Even bright pink jumping castles are fun!

It was our friend Edie's 3rd birthday last week and to celebrate, her parents hosted a great birthday party. Having good inside information is always good when Eli is concerned, so I'd sold the party to him on the basis of the promise of a jumping castle (I think Eli would like to live in a big jumping castle and bounce around all day every day!).

True to form and after just a little bit of pre-empted shyness on his part (he told me in the car that he was going to be shy), Eli quickly gravitated to the jumping castle. He was a little bit put off by the colour, but thankfully he doesn't need everything to be blue these days (and at least he was wearing blue!).



Eli spent most of his first session on the jumping castle crashing into the walls (and, on occassion, the other kids), so after a while I got him to focus on seeing how high he could jump...He was content with that challenge for a little while, but then he set himself to trying to jump out the front of the castle completely...Needless to say, I spent most of the time at the party watching the jumping castle closely, especially when Eli and a few other boys decided that it would be fun to begin wrestling...



Mercifully there were no (major) injuries and Eli and Edie (and all of the other kids) had great fun jumping!

Collage crazy!

Eli absolutely loves collage. He's always talking about what he's done in collage at daycare, and at home he frequently occupies his time with cutting and pasting. At times like those I feel very grateful that he's a meticulous kid (no fingers lost to date!) that doesn't like being dirty - otherwise we would have a few run ins around his creative flair.

To further encourage his creativity, coupled with the fact that he is always asking me 'What can we make now?', we recently made a trip to the local art and craft shop for supplies and inspiration. What followed next was highly predictable. We got home and Eli opened all of the new collage materials and set about 'being creative'. Together we made a few caterpillars, a bug for grandad (for Father's Day), a robot, a hedgehog, some monsters and...



...a very big mess.



Whilst Eli doesn't like being dirty himself, he's more than happy to make our living room look like a bomb has gone off (perhaps this is just more creativity on his part?) and it took us ages to clean up the off-cuts...of course, it was still thoroughly worth it and thankfully, we still have a few bits and pieces that Eli didn't use in this one mega-collage session.

The visitor.

On the way home from the shops yesterday, Eli and I saw a white kookaburra. It had swooped down for a swim in the creek and was shaking itself on the railing near the bridge. It is pretty strange seeing a white kookaburra - from what I understand they are uncommon but not unheard of - so Eli and I did a u-turn and went back and watched him some more. We're pretty sure that he's part of the very big kookaburra family that routinely wakes me up at sunrise each morning...

Later that day, when Eli was playing out in our front yard, we had a visit from the white kookaburra. It perched in our Poinsiana tree, and watched Eli intently (in the hope that he'd disturb some tasty grubs with his digging and garden rumaging).



It was a pretty windy afternoon, so the white kookaburra's feathers were being blown around a bit and Eli and I thought that he looked similar to how Grandad looks when Eli messes his hair up (which happens almost everytime we get together!).



After Eli had finished playing in the front yard, the white kookaburra disappeared, but I have a funny feeling that we'll be seeing him around...

3 @ 2!

Eli's three boy cousins turned 2 this week! We headed over to their place to help celebrate their birthdays and here they are, Charlie, Harrison and Oliver, captured on one of those rare occassions where they are all still and facing more or less in the same direction (courtesy of the high chair restraints!).



Eli always enjoys a visit to his cousin's house as he and Alora get along really well. Some might say a bit too well, because they always seem to be running off and 'getting married' when they're together...and when pressed about what they've been up to, Eli is always very shy and quiet (not like him at all!).

Eli has always been pretty good with the boys too, but now that they're all up and about, he's really starting to enjoy their company. It has been pretty interesting watching how the boys have grown up and just how different they all are and how Eli interacts with each of them accordingly. Oliver is a speedy and rough and tumble sort of boy (just like Eli), and the two of them enjoy rolling around on the ground together - a bit like the photo below. I suspect they'll be wrestling in no time.



Harrison is a little more sensitive, but is always up for a fun game and I have noticed that Eli is a little more reserved around him (which is just as well, because Harrison tends to cry if things don't go his way). Charlie might just be the smartest of them all, because he is a very finely tuned 'Grandma spotter' and he'll immediately seek out refuge from the chaos, with either of his grandmum's, as soon as one of them comes into his line of sight. Eli is generally pretty gentle with Charlie too.

After playing for a while, Charlie, Oliver and Harrison were all happy to get into the swing of opening their birthday presents. Like most two year olds they were just as happy playing with the wrapping paper as they were with their gifts...



Eli had a great time celebrating with his cousins and I can see how he's really going to love playing with the boys as they get bigger and more mobile. I really love this very cheeky looking photo of Eli, captured when he was looking at me but incredibly mindful of the 'ticklemonster' to his right that was creeping up to get him!



And finally, here's the best I could do in trying to capture the boys with Grandma and Grandad and then with their sister and Mum and Dad.

Massive Saturday!

Occasionally I forget that Eli is just 4 years old. I decide that he won't get tired and that we can pack a million exciting things into a single day and he'll manage beautifully. And so it was yesterday, when we agreed to go to Alora's 5th Birthday party, followed by a daytime visit to the Mt Gravatt Show with Grandma and Grandad, followed by a short stop at home before hitting the show again at night to see the motor cross bikes, the monster truck and the fireworks.

Eli and I started our Massive Saturday with Alora's birthday party. There were almost 30 kids there and the theme was 'Princess and Prince', so Eli dutifully, but not too enthusiastically, wore a knight in shining armour costume that Grandma had picked up for him. Aunty Anne and Uncle Tyden had some great games organised, so with some encouragement and creative input from me (I just couldn't help myself), Eli made a great crown (it seemed like a very fast transition from Knight to King!).



The other game was a running race (separate ones for boys and girls) to retrieve swords, with fewer swords available than there were runners. I was a little bit worried about Eli in this event, because he does not like to lose and many of the boys were older and bigger than him. I needn't have worried though, because he was fast! In every race he came in second (and with a sword), so he was happy. He was also happy to hear that a few of the other parents had commented to me that he was very fast - there's nothing like a bit of positive reinforcement!

The only downside to the sword races and the insanely large number of swords on offer (which meant that every kid went home with one), was the fact that a large number of sword fights broke out after the races were finished. This concerned me a little bit, as I know how wildly Eli (and others like him) swing swords. This concern does not explain why I then asked Eli if he could procure a sword for me - which he dutifully did - and what followed was, in retrospect, entirely predictable. Once the kids noticed that I had a sword they attacked me and I occasionally would fall to the ground which just encouraged them even more. Eventually, I lay on the ground, being prodded and poked from all angles, and invariably a princess or two would also jump on me. Fortunately, we all got through these battles without any serious injuries, although someone did make my shin bleed...

At this stage of the day we weren't even half done and Eli (and I) were already pretty tired. Grandma and Grandad thought that Eli would fall asleep in the car on the way back home; I didn't, and I was right. We got home, refueled with some food and drink and then headed off to the Mt Gravatt Show. I knew this would be a hit with Eli, because we talked about it a lot and he remembers last year's show very fondly. In fact, what he most often talks about in reference to the Mt Gravatt Show is the fact that we missed out on seeing the motorbikes last year...hence the evenings activities which we'll get to soon.

As soon as we arrived at the Show we headed to the rides and Eli and I smashed around on the dodgem cars. Eli was also keen on the clowns (where everyone wins a prize), so he did that a few times too. I'm not sure if he was tired or overwhelmed, but he wasn't too excited about staying in this area, so we then headed off to pat some farm animals. Eli was fascinated with the depth of the wool on the sheep and we enjoyed saying hello to all of the sheep, goats, ducks and chickens. Eli decided that he'd like to hold a chicken, so he carefully scooped one up.




Grandad generously offered to buy Eli a showbag, so after some discussion and negotiating (by me), Eli selected one that he'd like, which featured Martians and had a bag and a beenie. He was so excited that we just sat down for a while and looked through all of the goodies in the bag and he promptly whacked on the beenie and the bag and asked 'Can we go home now?' We could and we did, but that's not where this story ends.




After an early dinner and with an eye on the Show program, Eli and I headed back out to enjoy the nighttime entertainment. We settled in on the hill, all geared up to watch the motorbikes, the monster truck and then the fireworks. Eli was pretty excited! The motorbikes were up first and they were pretty awesome, getting lots of air and pulling all sorts of incredible stunts. Eli was awestruck, he just kept saying 'Wow!'



Next up was the Monster Truck, called Scruffy (it was painted to look like a dog). It was incredibly noisy and Eli just couldn't quite get his head around the idea that it was going to smash the four cars that were lined up. Significantly less wow's from him this time, but I think he was just too shocked and amazed to offer up any noises...




And then the fireworks started! Eli has never seen fireworks up close like this before, and he loved it. The soundtrack helped to hide the loud bangs, so he wasn't the least bit frightened or concerned. About half way through he asked 'Are these real fireworks?' and I said yes and pointed out the trailer in the middle of the field that was firing the fireworks up into the sky. He was amazed.



At the end of the night I asked Eli what he liked best, whether it was the motorbikes, or the monster truck or the fireworks. He said 'I loved all of them'. Mission accomplished.

"The best campfire in the world"

After joyously receiving a huge bundle of gluten-free marshmallows from Grandma Susan when she visited us in June, Eli has been chomping at the bit to toast some on a fire. He also recently saw marshmallow toasting on a Shaun the Sheep episode too, so he's been suggesting this activity for a while now. In fact, Eli has been so keen that he's developed his own ideas on how this should happen. His plan has simply been that we should invite Ethan (his best friend from daycare) and a few other friends around and have a campfire in our backyard to toast some marshmallows. As appealing as that idea sounds, it is not only illegal, but the idea of me trying to prevent third degree burns across a diverse bunch of hyperactive four year old pyromaniacs isn't my idea of a fun afternoon....so, I've been trying to think of alternative approach. After a bit of research I eventually decided that a visit to JC Slaughter Falls - a picnic area near Mt Coot-tha that has wood-fired barbeques - might be just the ticket. When Eli heard this news he thought it was a great idea, so off we went for a bbq lunch with a marshmallow dessert.

The first highlight of the day for Eli was the fire (like a moth to a flame). This is the first time that Eli has been around a fire - let alone helped start and feed one - and he loved it! I'm sure that his enthusiasm rubbed off on me, because it wasn't long before we had a raging fire going and Eli proudly declared "This is the best campfire in the world!". Although comments like this go some way towards supporting my decision of not letting him near any fires until now, I must say that Eli did a really good job around the fire and he was cleverly cautious in that he'd ask me to throw the various bits of plant material that he'd scavenged onto the fire!



After a quick bbq sausage for lunch (Eli didn't eat much because he was much more interested in dessert), we grabbed some sticks, skewered our marshmallows and toasted them over the hot coals...



And here's a series of photos of Eli inspecting and taste-testing the end product...



I think he liked it.

Out for a walk.

It's been a bit of a dark and cold winter in Brisbane, so when the sun broke through the other day Eli and I thought that it might be nice if we let Zoomy and Swifty have a bit of a walk in the backyard.

Even though they've both slowed down as the weather has cooled, Zoomy, true to form, was pretty keen to get out and about and explore as soon as he was released onto the grass. He was certainly aware of our presence but didn't seem too bothered and he even looked at the camera for a few photos...



Throughout their stroll Eli and I took turns 'watching out for kookaburras' - to avoid a less than favourable end to the adventure.

After about 10 minutes, Swifty finally relaxed enough to poke his head out, look around and join Zoomy for a stroll.