Introducing Charlotte Grace

On 22 December 2008 at 9.55am we were blessed with a little daughter, Charlotte Grace (7lbs 6oz, 3.4kg). Here's some pics of her first few days...

Our little explorer

Noah loves exploring things... peering into every nook and cranny, checking out the contents of every cupboard he can reach, flicking switches, and poking around the backyard. Only 13 days til he becomes a big brother!

November News

Not long now til 'Evergreen' (bub #2) arrives. I look like I've swallowed a large basket ball. Apart from a dodgy ear (recovering from a ruptured ear drum after a prolonged bout of hayfever/cold), I'm healthy and so is bub. Stuart is looking considerably more relaxed since handing up his final case study... now there's just one big exam to go before he can put his feet up (and catch up on sleep!). Noah is going well. He's quite assertive at the moment, full of energy and learning lots. He's in a 'big boys' bed now with the cot being recently converted into a toddler bed. Seems to be working well. His greatest loves at the moment seem to be blueberries (he could eat his weight in them and STILL want more - expensive tastes!!), closely followed by peacocks, emus and ducks (found at the Hamilton Botanic Gardens); and of course "Daddy". He says 'NO' quite a lot, and everything that he can't open is 'Stuck!'. He can spot a plane from a mile away, and does cute ambulance siren sounds whenever we pass one. He's into babies at the moment which hopefully is a sign that he's looking forward to his little brother/sister arriving on the scene soon. He's throwing the occasional tantrum too which is a contrast to his usual cheerful self. Winston and Toby are still part of the family. Haven't found a new home for them yet... perhaps we won't. They will just have to toughen up and survive the next couple of years with minimal attention. They continue to 'accidently' bump Noah over, bark at full moons or possums/cats in the night disrupting our precious sleep, and be their usual goofy selves. But we love them. Especially Noah, he loves his 'Big Dogs'.

Loves his daddy!

A night out

This was taken on Saturday night when we were out at dinner at the Roxburgh with Aunty Christine and Uncle Bruce. If you look closely you'll see purple smears on Noah's face... that's his 'blueberry grin'. Great night out!

Having fun

Here's Noah having fun with his friends Flynn and Noah H... by the looks on their faces perhaps Noah let something slip?!

Free to a good home

This is really hard to say, but after much prayer and consideration we've decided to start looking for a new home for our dogs. Not that we don;t love them anymore, but they're just not adapting well to their new place in the family. Toby's not too bad, but Winston seems to resent Noah and shows little to no interest in playing with him and has become increasingly naughty (eg. running away when he's let off the lead). He's been the 'baby' for so long and he's not appreciating the changes. The sad thing is Noah LOVES them. He's a huge fan of dogs, big and small.
They come as a package deal. 9 year old pups! Super healthy but not as fit as they have been given the lack of walks they've had these last 18 months. With another baby soon to arrive and Stuart's big work/study load we know that the next 18 months will be pretty bleak for our furry friends as we;ll have little time to play with them and give them the attention (and exercise) they so desperately need. If you are interested, or know someone who might be, please give us a call. They're great dogs, just a little clumsy around toddlers.

Noah, Winston & Toby

Noah having fun with the dogs.

Giant Otters!

Took our neglected pooches to Nigretta Falls for an outing. They LOVED swimming in the chilly water. Nice picnic spot.

Little farm boy

Here's Noah having fun with his little friends, Angus and Arbella... and of course the little lambs!

Driving the 'truck'

We borrowed our friend's ute this week (or 'truck' as Noah calls it!) to tidy up some branches from the backyard. Noah had fun driving it... seemed to have problems reaching the pedals though...

Squeals of joy

Here's some pics of Noah having fun in one of those coin operated machine things they have in shopping malls...

Walk in the park

These pics were taken about 5 min before a small hail storm!

IGA's cool shopping trolleys

Up and running!

Noah ran for the first time yesterday... out a shop towards the main street! And he had this cheeky little laugh when I was calling him to stop as he went faster!! He's going through a growth spurt too. Eating and sleeping more than usual. He's also developed his first obsession (which is apparently normal for his age?!). He LOVES the CARS movie. Will sit in front of the tv watching that for AGES without moving a muscle. It's my new babysitter! I can have a shower and get dressed in peace while he watches 'Mater' and 'Lightning'. And if we go out for dinner with friends, we can now get through the meal (including dessert AND coffee) if he's plonked in front of the movie. The pregnancy is going well. Unfortunately we weren't able to tell the sex of the bub from the 20 wk scan cos his/her legs were crossed firmly so we'll all just have to wait til Christmas to find out.

Noah's up and walking!

Yep, after taking a few cautious steps a few weeks ago (whilst visiting Aunty Katie) Noah is now walking around. Still crawls if he wants to get somewhere quickly but tending to walk more than crawl now. He's quite talkative too, learning new words everyday. As for the littlest perrywinkle we shall catch a glimpse next week at our 20 wk scan. Can't believe I'm halfway through the pregnancy already! Stuart about to enter into negotiations with the Hamilton Medical Group regarding next year (final year of GP training), so we're 99% sure we'll be in Hamilton again for 2009.

Fun with Aunty Katie

Down the beach

Aloha, Port Fairy

Hello. We're back from a weeks "holiday" in Port Fairy... not the relaxing fun week away we had planned, but a break from Stu's work and a change of scenery at least. Noah has a yucky cold and was completely MISERABLE... 90% of the time... the other 10% he was super happy playing in a hot spa for hours on end (NOte: Even babies get wrinkly if they're in the water long enough!!). We loved our ocean views. Saw a whale the first morning, and a seal a few days later. Noah loved watching 'doggies' walking past. He seems obsessed with them at the moment. Can spot a dog a mile away!

We're expanding!

Introducing the newest little Perrywinkle! Scheduled to arrive around Christmas/New Year!

Catching up

Managed to catch up with an old friend this weekend in Melbourne which was really nice. Went out for dinner at the most kid-friendly place I've ever been: Castella's in Berwick Springs! Noah was sooooo excited with the massive playground he nearly hyperventilated before we'd got inside. Fun night!

Australian Kelpie Muster

Noah enjoyed the animal nursery at the big Kelpie Muster in Casterton this weekend. He loved the ducks and the dogs, thought the lamb was pretty cuddly, but wasn't interested in the bunnies or chooks...

Cold weather is no deterrent

Noah still loves the park. Even when it's freezing!

Day out in the Grampians

Flower Power

Dead Doona!

How dumb are our dogs?!! We give them a doona to keep warm and they 'attack' it... dumb and dumber!

The beloved teddy

Winter already?!!

Big Boy

Noah's learning lots these days. Yesterday he used his spoon to scoop food up and into his mouth! (up til now he's just banged it on things); he's getting more confident 'cruising' around furniture and play grounds; and is more interested in books. Our long weekend got off to a tired start with Noah having his roughest night ever. He had a funny tummy and lots of wind so kept waking and screaming. Stuart took him for a drive around 1 am and spent the night sleeping in the car along side the road, then later in the driveway. We all got a hopeless sleep. Looking forward to a long weekend... with a happy little Noah and some quality family time (and sleep!!). Had hoped to get out and do some walks but the weather is forecast to get REALLY cold, wet, thundery and windy so perhaps we'll stay in... oh yeah, and did I mention the hail?!

Noah and lovely Lucy