Bluey the blue-tongue lizard, Choo-Choo the guinea pig, time with family

Sometimes when it rains after a long hot day you just have to put on your superhero suit and run around in the rain.

 

Taylor Park friends will be interested to know that after a rainy day there were only 20 cars outside the school and room for plenty more - but approximately 60 cockatoos in the tree. Click to enlarge if you want to count them.

 

Dave kindly invited us to a private fireworks show out at his sheep farm. George was jamming on the harmonica with the guitarists.

 

Nanny and Gramps came to town, and we all got together at Aunty Shani's for a big party. To us, it was Christmas and George's birthday all rolled into one.

And best of all, in the garden at Aunty Shani's house, Max spotted and managed to catch a blue-tongued lizard!

It was hissing, puffing up its body, and trying to bite everyone. But in 15 minutes it was tame and happy to be held.Cousin Piama plays with a kid whose family has a pet blue tongue. They play dress ups with it. We have learnt that blue tongue babies are born in late January, so this one is probably less than 2 weeks old. They are born live, not from eggs. It probably had 20 siblings, many of whom will be eaten by currawongs and kookaburras.Their tongue is really blue. They are harmless. They grow really big. In 2 years this one will be 50cm.

 

Holly and Pia have lots of blue tongue lizards in their back yard. Gerry had eaten one recently.

We got together with Nanny and Gramps again over the next couple of days. One day they brought Holly and Pia and visited us in Lindenow. We visited Max's school and George's school, and had a play at the park.

One night the baby lizard fell asleep on Max as he watched TV. When I turned the light on to take this photo it woke up. It was so cute to see it lying on its side with its eyes closed.

 

With Bluey stealing all the limelight, Milo the guinea pig was seeming mopey and lonely. The Bairnsdale Pet Shop had this little black and tan guinea. She is 5 months old and we have called her Choo-Choo after the famous Choo Choo Bar, a liquorice flavoured toffee that has helped many Australian children lose their baby teeth. Max and George have eaten a bit of one, didn't like it. Little Choo Choo has a friendly personality. Milo attacked her at first, but now they are good friends. The kids love having pets.

Milo the guinea pig, George at Kindergarten

So, we have a beautiful little brown and white guineapig called Milo. Pete, whose tree Max was climbing on Australia Day, happened to have a cage at his place that he gave to us. Thanks Pete!

 

Max thinks it is hilarious that she dashes up the leg of his shorts sometimes and we have to undo his fly to let her out. 

We took her to school for show and tell. 

 

You can see Max at the end of the line with the rest of his class, holding Milo in a blue bucket. Once in the classroom, George sat with the other grade 2 kids. 

George had his long awaited first day at Kindergarten. It was only one hour long. Next week will be one 3-hour session and the following week will be the full 4 hours, one day a week. There are 18 kids, 8 girls and 10 boys.

I asked him if he enjoyed his first day at school. He said "Yes I did, but next time, could you leave?"

We picked up our mail on the way home and this super cool superhero costume had arrived from Dad. 

Frog at the river, first day at school

This morning was first day of school. George insisted on wearing his "school uniform" and having a packed lunch just like Max. We took Max to school and stayed for a school assembly. After Max said his cheerful goodbye, George and I went immediately to enrol in HIS school, a preschool just down the road, which runs one day a week for 4 hours.

 

Yesterday we went swimming at the river and Max found a frog. 

The frog didn't mind lying on its back sometimes.

Max's ambition in 2007 was to jump into a river from a rope swing. He achieved that ambition yesterday.

 

George is swimming further and more confidently every time he gets a chance. He just loves to jump in off the side and has been good about waiting for an adult to be ready to catch him. 

We recently got together for a visit with cousins Holly and Pia and their new cousin, baby Sophie.

Pia was busy copying a picture of Dora.

There has been a bit of mud pie making in the back yard lately. George prefers to make mud pies in the nude.

Max has discovered that he has the ability to raise each eyebrow, one at a time. George is still trying.

 

The line of trees in the distance is the Mitchell River, where we went swimming and found the frog.