Out of the mouths of babes

The innocence makes one want to weep.

At the Pet store, whilst browsing for squeaky toys for the new hound, Morgan came across a box of live crickets.  He was so excited. "Oh aren't they cute? Don't they sing well? Can we have one as a pet?"

How sad to have to tell him - that, "Sorry mate, we have wandered into the reptile section and those crickets are food."

To give Morgan his due credit - he processed the information quickly and took it with grace.

Morgan plays at the Gabba

Dear Peeps,

Firstly I want to apologise to Miss Lilly - as much of this post will be about Morgan.

I have just gotten home from watching Morgan play at half time of the first match of the season for the AFL. Those following this blog will know that Morgan has only been to three training sessions at the local club - so we were so proud and pleased he had been asked to represent the club with 11 other kids in the half time mini games.

Heres a photo of you coming off the field after your game.

I have to admit to not know a damned thing about the game - but have been delighted with the coaches and the spirit encouraged at training. Having grown up near Geelong, Adrian was a staunch fan of the cats and has been attempting to educate me in this very strange game.

I am so proud of Morgan - he was not fazed at all by the nearly 30 thousand fans cheering and waving their arms about in the stands, nor of the blazing lights, nor of the minor detail that he had not ever watched a match nor played one. To his credit he was enthusiastic, followed the ball keenly and made attempts to play along when it came to his quarter of the ground. Of particular note was when he stopped and helped a team mate off the grass when they had fallen badly. The kid was nearly twice the size of Morgan and he managed to lift him nearly to his knees.

I'll be blogging about the match itself and my experiences later... but well done mate! We are so proud of you - not many kids get to have this experience and I hope its not your last run onto the famous field.

Heres a photo of you waiting in the tunnels. (Morgan is the small boy in red next to the coach in bright yellow)

The atmosphere was so fantastic, I can see why so many people really get into going to matches. I'd love the opportunity for us to go as a family sometime - Lilly stayed with friends and Adrian had a seminar all weekend - though hired a car and bought a ticket to watch Morgans 20 mins of fame - then chuffed back to his course. what dedication and love! It meant alot to Morgan for his Daddy to be there.

Onto Miss Lilly Lou - Happy Birthday my little princess! a big 4 years old. My goodness where does the time go? You really have grown up in the last few months. We had a lovely day on your birthday - with breakfast at a place we usually avoid - McDonalds - quite a treat. Opening presents was delightful - just watching your face as you opened gifts of books and the barbie DVD was such a treat for me. You were so appreciative with each gift and wore as many of your plastic jewels around your neck all day. You were so excited to be spending a few hours with Daddy all to yourself and was especially excited to be going to Seaworld to see the dolphins.

here is a photo with your favourite present ( though this changes every few mins) We will have to ask Uncle Jamie or Uncle Malcolm to come and teach you to fish properly. (its a pink fishing set - I am not kidding - rod, reel - everything is bright pink.)

Hard to think we can top this week - but then we have Morgans Birthday and Miss Lillys first Dance concert in a fortnights time.

till next time!

The Wedding

Dear Peeps

I am so dreadfully proud of both of you, my heart is about to burst. We have just gotten back from Noosa, after a huge weekend celebrating Nannys wedding.

It was a big task for two small people to partake in the ceremony – but both of you undertook it with such grace and dignity.

Miss Lilly, you were the most beautiful graceful stately flowergirl anyone could have asked for. Your dazzling smile, fixated on the pulpit and your slow steady pace kept everyone in line at the procession down the church.

Mr Morgan, your serious face bore the mark of someone very determined not to drop the rings and to undertake their duty in the manner it was meant to be done.

Photos – especially so many that needed to be taken on the day in various postions and areas are a drag – but both of you kept those smiles and were so patient being placed in different spots.

Thank you both for being so wonderfully behaved during dinner and being brilliant during the day.

I do hope you both remember the day in years to come. Nanny was so proud of you and so pleased you were part of her special day.

Beach Kids

Dear Peeps

What a great week we have had and at last we have our home back to ourselves – for a little while at least. With Nannys wedding next week, things won’t have gotten back to normal just yet, but with your help we are making it a calm place to be.

Yesterday we got up early and took your new boogie boards down to the beach. Aren’t we lucky we only live 40 mins from the nearest waves? Although we had sunscreened up, the weather wasn’t very kind to us and it remained grey most of the day.

You looked so cool with your boards against the crashing waves – I was a little afraid for you – but as always – Daddy was there to protect and guide you the whole time.

I am so proud of you Lilly – you caught some big waves and rode them to the beach each time. You listened so carefully to Daddy and hid behind his legs each time a wave came crashing through – until you had reached the best place to catch the waves. Even when you got dumped, you managed to stand and smile, spit the sand out of your mouth.. and then run up the beach crying… probably because you saw the look on my face.

I am very proud of you Morgan. I am not a fan of the surf and although you were frightened, you had several attempts to stay on your board and ride the waves. I am so pleased at the end you did catch some decent surf and had fun.

What a wonderful day we had too afterwards – despite the rain chasing us off the beach and ants attempting to drive us off the grass, we decamped and went to the mountains behind the coast and had a picnic overlooking the cliffs and rainforest.

Thanks for being so patient in the tiny shops we visited – wasn’t the icecream we had afterwards worth all the waiting?