Bennett Carter Davy

2010 - the year that was Prep

2010-12-21T10:20:00.001+11:00

Bennett is 6

2010-04-12T19:03:00.002+10:00

Bennett getting ready to go out for lunch on his birthday.

Bennett loves his new skateboard from Aunty Kayleigh and Aunty Grace.

These are the Mario lolly bags....

And this is the Mario birthday cake!

Surfers Paradise - Mum & Dad's 10th Wedding Anniversary

2010-03-31T16:28:00.000+11:00

Boy's weekend

2009-10-19T19:48:00.003+11:00

Bennett has just come back from a lovely Boys Weekend on Phillip Island, with his "uncles" Alen, Cameron and Simon. We played lots of fun games including... mini golf, football, cricket, drawing, frisbee, boomerang, DS, string games and even went to the beach.

He also had a good time seeing his relatives as you can see from these pictures. We hope that Granny Brereton's hand gets better soon.

His favourite thing about the whole weekend was his lovely Rainbow Road wig that Uncle Cameron gave him as a present.

Bennett is looking forward to the next Boys' Weekend and thinks we should have one next weekend.

If you have Facebook and are friends with Stephanie, there's more pictures at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=116303&id=656822543&ref=mf

Road Trip Part 5 - Canberra and Home

2009-08-09T16:54:00.004+10:00

We arrived in Canberra in the evening and stayed out our ex-housemate Mel's place. In the morning we headed off to the War Monument and Museum, but it wasn't particular kid-friendly so we headed to somewhere we knew was kid-friendly... Questacon! This was actually Bennett's favourite part of the whole trip and he had a great time with all the hands-on activities... his favourite being the electronic / computerised LCD wall which captured your moving image and transformed it into some wonderful digital displays. We were there for hours and by the time we finished we were very tired and went back to Mel's to rest until we all went out later for a wonderful Indian meal.

In the morning we set off to Melbourne. We were keen to dodge a load of the roadworks we encountered on the way so detoured via Yass, Harden, Wagga Wagga and Holbrook before rejoining the Hume Highway. We got back to Melbourne late, and had a visit at Ama and Pa's place (so Bennett could see what they brought him back from Vietnam) and then home to see the puppies who we missed very much. We were feeling very tired and blah by the end of the trip... mainly from the patchy sleep and dodgy diet, and are only now starting to get back to some degree of normality! It was a great trip, we met some good friends, we brought back a big stash of CDs, books, and Super Mario Bros merchendise... and really enjoyed the time away.

Road Trip Part 4 - Blue Mountains

2009-08-09T15:25:00.004+10:00

After Newcastle we headed off to the Blue Mountains. We stopped and had a good look around at the shops in Lithgow and Katoomba before finding the B&B in Wentworth Falls at which we were staying. The following morning we headed out to the actual Wentworth Falls and a bit of a bushwalk. The views were stunning and Bennett did a good job of walking up and down the paths.

When Stephanie was little, she fell off a walking path on the Blue Mountains after being told not to run on several occasions. Paul and Bennett had a fine time pretending to fall off the paths Stephanie style.

After the Blue Mountains we grabbed some Krispy Kreme donuts at Penrith and then had a fine afternoon visiting Stephanie's Grandma (who Bennett calls Auntie Sylvia, despite the fact she's he's great-grandmother). She gave Bennett a soft yellow toy cat which he named Hannah Montana.

Road Trip Part 3 - Newcastle

2009-08-09T15:00:00.003+10:00

In Newcastle we were staying at Stephanie's aunt's place because she was overseas in Scotland. Bennett was pleased to discover they had a Wii and much time was spent playing that. After the busyness of the trip to date, there was a bit of downtime in Newcastle as we took it easy. The highlights in Newcastle were catching up with Naomi, Stu and 5 week old baby boy Eli, going to visit the Smithies and see Jessica's baby Noah for the first time, as well as a trip out into the Hunter Valley where we picked up some wine at Sobel's, played aqua-golf, and picked up plenty of goodies at the Maitland market.

Road Trip Part 2 - Sydney

2009-08-09T14:27:00.003+10:00

First stop in Sydney was Luna Park. Bennett met up with one of Stephanie's Internet friends and her daughters and had plenty of fun, particularly at Coney Island. The following day Paul went off CD shopping and Stephanie and Bennett went to the Art Gallery and did some shopping. For dinner we went to China Doll at Wooloomooloo where one of the chefs, Frank, had recently been a guest judge on Masterchef Australia. Although Bennett was disappointed that Poh and Julie weren't there, he thought it was cool that Frank was there and had a bit of a chat with him and scored the meal 9 out of 10. The staff thought it was nice seeing a lovely boy at their restaurant so gave us free drinks and free dessert. Another day in Sydney we went to the Powerhouse Museum, did some shopping and then took the boy to Bondi Beach where he defied the elements and had a swim. We had pies for dinner at Harry's Cafe de Wheels. Bennett was also a big fan of Mariner's Court, which is where we were staying whilst in Sydney. The main reason he liked it was of course the buffet breakfast!

Road Trip Part 1 - Wollongong

2009-08-09T13:59:00.002+10:00

It was a long trip up to Wollongong through roadworks along the Hume Highway but we stopped off at different towns along the way and made a day of it. We were staying with Michael, Jo and baby Kane in Thirroul, just north of Wollongong. It was great to see them all and to see how they're going as a family. While we were there, Kane had his first birthday and had his rellies around for the big day. They also had a Wii which was of course very popular with young Bennett.

Whilst in Wollongong, we also went to the Nan Tien Buddhist Temple which was really nice. Stephanie really enjoyed the kumquat tea at the Tea House, so will hopefully come to the FGY Tea House in Melbourne one day to have some more.

Bennett also had a good time visiting Stephanie's cousin Hannah who lives at Tahmoor, which was about 40 mins away. Hannah also had a Wii, which Bennett was quite fond of. She also had a cool little bunny called Fuzzy who is alas no more.

We had a great time in Wollongong and not for the first time, Bennett didn't want to leave where we were. However, whenever he'd get to the next place we were going, he would love that too!

The wobbly tooth falls out

2009-07-07T19:46:00.003+10:00

A big day for young Bennett. Firstly, his excellent swimming earned him the Maxi Pink certificate at his Paul Sadler Swim Centre. Whether this means he's up in the next class, he'll find out tomorrow. Another thing he'll find out tomorrow is how generous the tooth fairy will be after the loss of his first tooth! It had been a bit wobbly for a while and today was the day. The tooth is now in his little pirate treasure chest we picked up previously in Launceston, so that it's easy for the tooth fairy to find. In the meantime, enjoy this shot of Bennett's gob, minus one baby tooth.

Room Redecorating......

2009-06-22T12:02:00.003+10:00

Seems the little guy couldn't wait for his room to be decorated once the rest of the house was done..... so a few new additions....

A Little update

2009-05-27T12:34:00.004+10:00

I'm so bad at updating this blog - they need to make blogger more user friendly like facebook HAHA

Anyway so updates on the Boy..........

Kinder is going really well - I can't believe we are almost half way through the year. This time next year we will be half way through his prep year!!! We have just had kinder photos and parent teacher interviews as well as pajama day at kinder. All were great - except for maybe the photos!!!

Bennett is still loving swimming and is attached to his DS constantly!!!

All about Bennett

2009-04-19T21:06:00.002+10:00

Click on the picture for a closer look.

Easter at Phillip Island

2009-04-16T18:23:00.001+10:00

Here's a few pictures of our trip to Phillip Island with Narelle, Milla and Finn. The highlights of the trip for the youngsters were the beach, playing their Nintendo DSes and going to see the Penguin Parade.

Misty's Diner for birthday dinner

2009-04-08T19:58:00.002+10:00

Big Boy

2009-04-06T15:28:00.004+10:00

Well, another year older! Mr Bennett turned 5 yesterday and didn't we know about it!!!

Bennett had a fantasic "craft" birthday party and the kids had a ball. A few mums stayed to help and I think we were all exhausted by the end of it!! In the evening we headed out to Misty's for a

yummy birthday dinner!

Here are a few pictures...... (it's surprisingly difficult to get photos without showing other kids faces!!!) So hopefully you get the gist with these semi good photos

Kennett River 2009

2009-03-09T18:34:00.004+11:00

Big Kinder Boy

2009-01-29T14:30:00.003+11:00

Today Bennett had his orientation at Big Kinder, they start limited hours on monday and then in about 3 weeks they start proper hours.

He loved it - Was great that soooooooooo many of his chums from 3 year old kinder are in the same group.

Mohawk

2008-12-20T19:35:00.002+11:00

As I was cutting his hair today - he asked for this

Compare and Contrast

2008-12-12T09:10:00.002+11:00

This is Bennett's first certificate after he left the mums and bubs class - March 2007

Another certificate

2008-12-12T09:03:00.002+11:00

Bennett has finally received his pink certificate at swimming. This one took a while as his kicking on his back was a little bit wobbly but he got there in the end. He now moves over to the other side of the pool and waves goodbye to the safety of the small pool and his whole lesson is now in the big pool.

Diving and strokes are on the agenda now!!!

Last Day of Kinder

2008-12-12T08:58:00.002+11:00

Bennett has finished Little Kinder for the year and is VERY excited about starting Big Kinder next year. Then the following year off to school but lets not think about that just yet.

We had a party at kinder and it was lots of fun

Treasure Hunt @ Point Cook Homestead

2008-12-07T15:18:00.005+11:00

Last night Bennett had two little friends sleep over - after a 5:55am wake up call this morning we were raring to go by the time we left for Point Cook at 9am.

The treasure hunt was a bit disorganised but still lots of fun - I'm glad we were one of the first ones there though so

there wasn't too much waiting around....

The kids got to try lots of fun stuff and got little prizes along the way........

Santa Photo 2008

2008-11-27T20:30:00.002+11:00

Goldfields weekend

2008-11-26T11:01:00.003+11:00

We had planned to go camping through the Goldfields region of Central Victoria on the weekend but the forecast was for shabby weather, so rather than cancel the trip, we traded the tent for a motel room and went regardless.

First stop was to visit my friend Ben in Creswick, who is moving to Launceston in January. We had a good time seeing him and his family, and Bennett had a great time playing paper aeroplanes with Ben's youngest son, (the mighty) Quinn.

From Creswick we went to Daylesford which was nice until we started to get sick of the frequent rantings of bitchy snobby women. Then onto Castlemaine but the boy was asleep and most places were closed so we weren't there for long.

We got to Bendigo and checked out the Golden Dragon Museum and nearby Chinese Gardens and Bennett had a good time feeding the goldfish.

After checking into the motel, we continued along the Chinese theme by having dinner at the glorious House Of Khong.

In the morning we went to some markets at the Ballarat Showgrounds, where Bennett had a turn on the giant inflatable slide, and then off for coffee with my cousin Erin, where Bennett was a cheeky, smiley little show-off. Our final destination in Bendigo was the Discovery Centre, where Bennett had lots of fun with the exhibits and checking out the vertical slide. He couldn't go on the slide because you've got to be at least five years old, but that didn't stop him having a look and giving his orders.

A great weekend... we all had a good time.

Outdoor Pool

2008-11-09T16:15:00.002+11:00

Bennett has been dying to get to the outdoor pool again since it opened for the summer season so today we went..........

Daddy's Birthday

2008-11-09T09:43:00.004+11:00

Last Sunday was Daddy's birthday and we decided to go for a road trip to Sheparton to the Ardmona Factory to stock up on tinned fruit and tinned tomatos. We went to Kid's Town which is Bennett's most favourite place at the moment.

Wordle

2008-11-09T09:35:00.002+11:00

I saw this on Sara's blog and thought it looked cool!!

Baby Cheetah

2008-10-15T13:39:00.003+11:00

On Saturday our Chiro clinic had its 10th Birthday. There was a sausage sizzle, jumping castle and the AMAZING face magic lady!!

Some more

2008-09-15T14:33:00.002+10:00

Ohhh look at this gorgeous tiny thing.....

Not too much to report........

2008-09-15T13:27:00.003+10:00

All quiet in the Davy household at the moment so I thought I'd share some old photos of the boy........

Unfortunately the computer is being a tad silly so this is the only one I can post for now......

Hobart

2008-08-28T18:23:00.012+10:00

Whenever there's a write-up of an epic adventure to be had, it's usually up to me (Paul) to ramble on about it and this one is no exception.

On the wee early hours of Sunday morning, Stephanie's Dad took the three of us to Tullamarine airport so we could use our cheapskate $9 Jetstar fares to Hobart. Stephanie had booked the trip some time ago and it was nice to finally be going, especially as we haven't really had any time off since Adam and Macy's wedding at Daydream Island. The flight itself was pretty easy and when we arrived at Hobart Airport we picked up our rental car, which we upgraded to a Lancer for an extra $4 a day and set off in search of the Huon Valley.

To get there you actually have to go through Hobart so the car trip gave us our first look at the gloriously snow-capped Mount Wellington and the beautiful old city of Hobart itself. Hobart was quiet, being a Sunday and all, and the drive south was very casual and laidback as Stephanie enjoyed the magnificence of cruise control and the natural landscapes. Perhaps she was a little too laid back about it all because pulling into Kingston, Stephanie was clocked doing 70 kph on the 60 kph off-ramp into town. The policeman pulled us over asked Stephanie if she'd seen the two 60 kph speed signs and Stephanie said no, she hadn't... and that we'd just come down from an early flight from Melbourne and she was too blown away by the gorgeous scenery to have seen them. The policeman must have found her excuse reasonable as he issued her with a warning and we were on our way into the heart of town. At Kingston we went to a cool little market where Bennett bought some bouncy balls, I bought a couple of CDs and Stephanie bought some chocolate-coated ginger.

Getting back to the car, Bennett started his first of many "I don't want to do that" rants when told him what we were going to do next. He always end up enjoying whatever we did, but it was always a "crappy idea" before we got there. All he wanted to do was to go back to the cottage" (read: hotel) and swim. The next activity he couldn't complain about (because he was asleep when we arrived) was an old train in Margate that had been converted into a shopping train, with each of the different carriages being a different store.

After a look through a 2nd hand book shop, a new-age hippy shop, a children's clothing shop and a fruit shop, we had delicious pancakes in the pancake carriage. Bennett enjoyed his choc-banana pancakes and iced-chocolate as well as going outside and having a play on some of the old play equipment.

Further south we found another small market at a town called Snug where

Bennett picked up a few more trinkets. Off down the road a bit further in search of a layground, and then after a swing and a slide, it was time to go to the Grandvewe cheese farm to sample their rural wares. Bennett had a go at tasting the cheeses but was distrusting of the lady behind the counter after he tasted the blue vein cheese. Jilted, he went off to play with his bouncy balls as the testing continued and ventured into wine and dessert sauce territory. After the tastings we went and had a look at some little lambs, baa-ed at the sheep and then set off again. We drove for a while, listening to the tunes picked up in Kingston as Bennett fell asleep again and Stephanie and I called "roadkill" whenever we spotted a dead native animal on the roadside. We let the boy have a well earned rest as we drove through various towns and we woke him up as we checked out the apple tourist centre just north of Huonville.

Navigating on the way back to Hobart we realised we weren't too far from Mount Wellington so we took a little mid-afternoon detour and commenced the drive up to the top of the hill. The views on the way up were splendid, particularly those which included snow, cliff-faces or majestic views over Hobart and the Derwent River.

We stopped a short distance from the top to put on Bennett's wellies and mittens so we could throw snow around for a while. Then we continued up to the very top where there were

plenty of people enjoying the snow, building snowmen, throwing snowballs, loading snow into the back of their utes etc.

Bennett decided to make a "snow angel" and thankfully didn't get too wet in the process. On the trip down the hill I tuned into the radio to hear the mighty Saints finish off an excellent win over the dirtbag Crows, sealing a place in the final series. It was the finishing touch on a wonderful daytrip and we head back into Hobart in search of Wrest Point Casino.

We were all pretty tired and hungry by the time we arrived so after checking in we went off in search of the bistro for all we could eat. Bennett's dinner solutions were what you would expect from a 4 year-old boy.... ham, soup and cheese, finished off with some desert, all the while entertained by the Keno on the television... the boy loves his numbers! The food was OK, but nothing flash, and I did my best to steer clear of the Casino eateries from there on in. Back in the room, Bennett and I enjoyed some quiet time as Stephanie won back the cost of our meal playing roulette at the Casino, and then it was time for bed.

On Monday we slept in until 8am and took our time, realising that there was no point getting into the city too early, because the shops wouldn't generally open until 9 or 10. We stopped for breakfast and coffee at Banjo's before venturing into the city where in addition to the obligatory trips to music shops, book shops and arty scrapbooking shops, we also found our way to the Greens Shop (where we picked up a couple of cool t-shirt for the boy), Chickenfeed (The Reject Shop done Tassie style), a few clothes shops and the Cat and Fiddle Arcade... although we never seemed to be at the Cat and Fiddle display right on the hour in order to see the mechanised show. After lunch there was a bit more shopping, more pestering from Bennett to go back to the cottage for a swim, and then driving over to Salamanca Place to see Tassie's own royal, Queen Mary of Denmark (no, really!) and her hubby and princely son out and about shopping.

We weren't quite as pushy as the photographers there in terms of getting a photo, but we were tactical enough to order an alfresco coffee at the cafe next door to the fashion store in which the princess was bunkered down in.

After all that celebrity hullabaloo we quietly checked out a few more shops at ye olde Salamanca, Bennett's favourite being the

fairy shop where he picked up a few small goodies including a lipbalm in the shape of a purple ladybird and a little pirate treasure chest for him to claim his forthcoming tooth-fairy booty.

On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at Woolworths for some supplies and then went for Bennett's long awaited swim. Over an hour later the little swimmer was ready to leave the water and we went in search of dinner at the renowned restaurant strip in North Hobart. Our first trip down the strip narrowed us down to a Mexican cantina and an Indian restaurant, and we settled on Annapurna's Indian Restaurant for dinner. The food was reasonably priced, mega tasty and although Bennett was initially rather objectionable about our presence there, he was well appeased after stealing Daddy's mango lassie (downed in record time according to the waitress), and enjoying his garlic and cheese naan. These travelogue summaries may make it sound like Bennett was a bit of a grump, but given all the walking and travelling we were doing, he was actually a real champ and certainly pulled his weight for a 4 year old, and was generally happy, cheery and amenable.

Tuesday took us in the direction of Port Arthur, which took a little longer than anticipated due to some creative navigation and unforeseen scenic detours on my part. Nonetheless, it was a good chance for the boy to rest and for us to listen to some of the quality tunes I'd picked up in Hobart the day before. On the way down, we stopped in at Pirate Bay (yarr!) to check out the very cool Tesselated Pavement.

An excellent time was had by all, except for when young Bennett fell over (as he would do a

few more times before the end of the trip) and needed cuddles in order to feel better.

The next landmarks to check out were the Tasman Arch, the Devil's Kitchen and the Blow'ole... all of which were pretty impressive feats of long-term geological transformation - nice work, nature. Next, after a couple of failed attempts at finding lunch we stopped in at the Federation Chocolate Factory to sample their chocolates and buy a few blocks, including two blocks of their yummy apple-flavoured chocolate. On the road again and we discovered a country bakery that was open for lunch, wherein Bennett enjoyed a pie and some dessert.

Finally we arrived at Port Arthur with clouds overhead.

As we paid our entrance fee, the woman behind the counter gave us each a playing card which we had to match to a box downstairs which would reveal the identity of a random Port Arthur inmate, giving details of their age, history, punishable crimes, length of punishment and how they fared within the Port Arthur compound. Bennett thought this was brilliant and even when we'd matched our three cards, he wanted to look up the fate more prisoners.

The grounds at Port Arthur are surprisingly large and Bennett did as much walking as he could, telling us stories about the criminals along the way (e.g. your criminal died there, my criminal died there), until we had to scoot over post-haste towards the ferry for a trip around the harbour.

It was a decent enough ride that become most excellent for young Bennett as five or ten minutes from the berth, the captain gave the wheel over to the young lad who became captain of the ship. Bennett became increasingly confident in his role as captain of the ship and was soon bossing people around, making sure they were doing their jobs properly and to his lofty standards. After being captain, Bennett felt like king of the world, as we headed back to the card-matching convicts and a video tour of the main buildings at Port Arthur, which had to substitute for an actual real-world tour of these landmarks, because Bennett was too tired and the weather was getting too shabby.

We drove back in the rain and Bennett did an excellent job of not putting his thumb in his mouth for virtually the whole day... thus, he was rewarded with more swimming back at the hotel and input into the dinner selection process, which resulted in us (despite Stephanie's early protests) heading in search of The Drunken Admiral! Yarrr! This pirate-themed restaurant by the docks was decked out we ye olde maritime paraphernalia, skulls, pirates, beer barrels, empty bottles and random antique nicknacks which Bennett found fascinating. The breaks inbetween courses were well filled by young Bennett through typing on an old manual typewriter and checking out the thematic miscellania. The food was also most excellent, and except for the corporate snobs who were put on the table next to us, it was an all-round excellent nautical feasting experience.

Our last day involved a morning detour to the Female Factory, punctuated again by Bennett falling over an hurting himself and requiring lollipop therapy, before battling through the Hobart traffic in the direction of Richmond.

En route to Richmond we went into what could well be the world's craziest zoo. Amongst all the standard run-of-the-mill country farm/zoo shenanigans such as feeding and petting the animals there we some real oddities! Firstly, there were lots of mother kangaroos around, many of them carrying little joeys in their pouches. Very cute, and the mothers were very trusting of the humans. Ditto for the sole koala at the zoo who was so placid that was it not for his pooping, it would be hard to tell if he was alive! Nonetheless, it was possible to pat the koala, and it was very tame and placid and not at all shirty, like koalas are renowned for being.

The real craziness however commences once you go on the safari bus into the emu enclosure. The emus hunt at the windowless bus poking their heads into the buckets full of feed that the tour guide was holding in the middle of the bus. This was a little too close for comfort for me, so I was glad I was well away from the edge of the bus. Bennett thought this was great, and only got better at the same process was repeated, this time for the ostriches who were even bigger and more mad than the emus. I tossed a bag of food out of the bus at the ostrich, getting him in the neck, but it didn't even seem to register what had happened - either they've got very strong necks and/or very dumb... probably both. We alighted the bus to feed some sheep and goats before getting back onto the bus and going into another closure where the bus was set upon by some kind of buffalo (I think that's what it was) and some camels.

Camels have ginormous beastly heads, filling up much of the bus, and once again they were poking their way into the food barrels in search of their lunch. Once the bus stopped, it was then time to venture over to the racetrack where three ponies, with toy monkeys strapped to their backs were raced around a track. I was a little disappointed they weren't real monkeys, but it was still pretty cool nonethless. Here's a pic of the boy with the winning pony.

Leaving the zoo, we went to ye olde Richmond for lunch at ye olde bakery and to check out some of ye olde sights and wares. After lunch, and after days of excessive eating, I felt like all my bodily organs were packing it in so we finished up killing some time at the park, resting lazily as we waited to return to the airport. We got the airport, returned our car, checked in, hung about for a while, and jetted off home to Melbourne. Bennett's Pa picked us up from the airport and by the time we got home we were all pleased to be there, as of course were Penny and Jumble who went crazy. Bennett reacquainted himself with him music collection and front-room dancefloor, as he danced the final dance to conclude our most agreeable and highly amenable holiday.

Adventures In The City

2008-07-12T19:17:00.012+10:00

With Stephanie working for most of the day, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to take young Bennett into the city for some adventures with his Daddy. The cold Winter's day began with a train from Werribee Station heading inbound to Flinders Street. Much mirth was had as the boy tried to read the name of the upcoming stations on the train's digital screens as well as on the platform signs. After great anticipation and sight-seeing we arrived at Flinders Street Station and set off to City Basement Books on Elizabeth Street to check out the children's selections. The books were reasonably priced but the only one we thought was really worth it was a book on addition which came with its own decryption lens to give the answer to the sums. It was then time to board a tram en route to Queen Victoria Markets. Bennett nearly got lost amongst the hustle and bustle of the fish market, before we ducked off into the deli section and picked up a cheese and spinach borek and a heart-shaped lollipop. As you can see here, young Bennett wholeheartedly endorsed both of these culinary delights as we both sat down at a not-so-busy spot where we could still hear the musicians playing their faux-world music. A few treks up and down the non-foodies section of the markets, perusing the wares and observing all the Dora and Simpsons knock-offs, resulted in the purchase of this pink blobby squidgy thing henceforth known as Kiss. We took a tram back down Elizabeth Street to Melbourne Central where Bennett took great delight in navigating us around the various floors making full use of all lifts, escalators and stairways. Next we perambulated to Lord JB Hi-Fi's DVD emporium where we flicked through a vast catalogue of children's titles before popping into the Indian establishment next door where we shared a butter chicken, biryani and mango lassi. Young Bennett enjoyed the delectable cuisine and also had himself a shimmy to some contemporary chart-topping Hindi tuneage. Bennett stopped eating suddenly and I thought he must have been full, but it turned out he was just saving himself for some dessert, which was a most amenable home-made room-temperature gulab jamun ball in syrup. He's now a convert, so next time I crack open a tin of gulab jamun I think I'll have to share. We trekked over to Melbourne Central to get ourselves a train across town to Parliament, walked past Alen's work and found our way briefly into the glass lift, before leaving via the taxi section where there we lots of pretty green lights... signalling the initiation our quest for fairies! We walked through Treasury Gardens to Fitzroy Gardens in search of clues and then through the nicely heated Conservatory, which was welcome relief as the cold winds were picking up throughout the day. Bennett once more demonstrated his uncanny ability to read at this here signpost and we swiftly found our way on through to the Fairies Tree. It could be said that young Bennett was a wee bit disappointed that there were no actual genuine bonafide fairies in attendance but did like looking at the carvings on the Fairies Tree as well as the fairies' nearby miniature village. In the Tree, we noticed someone had left a note for the fairies, so we thought we should do the same. Acting as Bennett's personal secretary I helped to transcribe his words to paper (it's worth a look... click on the picture so you can see it better) and we tossed our note into a hole in the tree for the attention of the recalcitrant fairies. We pulled out the frisbee and threw it around for a while as we slowly wound our way back through the gardens. On our travels, we even popped in briefly at the spot where many an epoch ago I actually asked young Stephanie to marry me. The frisbeeing continued, as the weather began to seem increasingly ominous. I was keen to get us as close to the city so that if a downpour did happen, we'd not be too far from shelter. It was all going well until we hit Treasury Gardens and then it happened... Bennett ran out of engeny (aka energy)! Oh, it's a hard life... but in all fairness, he'd been a real little trooper wandering around the CBD so I offered to help carry him for a while. Then the cheeky kid deliberately knocked my bag off my shoulder so I told him he'd have to walk himself - but devoid of engeny, it could not be done. I gave him a second chance and carried him up the hill to the Treasury Building before popping him back on the ground, telling him the terrain was now all flat so surely he could walk. This was the cue for him to lie flat on his back, simulating complete exhaustion. With a bit of humour I convinced him to keep walking and then suggested that maybe he might be able to get himself some engeny at McDonalds. That perked him up of course! I paused briefly to hang out with a few old Victorian premiers before we crossed the blustery windy city streets towards the McDonalds at the top of Collins Street. I enjoyed myself a McCafe coffee whilst Bennett enjoyed himself a Happy Meal (yes, you are remembering correctly... he had already had Indian for lunch) and most certainly enjoyed his Happy Meal action figure toy which was Tigress, from his current favourite film, Kung Fu Panda. The toy kept him well entertained throughout the meal and beyond the meal too, until we reached the entrance of Parliament Station and found we only had 4 minutes to go until the train left. Emploring Bennett to draw upon his manskills we scooted through the barriers, down two long flights of escalators (in the face of several crazy French tourists running up the down escalator) and to Platform 3 with barely one minute to spare. Tigress was still an excellent distraction as Bennett on the homeward journey as he kept making her do her pre-programmed flip-move and hoping she'd actually land on her feet, which she maybe did about 20% of the time. 'Twas great fun and frivolity for the boy though I think the man in front of us was a bit weary of Tigress' kung-fu moves by the time we arrived at Werribee. From the station we caught a bus home, and by doing so, completing the full trilogy of public transport modalities. We were very happy to see Mum and tell her all about our fun and exciting adventures in the city.... now to see what we end up doing tomorrow while Stephanie voluntarily partakes in scrapbooking dorkiness!

Red is a Girls Colour

2008-07-11T10:27:00.004+10:00

Apparently red is only for girls........ Quite humerous really seeing as Bennett's favourite colour is pink!! Anyway he's over it now and loves his new rain coat although you wouldn't know it from this photo!!

Also are some photos from this morning - Bennett finishing off the muffin batter!!

Milla's Party

2008-07-07T17:38:00.002+10:00

Milla had a magician at her party and it was so much fun!!

Milla's Present

2008-07-07T15:01:00.004+10:00

For Milla's birthday Bennett and I took her to a Hula Hooping lesson at Gasworks park. It was loads of fun. we met Paul for lunch afterwards at nandos and the pair of them were exhausted by the end of it all!

Swordy Orange

2008-07-01T20:45:00.003+10:00

It wasn't that long ago that Bennett finally received his Swordy Green and already he has his swordy orange. He actually reached it on 10th June but Mummy had to work and AmaPa (yeah they are just known as one person now) didn't know he'd gotten it. So this week 24/6/08 Bennett got his swordy orange. WTG little guy!

According to Paul.........

2008-07-01T20:20:00.006+10:00

I'm the worst blogger ever!!! He sends me emails telling me to update the blog - surely in that time he could update it LOL. I must apologise though - but it is just SO much easier to upload photos to facebook so that's where they get put first nowadays........... But here is a quick photo journey through the last couple of months.

25/5/05- She's Spooky Spoon.........

Bennett's numberjacks obsession continues.

4/6/06 - Bennett received his kinder photos - they were pretty average however Bennett did have fun with the album

This boy REALLY loves his numbers.

24/6/08 Bennett still loves his boohbahs

Mother's Day

2008-05-14T09:19:00.005+10:00

Sunday was my 5th Mothers Day and we had our 3rd trip to the Mothers Day races - this time we dragged Ama and Pa along and we had a fabulous day!!!

And my balls too!

2008-05-14T09:14:00.003+10:00

I just had one of those - I'm about to cry moments but then having a 4 year old (which is why you are on the verge of tears anyways) makes it all so funny!!

Mr Gastro is visiting the Davy household at the moment and as Bennett is getting into the bath to de-pooify I ask him if he's using the cloth to clean his legs and bum. He has his back to me and says yes and my balls too - I look at him and he turns around with a hand full of bouncy balls!!!

too cute

Puppy Love

2008-05-09T09:47:00.002+10:00

I snapped these cute pictures of Bennett and Penny this morning

Random Phone Photos

2008-05-05T09:17:00.001+10:00

Breakkie With the Girls

2008-05-05T09:14:00.003+10:00

Yesterday we had breakkie with Auntie Jojo, Yonny, Michelle and Dette - such a fun morning!!

Daydream Island

2008-05-05T08:50:00.007+10:00

Sorry its taken me a while to get these uploaded - life has been busy busy busy since we returned from Adam's wedding last week.

Here are so photos will leave it to Paul to write a witty report on our trip!!

And That's The Tooth.......

2008-04-23T16:58:00.002+10:00

Bennett has his first dental check up today and she was very happy with his teeth. No holes, lots of space and she said his bottom front teeth are more mobile than expected so he could loose his teeth earlier than normal. One thing to monitor is his thumb sucking. Ideally she'd like him stopped by Christmas time and definately by the time the first teeth fall out. At this stage though, she isn't worried about it and told me not to stress him about it - like anything he needs to be ready to stop. He definately understood what she meant though and he seems happy to start thinking about giving it up.

The Dentist was rather impressed I remembered my camera - always a scrapbooker.........

BATMAN

2008-04-06T11:21:00.002+10:00

Bennett loves his new batman jammies (and his new pink slippers)

Birthday Boy

2008-04-06T11:02:00.003+10:00

How did this boy get to be 4 already?

Swordy Green, Swimming and FairyBoy

2008-04-06T10:57:00.001+10:00

Finally Bennett received the next certificate at swimming!! He also got a new dress up set!

Suit Fitting

2008-04-02T08:03:00.001+11:00

Bennett's suit fitting for Uncle Adam's wedding

Labor Day Long weekend

2008-03-31T20:52:00.004+11:00

I thought I had posted about our camping trip already........ appears I havent.

We went down to Kennett River for the Labor Day long weekend in March with Bina & Paul and their kids and Rel and her kids.................

Easter Fun

2008-03-31T20:43:00.003+11:00

This Easter co-incided with Daddy's BEER BOTTLE CHALLENGE so the weekend is a bit of a blur for Mummy and Daddy but we all had a brilliant time!! Especially getting to see Auntie Jo and her belly!!

Squeezing into the cot!!

Contemplating a swim with Daddy (notice Daddy has wetsuit, Bennett in undies!!)

Mooning Daddy after chanting repeated;y "lightweight lightweight lightweight"

Easter booty (note copius amounts of beer bottles)

$15 pony ride that lasted about 4 minutes

So you think you can dance?.........

2008-03-03T14:10:00.005+11:00

Bennett knows he can. (again apologies for the sideways video - if anyone knows how to fix it please let me know!!) - Make sure you turn your volume UP so you can here the TV in the background

BABBA

2008-03-03T13:39:00.007+11:00

On Saturday we surprised Bennett by taking him to the zoo - not very impressive for a boy who goes to the zoo every other week, however this time BABBA were playing in concert at the Zoo Twilights.
About 15 minutes before the show was due to start we started dropping hints to Bennett that some musicians might be coming on soon. He took a stab in the dark that maybe "mama mia" were coming on - our smiles must have given it away and he was jumping for joy!!!
Dead on 6:30pm they took to the stage and opened with Mama Mia - my goodness was this boy excited!!!!

Highlights of the night were watching Bennett do the actions to "ring ring", yelling out YAY SOS when only the first beat had been played, telling daddy on the phone to let the puppies no that "Bennett is at the zoo watching ABBA" but probably my favourite was watching a 3 year old Bennett close to tears, yell out "more!!" - They then came on and sung "warbaloo (waterloo) and Dancing Queen was the incredible finale - to which Bennett declared through tears - I will miss ABBA so so much.
It was such a fun night and Bennett had a ball!

Sorry about the sideways video - I don't know how to rotate the file - turn your volume up and boogie along with Bennett

self portrait

2008-03-03T13:34:00.003+11:00

Here is Bennett taking a picture of himself and the other is him playing "sisters" with Milla, one of his most favourite games!!

Kinder Photos

2008-02-26T09:46:00.003+11:00

Not sure why these aren't already on here - maybe I only uploaded them to facebook?? Enoy....... Mr Bennett starting 3 year old Kinder

Tagged

2008-02-21T10:30:00.002+11:00

I have been tagged by the adorable Sara..........

Now, here are THE RULES...
1. Once you are tagged, link back to the person who tagged you.
2. Post THE RULES on your blog.
3. Post 7 weird or random facts about yourself on your blog.
4. Tag 7 people and link to them.
5. Comment on their blog to let them know they have been tagged.

1. I have just lost 43.5kgs
2. I can't put on a shirt before my trousers.
3. I'm turning into a facebook stalker LOL
4. I find it hard to fall asleep without watching TV in bed first - but only at home!!
5. I don't like wearing belts
6. I climbed back into bed this morning at 6am instead of going for a walk.
7. My dad rarely calls me anything except "baby"

Seven random facts......

I tag.......... PT, Kerryn, Deanne, Jude Helenj Tash & Bon

It's enough to make you CLUCKY

2008-02-07T20:44:00.000+11:00

Well not quite but how cute does Bennett look with baby Sienna!!!

When you are an Only Child.............

2008-01-27T17:38:00.001+11:00

And mummy and daddy won't play with you - what else is there to do except build an obstacle course!!

Another Hot Melbourne Night

2008-01-27T17:31:00.000+11:00

Chillin' with a ice block before bed..........

Daddy and Bennett in the lounge room - trying to find a cooler place to sleep,

The Cutest Thing......

2008-01-21T07:46:00.000+11:00

This morning when I got up to go for my walk and the dogs were particularly excitable (well it had been 3 days since I last walked).... I got out the door and across the street, just before I turned on my MP3 player - I heard this whimper and a cry - calling out for Mummy. I turned around and Mr Bennett was standing there on the stoop in his jammies crying. He wanted me to either come home or take him with me. His tears were ginormous and plopping down on the steps!

Got him sorted out with Daddy and headed off for my walk.

All By Myself

2008-01-13T18:46:00.000+11:00

Bennett has never really shown much interest in putting his own shoes on, he's slowly starting to try and was VERY proud of this effort.

Werribee Zoo

2008-01-13T18:41:00.000+11:00

We had my cousin Megan down from NSW so we took her to Werribee Zoo..........

What a Life

2007-12-28T16:02:00.000+11:00

How's this for 4pm on a Friday afternoon!!

A boy and his camera

2007-12-26T15:06:00.000+11:00

Bennett LOVES his new camera from santa.......

'Twas the Night.................

2007-12-25T21:34:00.001+11:00

Bennett sleeping on Christmas Eve and the tree and surrounds.......

OK Now I'm Excited

2007-12-24T21:25:00.000+11:00

This may be Bennett's 4th Christmas but this is by far the best, he's VERY excited (as I type he's glued to the Carols watching Hi5!!!

We've made the Reindeer food (and sprinkled it outside), left a snack and a key to get in for Santa and Mummy is about to join her boys on the couch for some Carols by Candlelight.

Have a fabulous Christmas everyone!!

Cheezel Boy

2007-12-20T08:25:00.001+11:00

Don't Ask!!!!!!!!

2007-12-20T08:15:00.000+11:00

For some reason this dance required a measuring tape and to be nude????

Overdue Update

2007-12-17T18:40:00.000+11:00

I've been so busy keeping up to date with Facebook that I've been neglecting our little blog.....

We had a flying visit up to Newcastle for Old Granny's funeral which was sad but we knew she was ready to go.....

Bennett's been going to lots of Christmas parties and birthday parties as well as just getting into general mischief.

Just this evening he discovered the boys across the road (8 & 6) and spent a good 10 minutes chasing them on foot whilst they road their bikes up and down the court......... 8 more sleeps and he can join them on his own bike!!

Here are a few new pics......

Bennett at Huntr's 3rd birthday party

Carols by Candlelight

Silly Pa

2007-11-21T09:26:00.000+11:00

Why is it Grandfathers know exactly what toys to buy grandchildren to drive the Mum's crazy!!!!

the lion was done at 9am (Bennett had been out of bed all of 5 minutes!!!) He came to find me with facepaints in hand!!!!!!!!!!!

Breakfast Boy

2007-11-14T22:01:00.000+11:00

Always on the move.......

2007-11-13T14:52:00.000+11:00

Can't get a decent shot of the Boy nowadays - he's too busy moving around ALL OF THE TIME!!

Two Bumblebees Two Bumblebees

2007-10-31T21:52:00.001+11:00

The Halloween buildup has been crazy in the Davy household - as Mummy works in a predominatly "american" industry the Halloween buzz was all around and seeing as Bennett lives for Nick Jr and Playhouse Disney, he's been well conditioned for this holiday!!

So we went down to my work all dressed up and my lovely boss Cindy had set up a photo shoot area and we got some pictures taken!!!

Specky Four Eyes

2007-10-22T18:32:00.000+10:00

The little guy got his glasses on Friday and he looks so cute. Luckily Pa was onhand with the camera as Daddy has our is the UK with him.

Auntie Anna also took some on sunday for us.......

Some Pics from Pa

2007-10-22T18:28:00.001+10:00

Pa took these photos at the playgroup farm day.....

Bennett as a Rubiks Cube

2007-10-07T12:57:00.000+10:00

Devil with Butterfly Wings

2007-10-04T19:28:00.000+10:00

Mini Goaf

2007-09-30T19:53:00.000+10:00

Bennett had his first game on mini golf on the weekend - or as he calls it - Mini Goaf.

we also had great success with the challenge of drinking our way to the end of the balcony.........

Sunny Tuesday

2007-09-18T15:56:00.001+10:00

Such a gorgeous sunny day today, I couldn't resist snapping away at this gorgeous subject

Bake Sale

2007-09-18T15:53:00.000+10:00

Saturday was spent baking up a storm for the Playgroup cake stall, Bennett was particlarly impressed with the cupcakes

A gorgeous Saturday

2007-09-08T20:52:00.000+10:00

We had such a great day today, very cruisy and I just realised its only Saturday so YAY another whole day of the weekend tomorrow......... Bennett had a photo shoot in the bath tonight and then a nice cuddle on the couch with Mummy......

Father's Day

2007-09-08T20:38:00.000+10:00

Sunday 2nd September 2007 - As you can see it was a gorgeous Spring day in Melbourne - not even hampered by the constant Bennett Tantrums!!! I'm guessing the lollypop sugar had something to do with the attitude!!! I also just realised we have NO photos of Bennett and his Daddy from Father's Day 2007!!

Zali's Party......

2007-09-08T20:33:00.000+10:00

A couple of weeks ago we had Zali's 2nd Birthday party which was fancy dress...... It was too hot a day for Bennett to go as a BooBah as planned so he went as "Soccer Boy" instead..... Mummy would have prefered him to be in his Man Utd strip but he picked his Hibs one instead

Our Snow Trip

2007-08-16T20:48:00.000+10:00

I'm very cranky as I wrote a MASSIVE entry and then lost it in cyber space........... enjoy the pics for now

Our recent trip to Newscastle.

2007-07-28T11:21:00.000+10:00

RollerKids

2007-07-12T16:29:00.000+10:00

Today Narelle and I took Bennett, Milla & Finn rollerskating.......... Bennett loved the idea in principle and after one go around he wanted his skates off and just ate for the rest of the time!!

Bennett the Photographer........

2007-07-12T16:20:00.000+10:00

Here are few snaps Bennett took the other night and today. The one of his feet he said - thats me walking and the next one............. thats your bum mum!!

You Can't Rush These Things

2007-07-03T13:08:00.001+10:00

Ok so Bennett was probably about 12 months old when he created this piece of modern art

(Dry dog food wedged between the screen door and an attached piece of perspex).

At 3 and a quarter Mummy finally figures out how to get the dog food out.... YAY for Mummy ;o)

The Kidness Of Strangers

2007-07-03T13:02:00.000+10:00

There is a lady who lives on our street who we always say hello to, probably for about 18 mths we've just been saying hello. Well finally yesterday I finally found out her name, Maria, but not only that she also dropped around some Action Men for Bennett that her son has grown out of.....

Wiggles Concert

2007-06-28T13:06:00.001+10:00

What a morning!! We just got back from the Wiggles concert and boy are we exhausted. It took us an hour and a halfto get there but was SOOOOOO worth it. We had FANTASTIC FRONT ROW seats, right near the middle, Bennett and Ryan had their roses ready for Dorothy and Mummy and Auntie Kym had their cameras ready...................

Dorothy (well Murray) only took one flower from the crowd (the Wiggles Dancers) collected the rest. but guess who handed Murray the rose for Dorothy.............

And then Bennett danced up a storm....

Swordy Blue

2007-06-26T20:58:00.000+10:00

Today was a great day - even though we are all sick we managed to make it to swimming and even dragged Daddy off his deathbed to come along and boy was he lucky he did as today Bennett received his SwordyBLUE YAY for Bennett. This first pic is Bennett angrily sticking it back on the fridge after Daddy had the audacity to take it down for a Photo. Bennett then Refused to be in the Photo with his certificate and then as always just couldn't resist posing!!

Our Little Family

2007-06-17T13:04:00.001+10:00

A couple of pics from last night.........

Everyone loves the new coffee machine

2007-06-04T18:56:00.001+10:00

Especially Bennett, and Daddy's "no coffee" has officially ended - albeit Decaf but I'm sure that will change at 7am tomorrow!!

Studley Park Boathouse

2007-06-03T19:19:00.000+10:00

Today we had such a fun day down at the Studley Park Boathouse in Kew. I have wanted to go there for years and today we finally got there. The place is just stunning and the weather was tops. We had some lunch and then Mummy, Daddy and Bennett headed down the Yarra River while Ama and Pa watched from the shore.
I think we will definately be heading here again.

Afterwards we went for coffee and gelato on Lygon street - as always Bennett was giving Pa a mouthfull of backchat!!!

Bathtime

2007-05-30T17:04:00.001+10:00

Once home Daddy was straight back into the swing of things and bath time resulted in lots of giggly fun........

It's good to have HIM home

2007-05-30T17:00:00.000+10:00

I think Bennett is very happy that his Daddy (or at least Daddy's ears) are home

Emporer Bennett and Mummies Shoes

2007-05-30T16:54:00.001+10:00

Doesn't Bennett look like an emporer in his size 7 dressing gown!! (and yes he really does LOVE that TV)

Bennett Loves Mummies Shoes

Calm Blue Ocean, Calm Blue Ocean, Calm Blue Ocean

2007-05-30T16:06:00.000+10:00

Do you ever have those days when you think you are going to check yourself into a home for Mummies who have 3 year olds!!

Well today was one of those days. I made a special effort to get a loan dvd rom and Auntie Jojo installed it for us before she left, this was all in the name of Bennett being able to play some of his computer games that he is ready for now.

Well I'm guessing Blues Room wasn't holding his interest or the temptation of my wallet was just too much. I heard some shrapnel jangling and suspected he'd raided my wallet. A little later on when I went to check on him - not only is all my change gone but so are all my bank cards with one poking out of the dvd rom (as well as blues room now sitting on the desk)

Hmmm now the dvd rom wont open and I can hear the coins inside. While I was posting this funny little story at LSBS he decides to paint his finger nails, unfortunately when a 3 year old paints his finger nails it is actually his thighs he is painting!!!

So to help myself get through it I had a flick through some old photos when he was a "good" boy

Daddy Gets Attacked By the Bennett Monster

2007-05-07T17:40:00.000+10:00

Tenpin Bowling

2007-05-07T17:34:00.000+10:00

Last sunday we took the B-Boy to play mini golf but it was swamped with mini people so we headed over to the bowling (in the same complex). We had such a great time but its way too pricey to do it too often I think!!!