Friday, September 30, 2005
Running in Randwick
Yesterday, it was my turn to head out to the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, this time as part of our Thursday night run; this week around Randwick. Although Anna and Caitlin had decided to stay at home, Meg and her son Robert were there, so it was nice to catch up and compare developments (no crawling, no teeth but lots of attempted movement were the common themes).
This weekend we're heading up to the Hunter Valley. We're staying with some old friends of mine, Sharon and Steve, who we haven't seen much of recently; so it will be nice to see them and sample the odd glass of the local wine. The other excitement is that our local team is involved in the NRL Grand Final - so good luck to them!
Chris
posted at 9:02 pm 0 comments
Thursday, September 29, 2005
Mothers in the East
Anna, Caitlin and the rest of the mothers' group had arranged to meet up over in Centennial Park for a change so that they could all enjoy a stroll around, as well as the obligatory coffee and chat. However, as Anna hasn't done a lot of driving around Sydney, she was a little nervous how she would navigate her way there in the car (as the route from Balmain requires that you go through the city centre) - I'm pleased to report that they made it there and back quite safely.
The return of The Biggest Loser show here has inspired Anna & I to make more of an effort to eat and exercise well, which was reflected in our weekly shopping trip. It remains to be seen whether we actually eat the healthy items we purchased, or decide to make a run for the local Indian...
Chris
posted at 9:13 pm 0 comments
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
In the Pen
First up, Sarah requested a shot of Anna's new hair style - however, as I've found out, getting pictures of Anna is no easy task, so the best I can offer currently is the small picture above; which you can click on to view in its original size (big!).
Anna was able to make some progress with her drawing exercises yesterday, but in order to do so she had to "pen" Caitlin into her play-pen, otherwise she was far too eager to make a bee-line for the various objects that we'll need to secure in the near future! However, once penned in Caitlin was happy to amuse herself as long as Anna wasn't too far away.
Finally, for those of you with a few seconds to spare, Google has verified a couple of very short videos that I uploaded from our trip to Botany Bay. Plus, they have altered their interface to allow you to view the video as big as your browser window. Click on the video link at the top to see the latest additions.
Chris
posted at 9:58 pm 0 comments
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
No Score Draw
In theory, Anna and Caitlin were supposed to have a quiet day yesterday. Although Anna has finished her first semester, she has some additional drawing exercises that she wanted to do and, as she wasn't looking after Willow yesterday, was hoping to make a start. However, Kerry called suggesting a trip to the swimming pool, which they all enjoyed, but afterwards Caitlin was being particularly demanding - hopefully, she'll have more luck today.
As an end-of-the-month treat, I've also uploaded the following photo albums:
Chris
posted at 9:54 pm 0 comments
Monday, September 26, 2005
Lost in Botany Bay
The weather seemed set fair when we woke on Saturday, so we decided to head to the Woolwich Pier Hotel for lunch. To minimize any risk of the pub being too busy, due to the football, we took the ferry from the end of our road and arrived just after 12pm. After a very tasty lunch, we made our way back home in time to catch the start of the AFL Grand Final.
Football (AFL) is not really followed that closely in New South Wales but, with the local team (Sydney Swans) in the final, there had been a little more interest here - which may increase now, as the Swans ended up victorious in a very tight game. However, the celebrations didn't really kick into action until our local football (Rugby League) team, the Wests Tigers, won their semi-final to make it into the NRL Grand Final next week!
On Sunday, we decided to venture out to the Botany Bay National Park, for a walk through the bush along the headlands. Although we had a very enjoyable walk (Caitlin, in particular, greatly enjoyed the scenery), the trails weren't particularly well marked, so we ended up doing a little more scrabbling around than we intended. After all that sea air, we both tucked eagerly into our Sunday roast when we got home!
Chris
posted at 9:25 pm 2 comments
Friday, September 23, 2005
Bondi
Anna, Caitlin and I all headed over to Bondi last night, for our Thursday night run/walk. Afterwards, we joined the gang in the Bondi Hotel for a bite to eat, and Caitlin got to sample her first chip. She seemed to be as interested in the idea of squishing the potato out, with her fingers, as actually eating it - but she did have a little bit. As it was pretty dark by the time we set off, no-one really had the opportunity to notice Anna's new hair-do, but I can confirm that it looks very nice.
With the season reaching its peak for a number of sports, the weekend will probably involve a little bit of the AFL Grand Final (which the Sydney Swans are in). With Anna having completed her latest round of violin rehearsal, we may also try and make it slightly further afield on Sunday.
Chris
posted at 9:06 pm 0 comments
Thursday, September 22, 2005
More and more
Anna, quite rightly, pointed out to me that I don't always mention it when I've uploaded new photos and videos (clicking the links in the navigation bar above will always show them). So, just to let you know that I've been moving more of our photos up to "flickr" in the last couple of days - there should be something there for everyone!
Anna is heading off to the hairdresser today for the first time in a little while - I haven't seen the result, but apparently she's decided to go for something quite short compared to her previous style. The salon she chose has a childcare section incorporated (which seems like a really good idea), so she could take Caitlin along with her. As the weather today is really nice, Anna has decided to join me over in Bondi for tonight's run to show off her locks.
Chris
posted at 7:14 pm 0 comments
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Food, glorious food
Caitlin's diet has been steadily widening over the last couple of months, from a spoon of rice cereal each day, to the current stage of three (small) cups of veggies & fruit a day. Along with that, of course, her taste buds are also kicking in and she is starting to show a preference for certain things. After their music lesson, Anna got some lentils while she was out shopping and made up a batch of lentil-based puree which Caitlin seems to think is the best thing since sliced bread - or at least much better than the mashed carrot!
As they run a four-semester college year here, this week also marks the end of Anna's first semester of her graphic design course. It hardly seems like any time since she started, but that's probably because I'm accustomed to three-term years. The final night of this semester, Anna is attending one of the lectures given by people "in the industry" at UTS, which should provide a bit more insight into the day-to-day skills required.
Chris
posted at 7:28 pm 0 comments
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Back again
Apologies for the lack of recent updates, but I've been attending a technical training course for the last two weeks, which has meant that I haven't had much chance to post. A brief update of our activities over the last couple of weeks follows:
- Caitlin has become quite a bit more vocal and active in the last couple of weeks. It always used to be the case that she would remain pretty quiet when there were any strangers around, but she seems to be much more comfortable talking in front of people now. She has also been trying (as yet in vain) to master crawling, and she's getting ever closer to putting it all together - however, even though she can't crawl, she can roll and spin herself around well enough that, if you take your eyes off her for a minute, she will get into all sorts of places!
- Anna's latest sinfonia concert took place last weekend, and Caitlin & I were there for the rehearsal but decided that it would be best to not try and gag her during the performance itself. Anna was very pleased with her playing, as she had practised pretty hard for the Dvorak symphony.
- The weekend before, we all visited the Bundanoon Hotel, as part of a weekend trip along with some of our running friends. We all had a good walk around the nearby National Park, and had some great chocolate eclairs from the local bakery.
- Finally, we stayed up for the drama of the final days' play in the fifth test at The Oval - Anna will tell you that I wasn't in the best of moods as the players departed for lunch; but all's well that ends well!
Chris
posted at 11:37 pm 2 comments
Monday, September 05, 2005
In Stokke?
We spent Saturday doing a little tour around to view a variety of highchairs and, once we had decided on the one we wanted, checking if anyone had it in stock. The colour we originally decided on seemed to be out of stock everywhere, so we settled for a similar colour which, on reflection, works out better where we have it - so a good result all round!
On Sunday, due to poor weather, Willow's naming ceremony had to be re-arranged to take place indoors in Balmain rather than at Centennial Park. So, we joined the group of around 20-30 guests in Kerry and AJ's apartment for the formalities, and then settled into an indoor picnic which was a very pleasant way to spend Fathers Day. Anna and Caitlin had also bought me a gift (as well as the socks & pants that I had requested) which was a nice picture frame, in which we are going to place some early photos of Caitlin.
Chris
posted at 9:05 pm 1 comments
Friday, September 02, 2005
Nesting
Anna and Caitlin came into the city to meet me for lunch today, and we had a very enjoyable meal at the Rockefeller Cafe. With the CBD always busy around lunchtime, it can be quite tricky trying to manoeuvre a pram around, but the cafe was reasonably quiet when we got there so we got a good spot before it got too busy.
The weekend ahead is scheduled to include:
- A possible visit to Top 3 By Design
- The final game in the Tri Nations rugby
- A trip to Centennial Park to attend Willow's naming ceremony, followed by a fathers' day afternoon picnic
Chris
posted at 9:45 pm 0 comments
Thursday, September 01, 2005
Spring has sprung
Here in Australia, today is the first day of Spring - I think it was decided that the first of the month was easier to remember - we can now put those cold 15-degree centigrade days behind us and start toning up for the beach!
The run tonight was from North Sydney, although Anna and Caitlin didn't make it out as Caitlin has been a little snuffly during the day - probably caused by some of the infection that Willow had earlier in the week. After weeks of no rain at all in Sydney, it looked as though the clouds were about to descend this evening (just as we were due to start the run), but we didn't receive more than a few drops.
Chris
posted at 10:59 pm 0 comments
