Happy Australia Day!

Australia day has come and gone. Tim Flannery was names Australian of the Year. Nice to see a fellow scientist honoured. We decided to take a short bus trip to the National Museum of Australia for the morning. They had a family day organized to celebrate the Between the Flags (commemorating 100 years of surf lifesaving), with lots of kid friendly activities. Brodie wasn’t too sure about the big sandpit set up outside, her seemed more interested in running around in the sun. But we had a good day, had lunch at the museum and had a leisurely walk back home. A nice way to spend the day. It was a pretty relaxing weekend all up. Didn’t do much, and mainly stayed at home and “played” with Brodie. Yesterday, Brodie decided to skip his morning sleep. Actually, he only got around 45 mins sleep yesterday, so he was a very grumpy boy indeed. It was a trying day yesterday J We had him weighed and measured at the health clinic. His vital stats are: 81.5 cm long and 10.7 kgs in weight. He has really lengthened in the past months and not put on much weight at all. Not surprising, as he is full on and on the moves most of the day!

On a work note, I have finished a pretty good draft of my grant. It is now in the hands of a couple of colleagues who are reading it for me, and they will hopefully give comments that will improve the grant. Glad it is out of my hands for the time being. I need some distance from it and need to work on something else.

Other than that, all is well for us. Roland and I are less tired, given that we had some “nanna naps” over the weekend and a couple of early nights.

Ciao

Long hot summer

I feel we are headed for a long hot summer. It wasn’t a warm December, so I’ve been lulled into a false sense of security. Then BOOM, January hit, and so did the heat. I don’t mind the heat, but having a toddler makes you want to keep your home cool 24/7. And so our aircon is on most of the time (and surely we will have the electricity bills to match come bill time). But hot weather means pools. Brodie got a pool of Xmas, and after a few tentative attempts at sitting in it, he has now decided sitting and splashing in his pool is so much fun. We have those big market umbrellas, so we can put them up to shade the pool, and all spend some time out by our pool :-)

Brodie and I have started meeting again with friends of ours from last years playgroup – K and her son S. S is 6 months older than Brodie and they seem to play so well together. This week we went to the park, and the boys had a lovely time running around, playing on the play equipment and chasing the birds. K and I have a chance to chat and had a great time chasing after two energetic toddlers. Brodie and I have also enrolled in swimming lessons on a Friday evening. We meet the little boy Z, who we shared our previous nanny with last year, so it gives the boys a chance to regularly see each other and for M and I to catch up. Brodie had been not too fond of swimming lessons in the past, and inevitably we hoped out of the pool early each lesson as Brodie got too upset. So I was approaching these new lessons with trepidation. But, I am so pleased to say that Brodie had a lovely time. Plenty of smiles, lots of interaction with Z and no tears. Ok I lie; there were tears…… but only mine. I was teary as I was so happy that Brodie was enjoying himself and no longer afraid of the noise or the other little kiddies. So all is well and good :-)

Ciao

Christmas 2006

We decided to drive to Melbourne for Xmas with my (Nicole) family this year. We split the drive up into two days, with a stopover in Albury each way. Brodie was really good on the drive, and we were able to stop at playgrounds in Gundagi on the way down. Brodie was fascinated by the wardrobe, as you can see by the photos. And it was Brodies first time sitting in a “big” chair at a “big” table. It was lovely to all sit down together for a leisurely breakfast in our room before the big drive. Melbourne was freezing over Xmas.

The warmest day was 23 Degrees Celsius, and typically, was the day we left. Brodie didn’t seem at all interested by the wrapped gifts under the Xmas tree (we were worried he’d try and open them all before Xmas day), and seemed much more interested in doing laps around Granma and Granpa’s place. As expected, Brodie did very well in the present department this year, but I think the present opening was a bit overwhelming. My grandmother has been quite ill and was very sick on Xmas day, and unfortunately spent from Xmas evening onwards in hospital. She has recovered and went home this week, via a couple of weeks in a rehab hospital. So Xmas day was a bit quiet for us all, but we all enjoyed far too much roast dinner and pudding :-)

We decided to go and look at the steam train that runs from Mornington to Mooroduc. Brodie didn’t really know what to think, despite being in love with his toy trains and trying to say “whoo whoo” every time his toy trains do. We decided against going on the train; we will do when he is a little bit older.

Our trip back to Canberra was as easy as the trip down, with much needed breaks at a Craigiburn park and at a McDonalds playground near Albury. We got home safe and sound and settled back into Canberra life and enjoyed the warm weather.

Enough from me

Ciao

Catch up blog

Wow, I’ve been slack with this blog! December and early January were a right off, in terms of downtime, and there was no time to put together thoughts and write. So, this will be a catchup of sorts. Brodie started some trials at daycare. He went for 2-4 hr blocks, with Roland and I, to familiarize him (and us) with the centre, the staff and the other children, and to familiarize the carers with Brodie and his routine. Brodie seemed to adapt well, he enjoyed the different toys and things to play with and also the stimulation of the other children. Luckily for us, the centre is located on the University campus where we work, so we are literally 3 or 4 mins walk away from him. Giving us piece of mind!

December was a month of changes. Roland got a new job offer, Brodie started childcare and also started with Emily, his new nanny (1.5 days per week) and I finalized a new work contract, which sees me working part time. I am enjoying the extra time with Brodie, and feel that my life is getting a bit more relaxed. I am sure Brodie is benefiting from his one on one time with me too and seems to enjoy it.

Brodie has mastered walking, and all that built up frustration he’d been having was instantly gone – my boy just wanted to walk!

A few picture from Brodies December.

Ciao