First Birthday Festivities

C's first birthday went very well. Thanks to all our marvelous family and friends who sent greetings, gifts, hugs and kisses, and who attended his birthday party. The celebrations left the little guy exhausted- but feeling loved!

We had a couple of Skype calls on Friday and C opened a few gifts that arrived from overseas. Thanks grandparents!

We held the party Saturday afternoon and, unfortunately, the weather was quite cool and windy. But, never the less, some of the time was spent outdoors will the bubble machine (thanks Maggie!) and a round of Pass the Parcel. But the guests spent most of the time inside eating and enjoying good company.

This was C's first taste of Nana's layered ice cream cake. I made him his own miniature version. He seemed to really enjoy the icing. Who wouldn't?

Below (and this is a shout out to you ladies from IHS) is my work of art. We threw C's party with an ocean theme and I couldn't pass up the idea once I found it. For anyone who can't tell, it's a whale carved from a watermelon. The watermelons here are more round than oblong so I wasn't sure how well he would turn out but, I think all the guests knew what I was aiming to create.

Sunday was spent recovering from the party and enjoying the leftover balloons. Few things bring out squeals of delight like having a dozen balloons thrown at you in the kitchen. If only they could last forever...

Our gift to C was a bouncy castle/paddling pool combo thing that will come out of it's box when the weather is a bit warmer. We'll post photos then. That could be a blog post all by itself!

All Weekends Should be 3 Days!

We've just had a 3-day weekend here in Western Australia. Much needed for all of us! It was a smash hit with D and C to have daddy home for 3 straight days. We did our best to stay busy!

On Saturday, The Perth Royal Show began, which is a lot like a state fair. Loads of fun for families! T and I haven't been to the Iowa State Fair in ages. It brought back fond memories. Though there wasn't a single thing sclupted out of butter. :(

We went with our fabulous friends, the Moores, who are great fun to go on adventures with.

Of course, there was a petting zoo! C wasn't quite sure what to think, he did a lot of observing.

But D had a ball feeding the animals (whether they were hungry or not!). Beside the petting zoo was a fabulous stage set up with dancers and singers to entertain the children. It was difficult to tear D away when it was time to move on. Here she is in the white hat and pink top.

During C's nap in the buggy, we visited the rides. At 3, D is big enough to handle the carousel, teacups, and, of course, the giant slide.

We were all pretty wiped out by the end of the day, but very satisfied with our adventure and all the yummy "fair food" we indulged in. No funnel cakes, but we were pleased with the "Dagwood Dogs" (corn dogs) and cheesy, curly fries.

Sunday was a treat with glorious sunshine. After church, T prepared the bicycles and trailor for our first family ride. I haven't ridden a bicycle in so long. But what a great time!

Monday was the most beautiful and we woke and said, "Let's go to the beach!" It's been months since we truly did a day at the beach, as winter is cool, wet, and often windy here. But on Monday, we had perfect weather for it.

We loaded up all the gear: the tent, buckets and spades, hats, sunscreen, picnic blanket, swim ring, etc. And off we went to the beach at Hilarys Boat Harbor. C is old enough to really enjoy the sand and water now. That makes it much more enjoyable for me too! Last summer's beach trips pretty much consisted of me sitting in the tent beside our son as he ate his fingers while T and D enjoyed the sun, sand, and water. It's a whole new experience this year!

Looking forward to many more bike rides and beach days! Hello spring!

Let the Biting Begin

There's a new sound around our house these days. It's the sound of C biting off bits of crackers and cookies (biscuits). Now that C has sprouted his 4 front teeth, he is successfully biting off bits of his favorite crunchy foods. For the past few months, eating such snacks involved a lot of slobber and gums (and mess) but nowadays, I am watching C's face look ever so satisfied with his new found crunch/snap. Still a lot of gums once the bit of food is in his mouth, but the molars will show up in good time.

We are making plans for C's 1st birthday bash. He's so demanding! What with the live band, ice sculpture, and caviar! I told him he had to choose 1 big-ticket item. I wasn't paying for all 3! What a diva! Actually, he doesn't have too many demands. I imagine a get together with friends, finger foods, and a few new toys will be a satisfactory way to celebrate his first year. He's just happy to have 4 teeth!

Rottnest Island and Fremantle

While our latest visitors were here in August, we had the pleasure of visiting a few spots that we hadn't yet thoroughly explored. Rottnest Island is just a short ferry ride off the coast of Western Australia. Fremantle is a suburb on the coast with great shopping, food, a market, and museums that celebrate Western Australia's maritime history.

We'd gotten mixed reviews from locals about Rottnest Island, who call it "Rotto." Some said "Don't bother." Others said, "You have to spend a week." We all took the ferry over for a day, and we're excited to spend a weekend sometime!

The island is famous (and named, sort-of) for it's small, furry inhabitants, the quokkas. They are tiny, round relatives of the kangaroo. When the island was first explored, the English thought they were rats and that the island was useless. So they began to call the island "Rat's Nest" which later became Rottnest.

We booked a 1.5 hour bus tour that covered the whole island. It's a small, but really beautiful place. It has reefs to explore either by scuba or snokel, a playground, restaurants, bicycle rentals, and, of course, lovely beaches.

Lunch was delicious. Here you can see D enjoying the world's largest kids' meal cheeseburger. It was as big as my regular menu burger. Right about the size of her head.

Fremantle, or "Freo,"was also a wonderful time. Most shopping centers in Western Australia are closed on Sundays. There a few grocery stores here and there that stay open 7 days but most do not. Fremantle was a happening place all day Sunday. We plan to head there more often. We visited the market, had lunch in the sunshine, enjoyed Baskin Robbins ice cream, and then toured the Maritime Museum. It was a marvelous day.

D loved exploring the boats on display at the museum as well as watching an odd (but very talented) street performer who played Amazing Grace on the bagpipes to honor the baby whale that was euthanized in Sydney Harbor that week.

It was really nice having T's mom, dad, sister, and brother-in-law here for a week. It went by too fast.

Friday Morning Gymanstics

After a few weeks of requests, here are photos of D at gymnastics. It's lots of fun for her, C, and myself. When I called for information a couple of months ago, I was looking for a program where I could just watch from the seats with C. But, they told me at her age, parents had to participate with the children and any younger siblings are welcome to crawl around on the mats or join in where possible. I was thrilled and signed us up right away.

The kids do 2 or 3 circuits each session with a break for water and fresh fruit about half-way through. Sometimes the ciruits focus on balance, bars, coordination, or jumping and landing.

Still can't reach it! Maybe next week!

C loves all the space to move and mats to roll around on. Now that he is crawling, he tries to join the circuit, but he's not quite ready for the springboards and forward rolls yet.

D's favorite thing to do is jump off the spring boards. Funny photo, but they aren't easy to snap!

Fix My Kids!

It's been just over 2 weeks now since the kiddos came down with nasty colds. Is there anything worse than your kids suffering with illness? Not sure how well I would handle serious illness. Neither seems able to get over the coughing, sneezing, and runny nose. They are resting, drinking fluids, and eating well. Any more ideas?

It's not a great time to post new photos of the kids as there would surely be that lovely, shiny spot below each nostril. So I thought I would catch up on topics I've previously missed blogging about. Like, our new house in North Perth.

A select few of you have had live Skype tours, (sorry for the shaky broadcast) but for the rest, I've snapped a few photos. Our home is 1 of 3 built on the lot, we have the property to the rear so it's a long driveway and very little backyard, but it's nice and quiet. Here's the front.

The playroom. Master bedroom.

Living room.

Kitchen.

D's room.

C's room.

Backyard.

We also have a guest room but it is full of clutter at the moment so no photo for you. You'll just have to come visit us and see it for yourselves!

I'm Due for a Blog!

Has it really been 3 weeks since my last blog!? Time is flying. You all need an update.

We are busy hosting company at the moment. T's mom, dad, sister, and brother-in-law are here in Perth with us. We are all having a nice time. There are lots of things to see in the area and we've had gorgeous weather to get out and spend some time outdoors. Today, we took the ferry to Rottnest Island. What a beautiful place! I'll blog more about that and post photos later. We'll have to go back for a long weekend or something to snorkel and just relax on the beach.

C cut his 3rd tooth today. He's not having the troubles he had with the first 2 teeth. Those seemed to cause a lot of discomfort.

D is VERY busy with her aunt and uncle. She has them drawing flowers, reading her stories and skipping rope. Life is good for the girl. She has also been offered enrollment at one of the Catholic schools in our area so we are all very excited about that. The school year begins in February here in Australia. So, she will begin 2 full days per week in February 2009, in what is called kindergarten here, or "Kindy."

Like I mentioned earlier, we've had gorgeous weather here the last few weeks. It looks like winter may be wrapping up and our days will again be filled with 70 degree temps and sunshine. I'm starting to move winter hats and sweatshirts out of my backpack and replace them with wide-brimmed hats and sunscreen. We're all looking forward to spending time at the beach again. Now, if I can just teach C not to eat the sand!