Yay! We have walls going up in our new house!! Everyone has been telling us what a difference the walls will make, and it's true. The rooms look bigger then what we imagined and it looks more like a 'house' now. If only we could move in tomorrow! We'll start painting soon. Here is a photo of the boys watching the plasterers:

and Caleb watching the plasterers:

Paul is having a "casual" week at work, seeing that he has to go to the block regularly to see the action, so I'm having a "casual" week at home. Not much cleaning is being done other then the basics :) - a lot of time is being spent on Dulux's "My Colour" visual interactive website to get an idea of paint colours. The boys are fascinated by the walls and have quickly decided that it is more fun to be able to hide in all the new rooms that have appeared then to be able to walk through the walls! I don't know if I'm allowed to put on photo's of the plasterers in action so here a boring photo of some of the new walls...

Jacob's new trick

Yesterday as I went outside I spied a few items of clothing on the ground, somehow having pulled themselves off the washing line. Hmmm. I had a few words with the boys about it and left it at that.

This morning I look outside the kitchen door to check what the boys were up to and I discovered how my washing had found it's way onto the ground (note that today he was being very careful to make sure the washing stayed on the line!).....

I'm not sure how long my washing line can put up with this kind of abuse. ;)

Some new photos of Caleb, 3 weeks old already...

All is quiet in the Theakston household most mornings as Paul takes the 3 older boys out to the block to work on the house, leaving mum and bub to sleep in peace. Caleb is settling in pretty well, though he has already caught a cold (we think off Isaac - already!) and so is battling a snuffly nose. It's a tough world when you are 2 weeks old and struggling to suck milk and breathe at the same time :( we had some bad nights but it seems to be getting better slowly.

The boys are constantly asking where Caleb is (usual reply: in bed asleep). They are constantly in his face when he is awake - they are literally smothering him with love. I wonder if they'll feel the same way when he is crawling around and getting into their things!

We had a nice short but sweet visit from Aunty Ninny and Mr. Jake on the long weekend. The boys loved having them and were most disappointed to wake up and find they had gone (they had to leave early in the morning). Isaac pointed at the mattress Aunty Ninny had slept on and asked "where him gone?".

We are getting some rain here - I think most places are at the moment - and the boys are enjoying the wet weather and have a new dimension of play with the leaves that have blown down on the back patio - I can feel an autumn scrap layout coming :) The plumber (whom we've been waiting about 6 weeks for) is meant to be out working on the house today, so we should start seeing some progress again! Jacob is keen to move into the house and so has been very diligent in helping Paul with doing jobs at the house, such as digging trenches. There's nothing like a session of digging with dad to help little boys build character!!

Introducing Caleb...

It's about time we got some photo's up of the newest member of our family. Caleb is already 9 days old and just adorable (of course!). He arrived on Sunday 25th May in Dubbo, 2 days early, weighing 8 pounds 10 (3.9kg). His brothers adore him - they are constantly asking where he is and if they can hold him. Being one of four girls myself, it's amazing how the tables have turned and we now have four boys!! We love it!

A quieter couple of weeks (thankfully!). There's been plenty to do though what with washing baby clothes and preparing for the new arrival (less then 4 weeks to go!).

The Cobar Show was 2 weekends ago and a lot of fun. The boys enjoyed everything, especially the dodgems, fireworks and chooks. Paul went on the dodgems EIGHT times, partly because he loves them and partly because you are not allowed on them at 35 weeks pregnant, so Paul had to take each of the boys (more then once of course!). Isaac surprisingly wanted to go on the ponies and he loved it enough that Jacob was brave enough to go on one after he watched Isaac. Jacob is now walking around saying he wants a dog "this big" and a horse "this big" (he motions biggish dog and small horse). A couple of the photos are below, which aren't great but you get the idea...

It seems lately as though the boys are competing to see who can be the most helpful. They are now helping with numerous household chores which mum is loving and which will be very useful when the new baby arrives. The following photo is the most recent job they have learnt to help with (we have to work on the folding though)...

The house is quiet again - literally. Paul has taken the 3 boys out to the bush this morning, so the house is very quiet - especially after all the visitors have left and Rachel has moved out. Paul and the boys should be back by now so I reckon they've discovered V8 Supercars is on and are watching it on the old tv we have out on the block. :D

We had a great time with the family when they were here for the wedding. Paul's brother and his family stayed a bit longer and it has been so nice seeing all the kids play together, without too many squabbles! Actually, for having 6 kids under 7 in the house I thought is went pretty smoothly!

Some of the photo's taken...

Grandparents with most of the grandchildren!

Siblings & partners

Isaac and Michael - cousins

Isaac

Cousins - Joshua, Nicole, Michael, Jacob, Jeremy, Isaac.