Birthday

It was Simon's birthday yesterday, and there were lots of celebrations. Harrison proudly got Simon's presents out of their hiding spot first thing in the morning and helped him unwrap them. Then we had a nice fruit platter for breakfast (better than Simon's usual Up'n'Go in the car on the way to work). We had a "special" dinner of pan fried snapper with a caramelised potato and tomato salsa side dish. I had made a gluten free mud cake for his birthday cake, but the ganache hadn't had enough time to cool and solidify, so it was more of a sauce. Leah took some photos of a chocolate covered Harrison looking decidedly drunk, and one where he looked like a vampire with dark chocolate sauce dripping off his mouth. I'll add one to this post when I get a chance. After H had come down from his sugar high and gone to bed, Simon and I went out for coffee while Leah stayed home with Harrison. All in all a nice day.

Visitors galore

Leah is staying with us for a couple of weeks while she finds a house. It's lovely having her to stay, and Harrison is having a ball with her. She's fabulous with kids and seems to have endless capacity for playing games and doing silly voices or actions. That's what comes of having a "theatre person" in the house. Marg and Neil leave on Sunday for their drive across Australia. They should arrive in Perth on Easter Monday and they'll stay with us until their house is ready for habitation. They already have the lease, but they'll need to furnish it before they can move in. And finally, Simon's mum arrives in mid May for about 3 weeks.

Amidst all this excitement we have Simon's birthday tomorrow and Harrison's on May 7th. Harrison and I have done our shopping for Simon's birthday, but he's struggling a bit with the concept of keeping a secret. He told Simon this morning - completely unprompted - that he has a surprise for him AND that it's a DVD. I'd better remember to make the birthday cake tonight.

1-0 to Carmel

I'm sure everyone knows that there is a friendly rivalry between Simon and I over what Harrison is called. I agreed to the name Harrison on the understanding that it wouldn't be shortened, and Simon is determined to call him Harry.

When Leah arrived on Monday she asked Harrison whether he liked to be called Harry or Harrison, and (with Simon whispering Harry, Harry, Harry in the background), my little darling thought for a moment, and then said quite assuredly - Harrison. What a trooper...

Leah's come to town

Leah arrived in Perth yesterday for a job at Curtin. All very unexpected and quick, but lovely to see her again. Simon picked her up from the airport and she came for dinner last night. Harrison was a bit shy at first, but soon he was chatting and flirting. He was quite excited because he's heard Leah sing on Simon's CD and he was looking forward to a bit of a jam session with her. He got out his plastic (silent) electric guitar and his ukelele and they did a bit of air guitar together. He was very sweet - suggesting she try his accordian and his maraccas. There was a bit of singing - I ended up with the maraccas, which is indicative of what my son thinks of my muscial ability ;-) It is great to watch Harrison go into total enjoyment mode over music. He really can't stop his body moving and the joy on his face is wonderful to see.

Leah is hoping to live either in Leederville or Fremantle, and is looking around for places to rent over the next few days. It will be interesting to see whether having Leah in town will mean Simon does a bit more music.