WooHoo

Today is the last day of January (eek!) and it also marks the day that Tahnee made it through a WHOLE month without projectile vomiting {in waves} :) YAY

When she was at PMH projectile vomiting was a common occurrence, especially if she was moved very soon after a suck feed (bottle or breast). Then when she came home she was on medication (omeprazol) for reflux. She would vomit everyday, multiple times, and then weirdly on the days I "forgot" to give the medication she would either vomit less or not at all. After 2 weeks she was taken off this medication and since then her vomits have decreased! For November and December she was averaging 2-3 large projectile vomits a month.

And now we are up to one month and counting (as her last projectile vomit was while camping back in Dec). The best thing is that aside from the projectile vomiting in waves, Tahnee hardly ever spews or spits up :)

Able to sit up on her own for abut 15seconds before toppling over

Blowing a raspberry after enjoying her pumpkin and sweet corn

Aussi! Aussie! Aussie!

January 26th every year is a public holiday in Australia to commemorate her birthday. Many many years ago explorers discovered our great land. Many years after that my grandparents made the choice to move to Australia or Canada ... they chose the former. And now in 2012 we were able to celebrate in style, albeit very hot!! :)

We began the day with a big brekky with Grandma, Opa & Oma. There were breakfast sausages, bacon rashes, scrambled eggs, eggs easy over, hashbrowns, toast, raisin toast, tomatoes and muffins, along with juice, iced coffee and iced chocolate! I forgot to take photos, so have nothing to show ... but take it from us, breakfast was yummy and we all ate too much :)

After the grandparents left, we put the kids down for sleeps and just relaxed for the afternoon, playing games, on the computer and watching cricket and tennis on TV. We did not venture outside as the forecast temperature was for 40 degrees Celsius. Actually, Perth is in the middle of a heatwave, 7 consecutive days over 38deg C ... but that has since been revised with next weeks' temperatures falling as low as 33 :)

Once the kids were awake and fed we got ready to head to the elder Vdl's for dinner. They had a small paddle pool set up for Lucas, who was more than happy to go in and play for a while. He especially loved it when Opa joined him :)

Dinner was a mix of steak, chicken, chippies and salad for the adults and Lucas, and breastmilk and apple custard for Tahnee. We sat down in front of the TV to watch the Fed express play Rafa in the men's tennis Aus open.

Around 730pm we decided it was time to pack up and walk down to the fireworks. This plan changed when we walked outside. Dark rain clouds were above us, and we could see lightning flashing and smell that smell that lets you know rain is coming (or has come)...so I went home with Tahnee while Chris walked down to the fireworks with Lucas. Unfortunately these fireworks began 35minutes before the scheduled starting time!! And they went for a lot shorter time than previous years!! At least Lucas seemed to enjoy them :)

And that was our Aussie Day ... hope you all had a great one too and managed to keep cool! Lets hope we don't swelter too much in tomorrow's forecast of 42!!

5 months

Today Tahnee is officially 5 months and will be 22 weeks tomorrow. She is still a relatively settled baby, but can have her crying/whinging times. As blogged earlier, we have started her on solids - so far she has had baby rice, pureed apples and pureed pears. In my weekly shop this week I hope to buy a pumpkin and sweet potato and try her on these more savoury type foods.

Our little munchkin has also started to roll both ways - tummy to back, and back to tummy! We'll see if she actually masters the art of rolling (ie. getting to places), as Lucas never did.

I don't have any facts and figures for weight and length yet, but I plan to go to the Child Health Nurse this week and get this done :)

Wearing one of her pretty dresses

Bathtime in the shower!

Its on a Bald patch ... ?

Recently we heard a funny conversation. A friend, who is thinning out a bit on top, was over at our house recently. Someone else we both know commented that they were looking a little bald ...

Our friend replied with "Its not a bald patch! Its a SOLAR PANEL"

"As you get older you need more energy!"



~*~ 25 ~*~

It's my BIRTHDAY today

And I turned 25 ... or you could say quarter of a century ... or even half way to 50!! Whichever way you say it, I definitely don't feel that old (most days anyway)!

On the eve of my birthday Chris informed me that he had gotten a few hours off work the next day and would be home for breakfast and I could open my presents too.

Other than having Chris there, our morning routine was pretty normal. We showered, dressed, broke the fast and quenched the thirst. All morning Lucas kept asking when it time for presents! He was most anxious to give me mine. Finally we all done getting ready and I was able to sit down.

Lucas proudly brought me my present and wished me a very sweet "happy birf-day mum". Then he nicely helped me unwrap the present ... a new hair straightener :) Super excited about it as I have wanted one for ages, but am not the one to go out and buy something like that just 'cos.

After present giving, Chris headed out the door and Lucas, Tahnee and I got ready to welcome visitors. I had toyed with the idea of having quite a few people around (with their kids) and sitting outside ... however the weather was not kind and the forecast was for thunderstorms with heavy rain. So I binned that idea and just had my sister, my sister-in-law and kiddies and by bestie and her kiddies. Not too many people inside our house, but enough :)

After all that (over thinking) consideration, the weather forecast ended up changing late last night to thunderstorms in the afternoon ... so I was a little miffed at that. But not to worry, Chris and I are having a combined party in a few weeks time, so will get to see our friends then instead :)

Today we had a enjoyable, but slightly noisy, morning talking and laughing and watching the kids. Everyone had left by lunchtime and I was able to put both kids down for sleeps close to their normal times. But once again the kids decided to muck around a bit. Tahnee thought an hour was plenty long enough to sleep (she usually does 2 hours) and Lucas woke up after only 2 hours (instead of 3). So they haven't been the easiest of kids this afternoon ... but all in a mum's days' work :)

Now it is is mid afternoon and I am about to start dinner preparations and ensure the house is presentable for the other family visitors tonight :)

Thanks to everyone who either called, sent text messages, emailed and/or wrote on my facebook wall :) It was a great way to celebrate my birthday.



And in answer to a few comments about feeling old - nope, I only feel a day older than yesterday LOL :P

A January Weekend

Well ... we had a busy weekend!! Today (Monday) I am just relaxing, not doing a whole lot and enjoying watching the tennis and looking at my {almost} clean house, minus the toys that Lucas just HAD to sprawl everywhere.

So to start ... Friday was my mother-in-law's birthday and all the kids and grandkids were invited over for dinner. It can be a bit of a madhouse when we all get together, especially at meal times. We set up 2 tables, one for adults and high chairs and one for the older kids. With 9 adults and 8 kids it can be a scramble to get food LOL :)

Our dinner consisted of hamburger patties, sausages, a few types of salads and bread. Dessert for the "kids" were icy poles. It was extremely warm and we had 2 high velocity (?) fans going to cool us off and keep the flies away.

After cleaning up, baths and getting kids to bed, the adults got ready for additional visitors that were coming later. There was cake to get ready, drinks to bring out and chairs to set up. We then sat down for an evening of mingling. For us, we were also dealing with a very unsettled little girl ... probably from her needles the day before. Anyway, she decided that sitting up and getting lots of cuddles was MUCH more exciting than sleeping :)

It ended up being quite a late night and we were also up and down a few times for both kids during the night :(

Saturday morning I headed off to the hair dresser while Chris took both kids shopping. The afternoon was spent cleaning up around the house. Then once the 2 kids were awake and fed we headed off to visit with another CDH family - the one who we met in PMH just after Tahnee was born. Their little boy is about a week younger than Tahnee.

We had a great time talking, laughing and catching up. The kids enjoyed the paddle pool (its been pretty warm in Perth) while the adults supervised, munching on nibbles. Then the men fired up the bbq and got the meat cooked while the women prepared salads, set the table and fed the babies.

The meal consisted of many yummy selections of both meat and salads and was enjoyed by all. After dinner was finished we got the kids ready for bed and then sat down to continue talking :) It was good being able to talk about our experiences during pregnancy, labour, hospital stays, at PMH and post hospitalisation. We had different experiences as we were public and they were private. Interestingly/Surprisingly/Worryingly we were also told different things about various aspects of CDH!! But, we are both thrilled to have such happy, healthy babies now.

Sunday morning Lucas slept in til 9am ... nice and late!! Chris headed to church in the morning while I went in the afternoon. In between services we headed over to the elder VdL's for coffee, cake and lunch. The whole family ended up being there :) Then at night we headed to my mum's house for dinner and then played a game afterwards.

Now, by contrast, this coming weekend we have nothing planned as yet!!!!!! So we shall see what happens ...

Enjoy your week everyone :)

p.s. as I think I said in the posts about camping at Esperance, our plan is to become self sufficient over the next 2 years. Then we can go away when we want to without having the borrow most things. SO if you see items on gumtree, ebay, in your shed, at a garage sale or in a catalogue that is a good price ... Let us know :)

Esperance 2011/2012

The Vander Linden and van Delden families have a tradition where they go camping altogether every 2 years. A place is chosen, someone assumes responsibility for booking the accommodation and collecting deposits, and whoever can make it goes.

The location for 2011 was Esperance and it was decided that everyone would leave on Boxing Day. This time there were only 2 people who were unable to make it, but the number still totalled to 35!! Ten campsites were booked at the Seafront Caravan Park, which is just over the road from the foreshore of Esperance, and a few minutes drive from the town centre.

On the day before Christmas, Chris and I headed to the parents house to load up the trailer. We only just managed to squeeze everything in!! Then on Christmas night we packed our own car up. We were left with very little room and were quite literally full from the rear bumper to the back of the front seats!!!

I have separated the days and split across various blog posts, otherwise it would be a very long post. ENJOY :)

p.s. some photos are taken by me, some by Chris and some by Dad Vdl ... can't take all the credit for great photos :)

Esperance ~ Days 1-4

MONDAY December 26th 2011

Bright and {very} early on Boxing Day we were madly trying to finalise the last minute packing (drinks etc) and get ourselves and the kids into the car. We were on track to pull out at 330am (along with 2 other cars + trailers), when we discovered that a pot of honey had been left open, had fallen over and leaked all through the pantry!! It was a mad scramble to clean that up, but we managed to get into the car and pull out of the driveway at 330 on the dot! The original plan had been to wake Tahnee up and give her a feed, as she usually has 1 side in the morning, sucks for 20 minutes and falls back asleep. We would also wake Lucas up a few minutes before leaving and hopefully transfer him into the car still asleep .... that was the plan anyway. Like most plans, it did not go according to plan. Both kids woke up when put in the car and for the first hour were very chatty and happy.

The group as a whole elected to go down to Esperance via Hyden and Wave Rock. Brother in law Frank assumed the lead and set the pace. About half an hour down Brookton Hwy we met up with Kyle who had gone to pick up cousin Melissa. He went second, followed by the parents and us. Both Frank and the parents were pulling trailers.

After driving for a few hours, we made a quick stop to stretch our legs, and for Chris and I to change drivers. We then continued onto Corrigin. Along the way we all had CB radios and there was an almost constant stream of chatter going on ... mainly to keep the drivers awake.

In Corrigin we stopped for a toilet break and a fuel stop. However, since it was still very early we discovered there were no petrol stations open. The parents were struggling with their heavy load and were getting very low on fuel. The decision was made to continue onto Kondinin, approximately 50km away, in the hope their would be a station open there.

Upon arriving in Kondinin we pulled over at an information Bay and again discovered there were no fuel stations open. By this stage the parents were almost empty and unable to continue the 60km onto Hyden. Thus, Kyle and Melissa were sent back to Corrigin with a borrowed jerry can to get fuel, while the rest of us sat down for breakfast and a feed for Tahnee. It was also here that we offered to take over the pulling of the trailer.

Over an hour later Kyle arrived back with some fuel and we continued onto Hyden. I was driving that section and got to experience my first time driving a full car, towing a heavy, full trailer, going at a speed of 100km/hour ... it was crazy, yet pretty cool :)

At Hyden we stopped at the tourist attraction Wave Rock. We were able to climb the rock and absorb the view. It was amazing :)

From there we continued on the drive and next stopped in Ravensthorpe to refuel, have lunch and feed Tahnee. It was a relief knowing Esperance was only 2 hours away. And these 2 hours passed by uneventfully.

After arriving in beautiful Esperance, we checked into the caravan park and drove up to the sites. These sites were HUGE ... approx 10x10ft and could easily accommodate tents and cars. Between the 2 families we booked 10 sites (2 rows of 5), with each family at either end. The 5 sites for our family included one for us, one for Kramers, one for Janssens, one for the older VdL's and one for the kitchen and sitting area.

It took us a good few hours to unload the trailer, set up the tents and get things organised. Our tent has 3 rooms all in a row, with a front annex (not water proof as the walls are not connected to the base) coming from the middle room. We used the annex for storage/sitting, the middle room for us adults and the kids' went on either side.

TUESDAY December 27th 2011

On our first full day in Esperance we all headed for a drive around the coast. We went along the foreshore, past the 2 jetties, past the port and around to the lookout. The view was AWESOME! The water was a brilliant green and blue colours, with the waves breaking near the edge and the water calm and clear.

Our drive took us past many beaches and vantage points. We got out of the car at two beaches: Twilight Cove which is the main beach, and 11 Mile Beach which is good for fishing. We also continued through the scenic drive to the Pink Lakes, which unfortunately are not so pink any more (haven't been for over a decade). This drive took most of the morning and we spent the afternoon at camp, relaxing, reading, playing games, while the kids slept.

Blissfully aware of the waves crashing on the beach

WEDNESDAY December 28th 2011

Early in the morning, before the sun rose, Kyle, Chris and Dad Vdl headed out to watch the sunrise ... and take some photos of course!

We had all really enjoyed the look of Twilight Cove the day before and we decided to actually go there for a swim. The Van Delden family had the same idea and came down with us.

When we arrived, we dressed Lucas in his Thomas bathers and Thomas life jacket and walked him down to the waters' edge. He then proceeded to throw the biggest wobbly!!! He refused to walk into the water, so Chris carried him in, kicking and screaming the whole time. When he wouldn't calm down, Chris took him out and let him play in the sand. Lucas refused to walk anywhere near the water and would scream when the tide came up. But at least he was happy to play on the sand :) (except when he wanted water to play with ... then whoever was closest had to fetch water in a bucket :P).

The water temperature in Esperance is pretty cool! I (Tamala) got so far as dipping my toes into the water and then went back up to the beach to "keep an eye on Tahnee who was sleeping" lol. Chris, and many others, were more adventurous and went for a lengthy swim. We later found out from the locals that the water temperature rarely changes from winter to summer.

After spending the morning at the beach, we packed up, went back to the caravan park for showers, sleeps and a relaxing afternoon. At one point the bubble machine was taken out and enjoyed by some of the children.

THURSDAY December 29th 2011

On this day the older VdL's, the Janssens and Paul (friend) went on a boat cruise to Woody Island. They had an awesome morning and even had pods of dolphins swimming along side the boat :)

While they were off boating, the Kramers and us headed off into town. We stopped for a drink, went into a few shops, grabbed some lunch and went off to the leisure centre (heated pools). Again Lucas wasn't happy about being near water, but we eventually coaxed him in and towards the end even started to enjoy it :) Tahnee, on the other hand, was a breeze. She sat in her blow up aeroplane support and loved it! Brother-in-law Tim was happy to take a family photo for us, and some of Tahnee's first time in the pool.

The other days will be on other blog posts ... just scroll up (or down) ...