Welcome 2011 and the year of the Rabbit!

At the beginning of the Chinese New Year, how fitting it is that we have recently become the adoptive family of two pet bunnies!  Thankfully they are both female, so we don't have to worry about contributing to Australia's rabbit population.  Although I am sure the kids would be delighted to see the result of breeding rabbits!  (I think we will stick to our plan of increasing the native amphibian population instead).  Rabbits have a pretty easy life really, eating, sleeping, eating, cuddles, eating, playing, eating, sleeping....  they do a pretty good job of keeping the grass under control.  If it wasn't for their love of digging and all the little rabbit nuggets they leave laying around, they would be great to let loose to do a little regular lawn mowing.

A lot of other things have happened since I last posted on this blog...

- Christmas passed without too much stress (just the way we like it!)

- B turned 5....

- L learned to use a camera...

- R continued to avoid cameras as much as he could (Is that a boy thing?) and spent a lot of time being a bookworm.  I can't seem to keep up with the supply of literature!

 

We are now heading into the 2011 school year and we have preliminary approval for B's homeschooling.  The kids were all looking forward to getting started on some activities that we have had planned, so we have already begun.  I love that one of the many benefits of homeschooling is for them to be able to learn when they are eager students!  B loves Maths and wants to do it for most of the day!

R decided to progress from regular Gymnastics to specialise in Trampolining this year (Thank goodness we purchased a large trampoline before Christmas!), and now that B has taken a break from Gymnastics, she is eagerly awaiting for her contemporary dance classes to begin at the start of the public school term.

I get the feeling that this year is going to be a busy one!

A few new additions to the family!

From the very moment that we set off toward home with our new hermit crabs, we could see that they were going to be interesting characters. First there were little scratching sounds coming from inside the box, then a curious eye stalk peered out through one of the air holes! (I don't know which of us were more surprised to be suddenly 'eye to eye')

We arrived home to some very excited kids who were not quite sure what to expect, but eager all the same. Once we had the terrarium set up ready to go with pools of fresh and salt water for them to clean and soak in, we took them out and studied each other for a while before letting them explore their new surroundings.

We gave the naming duties to each of the kids - B decided on 'Mawdy' (first thing that popped into her head!), R chose 'holey' (because it liked to dig holes!) and as L could obviously not communicate her ideas to us, the final crab remained un-named for several days before being declared 'Jane' ('Jane/John Doe'!).
During the first few days of adjustment, the crabs were shy. Gradually Mawdy seemed to be the bravest, climbing halfway out of his shell to have a good look at what was going on. Jane was the most timid, she would shoot under her shell at lightning speed when anyone dared to look too closely at her! They have now become accustomed to cruising around on the dining table during lunch time so that we can interact with them (and where they are safe from being accidentally trod on by careless little feet!). Sometimes we have put them on the floor for a few moments while cleaning the terrarium, but have been surprised by how quickly they can shuffle away and hide!! We have found ourselves on hands and knees looking under the furniture for their hiding place!
Mawdy did not take long to decide that his new terrarium would be all the more enjoyable if he were to have a new shell too. Unlike Jane's pretty shell, the one he chose is very plain, but much more roomier that the last.

The cutest moment that we have had so far, was to hear them talking to each other. At first I did not realise that they were capable of vocalisation, but on studying them, had learned that they make what is described as a 'chirping' or 'whirring' sound. While relaxing in the lounge one evening we got to hear it for ourselves!! They communicated to each other for a few moments and appeared to be like a group of happy kids all having a lovely time climbing onto the log and enjoying the pool!! From what I have read, vocalising is infrequent so we are happy to have witnessed it and satisfied that they are indeed happy in their new home!