Birthday Party & More Ice Cream

It was my sisters birthday yesterday, so we headed over there last night for some Chinese food and of course ice cream cake. Evan had a blast with his cousins and even scored a heap of presents from one of my cousins. She'd never got around to giving him his 2nd birthday pressies, so of course Evan thought yesterday's party was his!

The highlight was the ice cream cake. Evan thought it was yummy. I had to stop him going back for seconds. As 2 lots of ice cream in one day is probably all his tummy could handle. Lucky for us the new allergy meds are working a treat.

Sunday At The Beach

The weather continues to suprise me every weekend. Just when you expect the rain will come, it turns out to be another glorious sunny day.

We spent the morning visiting a really cool kids playground at Maroubra Beach. Evan wasn't really interested in the playground as he spotted the skate ramp and wanted to try out his scooter. He had a mini tantrum when I said know, most of the kids using it were 12 years and older. He really thinks he is bigger than he really is!! Compromised by letting him use his scooter on the pavement instead.

After some scooter fun, he needed time to chill out and regroup. So it was the perfect opportunity to kick back and enjoy an ice cream. Its amazing how messy they can get. Oh and I became the human napkin, got to love that.

We also took time to feed the seagulls and check out the beach itself. Evan loved it all and can't wait to go back. He keeps asking for the "beach". Funny that even though we went there for the playground, he really only played there for a few minutes. There was just way too much more interesting stuff to explore.

More Scooter Boy Evan

After awhile he was starting to get the hang of it, although still struggling with the steering.

As he rides along he calls out "fidit, fidit", for those familiar with the Teletubbies, thats what Po says when he rides his scooter. Apparently its cantonese for faster faster.

He also asked me for a "helmet" tonight before he went to bed.... apparently the picture on the scooter box, shows the little boy wearing a helmet, so now he wants one too. Probably not a bad idea as I get the feeling the scooter will be going everywhere with us. Now to find a funky looking helmet... do they make Wiggles ones?

SCOOTER BOY

Grandma got Evan a new scooter, which he is trying to learn to ride. The steering is a challenge, but I think he is doing well for a 2 year old. Check out the video. Sorry about the quality, I took it on my mobile phone.

In The Hood

Not sure where some of his antics come from... but the latest is wearing his "rock star" sunglasses and putting his hoodie jacket on. The result is this rockstar/rapper look.

He was sitting in the car this morning saying "cool, cool", "Evan cool".

Its looking more and more likely that he will grow up to be a ROCK STAR.. at least in the fashion stakes.

Here Duckie Duckie

Can't believe this fabulous weather we are having in Sydney. Took advantage of it again and headed out for the parks along Georges River in the South of Sydney. We met up with DH's family - his sister, mum, neice and nephew.

Evan was very excited to see his cousin Billy, who at 7 years old enjoying the hero worship he gets from Evan.

First stop were the ducks, they had to be fed of course. Its was touch and go but we somehow managed to keep Evan out of the water. He would happily just follow the ducks into the water if we didn't hold him back.

After the ducks we went for a nice little cross country walk to the playground. The kids had a ball climbing and sliding. Evan loved the swings the most.

The slippery dip was pretty tall and winding, I was sure Evan would be scared to climb up there let alone slide down, but as long as his cousin Billy was doing it, then Evan was too. My little boy is really growing up.

The Wheels On The Bus.......

Another beautiful sunny day in Sydney, so perfect weather for an adventure.

Today Evan went on a bus for the first time. He sees the buses all the time and when we are driving to work/daycare and lately he has been asking to go on one. So he finally got his wish. We caught the bus from home into the city, about 15 min ride and of course he loved every minute of it.

We got off near Hyde Park and walked to the Australian Museum in College St. Evan had a wonderful time exploring in the museum. He loved the skeletons of the dinasours the best. They also have a place called Kids Island which is a play area for under 5s. It has so many little nooks to explore and lots of props for pretend play.

Lunch at Maccas followed and then we caught the bus home. Evan was so exhausted he fell asleep on the walk home from the bus stop, which only takes 5 min.

Definitely something we will be doing again, DH joined us up for annual membership to the Museum as they have lots of great things coming up, including a big dinasour exhibition.

Evan's New PJs

Check them out!!!

I love EBAY

More Fun At The Doctor

Evan had his 12 month followup with the ENT specialist today and unfortunately its not good news. It looks like his adenoids have grown back, which we were warned could happen and his tonsils are huge, almost to the point of touching.

The Dr suspects that Evan is suffering from obstructive sleep apnea, which explains so much. The constant night waking, the snoring, the constant congestion like he has a cold, but no runny nose. Even the night terrors could be related.

Its a relief to know that there is some physical reason that we are suddenly having all these sleep issue and its not a behavioural problem.

The next month will not be fun, while we do some tests to determine how bad the problem actually is and then determine the treatment required. First step is the sleep study which is booked for 8 September. Not looking forward to that, at least I get to stay with him at the hospital overnight. Then we have 2 more followups with various Drs to discuss treatment options.

We are due to go overseas on 23 Sept and I have the ENT appointment on 22 Sept to decide on the treatment option we will take. At least we will know before we go. Then will probably do whatever is required as soon as we get back, lucky we are only away a week.

At this stage its looking likely that we will be having both adenoids and tonsils removed. Poor little Evan, when does all this end.

Anyway to cheer myself up, thought I'd share one of my favourite pics of him.

The Guitar Place

The guitar place is actually the Hard Rock Cafe here in Sydney. Evan has been calling it "the guitar place" since we first took him a couple of months ago. Its his favourite restaurant, not that he has been to that many!

After a great afternoon at the park, we decided it was too hard to cook dinner at home, so agreed it was the perfect time to go to the guitar place again. Afterall its great practice for Evan in dining out as we leave for our trip to LA in 6 weeks, so we want him to get used to restuarant dining and at least manage to stay seated for the duration of the meal.

Evan did great, I think its the atmosphere. He had a ball watching all the music videos and clapped at the end of each song. He checked out all the memorabilia, especially the guitars. His little friend Mickey Mouse even came along and got a feed.



The lil kids rocker meal was great and he tucked in with gusto. Chicken tenders with chips and he ate them all... the chicken that is... only managed a couple of chips. DH got to enjoy his burger this time as Evan wasn't interested, very different compared to last time where all he wanted was DH burger. Sometimes I can't figure him out...lucky I didn't order him the kids burger. I had a great cobb salad, same thing I always have when I am there, but its a favourite.

We finished off the meal with a chocolate brownie with 2 scoops of vanilla icecream. Evan thought he was in heaven and helped DH polish it off.

Overall a great night out. Can't wait to do it again.

Glorious Sydney Sunshine

Decided to take advantage of the wonderful sunny weather and went to the park yesterday afternoon. We are lucky to live in a residential development with lots of designated parklands and a wonderful kids playground. Evan loves to go there, we don't do it often enough.

DH got Evan a new kite that is shaped like a bat, they both had lots of fun flying it at the windy park, before heading over to the kids playground. Actually I am not sure who enjoyed it more, Evan or DH?

We all had a blast at the kids playground. Its like a climbing maze with lots of little hiding places and 2 slides. There were quite a few kids around and Evan had fun trying to copy one of the bigger boys by sliding down the pole. He yelled "sliding like Mcreadie" yes thats right more Balamory assocaitions...lol

Anyway off to the park again this afternoon. Got to take advantage of this glorious weather while it lasts.

Fun At The Doctor

Yesterday we went to see Evan's gastro specialist for a check up and review. The last 2 times we've been, Evan has been a nightmare, crying and trying to bolt out the door. I think its because the Dr is located at the hospital and thats also where Evan has had 2 procedures. So its an association thing.

DH couldn't come with me this time, so I was just dreading the visit, how was I going to control Evan and manage to talk to the Dr at the same time. I decided I needed to do a bit more preparation this time, so I started talking to him about the Dr over the past week, played the Wiggles episode where the Dr visits Anthony. Also as luck would have it there was a Balamory episode where they visit the hospital. He loves this one, so I made sure we watched it again and again...... the things we do as parents!

Also my mum got Evan a Drs kit, it a little red bag with all the bits and pieces. He loved it and had lots of fun doing the Balamory Dr thing on his teddies. Things were looking good.

I am pleased to say it was a huge success. He was so well behaved at the Dr, he even thanked him when we left and gave him a cuddle! As we were leaving the hospital Evan said to me "had fun at the doctors". LOL

As for the actual prognosis, things are looking good. We are going to wean down to half dose of losec in about a week, but will be supplementing it with zantac for awhile. He has advised that we continue to use the neocate as him main source of calcium for now. From a growth perspective the Dr was amazed at how much Evan has grown. He is now almost 94cm and 16kg. The good news is that whilst he has grown in height, his weight has remained stable for the past 6 months, which is the outcome we want right now.

Circle Of Friends

Evan has started to gather quite a collection of stuffed friends lately. The little group seems to be growing at an alarming rate which is making bedtime and wake up time a real challenge. All the friends need to go to bed with him and leave the bed with him in the morning. He also chooses a selection to take to childcare or anywhere else he goes.

At last count he had 2 Mickeys, 1 Goofy, 3 Blue Puppies and 1 Ducky. Today the 2 Mickeys got to go to grandmas with him. I hope they are all having a good time.

We are going to Disneyland in September and I am starting to get worried about the number of "friends" we will bring back with us.

My Little Rock Star

Twinkle Little Star


This is Evan mastering his first musical composition. Sure its a rip off of some other song, but look at that guitar work. A mini rockstar in the making.

Just press play in the centre of the screen and it will start up, the resolution improves when it plays, so ignore the blurry screen for now.

Whats the story?

In Balamory.........wouldn't you like to know?.........Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

I am living in Balamory hell at the moment. Forget The Wiggles, Evan's new obsession is this ridiculous Scottish TV show called Balamory. Its possibly the worst show I've ever seen, the characters are all very strange, the live in different coloured houses and spend all their time singing or doing strage little dances.

Evan sings the song ALL the time and when its on TV he is just goes into a trance and won't be distracted by anything... even chocolate.

He has started to learn all of the different character dances, which they do during their solos. He has pretty much mastered PC Plum and Mcreadie's dances. He looks so cute doing the little jigs and he tries to hard to get it right.

Mr Picky Eater

Evan's been having a few little issue with his belly lately. Not sure whats up, but he often complains of a "sore tummy" or "full tummy". He's eating less than he normally does, so overeating doesn't seem to the be cause.

Anyway we are off to the gastro this Friday and will discuss it more with him and see what he thinks.

Meanwhile Evan is living on a pretty limited diet these days, he is just so fussy, there are a handful of things that he eats and I just rotate them or give him the same thing each day. I am sure this is normal toddler behaviour but its driving me insane.

A typical day's food includes: 1/2 125g yogurt for breaky. I give him the stuff with fruit in it as he doesn't mind bits, he seems to really enjoy the d'lite blueberry. Lunch is normally at daycare, he will have some sort of meat, usually a good portion, but refuses all veges and will only have about a tablespoon of rice or pasta. Afternoon tea he will have fruit, custard or sometimes a sandwich. Dinner is usually chicken or beeef with strawberries, potato (chips, wedges or some sort of chunks) and then more fruit like watermelon, apple or banana. He also has 2 bottles of his special formula during the day, they are 180ml each. It seems like alot when I write it down, but in reality he just picks at the food, so its never a good size portion.

Of course he will eat junk food all day if I let him. So we keep the occasional treats just for the weekend or special occasions, like parties.

Weekend Angel turns into Monday Night Terror

Had a wonderful weekend, Evan was just delightful the whole time. He was really in good form, talking up a storm, happy, smiley and just amazing really.

We took advantage of the glorious weather and spent most of the weekend outdoors at the park or just pottering around.

There is a great kiddies playground a block from our place and its become the meeting place for all the local toddlers. The kids love it and its great for mum & dad too as they get to meet some of the local parents. We really must make more of an effort to go there more often. Evan spent time doing laps of the park and just wore himself out.

Unfortunately things went a bit downhill last night. He was really unsettled when we picked him up from childcare and the smallest thing would set him off. He had at least 3 major tantrums which involved throwing himself down on the floor and just wailing. They were over trivial things like taking his clothes off for the bath.

He didn't want any dinner and basically just wanted a bottle and to go to bed at 7pm. He was really clingy and fell asleep cuddled up beside me, holding onto me for tight. Its really strange as he has never been like this before, not sure whats up.

This morning he was still not quite himself and he has no appetite, I suspect its his reflux playing up. So I will be doubling up his meds for a bit to see if it improves things.

Hoping that things are better tonight.....stay tuned.