The Bandit Hat

A couple of weeks ago Fantastic Mr Fox came out on DVD and, seeing as I am a big fan of Roald Dahl and Ben and I loved it when we saw it at the movies, we got it. This has unleashed a new obsession in Ben. For those of you who have boys, you will understand the obsession well. Ben has had many in his 6 1/2 years, including Lego, Star Wars,and all things Army.

This is probably his favourite scene from the movie. Notice the 'bandit hats'. Because Ben did. And he wanted one. REALLY wanted one.

So being the kind mother that I am, I said I would knit him one. And so the fun began. I searched the internet for a pattern. Couldn't be too difficult, could it?

The first hitch was that Ben was quite specific. It had to be a 3 hole bandit hat. Not one where you could see the face, like this vintage WW1 pattern.

Seeing as Ben is not the best listener in the world, I liked the idea of the ear flaps. Ben did not.

Then we went from funny to...

...crazy to...

...I don't even know what to say about these! But they were all wrong.

In the end we compromised on a two-whole model, and here is the finished product, modelled by Ben.

One bandit hat for the bandit in our house. The things mothers do for their children!

I might add that to get it finished there was continual nagging, and I even sat in the car in the dark driving home last Sunday and knitted in the dark!

Snow!

It snowed today, which is the first time Luke has seen the snow. It only snows here every couple of years, and today it was enough to settle and let the kids have some fun. Now the sun is out and it is almost all gone.

As usual Luke headed for the sandpit.

He was pretty keen on throwing snowballs like his big brother. I had the job of making them for him.

Ben is getting to be far too good a shot for me!

Making snow angels

Pink snow angels

Pink poppets aren't too good in the cold.

The grumpy fairy on her way inside :)

Attitude tv

In March I posted about Attitude tv, which had done a really cool episode on the Special Olympics, but my link to TVNZ would only work if you were in New Zealand. Well I have now found it on youtube, so here is Special Olympics: The Mission Part One and Part Two. The first is about 5 mins and the second 6ish, and well worth the watch. Enjoy :)

The First Girls' Weekend

My friend Trina and I took our girls on our first ever (and hopefully there are many to come) Girls' Weekend last weekend. The main event was Disney on Ice.

This is my cousin Brigid with Emily.

She was enraptured.

So was Kate. Notice the compulsory fairy dresses.

Then a spot of girly shopping :)

We had a great time. Thanks for coming girls!

On a Luke note, there have been lots of new skills he has developed lately. Like putting the phone in the toilet. And opening his bedroom door to come out at night. And turning the oven off when I am in the middle of cooking. Good thing he's so cute.

The boys brushing their teeth, which is one of Luke's all-time favourite things to do.

Shame he's using his sister's toothbrush.

Luckily I keep her busy in the kitchen, so she'll never know...

On a therapy note, we are very excited that Luke's wee mate Aidan is moving into our new clinic starting the next time we go, so we are looking forward to that. We were there on Thursday, and Luke had a fabulous session, so all is well in that dept. He can kick a ball, and we are working on hitting a ball with a bat and making his base when walking narrower. He can sort some shapes and is matching colours and we are working on his forearm rotation, but as he uses this successfully to turn on the hose and flood the lawn, and to turn the oven off and on, I think he is getting there! His speech is coming along nicely too. He is beginning to use simple sentences, which although not that clear, include things like "I'm in the box". He also has a very clear "NO!" and understands 'stop'. I thought he didn't get it, and was busy saying and signing stop when he tries to run away when I am getting him dressed and he pays no attention, but he turned around, put up his hand and said it to me. There is a difference between 'getting' something and choosing to do it!!