Time for an update...

SAM
Happy 8 weeks to Samuel for yesterday! Can't believe we have been a family of 6 for 2 mths now! It is just flying by too quickly.

Sam was scheduled to get his immunisations, but has been a bit sick with a nasal infection, so we have delayed them for a week or so.

He is such a happy, cheeky little monkey. So cute - I just want to eat him up!! He has started to vocalise heaps now and is always gooing and gahing, trying to tell us stories - all with a goofy grin on his face. He loves hearing mummys 'pirate voice' and when Daddy points out his eyes/ears/chin etc. He is still a bit wary when his older brothers and sister are around (which is understandable!! lol), but he loves watching them as they yell and run around the place.

Sleep wise, we are slowly getting there. He generally goes down around 9 or 10pm and will 'sleep through' til at least 4am. Since he has been sick though, he is all congested and keeps waking/stirring as it is hard for him to breathe. ...so he is doing really well to go the 6-7hrs that he does without a feed.

ETHAN

Mister Attitude and a half!! Fast heading towards 3 yrs old (another 'hard to believe' event). He has settled into daycare now, there is no tears and he loves telling us about his day, and talks about what he will do next time he is there.

He wants to take Sam into his school for show and tell this week, which is a huge improvement on refusing to acknowledge there was even a baby in the house!! Eth generally 'likes' Sam now - he talks to him and loves to tell us that Sam is looking at him, or smiling at him - only ocassionally do we have to tell him to 'get off', or stop throwing things at the baby *lol*

He has told us he wants a "Little People" birthday party and cake...which mummy would be happy with - big improvement on the total Spiderman obsession we had not long ago! Then it was "I am going to the shop in my spiderman car to buy a spiderman hat and I am going to wear my siderman shoes and my spiderman shirt and my spiderman pants and buy things with my spiderman money, out of my spiderman wallet".....he even asked for a spiderman fish once!!

Ethan is really fussy when it comes to getting dressed. He HAS to change out of his PJs right after breakfast and he has to approve the clothes that he will wear - gawd help us if the shirt/pants he wants to wear is dirty!!

He can recognise letters on the keyboard when we ask "what letter does Ethan/mummy/daddy/Meg/Zach/Grandma/Poppy/Jen/Kelly/Nicole etc etc etc start with?" He knows the colours green (like the grass) and blue. He can count correctly up to 7, then gets a bit confuzzled, goes back to 4, 6 then 8,9,10...then goes on to fourteen and nineteen *lol*

Speech wise - too cheeky for his on good. Will attempt any new word and then incorporates it into his everyday vocab - swearing included (oops!)

ZACH
Zach is going really well at school - particularly at Special School. He has connected easily with his new teacher, which is fantastic. She is lovely. We should find out in the next few weeks what he will be up to next yr - whether it will be full time SS, or a mainstream school with help from the special ed. unit. We are happy with whatever the teachers think will benefit Zach best, though I really think he won't be ready for mainstrem school by next yr. Hopefully he can have a yr or 2 at SS and then come back into the MS successfully.

His speech is coming along really well! Still have a few probs with stuttering, but that comes and goes - usually worse when he is tired. Behaviourally we have good and bad weeks still...hopefully we will soon have the majority good...fingers XXX'd!!

Zach is so in love with Sam - it is gorgeous to see the way he fusses over him - worries when he cries, and covers him up if he thinks he is cold. He comes home and tells Sam about his day and is just a great big bro!

MEG

My big girl....just turned 8 last mth!! That was a shock. My baby girl is growing up so quick. She is Miss Attitude as well - loves the sound of her own voice - can't seem to hear mine funnily enough - esp when I am asking her to tidy up etc *lol* She can however hear a choccy wrapper from 2km away! Meg has ben a big help with Sam - loves that she is allowed to pick him up and is always asking to cuddle him. She sings him songs and is drilling him in how to say "meg" as she is determined that it will be his first word!!

Meg is going well at school still and got top marks in her music (violin) which we were most proud about! She loves ringing her friends now - sign of things to come once we hit the teenage yrs I guess....that and the mood swings - gawd help us!!

Andy starts his new job on Friday (well has orientation day). He is training to be an RCO with disability QLD and I think he is going to be great. It is a huge change for him, but one I think was sorely needed. He will get so much more out of this job and it will be physically easier - no more bloody operations!!!

Anyway that is a quick catch up on us...