"Maisie's gone all little!"

Georgie came out of her room yesterday, very upset and teary because (I eventually learned) her favourite big teddy bear had gone small. I asked what she meant and she said "Maisie's legs don't come down to my knees anymore". They're actually several inches short of her knees, which is a pretty good indicator of how much Georgie has grown. She's tall and skinny, not a plump toddler these days. Owen is also huge. They're now sharing a room, which makes Georgie feel very grown up. If only we could convince her that diapers are not really a sign of maturity....

Owen continues to love school, and seems to be more or less complying with all the new rules and procedures. His compliance during the school day may explain the increase in lawlessness at home (conservation of bad behaviour). Well, I guess we'd prefer that to the alternative.

First day of school

Owen started school today. We had a few tears, but for the most part he was pretty happy to put on his new uniform and see his friends again. He's fortunate that he already knows quite a few of the kids there. His backpack seems to be designed for someone at least 6 feet tall, he can barely stand upright....

Not a hairdo...

Five year old Owen was being rather cool, and saying to Georgie "Hey dude, where are you going?". Georgie's indignant response: "But I'm not a hairdo!".

It cracked Owen up. Nice to see him get a real sense of humour. And nice to see Georgie aspiring to be more than a pretty face (or hairdo, as the case may be).

The green eyed monster...

...emerged in Georgie today. When I dropped her off at childcare, she was very disappointed to discover that her special friend, Bobby, was not there. A few minutes later, her eyes narrowed as she noticed one of the other girls in her toddler class. "That's Sunday," she said. "She loves Bobby. _I_ love Bobby". I responded that it was great that Bobby was so well loved. "No, I WANT him", she shot back, giving Sunday a withering look. Goodness, it was like a scene from Days of our Lives, played out right there in the 2 year old room.

I have to say, Georgie's a pretty determined young person -- I don't like Sunday's chances.

"He not busy, cos he not a mummy"

This was Georgie's response when I asked her whether her favorite stuffed animal was busy. I guess I am a busy mummy, as was evident when I recently had 4 weeks of swine flu related illness and had to drop most things. And it must be showing -- the other day I asked Owen how old I was, and he said "80". And today he called me an old lady. Sigh. (We're working on his manners).

We're all doing well, kids are getting huge, and generally have far too much energy. The pictures below show them doing their favourite chicken dance on one of our out-of-town excursions (which Marc describes as our "see the State before it burns" campaign).

Owen starts his orientation for school next week -- incredible to think he's at that stage. (His teacher gave him a positive and perceptive report, though we were amused by her comment that "Owen can get quite upset when he doesn't get what he wants". Oh yes indeed). But he's apparently a loving, helpful and inclusive member of his preschool class, and we're very proud of him.

Bugs, bugs and more bugs

It's winter here, and we're trying to keep one step ahead of disease. So far... several high fevers, one emergency room trip, one vomit-soaked car, one bout of "slap cheek syndrome", one stomach bug, and (most embarrassingly), a brush with head lice. All lovely.

Despite all that, we're doing pretty well. Owen is now half way through kindergarten (which is technically pre-school, but he's doing longer hours there than he will be next year at school). He's come a long way this year and seems to be reading now -- the greatest benefit of this is that he can sometimes be persuaded to read Georgie a story. Ah, peace and quiet -- for a full minute and a half.

Georgie enjoys her childcare, now has an impressive amount of hair (a nice change after what seemed like years of baldness), and is mainly pretty happy and easy-going despite unavoidable bouts of Terrible Two.

Serena has just notched up a full year in the workplace (still employed!), and Marc is getting close to ship time on the latest game (for the Nintendo Wii).

Kid-isms

Owen has a habit of whining about being SO hungry after finishing dessert. (Meaning that while his main course stomach is full, his dessert stomach has loads more room.) This time, Georgie listened sympathetically for a while, and then said very loudly "NO, you not hungry, you TARVING". Ah, the poor kids.

The kids are suddenly besotted with Dora the Explorer (I'm hoping they're picking up some Spanish into the bargain). Georgie told me "Dora, he my best friend". I asked why and she said "a cos, a cos... he on my drink bottle". Which is true, but makes an interesting rule of thumb for picking a best friend.

Georgie seems to have really absorbed the concept that Jesus died on Good Friday. Everytime I mention him now she says joyfully "he DEAD!". And when I remind her that he rose again, she chirps happily "yes, he a little bit dead".