hi everyone

cant believe how quickly the time is flying by...Archie had his 3 month weigh in...stats are:

7.350kg in weight and 62.5cm in length...he is officially in size 00 for most things now. Its kind of sad as i have been packing away all the little 0000 and 000 that he didnt get too much of an opportunity to wear because he has grown so quickly...he is still doing all the same things...and is liking 4am feed calls which is great because we are getting a good solid sleep from 7 til 4am...cant complain about that!

Archie is getting big enough to wear alot more of Eli's old clothes...we always said that baby number 2 was going to wear baby number 1's clothes, and im glad we were strong enough to keep the 'recycling' going...its lovely to bring eli's clothes to 'life' again on archie...we just were not expecting archie to grow into them so quickly...im assuming his growth will slow down a little soon LOL....archie is lots like his brother, especially around his eyes...they seem to tell a story...i guess we will just have to wait to see how it all unfolds...

Pete had archie the whole afternoon (thankfully archie takes a bottle)...so i have been very lucky because its allowed me to get a whole bunch of little stuff done that i dont get a chance to do...like the blog!

no real news on anything else, we are still waiting for the undercoat to be sprayed on the house, but we now have a balcony, and we have the capacity to hold 17,000litres of water with our tanks being plumbed up which is great...

So we are really just waiting on the painting, then we can get a wriggle on to getting the rest fitted out...

soon, soon we are hoping!

Pete is going well...he is busy with work and travelling around gippsland a fair bit but really enjoying the new challenges that come with a new job...

i guess we cant wait until things quieten down for us so we can start enjoying life a bit more...as right now, things are bloody hectic!

We are finalising paperwork for melon's cottage (hopefully tomorrow)..it will be awesome to have that all finished and 'above board'...if anyone has any hints on where to find some good public liability insurance, we are open to suggestions...ive tried everywhere, but no one has got back to us, or not interested...its highly frustrating!

anyhoo...best fly

loads of love and sunshine

the simpsons

xoxoxo

a few pictures as promised

hi everyone

here are a few pics as promised of our last couple of months...

we got out in melon's garden this morning...archie was in the pram while pete and i did some much needed weeding and all round tlc...it was lovely to get out as a family while the weather was nice...well, it was bloody cold, but at least the sun was shining and archie found the kangaroo paw flowers quite facinating...it was lovely to watch!

anyways...enjoy the pics

love and hugs

the simpsons

xoxo

Archie, pete and poppa who travelled all the way from deniliquin to visit us back in June...


archie enjoying a bottle of boob milk with great nan from deni

archie and pop sharing a tender moment

archie with the beanie aunty hayley, uncle dale and cousins kyle blake and connor gave him...melon was the little boy who was known for his very groovy leg warmers, i think archie will be the one with all the funky beanies and hats!

archie at about 9 weeks old...

archie and his friend 'amelie harper' from trarlgon sharing a 'friends' moment...nawww...

archie and amelie...amelie is around 5 months now and just gorgeous!

archie playing "wheres archie"..he is clever enough to pull the blanket off his own eyes now and loves to play it...

another gorgeous beanie all the way from Tallangatta near Corryong...thanks so much Karyn...its is AWESOME and gets used all the time...

Archie captured on camera having a laugh...very cute

a pic of one of archies first smiles caught on camera...he was about 6 weeks when it came out!

Our wonderful mate Rae-lee meeting archie for the first time when we went to melb at the end of June...Rae was the wonderful nurse from the RCH who looked after Eli so beautifully...along with Great pa "Ray", Rae is also the inspiration for Archie's middle name...

dad and archie at maccas in moe while on our way to melb...Archie was fabulous

taking some much needed time out!

hmmm...not too sure what to say about this one!

Archie playing 'wheres the clock'...he loves to look around now and is just fixated on the clock when he gets to it...very funny to watch...

Thanks for having us kate and wayne!

our friend Wren who walked with us at the koala count...nice cute joey i reckon!

our great mate marnie and archie at our angel flight bbq a few weeks ago...we werent short of hands to give cuddles and hold archie when we were busy! Thanks marn!

11 weeks...

hi everyone

i cant believe we are nearly in the middle of july...its CRAZY how quickly time has flown...archie is almost 11 weeks old and we have had heaps of things going on since we last wrote...

the house is still coming along...the tiling has been done, the clickclack on the floor has been put in, and the balcony is about 2/3rds finished...we have started painting, with the cupboards now finished (apart from the doors), the toilet and bathroom almost done. We are just waiting on the plasterer to finish off a couple of things in the kitchen and the laundry, and the plumber to come to finish the rest off, like taps, and final fit out...

once all that is done, we are going to spraypaint the under coat and get really cracking on the painting to finish off...we still dont have an 'end date' in our minds, just when can get the time, we will get down there and do what we can...nothing like doing things in halves is there, pete with his new job, a new baby and a new house! Talk about timing...lol

i have been feeling like melon has been around us a fair bit over the past couple of weeks...we always say goodnight to him when archie goes to sleep, and we wonder how busy life would have been with both boys in it...alot more busier than at the moment i would imagine! We can see melon in archie, especially some of his 'looks'...and there is no disputing they are brothers.

Archie has been tripping around with us over the past month...we spent a night in traralgon, which was so-so (probably the cookies i ate!)...and we went to melbs for a couple of days last weekend and he was really good...slept really well at night, and thankfully was fairly cruisy through the day. We stayed at some apartments in Mont Albert - Archie ended up in the main bedroom in his portacot and pete and i ended up in the sofa bed! ahhhh...the things you do to keep the peace lol...

Archie met heaps of people for the first time and caught up with his nan from bacchus marsh. He also met Mary Canary (our neighbours from when we lived in Altona North)...mary already has him married to her yet to be born grandaughter (good luck kath)...we also caught up with our great mates the Corries, Lindorff's and Somers on Sunday morning, and then our most favourite nurse, Rae and her fiancee Shane...it was fantastic to see them both and Archie will always know how special rae is to our family...

we caught up with a few old work colleagues from box hill on monday, and we met up with our awesome mate Gaynor and her two boys Jack and Lachlan...i was able to hit the shops for some stuff - especially bonds...it was awesome! Thanks to Wayne and Kate for hosting us on monday night while we bathed and fed archie...then it was on the road and we were home by 11pm. We were a bit nervous to see if he would settle, but after a feed, he was fine and we were all able to get heaps of sleep...thank goodness for boobs! It gives us heaps of confidence for next time we travel...and thank goodness he is fairly flexible (and we had the baby bjorn!)...

Archie also had his needles. Its funny, after witnessing so many awful things being done to melon, i still couldnt hold archie for them. Lucky dad came and i offered boobs after it was all finished. I was exactly the same with eli's needles, but when it came to other stuff, i could do it no probs, just not the needles...so i have booked pete for archie's second lot of needles at 4 months which will no doubt come around really quickly...

At Archie's 2 month check up...he weighed a very healthy 6.280kg, was 60.5cm in length and his head reached 40cm (no surprise there!)...at 8 weeks, he was basically the size of a 3 month old! i expect him to start slowing down with the tucker soonish, but you never know...he is definitely in a great paddock!

It really is such a bittersweet feeling of knowing we should have 2 boys running around...well, i guess we do, we just cant see one...i wonder how they would have got along and when they got older, how they would have looked after each other...i wonder if they would have shared their toys, and how many times we would have sent them to their 'corners' to stop them bickering...

its hard not to think about the what if's...i guess its just a normal part of grieving. Its just being brave enough to share these thoughts so publicly. People who have not lost a child will find some of these thoughts confronting and probably hard to understand and perhaps think that its time we just 'got over it' now we have archie...you can never get over such a massive loss, and nor do we want to. People ask how archie is going...like any mum and dad, you have your days where its bloody tough...those days that i say its tough is not a complaint...and being reminded that we went through much worse with eli does not help. Its all relative and we are living our lives day to day, like any mum and dad would with a new born baby. The best thing about eli is that he has taught us to be much more patient parents. Patience really is a virtue and one of the best assets we have learned.

anyways...i will try and get some more pics up soon...there are some rippers amongst them...i just havent had the time today, but will try through the week when we will try and teach archie that his bed through the day really is a nice place to hang out and sleep! LOL...

lots of hugs and sunshine

the simpsons

xoxoxox

7 and a half weeks and counting!

Hi everyone

well, archie is a staggering 7 and a half weeks...time is seriously flying...the simpson house has been flat out with pete back at work and travelling around a bit, and archie and i spending some quality time together without dad...i dont know how mums who are on their own do it! The weather has been so-so, it has been difficult to get out and about for a walk in the pram, so archie has spent a fair bit of time in the baby bjorn and in our arms, just to make sure he gets some sleep, coz boy his nasty if he doesnt get his sleep! i have attached some updated pics below.

The house is coming along slowly...we have a kitchen now which is exciting...and are just awaiting the stone for the bench to be delivered before the floors can be put in...pete is busy bogging up the holes, and sanding in preparation for painting...the theory is that we will get archie's room finished first so we can fit out his room with the portacot and work in the house while he gets some sleep through the day...he is a real bugger through the day with his sleep, because of the pains in his belly so we are hoping that subsides soon and he feels a bit more comfy as it definitely wakes him up...

we are going on our first overnight outing next week which we are all excited about...to traralgon which will be great...see how we go!

anyways...hope all is well in your world, wherever you may be...and i will post again soon...i have to get down and take some pic's of the house to update the blog...maybe next time!

take care

luv and hugs

the simpsons

xoxoxox

Nawww...about 5 weeks here...

yes, learning attitude already!

playing with his dad

nice cuddles with mum

just archie!

a visit to great nan olive from sale for her 81st birthday...

our first trip to the campsite at buchan...yay!

great aunt julia and me...great aunt julia came across from jakata...very nice cuddles!

i know, i know its not reall kosher...but its the closest we could come to legalised 'planking'...lol

me, mum and dad...very proud we are!

an update for you

hi everyone

well archie is a staggering five and a half weeks and is growing every day. He has some major wind/colicky issues which keeps us very busy through the day. He likes to be with us so by the end of the day we are all generally tired and worn out! At the last weigh in, archie was a whisker under 5kg, so the newborn nappies didnt last long! Pete heads back to work tomorrow so we are up for another adjustment with a set of hands gone! It has been wonderful to have him home...and he has been a great help.

The milk pimples have hit archie which makes him look super cute...and he still has his stork mark on his nose and behind his head and neck. I will try and get some pics up over the next couple of weeks...its just trying to find the time with a little person who doesnt sleep much thru the day! poor little bugger... Just like his big brother eli! we finally got our first smilewhich lit up the whole house!

The house is coming along...The plasterer has all but finished and hopefully the kitchen will be in next week! something to look forward too. Pete has finished the drainage for the retaining walls so hopefully it wont get too boggy anymore...next job is to plumb the 2 big tanks we bought, so we can use tankwater for the house where we can.

we should have some news for melons cottage soon - from the legal eagles, and we have our letters of support as well which have been great...

just need to get into the house...we are probably hoping by aug/sept now...will keep u posted!

anyhoo, best fly...archie is begging for a feed!

lots of luv and sunshine

the simpsons

xoxox

Welcome Archie Ray Simpson

pic taken on 14/5/11

Hi guys

sorry its taken a while to write...been busy having a baby! Yep, Archie Ray Simpson finally graced us with his presence in the early hours of the morning on Wednesday 27 April. We were blessed with a very easy birth, 3.5 hours in labour and a few pushes and he arrived! Archie weighed 8lb 10 oz, was 53cm in length and like melon, had a fairly big head (37cm)...so archie is known as the coconut in our house :-)

I have attached a few pics taken off the mobile phone so the quality is not super, but you will get the gist. It has been a wave of emotions welcoming archie to the family...we are super excited with his arrival, but the best way we can describe it is really - bittersweet. Mothers day was hard, and i felt it more so than previous years to be honest...we still have a big hole in our hearts, but take lots of comfort that melon will be looking out for his little brother every step of the way. Because the cottage only has 2 bedrooms, the 'boys' are both in the one room...hopefully eli's bad sleeping habits wont rub off on archie...they really are two very different little souls which is lovely...just take each day as it comes...cry when we feel like it, laugh when we feel like it, and most importantly just 'love' always.

the house is coming along slowly slowly...its at lock up now, and we are just waiting for the plasterer to come (hopefully next week)...then the kitchen (hopefully mid june)...i think our original guess was right...im hoping we will be in by august/sept...see how we go...

anyways...enjoy the pics...

luv, hugs and sunshine

the simpsons

xoxox

about 1 week old

dad and archie in hospital

getting the hearing test done at 2 days of age..passed with flying colours

nawww...first 24 hours of being in the world.

Thoughts towards another angel

Hi guys

its with great sadness that our family said goodbye to our pa - Thomas Raymond Smith (or Ray as he was known to everyone!)...Pa passed away peacefully on 18 March 2011 and we celebrated his life last friday. I would like to acknowledge the brilliant service that my aunty jen and aunty michelle put together to celebrate pa's life...it was a great service for a very humble man. I would like to share one of the readings with you which i think reflect's pa's life beautifully.

That man is a success

That man is a success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much; who has gained the respect of intelligent men and women and the love of children; who has filled his niche and accomplished his task; who leaves the world better than he found it, who has never lacked appreciation of Earth's beauty or failed to express it; who looked for the best in others, and gave the best he had - Ralph Waldo Emerson

I was very lucky to have had pa in my life for 36 years. Pa wasnt just a pa, but rather a dad. Pa always made me feel like i was one of his own, and for that, i feel truly blessed. No judgements, just love.

Pete and i were married on my nan and pa's 55th wedding anniversary - coming up to our 6th year, so the 16 Sept every year we have even more to celebrate now.

One of the most comforting things is that pa is now with his 'porky', my nan who passed away nearly 3 years ago. Another wonderful thought is that Eli now has a wonderful opportunity to be with two people who are going to love him just as much as pete and i do...

With death brings life - one of those ironic things really...I certainly spoke at length to pa about our new bubs, with pa providing plenty of advice and support and comments like "geez, you look like nan when she had uncle john - all boobs and belly and nothing else!"...nothing like a pa to keep you grounded! LOL...

Pa, we are going to miss you every day. Your humility, integrity and grace will forever be a legacy in our lives. Big kisses to nan and melon for us (and go the dee's)...

luv and hugs

the simpsons

xoxox

Not the greatest pic, but one of a few we have with all three of our 'angels'...

and again...taken in early 2008

our pa...just as we all remember him...luv ya heaps pa...