Liam's Birthday Party (last month)

Liam has definitely become a toddler since turning 1 last month. He is now walking pretty confidently, and he is talking a lot (not that we can understand him most of the time, but he's certainly making the effort!). Julia still beats up on him a bit, but he is now standing up for himself, and it's only a matter of time before he's the bigger kid in the house! (Just as a comparison, Liam weighs 23lbs and Julia weighs 30lbs...not much difference considering there's a year and a half age gap between them). Liam had a wonderful birthday week. We spent his actual birthday at Nana's condo at Burleigh. Julia and I had made mini chocolate cakes in the shape of dinosaurs, and Liam got to blow out his 1st candle while Julia repeatedly sang "Happy Birthday" (to herself...she kept saying, "No, it's MY birthday")

"Whoa, Mom, that flame's a little close"

That evening Gran and Pop (Matt's parents) came by for supper, and Liam got to open more presents. Julia got her "chicky chair" for her 1st birthday, and Matt had made Liam his own chair.

Liam was very proud of himself sitting in his big boy chair

We had Liam's dinosaur-themed birthday party that weekend. We started off at our favorite local park till the rain drove us away. No worries, though. The party just relocated to our house and continued for a few more hours. Julia loved playing with her cousins, and Liam seemed to know that he was the centre of attention and ate it up.

Julia and Liam playing with the new train set before the party

Uncle Bink hamming it up for the kids


My first real attempt at a theme cake. I was pretty proud of how it turned out!

Aunt Julie, Jono, Jono, & Michael

Sydney - Part 7 (last one, I promise!)

Even with a near-constant drizzle of rain and a chill in the air, Bondi was gorgeous! The beach was much smaller than I thought, and I can't possibly imagine it filled with the 30-40,000(!) people it gets on a sunny weekend. But I could've happily spent all day on the headlands that snake up from the beach (complete with walking trails for miles in both directions). In fact, I've found my new dream spot for teaching yoga! The first photo is the advertisement for the classes. The second photo is the studio. Yes, that's right...at low tide just grab a mat and head on out to the flat rocks that for much of the day are IN the ocean and have a peaceful yoga session...how amazing!

We met up with Edson, Matt's friend from London. He's now living at Bondi and working in Sydney, and it was fun catching up with him again.

Nana helped Julia decide what to order at one of the beachside cafes

After lunch we went for a walk around the headlands

Coolest swimming pool ever! Having waves crash over you sure makes doing laps more exciting!

"Ahhh...glorious sea air"

Julia loved all the statues along the way

And some group shots....

(always impossible to have a family photo with all of us looking at the camera...and this is the BEST of about 8 we took!)

Sydney - Part 6

We drove out of the city toward the beaches north of Sydney....

The rain was alternating between a drizzle and a downpour, so we headed for lunch at a cafe in Manly rather than a walk on the beach.

An afternoon nap in the car as we headed to see Brett (Matt's cousin) and his wife Nicole. Their son Devlin is just one week older than Liam.

"You've got to be kidding, Mom...isn't it enough that I have to put up with ONE little boy and now there are TWO?!"


Liam was thrilled with the assortment of new toys to play with. He didn't even fight me getting into the high chair for dinner that night!


And Julia warmed up once she realized that Liam was occupied with Devlin and that they wouldn't bother her playing with the toys. The boys weren't playing together but they were playing side-by-side in such a similar manner....it was cute.


Liam is so used to having Julia constantly in his space, his toys, his bath that he didn't think it weird at all when we bathed them together. Devlin, on the other hand, kept looking up at his mom with this bewildered look that said, "Who IS this guy in my bathtub?"

After the children went to bed, we had a wonderful dinner that Nic had prepared. It was great to catch up (we usually only get to see them at Easter when we go to Wivenhoe Dam), and we wish that we lived closer so the boys could play together! Thank you again for such a lovely evening!

The next day was Valentine's Day, and we opened cards and the little pressies that I'd gotten for the kids (plastic jewelry for Julia and for both of them those washcloths with their names on them that are in a tiny little square but expand in the water -- it's the little things in life!)

Storytime with Nana while we got ready to go out for the day*

*We spent the whole day at Bondi, but I'll put all those pictures in my final (I promise!) Sydney post

Room service picnic

My mom kindly offered to keep the children while Matt & I went out to celebrate Valentine's Day-- what a treat! Not only did we get a wonderful, romantic break but we opted out of a big dinner and instead went to the Guylian Chocolaterie for the most decadent dessert feast (complete with champagne)! That's how I want to celebrate every holiday/anniversary/birthday from her on! We paid the babysitter in chocolate truffles ;-) Thank you, Nana!

Sydney - Part 5

Our primary reason for going to Sydney was to apply for Liam's U.S. citizenship, which has to be done in person at the U.S. Consulate there. Aside from many formalities (stacks of paperwork, entry through metal detectors and on private elevators), the appointment was much less of an ordeal than I thought it would be. Matt & I signed on the dotted lines and answered the relevant questions, and Liam woke up just long enough for the registrar to check that the passport photo was actually of him.

Our newest U.S. Citizen


Julia stayed with Nana while we were the appointment and had a ball trying on some of Nana's jewelry (she even let Nana do her hair-- amazing!)

Then they met us in Hyde Park, and we headed over to the Australian Museum

Pausing for a family photo op in front of another statue of Captain Cook

Julia always starts by insisting that she wants to walk but somehow always ends up hitching a ride

And then there's the prince in his palanquin...

Hard to get past the gift shop at this museum. Julia loves umbrellas and thought this was a fantastic twist on the standard.

We went to the Australian Museum specifically for a dinosaur exhibit they were advertising, but the whole museum was great for the children as most of the rooms had at least a few hands-on exhibits. The whole front room had stuffed Australian animals that the kids could pet...

Listening to the sounds of the ocean in a conch shell. Julia proclaimed, "It's got waves in it!"

Morning tea break...Julia's favorite treat these days is "pink milk" (strawberry-flavoured milk...is this an Aussie thing cause I don't ever recall seeing it in the States? You can also get banana-flavoured milk...chocolate milk is one thing, but I find this completely bizarre!)

We must have gotten so enthralled with the museum that we completely neglected taking any more photos. We did see the dinosaur exhibit and we spent a long time in a fabulous children's area that had painting stations, animal tails and ears for dress-up, kid-friendly science exhibits and so much more. Definitely a must-do if you're in Sydney with children!

The children slept the whole way back. Matt went to pick up the rental car so we could head out of the city a bit, and my mom and I took the opportunity to wander through Chinatown.

Sydney - Part 4

From the Opera House we walked over to The Rocks district. I really liked this area of the city -- older area with neat little restaurants & shops and dotted with small parks and green spaces (and some random statues). It reminded me a lot of Georgetown. (The pictures don't really show the area, sorry).

Imitating the Captain Cook statue

Afternoon tea break

Apparently, a famous dog once lived in the area.

The only noteworthy rocks that we saw at "The Rocks"--
this was taken just beneath the Sydney Harbour Bridge

Note: the security guard in the back ground is there solely to make sure no one climbs on or grafittis the bridge supports on that one side (I assume there's another on the other shore)-- needless to say, he seemed very relaxed

We walked under the bridge, through the business districts, around one harbour and to the other, Darling Harbour where our hotel was. A long walk but a great way to see a lot of the city. We passed by all of the theaters and museums that I'll have to come back to one day.

"Want a drink, Mommy?"

Just one of the many delicious meals we had in Sydney