The roof..the roof...the roof is on fire

It was just an ordinary Thursday. We'd had a full day of swim class, sidewalk chalk drawing, finger painting, tummy time in the backyard with Liam, and a playdate at Crazy Critters (our favorite indoor playspace). Matt was at class, and the evening was unfolding as usual...

5:30pm - Liam happily gazed at the bird mobile on his cradle swing. Julia sat at the kitchen table eating her dinner and periodically pointing out to me that I need to wash the windows (she's a cleaning critic these days).

6:00pm - Put both kids in the bath. First time trying to bathe them simultaneously, and it was going well. Julia was showing Liam all of her bath toys. Liam was smiling and cooing at Julia (he is so responsive to her).

6:15pm - Took Liam out of the tub and let him kick around on a towel while Julia played some more.

6:20pm - Started trying to convince Julia that it was time to get out of the bath. Loud no, no, no's and splashing ensued. Started to let out the bath water. Thought I heard a smoke alarm going off but assumed it was the neighbors.

6:21pm - Just trying to grab a wet, squirming Julia when the alarm sounds got twice as loud as a second smoke alarm joined the first. ***PANIC*** Realized, those were our smoke alarms going off. And here I lost track of time....

Realizing I couldn't leave Julia alone in the bath or with Liam (thank goodness Liam's little enough to stay where you put him!), I picked up wet, naked Julia (who had stopped squirming the second she too heard the alarms going off) and went racing into the hallway. Sirens blaring. And ***MORE PANIC*** some smoke coming from the kitchen, thick black smoke from just above my head all the way to the ceiling. Thankfully, no flames though.

Trying to make it all somehow into a fun adventure, I explained (in a calm panic) to Julia that we needed to get away from the smoke. Fortunately, the children's rooms are at the other end of the house from the kitchen, so I raced us all into Liam's room and did the world's fastest diapering. I got Liam dressed but I'd just washed all of Julia's warm PJ's and they were in the laundry basket in our room still (again far away from the kitchen, thankfully), so poor Julia is shivering (it's fall here, remember) as we all head to our bedroom. Meanwhile, I'm trying madly to open windows and doors along the way.

Kids dressed, we went straight outside. We'd played out there a lot during the day, and I hadn't had a chance to clean up yet, so Liam's bouncy seat was out there, along with a picnic blanket and some of Julia's toys and books (for once it paid off to not be on top of the housework). Thank you, open plan houses....our bedroom, living room, and kitchen all open onto the backyard, so I was able to keep an eye on Julia and Liam and still go back in to try to open up the rest of the house and make sure no appliances were on (nothing was...I didn't know what had caused the fire/smoke). Once the windows and doors had all be opened and all the fans were on full blast, the sirens went off and I breathed a small sigh of relief that the worst was over.

I'd been trying to call and text Matt since we went outside, but his phone was off completely so I couldn't get through. I called my good friend Debbie who lives about 5 minutes away and told her what was going on. Her husband, Steve, was meant to be out late for a business dinner, but he just happened to walk in while I was on the phone with her. I was pretty sure we were in the clear but still a bit concerned so being amazing friends, he got right back in the car and came over to check things out. Julia was happily playing outside. Liam had fallen asleep in the bouncy seat, so Steve & I ventured into the kitchen.

The smoke had mostly cleared to reveal blackened cabinets & range hood all above and around the stove. I had used one of the burners at suppertime and was scared at first that I'd left something on, but everything was turned off. We have an old electric stove (that I hate) that takes ages to cool off after a use, so often one burner is still warm an hour or two after it's been turned off, but when we went to the stove, three of the four burners were not just warm but hot. And covering most of the kitchen surfaces was a dusting of ash. We looked all around but couldn't figure out what had burned. It didn't seem to be anything short-circuiting at least. Best guess from the smell was that it was something plastic, maybe something that had blown or been knocked onto the stove while that burner was still hot. Whatever it was had burned off completely, and judging from the blackened area around the stove there must have been some pretty sizeable flames at one point.

Anyway...more time passed and I decided Julia's and Liam's rooms were safe with the windows and doors still opened, so both children went to bed and I started the cleaning battle against smoke damage. Still not winning that one...

When Matt got home my chest was feeling really tight and my throat was sore from the smoke I'd inhaled along the way. Between that and paranoia over the children's exposure, we decided to call the doctor to get checked out. Gotta love a country that still has doctors who make house calls!! An older Indian doctor came and was able to listen to give us the once over, listening for any breathing difficulties (didn't even have to wake up either child!). He had a very thick accent and the world's most nonchalant way of delivering his medical opinion. It went something like this: "All is fine. Just some mild carbon monoxide poisoning. Burning paper not much to worry about. Burning plastic though...many toxic fumes. You probably inhale that some. No worries. You inhale too much, it goes to the brain and you pass out. Then we worry. But you're in the clear now. All fine."

And thankfully, we are all fine! I think the kitchen cupboards might even make it.

Spring has Sprung in the Fall

April arrived bringing fall weather to our part of the world, but still it feels like spring. However, some adages like "April showers" are the same whether (no pun intended) it's fall or spring. Our yard is loving the rain, and we've had a few more craft days while the parks are too wet. I got Julia an art smock (craft day is more fun when you know it doesn't mean extra laundry!), and she loved our new painting project -- clip a cotton ball with a clothespin and you've got a great toddler paintbrush! Sidewalk chalk on our covered patio is fun too! Our best addition to our craft box though has been the enormous roll of butcher paper that Matt brought home from work last week. Some big machine is no longer in use so the extra rolls of paper went to the daddies in the office. Hours and hours of drawing and painting ahead of us now, and I've hung a clothesline on one of the walls in our hallway so Julia now has a place to showcase her current artwork.

Despite having adapted in many ways to life Down Under, I cannot adjust to the switched seasons here. For me, April is spring, July is summer, and it's completely weird to be in shorts and t-shirts in the middle of December! No matter how much I try to shift, apparently some habits can't be broken, so last week found me in spring cleaning mode. Of course, with two kids in the house, spring cleaning is neither as efficient nor as thorough as it's meant to be, but I did get into a flurry of activity, clearing out under the beds and in the tops of the closets, airing out pillows and blankets and rugs. Julia thought it was great fun when I took all her toys and play furniture outside for a deeper clean than the wipe down it usually gets. The novelty of having her whole play area set up outside provided so much entertainment that I left it out there for our two rain-free days. Too bad the results of the cleaning didn't last long...

The cooler weather is such a treat, and it hasn't been raining the whole time so we have also gotten to enjoy many sunny hours at the local parks running and climbing and wearing ourselves out. By "we" I mean Julia and me. Liam, on the other hand, is the epitome of relaxation and spends most of his park time in the pram or on a blanket, sticking his nose into the wind like a puppy dog and smiling a lot and then falling asleep. This week we discovered the fantastic Queen's Park in Ipswich that has (literally) acres of green space, picnic areas, and play structures of all sorts, including a zipline that even adults were playing on! They also have a free wildlife enclosure and gardens, but we had already worn ourselves out before we even made it to that part. Next time.

We're All Smiles

Liam started smiling last Monday (yeah, I'm a bit behind in my posts!).
Liam was lying on our bed. Julia was napping in her room, so I was just babbling in silly voices to Liam while I got ready for us all to go out later that afternoon. Next thing I know, he had this big ole grin on his face and started cooing happily while he tried to follow my voice around the room, turning his head- Exorcist style. I moved right in front of him and he just kept smiling and cooing in a way that sounds almost like a little giggle (I know, it's too early for 1st laughs yet). I'm sure he was thinking, "My mom is SO weird!" but I was excited and didn't care that I was making no sense at all!Liam is a ladies' man, though. He's a little flirt and so far will smile easily for any female, but he made Matt work a little harder before Liam would flash that first cheeky grin at him!Julia liked the photo shoot when I was trying to capture those first smiles. She showed her pearly whites for the camera a few times, just to show Liam how it was done. My favorite though was when he smiled when she gave him a kiss!!

My Big Boy

Liam had his 6 week check up with the pediatrician today, and I am pleased to report that he is very healthy (aside from reflux but that's easily treatable, and Liam is so good natured that he doesn't complain all that much). He is also very big! Here are the stats:

weight: 6kg (13.2 lbs) *more than half Julia's size and 97th percentile for his age!
height: 60cm (23.6 inches)

The doctor laughed at my chubby little boy and tickled his tummy, saying, "Aren't you just a little piggy." Liam apparently will take no ridiculing about his size; he promptly spit up all over the doctor!

Sunday Picnic

We had a great picnic last Sunday with Simon & Sarah and Scott at Rocks Riverside Park (where we'd had Julia's 1st birthday party). Sarah and I sat in the shade with Liam watching while the boys played croquet with Julia.

They quickly learned to modify the game with the "Julia Rule." Basically, if Julia picked up the ball (as she liked doing), you had to hit it from wherever she put it down. Of course, you could also encourage to get closer to the wicket (if it was your turn) or to run away with the ball (if it was someone else's turn). It definitely turned croquet into a better spectator sport!

After eating, Liam became the centre piece of the picnic table (pants got lost somewhere along the way as it got hotter in the day). Scott followed suit, stripping down to boxers as well (I've spared y'all those photos). We think he's spent to much time in Europe-- Matt and I always found it bizarre that so many European men found it perfectly acceptable to lounge around in parks in their underwear!

We had fun letting Liam practice his rugby skills, and we think we might have a footy pro on our hands. The first video is his practice time.

The second time around, he did actually kick it off the table!

Julia meanwhile was very excited to discover an open bag of chips right at her level, and while our attention was momentarily diverted, she quickly devoured much of the normally off-limits food!

All in all, a great (and relaxing) afternoon!

Baa Baa Baa (My Proud Mama Moment)

At Gymboree Music class today, all the children were told to take turns singing into a play microphone to Old MacDonald's Farm. The whole class (i.e. the teacher & all the parents) would sing the song and each child would take a turn making the appropriate animal noise. Julia's animal was the sheep, and when it came time, she said a very clear "Baa baa" right on cue...I was so proud! Now I know it's just a little thing, and she's getting to be nearly two, but (aside from just being cute seeing her holding a microphone in front of an audience) let me back up and explain why this is a really big deal for us...

Julia started speech therapy last Friday. Despite being an incredibly "talkative' child, Julia's language development is not on track for her age. Apparently, she's put all her energy into staying ahead of the curve for physical activity (walking early, running early, climbing on every available surface, including full size ladders and other things that freak her mother out...you get the picture), and meanwhile she hasn't put much focus on learning how to formulate real words. Don't get me wrong. She babbles constantly & she's definitely trying to communicate! We just have a lot of head shaking, finger pointing, and other hand gestures to go along with her "words" which are just vague representations of what she wants to say (some of it sounds almost like Pig Latin, e.g. "ish-fee" is fish).

I'd been mentioning that I was a bit concerned about her language development at every doctor's visit since about 12 months old, but I kept getting told "all kids develop at different rates, just give it time" and with the medical system being what it is here, I couldn't just book in to see the specialist right away (GP has to refer to a pediatrician who has to refer for a hearing test and THEN a speech pathologist!). I was starting to feel like just a paranoid mother getting worried over what the books say is "normal", but I trusted my instinct and kept pressing the GP. We finally got the referral to the pediatrician.

Now doctor's appointments are usually all of 5 minutes long, and no toddler can be expected to act like her usual self in that amount of time (Julia usually just stares at the doc like he's an alien). But this time, I asked a million questions (trying to take advantage of the time with a specialist), and while the doc and I were talking, Julia got distracted playing with a big box of Legos in his office. She became completely comfortable and started "talking", so he was able to see exactly what I was describing, and he immediately referred us to a speech pathologist.

Leith Johnston, our speech pathologist, is fantastic! Julia actually enjoyed the (2 hour!) session, probably due in part to the fact that there were great toys there...not the usual doctor's office toys (you know, books without the last 5 pages, second hand mechanical toys that no longer do what they're supposed to do, etc.). Leith spent the first hour talking to me about Julia's milestones and observing while Julia had free run of the toys, and then she spent the second hour on the floor with Julia while I did the observing. Julia was very attentive and was attempting many more words than usual. Leith said that Julia is right on target in her understanding of words (yay!), but that she has "low oral tone" (muscles in her mouth and jaw are weak). We left the session exhausted (Julia slept the whole way home and for 2 hours after that!) but with some very concrete suggestions for how to work with Julia.

Matt and I have been really working hard with Julia all weekend, though a lot is about changing the way we talk to her and not vice versa. Which leads me to the excitement at Gymboree today...

I was worried that Julia would be the only child in the class not "singing" for the group or that her sheep would say "daa, daa" (for Julia, "b's" have usually been "d's"). Instead, all but one other child was overcome with shyness and said nothing, while Julia confidently said her very clear, "baa baa". I am one proud mom!!

[I know the photos don't go with the post, but I thought they were cute!]

Easter Weekend at Wivenhoe

Judging from her complete exhaustion upon their return, her chocolate-stained clothing, and the photos and video clips Matt took, Julia had an absolute blast over the Easter long weekend. Jon's (Pop's) cousin, Peter and his wife, Jenni, have a beautiful house and acreage (that's increased since the drought) at Wivenhoe Dam, and each year for the Easter holiday, the McCarthys all gather there to camp out, eat tons of delicious food and lots of chocolate, ride bikes or horses, go for long walks or cool swims, and just generally relax and enjoy the company. I opted out of the trip because Liam's a bit too little for camping, but Matt and Julia went and enjoyed themselves while I caught up on some much needed rest. Matt's cousins all have kids who are between 5 & 10 yrs old (or so), and they all (the little girls especially) kept Julia thoroughly entertained, so Matt got a bit of a break too. I'll try to post some of the video soon (I've figured out how to post video from our normal camera but not from the actual video camera yet). In the meantime, here are a few pictures from the weekend.

The girls had their hands full with Julia and little 9-month old Sophia

The McCarthy clan's starting to look like a bikey gang (Jon's really started a trend with his motorcycle)...

Julia and Taylor -- this was a game played a lot throughout the weekend -- Julia was the passenger and the older girls were the horses pulling the hula hoop "carriage"

Julia and Malia hunting for Easter eggs (in Australia, all the Easter eggs for the hunt are pure chocolate -- none of those plastic eggs or colored real eggs -- and y'all Americans think your kids are on a sugar high at Easter!)

A soccer pro in the making...