Nightmares

Riah woke up the other night. He was frightened due to a dream he had just experienced. He was adamant that there was a green crocodile outside and that it had 'chomped' his shorts. I finally convinced him that the crocodile was now gone and after putting a pair of shorts on him (he went to bed without any), he went back to sleep. No harm done...but he has continued to talk about the crocodile for several days now. On Sabbath he was all for running out into the rain to find it. Today he used the memory to joke about the crocodile eating his shorts. Such a funny fellow!

Zeki's first month

It's been a busy life for the last few weeks. Work has been hectic with orientation days, information nights, meetings and newsletters to organise. Sharlene has taken Zemi and Ki down to Brisbane for a series of tests. They'll be there for about 10 days. Riah is finding the change a bit difficult and keeps wanting the plane to return so that he can hop on.

Ki @ two weeks

We have been blessed to have had our new baby now for two week and two days. He has been a fantastic addition to the family. He has put on weight and is now 3.9 kilos. He is great during the day for Sharlene but does have a 'witching hour' during the night, where he is very unsettled and windy. When this is over he sleeps well again.

Zemiel and Azariah adore their little brother. They still try to pick him up at opportune moments. Their first thought in the morning isn't 'where is mum' anymore, but rather 'where's Ki'. We have even noticed an improvement in Zem and Riah's playing behaviour, in that they are getting along better. Of both of them, Azi is having the most trouble adjusting. He has been supplanted as the baby and he has regressed a little. He wants to be picked up and cuddled, calling himself the 'big baby'.

Sharlene has spent a total of 3 days at home in the last 15 days, so it really is 'business as usual' from her point of view.

Comparisons

So...Sharlene and I were curious who Zekiah is most similar to. So we thought that we would look back on our blog photos and get some perspective.

This is Zemiel in his first week.

Azariah, also in the first few days.

Zekiah at four days.

There you have it. A look into the future perhaps? See any similarities? Let us know what you think.

Meet Zekiah David Cole

Zekiah's been with us for a couple of days now. We came home at 8:00 pm on Thursday night and he slept the night beside us. I had to work on Friday, so I took Zemiel with me and Azariah stayed with Nana for the day. Sharlene got to spend the day recovering and relaxing. The boys didn't see the new baby until Thursday night. We decided that we would have a nice birthday party for him. So we all sang happy birthday and ate pizza.
The boys loved Zekiah from the beginning. Generally, they have been very gentle. Azariah has already tried to cover (smother) him with bubble wrap and walk the pram out the door (and down the hill onto the road). Zemiel has been quite protective too, by not allowing the dog to get close to the baby or the pram.
We've had visitors this afternoon and a barbecue tonight already, so a lot of our family and friends have already seen him.
The jury is still out concerning who he looks like. However, it does look like his eyes might be the same colour as Zemiel's.

This picture is of Zekiah just before we left the birthing centre. Approx. 5 hours old.

 This picture was taken Friday morning. Approx. 16 hours old.

Meet new Baby Cole

Today a new baby boy joined our family. The little fellow was born at 12 minutes past 3 this afternoon. He weighed 8 pound 1 ounce or 3.67 kilograms. He is 52cm in length with a head circumference of 34cm.
It was a fast labour, lasting about an hour and a half. After coming home from work, and then dropping the kids off to Nana's place, we made it to the birthing centre with about 20 minutes to spare! Sharlene had a water birth and I delivered him, which was a lovely experience. He attached and fed well from the start. All testing so far looks great, and Sharlene is going very well.
And here's the big reveal...

Azariah has had a Birthday Too!

I was just looking back on the time that had passed and realised that I hadn't put up any pictures of Azariah's birthday this year! Well, I ought to remedy that right away.

Riah's second birthday was held at Big Camp in Townsville. I had only just started my new job at the Early Learning Centre a week or so before, but I took the day off to travel up and celebrate it as I had originally planned. Sharlene and I designed his cake the week before. Azariah at the time (and still does really) had a thing for backhoe loaders, or 'backhoe lo-oa-ders' according to him. The cake design was that of a backhoe loader, cut and iced by us at camp. It was great fun to make and was good to have some friends around to celebrate with us.

Pictures....yes, of course. Here they are.
The cake...

The guests...

The spoils...

The fun and games...

Zemiel's Birthday

Zem turned four this week and although we didn't celebrate in grandiose style, we did have a party none the less. On Sunday, Sharlene and I made a number 4 cake. It had solid chocolate topping with road markings drawn out of icing and tic-tacs. I made some little cars from smarties and strawberry creams. Zemiel has been coming to kindy with me for the last few weeks on Monday, and so was able to share the occasion with his friends there as well. Sharlene made some cup cakes for him to share. He has been super excited about his birthday, calling it his 'happy day' and wanting to blow candles out all week.

Sports Day at CACC

On Friday we held our annual sports carnival. It was a beautiful morning. This was a relief because the previous week had been rain, drizzle and cold. Our kindy group joined in for the first hour and a half. We did some tunnel ball, ball passing, running races and a lolly run. We themed the week after superheroes, and so dressed up as superheroes on the sports day. It added a lot of fun to the carnival atmosphere. All the ELC kids received a medal after their race.

Back Online

We're back again, after a significant hiatus without internet or home phone. The reason for the hiatus is that we've recently moved house. The reason that we have moved house is that I have a new job. The reason I have a new job is because Sharlene finished her old one.

So, now we're kind of organised again. We have moved to Mackay. I am working as the Group Leader/Director of the Early Learning Centre at Carlisle Adventist Christian College. There's plenty of work to do there but it is also a lot of fun. I have a great team working with me. Zemiel has started attending once a week and is improving his social skills. He also goes to the Early Intervention Program twice a week. His talking has become clearer and he is also talking in longer sentences now. He is even starting to experiment with the words he's learnt. Azariah continues to impress us with his clarity and vocabulary.

Sharlene now has roughly 5 weeks to go in her pregnancy. We still don't know what gender the bub is.
She is enjoying the change from work and looking after the boys at home. Although she doesn't get to relax too much, she has easier days than working full time. She has also done a little relief at CACC over the past couple of weeks to help out our budget.

Anyway, it's time to go now. Hope your day is pleasant.