Hello Internet,

It's me Kirsty. This is not an apology - we've talked about that before but wow how the weeks have flown. There have been so many things to write about so many pictures to show off and I've wanted to blog - oh how I've wanted to blog but I've been so busy doing all these great things I couldn't find a moment to share them with you.


Easter came and went and Noah recovered from his ear infection within a couple of days and was back to his bright bubbly self. April 17th was my birthday - 35 years old - can you believe it?? I had the best birthday I've had in years - it was filled to the brim with fun times, family and friends and exquisite presents.

April 18th we all (and by all I mean Rob, myself and Noah) trundled off to West Coast Blues and Roots in Freo. We had bought the tickets when Noah was just a wee bub and had always planned to take him along but as it drew near there were lots of critics and we started to worry they might be right. However the day went off without a hitch and Noah smiled and slept and boogied happily through the whole 14 hour outing. Without access to a pram (aaahhhh rules!!) we had to take turns carrying all 10.5 kilos of him around in the Baby Bjorn but we had lots of chances to sit and relax on the grass and give our backs and shoulders a rest. Noah was somewhat of a celebrity and we were asked continuously throughout the day by total strangers if it was ok to take his picture. Here's some we took......

Last weekend we tried to chill out a bit after a couple of busy weeks but we managed to fit in a lovely dinner at The Mullaloo for Laura's birthday, (I'm not a big fan of the Mullaloo but it was good company and nice to have a grown up night out - I even wore proper shoes!!) a 2 year old birthday party, 2 BBQ's and an impromptu trip to the zoo.

Oops it's been a few days since I started this entry and it still hasn't been posted so I may as well add on this weekend just gone.

Noah started his new swimming lessons at Craigie Leisure Centre on Saturday morning. It's great because now Rob gets a chance to do it with him and Mummy gets a chance to do her own thing for an hour. Naturally Noah absolutely loved it - he's such a water baby. We already take him to Craigie for casual swimming a couple of evenings a week so he totally thinks he's king of the pool. Mum and Holly were watching and they said Noah was so busy trying to grab the baby girls in the class for a cuddle he missed half the class - hhmmm I wonder who he gets that from!!

Yesterday (Sunday May 3rd) we started what we hope will turn into a regular thing - family cycling outings. We jumped on our bikes about 8am with a small bag of essentials and no plan. We ended up on the train into the city and spent the morning riding around the river. We had a great time and Noah even had a couple of little naps (that's why we bought the front mounted seat with the head rest) We got home about 1pm with very sore butts but very pleased with ourselves anyway.

Today (Monday May 4th) is my Dad's 65th birthday - Happy Birthday Dad - We love you

That's about everything up to date for now so I'll leave you with a random photo of Noah experimenting with feeding himself - enjoy !!

Update

I desperately wanted to blog today but it has been way too crazy. So here's a quick update to tide you over until I get a chance to upload photos and get into all the juicy details.

Noah is 9 months old today.

I turned 35 last Friday and had a fun weekend celebrating several times over with family and friends.

The 3 of us went to Blues and Roots and had a fab time - heaps of great photos.

Happy Easter

Now to start off with here is a picture I prepared earlier.

This was taken a couple of weeks ago in readiness for Easter cards which due in some part to disorganisation and in some part to legitimate busy-ness (??) only made it to a very select few (ie grandparents and great grandparents)

Our Easter is not going exactly how we planned but it's hard to be disgruntled with such fabulous weather and having Daddy home to play with for 4 days straight.

It started in a very lovely relaxed manner on Thursday evening as the last of the kids for the week played in the backyard while Noah swung and Rob enjoyed a beer. I however was laying on the daybed starting to come down with something I had no idea would turn into the flu to end them all.

We made it through our Good Friday activities - me dosed up on cold and flu tablets (never had them before - LOVE THEM!!). We had a lovely seafood lunch with family although Noah was a bit grumpy and unsettled (little did we know what was in store). Then spent the afternoon with our much loved friends Danni and Pom as we celebrated their son Rex's first birthday. I made his cake which as always is an honour and an absolute pleasure. It turned out really well and seemed to be a hit. Noah loved the party confirming for us that he does find life a bit boring on the weekend with only Mummy and Daddy around and none of the houseful of kids he enjoys all week. With a floor full of toys and kids he was in his element again.

Unfortunately my cold and flu tabs wore off and I really started to go downhill so we had to leave and I was lovingly nursed by my wonderful husband as I spent the evening on the couch feeling very very sorry for myself.

Yesterday started with a fabulous BBQ breakfast at my Mum and Dad's place with Megan & Holly and Noah's honorary great-grandpa Joe.

(Everyone at breakfast wanted a photo with Noah the Easter Bunny)

We then decided the weather was far to glorious to be ignored and headed off to the bike shop to buy a bike seat for Noah. A side trip to Bunnings saw Noah come face to face with a 6 foot White Rabbit which he was absolutely fascinated by and Mummy and Daddy enjoyed the free chocolate eggs he had in his basket.

After some cursing and frustration the seat was attached to Rob's bike and the boys were off on their first ride together. I was very sad to miss out on this momentous occasion but retired to the couch for more R & R.

(Not to be outdone Cleo showed off some cool tricks on her bike too!!)

Last night Noah seemed to go to bed fine at his normal time (about 6.30) and we were all set to watch Carlton win their 3rd game (not to be sadly). Then about half an hour after bedtime Noah woke up crying and we couldn't resettle him. We persisted for a couple of hours taking turns walking him round the house and nursing him but nothing settled him for more than a few minutes. We started to become aware that he was in pain from something and presumed it might be a very sore throat like I was suffering from. We tried some panadol but nothing worked so we packed up at about 9.30pm and headed to PMH (Princess Margaret Children's Hospital). It took a couple of hours to see the Doctor (who ended up being the Dr that came from PMH in the ambulance to get him from Joondalup when he was born - weird). Turns out our poor baby had a temp of 38.2, a really bad ear infection and swollen tonsils. In hindsight even though he had been a bit grizzly for a couple of days, he had actually been very brave because he must have been quite unwell. We were sent home at 12.30am with antibiotics, strong painkillers containing codeine and some numbing ear drops. Finally at about 2am Rob and I were in bed and Noah seemed settled.

He's in very good spirits this morning and when we can actually get the medicine down his throat it seems to help.

This morning Noah enjoyed some of the festivities of Easter with a lovely parcel from the Easter bunny - a book, a gorgeous soft bunny and some egg cups. He really seemed to enjoy the empty Easter egg box of Rob's more though.

Today we are having a day at home recuperating which has been very relaxing.

Tomorrow we are heading to Jacqui and Ben's for morning tea to catch up with Rob's family and also Ben's parents who are visiting from Victoria (seeing their grandson Finn for the first time).

All in all a busy, crazy but ultimately enjoyable family weekend. Hope yours is less chaotic but just as much fun.

Happy Anniversary

Dear Noah,

Tomorrow is your mummy and daddy's 2nd wedding anniversary.

So much has happened since the 1st of April 2007 that it is hard to comprehend, but coincidentally your clever mum's blog does a great job of capturing this sometimes sad but often wonderful time.

Although I haven't contributed much to these pages, one constant has been the deep love and admiration that I have for your mummy. Via this blog, I thought I'd summarise our last two years of marriage.

Mummy was pregnant with your big brother Banjo when we got married. On her second entry to this blog, your mummy wrote:

"I almost can't believe this tiny person is growing inside of me. It's something I have wanted for so many years and it has been such a long journey to get to this point it's quite the miracle. I'd be happy to have 10 more surgeries and give myself 100 more injections if that's what it takes for Rob and I to hold our own baby in our arms. We are the luckiest people in the world."

That simple quote reflects so much of what I love about your mummy. Her strength and determination to create Banjo, and in many other aspects of our lives, were part of the many reasons I married her.

The wedding was beautiful and so much fun with all our family and friends - but we were just so happy to share it with your big brother… and he came all the way to New Zealand with us, cruised down the east coast and all the way back across the Tasman to Melbourne and Sydney. Those very early days of our marriage were just so happy and wonderful.

Upon settling into married life back at home, your mummy (and daddy too, I must admit) certainly got a taste of the nesting bug. It was during this time that carpets were ripped up, floorboards were laid, painting was done, furniture bought and yours and Banjo's nursery was created… it was just so exciting doing all these things together in anticipation of our life as three (not two) people. We haven't yet got rid of the bug, and perhaps a bit crazily are constantly trying to find ways to make your home environment as perfect as possible. Daddy has almost earned the right to call himself a handyman during the first two years of being married to your nesting mum!

Then very sadly, just over a year before you were born, we lost your very beautiful big brother. The depth of the grief that I, but more so your mummy, felt at losing our little boy was unimaginable, but your mummy's courage to go on was inspirational and helped me very much. This was probably the hardest thing your mummy and daddy ever had to go through, but TOGETHER we got through it, and together we became stronger. Please know that your brother was brought into this world surrounded by as much love as we have for you. Noah, Banjo is an amazing little angel that has blessed us with your presence, and for that you, me, mummy must be forever grateful.

Our memories of Banjo will never fade, but in fact it was you Noah, my beautiful boy, that were our shining light in our darkest hour. The thought of you gave us the want to carry on.
Within a few months of your Mummy preparing for and then undertaking IVF cycling, in the midst of your daddy turning 30 and finally having his PhD passed, we got that much anticipated positive pregnancy test result - you Noah were here just in time for Christmas 2007 (although at that time we thought you were a girl called Poppy!)!! This was a really positive and exciting time - once again we found we could truly be happy. Your mummy had a great job looking after lots of little ones (which by the way she is truly amazing at, of which you have first-hand experience) and daddy had landed his dream job as a marine scientist with a great firm - we both still genuinely love our work - although I think your mummy should turn pro!

I'd be lying if I said the next 7-months of 2008 weren't anything other than nerve-wracking in just trying to bring you into the outside world without any hiccups, of which there were a few - but the months of your mummy's pregnancy with you were also a magical time, which I always had a strong feeling would turn out for the best. If at all possible, I fell even deeper in love with your mummy during this time as I watched her do everything humanly possible to allow you to develop. This wasn't without challenges, as you have always been a tricky little bubba, and gave us many little scares with infection, funny heartbeats and eventually a very early arrival, with much TLC required. Again, your mummy's capacity to make an incredibly difficult situation seem not so tough was awe-inspiring (she was very ill during and after child birth, but more importantly had to cope with not seeing you for a little while, when you were immediately taken away for some special attention at another hospital). Although you were very sick for a little while, my feeling that you shared your mummy's strength never left me, I always knew that you would be OK. Most of all you were here and you were AMAZING!!

Eventually, 'turning out for the best' was a dramatic understatement - with you in our life, everything has turned out to be just perfect. Since 23rd July 2008 our world has been consumed by you, and it seems every day just gets better and better. We have literally watched you come to life before our very eyes, first crying a lot, fattening up (once we discovered your food 'preference'), then developing strength and smiling at us, and now just being delightfully happy if not somewhat frustrated in learning to communicate, roll, crawl, stand-up and no doubt soon toddle around. The look I see in your mummy's eye from time to time is just pure joy that you're finally with us. I share that look.

I've no doubt that the next year will be our best one yet, with it similarly consumed by you. Perhaps by the time mummy and daddy's third wedding anniversary comes around you may have another little brother or sister in mummy's tummy?!

Lots of love, Daddy XXX

P.S. Kirsty, I truly love you from the bottom of my heart. You are a wonderful mummy and a wonderful wife. Happy Anniversary Sweetheart, Love Me XXX

A Weekend in Pictures

8 Months Old

Dear Noah

Today you are 8 months old - unbelievable. I keep hearing myself trotting out all the old cliches - 'Where did the time go?' telling new mums to 'enjoy every minute because the time flies by' etc etc but they're all so true. I remember when you were giving Daddy and I so much trouble in those first 3-4 months and every day felt like a week. Everyone said to us we would look back and it would seem so insignificant and they were right.

These days you are so happy and smiley and an absolute delight to everyone who knows you. Our lives are truly better for having you in them. I am getting tears in my eyes just writing this now and thinking about you reading this silly old blog when you're a big boy. Pretty much today your 2 front teeth have broken through. It may have been yesterday but you are so damn hard to hold down to get a good look. Definitely today the top left can be felt when I run my fingers over your gum and the right one is there too. In fact it looks like all four top ones may come through together. One thing's for sure you will have your bunny teeth in time for Easter!!

You started sitting all by yourself just under three weeks ago and you have almost mastered the art of crawling. You took four good moves on Saturday (at a funeral of all places) and that is your record. You can stand so strong on your legs we wouldn't be surprised if you were standing and walking holding onto the furniture very soon.

Every day you are just so much fun and Daddy and I just can't get enough of you. We're almost sad when it's your bed time (I said almost!!).

You are developing a love of books and a real curiosity in the world around you. Mostly you love people and a good crowd can keep you happy and entertained for hours. Daddy and I drag you everywhere with us - you've been to concerts on the beach and in the park, funerals, engagement parties and Daddy has even played lawn bowls with you in the Baby Bjorn.

You are such a social butterfly and especially love all the kids that are in the house every day. You watch Declan and Reuben with absolute delight as they run around and you and Ivy are just the best of friends and if I leave the two of you sitting on the rug I often come back to find you are cuddling or kissing - soooo cute.

You adore the water and we try to take you to the pool and or the beach several times a week as well as your weekly swimming lesson. For ages you were happy to just relax in the water but now you are a kicking splashing maniac.

This week you have made your first attempts at waving and two weeks ago you started saying Dada or Daddy. At first you said it around the clock so impressed with your new word/sound but we haven't heard it for a while - maybe you're saving your voice ready to say mummy!!

I got a new camera a couple of weeks ago and I've taken one thousand photos (that's not an exaggeration) of you in under 3 weeks - I can't help myself you're just so gorgeous and perfect.

Happy 8 months Noah, Love Mummy