Zac's first (horrible) day at Aus Kick

The first day of Aus Kick. An experience Noel has been looking forward to for years. That first time when his son picks up the footy on a field with a coach and fellow team mates.... Only it didn't go as we had all hoped.

I'm not going to lie, I had a pretty good idea that today would go the way it did. Zac being the sensitive little soul that he is, does NOT enjoy trying new things, with new people at new places. Does he enjoy kicking a footy in the street after school?? YES... Does he enjoy kicking the ball around at school with his little friends?? YES!!! But put him in a new environment with people he doesn't know and tell him he has to play footy??? The walls of resistance go straight up.



We've been talking about starting footy for months now and Zac has not shown interest or excitement at all. He usually gets upset and tells us he doesn't want to do it. But Noel really wanted him to give it a go, I suspect in the hopes that his boys would love playing as much as he always did. That he would one day stand on the sidelines calling out tips and cheering every time a good kick, pass or goal occured.

A couple of days ago we took Zac to pick up his footy uniform (Geelong of course) and new footy boots. He was actually over the moon about getting his new boots and had been wearing them around the house since we brought them home.

But this morning when it came time to get dressed and put those brand new clothes on..... the tears started. Zac hated the shorts, he didn't want to go, he hated the sock, hates footy... the list went on.

We got in the car and the tears continued the whole way there. And they continued once we arrived as well. Noel and I, feeling stressed, anxious and just wanting Zac to have a good time, began to get snappy at each other. Seb started crying because he wasn't allowed to join in, Zac was crying because he didn't want to join in. It was all a bit of a nightmare.



To be honest, I wouldn't have cared if we said no footy when Zac showed no signs of interest. But I can also understand Noel wanting to give it a shot. So we persisted. One little girl from Zac's prep class (Brooklyn) showed up. I was so relieved thinking that maybe, just maybe she might boost his confidence a little. He walked over with her to the start of the line where the kids were about to do some drills of bouncing the ball and weaving in and out of poles. But when it came time for his turn, he carried the ball with an unhappy look on his face, all the way to the end where he then threw it with all his might at one of the coaches before storming back to us. I couldn't help it, I burst out laughing. It was so sad but extremely funny at the same time.



Anyhow, we kind of gave up trying after that moment. Noel and Zac kicked the footy between them for 10 minutes before we decided to just head home early.

I have no idea what will happen next week. Whether we encourage Zac to give it another go, transfer him to Emerald where his friend Ryan is doing Aus Kick or scrap it all together and see if we can transfer his membership to Seb who seems more than willing to jump in and play. I guess time will tell.



Zac, if you're reading this one day... just know that I don't care what sport/hobby you decide to do as long as you're happy. I'm sorry today wasn't a great experience for you but hopefully when you're a bit older you won't mind trying new things and playing footy. Even if it is just with your friends at school rather than on a team. I think after this season has finished we might try something new. You sounded pretty interested in BMX riding when I mentioned it earlier so maybe we try that next. Love you buddy.

Fun at Melbourne Zoo with little friends

The first term school holidays are coming to an end and whilst I'm a little sad to get back into the school / kinder routine, we have had a wonderful break together and got to do some fun things, including a trip to the zoo a little over a week ago with some of Zac and Seb's friends.

We've been super blessed to have such amazing weather so far into the Autumn season and this Friday in particular was a warm, sunny 26 degree day. The perfect day for a trip to the zoo. Unfortunately about 5000 other people had the same idea and we spent a good hour driving around looking for a car park before we actually got inside. But once we were safely parked and through the gates, everything just went right.

Zac's friend Tash and her little brother Mitchell (who goes to kinder with Seb) joined us with their mum Nicky. First on the agenda was a trip past the lion keep for Tash who is currently obsessed with the tv show The Lion Guard. We rocked up right as the zoo keeper was beginning a talk about the lions they currently have there and it was packed. We managed to position ourselves along the side of the glass enclosure and started listening. We initially thought we were going to be out of luck and unable to see them but they ended up roaming over to our side and stopped directly against the glass in front of us. It was amazing. Even I, after all these years of going to the zoo, had never seen them that close up. I'm pretty sure Tash's day was made in the first 20 minutes of arriving (Super sad I didn't get any photos of this part).



Next up was a trip to the reptile centre for Zac who has a scary obsession with snakes. I honestly have no idea where this love for snakes comes from and I certainly hope that he understands how dangerous they are out in the wild (I've certainly tried drilling that message into him plenty of times). After viewing the first 3 or so snakes, Zac became more excited about running around with Tash that the rest went mostly unseen. The two of them began a game of switching prams (we bring the pram every time now after learning the hard way that little legs get tired pretty quickly at the zoo) and this game continued between the 4 little people for the rest of the afternoon. Nicky and I had to keep trading off who would push the heavier kids up the hills. We ended up taking a break for lunch, ice creams so that Nicky and I could rest while the kids explored nearby and played in the trees. Zac has decided that he doesn't like ice cream at the moment but Seb and I certainly enjoy a cone each.

After lunch we headed to the butterfly enclosure. The last time we came to the Zoo we all loved it so much but kind of rushed through it. This time, Seb was so excited to go through it that we really took our time and I am so so SO glad that we did as it was incredible (and the highlight for my day at least). I've never had a butterfly land on me at the zoo but they were in full swing that day and all of us had butterflies landing on us multiple times. Zac was a bit scared and unsure about the idea of having one land on his hand but he did have one on his hat and one stage. It flew off right as I pulled my camera out so I missed that shot BUT... I did get quite a few of Tash and Seb with them. They were so excited they were just about bursting.

The trick to getting a butterfly to land on you is to stand super still with your arm up in the air and use the back of your hand as a landing platform. It usually takes a few minutes (and you will most certainly have a tired arm by the end of it) but once they land, you can carefully pass them to one another. They sort of just hop from one hand / finger to someone elses.



We spent a few hours wandering around and looking at the elephants, monkeys (another highlight... there is always this one monkey who swings over and sits right up on the window and stares at you), giraffes, zebras etc. We were just about to call it a day and head towards the exit when we walked past a window that allowed us to see some big beautiful fish under the water. Mitchel has a fascination with fish so we decided to stop to let him enjoy it. What we didn't realise until about 10 minutes later, was that directly behind us was another underwater window that had hippos in it. Once we discovered that little gem the kids went nuts and just loved watching the hippo swim right up and past the window. It was pretty cool and something we hadn't seen before.

Seb took up the Zoo map and led us on a journey to the exit. He called it his treasure map and brought it home with him. He keeps telling me that we have to go back to see the "giant tur-twoss" (tortoise) as we still haven't seen them. I bought us all an annual Zoo membership so we can go back as many times as we want so I'm planning to take him back there in a couple of weeks when Zac is at school. I don't think Zac enjoys the Zoo trips as much as Seb and I so I don't think he will mind missing out every now and then.



All up, it was such a great day and it was a really fun experience going with friends. However I think we will save ourselves the stress and not go during the school holidays next time.

Easter Egg Hunting

Easter Morning really started around 1am when Zac woke up (for the first time.... there were many more wakings after this) and called out, giddy with excitement because the Easter Bunny had not only been, but had come into his room. Pretending to be half asleep I asked what he meant, how did he know?? With the biggest smile on his face he looked around the room and pointed out all the little glimmering easter eggs he could see and the bunny foot prints scattered carefully around the floor. "Is it time to do the easter egg hunt yet?" He was practically climbing over the rail of his bunk bed, ready to race around the house in search of chocolate.

After a little bit of persuading, he finally laid back down and accepted that he still had a minimum of 5 hours before he was allowed to start his egg hunt.





Quietly walking back to my room, I snuck into bed carefully so not to wake an unwell Seb who had hopped into bed with me earlier that night.

And thus began a long, mostly sleepless night as we (meaning Zac) counted down the hours until the sun would rise and we could bound out of bed and begin our day.

Funnily enough, it was Seb who was awake first (at 4.30am). I have no idea how I managed to keep him in bed for so long, pretending it was just another ordianry day. He had forgotten that it was Easter morning and I silently prayed he wouldn't notice the bunny foot prints and eggs on the floor around the bed until at least 6am when I could handle being up.

Finally the sky outside turned it's dark shade of blue and Seb declared it was morning and time to get up. I reminded him what day it was and you could see that tiny piece of information slowly sinking in until he started jumping up and down. I guess this is the first year that he has been old enough to really grasp what was happening (or what was about to happen). I took that moment to point out, with enormous surprise, the bunny prints next to the bed along with the easter egg wrapped in its shining red paper... and then allowed him to eat it, stalling for time until Zac woke up.

In the end, we went and woke Zac up. I had to laugh at his grumpy face when I told him it was time to begin our Easter Egg hunt. After being so excited ALL night long and waking countless times, he was actually annoyed at me for waking him up. Needless to say, that annoyance lasted about 3 minutes before he was up and ready to go. I made them wait at the bedroom door while I went and got Noel (who was also sick and sleeping in the spare room thanks to little man #2 who had stollen his side of the bed) so he could watch the funnest part of the day.

And so it started. The sounds of little feet running along the wooden floors, the laughs and excited chatter of two little boys as they followed the bunny foot prints and searched all over for the eggs that had been left just for them by a magical bunny. I swear I live for these moments as a mother. The pure joy on their faces and the wonder of the unknown and unseen. There is so much beauty in the little moments and I hope that one day they will look back and realise how loved they truely are and remember these days from their childhood.

They were extra excited to see that the Easter bunny had eaten his carrots and had left a few thank you eggs on his plate :)

As the Easter Bunny had brought them sooooooo much chocolate (look at those full baskets.... special thanks to Marzi who supplied it all this year), we (Mum and Dad) decided to give the boys a special gift instead that I had sneakily picked out the week before on our trip to the Zoo. For Zac, a giant snake as he loves them so much. For Seb, a monkey that can wrap his arms and legs around you or anything else you wish to hang it from. The monkeys are always Seb's favourite every time we go to the zoo.

They were very happy with their new furry friends.

After our hunt had finished and Zac and Seb had stuffed themselves with enough chocolate to make them sick, they spent the rest of the morning playing in the backyard whilst I got everything ready for our afternoon tea with Uncle Josh, Vanessa and Uncle Steven. We had a tasty spread of cheeses, dips, fruit and my homemade scones.

One more memory from today that I want to remember is how cheeky Seb was so excited by all of his chocolate that throughout the day, he would go around and open everyones choc bunnies, bite the tops off and then throw them aside for another one. I had to put all the chocolate on a very high shelf in the pantry after I noticed what he was up to.

Happy Easter my dear boys.