Cyp's Birthday

These pictures are from the day before Cyp's birthday
They show how Cyp copes with the kids. Give em an iphone - that'll keep em quiet. Sad thing is, Ellis can use the iphone better than mummy. There is a program on there that Cyp loaded - you press the screen and it's kinda like you're pressing bubble wrap - apparently this is addictive even in electronic form. I worry that Ellis will drop phone, but he seems very careful with it. Part of our day is now spent fighting over the phone.

So on Tuesday I thought I would go to a new playgroup - phoned up the woman - asked if I could come along "it's full" she told me. Really? It says there is vacancy on the website. "well, actually, it's the last week- but I can call you in January when we start up again. " JANUARY! Are things already shutting down for the holidays? It appears so. AAAACK.

It is going to be a looooooong December. So, I spent the morning surfing the web. I plugged Ellis into Dora (bought a DVD), Rowan napped and I happily surfed away. I kept waiting for something to go kablooey, but Ellis seemed fine and Rowan obviously needed sleep.

After lunch Cyp told me he was heading home (feeling sick) so I asked him if he wanted to meet me at the childcare centre we were thinking of enrolling Ellis in. yup.

Ellis and I headed out (oh and Rowan) - I "encouraged" Ellis by helping him envision the day - first check out a new "school" then go for dinner with daddy and then come home for cake. "Cake?" That did it.

We eventually found the school - I got lost first. Turns out the childcare centre is in a parking garage. I guess to keep the kids away from the sun. Ellis seemed to like it (as he's not much of an outside type of kid)- we couldn't get him to leave but after signing him up, we headed out again. I was all excited about enrolling Ellis in school two days a week but we started talking to a woman that was leaving the same time we were. I first asked her about her double stroller...

"it's great - really necessary when you have 3 kids under 2.5"

WHAT?

"yes, I have a 2 and 1/2 year old, an 18 month only and a 3 month old."

huh.

I asked her what she thought of the centre and she didn't think much of it - it's a for profit place. I'm not too worried - Ellis seemed to like it and it's only for short term. I started to feel a little worse when Cyp told me that the principal had sneered at me when my back was turned. He may have misunderstood her sneer. Anyway, we shall see how it goes. I have a dream that they will toilet train Ellis. oh please oh please oh please.

We left fairly early but decided to go to dinner - we wandered down to the Sushi Station (recommended by the same person who recommended the daycare). It is a sushi train. We wandered in - it was early - about 4:00. Only one other couple there - they were leaving. There was a train on tracks riding around the restaurant. We perched ourselves at a table and pulled the first dish off - hmm, cold gyoza. I started to envision the dishes on the train and the long journey they'd been on since lunchtime. I watched the train go by again - dish after dish of sushi with little dollops of warm mayonnaise on top. Hmmm. "get that one, get that one" said Ellis as Cyp dutifully pulled one off. "I want to take the lid off"

"do you want some Ellis?"

"no - I want to take the lid off"

smart kid.

We tried a few dishes and then I whispered to Cyp -"let's go, I'll make dinner at home"

"ok"

So we left - we had 7 little dishes - came to $28. Yikes. I hoped we wouldn't all get salmonella.

So we headed home and I made dinner - lamb that smelt slightly off. I'd only bought it on Saturday at Woolworths (maybe that was the problem). So I cooked it up. Mentioned to Cyp that it had smelt a little off....Happy Birthday Dinner Cyp.

Ellis wasn't hungry and showed his displeasure by turning his plate over on the table. Uh oh - birthday cake in jeopardy.

I got the cake out and miraculously Ellis reappeared.

"Eat your dinner" Cyp and I both said.

He sat down and ate his dinner in record time - then he ran over to put the candles on the cake.

I lit them, he blew them out.

"that's daddy's job" I said as I lit them again.

Ellis blew them out again.

"you have to let the birthday boy blow out the candles"

This continued about two more times at which point, I lit the candles while blocking Ellis and ran to Cyp. Cyp blew out the candles.

Major meltdown - Ellis could not contain himself, so after two days of cake anticipation, cake bribes etc, Ellis did not get cake.

Happy Birthday Cyp.

About two hours later I remembered that Cyp hadn't opened his presents, so at about 9 pm - Cyp opened his presents.

The really sad thing is that Remembrance Day is not a holiday here, so Cyp no longer gets to sleep in after his birthday.