The Monster turns three!

It seems as though it was only yesterday when we welcomed a wee bundle of joy into our arms on a wet Townsville afternoon. Perhaps it was fitting that three years on the tropics were again a little wet, as tropical cyclone Ita made her way down the North Queensland coast.

We might have gone a little overboard with the celebrations this year, with MacK having three cakes. The coincidence of it being his third birthday was just that – we have absolutely no intention of making four cakes next year, or for Jane to get twenty something cakes in December!

We wanted to have a small gathering at home in Wodonga with local friends and then have a bigger party in Canberra the following weekend. MacK makes a habit of looking through cake decorating books, identifying those he likes. Accordingly the first birthday cake (at the master’s request) was a penguin. This was a lovely cake, although very few got to eat it.

On the Saturday, Jane and I drove to Melbourne to see the excellent play ‘The Long Way Home’ (about the struggles some defence members are having on return from active service), while Clare and Leigh looked after MacK. I didn’t start making the cake until we got home at 11:00pm, and had to get baking powder from the supermarket before I could start. Needless to say, it was rather late before I crawled into bed. I think I had only been in bed an hour or so before MacK wandered in and threw up on our bed. After another couple of episodes, we woke to a thoroughly miserable wee boy, and cancelled the party. We ate the cake, but all of us were ill in varying degrees through the week.

We then made another cake for MacK to take to school on his actual birthday, which was well appreciated by all. There was no fancy decoration or theme, just a simple cake with blue icing. The choice of blue was in line with the schools support for autism on that day, with all the kids encouraged to wear blue.

The wee man is a dab hand with presents these days!

On Thursday evening after work, we raced up the Hume to Canberra for another weekend of celebrations. I was up early to finish MacK’s stegosaurus cake, carve a watermelon into ‘Walter the watermelon monster’, and make red velvet broken glass cupcakes. We had a really lovely morning, with plenty of friends over. The thought that the kids might be entertained in the park and with a bubble machine was in vain, as we copped rain for the entire weekend.

Walter the watermelon monster!

Stella the stegosaurus - the birthday cake

Broken glass cupcakes - visually spectacular, and taste just as good

 Despite the weather the kids managed to have fun as they always do

Dave, Grace and George came to visit, and we had a great fun catch up with a bottle or two of red. On Sunday morning we took all the kids to the playground at the Arboretum and then departed for home from there. Jane and MacK had to make the run home by themselves, as I had to go on to Sydney for a course for the week.

MacK loved the bubble gun that his "Nanny and Poppy from the Coast" sent him, and has had great fun playing in the back yard!.

In other news, the Development Application for the shed and water tank is through, and we will build them in the next month or so. We are looking forward to having people call in for the first of our working bees! The plans for the house are almost finalised and we will now commence work on the applications for those