Jesus in a box

A conversation in the car today...

BallFiend: That tree looks like a Christmas tree [on seeing a very tall conifer in the front garden of a house]. Christmas is Jesus' birthday. Actually, I know the true story about Jesus...

Me: How do you know about Jesus?

BallFiend: Well, F. [another prep kid at school] told me... Some people wanted to kill Jesus. They were angry with him because they thought he'd done something wrong. But he'd actually done good things. So they killed him by nailing him to a cross. And then they put him a box and took the box away somewhere. And then his girlfriend went and she found the box and asked "are you alive?" and then the box thought she was talking to it and said "yes I'm alive".  But Jesus wasn't [alive].
And that's for real!

So there you have it: the true story of Jesus.
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Portrait of Zoe

BallFiend's drawings are almost always very technical, usually they are aerial views of pipes with various marbles or other objects rolling around in them. Or cross-sections of plumbing...

BallFiend's drawing of the bathroom sink in cross-section, done in early-2012.

He almost always draws in pen or texta and usually only uses one colour, occasionally two or three.

So I was amazed to discover this picture whilst going through BallFiend's school bag yesterday afternoon (during the daily check for important school notices):

"Zoe", portrait by BallFiend, 24 October 2012.

He said proudly: "It's a 'self-portrait of Zoe". Zoe is a girl in his prep class and someone who he has become quite friendly with recently.

We showed it to DeepSpice when he got home, and after some discussion, DeepSpice established that this wasn't actually a self-portrait and that BallFiend was in fact the artist. BallFiend assured us he drew it all himself... though I do wonder if he worked on it with Zoe - the eyes and nose are very much in BallFiend's own style, but I've never seen him draw a mouth/teeth, or a Sun, and he's never done sky and grass like that before.

The picture is also interesting because he rarely even does any representative drawings and I reckon I can count on one hand the number of times BallFiend has drawn a representation of a person that he knows!

There was the time he drew Gran, back when he was 3-and-a-half. Then there was this picture he did of "Mum and me":

"Mum and me" by BallFiend, 28 May 2012.

There is also this picture he drew on Mother's Day earlier this year, while we were dining out, but it was just a face, not of anyone in particular:

A face, by BallFiend, 13 May 2012.

These pictures show how he has been focusing on how to represent facial features (it took The Librarian, with her fine art background, to point this out to me!)

It's lovely to see all BallFiend's thinking about how to represent a face come together into a whole drawing. It's also great to see BallFiend developing new friendships. I just hope Zoe doesn't take having a green nose and yellow teeth the wrong way!

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The end is in sight

The past two days have seen a slight lull in enthusiasm in Thumper's campaign to conquer the toilet - on balance there were several more misses than hits. And her progress continues to be annoyingly hindered by the "shy wee", which makes it's presence felt but then disappears as soon as Thumper sits on the loo. The bath-time wee last night was a particularly annoying one, with Thumper getting in and out of the bath three times over to sit on the toilet. Eventually she was successful and enticed the shy-wee out, but unfortunately there was a lot of water dripped all over the bathroom and toilet in the process.

Today (Day 5) has seen Thumper return to form, starting off in the morning with another dry night nappy followed by a wee on the toilet in the morning. Thumper had creche today and the carers were all very excited when she arrived wearing undies. She used the toilet with no problems all day for wee. However poos are proving more difficult - Thumper had two 'accidents'. . Apparently after one of them, she approached a carer and said "I've had an accident, by accident." which not surprisingly caused a bit of confusion! (I'm just glad I was at work today and wasn't around for the clean-up. Hopefully, Thumper works out the number-two part of the process soon... that would be nice.)

Accidental accidents aside, I'm so excited and impressed with how quickly this has all happened (once Thumper took it upon herself to start, that is). And the overnight dry nappies are a complete bonus! I'll be totally amazed if she becomes dry at night at the same time as during the day!
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Breaking news from the potty

It's definitely looking like yesterday's efforts were not just a fluke. This morning Thumper had a dry overnight nappy again. And just like yesterday, she took it off soon after getting up and did her wee in the potty... with much acclaim from DeepSpice and myself, and to a lesser extent, from BallFiend.

During breakfast, a small number-two escaped into her "undies" (actually some really fantastic training pants which I can highly recommend), but for the rest of the day, she's had no problems putting her wee in its place... even while we were out for most of the morning at the police community day - which I must add the kids really enjoyed! 

Thumper ready for duty. (BallFiend refused to get in.)

Thumper behind the wheel. (BallFiend refused to get in.)

Thumper tries out a career in traffic management. (BallFiend still refusing to get in but concedes to a photo outside the divvy van after being promised we would go and get a sausage straight after.)

This was definitely DeepSpice's highlight of the day. Pity we didn't get a photo of him with the chopper!

Thumper with me, ready to go after those high-rollin' crims on the habour. (At first, BallFiend refused to get on... but then...)

BallFiend finally overcomes his reticence to join in.

Of course, it all went horribly wrong when DeepSpice told a  dad-joke
and was summararily sentenced for a three-month stint in a re-education camp.  

We were out of the house from about 10:30 am until 1:00 pm, and it wasn't until right at the end that Thumper asked to go to the toilet. She wasn't even phased when I took her into the dark, dingy, smelly public toilet block. She sat right up on the big toilet and made a noble attempt to do her wee. Unfortunately, the wee was 'shy' again and nothing happened. But she held on with apparent ease until we got home, then went on her potty with no trouble. 

Later in the afternoon, I was out gardening and DeepSpice was in the shed (working on a long-overdue project to build us a new letterbox). Thumper and BallFiend had been helping me, but after a while Thumper decided to go and find more interesting things to do. Sometime later, Thumper emerged from the house with wet hands. She announced that she had just washed her hands and when we asked her why she informed us that she had just done a wee on the toilet, specifically "the big toilet, not the potty. All by myself!" And once again, DeepSpice and I started jumping around like deranged monkeys, congratulating our newly-independent daughter. And of course Thumper joined in, adding "I'm so proud of myself." with an enormous grin on her face. 

And so here we are at the end of Thumper's second day of toilet-training. I have just hung a load of nappies out on the line to dry. Is it possible that it might be the last time? I can't quite believe it, but I really do hope so!

Nappies drying... soon to be a long distant memory, I hope!

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"I have a wee (coming)!"

It's been a long time since I have discussed the bodily functions of Thumper, mainly because there's been nothing much to report. Until now that is...

Thumper seems to have decided that today is the day that she will toilet-train. So far 4 out of 6 wees have successfully made it into the potty or the toilet.

1. She woke in the morning and wanted her (dry!) night-nappy taken off, saying she needed to do a wee. She successfully did her entire over-night wee in the potty.
2. Later in the morning she made a few attempts to wee on the potty but nothing came out, then about an hour later, she wet her undies.
3. Another wee success - this time in the toilet whilst we were out visiting Great-Aunt-F.
4. Later again, another attempt to wee in the toilet, but no success so the nappy went back on, only to be wet a few minutes later. 
5. Just as we were about to get in the car to go home, Thumper made sure she was keeping us in our place by filling her nappy (number twos this time!).
6. At home again, lots and lots of false alarms before another wee mostly made it into the potty... just a bit on the floor in the rush to get to the potty in time.  
7. And just now, another success - one wee entirely contained in the potty!

Immediately before racing to the potty/toilet, Thumper is heard to yell "I've got a wee coming!" (or sometimes just "Wee!").

The main thing that seems difficult for Thumper is actually letting go once she is on the potty/toilet. She's mostly fine with holding on till she gets there, but then can't seem to let the wee out. But given today's efforts, I'm sure she'll work it out soon.

I can't wait till we're a nappy-free household! I think we might even have a party!
--

Dr Thumper

Our conversation during a nappy-change today.

Thumper: "I can't wait till I'm a doctor."

Me: "You want to be a doctor?"

Thumper: "Yes. I want to be a doctor."

Me: "What kind of doctor?"

Thumper: "A medicine doctor."

 

Go on kid, make me proud!

-- 

Take heed!

Scene: I am cutting up a watermelon; Thumper is watching intently. 

Thumper: Mum, be careful not to cut your fingers off.
Me: I will. I’ll be careful to not cut my fingers off.

Once the task was complete…

Thumper: Well done Mum! You didn’t cut your fingers off.

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Phillip Island

September school holidays rolled around and we took off Phillip Island for a week. Fun times had by all, though many of them rudely interrupted by whining and temper tantrums, such is the way of family holidays with small children. 

We stopped on our journey to Phillip Island at the wonderful Australian Garden at Cranbourne and we were greeted on the walk from the car park by a hungry bandicoot.

Thumper loved seeing the bandicoot, BallFiend was more interested in the irrigation pipes that ran along the other side the footpath. We spent several hours wandering around the garden - even Thumper walked the entire way. Then, at BallFiend's insistence we climbed up the look-out tower before going back to the car (by this stage, Thumper was worn out so I got to build up my muscles carrying her for about a kilometre back to the car). 

Once settled in at our holiday accommodation, we began our Island adventuring. First stop: the Chocolate Factory...

Our chocolate-swizzle creations, travelling along the conveyor belt
until they popped off the end and into our mouths.

Mandatory gimmicky-tourist photo.

The weather was very ordinary, with every day being overcast and often rainy... except for one. So we took the kids for a walk on the beach.

The walk over the dunes to the beach.

We arrived on the beach fully-clothed and although the day was sunny, it was only 20 degrees and very windy. But this did not dampen the enthusiasm of BallFiend to go paddling. And, as one might predict, it wasn't long until fell flat on his face in the calf-deep water and was soaking-wet. After a few tears, he was right back into it. This time much more sensibly dressed...

And of course it wasn't long until Thumper decided she was joining in.

"Raaahh! I'm a dinosaur!" 

BallFiend leading the way. Thumper not so sure about actually getting her feet wet.

Important work: Thumper collecting sand to throw into the sea.

DeepSpice showing off his stone-skimming skills to BallFiend.

Dressed for the walk back to the car in my top. BallFiend was embarassed about wearing a 'dress' until we told him it looked like the tunic of a Roman soldier. 

We also went walking on the beach on the cloudy, rainy days. Whilst there was no paddling, there were lots of interesting things to look at:

A dead puffer-fish... endlessly fascinating to BallFiend.

Local childcare facility.

BallFiend found 'a really good stick' which he used to apply a definite article.

We did lots of other stuff including a cruise out to Seal Rocks to get a very up-close look at the seals that hang out there. There are no photos of the seals because the water was so rough, I had to choose between holding onto the camera or holding onto Thumper. Given there were so many witnesses around, I thought it best that I prioritise Thumper. (Likewise DeepSpice had to hang on to BallFiend, so he couldn't take photos either!) But trust me, seeing the seals that close up in their natural environment was totally amazing! 

BallFiend being a Junior Captain on the journey back from Seal Rocks.

 Another day was spent at the maze/mini-golf attraction, which the kids (both big and small) loved!

DeepSpice, sent to the naughty corner.

Anyone for a serve of roasted Thumper?

And some roasted BallFiend?

After going through the puzzles section and then the outdoor maze, Thumper was tired but BallFiend was keen to go on to the mini-golf course. So BallFiend and I hit the golf course and DeepSpice took Thumper for play in the playground, followed by a restorative ice-cream... 

DeepSpice: "What flavour do you want?" Thumper: "Chocolate!" Of course. 

As soon as we finished the 18th hole, BallFiend wanted to play again. So DeepSpice took BallFiend for another round of mini-golf and I took over as Chief Ice-cream Assistant to Thumper. And quite frankly, I drew the short straw. DeepSpice had set Thumper up at an outside table, with a tail-wind blowing her hair into the ice-cream. He had also made the unforgivable mistake of buying the ice-cream in a cone, rather than a cup. Just seconds after DeepSpice left with BallFiend, the bottom fell out of the cone. I ran back into the ice-cream shop and asked for a cup and 1,000 napkins (to dry Thumper's 1,000 tears), but was not quick enough and half the ice-cream ended up all over the chair, table and floor as well as Thumper's lap.

The aftermath: icecream successfully transferred
to all surfaces within  a one-metre radius.

Other days during our week away consisted of more paddling on the beach in the freezing cold, visiting the local library, wandering about at The Nobbies (unfortunately half the boardwalks were closed because the birds were trying to have sex and didn't want to be interrupted) and a visit to Churchill Island Heritage Farm, which despite the pouring rain, was a real highlight! However if you ever go to there, take a packed lunch as the cafe prices are exorbitant, for example: $12.00 for a cheese and ham toasted sandwich!

Me, milking a cow at the Churchill Island farm! 

BallFiend wanted a photo that included the cannon and more importantly, the cannon-balls. He is holding his 'souvenir' (a horseshoe) which we finally gave in and bought for him after putting up with him nagging us to buy him a souvenir for the past 5 days. At least this is a genuine souvenir, because during the blacksmithing demonstration, they stamped BallFiend's initials into it... it's not just some crappy plastic 'Made in China' toy from a gift shop. Thumper has her blankie, because she is tired and just wants to go to sleep. 

We also spent a day at the Wonthaggi Coal Mine. There was some football thing on that day, so we thought it would be nice and quiet at all the tourist attractions. But it turns out everyone else was trying to avoid the football too, so when we arrived the first tour of the day was already booked out. Luckily the tour guides were very happy to put on a second tour, so after a quick lunch we were able to take the kids down a real (but no longer operational) coal mine. BallFiend even got a lump of coal to bring home.  

Wonthaggi Coal Mine: sending the kids off to earn their keep.

Wonthaggi Coal Mine: BallFiend enthusiastic about going down the mine...
Thumper perhaps starting to realise that she's about to become a child labourer. 

We stayed at a resort which was quite comfortable and had the advantage of having a big grassy area right in front of our apartment. The resort also had (much to BallFiend's delight!) a games room with a billard table and air hockey; they also had plenty of sports equipment to borrow... BallFiend loved being able to borrow a soccer ball, then a netball, then a volleyball, then a football, then a basketball and so on. Thumper's highlight was flying the kite. 

"I want to hold it by myself!"

We ate dinner at the local pub on several nights,
partly because they had great food but mainly because they had free wifi.

On our last day, we stopped off for one last game of mini golf on our way home and because we were there anyway, had a look around the nature park too. I was expecting the nature park to be a gimmicking tourist thing that would much interest any of us... we've all seen native Australian fauna before. But it was actually a really fun experience and great for little kids - especially Thumper who actually likes animals, unlike her big brother who is more interested in how their shelters are constructed. But even he got into it for a while...

Patting the "wobble-ees" as Thumper describes them.

BallFiend was in heaven when he found out that the mini golf was unlimited. DeepSpice and I less so. After lunch, DeepSpice drew the short straw and got to take BallFiend around the mini golf course again and again, whilst I took Thumper back into the nature park to pat cute little baby animals.

Thumper and a baby (9-month old) wallaby. Though apparently it is actually nearly fully-grown and is just about capable of reproducing. We were lucky to get this photo though - the nature park usually charges $20 to have an 'up close experience' like this - but there was no one else around and Thumper charmed the keeper with her sweetest smile.

Overall we had a good time at Phillip Island, the kids especially. It is definitely a great place to take kids. Just be prepared to empty out your wallet at every turn!


Postscript:
Upon arriving home, I opened up the dishwasher and discovered that we'd left a few dirty dishes in it. This is what grows on a spatula that is left in a warm, dark and slightly damp well-sealed cabinet for a week:

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