Our Little Tigger

Well, he's not quite so little anymore. Caelan is now almost 3.5 years old. However, he is our jumping tigger - he loves to jump and can get very excited about certain things like people coming over to his house. He announces 'Welcome to my house' and doesn't stop jumping and running until they have left! He is very energetic - loves to run, kick a ball, jump and dance to music. He enjoys playing with Elisha (most of the time) especially when they can chase each other, squeal and rumble together.

Caelan has always been a 'people' person and continues to display these tendancies. He will talk to strangers very easily, chat and ask many questions of tradesmen we have had at our place over recent months. He loves to give kisses to people when he says goodbye (not such an attractive idea to the 6yr old boy!) He is quite sensitive to people's moods and can be quite caring when someone is sad or has hurt themselves. Other kids can sometimes find him a bit in their face as he can talk to people with quite a lot of intensity sometimes.

We have recently put sand in our shell pool Caelan will spend quite a lot of time out there making all sorts of stories up - mostly involving cars and trucks of course. He is lover of numbers and patterns. He can count up to about 50 and loves loves loves puzzles. Everytime I think a puzzle might be too hard for him he proves me wrong. He will easily do a 60 piece puzzle all on his own. He even does puzzles upside down (as in the underside facing up.) He doesn't turn the piece over to look at the picture but just matches the shapes. This continues to amaze me because I don't think I could do it with as much ease as he does! He is also beginning to write numbers and letters.

He is love for books is developing more and more. His interest in books was slow to develop but now we have to have 2 or 3 each bedtime. His favourites at the moment are the books in the Dr Seuss series, which of course have the added benefit of giving mum and dad tongue tie.

Food with Caelan has been a source of contention since he was about one. Thankfully, we are making slow slow slow progress. His diet consists of more than just weet bix, avocado and pasta (as it did from from about 1- 2.5yrs). He now eats most meats and carbs and with some coaxing a few veggies. Fruit is still a no goer. Of course, all this means that at meal times we are still doing 'aeroplanes' or 'diggers' or something similar - but hey, the boy is eating!!

We continue to struggle through Caelan's tendancy towards high anxiety. It's challenges change from day to day, depending on his mood, how much sleep he has had and the weather (yes, Caelan doesn't like the wind). We had many victories earlier this year, seeing great progress in him. However, the last few months his anxieties have been on the rise again, which is terribly disheartening and often heartbreaking. Prayers for wisdom are constant as is pulling my hair out in frustration some days. The last few months have seen us go from 6months out of nappies to back into them full time. I know this was the right decision to make for him and me - it took one less stress out of our day... but it was such a hard decision to make.

Caelan is very excited about having another brother or sister. It changes constantly as to whether he'd like a brother or a sister. He loves babies in general and is so gentle around them. He frequently asks 'Are you going to pop, mummy?' (I can thank Adriaan for introducing him to such a romantic term). But he knows that 'When God says it's time, the baby will come'.

It has been particularly delightful over the last year and a half to watch Caelan grow in his knowledge, understanding and relationship with Jesus. He loves his bible stories of an evening and loves singing and playing his guitar along with daddy during our church gatherings. So we continue to hope in the one who changes hearts to walk with our precious Caelan and lead him into a life of love, hope, faithfulness and joy.

Our Mischievous Monkey

Well, it has been an awfully long time since I have posted an entry... not sure why... it just hasn't happened. So I figure I'll take the next few posts to update about our family.

The first is about our mischievous monkey, Elisha. Elisha is now 16months old. He may not be growing in stature all that much, but definitely growing in his thought processes! He is still (and I suspect now will always be) a small little guy. Weighing about 9.5kg (that's right about the average weight of a 10-12mth old) and is about 73cm tall. He is still in size 0 clothing!

However, his appetite isn't representative of his size. Elisha eats all the time. He loves his food and unlike his brother (who only eats because he has to), Elisha eats just about anything. He loves fruit, he'll eat his veggies and pretty much whatever I serve up to him. It's wonderful to have the experience of a child who actually enjoys a wide variety of food.

His words are few and far between. The only consistent words are 'daddy' and 'bye' (accompanied with the backwards wave). Just yesterday he put the two words together and can be heard saying 'bye daddy' when Adriaan leaves for work. It is very sweet. A little frustrating for me that he hasn't worked out how to say mamma yet... he just whinges and gets my attention I suppose. He has also never really picked up the whole signing thing - although he has just started signing 'eat', so we might see some progress yet!

Elisha is our little adventurer. He will often go off on his own and explore. He is a climber, finding his way to all sorts of heights. He has worked out how to get to things that are out of his reach.. such as moving the bathroom step to the toilet door to try and open the door handle. Yesterday, I found him on top of the dining room table. I think it must be his way of trying to be taller! He has a cheeky grin and glee in his eyes whenever he is trying something new or mischievous. Can make it very hard to discipline him!

He also loves the outdoors. Since walking at 13months, Lishi has loved following Caelan around the backyard and often venturing further than his older brother. Like any kid his age, bark and sticks are a real hit. He is social and loves to interact but yet also is happy to go off and play on his own.

He has a larrikin spirit and knows how to push his older brother's buttons. My father once described Lishi as 'street wise' and I am beginning to see that this was probably quite an accurate description! He is also very physically oriented, at both ends of the spectrum. He may be small, but he is definitely going to be the rough one! At the other end he is extremely affectionate. He snuggles right in, trying to mesh his cheek into mine and loves loves loves his cuddles. He will often stroke my neck or hair as he is hugging me.



Elisha has developed a bit of a curly top (noticed particularly after bath or a sleep) unlike his very straight haired brother. Kinda suits his shaggy personality. He is a delight to our hearts and it is a joy to watch him grow.