Double trouble .........

Couldn't resist taking these piccies of Finlay and Ewan in the bath the other night ... just gorgeous ... they were having so much fun as you can see .............

Finlay Update

As you can see from the above piccie our baby is a baby no more!!!! Every day he is turning into a little boy which although sad to see the baby go means more than words can say. He is doing so remarkably well and all his Dr's are very pleased with his progress. Last week he finally hit the bottom of the growth charts!!!! Big Yay!!! It is a real juggle managing his diabetes so that he can get bigger and stronger but Alan and I are finally recognising that we're actually doing an ok job in keeping this little boy alive and healthy. He is zooming around on all fours at the moment and just starting to pull himself up to standing ... he loves being on his feet now so I'm sure it won't be long before he's running around after the other two boys.

His feeding is coming on; although he is still very much dependent on the complete nutrition he gets from Pediasure he is starting to become very interested in food and gets quite upset if he isn't getting something to eat if anyone else is which is just fabulous. We have an appointment with the surgeon next week to discuss a gastrostomy which will mean putting a wee button direct into his tummy which will mean finally after 19 months getting rid of his Naso gastric tube. Although it will mean an operation the advantages for Finn really do outway the disadvantages and hopefully will mean a big improvement in his eating and talking. Both hard to do with a tube down your throat!!

At the moment we are lucky enough to temporarily have a continous monitor which allows us to keep a very close eye on his blood sugars without having to do the finger pricks all the time. Although there is a lag of about 10/15 minutes it gives a fairly accurate reading in the lower levels and is allowing us to rein those sugars in even more ..... all positive :o)

Will keep you posted as to the outcome of the appointment with the surgeon next week ......

Heart Children Christmas Party

Yes it's that time of year again and it all kicked off last week with our first of many Christmas parties. Heart Children put on a fantastic party for all the local Heart Kids and their families. It's a great time to get together and catch up in a relaxed atmosphere and have a lots and lots of fun!!! Can't be bad!!!

This year, like last, it was at Steam Scene which is the home to a miniature railway which all the kids (and adults) had a chance to enjoy. Alongside the railway there was a spit roast which made for a yummy lunch, bouncy castles, lots of games, a police car and truck rig and of course no Christmas party is complete without a visit from Santa!!! It was one of the hottest day of spring so far (ok so we haven't got that far in yet!!) and the boys had a fantastic time and were all spoilt with presents from Santa ..... a good time had by all :o)

waiting to see Santa ...

Our very own gorgeous Heart Kid having a fantastic time with Daddy :o)

A day out a Orana ....

Did I mention that the weather here has been fab ... I did ... sorry!!! Last week we took a picnic and went off to our local animal park - Orana. We have another years pass which allows us to go in and out as many times as we want throughout the year ... a bargain considering how many times we usually end up going!!!! It was lovely to see Finn more into the animals and really curious as to what was going on especially watching the spider monkeys ... funny really all the boys seemed to have quite an interest in watching them get up to mischief ... learning new tricks most likely!!!!!!

Other highlights of the day were Peggy the gibbon .....

the new Kea enclosure (Kea's are the worlds largest parrots only found in NZ) .......

the farmyard (always a favourite of Cameron's) ...

and of course a visit to Orana wouldn't be complete without feeding the giraffes!!!!

Getting to work in the garden ....

With the arrival of spring the garden has sprung into action, so with the aid of our new lawnmower Ewan and Dad have been hard at work .............

Ewan is turning out to be a big help!!! Our latest project is our veggie patch, so far we have radishes, beans, cucumbers, courgettes and corn planted out with broccoli, carrots, onions and lettuce waiting to go in. Also tomatoes in pots. Fingers crossed we will soon have a bounty of new veggies fresh from the garden!!! No pictures as of yet but hopefully will get some soon.

It's so nice to have the longer days and more often than not sunny weekends ... next BIG job for us will be painting the exterior of the house ......paint bought just need to get started!!!!

Apologies ..........

...........for the long delay in blogging ... where does time go to?!?!?!? Hard to believe we're fast heading towards the end of the year. The bonus is that we are well into spring and fast approaching summer here!!

I will attempt to fill you in on what we've been up to ......