Mt Tamborine Hike

To start the birthday celebrations for Nana (actual birthday is Tuesday), we all went up to Mt Tamborine for the day to enjoy some time in the hills and the best pies (a.k.a. meat pies for all you non-Aussies). Liam greeted us, looking incredibly happy after his two days of quality Nana time. He seemed to have enjoyed his break from having everything snatched away from him by his sister, but he was still so thrilled to see her and did his best to bear hug her when she greeted him. We had a gorgeous day-- sunny and cloudless sky but not too hot-- and headed straight for Joalah Park for a hike. We were a bit ambitious taking only one of our backpacks, and after the initial novelty of the trail wore off I ended up carrying Julia most of the way, but we had a great time. Nana helped Julia find all the holes and tunnels where little animals could possibly live, and they examined all the trees for koalas (Julia spotted about 15 -- along with a few wombats, flying cats, and a dinosaur...our adult eyes just weren't quite good enough for all those wonders of the rainforest!). Meanwhile, following his new fascination Liam was touching all the trees, patting their bark and grinning profusely. He has become very vocal too and would start singing whenever the birds did. After our hike we went into the town and ate pies at the winery. I'm not a fan of meat pies, but these are delicious (we discovered them during when we were staying up at Mt. Tamborine while I was pregnant-- odd craving, but a meat pie was what I wanted), and even worth the drive just for lunch.
We wandered through the shops after lunch. For those of you not familiar with the area, this is not the same as shopping since we have rarely ever bought anything offered at these shops (it's more like going to museums). For some reason, this town has decided that all of its shops will sell to a very, very narrow niche market. Now I'm not entirely sure how to define that niche, so instead I'll describe the merchandise that is duplicated at almost all of the stores. One item I saw in three different stores (in various patterns) was a stilleto ankle boot that had been covered in rhinestones and made into a handbag. These same stores (and others) sold fairy wings, elaborate minature gnomes and elves, rhinestone-covered calculators, and more doiles than you could ever possibly need. One store has devoted itself entirely to fiber-optic trees and has a display room called "The Illuminated Forest". Matt and I have laughed about this place before (the owner is very serious about her "forest" and does not intend it to be merely a children's attractions), but Julia took it very seriously and could have spent hours in there examining the lit-up trees and the gnomes and fairies that populate the forest. Liam and Matt opted out of that little excursion. Of course, there's also the very random German Cuckoo Clock Shop (which sells clocks, of course, but also Christmas ornaments and those Russian nesting dolls painted with Marilyn Munroe and Princess Diana).

When we'd had our fill of fairyland, we went on to the Botanic Gardens and found a nice shady patch of grass to sit on while Liam practiced his crawling. He's been able to get around for awhile, but he finally figured out that he didn't need to use his belly to propel himself along the ground. Now he's up on all fours and was so proud showing off his new trick. Julia periodically came over and tried to pick him up, "I help you, Liam." Nana and Julia found some boardwalks and bridges and played Three Billy Goats Gruff (Julia's current favorite book). Julia stomped around saying, "Trip trap trip trap, who's trotting over my bridge." I think a few of the other patrons of the gardens thought she was directing it at them, but she was completely in her own world and having a ball.

The kiddos were completely tuckered out on the drive home, and we all agreed it was a great way to spend a Saturday. Happy early birthday, Nana!