And then the birthday party

So, the day after Jacob's birthday we held his birthday party at Blackbutt Reserve.  The reserve is great as it has a fab playground, native animals to look at, ducks to feed bread to, emus to taunt with little fingers and a big grassy area for toddlers to run around too.

We had a birthday bbq breakfast, that Dave kindly cooked for us, some other little goodies and a variety of friends we have made whilst being in Newcastle.  

Jacob was again very lucky and got even more presents and cards and again, he enjoyed opening them all up.  Out of one parcel was an electric guitar and out of another one was a little drum kit.  The drum kit had to wait until the afternoon to be put together but the guitar was an instant hit and he wouldn't put it down for ages.

Jacob also got a water bottle with his name on, very useful, cars, puzzles, books, a skittle set and some more clothes.

I had to go before we had chance to cut the cake and sing happy birthday but had been in quite a bit of pain with a bad shoulder and neck.  So a huge thank you to Kerry for the great cake shots.

Dave, Jacob and I would also like to say a huge thank you to all our friends for Jacob's lovely presents and for making his party extra special for being there.  We are very lucky to have met you all and to have you as our friends.

A special date

As February starts to come to an end, it becomes a special time in our house - Jacob's birthday.  This time our little boy turned 2!  I still can't believe it - Jacob's 2!!!

Dave had the day off and after an early start, by Jacob, we opened his presents and cards.  He was very pleased that he could rip off the wrapping paper and got all these new things.  It didn't take long for him to get through the wrapping and to start playing with the contents.

After breakfast, a phone call to make an appointment for my dodgy shoulder and neck, a trip to the chemist to get some good pain relief, and then we were off to our destination - the Australian Reptile Park.

We saw a lake full of American aligators, koalas, Tasmanian devils, various lizards, snakes, spiders, wombats, an emu walking around the picnic area, kangaroos wandering around the picnic area, a huge Australian croc (which I think was eyeing up Jacob for his dinner) and a rescued baby wombat running around.  It came up to us, Jacob was unsure until I started stroking it and had a little stroke himself.  I was so tempted to empty the contents of my bag and take him home with us.  I love wombats.

After eating all his lunch, Jacob managed half a hot dog with us too!  We got the impression that Jacob had a great time and we really enjoyed ourselves as well.

Minature Trains

The last Sunday of every month is a special time in Edgeworth.  The minature train enthusiasts all get together at their special site and open up to the public for a few hours.  All they ask for is a donation and you can ride on their trains for ages!

We arranged to meet with Susanne, Darren, Oskar, Isac & Alex along with Tracey, Ant & Ciara.  We had our picnics first and the children just loved to watch the trains going round on their tracks and all we could hear from them was "train", "choo choo", "peep peep", "more", "again" and it was great.

Jacob had got his Thomas hat on, loads of children were having their parties there and Thomas the Tank Engine was a very common theme and it was such fun.  There was different tracks, lots of different trains and loads of us to queue up for and go on.  One track went through a very low bridge and tunnel, you really had to duck for that one!

We even had a go on a minature steam roller.  Jacob loved it and when we got off, the driver even offered for Jacob to pull the horn.  Which of course Jacob did but was quite surprised at the noise that came out of it!

It was that much fun, we've already got it on our calendar for March!  I've told everyone I know about it and I think there might be quite a few of us next time.