the chansbury chronicles

Méi Lánfāng eat your heart out!

2009-07-14T19:24:00.002+08:00

two weeks ago, callum was a happy normal chatty baby
since last week, the pendulum has swung!
his chat sessions can now rival Méi Lánfāng the famous peking opera singer's work
mummy tends to roll about with laughter at callum's antics
sometimes i wish he'd reach just that tad pitch higher
so only the dogs could hear him...

Cal's delightful squeals from Eileen Chan on Vimeo.

when in nannup...

2009-07-12T12:40:00.000+08:00

apart from running about the block in nannup
and imitating daddy with his wheelbarrow
i have a pretty fabulous time with all the space down there
and of late my budding 'engineering' skills have come to the fore
with my train-track-building projects
ably assisted, of course, by my 2ic labourers - mummy and daddy!
callum also seems to enjoy all that fresh country air
as he quite frequently plays, laughs and kicks so hard on his playmat
that he subsequently falls asleep mid-play
all by himself, with his favourite digit in his mouth...
(remarkably like his kong kong reading his newspapers)

getting down and drrrrrtyy

2009-07-11T12:28:00.000+08:00

lately we have been
fortunate enough
to travel to our
little nannup
pied a tierre
quite frequently
mummy and daddy
are so grateful
that callum and i
travel pretty well
with just one
short break
in between
trips for
feeds.

daddy has been
busy building
fences to keep
the roos out
so the trees
we've planted
this winter
have a chance
of not
being eaten alive.
and so i help out
as little as possible
preferring to
mess about
in the earth and
muddy puddles...

talk to the animals

2009-07-10T15:21:00.003+08:00

you definitely know callum is a second child
when mummy and daddy welcome with widely open arms
kaleidescopically-coloured baby furniture kindly donated by friends
that will surely clash with the home decor
but might free up their hands and entertain him from time to time...
witness for yourself callum chatting up his little friends
and getting quite a kick out of his burgeoning social skills!

Cal chatting from Eileen Chan on Vimeo.

seeing double

2009-07-09T15:33:00.002+08:00

james (unimpressed): if i close my eyes, this triple-dose of stripey-clash-dom surely cannot assault my visual senses...
callum (as unimpressed): man, i know i have to wear james' hand-me-downs, but isn't this going a tad overboard??!!!

found! one pair of hands and a thumb

2009-06-25T11:00:00.002+08:00

callum is now 12 weeks old
and developmentally has now discovered his hands!
they do seem to be thumb-suckin' good, don't they?!
could this be the beginnings of an addiction?
we suspect he might have found his vice...

splattery will get me everywhere

2009-06-21T15:37:00.008+08:00

when mummy
was heavily
pregnant
with callum
she could not
run around
with me
as much
so we spent
quite a bit
of time doing
more 'sedate'
activities -
one of which
was painting
out on the deck...

i started out
with such
good intentions
utilising
a brush
but after a while
boredom set in
and it turned
into free for all
with my fingers
- much more
fun and
interesting -
all that
texture, mess,
gooeyness and...

attempts to clean my fingers
on mummy's big target of a belly!!!!!!!!

retrospective #1

2009-06-20T12:45:00.005+08:00

because mummy's computer broke down after callum was born
i didn't have much of a chance to show callum off to you
so now that it's fixed
we will do a retrospective series
to proudly introduce my lovely little brother
Callum Harris Kai Chansbury
beginning when he was one week old
here i am learning to hold the little poppet gently
not letting him loll his head about uncontrollably
and generously introducing my blue bear to him

callum first thing

2009-06-19T12:56:00.002+08:00

this is callum when he wakes up in the morning
after his breakfast feed
quite the morning person isn't he?!
must take after daddy

callum's fodder

2009-06-14T09:19:00.003+08:00

mummy
breastfeeds
callum
but
look
what
my
silly
daddy
tries
to
feed
him...
typical
aussie
fare -

meat pies and tim tams!

sibling semblance

2009-06-13T19:30:00.000+08:00

mummy seems to think
callum and i are very different looking
but daddy can see the similarities
well, what do you reckon?

twinkle twinkle who's a star?

2009-06-12T17:50:00.013+08:00

daddy you are THE superstar...
mummy and i think he
is the bees knees!
he loves us all so much
he feeds me every day
plays with us
cooks for us
bathes us
entertains us
puts me to sleep
works part time
does the household chores
AND cares for callum too
isn't he a multi-tasking
(thirsty) wonderdad?!

grandparents are the best

2009-06-11T17:28:00.000+08:00

mummy had such a lovely time
when kong-kong and poh-poh came
to stay with us for a month
to help out 3 weeks after callum's birth.
she had such great help
when they did all the night duties
carrying, rocking, patting and entertaining callum
when he was awake in the wee hours of the morning
as well as laughing at his myriad of expressions.
mummy really appreciated all their assistance
with the cooking, cleaning, ironing, shopping,
their company, their insights and observations of callum's development and help with keeping me out of her hair at times.

i greatly enjoyed their company and how they spoilt me
with a huge supply
of vcds and dvds
while daddy got to eat
lots and lots
of cake
and i got to
blow out poh-poh's
birthday candles
thank you very much
kong-kong and poh-poh!
we miss you so so much.

what i learn at daycare

2009-06-10T16:57:00.000+08:00

hello faithful followers!
as they say patience is a great virtue
and good things come to all those who wait
particularly mums whose laptops go on strike
and need replacement parts all the way from singapore.
well now that we are back online
and callum has settled into a great rhythm
mummy has more time to update the blog
starting with this beauty...
out of the blue the other day
i started singing this well-known nursery rhyme
learnt from my stints at daycare
and modified to suit my interests
now don't say they don't teach you anything at these places!

translation: twinkle twinkle little star
my daddy owns a motor car
push the button pull the choke
off we go in a cloud of smoke
twinkle twinkle little star
my daddy owns a motor car.
Z sings twinkle motor car from Eileen Chan on Vimeo.

it's my baby bro and he can cry if he wants to

2009-04-04T13:18:00.009+08:00

after exactly 40 weeks of anticipation
(and rightly deserving a medal for putting up with mummy's sickness, aches,
discomfort, mood swings, complaints and whatnots)
i am so pleased and happy to welcome to the chansbury party
a new baby brother who arrived safe and sound
on sunday 29 march at 6.36pm welcome to the world baby callum (gaelic for 'dove')
who weighed in at 3210g and 48cm long
mummy and daddy are so proud of me as
i have been such a loving, well-behaved and gentle big brother

show me the money: a two-part play

2009-02-26T15:49:00.012+09:00

scene 1
mummy is typing away on her computer in the study.
at her desk is an open magazine that happens to be open at the page where a picture of the following lego police station playset is advertised:
act 1 scene 1
james walks into the study and immediately spots said picture of lego police station playset
james: (jabbing finger at police motorbike, car and paddy wagon) mummy, i want this, this and this!
mummy: (absent-mindedly working on computer and not paying full attention to james) hmmmm? what? yes dear, of course you want it. so would i. but it's too expensive mate, it's like $140! i don't have that kind of money!
james continues to jump around in the study and plays with things he shouldn't as usual, then after a matter of minutes, walks out of the study. mummy is rather relieved with the peace and quiet from his departure.

act 2 scene 1
james comes running into the study, mummy is still absent-mindedly on the computer only half paying attention to him
james: mummy, mummy, can you open this for me?
mummy: huh? what? oh? ok. (mummy unscrews the bottom of his piggy bank container without even realising what she is doing.)
james: (proceeding to fling all his token coins from grandma and grandpa out of his piggy bank onto mummy's desk then shouts triumphantly) here's my money mummy!!!!
mummy: huh?? hoi! what the...?? why are you throwing the coins about and making a mess??

...and then it dawns upon mummy what has actually happened!!!!!!!
the boy had put 10 cents and 10 cents together and came up with what he thought was equivalent to $140!
mummy is speechless for a second and doesn't know whether to laugh or cry at his innocent, innocuous yet strangely logical and train of (calculating) thought...
do we have a little donald trump in the makings? we certainly hope not!!!!!!!!!!!

toddlerfesting at scitech

2009-02-17T21:25:00.012+09:00

despite her heavily gravid state
mummy braved the crowds and parking
and brought me to experience toddlerfest at scitech today

i had quite a ball
making playdough

blowing bubbles
pressing buttons
flinging things around
pushing and pulling things

petting baby animals

and basically running riot
all in the name of science...

one and two are three

2009-02-14T14:36:00.006+09:00

i turned three years old on thursday and mummy can quite definitely believe it!
probably because i seem to have suddenly grown up a bit lately
we have now successfully sailed the perilous potty-training waters
are currently treading the rough and choppy seas
of separation anxiety and socialisation
at community day care for two half-mornings a week
as well as grappling with the burgeonings of
a rather tempestous little mind of my own
that is unfortunately wearing mummy's patience a little thin these days
(mind you her raging pregnancy hormones are not helping either!)

daddy even
came home early
from work
to help mummy
put together
my train birthday cake
and a little intimate celebration
was had by all
at my godparents'

a big thank you
to everyone
for your
lovely thoughts
kind wishes
birthday cards
and generous gifts
you know whom
you are
i truly appreciate it!

behold the 'wizard of oz'

2009-02-01T14:52:00.009+09:00

(with sincere apologies to
mr sinatra & mann/hilliard)
in the wee small hours
of the morning
while the whole wide world
is fast asleep
my mummy lies awake and
thinks about the boy
and never ever thinks
of counting sheep

when her anxious heart has
learned its lesson
i'd have a dress-up costume
if only she'd been more organised

in the wee small hours of the morning
that's the time she gets most creative of all...

here is my wizard costume
for erin's fairy party
courtesy of
aunty steph's suggestion, google,
mummy's deliberate avoidance of fancy costumes
(as you can imagine it would only last 2 mins on me)
put together with copious amounts of al foil,
sticky tape, recycling of kitchen paraphernalia
and a whole lot of parental love (i.e. lack of sleep!)

baby whisperer wannabe

2009-01-16T14:02:00.007+09:00

in a bid to set the scenario
as part of the preparation
for my upcoming stint
as big brother to my
as yet unborn younger sibling

mummy acquired this pre-loved
baby doll for me at christmas

so i have quite enjoyed
the novelty of
pretending to do the
feed play sleep routine
with my baby...

and then today we had the
opportunity to babysit
our neighbour's six month old
baby xander for half the day

and i really impressed everyone
with my try-very-hard gentle loving skills
at caring for a real live baby
let's hope the novelty doesn't wear off by the time bubsy is born...!

new year, new beginnings

2009-01-13T16:14:00.000+09:00

the post may be a little late
yet comes with sincere heartfelt wishes and love from all of us
for a blessed, healthy, life-giving, fulfilling and growth-filled 2009 ahead
as we look forward to more adventures
as well as welcoming a new addition to our family... salut!

merci beaucoup aunty steph

2009-01-12T16:04:00.000+09:00

dear aunty steph
this one's for you - the pictures say it all...

tour de james

2009-01-11T15:51:00.000+09:00

one of the presents
i was fortunate enough
to receive for christmas
was this bicycle helmet
from nanna sheila
in tassie

which matched
perfectly with
my other super duper
surprise present
of a bicycle
with training wheels
from nan-nan kate
in rockingham

and so now i have the adventure of bike riding to look forward to
in my third year ahead...
how glorious is it to be a toddler or what

a blessed Christmas to one and all

2008-12-27T22:23:00.001+09:00

wishing all of you
a Christmas season
filled with much
hope, peace, joy and love
and as we head
into the new year
a yearful of
bountiful
blessings

xoxoxo

it's beginning to look a lot like christmas

2008-12-23T22:30:00.003+09:00

and this is our nativity set up at home
waiting patiently for the arrival
of baby jesus on the twenty-fifth...
so in the meantime
i have great fun displacing mary and joseph from the manger
prefering to garage my cars and trucks in there
sometimes i even make mary drive the little green tractor
what with feminism and all...
i am a right cheeky sod!