Buckland Blog: A 7 year old and a container painted

Wednesday 3rd October: Happy 7th Birthday Hezekiah. What a lovely pile of presents you have this year. So nice that his sisters each got him something special.

He asked to have 4 friends come and play today and was blessed with more presents. What a treat. And such lovely gifts too.

Even though he has his birthday cake last week, it just didn't feel right not having a cake on the day, so Rachel quickly made a cake this morning for him to enjoy with his friends. And nice to have Happy Birthday sung to you on the correct day too. Hezekiah always gets a bit shy when people sing for him. :-)

Ruth created balloon items for the children.

And organized some games too. I'm so glad they could all come and make it a really special morning for Hezekiah.
BELOW: In the afternoon the team arrived to start preparing the container for painting. We needed to get the foundation of the house repaired (the last of the earthquake repair work) and as it was such a small job, no one really wanted to do it on it's own. The container does need a good seal too, so it was good to get both jobs done.

My two babies deciding it was fun to climb on Mum this afternoon.

Hezekiah enjoyed keeping them company during their afternoon tea break.
At first he didn't know if they were speaking English. He then heard Brendon or I talking to them and realized it was just an accent. So he told me he could understand them now. :-) They were so friendly and I think enjoyed chatting away with him.

Thursday 4th: There was a community event this morning which I headed up to with Ruth, Hannah and Hezekiah. There were unfortunately not many other children present, but they enjoyed doing the colouring in competition and getting some hot chocolate and chocolates. There was a sausage sizzle too, with bottles of water. I mention this because Hezekiah was thrilled to get a bottle of water. He doesn't like fizzy drink at all (he says it burns his tongue) and so this was his preference by far.
There was a bit of a talk on how to use the Defibrillator (there will be one installed outside the 4-square for access 24 hours a day) and they also handed out a Hand Turbine Torch Radio to each family who came.
It was nice for me to catch up with a few people that I have met before from the Red Cross and Wellbeing North Canterbury.
BELOW: Hezekiah was keen to be able to help cover the windows this afternoon.

I thought I should take a photo of Anastasia's new swaddle. I had spoken to the Plunket Nurse about her need for swaddling and how I was uncomfortable with the safety now that she is moving so much. And it would be so hot in summer. She suggested trying these swaddles that have little "angel wings" for their arms. In this way they have a bit more freedom to move (she can comfortable wiggle into any position she wants and can even sit up if she tries).
It does however just give her the bit of restriction that she still needs.

If she is not in this she won't fall asleep and will also startle herself awake often. So I am so thankful she has taken to this so well.
The reason it's blue - it was a cheap 2nd hand one on trade me. :-)
Friday 5th: Some rust treatment done today. It was just too wet though and they could not get much done.

Saturday 6th: Our Saturday BBQ - rain or shine. Thankfully the rain did stop long enough for them to enjoy a bit of time riding around on the deck.
For those who are wondering why Asher is often still in her pjs so late in the day - let me explain.
Through the holidays I got into doing this because if I tried to dress her, she would immediately start talking about going in the car. And then she just won't stop. She LOVES going in the car. So I just got into the routine of just waiting till she needed to go to the toilet (which was sometimes only after lunch) and then when she takes her pj's off for that, I then put clothes on her.
It's the same reason everyone spells b-a-t-h in our house and the words shower and car have to be avoided. :-)

Sunday 7th: Anastasia enjoying some hot chips. Still not getting much to go down her throat - but enjoying the experience of having food in her mouth to chew, and NOT gagging.

She is enjoying standing on her own a lot now. We got her to clap and she was so well balanced.

Monday 8th: A wonderfully clear day today to get the painting done. First the white undercoat. Then two layers of the colour. It wasn't quite as brown as we had hoped, but I still think it looks great.

Ruth giving Anastasia some gym workout.

While Anastasia napped Asher had to have her "bed" setup in the lounge. She often plays with dominoes and her iPad on her bed, and thankfully she was happy to have her pillow and toys brought to the lounge. I love the way she has put her leg on Ruth. She often takes a bit of affection in this way. Very special.