The Dower Family

Finally the time has come for our Bali trip for Rach & Christian’s wedding.  We have been looking forward to this for so long but I’ve also been pretty apprehensive about Ollie B’s first overseas trip.  Thankfully, the trip over here went off without a hitch (except for the tears when Panda had to go through the x-ray machine at Customs). Ever the seasoned flyer, Ollie was asleep within a few minutes of take-off (just like his Mummy).  He got through the rest of the six hour flight by indulging his love of Yo Gabba Gabba and Sesame Street on the laptop and Nick and I celebrated our triumph over a glass or two of wine.  The real joy started when we hit the arrivals hall to the dodgy new immigration process (ie they now have computers!).  This took about an hour and a half, which was less than the five hour delays I had been hearing about.  Ollie kept himself amused by cuddling and kissing the six year old girl he had met on the plane.  He is such a ladies man. Then we had to

Isn’t he just adorable?  He certainly knows how to turn the charm on lately.  He also knows how to turn the TV on.  It is his new best friend. His absolute fave show is “Yo Gabba Gabba” – it is an American show about dancing and music that features a beatboxing section and a new dance step in each episode.  The characters are (from L-R) Muno, Foofa, Plex, Broby, Toodee and DJ Lance Rock.  Ollie’s favourite is Broby (he can say his name!) who is clearly suffering from bipolar disorder but otherwise a fairly loveable kind of monster.  DJ Lance Rock comes a close second.  With songs such as “there’s a party in my tummy” and “don’t bite your friends” and guests including Jack Black and lots of amazing bands, we feel more than confident that watching this show will give Obear the push he needs to become an American Rapper/Beatboxer or backup dancer for the next big thing.   Fortunately he loves books more than TV and we will make sure this always remains the case. In non-televis

This is my second mother’s day.  Last year it was still such a novelty, having a four month old baby who, while he could smile and thrown in the occasional giggle, was just a floppy whingy little blob (who I loved more than any other floppy whingy little blob!). My wish list to mark this occasion was a pair of slippers to keep my feet warm in our chilly little house and a thermos to take my Earl Grey to the park.  Ollie (and Nick) filled those requirements but went above and beyond my expectations and got me a new Nintendo Ds – probably not the best way to encourage me to be a better mum by giving me a new gaming device.  Ollie will have to put Pizza Hut on speed dial soon.  But my absolute super favourite part of the day was Ollie running to me with his (crayon scribbled) card in his hands calling out “mummy”.   Love. Love. Love. But 365 days on from my first mother’s day and I feel like I have learned a lifetime.  Here are a few of the pearls of wisdom that I’ve mastered.  I’ve l

Last week I wrote about Ollie’s newfound use of the word Nanna. While this word continues to feature prominently, and in appropriate situations, this week it has evolved.  Not only is it applied for the Nanna people, but it has cropped up when applied to Ollie’s current fave fruit – bananas.  Oddly though, it has morphed into a reference from Mork & Mindy and he often runs around the house saying “nanoo nanoo”! Nick and Obear had a boys day at the shops last week and came home with a present for Ollie which was really a present for me – an art set.  I may have thought Ollie was a little young for it but have been proved completely wrong.  He thinks drawing with crayons is AWESOME and we’ve done it at least once a day since then.  He is also enjoying my drawings of things he recognises like Panda, dogs and dinosaurs.  We are both having a cracker of a time scribbling stuff and it has got me completely excited about all the fun crafty stuff we have to look forward to over the ye