the blanket

Auntie Claire's blanket finally arrived today after three months (thanks Canada post!) and I just wanted to put up a few pictures so that she could see him enjoying it.

Also, thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes via facebook, it's nice to hear from friends old and new.

In case we haven't spoken to you in the last little while, we bought a block of land here and are currently looking at builders. Our government is giving away a very generous grant to first time home owners that build a new place so that is what we are going to do! It's all very exciting and at the same time overwhelming. It would be much easier if they had a bunch of options that went together. They could suggest different combinations of tiles and carpet and fascias etc that go together. It's kind of hard to see what all the things will look like when they are all done without actually seeing it. At the same time, I enjoy that sort of thing and have been buried deep in different house plans and colour samples. We'll update you more as things start to happen.
Mark

For you, Mom.

Just a few new photos before I go to bed...

Kai's first hair cut!


Playing with daddy's hair.


In Melbourne with Mommy.


On a recent camping trip.


With millet grain all over his face! He's eating solids now...

Auntie Gracie comes for a visit...

Miss Gracie Chisholm recently came for a whirlwind of a visit over her spring break from law school. We had a fantastic, albeit short, time together. I feel SO special that she would spend her airmiles to come visit ME (and Mark and Kai, of course).

Mel, Grace, Rachel, Kai
Mel is a chica that I totally dig and WISH I could hang out with more and get to know better. *sigh* She lives about an hour away from me though (in Hoppers Crossing, near Melbourne). Still, we try to hang out when our paths cross. Maybe one day our friendship will be fortuned to blossom and mature. I was glad Grace got to meet her.

Here's lookin' at you...

OK, so here I tried to comb Kai's hair into a mohawk. I'm not willing to put any product in it at this point, but I thought I'd give it a go after his bath while his hair was still wet.

"Yo, what up? Peace to my grammies and grampies out there. And a special shout out to Auntie Laura for giving me these super-cute jammies. Thanks!"

p.s. Mark said he did not notice Kai giving a peace sign in this photo. When I pointed it out to him he informed me that that is not a peace sign. It actually means... something not-so-nice in England. Oops!

Exhibit A: How to occupy a child while you are making dinner: give him some of the ingredients to play with! This lovely outfit is from Auntie Claire. She has excellent taste in baby boy clothes. (I still love the brown with stripes outfit... I just wish it would fit him longer!)

Yes, this is Kai. As we were driving Auntie Gracie to the airport, he was pulling all sorts of silly faces and I happened to catch this one on the camera! What luck. I was chucking (inside joke!) all the way to Melbourne...

I figured you hadn't seen Mark in a while, or Kai pulling a sad face.

Enjoy!

Just a few cute ones...

Sorry for not blogging lately! Is motherhood a good excuse?! I'm trying to get Mark to share a few thoughts of his at some point. Until then...


Mom, I took the above shot on Valentine's Day for you. Kai was most interested in eating the flowers!



On our first camping trip. Here's Kai decked out in a hat and gloves (from Iris?) and the cute outfit from Claire. Thanks guys!

And in the tent... Kai slept just fine! It was Mark and I that slept a bit awkwardly in the tent. We put Kai in between us and did our best not to squish him in our double sleeping bag.

So that's that. We're doing well. We're hoping to buy some land and build a house soon with the $29,000 grant (that's right!) the gov't is giving to first time home owners (that are building). Please pray that all would come together with that! We miss you all as always...

Great Barrier Reef

In preparation for the journey we introduced the bottle to Kai so Grandma could babysit and we could go on some wild adventures. This is Kai taking his very first bottle from daddy.



Alright, now on to the journey. Kai was a brilliant traveller. He rarely complained and usually just charmed everyone with his good behaviour and his winning smiles.


The first thing we did when we got to Port Douglas, a little beach front town about an hour north of Cairns, was to go for a dip in the pool at our holiday rental house. This was Kai's first swim in a pool =)


He actually didn't mind the pool too much. We didn't have any proper swim trunks for him, so we ended up just hoping for the best and later brought him in in his cute little birthday suit.


And snuggling in his towel afterward. Kai has found his fist now and loves munching on it!

We went on a nice stroll through the Daintree Rainforest.

And then on a cruise along a crocodile filled river!




Along with crocs, there were gorgeous birds and vibrant frogs as well.



I gave Kai a feed on the boat. What a mess he made!



Later we walked along this beach at Cape Tribulation, only to discover a sign on the out way out that said, "Beware of the crocodiles!" YIKES!!! I'm glad I didn't go for a quick dip...



A cute little baby gecko, the blessed animals that crawled along our walls and ate the bothersome mosquitos that LOVED my sweet blood and didn't touch Mark at all. Grrr.



The boys sleeping. Awwwwww...


Kai actually slept in this little travel basket at the side of our bed. He did great!



PLEASE check out Mark's parents' blog (listed to the right as: Mom Colvin) for heaps more photos (and much nicer ones!) of the trip.

Finally, here I am with Four Mile Beach in the background.

The trip was great, but due to a cyclone we were only able to go snorkeling one day, and the colours weren't brilliant. Oh well... we'll just have to go back again! Care to join us?? In lieu of snorkeling, we went white-water rafting, exploring, and out for some yummy fresh fish meals. The weather was still nice and hot and the trip was definitely relaxing. Hopefully our bodies and minds are now fully recharged for the full year ahead...

Smiles!

I'll post Great Barrier Reef photos soon, but for now... a few smiley shots of Kai today! He's such a cutie pie!

I tried to get him to sit up on the couch. Here he toppled right over, smiling all the way... It was pretty funny. And by the way, the outfit he's wearing says "6 months" on the tag. He's only 10 weeks old! Such a big boy...





p.s. Mark blow dried Kai's hair after his bath today, hence the fluffiness =)

Merry Christmas!

Just a few photos for your viewing enjoyment...

Christmas is how many days away??

I have been BuSy bUsY BuSy these past few days, and thankfully I have had three great helpers: Mary, Caroline, and Lizzie. What have I been up to? Oh... hosting Mark's work Christmas party last night where about 20 people came and 14 of them made chocolate houses. Then today, hosting my friend's baby shower... another 15 or so people were here and 2 more chocolate houses were made. Then tomorrow I am making a salad for about 30 people (for a church fundraiser). This is all in addition to cooking meals for myself and Mark and our FOUR house guests, and feeding a baby for almost an hour every 3 hours! Like I said, the girls have been helping out, and honestly I don't think I could've done it all without them! THANKS!

A quick sidenote: I've been offered some part-time work (teaching a few classes here and there) at the school I've been subbing/relief teaching at. I go in for an interview on Monday and will let you know more after that.


Kai meeting Grandma Colvin. Look, a smile!

This one's for you Leigh. Thanks for the cute outfit!

Bathtime with daddy-- yaah!

Chillin' underneath his play-thing, with Bucky at his feet.

He fell asleep on Caroline =)

And on to some chocolate house making, to carry on my mother's tradition. Everybody loved it, mom!

Kristine was very creative with her house. Notice the potted plants along the side: rolos with some green chopped up candy coming out of the top! Clever.

Notice the brickwork... more cleverness!

Next, on to craft-time. I haven't made much time for myself to do this, but it's been great doing it with guests. First, a way to re-use old light bulbs. Paint and hang!



Finally, some alterations to Kai's room. I tidied it for on thing. But, notice the artwork! I made that! Easy and fun.