The Grand Final

Genevieve was given a small 'My First Football' when she was around 3 months old. This was, however, for the 'world game' and not footy as we know it here in Melbourne. So I searched out, and found, a pink Sherrin for her. She plays with both of them, but she loves her Sherrin. Her grandfather would be proud.

Last year, we went to a local (ok... only around 20-30 mins walk away) Irish put to watch the Grand Final. We had a ball, even though Naomi couldn't drink too much. So this year, as it didn't get too packed and was smoke-free, we thought we'd go there again.

Just as with last week, she didn't mind the pub atmosphere. Now that many pubs are smokefree (and all will be by half-way through next year), it makes it a lot easier to decide whether or not it's worth taking her. So we packed up the stroller and walked there (as we were happy to have more than our 'driving' level of Irish ales) There was free food, and Genevieve had her first chip. The first of many, we expect!

Genevieve loved all the attention and had a good time up until the final quarter. The game was quite close and every possesion, umpire's decision and score brought about a louder roar. The screams grew and grew, both from the crowd and from the little girl. So, unfortunately, Naomi missed a good proportion of the final quarter so that Genevieve could get a break from a noise out in the beer garden.

That's it.... I'm officially old

In a last-minute decision, we thought we'd go and see one of our favourite bands, Even, at the Espy tonight. Nanna kindly drove down to look after the girl and give us a (somewhat rare) night out.

We were going to start preparing food, until we realised we could probably go out for dinner as well. So we headed down to StKilda to eat at Soul Mama, a great vegetarian restaurant. After a wonderful dinner together we headed to the Espy. We've both seen so many great bands there so many times.

We waltzed into the Gershwin room and took a quick look at the band listing. Even weren't due to get on stage until 12:30am. That probably means they wouldn't finish until well past 2am. Naomi and I looked at each other, looked at the clock (around 10:20) and turned tail for home.

In our younger days, we'd be too tired but force ourselves to go out to see a band. Here we were, in the pub, and we decided that three extra hours of sleep was the better option. So here we are, home again, headed off to bed, long before Even come close to hitting the stage.

Sad... really!

Self-feeding

When we last visited Wendy (the health nurse) she suggested we should start Genevieve on some finger food. So this was the first attempt. This is her first taste of asparagus. She then proceeded in 'shredding' it with her two teeth. She looked like she enjoyed it too.

Social butterfly

The "little" is SO good. Over the weekend she's been carted from pillar to post and had to put up with lots of different people. All through, she's been happy and delightful and a joy to be around.

We went to pick up a bike trailer (another eBay purchase) and stopped in to see Kellie, Erich and the boys for a cuppa. Then, on the way home, we called to see if Dean and Kylie were home. Kylie wasn't but Dean was on his way so we stopped in there too.

This morning, I had my training session for Around The Bay in a Day (only a brief, one, as the 60km/h winds and 90km/h gusts were a bit much). Genevieve stayed in the car with her Daddy.

In the afternoon, we headed to the London Tavern in Richmond for Miss's birthday. I think there was only one shower this afternoon, but it lasted for exactly the 3 minutes it took to walk from the car to the pub. It was pretty packed but she had a good time, meeting people, getting cuddles even having a sleep in her stroller.

All through this, there were the odd tears, but generally she lapped it up. She's now gone full circle, from being fearful of anyone she didn't know, to loving the attention.

Ladies.... please take a seat

Things are speeding up. Every day she's learning something new. The lastest big milestone is she can sit up, unaided.

We've been using a Bumbo chair for some time now (sourced via eBay of course - Nai is the eBay queen!) and we think that this has aided in training her back and muscles.

On Friday she was wavering, but today she's been sitting strongly, and only toppling over occasionally. This makes bath time a lot more fun, as she can reach out for her toys. Oh... and while I'm on the subject of learning, she has her favourites. Naomi got Genevieve some little sea animals for her bath. She will grab one and stick it straight in her mouth. However, if the starfish gets within reach, she'll grab it and swap over every time!

Survived another day

I'm shattered. It's been a big few days. Genevieve can be hard work, especially when she doesn't sleep much during the day, or wakes at 4am and turns on her music box all by herself to have a play. However, when she says things like "mum" it makes it all worth while. She has said "mum" a lot lately but I don't think it is directed at me :( It is normally directed at food..... but I guess that is me (indirectly).

She is also pushing herself right up on her arms and trying to wriggle her legs under herself which is practice for crawling. Although she is rolling from tummy to back she hasn't rolled from back to tummy yet. Over the last week she has started to reach above her head and will turn on to her side but will deliberately pull herself back so that she doesn't roll over onto her tummy.

We went to see Wendy today for a weigh-in and general check up. The variety of food Genevieve will eat is steadily increasing, with mango and banana now regulars. Her waistline is increasing too. She now weighs 6.9kg (15lb3) having put on 680g in the last month. Still, there was a kid in the US born the other day weighing more than that. She's grown 3cm and is now 67cm long. She must be taking everyone saying how gorgeous she is to heart, as her head has swelled by 1.3cm. So on the percentile charts she is at the 20th percentile for weight, 60th for length and 80th for head. Which means she is tall and skinny with a big head ..... maybe she will get an invitation to the Brownlow when she is older (haha). Wendy was very happy with her growth and development as she has been pretty constant since birth and she confirmed that Genevieve is a happy, healthy little girl!

Around the Bay in a Weekend

Last year, I trained for and then completed the 'Around the Bay in a Day' bike ride. Naomi was planning on doing it too, however a little person growing in her belly put an abrupt stop to her training. This year, Naomi is up to the challenge, and Genevieve and I are support crew. Most Sundays have seen Naomi going for a ride. Starting at about 25 kms, she's built to 50, to 75 and then over 100 kms in a day. The next is to try the route (or close to it) around a month prior, but instead of completing it in day, to take two.

So after months of training, Naomi was ready to do the distance in two, bite sized (ha ha!) chunks. After a big feed of pasta on Friday night, we hit the hay early, ready for a long couple of days. Unfortunately, Genevieve decided that, for the first time in ages, she'd wake up at 4am. Oh well... at least we got quite a lot of sleep, even if not quite as much as we'd wanted.

The members of Team CPA who were doing the ride met at our place, or joined the mini-peleton a few km's down the track. So after sending off Mummy, and saying hello to Layla, our next-door neighbour's cat I gave her a quick feed and then it was into the car for the first of many, many miles. (Of course, much easier in a car than on the bike!)

The first rendezvous with the riders was in Werribee. The first 50kms went quite quickly and we only managed to beat them there by 15 minutes or so (it didn't help that I got lost - but not TOO lost, so I just followed my nose until I found the way). The weather was great and both the spirits, and the speed, was high. So after a toilet stop, a quick feed of Pat's cookies, cakes and orange wedges, (and a quick photo opportunity - Nai 2nd from the left), they were off again.

So after a quick squirt down the freeway (whereas, the riders had to take a much more scenic route), Genevieve and I hit Geelong and spent some quality time together at Rippleside Park. We went for a few walks (with Genevieve in the Baby Bjorn sling) to watch the kids playing on the amazing adventure park there. After not too long, the riders rocked up. So after another food and water stop (and a quick feed of Genevieve) they were off again for the final ride of the day, from Geelong to Queenscliff.

Genevieve and I arrived in Queenscliff about 30 minutes after we set off, and headed into the shopping strip to try and find a birthday cake. We didn't have much luck, so we got a chocolate cake mix to see if we could get something going that way. We then went back to where we were staying (thanks Kellie!) to await the riders. By that stage it was around 2 or 3pm, and she was pretty hungry. So I prepped a vegetable mix (carrot, zucchini, parsnip and swede I think), grabbed a beer and we sat in the sun out the front, both getting a fix of something we needed.

The riders were very happy to have finished for the day and after some showers and a bit of down time, we were off to the local pub for a feed. We tried to ensure Genevieve's evening more-or-less kept to her regular routine. So after another feed, she had a bath and some boob and we set off.

The walk to the pub was good to stretch the legs, and Nai and I were hoping that little G would lull off to sleep. Alas, that didn't quite happen and so we spent much of the next 90 minutes nursing a particularly grumpy girl. She finally did nod off, but beforehand, she still managed to win a lot hearts in the dining room. SUCH a cutie! The food was OK, and the choccy cake (yep... it ended up working out that way) wasn't all that bad actually.

Much to Naomi's relief, Geneview slept from the minute she was put down to when we awoke. Of course, she's in a different room to us generally, so we did get seranaded by the little snores, snorts and chuckles that she does to herself in the smaller hours.

Naomi was quite ravenous, however she can never eat too much before exercise, so I made her some toast with banana (yep... spared no expense) and honey. Genevieve helped out, of course, and this photo shows one of the few times when she left the lemon bowl standing upright. So after some coffee (mmmm..... coffee) and breakfast, we packed up the car and headed off for the ferry.

Now, I'm not sure exactly how long it takes to get a ticket for the ferry, but I think the touch-screen terminal that the poor woman was using made a 20 second job a 5 minute one, as we were in the queue for some time. So anyway, we drove on, parked the car and headed up to the lounge area to give Genevieve her breakfast. The trip across took about 45 minutes and then it was time to get back on the bikes (well... for them anyway - for G and I it was back into the car).

Both yesterday and today had awesome weather. But, this morning was just perfect for cycling. Absolutely no wind at all - the bay would have been glassy if not for the container ships slowly gliding by. Nice sun, but not yet too hot. So the crew made very good time from Sorrento to Dromana, our first stop, and the stop before the BIG hill. The crew again refuelled and compared notes as to when to ingest their high-energy 'goo' for the best effect to beat Jackson's Hill. After they left, Genevieve and I went to the local bakery for something slightly more paletable to ingest.

One more stop, this time in Frankston. I took the chill off Genevieve's lunch (it's amazing how hot the dashboard gets) and after a quick feed, we headed home. Naomi got home only about 1 hour after us. So she did the whole 210kms of the Around the Bay in a Day ride in just on 9 hours. Our route went a little further, so she was the better part of 10 hours on the bike over the weekend.

I had a great weekend and it was wonderful spending so much time with my little girl. I can't believe I can love her any more than I already do - but I think this weekend upped it just a little bit more.

You can sponsor Naomi in her quest - your money goes to The Smith Family to help provide education to kids who are doing it tough. Just say you want to sponsor an individual, and put in Naomi's name and follow the prompts.

Elle peut parler Français

Quite clearly the past few mornings, both Naomi and I have heard Genevieve say 'oeuf' which is the French for 'egg'. Being around breakfast time, we're guessing that she's after some tucker.

Of course, we've had to respond with 'Vous ne devriez pas manger des oeufs jusqu'à ce que vous ayez un an.'

I want to do it myself!

Genevieve is starting to assert her independence and she is doing it with one of the things she cares most about - food!











She will try to grab anything that Mummy and Daddy are trying to eat or drink as well as things she has herself. So we have put handles on a cup for her and given her a spoon so that she can "help" at feeding times.








Of course she didn't actually get any of Daddy's wine but that wasn't for lack of trying!

The world is a chew toy

Absolutely everything is going into Genevieve's mouth at the moment - here are a few examples.

She was sitting next to the utensils jar in the kitchen and managed to pull it over and take the wooden spoon out of it all by herself.











When we were at the snow she pulled Cory's wrist guard out of his helmet and decided to have a chew on that as well.

At least she can entertain herself for up to 20 minutes at a time doing this!

Click wheel

Wouldn't it be great if the click wheel worked? We could pause her or turn her down. We could rewind her when she gets older so she doesn't become a teenager.

Mwah ha ha ha!

Happy (first) Father's Day

I was assured that I wasn't getting anything for Father's day, as the shopping expedition to get me a present had resulted in some new clothes for the little girl (quite cute ones too).

However, that was a fib, and indeed Naomi and Genevieve had walked to a not-so local shopping strip, to go to a wine cellar and pick up some limited edition and/or unusual beers for Daddy.

As well as some of my favourite Surefoot Stout (including some aged 'Old Surefoot'), there was one from another local microbreweries, Three Ravens Black and one from Rutherglen, as well as the limited edition 'Rum Rebellion Porter' form Squires.

So, provided Genevieve doesn't give us a few nights of crying, these should last me quite a while! Thankyou little girl!

I thought it was pretty important to take a picture of my first Father's Day gift, as it isn't something that I'll be keeping for the rest of my life, however I'll cherish it forever!

Another dip

Today was our second swimming lesson (we missed one last week, however we can make it up mid-week, so Mummy will get along to that one).

As you can see, she was quite excited before going in. This week, it was similar as the first week - lots of singing and nursery rhymes and doing activities in the water. She was a lot better this week, as it was somewhere she recognised this time. Even so, I did need to make an effort to get her attention each time before I dunked her under the water, as there were still plenty of distractions.

One of the last activities had the kids crawling, walking or running on a floating mat in the water, before lauching themselves at their parent (generally Dad, which is good to see!). Of course, Genevieve is only just mastering sitting by herself, let alone anything else so that little skill will take a little time yet.