Amelia's dance concert

On Saturday, Amelia performed in her dance school's annual concert and did a great job.  We are all very impressed by the dancing talent.  It is a great way for her to channel that exuberance.

What made it even more impressive was that she had gotten home from her Year 10 school camp on Friday afternoon, totally exhausted, worked for a few hours Friday night and still managed to perform in five numbers and did so with energy and enthusiasm.  She even went to work Saturday night also.

In years past she has been in 10  or more dances at the concert,  however this year she has cut back and is only doing: point ballet, contemporary ballet, jazz ballet and hip hop. Amelia also didn't need to fill in for anyone this year, who at the last minute was unable to attend the concert as she has previously.

We were not allowed to take photos or video of the performances but here are some of the official photos that Amelia was in.

Included in these photos are some of her close friends who were also part of the same items in the concert.

These girls also dance together at school.

Looks like they have the right attitude for their Hip Hop number. Peace and Pout!

Coming home from the hospital

On Friday 30 November, the doctor said that they could go home and so my sister, Karen and Taylor went to my parents for night and then the next day Karen brought Taylor home.

Phebe meeting Taylor for the
1st time at the airport

Since then, it has been back to the life of a parent of a new born.  Both Karen and I are feeling tired and being mid 40's isn't helping either.  Taylor is still being nocturnal but is having 2 - 3 feeds a night now instead of 5.  I honestly don't know how Karen is surviving on such little amounts of sleep.

The joy of having a new baby around does help you deal with the sleep deprivation.  I think the joy comes from the love everyone feels for this baby who needs help with everything, along with his innocence.  Perhaps everyones tolerance of each other also improves as they praise babies when they burp or fart.

It is great to have a new baby in the house and the three girls have all been very helpful.  They are all very willing to feed Taylor his bottle or even to change his nappy.  Lets hope that lasts.



I do feel for Joel as he had a holiday booked with his mates from school and left on the day before Karen got back.  He will get to meet Taylor tomorrow when he gets back.  We did sent him some photos so he can feel connected but it isn't the same until you are there in person.

I definitely felt  more connected once I saw him.  The first five days after he was born but still in Melbourne were tough.  Here was this child I was going to raise but I hadn't meet and had only seen a few photos of at that point.
 
The funniest thing I have heard in a while was on the day Karen and Taylor arrived home. Phebe was holding Taylor and said that she was taking Taylor to school for show and tell.  I could just imagine her putting him in her school bag and taking him to school.  Since then, Karen has taken him up to school for Phebe and Sarah to show off their new baby brother.

I will try to get some photos of Taylor awake that I can share.

Thank you to all those who have sent lovely messages, gifts for Taylor and this gorgeous arrangement of flowers that arrived today while I was typing this.  The not only look great but smell sensational.

Karen and I appreciate your all you kind words and warm wishes.

The birthday

On Tuesday 27 November, 2012 at 6:23am, our new baby was born.  To tell you more about this I've invited my wife, Karen, to share it from her perspective.

After being picked up from the airport on Friday morning, 23 November, I went straight to the hospital to attend with my Sister-in-law, her next doctors visit.  She was now three days over and the original birthing plan was to try induction if she got to this point and the baby hadn't been born.  The Medical team assigned to her in their wisdom, changed the plan and decided to let her continue naturally and made an appointment for her to come back Monday.

This change of plans was extremely frustrating as I wanted to also get home because I was missing my other four kids.

While there were plenty of false contractions, labour never really kicked in.  We went for walks around Chadstone shopping centre, ate some spicy food, but nothing was working.  After the weekend we returned to the hospital on Monday for the scheduled appointment where the doctors decided to keep her in and induce her.

After a long day and night of induction, the mother's heart rate was up and the baby's heart was down and things were not progressing, so about 6am they decided it was time for an emergency caesarian.

I was fortunate to be able to be there for the procedure, to see the baby delivered and even to cut the cord.  He weighed in at 3.9kgs.

Thankfully both Mother and child are doing well.  This baby's name is Taylor Ben Scott.  He has light coloured hair and long fingernails.

Over the next few days I stayed in the hospital with Mum and bub.  Taylor quickly settled in to a very nocturnal way of life which has been exhausting.

There has been so many emotions experienced these past few days that are very personal, and it has reminded me of how life is so very fragile. 

Meanwhile back at home

While Karen has been away, I took on the extra roles with the kids and the house.  Let me just say there  has been a time of adjustment.  Cooking the meals, Keeping the house clean, getting the kids to do their homework, and every thing else, all while working full time has been a struggle and I have a new found appreciation for my wife and especially for any single parents who do this every day.

Phebe had fallen behind with some school work and we were meant to work on some each day, however her book mysteriously disappeared for 5 days.  So that didn't happen when it should have.  It took a visit to the school to talk with the teacher and a few more days, until we finally made progress.  It actually didn't get completed until Karen came home.  I really had to rely on the other kids to help Phebe as by the time I got home, cooked dinner and bathed Phebe, it was her bed time.  Phebe just wasn't co-operating.  I think this was more to do with her missing her mum than my parenting skills.

The kids have also noticed that Dad does some things differently than Mum and there was some resistance to my style at first also.  Just little things, like, not driving them to school if they were running late.  My approach is that I do not want to reward them (drive them to school) for their poor choices (not getting up for 30 minutes after I woke them up).  By the way, why won't kids set the alarm clocks on their phones?  What is with that?

Things eventually settled down now as we were all making adjustments.  I think the kids have also gained a greater appreciation due to having me instead of their Mum look after them.

I actually wrote a list of all the things that apparently I do differently than my wife.  Karen and I will certainly be discussing these points when she returns to determine our agreed approach (or discover if the kids are pulling the wool over my eyes with what they have been telling me about what Mum would do).

When opportunity knocks

Earlier this year, my sister announced that she was pregnant.  Without going into all the detail of why (that is her story to tell if she wants to), the end result is that this baby is coming to live with Karen and I.  We feel very honoured to be entrusted with this child to raise as our own.

All our kids are pretty excited to have another baby in the house.

This baby is now born and so starts a new chapter for our family, but before I continue the story, let me take you back about two weeks.

This baby's due date was 20 November 2012.  On Friday 16th November, according to the doctor, he (we knew it was a boy) was making some progress and was in a good position with his head engaged, so the doctor wanted him to come naturally.

Last Wednesday night (21 November) there were some contractions and Karen and I expected a call in the middle of the night but everything settled down again.  This baby was 800 kilometres away and he was already giving me restless nights.  I kept waking up checking my mobile in case there was a text message or a missed call.

Thursday (22 November) seemed about the same with a occasional sharp contraction.  Late Thursday night Karen decided that she needs to go to Melbourne in anticipation that the baby would be coming soon.

So Karen headed to Melbourne on Friday (23 November) morning on a 6:30am flight to be there for the birth and give my sister a hand.  After a few days, if all is well, then she will bring the baby home.

The house already looks like a baby lives there and has so for a month or two.