above of domestic canine bliss was taken before Ben was born. Since then they get a fair bit less attention. Matt still walks them every morning, but I feel like I totally neglect them. I try and spend a bit of time with them every day, but they must know that they've moved down to equal 2nd spot on the dependants hierarchy.

Despite this, they don't seem to be displaying any signs of sibling rivalry and are really nice to Ben. Here they are standing guard beside his stroller. Otherwise, they just give him a bit of a sniff and don't seem to want to jump all over him or chew him up, which is quite good. In addition to being usurped by Ben, life got even tougher about a month ago after Helen and Jock came to visit. Helen is a vet and, upon questioning, she advised us that they are a bit fat. So in order to avoid the nasty joint problems that Labradors are prone to get, the poor things have been on a diet.

I think Bella's face (above) sums up how they are taking this significant reduction. The photos I've posted of Mojo (to the right) made the blog just because they're a couple of my fav shots of him.

Belated Blogging #2: Dietitians Hard at Work

Last Monday Ben and I caught up with some of the other dietitians in town. Like me, all these girls have recently changed their jobs from working for the government to working for their bubs.

Kel and Elliott, Anj and Maddy, Annette and Sam

Here we are hard at work, it's actually not that different to what I used to do. Previously I was in the business of helping people eat well. Now my whole day revolves around Ben eating well. Suse was able to come along as well (hopefully one day soon she'll be a Newcastle dietitian).

Meg, Mel and Luka

Suse, Meg and I went to uni together and after the morning tea last week, I went home and rifled through my old photos to see if I could find a shot of us together. I found this one (below), which was taken in 1996 (I think). We were doing a commercial cookery course as part of our degree. Other then the fact that Julianne Flip Head Ferguson was a complete kitchen nazi, I can't actually remember much from this course, but something must have sunk in...

....because we were all able to cook up some pretty tasty morsels (pictured below).

Meg and Lucia, Ben and I, Suse and Wil

Belated Blogging #1: At the Beach with Wil

With the sudden arrival of Fergus on the 16th August I got a bit behind with my blogging. So this post is a retrospective account of Ben's trip to the beach on 19th August with Wil Allardyce and his entourage. Wil's Mummy, Susan is always pretty keen to go to Merewether when she visits from Melbourne and she's teaching little Wil not to let the elements get in the way of this. So we all met up at Swell Cafe.

Pictured above are Ben, Kylie (Susan's cousin), Matt, Pauline (Susan's Mum), Jessica (Susan's niece) and Suse

While we were at Swell Susan and I demonstrated how many dietitians it takes to feed one baby.

Then the boys and Wil's cousin, Jessica dipped their toes in the water.....

......and finished up with a snuggle on the beach (it was pretty cold).

Even though it was chilly I think Ben really enjoyed getting his little feet in the water and the sand between his toes. Can't wait for summer!

Piglet, the Monkey and the Big Grown Up Boy

Recently Ben borrowed a Piglet suit from his friend Sam Homard. He loved it so much that he decided to wear it to Elliott's place yesterday. Never one to be upstaged, Alfie decided to be a very Cheeky Little Monkey. He flicked through his Mum and Dad's old photos and found a shot from the last time the boys cosied up on Kel's couch. Then he went and swiped Elliott's overalls and Ben's dummy. The kid knows how to spot a photo opportunity! Elliott, of course is far too mature for such carry on and just sat around being the cool calm and collected big boy that he is.

Message for Lydia

Hello Darling!!

So good to hear from you!!

Feel like a hopeless friend!. Haven't even congratulated you and Nicholas on your engagement. I was going to post my email address on the comment section, but just couldn't make it work!

So...... here it is: kate.abeckett@hnehealth.nsw.gov.au

Talk soon

Love Kate

Fergus!

The littlest Lane finally has a name! Fergus Erroll Lane was named at 4:00am on Monday morning. Thanks once again for all the name suggestions. In the end Ferg's Mum and Dad didn't go with a Fast Lane name. I took the liberty of investigating the origins and meaning of 'Fergus' and this is what I found:

Fergus (Origin Scottish, Gaelic and Celtic) A fierce or brave chieftain, from Fear, man, and guth, a voice or word, that is, the man of the word, a commander of an army. Some suppose the first Fergus was so named from Fairghe, the sea, on account of his large navy; others, from his raging like the sea in battle. Feargach, fiery. Source: An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names With an Essay on their Derivation and Import; Arthur, William, M.A.; New York, NY: Sheldon, Blake, Bleeker & CO., 1857.

Sounds like there'll be no pushing this little brother around!

Cuddly Koalas

Yesterday Ben and I met up with the Iveys at Blackbutt. I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I'd never been to this part of my own backyard. Obviously Ben has a better excuse then me, given that he's somewhat dependant in regard to his transport and transfers. We both agreed that our first visit was great!! There were peacocks and turkeys cruising around and we learnt many interesting facts about Australia's favourite Eucalyptus eater.... including:

• Their eyes look like cats eyes (no other Australian native has eyes like this).
• Two of the five digits on their front limbs are thumbs.
• They have two claws on one of their toes and they use them like a brush.
• They eat around 1kg of gum leaves a day.
• They can live up to 24 years in captivity but generally not as long in the wild (the koala pictured above is 14 years old - her name is Susie and she's being given farex and condensed milk - because of her old age she's been having trouble eating enough gum leaves to sustain her).

Paul found a couple of koalas and gave them a cuddle.

Then Paul offered to help one of them go down a slippery dip.

At first the koala thought this was a great idea,.... but.......

......at the end of the ride the koala decided that slippery dips are a bit scary........

......unless you ride with a mate.

Photo of the Boy

I received an email this morning from John Lane (Emma's father in law). With photos of baby Lane!! I've also pasted his email below 'cos I thought it was a good one!! Still no name for the little fella, but we know that he was a healthy 3.6kg. Thanks for the name suggestions (great to hear from you Aunty Chris and Noosa Tindalls). So far we have Zippy, Hastie, Jet, Rocket, Fast (Lane), and of course Jaimie Oliver Lane.

Emma, Baby, Noah, Oscar and Justin

2/3 of the Birthing Team
(Otherwise known as Lynn and John Lane)
(alternatively known as Nan and Park)

Hello Everyone,

We are proud to announce the arrival of a third son for Justin and Emma (name soon to be announced). He arrived at 4.18am this morning in his parents kitchen! Both Mother and baby are very well and residing in Mclaren Vale Hospital. The birthing team of Lynn, Justin and John have collapsed from excitement, nervous energy and sheer weariness... and we only assisted in his birth. Like all Lane boys, he couldn`t wait and beat his Doctor and the Ambulance team before their arrival.

We visited Emma and the baby this afternoon and they were both as perky as can be, holding court in their comfortable hospital room (hence the attached photos).

A name for Baby Lane will probably be announced tomorow. There has been a suggestion that he should be called Jamie Oliver Lane....born to be in the kitchen.

Thanks to everyone for your texted messages and phone calls of congratulations and best wishes. We here at Team Lane are as proud as any one family can get over our newest member, even if his arrival was a little unauthordox.

Thanks to everyone,
Justin, Emma, Oscar, Noah, Baby Lane, Nan and Pa.

Welcome Baby Lane

Exciting News!! My sister gave birth to a healthy baby boy in the wee hours of this morning! This is her third little boy and all is well. Emma was 8 days overdue and was scheduled to be induced today, but the little fella had other ideas. It seems that he didn't want to go to hospital at all and decided that he would in fact like to be delivered by his Daddy! Yes little Baby Lane arrived at 4:30am this morning on Emma and Justin's kitchen floor! Emma woke up at 3:00am and felt a very strong contraction. Justin asked if he should call his Mum and Dad (who are staying at Aldinga Beach and were on call to look after the two older boys). Emma suggested waiting to see how long until the next contraction, which was 10 mins later. At this point Justin called his Mum and Dad who arrived quickly. But as Emma was walking to the car, she felt the urge to push and had to go back to the house. Justin called an ambulance and the local GP (who is also a close friend). But it was all too quick and bubby arrived before any medical help! The GP arrived and delivered the placenta. Emma is now at McLaren Vale Hospital and is recovering well. The Bub doesn't have a name yet, so if anyone can think of a gorgeous and clever name that means fast, we'd love to hear it.

What's in the Ice Cream?

In January 2006, Kel, Brett, Matt and I went to Melbourne and met up with our friends Susan and Dave Allardyce. We had a fantastic holiday. We went to the Australian Open, where we watched several amazing matches and queued (for not too long) to get a quick massage and a bunch of freebies from the Garnier Tent. One night we went out for a sensational dinner at a restaurant called Clay Pots and then had dessert at an ice cream bar. The photo above was taken outside the ice cream bar.

Everyone ate the ice cream; boys and girls. But for some inexplicable reason the amazing shrinking potion that was obviously in the ice cream was only activated inside the boys' bodies. You can see the effects below.

It's not easy, but Kel, Susan and I are doing the best we can with our shrunken husbands. We went to the Euro Patisserie today and met up for a coffee and some delicious cake.

Jane also came along and is pictured here with her shrunken husband. Trent obviously didn't gorge himself on quite as much ice cream and hasn't shrunk as much as Matt, Dave and Brett.

Not really sure what happened to Kathy's husband Ian. Somehow the ice cream he ate turned him into a little girl. Perhaps it was Strawberry Shortcake flavoured.

The Lennox Girls

Ben had a visit today from Lucy and Ivy Lennox. And because the girls thought I'd need someone to talk to they invited their Mummy, Katy. Despite the fact that Lucy was determined to sit firmly between Katy and I, we managed to catch up over a cup of tea and a gluten free biscuit. Lucy also found the time to read a few books and Ivy showed me how good she is at eating Milk Arrowroot biscuits.

Kicking Up His Heels

In the last week, Ben has started lifting his legs right up. He's seen Alfie and Elliott doing it for a while and has finally decided to get in on the action. All this leg lifting has lead to a lot of movement. He's not rolling from his back to his front yet, but is very close. He can get himself up on his side and he can certainly move from one end of his play mat to the other. It's really exciting to watch. Pretty soon we'll be chasing him all over the house!

Reading

One of the things 'they' tell you do as a parent is to read to your baby and 'they' say that you should do it very early on. Must admit that until fairly recently I've felt like a bit of a wally reading to the boy. But things have changed. Ben is really interested in the books that we read him. He listens to the words, looks at the pictures and reaches up to touch the book as well. It's really fun. Here he is today, showing Nanna one of his favourites.

I'm Free!!

Ben is cute pretty much all the time, but he's extra extra super cute just after he's released from his wrap. Here's a sample of the many faces of Stretchy Ben.

Literary Buffoon!

I just realised that Star-cross'd means ill fated, misfortunate etc... Serves me right for trying to be clever. Sorry Jock and Helen. I know that Jock's heart is to Helen's rudder tied by th' strings. And Helen considers Jock to be more lovely and more temperate than a Summer's Day.

A Pair of Star-Cross'd Lovers Come to Visit

On Sunday evening we returned from Coff's Harbour to be greeted by our friends Jock and Helen Whittle. Jock and his family have been friends with the aBecketts forever. Matt has many stories about Jock.. that we will leave for another posting. Jock was also the co-MC at our wedding and is generally an all round good guy. Helen is also a star; beautiful, intelligent, witty and an awesome Meercat impersonator. Helen and Jock fell in love when she came on a holiday from England and they bonded over a beer or two and a teratoma. Jock and Helen stayed for dinner at Jane and Trent's on Sunday night and then camped over at our place.

Matt and the Watsons had to work on Monday, leaving Jock and Helen alone with Ben and I. So we took the opportunity to show the Whittles some of Stockton's attractions. We began with a leisurely stroll to Lexies for breakfast, followed by a walk on the beach and then a wander down Stockton's main street. We finished the tour with a walk back to our place along the river. It was really nice to see J & H. I wasn't able to go to their wedding on 13th April, so it was great to see them still basking in the gentle glow of their recent nuptials. Jock is so besotted with his new wife that he was found on Monday morning thumbing through The Complete Works of Shakespeare in an attempt to find a suitable sonnet through which he could express his love. Unfortunately the call of chocolate flavoured milk pulled him away before he could find the perfect set of rhyming couplets. The Works are always here Jock if you need some inspiration.

Coughs @ Coffs

Ben made his first trip up North to visit his Uncle Matt and Robbie Pop on the weekend. Despite the fact that Ben has been suffering from his first cold he enjoyed the trip very much. We arrived late Friday night and said a quick hello to Uncle Matt, before Mum was whisked away to his place. Matt, Ben and I stayed at Robbie Pop's. Unfortunately SongXin was away in China so we didn't get to catch up with her, but we had a lot of fun with everyone else. On Sat we went down town to check out Uncle Matt's new shop. Matt is a jeweller and had been sharing a shop with a local clock repair business. But he outgrew this and has now moved into a much bigger place. It was very exciting. I was roolly proud of my little brother in his sparkling shop. The place was absolutely buzzing. Michelle (brother's girlfriend) has been roped in to help out and, as you can see from the photos above, Dad was busy behind the counter as well.

Because it was so busy we decided to check out some of the other shops in Coffs. Of course Mum made a bee-line to an 'educational' toy shop and went crazy. Amongst other things, she bought Ben his first cup - it's got his name on it (just in case any of his little mates try and get their hands on it).

That night we kicked back at Dad's place and had some yummy wine from the stash of Viotollo that brother's been keeping for a special occasion. Ben entertained us all by rolling over a few times and enjoyed hanging out with the gang. The shots above were taken in the afternoon and night.


On Sunday morning we cruised on down to Sawtell surf club for a late breakfast. It was the most stunning weather and the food was delicious. It was a great weekend, full of highlights. It was particularly nice to get to know Cody and Charlie (Michelle's children) a little better. Cody is 7 and is such a polite and sweet kid... also he was great with Ben. Charlie is 3 and is a real little mop-topped-pocket-rocket. She's also great with dogs, so much so that she decided to share her much anticipated strawberry milkshake with a friendly dog she met near the cafe.

Other highlights of the weekend included:

Ben taking possession of his first pair of sunglasses ..............

................................and his first reversible hat, Mummy taking possession of a bargain priced pair of knee high boots, and Mummy expressing 340mL at one expression session!

Jeans for Genes Day

Last Friday was Jeans for Genes day. So Ben and some of his mates threw their impressive collective weight behind the cause. Here they are at Lime (one of their favourite meeting places), grooving it up in their denim best.

Pictured from Left to Right: Alfie and his Mummy Beth, Elliott and his Mummy Kel, Ben and Me, Jayda and her Mummy Nicole, Jacob and his Mummy Maz.

The Moores

On Saturday night Mum came and looked after Ben (how good is she!!), while Matt and I went to dinner with Rachel and Scott Moore. It was a lovely night and another couple who are good friends with S & R also came along. I got talking to Lisa, who also has a little bub (11weeks) and had really similar problems to me with breastfeeding. Lisa is also still expressing. The more I talk to people about this breastfeeding caper the more I realise how many women struggle with it. It's been such an eye opener for me and I think it will definitely make me a better and more understanding dietitian as well as help me not to beat myself up so much next time.

Back back to the night out... it was great fun. We had yummy Thai food followed by Cold Rock. The only low point in the evening is when Matt and I got carried away with a discussion about the pros and cons of child safety restraints. Obviously S & R forgave us for this because they came to visit us at Stockton on Sunday when we got to see little Jack as well. As you can see from the image above Scott is a strong contender for the Bald and the Beautiful club.

Alfie's Gang

On the weekend Alfie invited Ben and a few of the gang round to his place. Alfie actually got his Mum and Dad to invite us and some other Mums and Dads (very clever that boy). But as you can see from the shot to the left, Alfie was the Number 1 Top Dog on the day. The gang had all met at antenatal class but this was the first time they had brought their Mums and Dads along since being on the outside. The boys got busy re-acquainting themselves. It was a little bit competitive.....

......especially when Jacob started showing everyone how he can roll (both ways!!) and then wanted to steal Alfie's blanket. It was all too much for Ben who went and had a sleep in Alfie's cradle for 2 1/2 hours.

Despite the plethora of cameras that were around that day we managed to avoid getting a shot of Nicole (Darcy's Mum) Kel, Brett and Elliott. Happily we're planning to all meet up again in about a month when we'll try and capture the rest of the crew on memory card!

Maz & Jacob, Beth & Alfie, Kate & Ben

Paul & Alfie, Dave & Darcy, Matt & Ben, Dave & Jacob