Now we are Two!

And boy, is he well and truly Two!
James is a full on, thriving, active little boy, but by crikey does he have an attitude on him. He knows what he wants, and generally it's what ever Cameron has, or what ever i don't want him to have. He is impressively good at football, t-ball and anything that involves balls (of the sporting variety)
He is finally keeping his implants on for the majority of the day, though guarentees to take them off on the trampline and in the car. He also seems to enjoy the chaos that follows him throwing them up over the fence at the back of the garden, or lobbing them somewhere and sitting back watching while we all search the ground for half an hour. I am beginning to think that the bright purple ones would have been a better option.
Appart from a rather perverse sense of humor, James is doing very well with his milestones. He has a new bike that he loves to ride everywhere (including over his sister) and has started doing some very cute imaginary play. He brought Milly's toy duck into the lounge a few days ago, and waved his hand in front of his face saying "Poo! Stinky", then fetched a nappy and tried to put it on the duck. He has started to play WITH Cameron, rather than annoy him (most of the time) and even has a little patience with Milly.
His signing is coming on in leaps and bounds, and is actually helping him to learn to speak better, really giving a hammering to the thoery that teaching children sign with hinder their speach. James will learn the sign for something first, and then within a week he will say the word for it. It's like it flicks a switch in his head by learning the sign, then the vocab follows. He is saying a lot more words now, though i think he is a little behind with his speach. The lovely one is "Tank oo Mum" when ever i give him something, or standing in the kitchen and signing and saying "Toast" then signing and saying "Wait" while it cooks. I love to see Cameron and James signing, as well as hearing the chatter coming out of the pair of them.
Cameron loves signing, and even comes up with his own signing 'jokes' which we have to dutifully laugh at, though usually involve things like 'I love to eat my shoe' He is already passing us in his conceptual signing, and keeps asking us the signs for things that we really don't know. We hear "Well you'll just have to ask Darryl at signing class then won't you!" a lot.

All in all, things are progressing very well. Our next big step is deciding what school we will be sending Cameron too, as i want them all at the same school, and also what a school that will be supportive of the few little extras that come with James. Apparently Paremata School is pretty good with the signing side of things, and i have even been talking to a couple who currently live in Auckland so their son can go to Kelson School, who are keen to try and set up a Bi-lingual class in one of the local schools here. I think that would rock for all the kids, as it will be main stream schooling, just bi-lingual, and i think so many kids would get heaps out of that. We will be working towards that with them over the next while.

That's all for now. I will try and be a little more on to it and update more often, but with three moving, full on kids time is at a premium. I'm lucky to get to pee during the day without company, let along get on the computer. But still, here's hoping...

Update at last!

Well, it's been an absolute age since i last updated James' blog, and a huge amount has happened since then.
I guess the latest news first. James had a visit from Joanne, his Habilitationist from Van Asch, last Friday, and it went so wonderfully well i just had to come on here and brag just a little. The best news was that he had no goals set for him, as he is right where he should be for his age. He is making a huge amount of noise all the time now (as anyone within a ten mile radius can vouch for) and can follow a massive number of instructions. He is also starting to talk, though he is good at doing it for Joanne and just laughing at me and John when we attempt to get him to say anything.
So far, his vocab consists of thank you, gentle, go, car, dog, Eddie (the cat), cuddle, down, Gaga (Grandma or Grandad), Daddy, Mum (but not to me. He says it when looking for me), more, Tutu (Cameron, or anything Cameron related) and a few others that i will remember later. He also signs light, down, finished and signing (as in, 'good signing')
Apparently, for a little boy not even 18 months old, this isn't bad at all. Cheeky little monkey was just messing with us all along!
Family related news - James now has a little sister, and is slowly getting used to not being the baby anymore. Emelia Rose was born just over two weeks ago, and is thriving despite being cuddled constantly by Cameron, and poked repeatedly and squealed at by James. There were a few teething problems in the first week, but we have discovered that if James is allowed free access to the baby (as long as he's not hurting her) then he is happy and pats her, then wonders away. I have also learned to feed her with James cuddled up under the other arm, and often Cameron too, so though its a little crowded, it's nice and warm too.
So all well, if pretty busy in the Whale household. Daddy is taking James to Van Asch next week, so hopefully all fantastic news from there too. I will try and get back here to let you all know.

Just a little note to say we have changed venue for James' birthday party.

It will be at Beanstalk Kindergarten, Duncan St, Tawa (Opposite Tawa College) same bat time, same bat channel.

This gives us a little more freedom if the weather goes bad, and more things to keep the little ones occupied while the big ones actually get to relax. (In theory)

On a different note, John and i started our sign-language classes last night, and had a real ball. It was wonderful, and amazing how quickly we could learn a lot. It's much easier to do the class than try and learn through books, and heaps of fun as well. We now know how to say our names, ask other's names, talk about teaching, learning, greetings, etc. And all from one class.

The boys are continuing to thrive, though we are having real trouble keeping James' implants on him at the moment. It seems to have become a habit to just immediately pull them off as soon as he has a free moment, or just if he wants some attention. He will pull them off and actually wave them at us as if to say 'Well? What are you going to do about it?' ARG!!! it's driving me mental! We have a few things to aim for before our next Van Asch visit, and i am starting to despair that we won't be able to do them because he spends more time swinging his implants around his head than actually wearing them. Toe-rag! And then he gives me that grin! Who'd have cute kids eh?

One Year On...

This is it! The big one!
James' First Birthday!!!
The little boy who wasn't supposed to last out his second day alive, who wasn't supposed to do the things other kids did, who would possibly never even crawl, let alone walk... well, look at him now! He is standing on his own, shouting all the sounds he can come up with, feeding himself, and beating up his big brother. (I didn't say they were all positives).
So we are having a party, because after all, any excuse is a good one! I would like to extend an invitation to family, friends, and all of you wonderful people who have helped us to get so far with both James' fundraising, and with a pretty hard year.
So... on Saturday the 7th March, at around 11am, we are having a picnic at Willowbank Park, Tawa. (On the proviso that the weather holds. If not, then i am not sure where we can all squeeze in. Will fill you in on that later). Please bring a plate of something, some cutlery and plates for your own family, and perhaps a blanket to sit on. We will bring a BBQ for those who want to get all flash and actually cook food. There is a kiddy playground there for the big and small children among us, as well as a big park to kick balls and play. We would really love to see you all there, and Thank you all for being the people you are.
Take care, and hope to see you all on James' birthday.

Belated Merry Christmas to all

Things have been pretty busy around here (funnily enough) over Christmas and with Cameron's third birthday. All is well though, the kids had a wonderful time throughout the Christmas week, and we even got to head away camping with the boys on Cameron's birthday, which was a real highlight.

A wee catch up, as a huge number of things happened all at once around christmas...

Firstly, HUGE thanks to the Sunrise Rotary Club. They applied for a grant on James' behalf, and got it, which added considerably to the funds.

Secondly, the Wainui Youth Group told us that they fundraised over $1200 from their concert! Absolutely amazing! You guys really are an incredible group of people.

Thirdly, thanks heaps to Ray from JagAir. His auction of a scienic flight over Queenstown, among other things, raised nearly $3000 for James' ears, and was an amazing donation.

And last but not least... We have been trying to get more information about funding through the government, thanks to a comment from a Little Treasures reporter who is writing a story on James. It turns out that the government funded both implants for a wee meningitus girl in Auckland, with pretty much exactly the same details as James. This led the Southern team down at Van Asch into a frenzy, trying to find out what was going on. And if this was the case, then what made this case special and other children not. This is still going on, and we too are writing to our new government to see what can be done. However, it led to the Southern Hearing Charitable Trust calling a few days before Christmas, and saying that though they can't write off our whole debt, they can halve it, in the interests of ensuring equality between the Northern and Southern groups.

So, just like that, we have all the money we need to pay off James' implant, and pay for the first upgrade needed in 5 years. ($10,000 every 5 to 7 years)

Suffice to say, it was a pretty Happy Christmas for us here.

Due to the sudden reduction of our debt, we also have a little money left over now, from the $25,000 it turns out we needed. We are very hopeful we can continue with a Charitable Trust set up by the Sunrise Rotary Club, and sometime in the future, help another Meningitic Child to get their second implant. If we can get something good for someone else through all this nightmare James has been through, then perhaps there can be a positive in this after all.

Have a wonderful new year everyone.

Wainui City Life Church Youth Group Concert

We had a wonderful night out on Saturday night at a concert organised by the Youth Group of the Wainui City Life Church. This wonderful group of young people completely planned, organised, ran, and performed in a concert to raise funds for James' implants.

It was a great night, with all the Hutt Youth groups taking part and performing songs, dances or musical peices. It absolutely ROCKED!!!

Cameron had the time of his life dancing away, and we literally had to drag him out well past his bed time to head home. It was so wonderful to see such a motivated and caring group of people going out of their way to help someone else. The world needs more people like you!

So thanks heaps to the Wainui Youth Group, and all their helpers and family and friends, for a wonderful night.

Yay for James and Yay for the Lions Club!

Some more great news...

First of all, James and i went back down to Christchurch last Wednesday to see the lovely people at Van Asch, and all went so wonderfully well that Joanne didn't see any need to set more goals for James, as he is exactly where he should be for his age! He is even a little ahead in some things (brag brag brag!!!) and, God help us, is crawling! Cameron is totally unimpressed with this, as James now follows him everywhere, and wants to play with what ever Cameron is playing with. It's very cute to watch, but i know first hand just how annoying little brothers are, so can sympathise. (Sorry Alex, but it's true!)

Secondly, i met with two of the lovely gentlemen from the Tawa Lions Club this morning, and they had the most fantastic news - they applied for a grant from a Lions NZ Charitable Trust (and i can't remember the name - will try and find out) and they got it! The whole $6000. of it! This, along with all the amazing work the local Lions have been doing, means that they have fund raised almost ten thousand dollars so far, and are still going! They are a totally amazing group of people!

Which brings me to the last note. The Lions are doing a fundraiser here in Porirua on the 10th of December. It is a movie night at the Reading Cinema, Porirua. Tickets are $20 each, with spot prizes, lucky tickets etc. All the money raised goes straight to James. And the movie? Well James Bond of course! The latest installment of the 007 movies 'Quantum of Solace', which should be a fantastic movie. I will e-mail everyone as well, but please tell everyone you know. It's a great excuse for a night out for those like us who are stay at home nana's, and as i said, all the money raised goes to James.

All going well

Hey there everyone. Just a wee note to say that all is going incredibly well in James' world. He is right where he should be developmentally according to our neuro-development lady, and he is up on hands and knees rocking, just gagging to be following Cameron around now.
Hearing wise - James is loving his implants (and loving the taste of them! they spend a lot of time in the drying kit at the moment, having been liberally smeared with baby spit) and is 'talking' like every other nearly 8 month old. We have noticed quite a difference between right and left, however, as we have had to leave one then the other off for a few days at a time. (James' favorite form of motion is to arch up on heels and the back of his head, and shimmy around the room. Unfortunatly this keeps rubbing raw the top of the implanted part. And he looks down right silly, but he doesn't seem to care.) He seems to hear very well with his left ear, and will turn to us or the tv, and hear the quieter sounds, including voices. His right ear, while i think he can still hear out of it, is no where near as good, and i think he misses all but the loud sounds with that one. Together I'm pretty sure he can hear well. It is an interesting point however, as i am almost certain that had we gone with only one implant, it was the right one that they were going to do. So had we not done both, James would have very little hearing at all. It is a great justification, had we needed one, that we did both ears. Because the look on his face as he waits for us to switch his ears on in the morning, then the huge beaming grin as he hears our voices... well, in the words of the mastercard add - PRICELESS!

Pumpkin Patch Fashion Show

Our latest fundraiser was fantastic, thanks to a great group of kids (and their parents who lent them to us, or helped out dressing them).

James Whale presents... Spring/ Summer '08 Pumpkin Patch Fashion Show!

Patch provided the clothes from their new season stock for us to run a fashion show to raise more money. St Peters Church let us use their hall for free, and friends gave up their saturday afternoon to model all the beautiful clothes, which looked stunning. All up, it was a great afternoon, though pretty manic, and the kids had a ball as well as fundraising.

Thanks to Jacinta, Chelsea, Abby, Ethan, Oliver, Jacinta, Jake, Josh, Molly, Isobel, Brooke, Jorja, Jack, Cameron, Amalia and of course James. (And to Melanie, Rachel and Merridy who dressed the kids in record time between sets, and to Devon working the rather tempermental sterio)

Loud Shirt Day

Here is a wonderful picture of James and the Naenae Bunning's crew who came to work in lovely shirts for Loud Shirt Day, supporting Deaf people throughout New Zealand. Thanks heaps to you lovely people who made goobers of yourselves (particularly you, Aunty Jenni - man that shirt is sexy!) for people in need.

Baracuda Baby

And a picture, because who can resist such a cheeky little man!

Hi there, me again

All is still ticking along well here. Another trip to Christchurch and out to Van Asch, and another great appointment, despite chaos and confusion with the flights (First Christchurch Airport was shut the morning we were flying down - so ended up waiting an hour and a bit in two different lines. Then Healthpac didn't book James and i on the flight home, so more panic, but Air New Zealand were lovely and put us on anyway.) Neil and Joanne were nice and pleased with our clever little boy, and his hearing age has caught up with his biological age, so he is doing extra well.
He can now sit up on his own (and only falls over every now and then, or if he gets very excited; all co-ordination goes out the window then) and his motor skills are improving, or so we think. He has two wickedly sharp teeth, that he uses to great glee on everyone's fingers, so you have been warned!

I also have a few more thanks...
Firstly to the Wellington Special Education Team, for some great fundraising that is still continuing.
Secondly, the BNZ Bank team for their mufti day fundraiser
Thirdly, Ruthie and the NZ Post crew, who organised a lovely Theatre evening in town, which was great despite mum's car getting clamped.
And Last but not least, to Angela Povey, a friend of the Whale Family, for her incredibly generous donation.
Thanks so much to you all.

The next fundraiser, for those interested, is at the end of this month. On Saturday the 27th September, we are having a Pumpkin Patch Fashion show, with local kids modeling the new Spring/ Summer '08 season clothing. There will be a chance to win a $50 Patch voucher, raffles, spot prizes for kiddies who come dressed up for the spring/summer theme, and a yummy afternoon tea. If you're interested, contact your local James Representative. Tickets are $7 per person, or $10 per family. It will be out here in Tawa, from 3 - 4pm.

Another Update and some more thanks

WE'RE HALF WAY THERE!!! we have made $15,000.00, which is half of the cost of the implant itself! And a week shy of James' 6 month birthday too! And it's entirely thanks to all you wonderful people who have supported us over the last six months.

So some more of you to thank...
- The Linden Women's Institute (Nana Betty's lovely ladies group)
- Siobhan, Ross and Samantha Gerritson
- Jessica and Hamish Denston
- Monica (Auntie Jenni's sister in law, i think, or perhaps Jenni's brothers friends dog walkers cousin's next door neighbours daughter... just kidding Mon)

No trip to Christchurch this week after all, as Joanne, our Habilitationist, is really sick (Hope you are okay soon Joanne) so hoping to head down sometime closer to the end of the month. James is still soaring away, having a ball. I took him to Mainly Music with Cameron, and he spent the whole time bopping away on his bum and shrieking at the top of his lungs to the songs. I put him across my knees to help Cameron to some of the actions, and he fell asleep in 20 seconds, noise and all, so worn out by the fun.
The weather here has put on the most wonderful show, with sun and flowers the weekend before spring starts, so everyone is happy and glad to be outside again. Cameron spends his days exhausting himself in the garden, and the dog is finally getting the walks she needs. James is discovering the joys of warm sun on a bare bottom, and is happy as a sandboy, (as we all would be if we could lie around bare-arsed all day!)
Here's to spring! Long may the sun continue!

Hello Everyone!!!

Big cheesy grins to all! As you can see, James is thriving, and you wouldn't believe the volume coming out of the child! He is well and truly making up for not hearing for the last few months, and is making sure we can all hear too.

A few people have requested account numbers for donations, so i hope it's all good to put it here.

National Bank (NZ) 06 0549 0330779 00

Please put your name in the particulars, so we are able to thank you wonderful people personally.

2 weeks post switch on, and a Note!

Our first post-switch on appointments down at Van Asch went fantastically on Monday and Tuesday. Neil and Joanne were thrilled with how James is progressing. (As are we to be honest, but we are biased.) It seems at the moment like he is hearing more general sounds with his right ear, but is hearing the higher tones with his left ear, so between the two, is doing really well. This may be a development thing, or a direct result of the damage done to the cochlear - just got to wait and see.

This leads me on to a topic i have been thinking of a lot lately, thanks to some rather ignorant people who seem to enjoy spouting off their opinions on topics they have no understanding of. Firstly, not all deafness is the same. Deafness can be for many reasons - being born deaf, damage while in the womb, damage later in life, structural problems within the ear, viral problems... to name a few. It is not possible to put all kinds of deafness under the same umbrella, and treat them all the same. James' deafness is because of Pneumococcal Meningitis, and so could hear in the womb, and for the first few days of life. Unfortunately for meningitis victims, the damage done to the cochlear actually gets worse over time. Generally within the first year or so after the virus, the cochlear is completely turned to bone, and so is totally useless, and impossible to put an implant in.
Secondly, it is not greed on our behalf to be wanting two implants for James. The prognosis of a meningitis child with cochlear implants is not guaranteed, nor is it guaranteed that they will be able to get the implant in when they try due to the damage done. Therefore by restricting a meningitis victim to one implant, you are halving the chance of them hearing well. And due to the deterioration, we couldn't say in a year 'okay, this one didn't work, lets try the other'. By then it would be too late. James would be left totally deaf for life.
Thirdly, the rest of the world has already come to this conclusion. Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide all fund bi-lateral (two) implants for meningitis people. They consider NZ to be a third world country when it comes to much in the way of health care, and in this case particularly. Our government is being partitioned by the Ear Nose and Throat Surgeons throughout the country for this to be reviewed. We are just too early.
Lastly, as a parent, would you not do the best possible for your child? Would you truly turn to your child and say 'well, the government obviously have a reason, so sorry son, we'll leave you to struggle all your life'. We all want the best life we can give our kids, and if we are able to fix something, why on earth wouldn't we. Please put yourself in ours, or perhaps even James' shoes before opening your mouths.

Some wonderful news

We have had two lots of really great news this week. First up, Mary-Anne, our Neuro-Development lady came around on Wednesday, and after playing all her lovely games with the boys, said that James has now passed the 50% line for his age in developmental milestones, and has caught up with where he should be in almost everything. We knew he would eventually, but he did it earlier than we hoped, so yay for James!!!

Also Lynella came to check on the progress of James' hearing, and is also thrilled with how quickly he's responding to sounds and things. He's a bright little boy, and his hearing age is catching up with his biological age very fast, the little smartie!

Man we're going to have our hands full with these two far-too-clued-on little boys.

Welcome To Holland

We were sent a wonderful pack from the Federation for Deaf Children this week, which was full of wonderful things including a soft toy elephant with hearing aids, and some books about him, which Cameron loves. It had a whole load of resources about how to parent children with hearing problems, and music cd's etc. It also had a piece of writing called "Welcome to Holland" by E.P.Kingsley. Though it made me cry, it was such a wonderful way of explaining things, that i had to put it on here. (I hope I'm not breaking any copyrite laws or anything). It is hard to put into words what it feels like at the moment, and though i feel incredibly ungrateful, I'm so angry at times i could scream. It just doesn't seem fair, mostly for James i guess. He never signed up for this... Sorry. I'll just write the story...

"I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel.
"It's like this...
"When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Colosseum, the Michelangelo David, the gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.
"After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says 'Welcome to Holland'. 'Holland?!?' you say, 'What do you mean Holland? I signed up for Italy, I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy.'
"But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay. The imporant things is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, flithy place full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.
"So you must go out and buy new guide books, and you must learn a whole new language, and you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.
"It's just a different place. It's slower paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you have been there a while and you catch your breath you look around... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills, and Holland has tulips, and Holland even has Rembrandts.
"But everyone you know is busy coming and going to Italy... and they're bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life you will say 'Yes, that's where i was supposed to go. That's what i planned.'
"And the pain of that will never ever, ever, ever go away, because the loss of that dream is a very, very significant loss.
"But if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things... about Holland."

More fundraising...

First up, a HUGE thank-you to the Tawa Lions who came around last week and gave us an incredible cheque for $2000.00 as well as an offer of more help over the next year. It was totally amazing, and we are blown away by their generosity.

We drew our raffle on Friday, and i have now got in contact with everyone so...
1st Place (The $500 Bartercard Voucher) went to Nicky and Paul Streeter
2nd Place (New World Hamper) went to Susan at IPENZ House (Grandad's work)
3rd Place (Game) went to Joanne Lake, our wonderful Habilitationist at Van Asch.

For the kiddy's raffle...
Boys hamper of toys went to Theo Deetler
Girls hamper of toys went to the Watts kids

Thank you so much to everyone who bought a raffle ticket. We made almost a thousand dollars out of the two raffles, which was amazing.

James the Bionic Baby goes Live!

Finally, after all the appointments, operations, worries and illness, James can hear again!!!

We flew down to Christchirch on Sunday night, and out to the Van Asch Deaf Education Centre. We were staying in one of the flats that they provide for out of town families who are there for appointments, and Cameron was in seventh heaven playing with all the toys that were waiting for him. Poor James has yet another cough, so the night was a little disturbed, but we were up and eager early the next morning. After a wonder around the school, Cameron on his scooter, we stopped at the Library to read until 9am.

The appointment was about an hour long, and involved lots of fiddling around with James' new implants, and setting things on the computer, (There is a wee processor in the ear piece that does all the work.) It also involved lots of funny noises and shaking toys and things on Joanne's belalf, which James found pretty funny.

Then, finally, Neil and Joanne got everything on and operational and set at a level that didn't freak him out, but enough that he could hear sounds again. He was a little bewildered by it all, and i don't think he was quite sure what to make of all the fuss, but there were some distinct responses to sounds, so all is great.

He started to get a little unhappy towards the end of the appointment, but i think it was all the poking and prodding more than the sound that was bothering him. Cameron even got to see us all on TV! (There was a room next door with a one way mirror and a tv with the live feed from the room, so Cameron got to sit with Lynella and munch on his snacks while watching us. He thought it was great!!)

Back to 'Our Other House' to put a very tired little baby to bed, as he was totally exhausted by it all. To be honest, i think John and I were as well!

We went for a bus ride into Sumner that afternoon, again sending Cameron into fits as everything with wheels is the coolest thing ever. James seemed quite happy with his new hearing, not responding a huge ammount but talking to himself ten to the dozen. It seems wee James loves the sound of his own voice! I wonder who he gets that from?

The next morning we were back for another appointment, to re-set the implants again now he had gotten used to the sound over night. More prodding, and James was a little less tollerant of it second time round, but everything was set again, and everyone was very pleased with the whole thing.

We were told to be aware that James now hears, but he hears like a new born. We have to realise that he won't suddenly laugh at us, or turn to our voices, as he has to learn how to hear. Just like a new baby needs to learn what each sound is, and what they mean, so he has to now. But luckily, he only has a gap of 5 months between real age and hearing age, as opposed to the poor wee kids not picked up until 1, 2 or even 3 years old. He is a very lucky little man, thanks to Lynella's pushing the issue until something was done.

So, back to Wellington again (another flight for Cameron to rave about) then straight to the docters for James again, as he was very feverish and unhappy. Nothing to do with the implants though - just bad timing as James has yet another viral thing. We just can't seem to get better from the first, then another hits. Roll on summer!

Almost there

We had a visit yesterday from Lynella who brought with her Joanna from the Van Asch Deaf Education Centre (where we are going for all the Implant related appointments from here on).
I got to have a play with a dummy implant, and see how it all worked. I even got to put it on James, and see how the magnet works. I also decided to try and keep that bit away from Cameron, as i can just see him sticking his magnetic fridge letters to his brothers head, and thinking it's the coolest thing ever.
It was a little hard seeing how big the things are, and just how much they are going to dominate James' wee head, especially with two, but i guess it's not a biggie, all things considered. It will just be keeping it on his head that will be the trouble - apparenly once they learn to pull it off, it's a great game to get mum running. Little monsters!!!

Thanks Joanna for the information. Look forward to seeing you on Monday.

Count down now to switch on!