making it better

I've had a very busy time at work lately - it's tricky enough juggling a full time job and looking after a little person and attempting to keep your house in a vaguely habitable if not exactly 'clean and tidy' state. But when full time work turns into working late into the night and going in on a weekend and things still going wrong then it's downright depressing.

I had one of those 'I've had enough' moments a few nights ago, feeling sorry for myself while slumped on the living room floor with my rushed dinner lying unappealing and uneaten on the plate next to me, and Alex on the other side - I said to Alex. "Mum's not feeling so good, can you give mum a kiss to make her feel better?"

I interrupt this story to provide some context. Haydn and I have been hugging and smooching Alex on a regular basis pretty much since he emerged from the womb, so these days he just about tolerates it or waves a vague disinterested hand in our general direction when ever we go in for another hug.

So there I am, not expecting much from my request and what does Alex do?

He turns from whatever he's doing - probably playing with the iPad or re-programming the cordless phone, gives me a big kiss on the cheek, acompanied by a loud 'mwah!' sound then turns back to what he was doing.

It was one of the loveliest moments of my life.

Access all areas

Because we see him, dress him, carry him around every day - it's easy to not notice that Alex is getting bigger, taller, heavier all the time. What we do notice is his ability to reach things - the buttons outside the lift, the emergency bell button inside the lift (hmm...) and the handles of all the doors in our apartment.

What this means is now Alex has access to any room in the house when ever he wants it. This is a slight problem if you happen to be trying to get some work done or having a nap in the bedroom or you're a house guest attempting to use the bathroom and Alex chooses that time to storm into the room.

So while we appreciate his persistence and enthusiasm we now have to work on his timing.

Location:Sydney

the holy grail

 I've found it

The answer to my problems

The holy grail of toddler hair cutting.

Not sure if watching TV and driving is a good lesson in safe
driving

Kidiz is a kids hair salon where the little people sit in little cars - that's right with actual wheels in them - watch their own personal TV featuring Dora videos while a friendly chap with an emo (that's Emo not Elmo) haircut quietly chops off their locks while they barely notice.

You might remember our last visit to the hairdresser. Trust me, the post and photos represent about 5% of the trauma of that experience.

We even had time to try some "Emo" styling

Let me take you through the experience at Kidiz. Alex excitedly gets into his little yellow car, adjusts the mirrors, turns the wheels and settles into watching his personalized Dora the Explorer video. Mum, hiding behind the next chair nervously watches as the smiling young man with the trendy hair gets his scissors out. He snips, he shapes, he thins, he styles, he even puts some child sized product through Alex's hair and not a groan, a peep, a wimper from Alex. Until...


It's all over and we have to take him out of the car.

Ta da! The finished product

But that didn't last long and best of all Alex no longer needs to sweat profusely behind an ever encroaching mop of scraggly blond hear. 

Santa and Alex - the difficult years

ho ho NO!!!!

Last year Alex was new to the world and everyone was new and strange, so a man in a red suit and big bushy beard was no big deal. Next year, perhaps he will be more comfortable, maybe even excited about this jolly fellow and his promise of presents and cake and reindeer led fun.

This year, well, things didn't go quite so well.

 It seems Alex didn't fully appreciate the swarovski crystal display, the over priced Santa and the fact that it's the first year the Queen Victoria Building in Sydney has hosted a Santa and the queue after we left was over 3 hours long!

 No... He just wanted out of there.


      

 Other Christmas themed events were more successful, like the daycare Christmas party from which I've posted a video below. He didn't exactly sing along to jingle bells but there's definitely an enthusiastic foot shuffle going on.

 

Will post photos of actual Christmas day and some of Alex's favourite presents, or at least his favourite wrapping paper soon....

a new years non-resolution

I don't do new years resolutions - they don't last and I've always felt that spring is a better time to give birth to new plans and reinvent yourself.

But if I was to have just one...

itsy bitsy resolution

for the beginning of 2012

It really should be to update this blog more.

Being this full time worker, toddler wrangler, swimming coach, partner, lego builder, friend, cook, cleaner, family member etc. etc... ah, enough with the excuses... The truth is I love updating this little blog about my beloved Alex. It's just one of the long list of things (see above) I procrastinate about.


So for my new year's non-resolution I vow to make more an effort to update this little blog... or something. For the friends and family who enjoying taking a peek at how little Alex is progressing, for the random strangers who stumble across it and for the little man himself to one day look back on his early years and perhaps understand a little more about himself.