Oliver update

Elliot isn't the only Thomas kid whose made tremendous strides this year. We were really uncertain how Ollie was going to fare in school with his strong will and quick temper, but we had nothing to worry about at all. Ollie's made so many new friends this year, and his teacher just raves about how great his behaviour is in class.

We've been wowed by his enthusiasm to learn his letters and numbers and how he keeps working to master his "s" sounds even after we stopped his speech pathology appointments. But the thing that truly knocks my socks off is how Oliver has just blossomed with his communication recently and how he has learned to used his words to explain what he wants or why he's upset. It is pure magic and we're super-duper proud!

Elliot update

Elliot with one of his best friends, Lochie

This year we've seen such improvement with our biggest little man. He was placed in a Year 1/Year 2 split class this year with just five other super clever Year 1 boys. We were pretty nervous about how he would cope especially since he is the very youngest in the class.

And I won't lie; it was a bit touch and go at first. A few weeks into the school year, Elliot started doubting himself and calling himself stupid because he didn't think that he was as smart as the other children. After convincing him that they chose him to be in this class because he is such a sharp cookie and after having a conversation with this teacher who also put in a concerted effort to building him up and giving him a bit of extra help, things just started to click and we've just been gobsmacked at his progress this year.

Elliot also seems to have finally gotten the upper hand on his sneaky poos. Early in the year, Paul and I started wondering about his ability to pay attention and wonder whether a large part of his continued accidents was because he was so easily distracted. We talked this over with the paediatrician who gave us some books to read and assessments for us and Elliot's teacher. After quite a lot of deliberation, we decided to put Elliot on a trial of Ritalin back in July, and that very day he stopped having accidents.

It's been such a huge relief for us all and we're just so proud of Elliot for never giving up!

Soccer trophies

The boys had such an incredible soccer season, and it was topped off by the best season wind-up complete with a sausage sizzle, bouncy castles, and even zorb soccer. But even with all that good stuff, the best part of the day for this proud mom was watching her two little guys' happy happy faces as they were awarded with their trophies, especially Ollie who wasn't expecting a trophy since he wasn't technically on the team. They saved him for last and then gave him an extra thanks for filling in and helping out all the time. He was chuffed!

Father's Day at the King's Park Festival

This Father's Day was just awesome! Well I thought so at least; hope Paul enjoyed the day as much as I did. We drove up to King's Park, hopped on our bikes and rode across the park to the Botanic Gardens where we picnicked on strawberries and prosciutto and cheese and Turkish bread and dip. We watched the ducks, climbed the waterfall, dodged the spray of the water spout, took turns giving Paul massages, and listened to the live music. And then hopped back on our bikes with a stop at the nature playground. The weather was perfect. The boys were awesome and it was just fun, fun, fun!

We're Geocachers Now

Our friends Peta, Justin, Lochie, and Mitchell introduced us to the world of geocaching, and now we're hooked. And would you believe that Nanna and Granddad like to geocache too!! We can't really say any more about it because there might be Muggles reading this, but it's an awfully fun way to get outside and explore. ~ Oliver

One of our first two caches with Lochie, Justin and Mitch

This one nearly had us stumped, but Elliot finally
spotted this very camoflauged cache

Mommy told us to look out for snakes just minutes before
we found this cache. She nearly jumped out of her shoes!!

But look at the tiny log book inside the snake cache.
This stuff is so much fun.

Our Budding Artistes

Ollie's self-portrait

Elliot's version of Monet's garden