Update

It is HOT here today! Here's what we got up to:

And it is meant to be autumn!

Erin:
is doing beautifully. She is thriving at the moment with a slight change to the way we've been homeschooling. I've included more of me sitting down and modeling a task. This gives her the confidence to have a go and try different techniques without me being overly directive about what she is doing. Erin has always been hesitant to try new things if she thinks there is a possibility of 'failure' or unless she understands blow-by-blow how to do it. I am trying to encourage her to take risks and sitting down and taking small risks in front of her seems to be working wonders (even if that risk is simply trying to draw a preying mantis and having it turn out....well, it looked kinda 'insect-y' I guess!). I've noticed it spilling over into her play with her trying new and different things with her own games rather than simply sub-contracting (i.e. getting Billy to try it first!)

Billy:
is unbelievably grown up. He has been practicing his acrobatics on me of late. Often when I am changing Christopher's nappy he will climb up me and stand on my shoulders. There is the odd tumble but more often than not he is quite steady indeed! He made me laugh tonight when he put aside his not-quite-finished dessert and said "bed." and pulled off his bib. He loves the quiet and solitude of bed sometimes I think! He is making attempts at counting which is quite cute. He walks around saying "two, fwee, four, FIIIIIVE!" Try as we may, we cannot get him to say one!

Christopher:
is still excema free! Yay! We had colds last week (I think our immune systems were still down from all the illness we've been having) and Christopher got a slight cough. It kept him -and me - awake a few nights last week. It seems to be settling down though. He is now rolling quite well from back to tummy and tummy to back. It happened all at once last week. He seems to have lost interest again over the last few days and is very focussed on getting himself up and crawling! The baby moments pass so fast! Here's a quick pic of him outside on his rug. He does seem to be developing a habit of spitting the dummy and sucking his left index and middle fingers. We will see where that takes us!

The house:
is getting back on track after ANOTHER bout of illness. I am very close to putting us all on vegetables and water and herbal supplements just to cleanse us all out if this doesn't sort itself out soon. I have been a mad washer woman the last 48 hours taking advantage of the warm weather.

The garden:
yesterday I got stuck in to the horrible oyster plant growing near the garage door. It is an awful spiky thing and badly needed cutting back. I also weeded some of the front garden. I am planning on getting a truck load of mulch.

Craft:
I did some! I made a skirt for Erin's doll with Erin and did some more on a pair of satan PJ pants for me. I have also been knitting and cross stitching. I have made a specific day for craft and it really gets the creative juices flowing for the rest of the week.

Jess