Seddon Family

Little pig

2010-03-01T20:47:00.000+11:00

Thea living it up

2010-03-01T20:46:00.000+11:00

This is at Mum and Dad's house in Greenwich. While it might look like Thea is drinking a beer, I promise, she wasn't. We were enjoying a quiet dinner on the balcony overlooking the harbour. Terribly civilised. Thea has started walking and is absolutely loving it! Arms are still outstretched, but she is getting more confident.

Thea in the garden

2009-12-21T20:19:00.000+11:00

Here's Thea in our back yard. She is being so cute at the moment. Crawling everywhere and pulling herself up on things left, right and centre. She has four teeth and is so interactive. Hamish seems to be getting a little bit jealous of her at the moment. Maybe this is because I have started back at work...who knows.

Visit to Canberra in October

2009-12-07T13:45:00.000+11:00

Ah yes, our nation's capital. What's not to love. Hamish and Thea look perplexed in this photo, but I assure you they were loving the miniature village and steam trains. Who wouldn't?

At the farm

2009-10-28T21:01:00.000+11:00

This was at the farm on the October long weekend. Thea had her first sit on the quad...oh dear. Hamish and Les had a ride through a huge puddle and got soaked head to toe and loved it.

Bushwalking

2009-09-30T13:48:00.000+10:00

We went for a 7km bushwalk a few weekends ago. It was on the central coast and it was beautiful. The waratahs were out, they are totally amazing! Les carried Hamish in the backpack and I carried Thea in a friend's backpack. It was hot and pretty hard going, but worth it. Hopefully next time Hamish will walk.

Hamish's 3rd birthday

2009-09-24T13:43:00.000+10:00

On September 20, Hamish turned 3. We have had had many celebrations. He had some friends over for a train cake on Friday and then family on Sunday for a tractor cake. Les made the train cake and Dad made the tractor cake, so I was pretty relaxed. It was lovely to see him so excited. He got a scooter which he was very pleased with. Aunty Nay Nay came to stay so his birthday was even more special. Thea loved every minute of the parties and just wants to be around Hamish at all times. She is still just sitting, but is pretty keen on the idea of moving. I think she is a little bit frustrated at not being able to move to where she wants, but nothing too bad.
The biggest thing for Hamish was that he wanted to blow out the candles all by himself - quite a feat for a three-year-old's party. It was managed though!

First tooth

2009-09-17T08:31:00.000+10:00

Thea has her first tooth! She is nine months now which seems so old, but when I think about it, it does seem like ages since she was born. She has been a bit grizzly with the tooth, but it seems to be through now. She is sitting up by herself and starting to reach forward as though she wants to crawl but no real movement yet. I am really enjoying this stage because she is usually pretty happy sitting there with a toy, or more often just watching Hamish. They are both sitting on their little couch now giggling together. I think Thea is trying to eat Hamish's toes.
She is a pretty chilled out little girl. She loves to go for walks and is happy if she is involved. She does get a bit grumpy when I try to put her on floor if she thinks she is missing out on something. She also loves eating, just like her big brother.

Baby Audrey Hunter

2009-09-17T08:22:00.000+10:00

Andy and Rach had their second baby Audrey on September 4. She is beautiful and with a full head of dark hair, quite like Thea. We went to visit and as is the case with the second/third child, we got distracted and only took this one photo of her which is really a photo of me! Hamish and Sylvie had lots of fun playing together. Suddenly Sylvie seems so grown up.
Thea enjoyed giving Sylvie very slobbery kisses.

Thea eating

2009-07-15T14:41:00.000+10:00

Thea is now fully on solids and loving it. She doesn't eat everything like Hamish did (and does) but she still does pretty well. Yoghurt, apple, pumpkin and rice cereal are her favourites. I think she has a bit of a sweet tooth. Could it be all the cakes I am eating going through the breastmilk?

Melbourne

2009-05-27T13:12:00.000+10:00

We just came back from five days in Melbourne where we stayed with Clarkie and Roh. Despite an unexpected visit to Hobart airport on the way down due to fog in Melbourne, we had a lovely time. Hamish loved the trams and Thea was really chilled out, just sitting in the pram most of the day while we shopped and ate and had coffee.
We stayed in a frighteningly high apartment which had a pool in the complex which was great for entertaining Hamish. I think he just loved having so much attention.
We are hoping that we haven't caught Swine flu as it is apparently rife down there. No signs yet!

Thea's first farm trip and a wedding

2009-05-06T20:24:00.000+10:00

I forgot to mention in the last post that it was also Thea's first trip to the farm. She was pretty happy, although she doesn't look it so much in these photos, they are all we have! She is nearly rolling over, she has made it to her side but not fully onto her stomach. She is talking away and seems to have really discovered her voice. It is very cute and quite noisy too. She doesn't sleep much during the day and is still waking a few times at night which is getting a bit annoying, but is okay at the moment. She is just awfully cute and smiley. I even managed to get her to laugh the other day. I was blowing raspberries on her neck and she thought it was hilarious. Lovely.
The other photos are of Thea's first wedding - Crossie and Sushila. It was a beautiful dawn wedding on the headland at Mona Vale.

Easter at the farm

2009-04-30T13:26:00.000+10:00

We had a great time at the farm this Easter. We went with Jim and Maureen and Jamie and his new fiance Bree. Bree already has two boys - Kai and Noah - and Hamish absolutely loves them. It was a total boys weekend. Lots of tractors, quads, bulldozers and horses. A dream for Hamish.
We rode on the quad and horses which was lots of fun, for us as well as Hamish.
Thea was great and just seemed to enjoy being around us.

Gastro again

2009-03-31T12:53:00.000+11:00

So we got it again. This time it was me and Thea. Well, I don't know that Thea really had it but she was totally unsettled and cried for a day or so. I think this was mostly because I had no milk and it wasn't tasting very good. We were in Sydney when it struck and so lobbed ourselves on Mum and Dad. They were then stuck looking after the three of us while Les went back to work in Newcastle. It was nice to hang out in Sydney and catch a ferry to Circular Quay. Hamish thought it was a great holiday.
Now I am feeling better and Thea has settled down. She is growing so quickly and is really porking up as you can see by her sausage arms in this photo. The photo of Hamish was taken at Hallidays at the pool. He loves it there so much. Although lately it is all about looking for crabs rather than swimming. We can't tell him that we are going to Hallidays until the morning we leave or else he gets too excited and won't go to sleep.

Gastro

2009-02-25T13:34:00.000+11:00

I love this photo of Thea and Hamish. It seems whenever we are holding Thea, Hamish wants in on the action. Generally not a problem, although sometimes challenging while breastfeeding.
Both Hamish and I have had gastro which has been less than pleasant, although not altogether disastrous. Neither of us have been really sick with it. Mum came up yesterday to help out so that was a relief. Things have been going well, but the late afternoon is certainly trying my patience. Well in truth, it is not the late afternoon, it is Hamish in the late afternoon. He is two years old after all. Still, I am mostly enjoying hanging out with him and now being able to have some conversations.
Thea is smiling away at us and cooing and gaaing and being ultra cute of course.

Thea Elisabeth Seddon

2009-02-01T21:30:00.000+11:00

I know, I know, no one even reads this anymore, but I figured I should at least attempt to keep it up to date. Well, the blog is now somewhat misleadingly named. We have a new arrival. Thea Elisabeth Seddon was born on December 14 2008. She weighed 3.3kg and was 52 cm long.
Thea was born at home (this was planned!) and the labour was pretty short and very wonderful. It was such a joy to bring Thea into this world in our own home. We had two wonderful midwives who helped us a great deal. It is hard to explain how blessed I feel to have given birth to another healthy, amazing baby.
She is now seven weeks old. I can't believe it has gone so quickly. She is growing well, sleeps sometimes and feeds often. I'm not sure if she is very different to Hamish, it is hard to remember what he was like. She seems to have a bit of wind which Hamish never had. She has a serious cry on her, but doesn't cry for ages at a time. She has just started to smile and that is so beautiful.
Hamish loves her and sings to her when she is crying - usually "Twinkle little star" and then announces "Hamish make Thea happy!" It is lovely. He is really gentle with her and doesn't seem to get annoyed that I can't do some things because I am feeding her or rocking her or whatever.
We are really happy. Tired and overwhelmed at times, but generally really happy.

October things

2008-11-24T10:04:00.000+11:00

Just a couple of random pics for Hamish's many fans to enjoy!
The top one is Hamish and Milly on Jim's tractor at Blackhead. Hamish is looking somewhat bogan-esque, not sure what it is in particular, but could be a combination of the glasses, hat and boots. I also particularly like the food smeared all over his face. Milly and Hamish continue to be best buddies. They both ask for each other a lot and then when they see each other they give big hugs and sometimes a kiss. It is very cute. Often it degenerates very swiftly into a battle over toys, but there is definitely some love there.
The other photo is obviously of Hamish on the couch sucking his fingers and the other one is of him enjoying his dinosaur present from his great uncle Jay. He quite likes to sing the dinosaur song as well.
He is such a chatterbox at the moment, he is like a baby magpie squaking incessently...in an adorable and endearing way of course. It is so great how many words he has now and he understands so much. We have been telling him a lot about his baby sister that is going to be born soon and he seems pretty into it. Not sure how long that will last after the birth when he realises that he is not the centre of our universe anymore. It must be such a hard concept to understand, and at such a young age, I imagine it is a real shock! He is not Robinson Crusoe though...
Speaking of the baby, I am huge and somewhat uncomfortable. I am really looking forward to meeting this little girl, not sure that I am looking forward to the sleep disturbed nights though. At least I will be able to bend down and pick up toys easily again!

Hamish turns two!

2008-09-22T15:11:00.000+10:00

On Saturday September 20, Hamish turned two. Everyone says it, but time goes so quickly and I cannot believe our little boy is two.
We had planned to have a small party (just a morning tea with some cake) but unfortunately I got gastro and so we were in quarantine. On the day Hamish was very happy. The first thing he said when I went into his room on Saturday morning was "Happy Birthday to you!" We were able to have his friend Millie (and her parents Drew and Elisha) come over because they had all had the bug. So thankfully it was still a fun day for Hamish.
We had a fabulous truck cake that Les made on Friday while I was busy in the bathroom and Hamish was really excited to blow out the candles. He and Millie played in his new sandpit that Uncle Jamie gave him and ended up making it into a pool and splashing around. It was so hot so that was perfect.
He got lots of phone calls and told everyone about the cake and Happy Birthday to you. He is so lovely and so much fun at the moment.

Top End

2008-09-21T20:30:00.000+10:00

It has been too long! No excuses. Here are some photos of our wonderful holiday in Darwin and Kakadu. We met Clarkie and Roh up there and it was such a lovely week. We had a a night in Darwin and then got in the hire car and drove down to Kakadu. We camped for five nights and it was great. Hamish had such a ball. Just being in the outdoors, having Clarkie and Roh to hang out with and swimming everyday was fabulous. Hamish called Clarkie and Roh - Ayash and Roh Roh. It was very cute.
Luckily we didn't see any crocodiles in unexpected places. We did see some on a croc jumping tour which was frightening. We opted out of taking Hamish and were very glad because I fear he may have become dinner for one of them.
We had to fly home at 1am which ended up being fine. Hamish loved the excitement of being up at that time and then crashed out about half an hour into the flight. Such a sweetie.
We are glad to be home, but still kind of wish we were still on holidays. Why can't Clarkie and Roh live nearer to us?

Blackbutt Reserve

2008-07-21T20:38:00.000+10:00

A couple of weekends ago, we had the Shinfield's stay. We visited Blackbutt reserve which is this cool park that has koalas, emus and kangaroos as well as ducks and a playground. It is great for kids. Here is Hamish with Lauren and Livvy. They seem to really enjoy hanging out with each other - as much as kids that age can!
Our weekends seem to be spent doing things that keep Hamish entertained. He is so active. Having said that, we spent most of last weekend gardening and Hamish was loving that too. He spent a lot of time "fixing up" the mower with his Aunty Janie. Very amusingly, he has begun to call her Nay Nay! Hilarious.

Lunch at the McNay's

2008-07-09T20:56:00.000+10:00

A couple of weekends ago we had lunch with our family friends, the McNays. It was lovely to catch up with them again after a such a long time. Here are a couple of photos. They are of Jane, Alex and Les, with Hamish the star of the show of course.

The farm

2008-07-02T21:50:00.000+10:00

We went to the farm on the weekend and it was fabulous! Hamish had such a ball, he was just so excited the whole time. He also got very tired and so slept very well. When he woke up on the first morning he pointed to the window and said "trees". We don't live in a concrete jungle, but, none the less he was very excited to see them. He then spent the morning going from horses to cows to dogs to the quad.
He was able to ride the horses Darryl and Wal and also got on the quad with Les. It was just so great to see him enjoy himself so much. We also got to hang out with Les' family which was lovely. Jim and Maureen had just come back from six weeks in Europe so they were keen for some Hamish time.

Guitar!

2008-06-25T20:55:00.000+10:00

Hamish loves this guitar. Actually he loves any guitar. It is his favourite word and thing. On the weekend we stayed at Andy and Rach's house and Hamish slept in Dessie's room which had three guitars in it. It was hard to distract him from them but eventually we were able to get him to sleep!
I'm not sure where he gets his musical desires/abilities from (I'm thinking Andy and Jane) but we are hoping it will lead to something huge.
The other photo is of Hamish with his good friend Georgia. Whenever he says her name, he yells it, not really sure why. He also loves Georgia's mum Michelle. She gets lots of hugs everytime we see her. Hamish and Georgia play really nicely together, they have been friends all their lives so I think they are pretty comfortable with each other.

2008-05-25T21:00:00.002+10:00

Hugh Heffner, I mean Hamish Hunter

2008-05-25T19:58:00.000+10:00

We've just bought Hamish a dressing gown, and it is so cute! Well, technically, he is so cute in it. I was inspired after receiving my dressing gown for Mother's Day and enjoying its warm qualities. Hamish looked cold in the morning with only his pyjamas on, so a dressing gown it was. He just looks so chunky and cuddly in it, it is hard to let him walk around the house and not cuddle him.
In this photo he is standing with Milly Howells who is also an owner of an ultra cute dressing gown. They love each other alot. Milly calls Hamish "Armish" and Hamish calls Milly "Mimi". He gets really excited when we get near her house and says "Mimi, Mimi, Mimi". Apparently, she is the same with him. It could be love. Regardless, it is great because the two of them seem to play really happily together. I know that they are not really playing with one another, but somehow they keep each other entertained and both have the same high energy levels! Milly's parents, Drew and Elisha have just moved up to Newcastle from Sydney so we are very excited to have them here.

Mother's Day

2008-05-23T13:46:00.000+10:00

Mum and Dad came up to Newcastle for lunch for Mother's Day this year. I cooked a butterflied leg of lamb that required a lot more cooking than Neil Perry said in his recipe. It was still good though. Hamish enjoyed lots of attention from his grandparents. Hamish bought me a delightfully warm dressing gown and an apron. Both sound terribly domesticated but are making my life happier in many ways. Sometimes as the sun goes down and the air gets cool, I begin to think of my warm and cosy dressing gown. I usually give in at about 5:30pm once Les has come home. Of course, I put my face on before he comes home to impress my man, but that quickly gives way to my jammies and dressing gown.

Here is another photo of Hamish with his bike helmet on. He loves it.

Bike seat

2008-05-07T12:56:00.000+10:00

Hamish has a bike seat to go on Les' bike and he loves it! He was already pretty fascinated by Les' bike and every morning when Les would get it out of the shed he would ask to go with him. So now that he can actually ride on it himself he is understandably very excited.

Yesterday Les rode him to daycare, but before he did I was asking Hamish whether he wanted to ride on Daddy's bike to daycare to which he responded yes (in Hamish language). As Les went to get the bike out of the shed, I was getting Hamish organised, and he thought that he might be about to miss out on his ride and he lost it. Tears everywhere. He was inconsolable until I got him nestled into the bike seat and helmet on. Then he was happy again. He just has such a big grin on his face when he is on it, and he waves at everyone walking past him.

With the Hunters

2008-04-18T14:18:00.000+10:00

Just thought this was a lovely photo with Papa Hunter and Aunty Jane. Not much else to say, but he loves them and they love him!

Playing in the backyard

2008-04-18T13:58:00.001+10:00

Here is Hamish playing in our backyard. While it was hot we spent many fun afternoons with the laundry tub and the hose. He just seems to love sitting in the water - clothed or not.
He is enjoying day care at the moment and will get all excited as we pull up to their driveway. He is besieged by illnesses though. At the moment he has a cold that has resulted in a middle ear infection and conjunctivitis. This has all meant that we are quarantined from all our friends with kids. I did manage to convince my friend Michelle to come for a walk with me this morning on the proviso that Hamish didn't leave his pram.
He is doing okay though, not too unhappy.
The biggest thing that has happened is he is beginning to refuse some foods! Shock, horror! He is still eating fruit like there is no tomorrow though.
He is sleeping at the moment and has been for the past two and a half hours which has to be a record. In some ways illness can be a good thing...

Painting the dining room

2008-03-05T12:53:00.000+11:00

We have been inspired by painting the lounge room and have now moved on to other areas of the house. For March it is the dining room and hallway. This is a much larger area than the lounge room so we knew we needed to call in help. Maureen came to the rescue and babysat Hamish while Les and I painted like troupers.
It has basically taken us a week, but that wasn't exactly non-stop. We painted most of the weekend and have just been doing the finishing touches. Here are some photos of the preparation...no "after" shots just yet. You will all have to come and visit to see the transformation.
Hamish is enjoying the new configuration of furniture, it always seems to bring him joy to see something new in the house. He is also loving his time at day care, and this week actually got excited as we walked up the driveway to the centre.
We are looking forward to a night off tonight and then a weekend at the farm for Les, and Hallidays for me.

Things Hamish likes

2008-02-21T21:17:00.000+11:00

These photos are from Clarkie and Roh's January visit. Les must have downloaded some photos from the camera! I am a little hopeless doing stuff like that, it is not that I can't do it, I just don't do it.
We did have a lovely time when they came to visit. We had a special birthday dinner for me which was very special. All cooked and prepared by sweet Clarkie. It was delicious. Now they are back in Alice Springs and we miss them terribly.
Hamish has been lots of fun lately. Some of the things he enjoys are; watching our neighbour back his trailer and ute into their driveway, splashing in the water at Merewether baths, sliding down his slippery dip and kicking and throwing his ball around the yard. He also really enjoys being tickled and chased. He thinks that is the best game of all. When Les comes home from work they spend ages just playing and squealing and having fun. It is so lovely.
On the domestic front, we are planning to paint the dining room - will keep you posted on that fascinating series of events. Other house things include the vegie garden that is not thriving as well as it could and new couches.
That is all...

Domestic bliss

2008-01-31T14:02:00.000+11:00

These photos aren't terribly recent, but I don't have any recent ones so I thought these would do. They are rather cute. The second one is of Hamish with my cousin's little girl Zoe. She is such a cool kid, it looks like she is teaching Hamish the ways of the world here.

We had a lovely long weekend up at Hallidays with Jane. Hamish loved it. He got so much attention. He was pretty attentive to her too, lots of cuddles and kisses. He is now doing this really cute thing where he either gives a proper kiss or blows kisses. I am making the most of it while it lasts.

On the home front we have been terribly domesticated, and somewhat materialistic. We have been on a few shopping sprees and as a result we are the proud owners of the biggest fridge in the world and some stylish (for us -we have been using a fold up futon for the past seven years) couches.

Our vegie garden is going crazy in this heat, but we have been a little slack in tending to it. We have enjoyed some very sweet zucchini and tomatoes from it though.

This weekend Les and I will be having our first night away from Hamish! Very exciting.

Chilling at the beach

2008-01-13T21:21:00.000+11:00

Just a couple of pics of Hamish at the beach. We are loving summer, we're going to the beach most weekends. Just a quick swim and play with bucket and spade in the afternoon. It has been pretty hot here the last few days so we have waited until later on in the day, and it has just been gorgeous. It is so great to be able to go the beach again and enjoy it with Hamish. He is not afraid of the water at all yet. He doesn't really like it when we put his head under though, I'm told we just have to do it lots to get him used to it. Not sure if he is convinced.

Christmas

2008-01-13T21:14:00.000+11:00

We spent Christmas up at Hallidays. We spent time with both the Hunters and the Seddons which was lovely. My cousin and her family were there which was fabulous for Hamish to look in awe at his older cousins. We went to the beach and built sandcastles, we went for walks and we hung out on the verandah just relaxing.

He got chased round and round the house by Aunty Janie, out-cuted by cousin Sylvie and generally spoilt by all the grandparents. He was very taken with his Grandad Jim's tractors and even got to sit in his truck.

Les and I got to spend a little bit of time together going to the beach and leaving Hamish with the oldies. It was nice to get a break.

Hamish was totally inundated with presents. He got a few musical instruments, CDs and DVDs which has served to instill the beat inside him. He is so hilarious, he just starts dancing in the middle of nowhere. He stamps his feet, puts his arms in the air and turns around. Is it possible this is how Les and I dance? I dare not say.

Bumf

2007-11-21T14:26:00.001+11:00

Here are some assorted photos. One is of Clarkie and I being silly at Pete and Lue's wedding, the other is of Andy, Rach and Sylvie and the other of Andy and Sylvie.

Not much else to report. Hamish is almost running now and has learnt to put his arms in the air and spin around. Very cute.

We have just come back from our Pastor's funeral. He had a very sudden heart attack last Thursday so everyone is in shock.

Makes you appreciate life and all it brings now.

Too long!

2007-11-14T13:08:00.000+11:00

Hamish's slack parents have been at it again. Does anyone even read this anymore since it has been so long? A lot has happened since I last blogged. We went to Alice Springs and Uluru to visit Clarkie and Roh, Hamish started walking, and Hamish now has a cousin!

Alice and Uluru were fantastic. It was so great to hang out with the Barwicks and get to know Alice Springs. It was, as you may expect, very hot and dry. I got all sorts of skin dryness issues while Hamish just got callouses from crawling on concrete. It was two very relaxing weeks. Uluru was amazing, huge and beautiful.

Hamish started walking at the beginning of November. One day he took two steps, the next he was walking everywhere. He is a machine. He is much more stable now and just loves carrying books around the place and handing them to us. He even had his first proper fall on Monday and grazed his face. Poor thing. He is just so cute and funny. We are laughing lots (but not at his calamaties. Les is loving looking after him on Mondays and Mum comes up on Tuesdays which is great.

Late on Friday night, Hamish's cousin entered the world. Sylvie Hope Hunter was born. She is absolutely adorable and totally perfect. We got to see her twice on the weekend which was such a treat. At this stage Hamish is rather uninterested in her, but I bet once she is a teenager with some hot friends, his interest may pique.

First birthday

2007-09-23T13:39:00.000+10:00

I can't believe that it has been a year since Hamish was born. In some ways it seems so long ago, and in others it seems like yesterday - I guess that is like everything really. It is so lovely to see him enjoying the world around him. He loves gardening with Les and I, playing with his toys and having his feet tickled.
For his birthday we gave him some presents and visited a friend's newborn baby back in the same hospital where Hamish was born so that was a nice little trip down memory lane. It is amazing how you block out the bad stuff and romanticise the past! Les and I went out to dinner on Hamish's birthday, we thought we deserved some celebrating too. It was so great.
As you can see, Hamish likes his new ball pit that he got for his birthday.

Mum back at work

2007-09-12T09:54:00.000+10:00

I went back to work this week for two days. It was really strange to get up and get dressed in fancy clothes and put on make up again. Les looked after Hamish on Monday and Jim and Maureen on Tuesday so Hamish was totally spoilt. It was fun being back at work (I'm sure that will wear off pretty quickly) and it made for a nice change. Hamish didn't seem to care that I was gone at all. I asked Les to take this photo because I felt like it was my first day back at school again!

Weekend away

2007-09-03T09:25:00.000+10:00

We went to Hallidays for the weekend. Les was cutting timber (with a lot of help from his brother Damien) for our vegie garden - we have large scale plans. It was also a bit of a holiday as our friends Anne Marie and Daniel and their son Sam came up with us. The weather was so beautiful and it felt like a total holiday. We visited the beach while the Dad's cut the timber. I managed to read to page 7 of the front section of the paper, and finish "The two of us" in the Good Weekend by lunchtime Saturday, a miracle.
We also went for a long walk and ate and drank lots of cups of tea. I feel totally rejuvinated and ready to start back at work next week! It is only two days a week so shouldn't be too stressful.

Sick and grumpy

2007-08-27T09:56:00.000+10:00

This is what Hamish has been like this past week. He had a gastro bug so was a bit miserable. I know it is not entirely fair to post a photo of him crying, but my Dad took a photo of me throwing a tantrum once, so I figure I should carry on the tradition.
Not only was Hamish spewing, but Les too. Thank God I didn't get it. Les was rather a good patient though, just discreetly throwing up and then cleaning up after himself. The good thing about gastro is you don't need to cook for the patients!
When Hamish wasn't grumpy he was sleepy and cute, falling asleep in our arms. This has of course meant that when he wakes up he doesn't know where we have gone and why he is in his cot so he cries. Consequently, there have been some disturbed nights.
So we were all in quarantine for a few days and we had to postpone a trip by the Shinfield's to Newcastle, lest we spread our diseases. I can understand how the horses are feeling, poor things, they just want to get out and socialise, oh hold on, that's just me.

Weekend up the coast

2007-08-09T10:31:00.000+10:00

Here is a lovely photo of Hamish in the bath, and Hamish with Clarkie. We got to see the Barwicks, all too briefly, at the end of July. It was a very special treat. This week Hamish has been to Port Macquarie where we visited the Jones family, and also Hallidays to see his grandparents. He coped pretty well with the three hour drive to Port, although there was a lot of singing going on for the last hour. It was so great to see Anita, Tom, Eddie and Sebbie. We last saw these guys in London over two years ago and had not yet met six month old Sebbie. It was lovely. Then we drove back to Hallidays and stayed with Jim and Maureen. Hamish got lots of attention, but no cuddles from Maureen because she was sick. Charlie loved running around with the working dogs and Hamish liked looking at all of Grandad's tractors and other stuff. (I'm sure it all has names, I just don't know them!)

Standing tall

2007-07-30T19:44:00.000+10:00

Hamish is now pulling himself up to standing. It is so cute. He is trying to climb all over everything, even in the bath. Obviously, he is helping a lot with washing and gardening as you can see. It's so lovely to let him loose in the backyard and watch his exploring. Generally he will go for Charlie's slobbery ball or the newly planted garden.
We are just thinking about our vegie garden and where we should plant it. We want to get it sorted before spring fully takes hold. At this stage we are thinking raised garden beds down the back.

Queensland

2007-07-28T10:43:00.000+10:00

Hamish had his first plane trip last week. We all went to the Gold Coast where Les had a training course for two days and then we drove up to Brisbane and stayed with a friend for the weekend. It was lots of fun. Hamish went really well on the flight, he slept on the way up and was antzy on the way back, but generally all good. We hung out on the beach and Cavill mall while Les worked.

Helping out

2007-07-02T21:30:00.000+10:00

Hamish helped out his Dad on the weekend. Les was building some edges for the garden out of old sleepers, so like any baby boy should, Hamish asked if he could help use the circular saw. Of course Les agreed immediately and they got on with the job. I was just helping him steady himself here before he got started.

He is crawling around like mad, but is still yet to really get up on his hands and knees. He talks lots and now says dada, mama and bubba. He doesn't seem to say them to anyone in particular though. He sleeps a lot less during the day, and is mostly sleeping well at night. He is loving food and eats anything I give him. We love him so much.

Hunters in Newcastle

2007-06-19T14:33:00.000+10:00

We had my extended family come up to Newcastle on Sunday for lunch. It was lovely to see them all. My cousin hadn't met Hamish yet so it was a good chance to catch up. There were 14 of us including three kids and one baby so it was hectic at times. Hamish got lots of attention from Uncle Andy and Aunty Janie. He also has taken a particular liking to Aunty Rachel and Dessie. It seems that the two of them could do anything to him and he will smile cutely at them.

Cute baby runs ship aground

2007-06-14T14:40:00.000+10:00

Reports that the captain of the Pasha Bulker was viewing Hamish Seddon's blog moments before the bulk carrier ran aground off Newcastle's Nobby's Beach on Friday, are unproven.

Crew members say that the captain was talking about a certain baby for days before the accident happened.

"We would often find the cap looking at his website and giggling" said one seaman.

"Sometimes all he would talk about was Hamish Seddon" said another.

Hamish's parents are shocked by the news, but can also understand how such an event could happen.

"We spend hours looking at his videos and photos, and often catch ourselves smiling when we think of our son" said Hamish's proud mother.

"For Hamish to have such a huge impact on Newcastle and, dare I say it, the world, is all a bit unexpected" Hamish's father said.

Investigations continue.

yer avin a larf

2007-06-12T21:17:00.000+10:00

Swinging

2007-06-08T21:49:00.000+10:00

Here is Hamish in his new swing. A friend of Les' gave it to us and we have put it on our huge Hills Hoist. Hamish loves it. He giggles and get really excited when we push him. I put him in it when I hang up the washing. It's fabulous.

Crawling

2007-05-31T14:12:00.000+10:00

Hamish is now mobile! He is doing a commando crawl, which differs from crawling with no pants on. He pulls himself along with his arms and drags his legs. He is exploring everything he can, especially underneath tables and chairs and electrical cords, stereos and phones. His mobility has meant that it is so much harder for me to do anything but watch him all day long, but I am still loving it.

He is getting over his first cold, but has developed a middle ear infection. He seems to be getting over it okay though, without the need for anti-biotics.

2007-05-16T10:19:00.000+10:00

It has been brought to my attention that there is some misleading information in this blog! Heaven forbid, so I am now setting the record straight. Hamish no longer sleeps from 7pm till 7am without waking us up! There I've said it. The truth is out there. In fact he is going to sleep earlier and waking up earlier. In between he has a feed at about 10pm and then often is waking in the middle of the night and sometimems needs a quick cuddle to get back to sleep. So far this isn't bothering us too much. Actually, he has a cold at the moment so I think his sleep is all a bit out of whack. He hasn't seemed to work out that he needs to take his fingers out of his mouth to breathe while he has a blocked nose.
He is enjoying his food a lot more now, eating lots of avocado and yoghurt and vegies and a bit of chicken. We're still enjoying him loads. He is such a lovely little boy.

Andy and Rachel's wedding

2007-05-01T15:38:00.000+10:00

Well I know this is not strictly to do with Hamish, but I thought I would include a photo
anyway. Unfortunately our camera ran out of batteries so I didn't get one with Rachel, but here is one with Andy, Jane and me. It was a beautiful day, the weather cleared up just in time for the garden ceremony. Rach loooked beautiful, Andy handsome and love was in the air. Hamish had a great time with my cousins who kindly looked after him all afternoon and night. We had a wonderful time. There was also an announcement at the wedding - Andy and Rachel are having a baby! So Hamish is going to have a little cousin in November, very exciting.

More of Sydney

2007-05-01T15:28:00.000+10:00

So cute!

In the big smoke

2007-05-01T15:26:00.000+10:00

Hamish had a trip to Sydney again on the weekend. We were there for my brother's wedding (which was lovely - more of that soon). On Sunday we caught the ferry to Circular Quay and wandered around to the Botanic Gardens for a picnic. It was such a beautiful day. I think Hamish liked the ferry ride, although he did cry at first when the engines started up.

First tooth

2007-04-13T13:25:00.000+10:00

Hamish has grown his first tooth! It is very exciting, it is a bottom tooth in the middle and has shot right out. It doesn't seem to worry him at all. I didn't suspect there was a tooth, it just showed up. He is growing up really quickly lately. He is rolling around and almost crawling, just lifting his legs under his little bottom at the moment, but it is so cute.

This photo is taken on Blackhead Beach where we spend Easter with my family.

Blues Brothers

2007-03-29T21:27:00.000+10:00

Food glorious food!

2007-03-21T14:39:00.000+11:00

Hamish tries food...and doesn't like it.

Hamish the cowboy

2007-03-21T14:20:00.000+11:00

Hamish had his first visit to the farm last weekend. It was a great success. He got to see lots of trees, cows and horses. He had a bath in a tub on the table by candlelight. He loved the little flames. He enjoyed lots of time with his grandparents and uncles too.

In this photo you can see how he likes to suck his fingers!!

Removalist

2007-03-15T09:11:00.000+11:00

Hamish was packed into a box and moved to our new house. He liked his box, but was pretty keen to get out and explore his new surroundings.

Hamish in his new home

2007-03-13T13:42:00.000+11:00

It's been a while - I'm sure there are loads of avid Hamish fans out there that are breathing a sigh of relief to see a new post!
This is Hamish in the dining room of our new house. It has been very exciting to move into a three bedroom home in the suburbs. We even have a gargantuan Hills Hoist, so Mum says we are now living the great Australian dream. The move went well; we had lots of help from family so it was all smooth and easy. Hamish has settled into his new room very quickly.
Update on Hamish's activities - he is now rolling a lot, we often find him in his cot on his tummy up the other end; he loves to laugh and giggles his head off (not literally...); he likes to stand on his chubby legs; he sleeps well through the night and is now sleeping from 7pm till 7am - this is an amazing breakthrough!
We love him loads.
For those Charlie fans out there and I know there is at least one (Janie), Charlie is loving her new yard and can be found pottering about sniffing plants and chasing flies.

Hamish Seddon seen at society wedding!

2007-01-31T13:15:00.000+11:00

We went to Dav and Flic's wedding at the Royal Sydney Golf Club at Rose Bay which was gorgeous. Hamish was a little angel which was nice. Here he is with his Godparents - the Barwicks (Clarkie and Roh) - who love to cuddle and look after Hamish as much as possible.

Dav and Flic are a lovely couple and it was a beautiful wedding.

We'd been away to South West Rocks and Sawtell in the days before so Hamish has done some miles. He was pretty good on the trip from Sawtell to Sydney, but obviously there was some unsettled-ness. Now we seem to be paying for our travels as he has been pretty unsettled each evening for a few hours. Who knows why?? He is still sleeping through the night though so I can't complain too much.

We are moving house in a few weeks - we bought a house in Lambton. It is three bedrooms and has a yard for Charlie and Hamish which is so exciting!

buddies

2007-01-14T20:22:00.000+11:00

Charlie showing how good a dog she is. We are pretty stoked with how good she is with Hamish. She started out by ignoring him but now she is always straight in with a sniff hello and is happy to hang out and is very gentle, for a hyperactive kelpie, around him. The only trouble is for mum and dad getting names right, although charlie has begun to accept being called "hamish" as yet another term of endearment whilst hamish still doesnt care what he's called...

sprung a leak!

2007-01-14T20:16:00.000+11:00

Hamish shows what he thinks of posing for the camera...

The Hammer talks!

2007-01-13T17:25:00.000+11:00

Rolled over

2007-01-10T14:47:00.000+11:00

Hamish rolled for the first time the other day. It was very exciting. How funny it is to be so excited about such a small thing. I guess it is because babies don't do a lot so when they do something it is to be marvelled at.

He's holding things and putting them in his mouth and making lots of cute baby noises. He seems to have a lot to say.

Christmas cheer

2007-01-03T08:17:00.000+11:00

Here is Hamish in his new rocker that he got for Christmas. He was totally inundated with presents from doting grandparents and aunties and uncles. What a lucky boy!

We had a lovely week at Hallidays. We stayed in a friend's unit right on the beach so we didn't feel too dissapointed that we couldn't get to the beach as often as we used to. It is rather a big change having a baby, but of course we wouldn't have it any other way.

Hamish was in great form and did lots of smiling for his family.

Les and I managed to go for a few swims and a few walks and even did some laps of the pool in between stuffing our faces with Christmas food!

Sleeping through...

2006-12-18T15:33:00.000+11:00

I know that it isn't a developmental goal like crawling or walking, but Hamish is now sleeping through the night which is fantastic! I've been waking him up at 10pm for a final feed and then he'll go through till 7am! Very exciting. Not sure if it will last too long, I've had friends who say it doesn't last forever, but I am cherishing long sleeps. I didn't think it would ever come.

Back online

2006-12-17T20:19:00.000+11:00

Well it has been a while, sorry to all you Hamish fans. As you may know, we were broken into and our laptop was stolen. Now we have a new one and a new camera so we can resume our orgy of photo taking!

We'll also update the flickr site so that you can all be filled with joy over more photos of the cutest baby in the world.

Apart from being broken into, everything is going really well. We only had a few things stolen, on reflection they were the only things that were worth anything! We're looking forward to Christmas at Hallidays with both our families for Hamish's first Christmas.

No more hernias!

2006-11-10T20:34:00.000+11:00

We discovered Hamish had an inguinal hernia on Monday and today (Friday) he was operated on. It was a pretty big one and we could see it easily. After an afternoon in John Hunter emergency (Tuesday), we eventually got an appointment with a paediatric surgeon (Thursday) and he was scheduled for theatre the next day. So this morning we went off to Warners Bay Private hospital for the operation.

Hamish had to have a general anaesthetic which has some risks, as does the actual operation. It was only a matter of time before it strangulated (which is bad) so there wasn't a great deal of choice. We decided to get both sides of his groin operated on, because there is an increased risk that he would have one on the other side.

The operation was successful, the anaesthetist was happy with the way he was during and after, and it turned out he did have a hernia in the other side too. Now we are back home and Hamish is soundly asleep (after a bit of grizzling). He's been so cute today, we got lots of smiles and cooing which made the whole ordeal manageable. Generally we weren't too worried, although obviously its easier to say that now! Gosh, what do you do when it is something that isn't a routine operation? I guess you just cope.

Praise God that Hamish is well and all went smoothly. We are eternally grateful.

Getting bigger

2006-11-03T11:04:00.000+11:00

We went to the early childhood centre and got Hamish weighed and measured. He is now 3.9kg and 52.5cm long. This is still smaller than many babies when they are first born! We can see the changes in him as he grows. He is starting to smile with purpose now. Before he would just randomly smile, but now it seems to be in reaction to something we do which is so lovely. We're off to Sydney this weekend for our first weekend away.

Hamish in his activity centre

2006-10-23T10:07:00.000+10:00

Hamish loves his activity centre that Uncle Andy and Aunty Rachel gave him. He's been much more awake and alert this last week which has been fun.

Today we went shopping in the Junction with Clarkie and bought a bridesmaid dress for her wedding. Hamish was a great help! He slept the whole time.

Dad goes back to work!

2006-10-17T15:30:00.000+10:00

Les is officially back at work, but I'm not sure if he is mentally there! Yesterday was Hamish and my first day alone at home. It was a bit of a challenge. He was pretty unsettled most of the day, but I managed to cope. We went for a walk to the Junction and then in the afternoon we went for another walk, just to try to get him to sleep. The upside of this is that I got some exercise and because he didn't sleep much during the day, he slept well at night. I got two long stints of sleep between feeds which was very exciting.

Today he has been an angel again and is sleeping and feeding well. Does this mean that tonight he will be howling? Only time will tell.

Charlie is getting into the swing of things but is still not sure what to make of Hamish. Sometimes she ignores him, sometimes she looks inquisitively at him. So far though, she is not too put out.

Hamish finds his lungs

2006-10-11T14:21:00.000+10:00

Well it's been three weeks since Hamish came into this world and I can't work out whether it feels like ages or just a minute.

He has been doing really well and we are getting much more used to him. He has worked out how to cry and is quite happy to spend some time doing just that! At the moment he is feeding and sleeping well at night but doing a bit of crying and being unsettled in the morning. I guess this is a blessing because I think everything seems worse at night. We are trying to work out what is best to help him to sleep, not sure if we've mastered that yet! Today we tried walking to the Junction to try to settle him and it seemed to work. It's a lovely day and really great to get out. Here's a photo of Les, Charlie and Hamish having coffee.

Les is still off work, he goes back on Monday, so that is going to be a challenge, but I guess we will all cope just fine.

Happy at home

2006-09-30T10:24:00.000+10:00

Hamish has now been home for a week! While he doesn't look too happy in this photo, we promise he is. He is sleeping and feeding very well. He hardly cries at all and when he is awake he just looks around with interest. We feel very blessed to have such a calm baby, we'll see how long it lasts!

In this photo he still had his cord attached. It has fallen off now and he has a lovely little belly button.

I'm (K) just starting feel relaxed and we're really enjoying ourselves. We've been going for little walks to the park with Charlie which has been fun.

Hamish comes into this world

2006-09-29T15:42:00.000+10:00

So there I was thinking that I was a long way off giving birth (three weeks and one day) when Hamish decided to come on out.

Les and I had been on a long weekend up at Hallidays and came back very refreshed on Monday afternoon. We had spent time swimming and sunbaking and reading and going to the movies. It was really lovely and just what we needed.

On Tuesday I had done lots of productive things, went shopping for baby things, had a sleep, cleaned the house, washed clothes and generally felt very conscientious. On Tuesday night I was saying to friends that I felt like labour was a long way off. While we didn't have everything organised, we were feeling kind of on top of things because we did have a place for Hamish to sleep and some clothes for him.

So then on Wednesday morning I got up with some period type pain and then low and behold my waters broke. Les was out walking Charlie and didn't get home for another 25 mins. I finished packing my hospital bag and then when Les got home we rang the midwife.

We arranged to meet her at 8am at the hospital. I still didn't have contractions until about 7:30am and at that stage they were pretty regular, but not very painful. We thought that we would be sent home again and that birth was still a long way off.

Once we got to the hospital and into the birth centre my contractions were quickly getting worse. Then they just got worse and worse and before I knew it I was starting to push. Well that is the sanitised version, there was some loud noises that could be described by some as screaming, but overall, I can't complain about a few hours of pain.

Hamish was born and put on my chest straight away while Les cut the cord. It was just too amazing to describe. It took us a second to even think to look to see if he was a boy or girl. We pretty quickly decided he was a Hamish, even though we hadn't definitely decided on that name. It was one of our names, but we hadn't decided which one we liked best. I looked at him and thought, Hamish, so when I asked Les what he thought he was and he said Hamish we went with it!

2006-09-25T13:08:00.000+10:00

More photos @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/hamishseddon/

2006-09-25T12:32:00.000+10:00

Day 0 + 15mins

One happy family!

2006-09-25T12:05:00.000+10:00

Day 0 +5mins

Mum and Hamish stormed through labour, after starting contractions at 7:30 Hamish arrived at 13:09

2006-09-25T11:58:00.000+10:00

The cutest mother and baby in the world!

2006-09-25T11:30:00.000+10:00

2006-09-25T11:06:00.000+10:00

Day -5 to -2.
Mum, Dad and Charlie take a 4 day long weekend at the beach to celebrate Mum finishing work and 3 weeks to go.