My favourite kind of sandwich

 

Kayden made this for me today. I think its meant to be a sandwich. He showed me how to eat it, then put it in my hand and said "Thank you!" then walked away.

Yummiest sandwich I've ever seen. I wasn't as keen to try it though.

Kids.

=)

Is this a sign?

 

I didn't realize we do this so often that Kayden's actually copying us!  But obviously we spend way too much time on things like these. 

Over here, we live for the food

 

Hi again. We have been buzzing around here! Of late, there has been bursts of warm sunny days. And we are loving it!

I thank my lucky stars for being on an extremely friendly street. We have since got to know our neighbours really well and we are all zipping in and out each other's houses. And we've only been at our new place for just over a month. The kids play together, and we've been taking turns making lunches. It makes such a difference having great neighbours.

Above is a photo of Kayden with his mate Harrison. They are only 4 months apart. The closeness in age means his mum and I have alot in common to talk about! We have even started swim class with them! More on that later.

With a spanking new kitchen, I've been whipping up a storm in there too. I've been churning out baked goods at least once a week. We have to feed those kids something don't we? Us Moms will have nothing less than fresh homemade muffins for afternoon tea of course. Blueberry, double choc chip, apple and cinnamon muffins in our tummy!

 

But sometimes even food fails to impress. Like this mince beef taco wrap I made the other day. 

Kayden took one look at it and literally said "Nah."  I was so taken aback by that, I burst out laughing. It's not very often my baby refuses food! My rice baby no see no rice on the taco! He ended up having leftovers instead. 

Have rice equals happy baby.

All aboard

Following my previous post about his love of soft toys, this is what Kayden does.

He carefully arranges his little plush friends on his little couch then proceeds to squeeze his nappy bum in between them all as well. If someone were to fall off, he jumps off his seat with a "OH!!!" and then rearranges everybody once again. This little activity keeps him occupied for all of ten minutes or so.

Mommy is NOT allowed on it with them. 

It really is entertainment for Mommy and Daddy when he does this. I bend over laughing so much when he gets all frustrated, does the "Oh no!", and then does a pouty lip face haha!

Storytime

Of late, Kayden has been really into his books. He brings me a book, and asks for it to be read to him. When I say "OK. Come on!", he climbs onto my lap or goes to sit in his bed for storytime.

He's also really into his soft toys lately. And he MUST share all activities with a friend or two.

It gets tricky when I have to balance all 3 of them on my lap, hold and flip the pages as I read!

Brown confetti

 

Wednesday afternoon was apparently the warmest winter's day since they started recording the weather some 150 years ago.  There was no stopping Kayden from going to the door, saying "Open! Open!". Yea, that seems to be the word of the moment now. He perfected it during his escape fiascoes.

We have yet to lay out the lawn. It won't be happening till spring time, but that didn't stop Kayden from bringing his book and bowl of snack (not pictured) into the backyard for some time in the warm winter's sunshine. 

He poked around at weeds, peered into empty bottles that tradies left behind and did a perfect impersonation of a wild hippie child going "Wheeeeeeeeeeee!!!!' in circles around the yard. 

When he got tired, he plonked his nappy bum down, and was throwing  handfuls of dirt into the air like brown confetti over his head. 

Just before the warmth disappeared, we went for a walk around the neighbourhood and he made some new little friends on our street. (with K covered in dirt and all haha!)

Loving life at the moment!

Co-sleeping

Depending on the way I look at it, it is both a good thing and a bad thing. Of course I am acutely aware that there are the risks of co-sleeping even at K's age, but when exhaustion takes over, you surrender.

While we were away in Singapore at my parent's place, Kayden and I shared a room. We each had separate beds, but sometimes I would find him snuggled up right next to me in the middle of the night. I hadn't gotten used to caring for a cheeky toddler without hubby's help and was naturally tired at the end of most days. So I let him. When we got back to Melbourne, my toddler became even more clingy, probably due to yet another change of environment. And then again, when we moved to our new home a couple of weeks back.

It is fair I think, not to expect him to be sleeping on his own, in an unfamiliar room now.

It has been just over 2 weeks since we have moved in. And I have started the process of weaning him off sleeping with us. I can't bear hearing his distressed cries of "Open! Open!" (his room door) as he tries to open it. He has succeeded once and tumbled out of his room right into our arms as we stood outside listening in. Just to make sure he is ok. Once we saw him putting his toy keyboard under the window, lifting the blinds and trying to climb out of the (locked) window!

So, I give in most nights (even thought I know it shouldn't), snuggle into his bed with him and help him doze off to sleep, then tip toe out of his room.  Of course it is only my own fault Des and I are both rudely awoken (despite the baby monitor being on the lowest setting) every single night by his cries.

If you have been through this, or know of someone who has, share with me your experiences! I would love to hear and learn. It's going to be a loooong journey towards sleeping on his own. One for both him and us.