Now and Gen

All good things must come to an end...

2007-03-16T21:43:00.000+11:00

As you may have realised, we do these blogs as much for us, as we do for you. But we're now not posting as often as we used to. We're also cautious what we do post, now that Vievey is getting older. So we're moving on. Check out our new blog - you'll need to sign up (and then ask us) to get all of the content, but some of the content will still be able to be seen by anyone. We just may not be putting things up there quite so often.

So thanks for coming. We're glad you've enjoyed it! And if you want to keep up with the exploits of the Vievey-monster, then come across to the new site at http://gcb.vox.com - it'll be worth the trip.

Cory, Naomi and (not so) little Genevieve.

Fuzzi bunz still number one

2007-03-07T09:37:00.000+11:00

Genevieve has been in Fuzzi Bunz reusable nappies since she was around a week old. We'll use disposables on the odd occasion, if we're going away, and there's generally a spare one in her nappy bag just in case, but generally, she's a Fuzzi Bunz girl.

We find them just as easy... no, actually easier than disposables. I'm not gonna rave about them again, check out this previous post as well as this one. Suffice it to say, we've loved them enough to buy her the next size up, as her current ones are getting somewhat 'hipster' fit. She got the 'petite toddler' size, given her slender frame. But in the end, they save us money, and they save the environment and they look great too.

There's always a Fuzzibunz great nappies link at the right of this blog if you want to see if they'll suit you. They pay for themselves in a few months.

The whole-body "No!"

2007-03-06T09:14:00.000+11:00

For some time now, Vievey has been able to let us know if she doesn't want something. For example, if we're feeding her, she'd turn her head away from the spoon.

That graduated to shaking her head, in the customary style.

No, she's developed this 'whole-body No' where she'll shake her head, and her body to let us know she's not interested.

It's very cute, but it doesn't really help much at breakfast time.

Funny Face

2007-03-03T21:17:00.000+11:00

Genevieve has a new trick - if you are outside she will come up to the glass doors and push her face up against them while she is watching you. It is pretty funny. Luckily Cory had his phone when he was outside today and managed to capture her doing it.

A year in the life...

2007-02-27T21:05:00.000+11:00

Yay for swimming!!!

2007-02-24T20:19:00.000+11:00

Her little eyes light up as soon as we enter the pool. She has an absolute ball, even though she'll cop the old lungful.

It's great that we only need to go to our local pool, just 3 minutes walk away, now that she has turned one. The down-side is their curriculum isn't a patch on the other place we used to go to. Almost every activity at that place had its roots in survival skills - here they just play.

It's still fun, but Genevieve and I sometimes do things a little different to instructed - instead like where we used to go, so she's being trained in things that may help her out some day.

Mercury Rising

2007-02-18T16:55:00.000+11:00

It has been stinking hot. I don't cope with the heat at the best of times, so it's been taking its toll.

We were supposed to do a Tri this morning, but none of us (Ben included) got a great sleep last night due to the heat so when the alarm went off, and Genevieve remained asleep, neither of us had the heart to wake her so we caught up on some well-earned shuteye. We didn't think it was worth putting Genevieve through the heat while we did our races.

Before the heat really hit, we ducked out to the stupormarket. While unpacking, Vievey cooled down in the freezer bag. Later in the day, she was in our bath paddling around pool-style.

YouTube gets glued!

2007-02-17T15:28:00.000+11:00

Many of you would have seen the video/montage I made last March, showing our journey through the pregnancy to the birth and beyond.

In December, I decided to post it on YouTube. Last Saturday (I think) it hit 10,000 views. And in the last week alone, there's been over an extra 2,500! I am, it must be said, quite astounded and humbled that so many people are enjoying something that took me an afternoon in a pub with two pints of Guinness.

Plenty of friends have seen it, and some of the other ones I've done. Quite a few have asked me to create some things for them. Very recently, this included Frank, a mate from work, who wanted one for his wife's 50th birthday. The response at the party, combined with everyone's encouragement and Genevieve's birth racing up the YouTube charts, means I've decided to set up as a sorta hobby business.

So kaBoinK lives! Email me on the address as shown below if you'd like some details or click here for a brochure (requires Adobe Acrobat). And of course I'll keep making ones of Genevieve - the year in review will be coming soon!

Happy Birthday - Take Two

2007-02-16T19:25:00.000+11:00

We had Nanna last Friday, Nana and Pop on Sunday, so today was the day Vievey was to catch up with her mates. As there's been quite a few of these parties scheduled over the past few weeks (most of her friends, after all, are from our Mothers' Group and they are set up arond birth date), so Michele and I decided that we'd throw a combined party for Genevieve and Harry. We scheduled it for a 3:30pm start, so the workers could then jump on board after work.

Plans were going well, until we learned that the forecast was for 38 degree heat, turning to thunderstorms.
Then, Michele called to say poor little Harry had gastro (which she got the day after). So it was just Vievey and me, with Daddy to rock up later.

The house was full of kids, noise and frazzled parents by both the birthday girl and I had a great time.

Happy Valentine's Day - NOT!!!

2007-02-14T18:51:00.000+11:00

Continuing in Genevieve's big week, today was her second day in a row where she went to childcare for the whole day. And why... well, my year is up - and I am back at work.

As you can imagine, I haven't been looking forward to this day. But getting into the childcare only 2 minutes walk away has made it easier. Even so, the past weeks, and days leading up to today have been pretty rough.

To make my transition easier, Cory left a lovely big bunch of flowers in the car for me. However, the flowers didn't stop me calling up childcare every hour to see how she's going.

Towards the end of the day, they were saying "She's FINE.... If anything happpens, we'll call YOU" - in a loving way of course.

And of course when I did pick her up, she was fine. I know she had a better day than I did. But hey, having things like a desk, computer, net access, email and even a phone at work are overrated - I'm sure I'll get them over the next few days!?

C'mon dad!

2007-02-11T20:23:00.000+11:00

It's been a big weekend. It's a big week for the little girl too - leading up to a combined party with Harry in the park near our house (a good excuse for drinks for us).

Going by this photo, it looks like she's gonna go the distance better than I!

You can come too, too, too...

2007-02-11T15:03:00.000+11:00

It was wonderful that half of Melbourne wanted to celebrate Vievey's birthday at the zoo as well. I think we got one of the last few car parks.

Little miss short-attention-span did actually enjoy it, especially the animals which she could actually see, which tended to be the larger ones. The first she did see, was the largest of them all. Although she's looking at the camera here, she barely took her eyes off the new imported pachyderms.

She didn't really notice the real wombats (and I can't blame her, as they were quite justifiably curled up in the corner sleeping) but she did like this one!

But, just like her Nana, it was the giraffes that she like the most!

365 days ago...

2007-02-11T11:09:00.000+11:00

It's hard to believe.

One year ago right now, our little girl was still on her way. Definitely ON her way, but still not quite there yet.

Yes, today is little Genevieve's first birthday. We cannot believe it's been a whole year already. On the other hand, we can't imagine our lives without her.

And it's a bit of a Genevievapalooza* week as she's got a lot on - leading up to this Friday with drinks in the park near us late arvo/evening (all welcome). Nanna caught up with her Friday (when she came to babysit while we went to the cricket) so the presents started then.

Yesterday we visited Brendo and Kelly in their new house, there was was another gift there.

After a good sleep last night, she woke for the day itself. Nana and John, as well as Pop and Gael were dropping by for a coffee, before the whole tribe were going to the zoo.

And of course, there were plenty more presents to be opened.

So after the candle being blown out (not exactly by her), and plenty more presents, we packed up the vehicles and headed off.

* with thanks to Kelly!

Angel wings

2007-02-06T21:32:00.000+11:00

Genevieve had her 1 year check up today even though she is not quite 1. The Maternal Health nurse thought it was better to get it done before she went into childcare fulltime just in case she had a reaction to the injections.

She was weighed and measured and everything is on track although she had lost a bit of weight due to her having gastro last week. We will weigh her again in 3 months to make sure she has regained it. Her development is great and she is doing some things that they would expect an 18 month old to be doing, although she isn't walking yet.

Genevieve then had 3 big needles - 1 in her leg and 1 in each arm. She screamed!!! It was quite distressing but she stopped as soon as the needles were out and she got a cuddle. She is such a good girl and looks so cute with her little cotton wool balls on her arms where she had the needles.

She was a bit unhappy and restless last night but apart from that doesn't seem to have had any adverse reactions.

Dads go Mad!

2007-02-04T17:23:00.000+11:00

I've seen how good Nai's mothers group has been as a social outlet and to share experiences and learn from others. So for a month or so I've been trying to get a group of dads together. I say trying to get, because I haven't had a lot of success.

Now before you start saying "Blokes wouldn't be interested in that - of course you you haven't had a lot of success!", well, almost all of them have been really keen - it's just a been a matter of timing. So after a few aborted attempts, I just set a date and time and saw who would be available to front up. I ended up catching up with an old mate Dave, with is 12 week old son Samuel.

We had a great time, and from this point we're gonna try one weeknight a month (or thereabouts) instead of trying to find a weekend time that suits us all.

Mummy, I want to play with YOUR toys!

2007-02-02T09:38:00.000+11:00

Whenever I am on the computer Genevieve desperately wants to play with it too. If I leave it open she grabs it and taps on the keyboard like she is actually doing something. And sometimes she really does do things such as she discovered a keyboard shortcut to instantly zoom the screen in for visually impaired people. Cory had to trawl through the settings section for a full 5 mins to find where to switch it back off again.

She also seemed to have a particular love of the 'shift' key. So much so, that she souvenired it. It took me quite a while to clip it back on.

Bub Club

2007-01-30T13:24:00.000+11:00

I've recently found another online parenting resource.

This one provides a great forum and a good social outlet. It has members who have kids or are trying to, or are in the process of having kids. Most members are from Australia, however there are some from overseas. It has some general parenting forum areas, but also some more general and social forum areas. It has a very relaxed and social feel. It also has a special dad's only passworded area - so we can't check out what they're saying.

However, you do need to be a member before you can check any of the forums out, but I recommend it.

http://www.bubclub.com

Filthy Disease Ridden Children

2007-01-29T09:20:00.000+11:00

We went to one of Genevieve's playgroup friends 1st birthday parties yesterday and cam home with more than we bargained for! It seems that a gastro bug has been doing the rounds in the playgroup set and I was the lucky one who came home with it.

I ended up in bed for the whole day feeling dreadful. I tried to avoid contact with Genevieve as much as possible but she really wanted to give her mummy a cuddle so I had to let her give me one.

But I've come good, and it's now Cory's turn to feel woeful. Hopefully the little girl doesn't get it.

Genevieve did end up getting it the next day. So I was coming out of it, Cory wasn't great and the little girl was in the thick of it. Poor thing didn't understand, but really was a trooper and was happy most of the time. Can't say the same for us, who had to deal with what came out of her!

Evening read

2007-01-28T16:07:00.000+11:00

As a part of our regular evening schedule, after her bath and getting dressed and a quick hair comb, it's time for reading.

As mentioned in a previous post, she will now help out by turning the pages - sometimes even at the right time!

Elmo shmelmo

2007-01-27T23:22:00.000+11:00

My clever, clever girl

2007-01-25T18:26:00.000+11:00

There's been heaps of little things that Genevieve can do that we've failed to tell you about. I suppose the combination of a lot at once, as well as them being nothing too earth-shattering, means we've failed to say anything - but all together, it shows that she's learning.

The big thing is she now, very obviously, associates words with actions or objects. Some of the new words she knows include:

No - Probably good she knows this one. Of course, that doesn't mean she always listen to it! She'll test us at almost every opportunity.
Down/Up - When standing up (still holding on to something that this stage), saying 'Down' will get her squatting and 'Up' will get her back up again. You can actually get her doing squats. Saying 'down' again will get her sitting.
Baaaa - She has a little lamb hand-puppet. 'Where's Baaaa?' will get her looking for, and generally retrieving it. Same for Pooh-bear and Piglet.
Time for bed - She knows... and she starts crying...

She's also really loving the reading time I have with her before we put her into bed. When I read, she'll turn the page - often in the right direction! But she's really getting into the books... So much so, that when she's got some free time and she's playing, she'll often grab one of her books and read it to herself. Turn the pages, babble away. It's adorable!

When dressing her, she really does help you - putting her arms through the sleeves. That is, of course, unless she doesn't want to get dressed. Then she'll do her best to prevent you.

Some of her educational toys are doing the trick. She's starting to learn where things go, and what buttons to press etc.

So not only is she the most gorgeous little girl in the world, she's also the smartest. We're both so proud.

Our little girl is growing up...

2007-01-20T19:32:00.000+11:00

So just when do they become a toddler? Is it when they 'toddle'? And what is toddling anyway? Is it walking, or is it holding on and doing laps around the coffee table?

Genevieve reached two milestones today, and both through purchases. The first was that she has finally graduated to a front-facing car seat. Many people put their kids into car seats (ie: out of rear-facing capsules) too early. Our capsule was rated up to 9kg (some new ones go up to 12 kgs now), and Genvieve is now only just over 8kg but she was getting a bit tall for it, so it was time to move up. We got a brand new Safe-N-Sound Maxi Rider from our guy in Arden Street, North Melbourne, who installed it (showing us how), as well as how to use it properly to keep Genevieve safe.

The other purchase was her first pair of shoes - or sandals actually. She's received some shoes as gifts, but this is the first that we've bought her and that she's actually worn (as shown in the top photo). She'll grab on to anything these days and get up for a better look. It'll be any day (or possibly 6 weeks!?) before she's walking around.

I finally unwrapped my birthday present

2007-01-17T21:04:00.000+11:00

Cory and Genevieve got me a nice present for my birthday. It was a couple of nights accommodation in Daylesford, complete with spa treatments of my choice.

We decided to leave it until after the silly season, so there would be more likelihood of having a good time. Unfortunately, this coincided with some of the hottest weather in quite a while.

Cory had booked a great little miner's cottage where we'd stayed before - however this didn't have air-conditioning, so I managed to change it to a gorgeous little place, which we think has only been recently renovated for B&B.

We arrived early afternoon on the Monday, but the place wasn't ready yet so we grabbed some lunch at one of the many cafes until we could go and get the keys. The place was even better than we'd thought, with everything we needed.

The first night we stayed in and enjoyed the spa bath, watching the birdlife from the luxurious watery surrounds, complete with a wine or two and local cheeses.

The next morning we walked down our street to the lake for a quick dip before the heat of the day was going to hit. We continued around the lake and walked up to the main road for some basic supplies.

In the afternoon I headed off for my session - body scrub, massage and facial. This photo is of Genevieve out the front waiting for me, in a very relaxed state, to come out. Then in the evening we went to Sault, for dinner. Nana and John kindly drove across from Ballarat to babysit for a few hours.

The next day we made the most of the spa bath before checking out another quick stop to a cafe (this time the chocolate-themed one for a hot chocolate) and then heading home via Sunbury where Ben was being spoilt (err... we mean looked after) by Nanna.

We'd all like to make it a regular occurrence.

Tri, tri again

2007-01-14T21:35:00.000+11:00

Genevieve escorting us to the triathlons is going quite well. She gets a bit of feed while I'm doing mine, and then has a bit of a sleep while Nai is doing hers.

In this photo, you can see Genevieve (looking the other way, but soon to be) looking at her mummy coming from the swim leg in her transition to the bike leg. Yay Mummy!

After her sleep, it's jockeying for a good position up near the finish line to see her come up the finishing race.

We are constantly amazed with how great she is. We really can take her anywhere and she has a great time. As long as there's colour, movement and people, she's in heaven.

2007-01-13T21:28:00.000+11:00

It'd been a few weeks since we tried Genevieve in her bike trailer, so we thought we'd give it a go again. We just rode the 1km down to our local riverside and then along its paths for a while - probably about 8km all up.

Even before we got to the river Vievey was asleep, so I guess she finds it comfortable. I have the trailer hitch connected to my old fluoro beast, so I'm not tempted to ride very quickly. I gave it a quick wipe to get the dust off - man that fluoro really hurts your eyes!

As you can see, the helmet is still quite big on her head, however it adjusts so that it fits her quite snugly. In fact, her head has grown quite a bit!

Happy Birthday Amber!

2007-01-13T13:44:00.000+11:00

Today, Genevieve went to her first birthday party of a friend of hers - Amber.

Just like mine, it was held in the local park. It was a lovely day and Genevieve enjoyed playing with all of the new toys that were provided for the kiddies. She also enjoyed playing with all of the parents of the kiddies, or is that the other way around?

She like reading the storybooks too, as you can see here. You can also see her in her sunhat and sunglasses, which stayed on for about all of 5 minutes. We're slowly getting there - if you distract her they can stay on for quite a while.

Double Trouble

2007-01-12T17:17:00.000+11:00

Today one of my friends from Mother's Group needed an emergency babysitter so as I was free I offered to help out. Although it was Genevieve's normal sleep time she decided that she wanted to stay up and play as soon as she heard Henry. I had them up playing (and getting into mischief) together for about an hour before they both started getting grizzly. I gave them both their bottles - which was no mean feat with both of them sitting on the kitchen floor yelling at me!

After their bottles though they both went to sleep and it was bliss! I don't know how people with twins do it though. After 2 hours I was exhausted!!

Oi - Darlin, giddus a bottle!

2007-01-10T06:47:00.000+11:00

Today's effort

2007-01-08T20:46:00.000+11:00

She's doing so much these days, it's hard go get it uploaded!

Now she had to do it on a Monday didn't she??? Not on a Sunday while Daddy was home.

Genevieve takes the brakes off

2007-01-06T16:46:00.000+11:00

One fish, two fish...

2007-01-05T11:44:00.000+11:00

Every year my family gets together to remember my dad, Boardy. It's difficult to believe it has been five years.

This year, we went to a local Chinese restaurant, now run by a guy who knew may Mother and Father pretty well. Just one of those local characters.

This was the first one that Genevieve has attended (or at least... outside the womb) so it was a bit different for me. As you can see, however, she really enjoyed Aunty Sue showing her the fishies.

NYE down the beach

2007-01-01T18:02:00.000+11:00

Last year's NYE was a quiet affair. Naomi was seven-months pregnant, and the temp was over 40 so we didn't feel like doing much.

This year had a similar sentiment. So, instead of taking up one of the array of 'party' or 'restaurant' invitations we received, instead we took up Kellie's offer of heading down to their place in Queenscliff for the weekend.

We also took the opportunity to have a bit of a surf, with our good friend Andrea who lives in Barwon Heads and who provides lodging for our surfboards. It was great to see her again. Naomi managed to get five or six good waves in, but the surf started to die when I went out. (Either that, or Naomi is a good surfer and I'm crap).

Genevieve adores the beach. Nai has taken her to our local beach at Williamstown a few times, but that doesn't really get any waves, so this was her first real experience with it.

And, of course, because we hadn't caught up since Christmas, there was the customary exchanges. And, as usual, Genevieve scored well. This, however, was a gift that we got for Kellie and Erich's boys. I'm thinking Genevieve might be getting one for her birthday.

The NYE itself was pretty chilled. Just a BBQ in the backyard (sorry... one of the best BBQs I've eaten in a long time!) Lots and lots of red wine. A bit of annoying the neighbours with some loud music.

"We've got three children in here you know..."
"Funny about that... so have we!"

But by the end of it, we were very happy to get home, relax, start the whole washing/cleaning cycle and get ready for the dash up to Sunbury to pick up Ben (thanks Nanna!)

I just can't stop....

2006-12-31T21:22:00.000+11:00

...loving them more and more each and every day!

Genevieve has a friend over for dinner

2006-12-29T20:34:00.000+11:00

We often catch up with Michele and Harry for a Friday afternoon drink or dog walk. It also gives Genevieve and Harry some playtime together. Today Michele's husband Tim was with them so I messaged Cory to meet us at the park.

Cory had in fact already met Michele and Tim en route on his ride home, so he was already waiting in the park with them when I arrived. Ben and their dog, Mac, had a good run, although Mac did find a muddy puddle to play in.

We stayed longer than usual so the kids were getting a bit hungry and the boys were getting a bit thirsty so we all went back to our place and gave the kids their dinner while we all had a relaxing drink in the back yard. Lucky I swept that morning!!

It appears that my baby food concoctions please more than just Genevieve, with Harry downing his in record time!

Genevieve's First Christmas

2006-12-25T17:50:00.000+11:00

We'd purposely made sure that this Christmas was going to be pretty low-key, but that didn't mean we weren't busy!

I had my department break-up at work on Friday afternoon, and then rode home from Elwood into a very strong head-wind (with a few too many VBs under my belt and heavy bottles of wine in my pack). We waited for Nanna to come by, as we were headed off to see Even, who each year do their Christmas Even gig. They're always great and this year was no exception. Last year Naomi missed out (with the bump in her belly) so it was great that we had the proud babysitter to fill in.

On Saturday we headed up to Ballarat for lunch with Nana and John's family. A few weeks ago, we put a little rear-view mirror in the car, so from the driver's seat you can see little Vievey. It's enough to see if she's happy, or asleep or with the sun on her face. Here you can see the view from the driver's rear-view mirror.

Ballarat is in the grip of a water crisis (yes, I know we all are, but Ballarat is particularly bad). Here you can see "Lake" Wendouree, which as you can see, is more like the Wendouree mud flats. The lake was the host to the rowing events from the Melbourne 1956 Olympics. We saw a rowing meet there just two years ago. Here, you can see Nai and Genevieve walking where they would normally have been up to the necks in it.

When it came time to the giving of gifts, no guesses who received the most ! She received HEAPS. Honestly, we should've brought a ute! After Nana's on Saturday, we were then off to Pop's on Sunday. We thought this was to be a small(ish) lunch, however there were probably about forty there. I was happy though, as I think I ate about a whole month's worth of dead animal (pork, turkey and ham!) Genevieve had a slice of turkey, and it disappeared very quickly. And of course, more presents for Vievey.

Then, on Christmas Day we had the close family over for coffee and fruit-toast, as well as yet again, more gifts for little Genevieve.

It was great to get a shot of Genevieve with Nanna and Nana. She's seen quite a lot of both of them in the past few days, and she's loving it.

So now it looks like some other kid's toys are here, there's so many new ones. She's already chosen a few favourites... but there's plenty there for variation.

Merry Christmas Everybody!

2006-12-25T06:57:00.000+11:00

Getting excited!

2006-12-23T09:20:00.000+11:00

...actually, probably us more than her. She doesn't really know what's going on. She's loving all the visitors though.

Thanks everyone for the cards, emails and best wishes for Christmas, and to Nanna for babysitting last night so we could go out.

We're seeing Nana for lunch today, and Genevieve will be meeting her step-cousins for the first time today - one of which is only 8 weeks younger than she is, so hopefully they'll get along.

It puts a rose in ev-ry cheek!

2006-12-21T09:12:00.000+11:00

Genevieve is a happy little vegemite, especially when she gets a vegemite sandwich for a snack. Although, it is a very messy process. She enjoys pulling the sandwich apart and eating the vegemite directly. The result of which is reminiscent of Daddy's attempts for MOvember.

(This photo was the cutest, but others showed the full vege-mo.)

Bah..... humbug!

2006-12-20T20:48:00.000+11:00

Last year we drove to Adelaide for the big family Christmas.

This year, we're doing as little as possible. No tree (if you ignore the 30cm one on the mantlepiece). A few little family things, with people stopping by our place on the big day to watch Genevieve open her presents (of course, that'll mean scrunching and chewing some wrapping paper).

About the only thing we did do is ask our friend Jenn to post us another stocking from the US of A, to match the ones she gave us a few years back (which it does - it's just the camera flash making it look a different colour).

Not number ones... but...

2006-12-19T16:16:00.000+11:00

The following has been hidden, just so it doesn't offend any delicate sensibilities. If you choose to read it, just highlight the intentionally difficult to read text below with your mouse. But a warning - it contains poo! (No photos, thankfully!)

The little girl is a poo machine! It is astounding, but it appears what comes out is of far greater volume that what goes in. Thankfully, they are all rather well formed and easy to deal with. In fact, with our FuzziBunz nappies they just slide straight off and into the toilet. But that's when she's wearing the nappy.

We've had the one in the bath. (Just once so far, thankfully).

We've had the one in the bathers (well... it is a swimming nappy).

But recently, she's taken to slicing one off during her regular naked time of an evening. No worries, Naomi thinks, the perfect chance for some potty training. So Naomi bought a potty and the naked time now starts with a bit of 'sit and think' time. It seems to be working pretty well. Last night, she did a whopper. So we thought we were safe. (We thought...)

We let her crawl up our hallway, chasing the cat. A few minutes later, from the distance of our lounge, I saw something suspicious in our hallway in line with our bathroom. So I sprint up, and Genevieve excitedly crawls to meet me - straight through it.

Lots of laughter, gagging, cleaning and disinfecting.

A tomato is a fruit!

2006-12-14T21:16:00.000+11:00

As mentioned previously, Genevieve has taken to getting things out of our fruit bowl and eating them. Today, however, it was a tomato.

Still, she tucked into it with the same gusto as she tucks in to all of her food. She ended up eating about a quarter of it before getting sick of it. That was a lot more than the tomato stalk, which only received a quick chew.

MESSopatamia

2006-12-10T19:45:00.000+11:00

This is probably the first of many. Genevieve was in the kitchen with Cory and me and she seemed to be interested in our fruit bowl/stand. She was pulling herself up and trying to grab the apples, peaches and nectarines. So I gave her a nectarine.

After a moment's hesitation, she sunk the teeth in. She had a taste, her eyes lit up as she savoured the flavour and then she virtually devoured the whole thing.

Of course, nectarines are quite juicy so if you click on this image for the zoom, take a look at the juice on her belly, nappy, the floor and of course, her face. What you can't see is that she also managed to get nectarine on her back. We're not quite sure how!?

Not to be outdone...

2006-12-10T13:29:00.000+11:00

Now that Naomi has finished her boot camp for the year, it was up to me to show that I could mix it in the exercise stakes, with the next of our Triathlon series.

But of course, I'm only doing the 'fun' series, (this time, 200m swim, 8km bike and 2 km run) and Nai is doing the 'sprint' series (500m/20km/5km) so I guess that counts me out again. I went pretty well - my knee held out longer but it still forced me to walk some of it. (But again, I beat my mates so that's the main thing.) It's just as well I can swim pretty well and the daily ride to work is transferable onto my road bike, which does get along a lot faster than my daily ride.

Genevieve was very good, although it was a pretty hot day so she didn't really want to go for a snooze in her stroller. However once she did she stayed asleep for quite a while - most of Nai's race in fact.

By the time Nai got to her run leg, it would've been early to mid thirties so she ended up walking a lot of it - probably a good idea as there were many people being treated by officials and medical staff for overdoing it in the heat.

Genevieve was happy though - lapping up all of the attention and catching all the sights, as she waited for her mummy to come in.

Afterwards, Nai took her in for a quick dip, to cool them both down, before heading home to air-conditioned comfort.

The end of boot camp

2006-12-09T12:46:00.000+11:00

For the last 7 weeks I have been doing bootcamp 3 times a week and Genevieve has been enjoying time at the gym creche.

Thursday and Saturday were the culmination of 7 weeks of hard work as the 3 bootcamp teams were pitted against each other for the super challenge. Cory and Genevieve came along to lend their support on the Saturday in very hot and smoky conditions. I'm not sure if Genevieve preferred to cheer us on or go to creche as she loves it so much!

The "smurf" team (named for the colour of our tops) was mainly made up of mums. We competed in 7 events overall and the "Smurfs" were victorious in 6 proving them to be the fastest, strongest and best. Go MUMS!

Standing and screaming

2006-12-06T20:44:00.000+11:00

Genevieve can now pull herself up to a standing position on furniture but can't get down and doesn't like falling onto her bottom.

So now when she wakes up (or doesn't want to go to sleep) she will stand up in her cot, hang onto the bars and scream until someone comes to rescue her.

I hope she learns how to get herself down soon!!

Christmas Shopping

2006-12-04T17:49:00.000+11:00

We have a rule in our household - no Christmas stuff until after Naomi's birthday (Dec 5th).

It doesn't stop people looking, however!

A day in the sunshine

2006-12-03T17:25:00.001+11:00

For my birthday this year I decided to have 2 parties - one for the adults and one with kiddies. We planned for the Sunday afternoon to have a picnic in the park however it forecast to be cool and showers. In true Melbourne form though the weather was perfect and sunny, about 20 degrees. We had about 10 babies and children turn up and they were all well behaved and had a great time spending the day outside in the playground.

Take 3 times daily

2006-12-03T09:27:00.000+11:00

Now that Genevieve is eating 3 meals and sleeping through (mostly) she can reduce her milk feeds to 3 a day. This means 2 breastfeeds and 1 bottle. I will continue the morning and evening feeds and give her the bottle during the day. This will also prepare her well for childcare next year.

Genevieve's favourite time

2006-12-02T21:07:00.000+11:00

We had a rough night with Genevieve last night. We think she's really starting to test her boundaries, and this includes at night time. At 2am, she was only happy when we were in her room with her. We're gonna try a few strategies to deal with this, however most of them will end up pretty noisy.

Consequently, we all slept in and that threw out the normal daily schedule. No real drama, although in the end we were running late for swimming (and managed to catch every red light - isn't that always the way)?

This week was Water Safety Awareness Week, so they had a few different things at the pool, including everyone receiving a special certificate. This, of course, means that there was again no chance of Genevieve earning one of her achievement stickers. Not sure what she has to do to earn them, as she seems to be as accomplished, or even more accomplished in water activities (eg: going underwater through the hoop) as the other kids. Perhaps its just that they don't want her graduating to the 3-year-old's class before she reaches 1?

Vocabulary

2006-11-30T19:25:00.000+11:00

So far, these are what she's saying (or trying to say) on a regular basis:

Mum, mum, mum
Dad, dad, dad
Nan, nan, nan
Heh! (Which is sometimes a chuckle, and at other times we almost expect it to be followed - "Heh! Yeah Right!")
Pf, pft, tfa, (which is her trying her best to say 'Ta')
T, ta, t, t, tat (which appears to be cat).

Lttle pig, little pig

2006-11-26T21:17:00.000+11:00

It's really started now. I've been riding past the huge Christmas tree in the centre of Melbourne for weeks and today was work's Children's Christmas Party. It was awesome weather and Genevieve had a ball, watching all the kids running around and even having a bit of a crawl herself.

The highlight, however, was the petting zoo. Chookens, ducks, goats, lambs, an alpaca and daddy's favourite, a piggy-wig. We'll have to keep an eye out for some more of these in the future, once she's a little more mobile.

Drink by the river

2006-11-25T16:00:00.000+11:00

Genevieve's had a bit of a temperature over the past few days. We took her to the doc and all is fine, we just need to monitor it. Because of this, however, Naomi couldn't go to her Boot Camp exercise session yesterday (Genevieve would normally be in the gym's creche). So instead, Naomi attended a session this morning.

So Genevieve and I thought it might be a good chance to take the bike trailer for a spin and see if we could position ourselves to watch Mummy run past. Unfortunately, Naomi didn't quite run where I thought they would, but Genevieve loved the trailer and the drink on the riverside.

Later, we went to vote in the state election. Having the stroller, we were forded straight in. Awesome. Hmm... I wonder if I should get Big Day Out tickets? Genevieve might make it easy to get around? ;)

She's going the distance

2006-11-25T13:00:00.000+11:00

The wonders of percussion

2006-11-23T21:32:00.000+11:00

Just a short one.

Two more teef

2006-11-22T22:02:00.000+11:00

Her top teeth have now poked through enough to actually be captured by the camera, so here they are.

We're just counting the days before she develops the dopey laugh to match...

Ah-yuk-yuk-yuk.

Bath time

2006-11-21T21:59:00.000+11:00

When Genevieve goes for a swim, we make sure we give her a decent bath. Generally, we don't use soap - all the marketing hype actually conflicts with most of the advice from doctors, midwives and healthcare specialists. They don't really need any more than water for most washes. However, after going into the pool, we think it's pretty important to wash off all of that yukky chlorine.

So here she is, getting her hair washed. Those with a keen eye will see the colour of her knees - she's been putting her new found crawling skills to use.

Give me a 'G'... hang on, I can't spell yet!

2006-11-19T21:07:00.000+11:00

Genevieve had a big weekend, but apart from her weekly swimming class (in her new bathers, as pictured) it was mainly in support of Mummy and Daddy.

Our triathlon series commenced this morning, so yesterday we headed down to StKilda to pick up our kit for the series.

Then, this morning we were out the door at 6:10am to get to StKilda and set up for the Tri. Nanna came along too, which made life a lot easier. I'm doing the same 'Fun Tri' series we've done the last two years, so my first race was a 150m swim, a 5km bike ride and a 1.5km run. Genevieve, Nanna and Mummy were there to wave me on at the swim transition. It was going well until the run when I started getting some knee pain and had to walk for about half of it. But I managed to run up the finish race past waving Genevieve. So, I beat my mates in, so that's the main thing.

Then it was Naomi's turn. We had decided that one of us would have to step up to the next level, the 'Sprint Tri' series, which for this race was 500m swim, 20km cycle and 5km run. Initially, I was going to do it, but for a variety of reasons (so I could compete with my mates, so Naomi could increase her exercise as I already ride my bike 20km each day to/from work) it was Naomi doing the long haul. We were both very impressed with her efforts. As was Genevieve, waving on for her Mummy's swim transition, then getting a feed and sleeping for the rest of it.

Goat again (hey... we like it!)

2006-11-17T22:07:00.000+11:00

Another visit to goat tonight to hook up with Brendo (pictured) and Kelly, as well as Mick, Ros and Paul later. The little girl is really getting used to falling asleep in her stroller in public, which is really good. It means we can get more than one pint in before we have to leave.

Public Transport

2006-11-16T20:04:00.000+11:00

Today Mummy was getting her hair done, so I dropped thru the hairdresser's, ermm... sorry... "stylist's" to pick up the little girl. Of course, everyone there had already fallen in love with her so they were sorry to see her go.

We walked to Flinders Street station and caught the train home. She must, finally, be getting used to it as she was fine on the train and didn't cry at all.

A sign of things to come?

2006-11-15T19:06:00.000+11:00

Of course, by the time she can do some damage to the phone bill they'll probably be implanting chips straight into our brain...

Another first today!

2006-11-13T23:17:00.000+11:00

Uh-oh!

9 months old

2006-11-11T08:41:00.000+11:00

The little girl is getting bigger every day and today she reached the big 9 month milestone. So... nine months in and nine months out. As usual, on a Saturday, we started by walking the dog and had a swimming lesson (today she went through a hoop under the water). We then had a quick stop at the stupor-market (and she's graduated from to the trolley's kiddie seat for the first time) before heading to visit our friends Dean and Kylie with their very own little freshy, Spencer.

She's progressing quite a lot, almost crawling - but she definitely is waving, any chance she gets.

Cup Day

2006-11-07T22:12:00.000+11:00

You've gotta love a city that has a holiday for a horse race - ahh... Melbourne.

I had to work on my Uni assignment (almost finished!) so we had a few parties/picnics to go to, but the combination of dud weather and my essays close to completion meant that we just ended up making a quick appearance to the Standard Hotel in Fitzroy, as organised by Carole (pictured) and Matt. Genevieve had a ball with all of the attention, but we didn't end up picking any winners. Lucky we didn't put on any bets!

Morning tea with Nanna and Aunty Sue

2006-11-05T15:21:00.000+11:00

One of Thel's close friends is down from the NSW coast to see her new granddaughter, so they dropped around this morning for a cuppa. So Genevieve got a visit from Aunty Sue and her Nanna Thel. Of course, the coffee machine decided to go on the blink, but hey, it was all good in the end.

It'd been a while since Sue had come for a visit, so it was cuddles all around. She was amazed with how much she's grown. She's a regular reader of these-here posts, but it's no replacement for actual kisses and cuddles from the real thing. Genevieve was pretty rapt too - she loves the attention.

Thankyou Nana

2006-11-02T15:10:00.000+11:00

Naomi's mother, Marilyn, is still coming down almost every week, just to give Nai a helping hand, which is really great. When it's just you, the day goes by so quickly and you sometimes just don't get the chance to get everything done.

Of course, Marilyn also gets to catch up with the little Vievey girl. In this photo, I think you can get a perception of what she's going to look like when she's older.

Mmmm.... flesh... Mwah ha ha ha....

2006-10-31T20:42:00.000+11:00

We're not big on imported holidays. I was never one for putting fake snow around at Christmas, for example. So the whole Halloween thing I never really got. Ask any Australian schoolage kid what Halloween means and they'll no doubt respond with that's when people give you lollies.

So, having said that, the hypocrites that we are, we thought we'd dress Genevieve in something and knock on next door. John and Neen are expecting their own next year, and love a visit from Genevieve whenever we can, so it was a good excuse.

When we arrived, they were just finishing off some chicken from the local char-grilled place. Nina was about to throw out the remains of the bird, so I pounced and hoed in. Then Naomi shocked me by suggesting that I might want to give Genevieve a piece. I asked if she was sure (as this was would be Genevieve's first meat and Nai is a strict vegetarian. She replied yes so after again confirming I tore her off a strip and plonked it in her hand. She loved it!

Postscript : Naomi bought Genevieve and I some chicken on Sunday. Not 3 minutes after the purchase, a bird crapped on her head. I think the birds thought she was safe and would not partake of murdering their bretheren. But upon spying one of their supporters, with murdered fowl in hand, took their revenge.

Farewell Dex

2006-10-29T20:30:00.000+11:00

Today we had to bid farewell to one of Genevieve's many boyfriends. Little Declan is headed to Detroit with his Mummy and Daddy. As a chance to say goodbye, we had a nice afternoon at Melbourne's Belgian Bier Cafe - Bluestone. Here you can see Genevieve drowning her sorrows.

Progress!

2006-10-28T12:35:00.000+10:00

Watch the video

There's been a few impressive acheivements this week.

Firstly, she's finally managed to turn from her back onto her belly, on purpose. So now she can go from front to back, and back to front. We expect her to be rolling all about the place soon.

Secondly, there's something that rates really high on the cute-o-meter. When Naomi is feeding her some cereal or vegies, she will often blow on the spoon to cool it slightly. Genevieve has taken to giving it a slight blow herself, before greedily taking the spoonful.

Finally, as you will see from the video, she is very much mobile. She thinks it's hilarious that she can do this - perhaps because of the direction?

Sometimes, it's just the little things...

2006-10-27T21:49:00.000+10:00

It still makes me smile every time I have to fill something like this in. Although, ticking the aged 36-50 box does hurt quite a bit!

Take a stand

2006-10-23T17:34:00.000+10:00

I am constantly vacillating between getting excited with how quickly Genevieve is learning things, and the horrors that these milestones will bring about. However, there's not a lot I can do about it, and it's all gonna happen some time.

One of these is her ability to stand. She's now quite adept at moving around on her belly - not quite crawling yet, but she is far from stationary in her regular evening play time on the floor. In the bath, she can hold on to the edge and pull herself up to almost-kneeling. She has also been able to support her weight on her legs for some time, and will often do this if we hold her up to stand her on the couch with us.

So, as an experiment, we thought we'd try putting her up against one of the seats in our lounge. Of course, Naomi was there in the ready in case she toppled. But it was all good, and she could stay there for some time.

So... again, back to the paradox. It's so amazing to see her progress and to encourage her to do so. However, I know that things are going to get very difficult very quickly once she is mobile and can reach for things. YIPE!

So THAT's what happpens!

2006-10-22T13:03:00.000+10:00

Click To Play

If you fall pregnant and then breast feed, it can be quite a while between decent drinking sessions.

Take a look at what happens when you go to a wonderful wedding and decide to have 'a night off'.

Our best wishes to Vicky and Geoff as they commence the rest of their lives together. We had a great night (as the video shows). Also a big thankyou to Nana and John who were on Genevieve duty until the wee small hours. We'd half-planned to take her to the ceremony if she was awake, and then dropping her home for the reception. As it happened, she was still asleep when it came time to leave. It's a shame, as she could have had her photo taken with the Melbourne Lord Mayor, John So! Oh well!

Drinkies

2006-10-21T16:30:00.000+10:00

Watch the video

Last night we headed off to Mountain Goat for a beer or two. Genevieve came along and was very well behaved. We think it might have something to do with the fact that she loves to have a drink too!

It's nice to share

2006-10-17T21:53:00.000+10:00

We thought Genevieve was teething again. She seemed to be crying with no reason. However, on Wednesday, I started to get a sore thought. So, we got to thinking, the cold-like symptoms that Genevieve had, were, in fact, most likely a cold! And one that she wanted to give me.

Problem is, for three months I've been training to do the Around the Bay in a Day bike ride. The cold hit me on Friday, and got worse on Saturday. So I made the tough call Saturday night. I would not be well enough to put my body through such a gruelling 210km ride.

Of course, she seems to be fine now - and unfortunately, my closest friend is the tissue box.

Bip bowwww

2006-10-15T10:50:00.000+10:00

For months, Naomi has been training for the Around the bay in a day bike ride. 210kms! What we thought was Genevieve teething was in fact a sore throat and a cold, which she kindly gave to Mummy.  So this is me, coming in off the interchange bench to do it for the team. 80km down, 130 km to go. Poor Naomi. All that training...

Daddy

2006-10-09T07:26:00.000+10:00

When I was getting ready to leave for work, Genevieve looked at me and softly, but quite distinctly said "Daddy". That... ladies and gentleman, was no fluke!

Daddy's girl

2006-10-08T18:02:00.000+10:00

Probably just as relevant to say "Mummy's Girl" too...

20 years

2006-10-07T18:27:00.000+10:00

In the continuing series of me being old, yesterday the whole family attended my 20 year school reunion at Braemar College, where I attended all of my six high school years. Earlier this year I touched base with a few friends I was still in contact with, stating that we should get something going, as it's all to easy to let an occasion such as this slip by. So, after helping to get the ball rolling, apart from the odd addition, I was pretty hands-off as a few more diligent parties really dug deep trying to locate and inform our schoolfriends.

It was a spin-out seeing around a third of our year level, complete with receding hairlines and growing bellies (I've managed to avoid both of them - he he). Genevieve was, again, a bit of an attention grabber. One schoolfriend even stated that she could use her in some marketing/advertising! She seemed to enjoy it all, as well as scaling the narrow stairs up to the top of the tower.

(Oh, and in case you are wondering, I don't really feel old at all - in fact, fitter and happier than I've ever been).

Sleepyheads

2006-10-03T21:18:00.000+10:00

Cory got to have a sleep in this morning as he had a briefing in Yarraville instead of having to go into St Kilda Rd. Genevieve woke at 6am as usual, I gave her a feed and she fell asleep on me. I was wide awake so I thought I would take Ben for a walk and leave the two sleepyheads in bed together.... so cute!

Pussycat, pussycat, where have you been?

2006-10-02T20:07:00.000+10:00

Tabitha is still alive. She's pushing 17 years old and we've thought, at quite a few stages, that she was on her last legs but then she comes good. Unfortunately, she smells like she died some time ago.

Genevieve doesn't seem to mind her stinkiness and has started taking a lot of interest in her as she's walking past. And now that Genevieve has mastered the art of sitting and reaching for things, Tabby is no exception. Tabby seems to like the attention though, giving that it's the only attention she gets these days seeing how she is so stinky.

Happy trails

2006-10-01T13:08:00.000+10:00

For around a year, I've had one of those eBay searches set up to try and get a bike trailer that we can put Genevieve in. They're pretty hot property on eBay, and second-hand ones go for almost as much as new ones (and there's no way I'd be paying full price for one!)

Anyway, after many that went for too much than we are prepared to pay, we got one for a decent price. It's in showroom condition - seriously, the tyres look like they've only seen carpet. It's a really good brand too, Croozer, and comes with a 'castor' style wheel for the front so you can clip it off the bike and have it as a stroller, as well as another large wheel for the front for 'jogging' mode.

So we got Genevieve a kiddy helmet and thought we'd give it a go. She really needs to be a little older for any regular treks, or decent distances, but our shops are only 5 minutes walk away and we thought we could make use of the trailer to bring home some of the staples - in no particular order, fruit and veg, bread and milk and some sparkling wine.

I took the trip there, and Genevieve seemed to really like the trailer - but not the helmet all that much. On the way back we swapped so that Nai could get a feel for it. By sheer coincidence (!) that was also when we had a lot more to carry. But it really makes little difference. You do feel the trailer on there, but it's very easy to pedal along and we were taking it VERY slowly anyway.

The Grand Final

2006-09-30T18:37:00.000+10:00

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

2006-09-29T22:56:00.000+10:00

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

2006-09-26T19:38:00.000+10:00

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

2006-09-24T19:20:00.000+10:00

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

2006-09-23T19:06:00.000+10:00

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

2006-09-20T19:20:00.000+10:00

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

2006-09-17T18:07:00.000+10:00

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

2006-09-10T14:16:00.000+10:00

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!

2006-09-10T12:59:00.000+10:00

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

2006-09-09T21:50:00.000+10:00

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

2006-09-05T22:25:00.000+10:00

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

2006-09-03T18:23:00.000+10:00

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

2006-09-02T16:13:00.000+10:00

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.

Spin me round

2006-08-29T21:40:00.000+10:00

The other night Genevieve woke up at 4am. Although she didn't cry, we could hear her playing in her cot and playing with her aquarium for about an hour.

Later, when we decided to get up for our breakfast, we saw that she had managed to wriggle herself around across the cot, instead of the normal way we'd put her in. It looks like we've got a little cot-surfer now.

Walkin inna win terwund der land

2006-08-27T19:37:00.000+10:00

We have managed to get away as a family once before, to the wedding we went to in Rutherglen. So in late May, we thought that it'd be achievable to head up to the snow this year. Last year, we had our big around-the-world trip, during which we found out that Naomi was pregnant, so those two factors meant that getting up for a slide just didn't happen. So this year, we were pretty keen to make it happen.

So, with the regular crew, we booked some apartments in Bright. However, since we did the same thing two years ago, one of the crew has moved to NZ (and probably still hasn't gone to the snow over there even though it's a bumper year), another has found love (as well as the love of his two young boys) and we have had Genevieve. So it wasn't quite party-central as it had been previously.

I took the Friday off, so we could just cruise up there. So we packed the car 'tetris-style' and set off around 11am. It was just as well, as it took a little longer than previous times, with stopping for feeds, changes and just the odd cuddle. But we landed, unpacked and set up Genevieve's stuff in record speed.

Once everyone arrived, Paul, or resident 'little-brother' called it for an 8am start. And, I'm very proud to say that without any undue effort, we were ready at 7:50. of course, Paul wasn't ready until 8:15.

Once we drove up, we settled in at Swindler's, or SWNDLRS as the cool-kids call it these days. Naomi and I were gonna tag-team. She had first shift with Genevieve, then I'd come and an let her have a go, and so on. So I went out for a little while, making sure that my mate Brendan found the Summit run OK, gauged his comfort level and then tried a few other runs before heading back in. Naomi was a bit anxious about heading out - it had been 2 years since she last boarded and, of course, a lot has happened since then. So I wanted her to get out before the snow softened too much. While she was gone, I tried to give Genevieve a feed (getting a take-away large cappucino cup full of hot water, to heat her pumpkin/sweet potato/zucchini puree). It was reasonably successful, although she did wear a lot of it.

Naomi came back in a little later than I expected, which was great. After one run she realised she remembered it all and she had a ball. She was quite impressed with her efforts, but she'd had enough, so I was out amongst it for the rest of the afternoon.

We headed off around 4:30, before the traffic and got back to Bright before Genevieve got too upset, and gave her a regular feed and tummy time. She was such a good girl. We were highly conscious that this could have been the weekend from hell, but it was actually pretty easy. However, we had to check out at 10am so to go up the mountain a second day, with all of the gear packed into the car, we both agreed it was going to be too much hassle to get our snow gear out, set up camp in Swindlers etc etc. So instead, we thought we'd have a nice sedate Sunday cruising the various wineries and gourmet eateries around the Alpine Shire.

We all had a wonderful weekend and we are glad we made the effort. It was great to get out on the snowboard. It was also great that we could so easily juggle looking after Genevieve, and getting some runs in. I can't wait until next year (no point in going again this year, as Australia's snow season hasn't been great).

Sleeeeeeeeeeeeeep!!?

2006-08-23T20:17:00.000+10:00

I've heard far too many women complain about their husbands/ partners not getting up to think that it's just a matter of blokes being lazy. I will often sleep through Genevieve's cries, although a slight stirring of the dog or a possum in the tree will wake me. Perhaps there's a primal reason - so I can go hunting the next day?

Anyway, last night was not one of those nights. We've been trying to stop Genevieve needing a night-feed (which is a pretty normal thing to do at around 6 months). One strategy, that has worked, more-or-less, is Genevieve getting a 'dream' or 'roll-over' feed at around 10:30pm. This means that (hopefully) she won't get hungry until the morning. However, she is still in the habit of waking around 3am or so. Generally, she'll just wake, gurgle to herself a little and then settle herself back to sleep.

Last night, however, we had hours of screaming. She was overtired and just wouldn't settle. In the end, it was a bit easier for me to settle her, as I don't smell like her next meal.

So Naomi and I were suffering. It was the worst night I'd had since Genevieve was a newborn. But, of course, Little-G woke up bright as a button. Perhaps she was just getting me back for the prosepect of inheriting the family nose?

Water wings

2006-08-19T22:04:00.000+10:00

I'd been looking forward to today all week, and not just because it was the weekend. Naomi had managed to find a pool that wasn't too far away, that practiced the water awareness training we were keen to try - beyond what we had been doing ourselves. Part of it is to get started as young as possible, and our local pool doesn't allow babies under 1 year old in their lessons.

But this one has their yardstick at 6 months, so we were in. Each week, they try a new basic skill and this week it was bobbing under water - which is a good thing as it's something we've been practicing with Genevieve for months now. It was a lot of fun, with lots of appropriation of nursery-rhyme lyrics to give them more aquatic themes. She was the youngest there, so everyone was quite impressed we were taking the effort. And, of course, everyone adored her.

Genevieve really seemed to have a ball, and her eyes were darting around taking it all in. She did get somewhat distracted by a lot of it, and so at times almost took in a lungful. But she didn't let it stop her, and the half-hour rolled around very quickly. It'll be good to go to every weekend.

Oompa Loompa

2006-08-15T18:55:00.000+10:00

"If your baby is otherwise well but turning yellow before your eyes it's almost certainly because of her consumption of foods containing betacarotine..."
: Baby Love pg 467 - Robin Barker

As we've said, we've been feeding Genevieve quite a few solids, including quite a bit of sweet potato, pumpkin and carrot. Can you see what's in common with these? Yep, they're orange. And accordingly, Genevieve's face is starting to look a little like Nanna's did back in the 70s when she took those tanning tablets.

6 months old!

2006-08-11T19:24:00.000+10:00

She's growing up so fast - look, she's even reading.

She had her six-month injections, which are the last she'll have until twelve months (thank goodness!) She was pretty good, but I was a bit traumatised.

In the last month Genevieve has grown another 1 cm and put on 490g. This means she is now 64cm long and weighs 6.2kg (13lb11).

Feed Me!

2006-08-07T22:00:00.000+10:00

Well the weaning has been coming along really well! So far Genevieve has tasted (and liked) rice cereal, pear, sweet potato and pumpkin. Next on the list are apple, zucchini, potato and banana.

She will sit in her high chair and patiently wait for her food to be ready and then she tries to help feed herself by grabbing the spoon or bowl. Feeding time can end up looking like a full contact sport. But it's all fun.