Happy Christmas!

Isla Walking

Kyneton and the Start of Summer

The lake at Kyneton Bushland Resort

In November my parents arrived - they stayed with us for almost three weeks. They really enjoyed getting to spend some time with Isla. We went to Kyneton for a week. Kyneton is a small country town just 45mins north of Melbourne. We stayed in the bushland resort there and it was great to be out of the city and in amongst the gum trees. We saw kangaroos and cockatoos. The weather was quite chilly to start but it warmed up by the end of the week. We took some trips into Kyneton, went for a walk at the nearby Mount Macedon Ranges and visited the Malmsbury Country Fair. The rest of the holiday my parents were happy hanging out with Isla, going swimming and playing golf on the local courses in Essendon.
Now it is December Summer in Australia has officially started. The weather has been going from one extreme to another. Last Thursday it was 38C and then this weekend it was down to about 15C. I've given up one of my jobs (the one in Moonee Ponds) as it just wasn't busy enough and am now looking for another job to fill in the rest of the week and trying to help out with Julia and Isla (though this mainly just involves me getting in their way).
Isla is going great guns. She has moved on from crawling and can now cruise the furniture and has taken her first steps with the aid of a walker. She has been driving Julia and me crazy as she still doesn't like going to sleep at night. Other than that she has been in great form. Julia has been busy taking Isla to swimming, Mini Maestros and Mother's Group.

(sorry this blog is so short and boring - I have a baby attached to my leg! More soon!)

The Grandparents enjoying a coffee in Queens Park, Moonee Ponds

The lake at the resort

Granny and Isla in the cafe in Kyneton

The Fair at Malmsbury

If you look closely you'll see a kangaroo!

Our cabin in the bush

Granny and Isla in Queens Park

Welcome to the world our new nephew Nate! Congratulations Simon, Paul and Claire

My Birthday!

Finally! Another Blog! Sorry it has taken so long to update you all with our lives down under but as you can imagine we are a lot busier now what with me working full-time and Julia running round after Isla.
So instead of my long fascinating monologues you will have to make do with just photos and videos for the next few months while things settle down (no great loss!). And that probably means lots and lots of pictures of Isla (yes we are THOSE parents).

Also I can't be bothered filling you in on every detail of the last 2 months but I will try and pick out the highlights for you over the next week or so. First of all:

My Birthday!

I had a lovely birthday - thanks for the various cards/gifts/emails and text messages. We had a picnic in the park yesterday. It was great weather - too hot! It was almost 30C on the day. We were joined by the rest of Julia's family. And then in the afternoon we had a couple of beers in the garden with our friends Martha and Penny.
I got a new guitar for my birthday and I have been serenading Isla with songs about cheese and chicken. Isla thinks my playing is the best.
Julia and I went out for dinner on Friday for teppanyaki in Moonee Ponds. I had never had teppanyaki before. You have your dinner cooked in front of you on a hot plate and the chef juggles knives and spoons and then throws bits of egg at you to try and catch in your mouth. It was lots of fun and the food was really nice too, even though some of it did end up on the floor.
Isla is lucky - she gets tappanyaki every night. She is never happier than when the food is flying through the air.

I follow Isla about making her listen to my singing!