The Rosie, Bruce, Daen and Liam (baby) Page

Updated 30th September, 2001

It has been nearly a year since I last updated this page. This is the problem when you go back to work, you just can't find the time to do the important things. After a year off, I returned to work and it seemed like I had never been away. Everyone kept asking me what it was like to be back at work and realistically it was what I always seemed to be doing. I noticed during the Christmas holidays that mentally I was already thinking like any other teacher does during their long break. Rosie most probably found the change more difficult. With her usual planning, she organised to go back to work, after a 2 and a half year break, the same week as I did. Between running the business, which was flat out until May, looking after Liam all day without my help and then going off to work 2 nights a week for 3 hours, she became very tired. Her usual 10 hours sleep just wasn't enough. Liam has been coming along beautifully. Every day he amazes me with some new word, or phrase or mannerism. He is a very determined child, as I am sure all over indulged children are, and is very definite about what he does, and doesn't, want to do.

Liam has perfected the word "NO". He uses it at all the appropriate times. "Do you want something to eat?" "NO". When you give him something to eat, you get a "NO THANKS, I don't want that" accompanied by the appropriate hand movement pushing you and the food gently away. He has also perfected the word "Please" and tends to use it to make you feel guilty. "Come and play with me Daddy, Please, Please, Please, Please, Please, Please, Please, Please ....", "I want a bottle" (demanding tone), Please, Please, Please, Please, Please, Please, Please, Please ...." (pleading tone).

He clearly has us wrapped around his finger and I look forward to him going to school where some teacher will teach him a little discipline.

Daen has really grown up this year, physically anyway. As you can see from the pictures, his friends finally convinced him to go to the school ball and he thought he looked fantastic all dressed up in his suit. He didn't take a date, but was convinced to walk in with one of my god children (Rebecca).

They both looked fantastic, and Rosie took advantage of being my partner and pushed past all the parents outside to get inside so that she could get a good view as Daen entered.

Daen turns 17 this year and I have been taking him driving the last month, he goes for his license this week and it will be interesting to see how he does. He is a good driver but as with everything he does he is very carefree and over confident. When he does get his license I am sure that it will be the last we see of the Subaru, I am already starting to think of what car I want to get to replace it. I was thinking of a HSV Commodore, which I could take out onto the speedway track on the weekends.

In May we all went to the annual Mother's Day, Darby Day in Dwellingup. I love this get together of the family. It doesn't matter what the weather looks like, you know that the majority of the clan will be there. As always, we meet at the Dwellingup cemetery to renew the flowers on Dad's mother's grave. We have photos of Liam each year at this point and as I look back, it is nice to see the changes that are taking place. We made a special point of getting all the aunties and uncles together this year which turned out quite prophetic. Sadly, my Auntie Hazel died this week, after a massive stroke. She was a strong and lovely women with a wicked sense of humour. It is hard to believe that she won't be with us anymore.

Liam is becoming quite the little man. He makes up little games all the time. As you can see with the car (from toy library, Liam thinks that all toys come from the toy library, which is a good way of thinking of these things), Liam likes to attach trailers, or golf clubs, to the back, just like Daddy's lawnmower, and tow them around the back yard.

Every time you get out the mower or chainsaw, every one has to put on their ear muffs. Liam is so organised that he put the trailer on the back of the mower for me the other day and then started to pack it with all the tools we would need. He was most persistent about putting his roller and golf club into the trailor so I let him, which was lucky. When I finished mowing the front section, I got out the small mower to go around the trees. As I looked behind me, Liam had out his golf club, inverted of course, and was using it as a whipper snipper to go around the base of the trees. People driving past were very impressed.

Liam's vocabulary is obviously improving all the time. He is quite good at long words that take his fancy. He has toy dinosaurs which he will generally call by their real names, Tyranasoraus Rex, Tryceratops and Brontiasaurus. He will happily correct you if you use the wrong names. I think one of them is a Diplodocus but he vehemently disagrees with me.

We completely renovated the cottage earlier this year. We pulled up the carpet and then got a jack hammer onto the tiles in the kitchen and bathroom. We also knocked down the coffee rock walls in the kitchen and behind the wood stove. We replaced the shower with a glass screen version and shifted the basin to create more space. The bedroom was recarpeted and the rest of the cottage now has terracotta tile throughout. This makes the whole cottage easier to clean and easier to keep clean. Rosie painted all the walls and the doors, including the cupboards so now the whole cottage looks very neat and tidy and modern. With the opening of Coles in town, Daen lost most of his hours at Dewsons and was so desperate to get money that he actually did some real work around the house. He has now reverted back to his normal self, with more hours at work.

Daen finishes school in a few weeks and we have no idea what he is going to do with himself

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