A: "Mummy, are bumblebees daddies?
Mum: "Uhm, no they are a specific type of bee.
A: "Oh."
Mum: "Actually, most of the ones you see are girls, but they aren't mummies.... if that makes any sense?"
A: "Because only the queen lays all the eggs?"
Mum: "Yep! Exactly!"

A: "Thank you!"
Mum: "That's okay, dear."
A: "I say thank you because I really love you... and I a-pressurate it."

A: "Mum... when I was really little I meant(used) to be in Christchurch."
Mum: "Yep, that's right."
A: "...and when I was in your tummy.. it was not so cool."
Mum: "Why's that?"
A: "Because I couldn't see anything, that's why."

(Posted by Mummy)

It was the morning of a playdate. Alexander, Stephen and Mummy were getting ready to go out and meet some new friends. Stephen was standing on the stairs crying "Daddy! Daddy!"

Alexander: "You really want to see Daddy don't you. Don't worry; he's at work but he'll be home later..."
Stevie: "DADDDY!"
Alexander: "It's okay Stevie, it's like this, let me explain. It's really great! Let me tell you what we're organising. We're going out to play with someone!"
Stevie: "....daddy..."
Alexander: "Aww.. you still really want to see Daddy. Well don't worry." *holds up some fingers* "He'll be home in this many minutes and hours, so... 26!.. so any way, he'll be back and we can go out and play in the mean time, okay?"
Stevie: "yeah."
Alexander: "So we should go and get in the car and go play now!"
Stevie: "Okay." :)

Alexander has been doing a lot of really complex learning to do with himself and other people's feelings. He is getting really good at expressing himself when he is feeling upset, frustrated, or loving. It's still really frustrating for Mummy (and both boys) when Alexander can't back down when he really wants to play with something that his brother is involved in, but sometimes he really shines in his ability to keep his hands to himself and negotiate with his brother, what toys they use and how.

Yesterday night Daddy got a new TV and had to borrow a friend's car to get it home so the boys had a late night and needed to wait for Daddy for about an hour and a half in a friend's lounge, being quiet so as not to wake anyone. They spent the time quietly on the lounge floor, arranging, organising, lining up and parking little vehicles in co-operative play. It would be fantastic if this were how they normally interact, but it's enough to know that they are capable of it given the right circumstances.

(Posted by Mummy)

On the 14th of October Alexander moved out of the flat in Awahuri and moved into a new place in Karori, Wellington. The change has brought about many things. Now, for example, Alexander is sleeping in a different room from his parents again. He has a lawn to run about on, and the house is split level so he has stairs to run up and down, and there is a bath tub which he enjoys sharing with his brother (and often Mum) at bath time.

Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa and Uncle David, he also has a new bike that he can ride around the park down the road which has a kilometer-long cycling and cross-training track. Alexander LOVES his bike and is very proud of the fact that it's bright green and has dinosaurs on it, and his helmet has orange and red flames. There is a nearby playground and Alexander has learned to ride on the flying-fox all by himself.

Alexander has some new friends. He gets on really well with Ché who is the son of one of Mummy's friends, and who is about the same age. One of his best friends is Amélie, who is slightly younger than him but is also from a homeschooling family. At the Guy Fawkes party for Playcentre Alexander and Amélie pushed their chairs together so they could sit close to each other and at the family's flatwarming party on the 12th of November, Amélie and Alexander played baby-dolls and dragons and ran about upstairs roaring at each other with ferocious abandon.

Alexander really likes his new Playcentre as there are big sandpits and a playhouse that he likes to hide in. He has settled in very fast and seems to make fast friends with any children of about his age that he meets.

At last measure Alexander was 108cm and people are continually assuming that he is at least 18months older than he is. Now that he looks "school aged" parents are often asking where he (or "she"!) goes to school. It is difficult to tell whether the raised eyebrows are due to Alexander's size or the answer that we intend to homeschool. Alexander is still keen to be growing his hair, which is not quite long enough to be tied back.

Alexander recently named the two toy frogs that he plays with in the bath. They are called Angela and Demona named after characters from the cartoon series Gargoyles, which he likes. He played a silly sounds game with Mummy guessing at what letter Demona starts with "P! Pemona!... noooo... [shrieks of laughter].... Q! Quemona, the queen!... nooo..." Alexander enjoys playing games with letters and can now spell some simple words. He can also confidently count up to 6.

(Posted by Mummy)

Recently Alexander has been using toys to invent little stories. The other day at Granny Jean's place he was using Duplo to create a scene where the characters were running and hiding from and shooting zombies.

Today Alexander decided to play a game with Mummy. First they were hunting for rubies and then they found a rancor and escaped it when they flew into the sky while it was distracted eating a penguin. They summoned a floating castle in the clouds and found out that Mummy was secretly a wizard who could cast spells (because she shrunk a dragon). They found a fire breathing rancor and Mummy lobbed an ice ball at it which made it feel sick and puff smoke so they used the rubies to make a potion to cure the sick rancor and made it into their pet. Then they used their pet rancors on big grown up Stevie who had a sword, and one of them ate Daddy - "But it's not real, I'm just making up a silly story!"

Alexander likes to be able to avenge his frustrations at his loved ones through harmless fantasy.
Mummy and Daddy had to get ready to go out shopping and this was incorporated into the fantasy:

Alexander: "I have got the milk and the chips and the peanut butter... have you got the cat food?"
Mummy: "Yep, but what about the rancors? What do we feed them? A whole pig each?"
Alexander: "No! Peanut butter! And the one to feed the pet rancors would be me!"

In a later game Alexander fed the rancors a mouse, because they don't eat much... and then he went to see Tinks, but he left the rancors at home.

(Posted by Mummy)

Once there was a little boy called Alexander, who was big and strong and had blond hair.


One Tuesday morning he woke up and found his little brother Stephen staring at him, which was really funny.


Alexander and Stephen woke up Mummy with big hugs.


Mummy said: “Today we are going to go to Playcentre and after that I’m going to take you to the park.”


Alexander and Stephen had fun playing at Playcentre, but when they got in the car, Mummy didn’t take them to the regular park.


She took them to the FUN PARK!


There was a rollercoaster,
and a Ferris Wheel,
and icecream in a cone,
and pizza,
and chicken,
and popcorn that was pink, and yellow, and blue, and orange, and caramel.


Just then Daddy turned up. He was dressed up as an elephant, with HUGE ears and tusks, big, round feet, and a roly-poly tummy.


“Wow!” he said. “Imagine running into you here. I’m working for the day selling peanuts – would you like some?”


“YES PLEASE!” said Alexander. So he had peanuts and he also had some icecream in a cone.


They had a wonderful and exciting day, and went home very tired.


Alexander changed into his comfy, new, white undies, and his pyjamas.


He kissed and cuddled Mummy,
and he kissed and cuddled Daddy,
and he kissed and cuddled Stephen,
and they all snuggled up in bed together with Felix and Douglas curled up by their feet,
and had a deep, happy sleep.


(Posted by Mummy)

Today Mummy and Alexander tried to find images to illustrate their story and they plan to make it into a little book when it's done.