Brothers at 6 months!

August 2009: Aston 6 months old, 8.8kg, 63cm

 

February 2012: Zachariah 6 months old, 7.9kg, 66cm

Advent 2011

Last year we followed the countdown to Jesus' birthday with our new advent calendar. This year it's out again, the plan is to read a portion of the Christmas story from the bible and do a Christmasy activity each day. To fit with my disorganization and in an effort to stay flexible I've made a list of activities to chose from each day.  

So far we've just managed to add pieces to our felt nativity scene to build a stable.

Stay tuned for more advent fun!

Fireman Love

Aston has had a "baby in my tummy" ever since we told him I was pregnant with Zachariah, I thought when Zach was born that Aston's baby would be born too. It seems however that Aston's baby was younger than Zach as he was born today.

He has been named "Fireman Love", I have no idea why although I'm pretty sure it has something to do with Fireman Sam, and has gone everywhere with us today. We gave Aston this doll for Christmas and until now he has been called "Baby".

Here is Aston with Fireman Love in a carrier




And here he is giving Fireman Love some milk

Two Boys

My two boys are so very different, I know I shouldn't be surprised but I'm amazed at how we can tell the differences in their personality at such a young age.

Aston was a very laid back baby, he would cry when he needed something and had moments of unsettledness but he definitely wasn't a 'screamer'. Zachariah is not a 'screamer' either but he does make a lot of noise when he wants something.

Zachariah is still working out how to breastfeed, he's getting a lot of milk but we're still learning what to do. By this time I'm pretty sure Aston and I had worked things out. Aston loved to feed too- he had milk every 2 hours or so and would take it every time it was offered. Zach eats every 3-4 hours and does not comfort feed, if I offer him a feed when he's not hungry he will cry!

Aston did not move very much at this age, Zachariah is always trying to move, he pushes himself up to stand when you hold him on your lap. He even tries to crawl during tummy time!

They look very different, Aston had a very round chubby face at this age and blue eyes, Zach is slimmer and has dark eyes- I think they are turning brown.

They have some similarities too, they both love being in the bath. They both have (Aston had at this age) a longish sleep period of 4-6 hours in the evening and lots of cat naps for the rest of the day.

I'm really enjoying seeing both my boys grow and learn and I'm looking forward to seeing them continue to grow up together.

Waiting for Baby

Today I am 40 weeks and 6 days pregnant, that's theoretically 6 days overdue. This shouldn't surprise me as Aston was 9 days late but it is starting to get a bit tiresome.

I know the baby will come when he's ready and I know that technically full term is anywhere from 37 to 42 weeks. However I'm well and truly ready to have this baby!

This afternoon I have my "postdates" appointment at the hospital where we will probably be booked for an induction. I'm not terribly keen to be induced especially if it means being confined to a bed strapped to monitors. I'm also not terribly keen to have a 2 week overdue baby who weighs almost 5kg!

I've been praying for baby to come and praying for patience and I know that in 2 weeks time all this worry and stress will be irrelevant but I just want to get on with it and have a baby!

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Bec's Prayer Letter - Special Blog Edition

Dear Blog Readers :-)
 
I'm sending this in my second week of leave from Credo, as predicted I didn't quite get everything done before I finished work including sending this update! I'm currently 35 and a half weeks pregnant and enjoying the break at home, although I feel like there is still a lot to do before baby arrives.

Credo News
My Credo colleagues are currently in the swing of Mid Year Evangelism (MYE), there are teams leading HSC study camps, kids clubs, ministering to International Students and even a mission trip to Taiwan! Please pray for them, that God would be glorified.

Credo is also gearing up for our biennial mission in August "More" www.more.org.au baby is due around this time so I will be watching mission activities from a distance via email and the website.


Spires News
We are enjoying a bit of a break at the moment, Stuart is on uni holidays and it's been really nice to relax as a family. Baby Number 2 is due in 4 and a half weeks and we still have a few bits and pieces to organise before then, including finding a name!

Please be praying that all would go smoothly, that we all adjust well to being a family of four and that baby ends up with a name!

Thanks for your continued prayer and support - stay tuned for news of Baby Number 2!

Love From

Rebecca, Stuart and Aston

Crafty

On Wednesday I took my neices to a Craft Workshop at Gleebooks in Dulwich Hill. The workshop was run by Kelly Doust who wrote "The Crafty Kid" and "The Crafty Minx".

Aston was supposed to come too but he was too sick. After Chloe and Meg had finished creating their craft, (Meg decorated a singlet for her new baby cousin and Chloe created some fabric art to hang on the wall). They wanted to choose some fabric to give to Aston, one of the pieces they chose had a picture of a camera on it.




Aston likes to pretend to take photos so I thought I would attempt to be crafty and create a fabric/pillow camera for him to play with.

First I cut out the camera shape with a piece of backing fabric the same size and pinned them together inside out.




Then I sewed the two pieces together. I had a lot of trouble with the sewing machine - not sure if the problem is me or it- but I got there in the end.



Next I cut up some old PJ's from the rag bag into strips for the stuffing.



Then we stuffed our pillow




And here is the finished product!



Say 'cheese'

Medicine

Aston has been sick. We took him to the Dr yesterday who said both of his eardrums looked as though they were about to burst! He was so miserable, hot and shivering and only wanted to sit and have cuddles. His cousins came over and he didn't even want to play with them which is really unusual!

Stuart and I were not looking forward to having to give him another course of antibiotics.

He used to like having medicine until a few weeks ago when we ended up in RPA's emergency department. We were sent there by a GP who was worried Aston's cough and rattly sounding chest were signs of pneumonia. After enduring attempts by 3 different doctors to take a blood sample while being wrapped in a sheet and held down, Aston spent the next week or so objecting to anyone trying to do anything to him. Including brushing his teeth and giving him medicine.

It would take two of us to squirt antibiotics into his mouth which he would then spit out!

This time around it was the same the first lot of antibiotics were painful and we managed to get him to swallow less than a third of the recommended dose of panadol. I bribed him with chocolate the second time which worked for the antibiotics but again he only had some of the panadol.

This morning he woke up feeling much better with no fever and ready to play. Stuart told him it was the medicine that made him feel better and Aston seemed to like that idea. At breakfast he said his ears were sore and actually asked for more medicine!

Since then he seems to be coping with having to take it, it still takes a bit of coaxing and the occasional bribe but we no longer have to force feed him!

Work

I'm realising more and more how much information Aston absorbs without us deliberately trying to teach him anything.

Here is a conversation I had with him about work.

A: I am a lady
Me: What are you doing?
A: Going to work
Me: Men go to work too
A: Daddy is a man (in a tone of voice as if to say 'but daddy doesn't go to work')

In another work related conversation, I was trying to get Aston to stand up so I could lift him out of the bath. His response was "no, I'm doing work!" which is what he gets told when he wants one of us to play with him while we're working...






Aston not doing work...


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2011 So Far

It has been quite a while since I last blogged. Life has been pretty busy, and my laptop screen has died which has been extremely inconvenient.

I'm writing this on my iPhone using a wireless keyboard. It's rather weird because my phone is about a metre away from me charging on the kitchen bench while I am sitting typing at the kitchen table.

The main reason for my lack of blogging is our new 2011 routine, Stuart started a Masters of Urban and Regional Planning this semester which he really enjoys (yay!) and I am now working 3 days a week. I really don't know how families survive with two full time working parents, the two of us are 'working' part time and it feels like every day is an effort.

I was at Credo's Easter Conference (ETC) over the long weekend - there were some amazing talks on "the End" by Murray Smith, it was exciting to look towards the New Creation and know that we are part of it now through Jesus' death and resurrection.

ETC was followed by a few days off, mostly just hanging out at home, doing a bit of shopping and yesterday we took Aston to the Powerhouse Museum. There was lots of fun stuff for him to do and he had heaps of fun!

I'm really not looking forward to getting back into it on Monday

However it's not all bad, I am constantly amazed at how good God has been to us. After a year of being unemployed, Stuart is doing something he enjoys and that will hopefully help get a job he enjoys. I love working with Credo and an extra day a week is not painful at all - the extra money has been helpful too. We both get to see Aston when he is awake and spend one-one time with him and God has provided some amazing friends who love looking after Aston on Mondays - he loves them too!

The manic rushing around will be over soon, only two more months until the end of semester and my maternity leave. Hopefully I'll have a month of rest before baby number 2 arrives, and then a new type of craziness will begin!




Aston and Stuart at The Powerhouse museum

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Bye Bye Nappies!

Yesterday we put most of Aston's nappies in a box and now he wears Big Boy Undies!

We had talked about it for a few days, he was quite keen on the idea of getting rid of the nappies but as I placed the box on top of my wardrobe there were a few tears.

Day one wasn't too bad, there were a few accidents, lots of trips to the potty with no results and one decent wee... I think he still needs some practice but that's ok

We attempted toilet training a few weeks ago and at this stage I was quite discouraged. Since then I've read "The No Cry Potty Training Solution" by Elizabeth Pantley. She says learning to go to the toilet is like any other skill, you wouldn't expect a baby to know how to walk perfectly after one day so why expect him to know how to use the potty perfectly after one or even three days?

It makes perfect sense and I don't know why I expected Aston to unlearn almost 2 years of nappy training in a just few days!

So, here we are again, there may be wet undies and wet floors but day by day Aston is learning more and more!




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Advent (Day 25) It's Christmas day!

With Nana :-)





"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. "Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world,
but in order that the world might be saved through him. (John 3:16-17)

Happy Birthday Jesus!

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Advent (Day 24)

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the
law, so that we might receive adoption as children.
(Gal 4:4-5)




The blurry thing in Aston's hand is a My First Christmas baby dog tree ornament. Grandma gave it to Aston last year.


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Advent (Day 23)

We had trouble getting a decent photo today... Here we are with Aunty Belinda



And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road. (Matt 2:12)



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Advent (Day 22)

On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
(Matt 2:11)





With Aunty Liz :-)

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Advent (Day 21)

Today we are at Grandma and Grandpa's!

When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. (Matt 2:9-10)



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Advent (Day 20)

Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem,
saying, "Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage." (Matt 2:7-8)




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Advent (Day 19)

They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: 'And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler
who is to shepherd my people Israel.'" (Matt 2:5-1)




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Advent (Day 18)

When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.
(Matt 2:3-4)



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Advent (Day 17)

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, "Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its
rising, and have come to pay him homage." (Matt 2:1-2)