2 halting steps

I missed it - Alex took 2 steps at 5pm and i was on my way home from work. Nan saw though! He was sitting in the middle of the room and got up on his hunches, pushed up to standing without holding onto anything and took 2 steps before falling over! By the time I got home he was too busy giggling to concentrate long enough to do it again!

Cousin Nikis birthday!

Nan, Alex and I flew to Nelson yesterday to celebrate cousin Niki's birthday! Poor wee girl has her arm in a cast after a tumble but she doesn't let that slow her down! Yoko the German Shepherd is like Nikis sister and Niki treats her as such - its very cute. So we blew out the candles and celebrated in style. Alex and Niki took a bath together - Alex isn't as fond of the water as his cousin!!

Don't fence me in!!!

What is the purpose of a playpen? I thought it was to keep small children in one place but Alex now has other ideas. He stands and pushes it around from the inside chasing the dog from one side of the room to the other. He is restricted by doorways and things that playpens won't fit through but if he gets stuck, he moves to another side and pushes in that direction until he takes the playpen around the obstacle!! Very clever! He's managed to barrel the dog up in the corner a few times and then giggles at her distress...hmmmm

Happy Birthday Mummy!

I had my first Mummy birthday and Alex gave me a lovely necklace and a card! Had a quiet day catching up on sleep and went to the neighbours for KFC for dinner. The kids there were really excited to see us. Alex ate small pieces of chicken and hoed into the chips!!

Home again.

Today we finish our wonderful trip to see Brenda. Boo Hoo!! Alex thought Auntie Brenda and her flatmate Kim were pretty cool! Kim taught him how to make Indian noises and Brenda got him making what we can only describe as his "Oooh!" face. Alex is really going to miss the ceiling fans and the stones in Brendas pot plants that kept him entertained for hours! Thanks to Brenda and Kim for looking after us so well!!! Left Cairns and on went the socks - back to 14 deg at Wellington. Alex played up merry hell on the Sydney - Wellington flight. Sleep was not on the agenda and he wiggled and protested for the whole flight - well, nearly the whole flight. He fell asleep 15 min before landing... Arrived just before midnight and drove home to Dannevirke - bed at 4am.

Mothers Day!

I've now had my first Mothers Day - was woken to a gift and card from my lovely son. We then were picked up by Brendas friend Simon and we all headed up to Port Douglas for breakfast. Had yummy Eggs Benedict sitting outside the cafe then went round the Sunday markets - they are really good!! Went and had a look at the beach then drove to the Mossman Gorge for a look - nice - see pic of Alex at the gorge. Was a lovely day rounded off by Brendas yummy cooking for dinner.

Kuranda Historic Rail

Had a daytrip on the train up to Kuranda in the Rainforest about 1.5 hours north of Cairns. Wonderful scenery and Alex was amused the majority of the trip by trying to hang out the window! We walked around the markets then went to the Butterfly Sanctury to see all the tropical butterflies. Really pretty but i had to keep a real close eye on one wee boys hands as any butterflies that landed on him were heading for a squishing!!! We were conscious of keeping up Alexs fluid intake due to the heat / humidity but this kind of backfired a bit. What goes in must go out and even a good quality Huggies had no chance. On the way back on the train the nappy was totally overwhelmed and I ended up soaked!! Lucky i was wearing quick drying Beach Shorts. Thank you to the inventor of wet wipes.

Give me a home among the gumtrees

Today we borrowed a ute from a friend of Brendas - Nan, Alex and I drove north of Cairns to the Cairns Tropical Zoo. We patted Koalas and Kangaroos, saw the crocs being fed, watched the Dingbat, teased the Dingo and laughed at the Kookaburra. A good place to cross all the Australian wildlife off our list! Alex gained a soft toy Kookaburra that has the real sound when you push its belly - Alex thinks its hilarious!!

Happy Birthday Nan

To treat Nan for her Birthday, Brens, Nan Alex and I caught a ferry to Green Island (pic is Brenda and Alex on the ferry) on the Great Barrier Reef. Went on the Glass bottomed boat and saw some amazing fish - I saw Nemo!!! Hung out on the beach for the afternoon and went for a swim in the sea - Alex needed a bit of persuading that it was actually fun. There was a large amount of Japanese tourists on the ferry who found Alexs blonde hair and blue eyes a bit of a novelty- he had them eating out of his hand grinning and waving to hordes of onlookers!

Finally! First tooth!

Got up this morning and Alex has grown a tooth!! A bit late at 10.5 months but better late than never! Its 28 deg outside and had air con on ll night...mmm...nice! Brens took us into town for a look around - nice lagoon in the Esplanade which I think we will be swimming in.

Off to Cairns!

Today we increased the number of stamps in Alexs passport by going and visiting Auntie Brenda in Cairns Australia! Was weird reverting back to our summer clothes. Alex hadn't met Auntie Brenda before so it was really exciting. He was fantastic on the plane - I tired him out at the stopover in Sydney by being one of those crazed mothers chasing a giggling crawling baby up and down the waiting area - it worked - he slept all of the 2nd leg! Brens met us at the airport with a lovely bunch of flowers - she needs to work on her baby holding muscles though as a couple of minutes holding Alex and her arm was tired!