The Perils of Potty Training

Now summer is upon us we've started Audrey potty training. As with most things 'baby' there is an array of books, videos, role playing games etc to teach your little one to sit on the pot. We've dispensed with all of these and are venturing our own way into the unkown. Audrey's potty is pretty fancy though - it looks like it could have been designed by Phillip Starke!

We actually had a success a couple of months ago when Audrey 'went' in the potty unprompted. The three of us ran round cheering and hi-five-ing. After that though she didn't show much interest in it. She clearly knew what it was for but chose not to use it - perhaps she couldn't face the excitement each time?

Amy bought a pack of 'big girl knickers' something which Audrey delighted in wearing and we've had the early accidents as expected. We're progressing slowly, led in the main by Amy.

Along the way a few people have told us how easy their offspring were to train, but equally I'm sure there are lots of 4 year olds still in nappies.

All was going well until Audrey forgot herself last night and I had to fish a couple of unwelcome poos out of the bath. Audrey at least had the decency to tell me how nicely they were floating as I lifted her out of the soiled waters.

More pictures of the kids

Here are some snaps we took over the weekend....

Eli celebrates at Chloe's first birthday party

Out the front of our house


Audrey and Eli


Eli at our picinic tea by the lake

Audrey at our picnic tea by the lake

New additions to the family

Last weekend we welcomed two new additions (guinea pigs) to the Hickman clan. It took a few days for Audrey to come up with the names. She decided to ignore our suggestions of: Thelma and Louise, Cagney and Lacey, French and Saunders, Bubble and Squeak and Bret and Jemaine (of Flight of the Conchords) and instead opted to go with.......Dora and Boots.

The piggies seem to be quite happy with their new names and as long as Audrey keeps popping carrot and apple into their cage I think they'll be quite content.

Boots gets a cuddle

Dora in the straw

Audrey with the guinea pig run (unfortunately Dora and Boots opted not to appear in this one)

Manuka Pool

It was a lovely sunny day today, not too hot, not too cold - the temperature somewhere around the high 20s. We decided to pay a visit to Manuka pool and took a picnic to eat on the grass.

Manuka pool is a lovely outdoor art deco place, built in 1930. It is absolutely heaving in summer as hundreds of Canberrans seek solace in the cool waters there. Fortunately as it was a Friday morning there was a bit more space. There is a lane pool and a smaller paddling/wading pool.

We'd tried Eli in the (much warmer) indoor pool at Audrey's swimming classses (at CISAC) the weekend before (he'd hated it) and similarly he screamed and screamed as I plonked him in the chilly waters. Disapproving mums watched me as I cajoled him for about 5 minutes until he got used to the temperature and stopped crying/screaming. In the end he really loved it and Audrey showed off her swimming skills in the shallow water.

It was a thoroughly enjoyable morning, except perhaps for the moment when we watched a little boy stand on the other side of the side of the pool, pull down his red trunks and wee into the water we were sitting in. We were a bit more careful about swallowing the water after that.

Eli and Audrey on the picnic rug

Eli in the herb 'garden'

Eli has really mastered sitting up over the last couple of days. He's still a bit wobbly and prone to falling sideways every now and again, but it's been remarkable watching how quickly he's worked out how to keep his balance .

It allows him to reach out for things in the world around him. Here's a picture of him playing with the herbs we've got outside of our house (which are kept watered courtesy of Eli's bath water). He smelt very minty afterwards!

In memory of Marek Edelman

Marek Edelman died last month aged 90. I hadn't heard of him until I read about his death, which is sad considering the remarkable life he led.

He was one of the leaders of the Warsaw Jewish Ghetto Uprising in 1943 a futile resistance by Warsaw's jews against the might of the Nazis. Incredibly he survived the conflict (300,000 jews from Warsaw died in Treblinka), and he returned to fight in the Warsaw uprising in 1944. I'm not sure why after that you would choose to stay in Poland, but he became a cardiologist and was then a key member of Solidarity. His life was a remarkable story.

Proverb Time

We've had some really warm temperatures over the last week and people keep telling us that it's about 5 or 6 degrees hotter at this time of year than it normally is.

As I mowed my lawn on Saturday I looked over at my neighbours beautiful grass turf (which had until a couple of weeks ago been dark emerald in colour) and noticed that it had been parched far more by the sun than our own weed infested lawn. Despite the sun's bombardment, our lawn still maintained a slight green hue.

Clearly therefore the adage 'the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence' isn't such an accurate proverb after all...

(I did however notice a whole lot of identical looking birds flocking together in the garden, but that's another story.)

South Durras

We had a week away in South Durras with Amy's parents last week. The week had it's highs and lows but fortunately a lot more highs than lows. Eli was a bit out of sorts for one day, cutting his first tooth, and Audrey found it hard to have her day sleeps so was a bit cranky at times. One night, after a visit to the zoo, she was convinced that there was a snake in her room!

There was a lot to keep us occupied - sandcastles to be built, fish to be caught, slides to go down and kangaroos to spot. It was our second visit to South Durras - this time we stayed in a cabin by the sea. It was lovely to sit outside and look at the ocean. Although it was whale watching season we didn't spot any (although Trevor wonders whether he spotted a couple on the horizon!)

Here a few snaps of the holiday.

making sandcastles

Pebbly Beach (not a pebble in sight)

Eli dips his toes

Audey feeding the deer and kangaroos in Mogo zoo

It felt a lot bigger reeling it in!

another monster catch!

South Durras Beach

Narooma beach (Ivor, Audrey and Wendy)

Audrey on the slide (click here to see how it looked in February!)

Bateman's Bay Botanic Gardens (children's discovery walk)

On the beach in South Durras

Our holiday house