today janelle suggested we head to a mall in the burbs that she had heard was good. what a boondoggle! it was anchored by kmart to give you an idea. there were plenty of little car things for the kids to ride - they seem very common here - put in a $ and they rock back and forth. aidan actually prefers them not moving... he found Scoop and Bob from Bob the Builder cartoon (he has also had me buy bob builder "fun bars" at grocery store and a bob lollipop - altho he was a bit timid about biting bob's head off) and a train that he was very fond of. the train had 2 steering wheels so isabella got to join him for that one. tonite we went to another restaurant that was recommended as family friendly - we aren't sure what the heck that means to the kiwis as these restaurants seem quite formal to us. aidan's kiddie meal fish & chips was the best looking kid food i have seen - very artsy presentation and even included a little salad. he had a "bart simpson shake" to accompany it (the most chocolatey thing pete and i have tried). he now eats enough that sharing our food tends to mean we will come up short so we often get an extra appetizer - or "entree" as they are called here. our 1st nite dinner here was at "toto" - a very good italian restaurant i hope to revisit - again recommended as family oriented - all the business suits entering it gave us pause, but aidan is a fairly mellow kid after the seat arrangements are sorted out ("no - THAT table") and a decent dinner companion in general so it worked out fine.

toilet learning (you are no longer supposed to call it training!) is going reasonably well - it will take me putting him in real underwear to complete the task - and i am not ready yet... after lunch his pull-up was still dry to my surprise - when in apt he is good about going when he needs to but otherwise generally doesn't want to bother to take time out to go. he was excited to use the aidan sized toilet room at the mall - toilet, sink and paper towels all at his height! and a special changing room for quincy next door with padded surface, sink and microwave (for bottles?). in australia "parent rooms" were prevalent and quite nice. wish they were so supportive in the US! aidan has both the cognitive and physical aspects worked out about his plumbing - now he just needs consistant motivation. he is a bit hesitant about pooping in the potty altho sometimes does it - and he will tell me "i am NOT pooping" and then do it in his pants. not very subtle!

did i mention i started quincy on rice cereal? he has been very interested in our eating. i have given him about a tablespoon of food each day for last 3 days which he has enjoyed. he has a bit of trouble to start working out that he shouldn't push tongue out to keep food in, but he manages to get it all in in the end. i think he'd like to be given more as he seems quite happy about the whole thing. they don't have cheerios here - so what will i progress to?!! i need to hook up with some local moms to find out what the kiwi equivalent is for baby finger food. tooth #2 is right there but hasn't quite popped through yet. any day...