As high as I can go

Reuben has just discovered how to stand up with the aid of things around him. This includes people, toys and his cot. It's time to lower the base of his cot as the next step will be to climb over the edge! He also likes to be as high as he can be, therefore he loves being carried on shoulders. This is a photo of Reuben and Mike at the show- he had more fun looking at ceilings than at the animals.

Fun with sand

Today I took Reuben to the beach. This was partly to distract him for a while, as he has been very grumpy due to his first tooth as well as feeling a bit poorly. It was also lovely weather and I was keen for him to help me make sandcastles. Reuben enjoyed scraping up the sand and rolling around in it, however he also loves to eat it! Each sandcastle just meant easier access to handfuls of sand. Sand mixed with dribble and runny nose is disgusting. Not that Reuben cared. He also had a great time waiting for the waves to run over his toes. As well as shouting out to the passing puppies and chewing on my toes, he had a great time.

Kransky Fun

Today, we went to Kaitpo Forrest to eat Kranskys and beer (and to walk in the forest). With the weather threatening to bucket at any moment, we rugged up and headed out with firewood in tow. Mike's home brew popped like cheap champagne, which meant I had to scull half of mine to avoid losing the precious ale. Tristian's brew was better behaved, allowing us to sip at our leisure. With three different types of kranskys (plain, chilli and cheese), plus left-over dips from Pete and Shelley's bash, we had a veritable feast!

Reuben decided that he loves hoummus and Lebanese bread and sat in his pusher with bits hanging out of his mouth. However once he got sight of a cheese kransky, we had to fight him off!

After all of that feasting, we thought we'd better go for a walk. The forest is very similar to The Pines near Lincoln (before trashing) so it was a pleasant amble through the trees. Reuben slept in his rucksack as soon as we went a few metres. All of that high carb food and fresh air tuckered
him out.

Widdle wed wagon

Today Reuben attended his cousin Aiden's 2nd birthday party. It involved an amazing amount of presents and lots of sugar laden food. Reuben was slightly overwhelmed. However, he did get to go for a ride in Aiden's little red wagon. Everything went well until he fell out at the last minute. The tears dried up as soon as he got to see his photo on my phone!

Strongman

The other day I bought Reuben some leggings to keep him warm during winter. I should have realised that being Bonds, they would be on the small size. He now wears them underneath other clothes as thermals to avoid possible embarrassment. With his blue singlet and muscle boy attitude, Reuben looks like the Strongman at the circus! He seemed to get the gag though. Funny old sausage.

A Big Boy goes shopping

Reuben has always been a great shopper and even loves to go grocery shopping. Usually we find a trolley with a baby seat in it, putting up with the grotty straps (which Reuben inevitably chews) and enduring a bumpy ride back to the car in which his poor cheeks wobble unmercifully.

On Tuesday we went to the shop only to find that all baby trolleys had been snaffled, so we decided to try the Big Boy Seat. This was met with elation by Reuben who was able to sit up and show off to all the old ladies in the store. He kept up his Big Boy attitude for most of the shop, however loud yawns were heard echoing down the coffee isle as the novelty started to wear off.

My little man is growing up so fast.

Holiday fun in Mt. Gambier

This long weekend we spent in sunny Mt. Gambier. Fortunately we were in a cabin, however we needed the heater on constantly to keep defrosted.

There are many fun things to do in The Mount such as "doing a mainy" and checking out the shopping action. We ended up buying warm clothes from Rivers and eating sausage rolls.

The highlight for the weekend was taking a tour through Engelbrecht Cave. A young lady from the South East led us through the cave, pointing out the graffiti on the walls and the genuine rubbish which was left behind. She also showed us the mould which was growing on the rocks but explained how they had slowed the rate of growth by lowering the "waddidge" of the lights. This however, increased the likelihood of falling down the stairs due to lack of light. There was also a dead scuba diver strung up from the roof meant to encourage us to learn how to cave dive.

We also drove down to Pt. MacDonnell and Nelson to check out the water. Reuben had a great time exploring the beach and going on the play equipment with Mike. He was wearing his Superman outfit, so was ready to try anything!

All in all, it was an interesting trip and a very very long drive home (especially as we decided to go via the coast).