a new first

Friday night was my work Christmas party so after dropping you at Vieve's at 8:30 in the morning it was au revoir to your mum until Saturday morning, as I wasn't home until after you were asleep.  A first for us.  Almost 24 hours without your mum.  And by all accounts you didn't seem to mind!

Your new fascination at the moment is with buses, so on Saturday we caught a bus down to Bondi and back and you loved it.  The today we caught a bus from Paddington home after a morning coffee with your Uncle Jus.  Again you thought it was fantastic, and now you love pointing out anything bigger than a normal car (which is sometimes a garbage truck instead of a bus but it's all part of learning!).

homemade treasures

Gorgeous dress that Nene made for you...

And in other news, you have truly entered the world of "babble" now.  Your vocabulary is far reaching, we are just unsure what language you are speaking, nevertheless it is a beautiful one.  You have been such a fun little character to be around over the past few days.

Today you had an excellent day with your Dadda eating mint chip icecream at the beach while Mumma had to go to work :(

grandparents galore

You're such a lucky little thing to have so many grandparents in your life.  This evening it was Grandpa and Nonna's turn to delight you with their love and attention, and boy can you dazzle when you want to.  You were full of cheeky smiles, hand slaps, gifting of your toys and dummies to them, crazy laughs and general brilliance.  The only downside was when it was time for bed you got grizzly as you were having too much fun with the grown-ups.

Mumma and Dadda were also spoilt by their visit as they always bring yummy food so we don't have to cook.

visit to coffs

Well you bounced back from your recent illness and it was off to Coffs for you and me for a long weekend.  Your favourite parts of the visit?  Oh so many:
- Following Pardy into the kitchen, down the hall, out to the garden, well actually wherever he went you followed and were indulged with lots of carrying around and pointing out the wonders of all things Nene and Pardy.
- The pop-up tunnel was a hit - and a bargain too, spotted by Nene for $2 at the school fete.  Play tent included too!
- Feeding the lizard, a rather large monitor that has become dependent on banana bits for for breakfast and dinner served by Pardy.
- The fairy garden.  You were intrigued and would proudly point it out to anyone who would watch.  Pardy taught you to "shhh - be quiet" around the fairies.
- The pool next to the beach was a hit until you spotted the playground at Nautilus and demanded to test out the fun-o-meter of this particular playground.
- Aunty Hayley was a hit too after a few false starts (you are never in a great mood when you've just woken from your nap).
- The little stroller that Nene and Pardy salvaged from the upstairs neighbour.
- The mini strawberry chocolate ice cream cones that seemed to become your regular morning tea during our holiday.

All in all it was a great weekend and you lapped up to the love with delight.  But the biggest smile was of course when we were met by Dadda at the airport on Monday morning.

Pointing out the fairies

Pointing out the fairies to Pardy

Helping Pardy weed in the garden

Pondering life with Nene

Crawling through the tunnel

Enjoying a chocolate covered strawberry cone

scarlet fever

Yesterday morning I knew something was up when even a visit to the playground and a paddle at the beach did not lift your spirits.  You were oh so very quiet (extremely unusual for you!) and sleepy.  After returning from the beach I noticed a rash of little red spots covering your body from head to toe.  A teary phone call to the local hospital and a visit to the GP revealed scarlet fever and tonsillitis.  Since then you have been up and down (usually up after a dose of medicine).  We had a nice night together, just you and I, although you were quite demanding as your bedtime neared.  It's heartbreaking watching your child suffer and makes me appreciate you so much, even facing another broken nights sleep - I wouldn't change it for the world.

daniel

When you were but a wee ball in my belly we all went on holidays to Italy and you were accompanied by an equally little ball in Natalie's belly.  Together the two of you enjoyed many a gelato.  This past weekend the two little balls were reunited and oh what fun you had with your new friend Daniel!  It was instant attraction as you followed each other around and passed toys back and forth.

Yesterday was a gloriously sunny day after a run of rain so we all picnicked at Mrs Macquarie's Chair and watched the Red Bull Flugtag before capping the evening off with a dinner at Nick's Seafood Restaurant on Bondi.  Luckily Daniel and his parents Natalie and Miller are staying with us later in the week so you'll get lots more quality time with your little UK friend.

Reassessment

Well I don't want to keep harping on about the changes but it seems to be all consuming at the moment.  You're not happy at daycare.  You're very not happy when we drop you off.  And apparently you're very not happy for a lot of the day.  We're re-assessing the situation with Vieve on Friday and things might need to change again.

Ahhh well.  Growing up is hard to do.