HOME AMONG THE GUMTREES
Words and Music by By B. Brown/W. Johnson
I've been around the world
A couple of times or maybe more
I've seen the sights, I've had delights
On every foreign shore
But when my mates all ask me
The place that I adore
I tell them right away
Give me a home among the gumtrees
With lots of plum trees
A sheep or two, a k-kangaroo
A clothesline out the back
Veranda out the front
And an old rocking chair
You can see me in the kitchen
Cooking up a roast
Or Vegemite on toast
Just you and me, a cup of tea
And later on, we'll settle down
And go out on the porch
And watch the possums play
We have had a whirlwind of a summer. I cannot believe how much we’ve done and how much the boys have changed. I still am slacking at blogging, but am trying to get back into it. Starting a business will slow down everything else. The boys are amazing, and I really do want them to be able to read this someday and think, Mom, you were crazy to write all that down, but we love it nonetheless!
We made it to Australia and back in one piece. The flight was so much better from TX to Brisbane than our last time around. Click here for a flashback – HERE. The boys were so good, it was shocking really. The worst part of the travel was coming home. It was the first time ever that the boys would wake up and get out of their beds and come to our room. Yikes, scared the living you know what out of me the first time I heard Gus say “Mommy, I never sleep” at 3am. It took about 3 days for them to get back into a rhythm, and me, well, it took almost a full week to get back in tune with my body clock in the USA. The boys eventually were fine, but definitely need a nightlight since traveling. Raleigh was soooooooo in the “why” stage when we were there. It was insane. He would ask why at least 5,000 times in one day. Nanny, Poppy and Auntie Peta can all attest to this! I would laugh as we headed to a train station, endured the 20 questions as to why a number of things were the way they were, and then the ENTIRE time we were on the train Rals would ask “why this” or “why that.” Seriously, I have no freaking idea why the guy is getting off on this stop or wearing a jacket or has curly hair, no – freaking – idea! Thankfully it has finally stopped. However, seriously within a week of returning to the US, Augustus had his “why” phase. The boys got to meet just about everyone in the Aussie family. We had a ball traveling and the boys thankfully still ask about the family every now and again. They often ask, “where does Nanny Nelle live again?” They got to go to the Gold Coast, Perth, Tasmania and Sydney this time around. I think the boys would move to Tassie if they could. They adored the time with their little boy cousins to say the least. They also loved the room to move and explore and all the “sheepS.” I was just thankful we were visiting in winter and not during the active snake season, but I digress. The only downer of the trip, besides having to say goodbye to our Aussie family, was the weather in Sydney. We had a few hours of clear skies, but almost the entire time it rained. Our beautiful penthouse hotel ended up flooding through the windows and a crack in the wall, so that was a downer, too. Of course, pictures were taken, lots and lots of pictures. About 5000 or so, and I am still working my way through them...but here are a few of my faves in a little slide show.
In other big news, the boys started preschool and are thriving there. They only go twice a week for the mornings, and will likely stay that way while they are in a good nap routine. I hate to mess with a good thing there. They love school and today they told me that it was Raleigh’s turn to wave the American flag, and Augustus just broke out singing “Yellow Submarine” at lunch. I had tears I was so proud. They have learned many lessons already and the first week’s lesson was on grace and courtesy, and they display it all the time now by asking how are day was, and are even better at using their pleases and thank you’s than before. Augustus was having a slip back into some pronunciation issues this past week, but we think it was likely due to a little runny nose and maybe some clogged ears. Although, we have read that when kids go through a physical growth spurt sometimes the mental spurt lags a bit before it catches up. Who knows, this week it is a bit better again. Our biggest concern is that he become self-conscious with his language and fall behind. He tends to get silly when he recognizes we don’t understand what he means right off the bat. We love him and all his little language quirks that make him Gus, but man, isn’t it hard to watch your kid be self-conscious?
Here are a few pictures of the boys. They are getting so big. Truly big boys now. Hopefully I will catch up soon with all the little things that are so special about them. In the meantime, a short list of things I love about these boys.
They are still full of energy and love to read. They love everything from my little pony, Barbie, Tangled, The Karate Kid, Buzz & Woody, pirates, and everything in between. They are starting to understand gender a little more, but I hope they still are so sweet and accepting of for a long time. Raleigh is fascinated by space. Augustus loves Batman, but he is tending to Spiderman and Captain America, too. He wants to be a super hero for sure! He loves to save the day! Raleigh tends toward Superman…not so much Spidey any more, but he will still wear his Spidey suit every now and again. Dress up is still in full swing, although, usually not first thing in the morning any more…which is a good thing because Mama needs her coffee before dressing up a like a pirate
They found the TV show “Little Einstein's” and all else pales in comparison. I have to laugh because the character Annie is SOOOOOOOOOOOOO my Best Friend Kristy! They know their alphabet and can count to 20 on most days. Strangely, as their little heads fill up with with more and more information daily, they started singing the abc’s like this “ABCDQRS…” Weird. I remember when I was little that I though MENO was a letter, not L, M, N, O, so it’s all good
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