Quotes & little Sayings we will always remember

Josh has amused us so much this past year with things he has said and examples of his cute little sense of humour that is developing, that we both decided to record some of our favourites.

Mummy's favourite (of course!) ..... "I love you my dearest Mummy" - said by Joshua just before he went to sleep one night.

Daddy's favourite .... "Daddy, do you want to go on a behaviour chart?" - said by Joshua when he was 'cross' with Daddy one night on the trampoline - bit 'rich' really when you think that Joshua has never had a behaviour chart himself !!

And another favourite .... "Excuse me Mummy, can I please have a quiet word with you outside" - whispered by Joshua to Mummy at a family friend's 90th wedding anniversary (yes, Josh was a little bored!)

The last day of 2009

Today is the last year of 2009 ... and wow, what a year !

Josh has learned so much ... he can count by 2's and "almost" tie his shoes; he can count to 100 and beyond; he can count by 5's and 10's; he can sleep without a pull-up and dress himself after his shower; he can ride a horse, go on a biscuit behind a speedboat and go down on the luge almost faster than Daddy; he can read and write little stories; he has learned the confidence to dance with expression and sometimes even sing; he has slowly learned that it is okay to not always win (although he still likes to); he now coughs into his elbow and is way more aware of swine flu than any other illness! He can run faster and further than last year and lives for exercise and outdoor activity; he has learned to walk in the school corridor and not run; he now finally eats almost all of his school lunch; he can fly on a plane over to the UK and beyond and see some wonderful new places; he can build a bonfire on the beach and cook marshmallows; he can run a mile and has a medal to prove it! He can swim a length or two in the swimming pool and has a great backstroke action; he can play lots of various board games and especially loves Monopoly and Backgammon; he quite often reminds us that "you get what you get and you don't get upset"; he has made some special friends and has been lucky to have had 2 lovely teachers this year who have helped him so much. Yes, it has been a good year .... we have so much to be thankful for.

And now Christmas is over, summer is here. We have got so much fun to have - a trip up north, mountains to climb and seas to swim in; tracks to walk and tracks to bike; ice-creams and popsicles to eat whenever we want to; barbeques on the beach and sunsets to watch. So c'mon everyone, let's embrace the excitement of holidays and summer and remind ourselves just how lucky we are.

Goodnight to everyone as midnight 'hits' and the New Year & New Decade begin. I have a feeling that 2010 is going to be a great year for us.

Christmas Day

Josh woke up at 7am - very respectable. He came running into our bedroom, dragging his Santa sack behind him and then jumped up into bed with us and proceeded to open all the little gifts left by Santa - and Santa was very kind this year so Josh must have been a very good boy indeed !

After that we raced upstairs to see just how hungry Santa had been and Josh was so delighted that Santa had eaten the S - A - N ... and had left the T - A as a thankyou - what a polite Santa !!

Malcolm & Jill and Grandma arrived at 9.30am and then the present frenzy started - Josh was VERY spoilt and received some beautiful gifts. It is just so lovely to 'live' Christmas through the eyes of a child. Josh was a real delight to watch. Openng so many presents can be quite overwhelming at the time ... but we know that over the next few weeks, Josh will truly discover and appreciate what amazing gifts he has received - so thank you all so very much.

And Mummy is SO excited - she received the camera of her dreams - the Canon G10 - so watch this space and see what photos she produces next year - mmm, I may even go on a photography course!!

We all then sat down to a Christmas breakfast of fresh fruit salad & yoghurt, croissants with ham & cheese and lemon & blueberry muffins - yummo, blow goes any diet !

A few hours to then rest up in the afternoon (mmm, hardly !!) and then our guests arrived for the evening - Grandma, Paul G, Johnny & Maritess, and Bart, Fem & Soul - so in all, 10 of us for the 'full works' with turkey and all the trimmings. We had a really lovely evening and Josh got to bed at around 11pm and us at around 1.30am - everyone is going to be very tired !

And the best compliment of all was from Grandma .... she thought this was one of her nicest Christmasses, she enjoyed staying close to home and felt really included by everyone involved in the day and how special that was for her.

Christmas Eve

We went over to Aunty Rosie's house for dinner this evening and went for a walk to see all the houses 'dressed;' for Christmas - amazing, some people had gone to so much trouble ! Josh loved it !!

And then home to get ready for the arrival of that big fat man in the red suit. Oh wow, there was lots of excitement - Josh sprinkled his Christmas 'dust' on the lawn to help Santa find the way to our house .... and then helped Mummy make 'SANTA' cookies and chop up the carrots for the reindeer. There was no problem in going to bed at all either .... Josh knew that he had to be fast asleep before Santa visited !!

Hope you are hungry Santa - don't forget to drink your milk !

Santa sends a video to Josh

Wow ... Santa Claus has prepared a special video message for Joshua, all the way from the North Pole to New Zealand - Santa even had a photo of Josh and commented on his blonde hair!

Mummy sat with Josh whilst looking at the video and everytime Santa asked a question, Josh sat quietly nodding his head - and his little heart was racing !

Click here here to watch it.

Last day of School .... & Christmas dust

It has been quite a week with the wind-down to the end of Term 4. Last night we had school prize giving and today school broke up at 1pm after a lovely morning of making Christmas decorations, an early 'munch-time' and then a Hui for all the parents to attend where the children sang. And then the children lined up to say 'goodbye' to their teacher and she gave them all a big hug, had something 'special' to say to each of them and gave them all a bag of 'Christmas Dust' (see photo and instructions below). Seatoun School did make it all very lovely and as Paul said last night ... "well if this is true grass-roots NZ, then it is pretty special".

This Christmas Eve sprinkle the magical Christmas dust on your lawn. The glitter will sparkle in the moonlight & help Santa find your house; the smell of the oats will guide the reindeer. Merry Christmas sweetheart, have a wonderful holiday !

And now a week's holiday where Josh can be Mummy's helper (oh dear) before that big fat man in the red suit comes a-singin down the chimney!

The Girls Farewell Sarah

We are on a count-down ... Sarah, Georgia & Olivia all leave Wellington on Saturday to head back to Auckland to join Andy who is already up there unpacking, gosh that will be a sad day ! The girls all got together today for a farewell brunch.

And if losing Sarah isn't bad enough .... both Josh and Huddy are surely going to miss Georgia. Look at all the loving that goes on in the boot of Mummy's car !

Busy Busy Day

Phew, just as well there is no homework this week and there are only 2 days left of school .... today was simply glorious so after a full day at school (although they did watch a movie 'Charlie & the Chocolate Factory' so it can't have been that hard!), we headed to the swimming pool with Georgia, Freddie & Soul. Then Josh & Georgia had takeaways at the 'helicopter' park and a further play. When we got home, there was a knock on the door from a boy up the road who wanted to know if Josh could come down to the park so we all headed down there with skateboards. We might not get a lot of sunny days, but when we do the days and the evenings are just glorious and it is always hard to come home and leave the park ! I think we may have a little boy who will sleep 11 hours tonight !

School Reports come home ...

Almost the end of the year .... school reports came home today and Josh did very well for his first real 'full' year at school.

Overall, it is clear to see that Josh thrives on routine, loves to have a clear understanding of what is happening each day, and tries very hard. He is making steady progress across the board in reading, oral studies, writing, mathematics, art, PE and integrated studies. However, it was rather amusing to read that Joshua "loves music and dance and it is always a pleasure to watch him exploring rhythm and beat" ... maybe we have a budding hip-hop dancer in our midst!

The teacher's personal comment.... to quote .... " Joshua is a gentle child with a bright sparkle and kind heart which is enjoyed by all. All his hard work is paying off and it is wonderful to see him improving in reading and writing. His super positive attitude is to be congratulated".

Joshua ... Mummy and Daddy are so very proud of you and all you have learned and achieved this past year. We know you are a gentle sensitive soul and that sometimes it can all get too much .. but just know that we will always be there for you ... every step of the way.

Last Week of School

Josh loved today at school - a morning of class lessons and then an entire afternoon at the beach making sandcastles and building bonfires (no surprises there with Josh taking charge!). Tonight Joshua insisted on taking all of us down to the beach to show us what they had done. Of course, we can never just have a simple walk to the beach ... oh no we have to also run, play, collect sticks, go the park ... and Hudson goes swimming and Mummy & Daddy pray for more energy !

Ho ho ho, tis the season ...

A friend sent me a Santa 'call website' and after logging ion and registering Joshua's name and telephone number we had 10 minutes before Santa phoned Joshua asking him what he wanted for Christmas. It was truly amazing ... and it was so 'real'. I raced upstairs and told Josh that Santa was about to phone and together we quickly wrote down on pieces of paper what he would like to receive .... no sooner had we finished and the phone rang .. Josh answered and the rest is history. It was priceless ... oh to be an innocent child again ... and oh to just simply believe. Long may it continue for Josh.

Joshua's list ... well it went like this .... a new wetsuit, swimming goggles, a star for the top of the Christmas tree, a game of Bingo, Star Wars Lego, a Lego Batman PC game, some new socks, a game of Monopoly City, Indiana Jones game for the Nintendo, a Frisbee with a hole in the middle, the star wars 2-light saber set, backgammon game, a big candy cane .... and some wings so I can fly to school! Phew, Santa is going to be mighty busy ... and Josh must think he has been extra good this year !!

Click here to hear the call.

Out little Kite Flyer

A good breeze tonight encouraged us to get out the kite, climb over the fence and play at the school park (it is so wonderful having that area right in front of us - and what's more we don't even have to mow the lawn or maintain it!).

Josh was amazing tonight and has now mastered the dual control kite and had the kite doing all sorts of leaps and dives. Hudson had to duck a few times! It also helped to have an audience - young Wylie and Fraser were there with their kites as well ... so lots of fresh air, lots of running and then home for a hot bath, stories and goodnight kiwi.

School Projects

Mummy loves anything arty and is always delighted when she opens Joshua's school bag and finds some creative projects they have been doing - look who and what jumped out of Joshua's bag today ! The class is slowly winding down for Christmas with only 6 more school days before the end of the school year so they are spending time doing all sorts of lovely craft projects. Counting down the number of nights before that big fat man in the red Santa suit comes down the chimney is also helping Joshua's maths !

Oh to be Year 5

Year 5 are having a sleepover at school tongiht in their tents out on the lawn. Josh was dying to go down on his bike and 'check' them out - he took Huddy and Daddy along for support ! One day Josh, and that will be you! In the meantime, we are going to pick a lovely mild evening and have promised that Mummy, Daddy & Josh will sleep on our trampoline in our sleeping bags ... watch this space!

Look what Scooby has got

Josh came home today to find that Scooby had been Christmas shopping and had a large striped candy cane sitting on his nose - clever Scooby !