The Wednesday before Thanksgiving was such a beautiful day. Kei and I took the kids for a walk to a local coffee shop to…welll…grab coffee. Oh, and a muffin. That was how we managed to get Thomas out of the house – the promise of a muffin. The best thing about this particular coffee shop though is that they have little itty bitty mini muffins. Perfect when you promise the muffin but don’t want to deliver on the sugar.

Of course Samuel was there too, in his bear hat that threatens to suffocate him when it turns to the side. Seriously – look at those big fluffy ear flaps. This hat is worn under supervision only.

And this is Fred. Our local coffee shop has it’s own local dog. I love our neighbourhood.

I am so glad to have our playroom back now that we are all sleeping upstairs (the playroom closet is another matter). The only problem now? Navigating the chaos. We have to do some serious organizing in this room – especially now that Samuel looks as though he could become mobile any minute. Who would have thought three year olds could have so many tiny little toys that babies would just LOVE to suck on?

My first piece of Christmas decorating. I bought my Eucalyptus wreath again this year. My little piece of Australian Christmas in Portland. The irony is that I probably couldn’t buy a Eucalyptus wreath in Australia if I wanted to. We plan to buy the Christmas tree this weekend and I already have an eager volunteer waiting to help me hang the ornaments.

I just love this photo and almost don’t even care that Samuel is out of focus. Sometimes the best photos happen while you’re waiting for everyone to say “cheese”. (I am also aware that Thomas is making a funny face but I think he’s cute. And that’s a face he makes on a regular basis).

I am proud to say that Thomas has embraced his Aussie roots and LOVES vegemite. Not only that, but he asked for some cheese the other day to add to his vegemite sandwich. Now that really IS an Aussie thing to do. (for those who don’t know, they add vegemite to Kraft singles in Aus. It’s a delicacy…sort of). Sad to say, he learned all of this from his very American father – not from me.

This right here is called bribery. Wiggles figurines in return for potty training. The only problem? We’ve run out of rewards. He has all four Wiggles, a Wiggles fork and spoon and even the Big Red Car. I knew this day would come, I had just hoped it would come after Thomas was fully potty trained. I have nothing left. And with Xmas just around the corner, rewards are just not cutting it. Now it’s up to him. I am handing the power over to a three year old.

Thomas is growing up so fast. He has always been a good talker and he continues to surprise us with the things he knows and remembers.

• He knows that Barak Obama is not really the President yet. When someone calls him The President, Thomas will correct them and say Obama is the President Elect!
• He knows that Samuel is too young to do some things like eat food, use the potty or play with his Wiggles figures – and he’s not afraid to tell him.
• If you mention anything yellow, you are quickly reminded how much Thomas likes yellow (and how no one else is allowed to like yellow because HE likes yellow).
• He has been reminding us for the last week that you don’t eat turkeys that are alive (apparently dead ones are no problem).

Thomas is starting to recognise letters and has even started spelling. His first word? Not bat or cat or tub. No, it’s Sam. And not as in Sam-short-for-Samuel-my brother. No Sam as in the Wiggle Sam. This Wiggles thing is out of control.

Put this under the heading of “Why didn’t I buy one sooner”? I had a rice cooker in Japan – 10 years ago. I loved it but never got around to buying one either in Australia or here… until last month. I love it. I love the fact that I can just turn it on and forget about it. I love the fact that the rice will stay warm regardless of the time dinner is ready. I love that it has a vegetable steamer and apparently I can make a whole bunch of other recipes in the rice cooker. Although let’s be real – it will be used to cook rice 99% of the time. And that’s just the way it should be.