Chandler's Overseas

Christmas celebrations were brought forward to 23 December this year due to us being in Knysna on Christmas Day. The house was busy with us preparing the delicious food all morning whilst also trying to get organised for our departure the following day. Harrison had a ridiculous amount of presents to open but loved the excitement of it all. He had a big smile on his face whilst opening all of the presents (must take after his Mum!). Our menu for the day included steamed scallops accompanied with french champagne, roasted whole turkey, home-baked gammon, vegetables and of course finished with a plum pudding, hard sauce & egg custard. We 'rolled' from the table to the couches after the meal and then enjoyed a restful afternoon whilst digesting the yummy food. Merry Christmas to all and thank you to everyone for your gifts & Christmas wishes xx Harrison eyeing off which presents to open first! We loved getting to help Harrison open some of his presents! Turning out the ...

Harrison is now 6 months- we can't believe how quickly he is growing up. 6 months marked a few milestones including: - commencing on solids; - 2 bottom teeth appearing and 2 top teeth following a couple of weeks afterwards; and - blowing out his first candle (it was only half a candle!) on 9 December. Harrison is getting more active every day. We need to keep a close eye on him now as quite often if we put him on the floor to play a couple of seconds later he will be meters away on the other side of the room. He has definitely mastered the skill of rolling!

This is Harrison playing with his first ball. It is hilarious seeing him so excited by it! Sportman in the making?

Phil & Nelson arrived on Sunday to holiday with us for 3 weeks. Nelson was so excited to finally meet Harrison and is determined to be the best uncle!

Nearly every day for the past fortnight, Jen & Harrison have been attending intensive swim classes with Aquatots . We have mastered the skill of 'flip & float' with Harrison now able to float by himself, unaided, for up to 6 seconds. He is also able to submerge (chasing after the toy fish!) for up to 3 seconds before 'flipping & floating' to the surface again. Obviously not a lot can be taught to babies, however the learning is progressive and it is good for us to be aware of water safety. We also sing lots of songs with the babies to ensure it is fun for all! Jen was beside herself the first time Harrison floated by himself- both with fear of him being in the water unaided and with amazement that he can actually do it. Such a proud Mum & Dad! The last lesson was 'open day' so Pete was able to come along and watch Harrison's progress, along with all of the other Dads. We will continue with the classes next term, however thankfully (!) will j...

The traditional Christmas festivities have commenced in the Chandler household. We have decorated our makeshift Christmas tree (Harrison was very intrigued with the whole process), the Christmas pudding has been boiled & is hanging in the pantry and the first batch of mince pies are freshly out of the oven. Now we are just waiting for Phil & Nelson's arrival!