Christine's Musings

Snow Day!

2012-01-22T23:27:00.000+10:30

My first true winter snow in New York. It was really beautiful and not too cold at all. Uh-mazing!

View from our apartment

Eloise - Month Five

2012-01-20T17:49:00.000+10:30

Week 18 - Dec 20 - Dec 23

We had a baby nurse visit us to give us help with Eloise's terrible sleep habits. Amazingly, we were able to get her to sleep in the crib for two naps during the day - something she had been unable to do up until now. So fantastic. I was also told that I was feeding her too frequently, so have to cut back to during the day, no oftener than every 3 hours, and at night, no oftener than every 4 hours. This means some pain for us as we will have to settle her back to sleep at night when she wakes instead of the easy path of me feeding her back to sleep ...

The rest of the week we tried to keep up with the advice, but it was hard when we were going out so much and couldn't keep on a schedule.

Development-wise, this week Eloise spent a lot of time on her back on the floor happily watching us or amusing herself. Her grip improved dramatically. She now reaches for objects and examines them, usually shoving them in her mouth.

Christmas in Sydney Hyde Park.

Hyde Park 17 wks.

Week 19 - Dec 24 - Dec 31

Eloise's first Christmas! She was spoiled by her family. It was so lovely to celebrate with her - looking forward to the next Christmases as she gets older and can open presents and understand what it all means.

Santa! 18 wks.

Christmas Day.

Developmental changes this week: Trying to roll from front to back. She lifts her legs and can roll to her side, but can't quite get over.First finger and thumb constantly in the mouth.

Eloise has also started to develop a pincer grip with these fingers, using them to grab her ear, her nappy, and more. She reaches for us all the time now, particularly our faces. She has also started blowing raspberries! She blows them non stop :)

First swim in a pool this week. Eloise really loved the water and was in for over an hour. We also took her to Balmoral Beach and put her feet in the sand and in the water. She didn't know what to think of it all!

First swim! 18 wks.

At Balmoral Beach.

Week 20 - Jan 1 - Jan 7 2012

Our last week in Sydney. After doing way too much and going out too much, Eloise was finding it hard to sleep, frequently waking up after we put her down to sleep.

The big event for this week was Eloise's naming day. She was a bit overwhelmed by all the people, but was really good natured and managed to put her toes in her mouth for the first time. It was such a fantastic day, with our friends and relatives coming down from Newcastle, over from Perth and all over Sydney.

Cutting the Eloise cake at Eloise's naming day.

Developmentally, Eloise is changing so much. She rolled over for the first time from front to back (3/1/12). She is really interested in everything we are doing, especially when we are eating or drinking. She also loves touching our faces and following out voices. She is chatting a lot now - even during the night when I feed her, she happily chats away.

Eloise is suddenly so interested in everything. She reaches for our faces frequently, as well as anything we are eating or drinking.

Last big event for the week was the trip back to New York. A huge 24 hours - 12.5 hour flight from Sydney to LA, a four hour layover, then a 4.5 hour flight from LA to New York. Eloise was pretty fussy and didn't sleep much on the first flight, but was in a fabulous mood and slept for most of the second flight.

On the Virgin flight from LA to NY.

Week 21 - Jan 8 - 13
JETLAG. This week is all about jetlag. Eloise was hit really badly by it on the return leg and hardly slept for nights.

Eloise is really enjoying putting her feet in her mouth. She is also loving our water bottles and reaches for them frequently. She is constantly reaching for things now, so curious about everything in the world. Her co-ordination is improving as well. She really loves Sophie the giraffe now. The toy is the perfect size for her to grab and put in her mouth.

Eloise and Sophie.

Eloise is trying to roll from back to front. She's slowly getting there ... a great improvement is that we can now put her down on the floor and she happily plays there for a while on her own.

Trying to roll.

Week 22 - Jan 14 - 20
First solid! Organic whole grain rice cereal, mixed with formula. I think she enjoyed it - at least, she was very curious about it, and didn't spit it back out. (16/1/12).

Towards the end of the week, the jetlag seemed to finally wear off, and her sleeping returned to normal - waking at around 9:39, then 12:30-1am, 4:40, then 6am. Blergh. So tired.

A great first this week was Eloise falling asleep in her stroller, not once, but twice! Uh-mazing.

She is really loving exploring our faces and mouths, particularly our teeth. She is so fascinated with everything we are wearing and doing.

Loving my teeth.

This week was our first outing in the cold.

First outing with Daddy. Minus 2 degrees C.

Eloise's Naming Day

2012-01-02T18:52:00.000+10:30

We decided to hold a naming day for Eloise. The main reason for this was to give all of our family and friends the opportunity to meet Eloise and for us to catch up with them. We're also not religious, hence the naming day rather than a christening. The day was just lovely - so many wonderful family and friends coming to see us and the little lady.

Her amazing Eloise cake

The lady of the hour! Eloise, 19 wks.

I've included our speech below for posterity.

Welcome everyone and thank you for coming. It’s with great pleasure and pride that we introduce you all to our daughter, Eloise Elizabeth Thomas. We are so happy that you were all able to attend today to welcome her into our family and community. We’d like to especially thank our relatives who travelled to be here today - Noelene and Kay from Perth, and Allan and Lisa from the Hunter Valley, and Bob, and cousins Debbie, Glen, Karen, Darryl and Sara, from Muswellbrook and Maitland.

We chose the name Eloise after seeing some books about a little girl called Eloise set at the Plaza hotel in New York. The little girl in the books is charismatic, outgoing and a touch feisty - all qualities we hope our little girl may one day have. We chose Elizabeth as a middle name as it is a traditional name that many of the women in the Knight family have been given - it’s also the name of my favourite literary character, Elizabeth Bennet - another strong female role model we would like for Eloise to relate to.

As you all know, we made the hard decision to move to New York after we found out we were expecting Eloise. As neither of us had spent a great deal of time around babies previously, so we had no idea what to expect, or how truly hard it would be. Your messages of love, support and advice during the pregnancy, after the birth and through the first few tough months were so very appreciated.

Anyone who has had kids know how much they change your world the minute they arrive. Our lives have never been so challenging, as interesting and as filled with love. Even through the haze of extreme sleep deprivation and what seemed like non-stop screaming fits, it was impossible not to look at Eloise and coo “awww she’s so goddam cute!”. Thankfully, our little lady has already developed into an alert, beautiful, happy person, even though she still doesn’t think it’s necessary to sleep.

Today we would also like to introduce Eloise’s god parents. Our good friends, Rosalie, Daniel and Shelley have kindly agreed to be her god parents. We know that they will be there for Eloise as she grows up - as aunts and uncle when she’s little, mentors as a teen, and as friends when she’s an adult.

Eloise may have been born in New York, but she is still a little Aussie through and through. We fly back to New York on Friday, but will be back to visit and eventually again to live. We hope that you will all play a part in her life in the years to come as she grows into the amazing little person she has already shown promise to become.

One final thank you to our parents for their constant love and support, and thank you all again for coming.

Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012

2012-01-01T18:44:00.000+10:30

2011 was a mammoth year. It really shook things up not just in the obvious ways - new country, new baby - but it also challenged me mentally and emotionally, shaking me to the core. I hope I've emerged a stronger person out of it. I'm not good at doing things outside of my comfort zone, so I'm surprised that I was able to push myself to do four things this year that terrified me.

Terrifying thing one: Moving to New York. While pregnant. On my own. It was so hard. Alec had moved over 6 weeks before me, so I was left to tidy up loose ends and fly over on my own, all during the first trimester. The flight was awful. For some reason, I didn't tell the crew I was pregnant and suffered in silence sitting next to the kitchen on the flight while the smell of food and coffee made me queasy. On the LA - NY leg I threw up. And again in the can from the airport. Everything from there on in was hard for the first few months. Finding a place to live. Finding doctors. Making new friends. All while pregnant. It was the hardest thing I had ever done up until that point.

Terrifying thing two: Quitting my job. After trying to transfer to the NY office for a few weeks, I was unable to find a suitable position and so quit my job. I was scared that without a job I would be bored and lonely and lack purpose. Thankfully this was not the case. I made new friends, took up yoga and attended a great photography course.

Terrifying thing three: Childbirth. The birth was horrific. No more needs to be said.

Terrifying thing four: What to do with a baby?! Having no experience with babies prior to having Eloise, I had no idea what to expect. I certainly didn't expect this tiny person who screamed non stop and wouldn't sleep. Ever, it seemed. Thankfully things slowly improved as the months went by, and now, even though Eloise still doesn't sleep well, she is a delight to have.

What will 2012 hold? The focus will be on Eloise - getting her to sleep better for a start, then helping her develop as she grows. We also hope to travel more, to the Caribbean and somewhere in Europe. I also hope to focus again on photography - taking more courses and improving my skills, as well as making more local friends in Brooklyn. I want to experience everything New York has to offer while we're living there.

Christmas Day 2011

2011-12-25T19:22:00.000+10:30

This year was special as it was Eloise's first! There is something magical about Christmas and kids. EVen though Eloise is too young to enjoy it yet, it's already more fun because she's with us.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T00:30:00.000+10:30

Eloise - Month Four

2011-12-20T03:41:00.000+10:30

Week 14 - Nov 19 - 25
Eloise graced us with another 5 hour night stretch, followed the next night by a 6 hour stretch (with a dream feed in the middle). Sadly it was followed by a week of no more than 3 hour stretches at a time ...

We had our first road trip to Sonoma wine country. Of course, Eloise hated the car seat ... we realised it was too much for her to deal with afterwards and in future. Strangely, after her good nights, she had several more bad days of screaming and not wanting to sleep. What's up with that, baby girl?! After more trial and error, we realised that she didn't mind the car if she went in just after she had been fed and was in her happy and alert period. As soon as she reached her tired period, she freaked out. No going to sleep in the car for this little lady.

Sonoma.

On the development side, Eloise is developing great neck and trunk strength, and is getting closer to being able to sit up on her own. She is grabbing toys and trying to stick them in her mouth. She loves LCD screens and can be entertained by putting the iPhone onto camera mode so she can watch herself on the screen.

Eloise experienced her first Thanksgiving this week. We had a fantastic day, with my brother, Tim, and sister-in-law, Michele, driving up to spend the day with us, and our local friends also coming around for lunch. It was a really merry lunch and so much fun. Eloise was also an angel and behaved beautifully. Almost no screaming, lots of naps and a very happy little lady during the day.

Week 15 - Nov 26 - Dec 2
We seem to have regressed into more screaming ... now Eloise screams every time she has to go to sleep, including if she's in the BabyBjorn carrier out on the street. Previously she would be lulled to sleep by this and no screaming. Now it's wailing, plus wailing at home pre naps and bed time. We are trying something new this week - putting her down in her bed drowsy but awake, and rocking her to sleep. Monday went well - 30 mins of wailing and whinging for the most part, but she went down. The rest of the week really saw a difference. She was easier to out down as the week progressed and stopped screaming in her carrier.

Eloise has made huge leaps in development this week. She's suddenly found her legs, and loves to kick and straighten them alternately all day. She is also putting things in her mouth, like our fingers, her fists and toys. Since she won't take the dummy, we're desperately hoping she will self-soothe.

The biggest thing that happend this week was Eloise sat up by herself, on 30/11. On the same day, she shoved one finger in her mouth, but has been unable to do it again since.

Her eyesight has also improved. She can see us smiling at her from across a room, and smiles back at us, and she can see graphics on people's t-shirts. She loves Alec's Twitter bird tee and is mesmerised by it.

Eloise has been making a funny new smile this week, a tight-lipped one instead of the open-mouthed one, and hasn't been coo-ing and ahh-ing as much. Instead she's grunting and making higher pitched squeals as she discovers her vocal cords.

We had a day trip to Alcatraz over Thanksgiving long weekend with friends. Eloise was not a huge fan - cycling between short periods of feeding and happy awake, then screaming to sleep, then sleeping for 45 mins to an hour in the BabyBjorn. It's really tough getting out an about with her.

At Alcatraz.

We also had a drive around Noe Valley with a local friend, Greg. The car seat was not a winner, but thankfully she was in a fabulous mood when she was awake and we had a really fun brunch and tour of the neighbourhood.

Week 16 - Dec 3 - 10

Another couple of road trips on either side of this week. To Berkeley and to Mountain View. The Berkeley trip was a bit disappointing. The only noteworthy thing was an up-the-back poo that required us to get the little lady completely naked outdoors on the Berkeley university campus. Stay classy, Eloise.

Trying out a new hat in Berkeley.

The second road trip on the following Saturday had a great improvement with screaming in the car seat. The only screaming we had all day was when we were stuck in traffic on the way home. Eloise can't figure out how to go to sleep in the car seat.

This week Eloise wanted to sit up all the time. She got a lot more stable, but still face-planted the couch a few times if I wasn't fast enough to catch her. Her grip developed significantly this week. She is now able to really hold on to things well and put them in her mouth. Her favourite thing to shove in her mouth is still my finger, to chomp on her gums.

We think Eloise has started teething. She is drooling like crazy, shoving things in her mouth, playing with her ears, disrupted sleep. Poor little girl.

Sleep-wise, we had a mixed week. A few nights of awake every 2 hours, but then a few nights of asleep for almost 6 hours (with a dream feed), followed by 3 hour or two hour blocks.

Week 17 - Dec 11 - 16
Lots of vocalising! Lots of loud noises and squeals. She's loud and high pitched. She has greater control of her hands now, easily grabbing things and shoving then in her mouth. She has stopped the constant screaming and is now really happy while she's awake.

This week we had an epic road trip from San Francisco to LA, then flight from LA to Sydney. Eloise was amazingly great on the flight, sleeping for most of it and being really content for the rest. No screaming on landing either!

Week 18 - Dec 16 - 19
We arrived in Sydney on Saturday and spent the day with family and friends who wanted to meet Eloise! What a popular lady! We also met Rosalie's little man, Brandon, who was 4 wks old.

The Sunday after we arrived we had Adam and Davina's wedding at the Royal Botanic Gardens - Eloise's first wedding! It was a gorgeous day and Eloise was super well behaved.

Royal Botanic Gardens, Eloise is 17 wks and 1 day old.

Monday was her four month check up. She weighs 6.3 kg, is 61.5cm long and head circumference of 42cm. She is in the 50th percentile for weight and height, and slightly over 50th percentile for head. She also had her shots - sad panda :(

A great new development is that Eloise is now able to entertain herself for short periods. She is happy lying on her back on the floor or sitting in a bouncer and playing with her favourite toys, the ring set and the princess doll.

Eloise is changing so fast. Every day now she seems to be doing something new. Thankfully she is now a super happy little lady except when it's bed time, and is getting easier and more fun every day. She is really developing her own personality too. She is definite with things she doesn't like already, and has a super short fuse!

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-25T04:56:00.001+10:30

On our first Thanksgiving, I am thankful for a lot in my life. I'm unbelievably thankful for my husband, who has proven patient, understanding and tolerant as well as kind, loving and generous. I'm thankful for the opportunities that have come up in my life, such as moving to New York and travelling the world. I'm unbelievably thankful for our healthy, smart, little girl, who brings so much laughter into our lives. I'm thankful for my own health and fast recovery from the birth, for my old friends back home who have stayed in touch and my new friends who have made me feel at home.

Our Thanksgiving day was fantastic - my brother Tim and his wife Michele drove up to spend the day with us from Palo Alto, and we had our local friends also join us. The result - one big, happy group, with way more food than we could eat.

Eloise - Month Three

2011-11-19T10:30:00.000+10:30

Week 10 - Oct 22 - 28

The night after the sleep coach came we had a breakthrough! Alec and I were able to both sleep in bed at the same time for the first time since E came home. She also napped well the next day.

Sadly the next night and day were a disaster. E had a terrible night, didn't want to sleep, and the next day cried almost all day. Sigh. We still managed to get out to Central Park to see our friends the Sonegos one last time before they head back to Australia, and to have a fun picnic in the sun.

Picnic in Central Park. 9 wks old.

We had a disaster of a week sleep-wise. Eloise started waking up every hour during the night and only napping for 40 minutes tops during the day. I think this is related to the stomach bug I had two weeks ago - I think it lessened my supply. A this same time, Elosie decided she didn't want formula anymore, so we couldn't give her tops ups if she looked hungry. Thankfully, after taking herbal teas, my supply seemed to come back on Friday night, and she slept for 3 lots of 3 hour sessions. Praise be!

Eloise seemed to develop a lot socially this week. She started making new sounds, like a cooing noise, and sounds like she was trying to chat to things, like her favourite mobile. She also started to make a new whiney noise when sad instead of the high pitched screaming. With noticing her drowsy signals more and putting her to bed earlier, we've stopped a lot of the screaming meltdowns. Not all, but more of them, so we have a much happier little girl now.

She also likes to catch our eyes and look at as more, trying to interact with us, smiling and cooing. It's just adorable. We also had a really fun mother's group this week, where the babies all dressed in Halloween outfits.

Week 11 - Oct 29 - Nov 4

Baby's first snow! It snowed on Saturday the 29th - very unseasonal. With a high of 4 degrees, there was no way we were going to leave the house.

We also had Eloise's first Halloween this week. I had a variety of fun hats and outfits for her to wear for the numerous events over the week. She had her owl outfit for mother's group, her bear outfit for the weekend, and her pumpkin hat for wearing on actual Halloween day. On the day there was also a parade in the local park, with lots of local kids and their parents dressed in cool costumes.

Halloween! 10 wks, 2 days old.

We had a sleep breakthrough this week - she slept for 4 hours 15 minutes in one stretch. It might not sound like a big deal, but it made the world of difference to me and my sleep!

Sadly every other night she didn't sleep longer than 3 hours, but she did get a lot easier to put back down towards the end of the week. Instead of taking an hour to two hours to put bak after she woke up, it was only taking 15 - 20 mins to feed and put her back down. Victory!

We also had a baby sitter for the first time this week, to give me a break to run errands and to give me and Alec a night off to have dinner together. Our sitter is lovely and fantastic with Eloise. Pity Eloise is such a tough baby! She's decided she hates the bottle and screams when our sitter tries to give it to her. Sigh.

Week 12 - Nov 5 - 11

We had a great meet up with the other mother's group mums and their partners for a Saturday get together. It was so lovely seeing everyone's husband, as well as really feeling like we are part of the local community now. The more I'm here, the more I really love living in Brooklyn.

I also made a solo trip with Eloise this week into Manhattan to meet Alec at Twitter HQ, and then to walk to Central Park to see the fall colours. Eloise handled the whole thing like a champion - no crying or fussing. Her eyes were as big as saucers the whole time she was awake, staring in wonder at the subway, the office buildings, and then at the amazing colours in the park.

Central Park fall colours. 11 wks 5 days old.

An even bigger day was Friday, Nov 11, when we took Eloise on her first plane trip to San Francisco. She also surprised us by being a perfect baby the majority of the time. She barely made a noise the entire trip, but started crying when we descended and her ears hurt.

Week 13 - Nov 12 - 18

A great week in San Francisco! The first few nights were rocky, as Eloise had bad jetlag. She did however get in a 5 hour sleep at night during this week, a great first.

Our apartment was near the Bay Bridge, right near the waterfront, allowing us to take great walks every day. Eloise started to bat and grab at her toys this week, mostly with her left hand.

12 wks old in San Francisco.

After our great first night we had a rough week with Eloise regressing. She had a few days of not sleeping much at night, fighting going to sleep during the day, crying more and fussing a lot. It was pretty bad, but also coincided with some new developmental skills. As well as batting at her toys, she started grabbing them, then trying to shove them in her mouth. She also started making some new noises and her head and torso muscles became stronger.

Central Park in Fall

2011-11-19T09:01:00.001+10:30

Before heading off to San Francisco, I took a quick trip to Central Park with Alec and Eloise to see the gorgeous colours.

We're in San Francisco!

2011-11-19T05:33:00.001+10:30

Our little girl had her first flight with us to San Francisco just before turning 12 weeks old. We're visiting for 5 weeks for Alec's work before flying back to Sydney for Christmas.

Possum eyes! 12 wks, 4 days old in San Francisco.

Eloise's First Halloween

2011-11-02T03:42:00.003+10:30

Halloween in Brooklyn was insane. Parades all weekend and on Monday the 31st. Stoop decorations. Trick or treating! Sadly E was too young, but maybe next year. In New York kids go trick or treating by visiting the local merchants for candy. Makes much more sense in a city of apartments.

We went all out and had three outfits for the little lady for her first Halloween.

Pumpkin hat from Etsy.com

With Carrie and Beckett from my mother's group. Gourds gotta stick together.

Polar bear outfit from Baby Gap.

Loving it. Kind of.

Owl at mother's group. Hat from Etsy.com, outfit from Baby Gap.

With Clementine the zebra. Clementine was born on the exact same day.

Eloise Newborn Shots

2011-10-23T03:37:00.002+10:30

A few pics from our newborn shoot.

Eloise - Month Two

2011-10-23T03:30:00.000+10:30

Week 5 - Sept 17 - Sept 23

Alec was sent to California for work at the last minute, so we hired a baby night nurse for the week to help me take care of E. While it was really odd to have a stranger in the house taking care of my baby, it was AMAZING to get 8 hours sleep. I felt like a new person, had more energy, and was able to deal with E's fussiness during the day with much more patience. In return, E was a more relaxed baby. Win!

On the Sunday before Alec flew out, we had a lovely day out to the Brooklyn Book Fair and Brooklyn Heights Association dog show. Living in Brooklyn can be so much fun, there's always so much going on all the time.

Windy day with Dad at the Brooklyn Book Fair.

Held her head up on her own for the first time! (19/9). Having more awake time, taking in her surroundings, looking cuter and cuter every day.

E still won't sleep on her back in the crib. Even the night nurse can't get her to do it, which makes me feel a lot better!

At her 1 month check up, E weighed in at 4.25kg (8 pounds 6 oz), measured 21 inches (length) and 37cm (head circumference). The doctor was very pleased with her weight gain and progress. She has to have a repeat sonogram of the hips next week, and if it still shows problems, she will have to go to a specialist.

I've been making more of an effort to get out with E now during the day, such as meeting friends for lunch or afternoon tea and taking long walks to get some exercise. When I walk with E in the sling, she'll get in a good 3 hour sleep. Winner for everyone!

I'm happy to notice as the weeks go by that E still isn't a vomiter. Praise be. She may not sleep on anything other than me and be the gassiest baby alive, but at least she's not a vomiter as well :)

I have been reading a lot lately about silent reflux (thanks Katia for sending me the link!) and E has all of the symptoms. I went back to see the pediatrician and thankfully he agreed with me that she has silent reflux and prescribed her medication to help with it. We have to give it 10 days to see if it works.

I had a great mother's group meet-up this week where we all had a mini-facial. I also managed to get out for a few hours with my friend Carly to have lunch and get a much needed pedicure. It's amazing how much better that made me feel!

One more big milestone for E this week - her first real smile! On Friday (23/9/11) she had several big smiles for Mum and Grandma.

First smiles!

She's also getting so much more aware of the world. After her doctor appointment (23/9), she refused to have her head in the sling on the way home, insisting on having her tiny head sticking out to check out the world around her the entire way home.

Week 6 - Sept 24 - Sept 30

Last week with Grandma in town.

Three generations of Knight women.

We had another sonogram of her hips and the results were completely clear. So relieved. E also was in a great mood and hardly made a peep the whole time.

We had another check up with the pediatrician regarding her reflux - not much improvement so far, so we are seeing a specialist next week.

I had my 6 wk check up as well, and was given the go-ahead to exercise. Super excited - if only I was getting enough sleep to actually go and exercise ...

This week E and I started a 6 week Mom and Me Movement Class at the Mark Morris Dance Center in Brooklyn. E made it through about half the class before cracking it - not too bad!

Mum and baby movement class at the Mark Morris Dance Center. 6 wks, 5 days.

Developmentally, E has started sucking on her hands. Her favourite thing to do is lie on her change table and stare at the window.

Week 7 - Oct 1 - Oct 7

This week was tough. E stopped wanting to feed and started screaming more, in five hour blocks.

We took her to see the gastro pediatric specialist this week, and she gave us some great tips on managing reflux in babies, like making her take breaks while feeding and putting her in chairs/swings that don't crunch her tummy by being at a 90 degree angle. After the specialist we had E's first walk through Central Park and midtown. She was really great, sleeping through most of it.

Sound asleep at the Bethesda Fountain, Central Park.

After the specialist visit, we tried her advice and put E to sleep in her Fisher Price Rainforest vibrating bouncer. She slept for 2.5 solid hours. Breakthrough!! We repeated this the next few nights, but sadly also had a night where she woke up every time we tried to put her down, bothered by the reflux.

Alec worked from home this week, and it was great for us to bond as a family. Sleep deprivation also made us snappy at each other however.

We had a great mothers group meet up this week in Cobble Hill Park. E loved sitting on my lap, checking out the light in the trees.

Week 8 - Oct 8 - Oct 14

Special visitors this week! Shelley, Eric and Isla spent Columbus weekend with us. We had a fantastic day in Prospect Park and Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, where E was an angel. No screaming, taking long peaceful feeds. Some kind of miracle occurred ...

Eloise meets Shelley and Isla.

We also took E for her first trip to Tiffany & Co. She loved it and can't wait to pick out her first diamonds at a later stage ...

Milk drunk in T&C.

I had a killer stomach virus this week that totally floored me. Thank God for Alec helping me out or I couldn't have gotten through the week.

A highlight for the week was Eloise laughing for the first time at a black and white canvas print of her and Alec that we have hanging on our wall. She loves the picture, laughing at it for a about 10 minutes. (13/10/11)

Eloise spends a lot more time awake now. We have a good 2 - 3 hour morning play time where we read her books, play on the activity mat, look at the Wimmer-Ferguson Stim-Mobile on her change table and stare at the fan. She is so alert and gets bored really quickly. The mobile over the change table is such a blessing - I can strap her down on it for up to 30 minutes at a time and she will smile at it like it's her best friend.

The reflux doesn't seem as bad this week in general. A few bad days, but not anywhere near as bad it was a few weeks ago. We're not sure if this is due to the medication, the extra things we're doing to try and help it cause her less discomfort, or just growing out of it.

Eloise has been growing like crazy this week. She has been feeding non-stop, and every day she looks bigger. She has outgrown socks that I'm pretty sure she fit into only last weekend.

The big event of the week was Eloise's 2 month check up and immunisations. The check up went great. She now weighs 11 pounds, 1 ounce/5kgs, 22.5 inches in length, 38cm head circumference. She has put on 1.75kg, grown 2.5 inches and her head has grown 2 cm. The shots were not so much fun. She had three needles and while initially sleepy when we got home, she was cranky all afternoon and evening. Not fun at all!

Week 9 - Oct 15 - 21

Eloise had a bad few days after her shots. She was grisly and whiney and generally irritating to be around. Thankfully, on my first day home alone with her, she woke up a happy smiley baby. As the week progressed however, she became more and more difficult to be home alone with. On Friday, she refused to take naps during the day, leaving her one very cranky, exhausted little person by the time evening came around - and leaving me completely shattered. We also had an embarrassing moment at out baby movement class. I took E out of the pram, ready for class, and she opened her mouth and started wailing like she was being stabbed. Her face turned bright red and tears were streaming down her face. I was unable to calm her, so had to turn around and go straight back home again. Not fun!

I did however manage to make my first trip without Alec into the city, to meet Meg, Laura and their little babies for lunch at Madison Square Park. E was great on the subway, but had a bit of a howl in the park which resulted in me doing a few laps around the park with my screaming baby. Thankfully she did calm down, and was great for the rest of the trip, plus the subway home. Success!

Happy lady in Madison Square Park.

We had a sleep coach come visit us on Friday night to help us get some kind of sleep with the little terror. She gave us some really great tips, and we saw a vast improvement even on the first night. Hopefully this means things might start to improve in the sleep department, and we might have a less cranky baby when she is awake as a result!

Eloise is so much more alert and wake now. She loves her activity mat and is starting to notice the little animals swinging over her head. She has the cutest little blue eyes that open as wide as saucers when we are outside, trying to take in every single detail of the world around her.

Eloise - First Month

2011-09-18T08:54:00.002+09:30

Week 1 - Aug 20 - 27

We spent most of the first week in hospital due to my recovery from the labour and surgery. Recovering from this double whammy was tough. My body felt like it has been hit by a truck, with the added exhaustion of a newborn on top. Learning to feed E was really tough - I struggled, gave in to formula a few times when my body couldn't cope, and ended up renting a pump to take home and express when it all got too painful.

First moments of life.

It was also hard seeing Alec bond with E so easily and quickly while I was stuck in bed. For the first several days, my only interaction would be to feed her, which was excruciating, then hand her back to Alec as it was too painful for me to get in and out of bed to do anything else. Due to this, it took me a lot longer to bond with my little girl. It really helped going home, as by this stage I had recovered enough to be more mobile, and because I was expressing to give my body a chance to recover from the botched feedings, I was able to spend time with her that wasn't just a painful experience.

Our first week was filled with wonder that we had created such an amazing, perfect little person. Everything she did was juts amazing. "Did you see that burp?" "Awww what a cute fluff!". Typical new parents in awe of their perfect offspring.

Despite being a bit early, Eloise was in great health. The only drawback was a little bit of jaundice, requiring her to be placed in the photobooth for half a day, and to have some extra follow-up doctor appointments after coming out of hospital to monitor her jaundice levels.

Home!

Week 2 - Aug 27 - Sept 3

Sleep deprivation hit in this week! Eloise started to get bad wind during the night, and hated being put on her back to sleep in her crib. She would go down peacefully, only to wake herself every 10 - 20 minutes, writhing in pain from the gas. This also equals no sleep for mum and dad ... My routine this week consisted of napping from about 10:30pm - 2am, when I would get up and relieve Alec from duty, then feeding and calming the baby from 2am - 5am, where she might fall asleep on my chest for a few hours. 8am - hand over baby to my mum and go back to sleep for an hour or two, until E needed to be fed again. Gah. So exhausted. I spend the days feeding her, changing her, going back to sleep for an hour or two, then repeating. The end of week two the amazing initial feeling of awe has worn off, replaced with bone-shattering tiredness. "When will she sleep?" Will she EVER sleep?" "Will I ever sleep again?".

Multi-tasking!

This week we had a bunch of firsts - first sponge bath, first real bath after her umbilical cord fell off, first tummy time, first go in the bouncer. She also started to notice her surroundings and try to lift her head. She also tries to roll herself over in the crib so she can be on her tummy. She is much more alert this week, looking around with her big blue eyes. She is the cutest thing I have ever seen, even when she's working herself up into a major hissy fit.

Briefly amused by the bouncer.

Hating her sponge bath.

Exactly two weeks after she was born, we had her newborn photos taken. They were fun but exhausting for us all, particularly E, who pooped on me twice, and peed all over Alec. Babies minus nappies = disaster.

Week 3 - Sept 4 - Sept 10

This week got even harder! E suddenly turned into a fussy baby. Crying for no reason, her gas getting even worse, cluster feeds every hour for 8 hour stretches, less sleep. I think she had a growth spurt that made everything worse during this week. She also had a sonogram on her hips to make sure they were all looking ok (when she was born the pediatrician noticed she had a clicky hip that slipped in and out of its socket). The sonogram was very traumatic for us both. She screamed like she was being murdered for over an hour, and was unsettled for the rest of the day and night.

We bought a great new sling this week - a Sakura Bloom swing, that I love to take her out in. She had outings for the first time this week both in the Baby Bjorn (which Alec prefers) and the sling (which I prefer). It's so much easier to take her out in the sling than in the pram.

First outing in the sling.

On Saturday we took her out for her first big outing - lunch and a long walk down to Brooklyn Bridge Park. I fed her outside for the first time (victory!) and she slept most of the time happily in the Baby Bjorn.

At Brooklyn Bridge Park.

We are getting no sleep at night due to E not wanting to be put on her back, so we are going to try co-sleeping instead next week. I have managed to get her to briefly sleep in a swing that our neighbours gave us, but she won't stay in it for long periods.

We have also gotten her to stay on her back in her crib briefly while she is awake as she loves to stare at her crib gallery and black and white picture books. She will only tolerate this for 10 - 20 minutes however.

Mesmerised by the crib gallery.

E is getting more and more alert - trying to see things around her, trying to touch things already. Her eyes are still blue, but are changing already - getting lighter.

Week 4 - Sept 11 - Sept 16

She's starting to enjoy the bath more - still screams when it's over, but she seems to like the warm water.

Enjoying being bathed.

We had a tough week this week. Eloise started to get more and more grisly as well as the not sleeping on her back. The gas pains are bothering her a lot, and she will writhe in pain for hours sometimes trying to get the gas out.

Much of the week looked like this ...

I also found out this week that she has sub luxation in her left hip, which means the leg joint is still really lose. I have to book her in to see an orthopedic specialist to be checked out further. Hopefully it will only be a minor thing she can grow out of without needing treatment.

I managed to get out on my own with E to mother's group for the first time this week - victory!

We also visited a great place called Brooklyn Farmacy on the weekend, where we managed to eat our entire lunch while E slept. Afterwards we took her to get her passport photos taken, which made her cranky for the rest of the day. She seems to get really worked up easily into a state where she can't easily calm down from. This leads to us being extra careful not to do things that will upset her. Unfortunately we can't avoid things like doctors visits, which make her furious!

Brief moment of calm.

Happy 1 Week Eloise!

2011-08-29T12:05:00.000+09:30

I can't believe it's exactly a week since little Eloise came into the world. She's had an eventful week. Birth. Earthquake. Hurricane.

Eloise has been such a great, adaptable baby, as well as being the most beautiful little person I could imagine coming into our lives.

One week old! Love you, my little girl.

Eloise's Birth Story

2011-08-28T20:35:00.000+09:30

On Friday, August 19, 2011, I was having dinner with my friends the Sonegos, when my water broke while I was sitting on their couch. It was around 7:30 in the evening - 10 days before my due date. At around 8:30, I experienced my first contraction - but none came after that. Alec was still at work when my waters broke, so he rushed to come to pick me up in a cab. After speaking with my doctor, we went home to Brooklyn to prepare.

After calling the doc at midnight, with no more contractions, we went to bed, hoping nature would take its course during the night. I woke up at 3am with the start of contractions, like period pain, at about 20 minute intervals. The back pain had intensified, and I noticed that she had dropped at about 4:30am. Deep breaths for the first time in months!

I wasn’t able to sleep after that, so I paced the corridor for the next hour and a half, until I could wake Alec up just before 6am, and called my doctor at 6am to let him know that I was indeed getting contractions, which by then were coming at 10 mins apart.

In labour, about to leave for the hospital. 38 wks and 4 days pregnant. Sat, Aug 20, 2011. 6am!

We called a town car and drove through Manhattan to the hospital, Mt Sinai, on the upper east side. Driving over the bridge from Brooklyn into Manhattan while the sun rose over the city was a surreal moment.

Once we arrived at the hospital, we had to wait over an hour and a half to be taken to a room. My doctor came by at around 9, at which stage my contractions were every 5 minutes. I thought this was good progress, but when the doctor examined me, he said I had only dilated 1cm. The decision was made to put me on Pictosin to speed up the contractions since it had been a while since my waters broke. Over the next few hours, my contractions went from being a little uncomfortable to absolute agony. I was screaming and crying in pain, and was given a combination spinal block and epidural. This helped my pain significantly, but my labour wouldn't progress.

The doctor came to check on me every few hours through out the day, but even though I was getting regular contractions at around 2 mins apart, I was not dilating at a significant rate, and by 7:30pm that evening, I was only just 5cm dilated. At 24 hours exactly after my waters broke, my temperature started to rise and the baby’s heart rate started to drop. The doctor said infection was starting to set in, and we needed to have a C section straight away before my temperature spiked any further, which would result in not only me getting sick, but the baby needing to spend time in the NICU. I was feeling pretty ill at this stage, hot, queasy, headachy, and as I was rushed into surgery I started vomiting - which continued all the way through the surgery and while I was recovering. I also started to shake as I got the chills related to the fever.

The whole operation, even though I couldn’t feel anything, was horrible. I felt so ill, and when my baby girl came out, at 8:44pm, instead of elation, I felt ill. I was in some kind of shock, watching this tiny screaming creature appear out of nowhere, and being told it was my daughter.

I told Alec to leave me and see her, take photos of her first moments of life. While I was being stitched up, our little girl was wrapped up and given to him to hold. He came by my head for me to see her, but I was shaking too much to touch her. The numbness in my body continued to spread after the baby was removed, so my feet were numb, as were the bottom half of my lungs. I felt vomit rising, but was unable to get it out because I couldn’t feel anything. I was so terrified that I was going to choke on my own vomit and die right there on the operating table.

After I was stitched up and wheeled into recovery, I slowly started to feel better as the drugs in my system simultaneously wore off (narcotics) and set in (antibiotics). After a while I felt well enough to have my little girl placed next to me to touch - another surreal moment. I was so relieved that she was okay, and couldn’t believe that this was the little person I had been waiting to meet for so long. Once I started to get feeling back in my body, I felt even more relieved!

I was wheeled into my room at around 10pm, completely exhausted and unable to move. The decision was made to have the baby taken to the nursery for the evening to give my body a chance to recovery from the trauma it had been though, in hopes I would be able to sleep. Unfortunately, I was woken up every hour or so by doctors checking my vitals, giving me medication, checking my incision, etc, so morning came and I was no more rested then the night before! I felt well enough the next morning however to stand up and walk around, and was finally able to sit up and hold my beautiful baby girl for the first time. I thought she was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, and felt overwhelmed with love for her.

First moments of life! Welcome to the world my beautiful daughter, Eloise Elizabeth Thomas.

It took us three days to come to a decision about her name. Eloise was inspired by the classic American story of a little girl called Eloise who lived in the Plaza Hotel in New York. Elizabeth is a name that gets passed down through my family, so I wanted to honour my mother and grandmother with this name. Thomas is for her daddy's side of the family.

At the Plaza Hotel, 35wks pregnant, with the Eloise portrait.

Pregnancy: Third Trimester, Wks 28 - 38

2011-08-28T07:45:00.002+09:30

Week 28: Had my seven-month check-up. My weight gain is great (now 75.9kgs, which puts me in the healthy weight gain zone), but the baby is apparently on the big side! She is a week ahead of where she should be in terms of her size. My doctor puts it down to my "strong Aussie genes". Hmmm. The glucose test came back all normal, so no gestational diabetes, hooray! Thank you genes for my high sugar-tolerance.

Baby will be getting some color this week — eye color, that is. Pigment will fill in your baby's irises, but it might take six months after birth for the eyes to settle into their true color. Eyelashes, eyebrows and hair are continuing to grow, and brain tissue is rapidly increasing.

28wks, Central Park.

Week 29: Back to running to the bathroom every 10 minutes. Sometimes I can feel her actually kicking me in the bladder. Alec can feel her move all the time now - we spend most nights after dinner on the couch watching TV - with Alec's hand on my side feeling her perform a water ballet. I'm starting to get more tired - I think due to lack of sleep. I haven't slept through the night in about three weeks. Scary to think of how long it will be before I get a full nights sleep again. I'm so thankful right now that I don't have to work. I don't know how women work full-time during this trimester. I can barely get out of bed some mornings at all! My belly button is also trying really hard to pop out this week.

Baby's now the size of a squash!
Baby's energy is surging, thanks to white fat depositing beneath his skin. And since he's growing so fast (weight will triple by birth), things are getting kind of cramped in the womb. What all this means for you: Get ready for some more kicks and jabs to the ribs.

Week 30: I can see the baby moving now through my stomach - like a strange little alien. My feet have started to hurt a lot this week - and my right foot has been swelling up at night, just the right! During my check up this week, the baby was indeed on the right side - head pushing down on my bladder! The doctor said the baby is looking perfect, and her size is around the 50 - 75% size range. She's been incredibly active! Head is down, feet are kicking the bottom of my ribs constantly.

While your brain might seem to be on hiatus, your baby's brain is expanding by the day, taking on new functions like temperature regulation. This week, the brain is starting to get that wrinkly, indented look, which will help the brain tissue expand as the baby develops into adulthood. Besides the brain, your baby's body is continuing to grow — now at just over 3 pounds and 17 inches long.

30wks, Lincoln Center.

Week 31: Alec and I went on a mini babymoon this week - to Boston over the 4th of July weekend. It was so great to have a few days holiday, particularly since Alec has been working so hard lately. It was incredibly hot in Boston however, and we didn't really do a lot - more so a lot of walking from park bench to park bench! No baby updates this week - I can really clearly see and feel her hiccuping now though (turns out a giant slurpee will give a baby in utero a serious case of the hiccups). Her feet keep getting up under my rib cage, and a little elbow sticks out from my side occasionally. I think she recognises Alec's voice too, as sometimes she responds vigorously to him talking when he gets home at night.

Don't worry if you're feeling longer periods of quiet from your little gymnast in there, as the baby is now spending longer stretches of time snoozing. Also, as baby continues to grow and the living quarters get more cramped, he/she will start making more deliberate elbow and knee jabs instead of spastic kicks and movements.

31 weeks, our apartment.

Week 32: It's hot, hot, hot in the city. I'm trying to stay cool! We're starting to get more prepared this week - ordering furniture and all the things we'll need for our new arrival. Baby doctor appointment this week - the doctor tells me again that the baby "isn't small" and thinks she currently weighs about 2.3kg. Based on expecting her to grow by a further third or double in size, she is likely to be between 3.2 and 3.8kgs. The doctor puts her size down to our genes, but also advises I eat more protein, less carbs.

This week your baby is weighing in at around 4 pounds — which means there are only a few more pounds to go! (Yes, it is possible for your belly to get bigger, believe it or not.) Your baby's lungs are continuing to mature, producing increasing amounts of surfactant, a fatty liquid that lines the inside of the lungs and helps the sacs within expand efficiently for breathing. Your baby is also practicing sucking and swallowing (which fully coordinates between 32 and 34 weeks), but he/she would still need to be fed with a tube if born this week because suckling might not be efficient.

32wks, Boston.

Week 33: I took off my wedding and engagement rings last night - the wedding ring was so tight that I had to use oil to get it off. So sad that my fingers are puffy now too! My feet have gotten really puffy this week. I only have one pair left that fit me, and even those have my feet poking out like sausages. I went to see Paul McCartney, Memphis and King Lear this week - baby loved Memphis, was so-so about Paul McCartney, and didn't care much for Shakespeare ...

This explains why I'm so hot all the time! A 20 percent metabolic rate increase throughout pregnancy can leave you begging for a cool breeze no matter what the weather is like.

Baby's now the size of a honeydew! Things are heating up inside as well: Baby may grow up to a full inch this week alone, and his brain is developing like crazy. Pretty soon, he'll be able to coordinate breathing with sucking and swallowing. Also, his bones are hardening, and he's started to keep his eyes open when he's awake.

Week 34: I have a friend staying with us this week, so it's been a huuuuge week. The biggest night was seeing Mamma Mia (another hit with baby), then to a fashion event at a bar in Manhattan. Exhausting! The heat is also insane this week, so I'm trying to take it easy. I had my first Braxton Hicks contractions this week, which freaked me out a bit. Baby check up this week went well. My weight is the same, the baby is now about 6 pounds (how is this possible? Am I shrinking?). Baby seems to be quite high up and not thinking of coming any time soon (yay!).

Your cantaloupe-sized baby is a whopping 5 pounds — even though the extra belly weight probably feels like 15 to you. Her eyes are fully open now, only closing when it’s time to sleep. Even so, that doesn’t mean she can see much. It takes awhile after babies are born for them to focus clearly.

34wks, Top of the Rock (Rockefeller Center).

Week 35: I'm really missing sleep. I wake up about every 2 hours on an average night, needing to go to the bathroom, with reflux, with restless legs or with a cramp. I'm completely in the nesting phase right now, and was so excited when all of the baby's furniture and things arrived. Even though there's still 5 weeks to go, I feel this incredible compulsion to have everything ready right now.

I had a fantastic baby shower on the weekend with my closest NY friends. It was a lovely morning tea, hosted by my friend Laura - mother of a two week old baby! Talk about amazing. I hope to be able to cope with our newborn as well as Laura is settling with her little man. We ended up having some of the husband there as well - which only made it more fun, as it seems only right that Alec should be involved in celebrations for his baby.

Your baby is about done growing length-wise (reaching around 20 inches this week), but he/she will continue to pack on the pounds until delivery. Rest assured that most of the physical development is complete, and all that's left is for the lungs to mature and the body fat to keep piling on.

35wks, Brooklyn Bridge Park.

Week 36: Officially 9 months pregnant this week! Only four weeks to go - and I'm freaking out a bit. I'm feeling a lot more tired, and my finger and toe joints hurt - I think they feel similar to what arthritis feels like from what I've looked up online. Thankfully this should vanish when the baby comes. At my doctor's appointment this week, I gain an extra 1.3kg - in a week! How is that possible? The doctor thinks everything is looking great though, very healthy little baby in there.

It's getting so uncomfortable to do everything now. Can't walk, sit or even lie down for too long at a time, which doesn't leave much that I can do. My tailbone even hurts!

We still managed to have a great pre-birthday weekend, with a broadway show (Rent!) that baby just loved, a movie (Captain America), lunch at an Aussie cafe, Ruby's, some Summer Streets fun in the Financial District, and a lovely high tea at the Plaza Hotel.

The most important thing your baby is doing now is developing the lungs and respiratory system. If you were to deliver today, there's a slight chance the baby would need a machine, such as a ventilator, to breathe for him or her — but other than that, your baby (and you, most likely) are ready to be done with this pregnancy.

36wks, rooftop of our apartment building.

Week 37: Check in this week with the doctor - weight is the same (thank God!) baby is looking "perfect" - doctor is now downgrading his estimation to under 8 pounds (around 3.5kg). Favourite comment from this check-up: "I have great confidence in you, you have a great pelvis". Hmmm.

It's also my birthday on the exact day I hit 37 weeks. We celebrate with Alec taking a half day from work, a fancy lunch at Park Avenue Summer restaurant, a movie (The Change-up - perhaps not a good choice for a pregnant woman considering the disturbingly gross scenes with kids in it), hanging out with our friends who live near the cinema, and a late dinner.

I'm finding it harder to get up and get around - I'm really tired all the time, my feet are always hurting, and I'm thirsty non-stop. I'm hardly sleeping anymore, waking up every hour to go to the bathroom and dying of thirst at the same time.

The baby is still insanely active. Her movements are huge - mostly it feels like her little tushie is moving from one side to the other. I also feel her head a lot pushing downwards into the pelvis - ouuuuuuuch. I do wish she would just push harder and come out, I'm so ready to get this thing underway. I broke the last pair of shoes that fit my giant feet. Noooooooo!

We are all preparations go right now too - spending this weekend moving the furniture into our bedroom, making space for my mum, who will arrive on the 26th. We will also be packing the hospital bag in hope? fear? that the baby will come early.

I also went to my first mother's group meeting for new mums in my local area. It was so great to meet up with women who live only footsteps from our apartment. They were all really lovely and welcoming, with one other girl due 5 days before me as well. I look forward to being able to get out of the house with bub and meet with friendly people by just strolling down the street. Taking the baby on the subway looks like a nightmare I want to avoid as much as possible.

You are officially full term, meaning there wouldn't be much of a risk if you were to deliver this week. However, that doesn't mean he/she is finished growing and developing.

37wks, Bethesda Fountain, Central Park, on my 32nd birthday.

Week 38: This week is all about anticipation. Waiting, waiting, and waiting some more. Extreme tiredness, a pinched nerve in my shoulder, and pain in my teeth and fingernails. I'm craving chocolate milk like mad, and drinking a litre a day, easy. I'm fetting foot rubs from Alec for my painful, swollen feet - the only time during our relationship he has agreed to touch my feet...

We still haven't decided on a name - we have a long-ish list, and can't decide on a first OR last name.

I'm starting to get concerned about things like "what if I go into labour on the subway? Or on the sidewalk when I'm on my own? It's making me want to be a hermit and not leave the apartment.

At my doctor's appointment this week, I've put on 2 pounds (I thought I was meant to be losing weight in the last few weeks?), and the doctor is unable to get good measurements cos she won't stop wiggling. I'm getting another full ultrasound next week to measure her growth more accurately. The doctor did say however that he thinks she will come a week late. Oh god, I hope he's wrong. The Braxton Hicks contractions are getting more frequent and painful every day, along with the stabbing pains in my pelvis. How can this not be leading to something soon?

We saw our last pre-baby Broadway show - Book of Mormon. It was fantastic, but baby also thought it was fantastic and wouldn't stop moving the whole time, which made for a pretty uncomfortable few hours of sitting for me!

Your baby has really plumped up. She weighs about 6.8 pounds and she's over 19 1/2 inches long (like a leek). She has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test when you hold her hand for the first time! Her organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb. Wondering what color your baby's eyes will be? If she's born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If she's born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time she's 9 months old.

38wks - at Book of Mormon. Two days before going into labour...

Most pregnancies continue to 40 weeks - mine however ended at 38wks and four days, when my waters broke and I went into labour early!

Welcome Eloise Elizabeth Thomas

2011-08-20T22:51:00.000+09:30

A big welcome to our beautiful little lady, Eloise Elizabeth Thomas.

Born at Mt Sinai hospital, Manhattan, New York, at 8:44pm on Saturday, August 20, 2011.

Weight 7 pounds, 2 ounces. 19 inches long.

We love you little girl!

Pregnancy: Second Trimester, Wks 21 - 27

2011-06-07T07:48:00.005+09:30

Week 21: Lots of movement going on this week! I usually feel her around 9 - 10am, again around 7-8pm, and then at about 11pm - 12am. Alec has been trying to feel her for the past two weeks and finally felt her moving last night for the first time (April 22 2011).

Your baby's digestive system is maturing, now enabling the fetus to swallow amniotic fluid, absorb much of the water in it, and then pass unabsorbed matter as far as the large bowel.

21wks - Greenwich Village

Week 22: I'm looking bigger and bigger! I must definitely look pregnant now as I'm getting a lot of looks on the street. Baby clearly loves the theatre as she is really active when I'm watching a show.

During this week, your baby's skin will make the transformation from being translucent to opaque but will still look red until enough fat builds under the skin layers. The skin will also be very wrinkly under the thick coating of vernix until the fat fills it out.

Week 23: More fun pregnancy symptoms are coming up - swelling feet (I need to buy new shoes!), reflux, back aches, pins and needles. I've been so tired this week - it could be a growth spurt or an iron deficiency possibly. One funny moment - Alec placing his ear on my stomach to try and hear the baby's heartbeat. She responded by kicking him in the head.

Your baby's brain is now starting to grow rapidly, with billions and billions of brain cells developing in the next couple of weeks. These brain cells will control every aspect of your baby — from breathing to circulation, recognising sensory stimulation to movement, and everything in between.

23wks - Central Park

Week 24: Six months milestone! I had my 6 month check up and everything is looking great. Baby is in the 75th percentile for size/weight. My weight is also looking good - I'm weighing in at 162 pounds (73.5kg). I've put on 5 kilos so far, which puts me smack on track. Feeling pretty good except for upper back muscle spasms which started this week. I'm going prenatal yoga twice a week, but clearly it's not enough.

Your baby — who is almost a foot long — now has hair starting to cover his/her scalp. And while defining characteristics like cowlicks will be visible, the hairs will be short and fine until closer to the birth. As of right now, the hairs don't have pigment, but in the next several weeks you'll have a brunette, blonde or carrot top growing in your tummy. Her face is fully formed.

24wks - Brooklyn Bridge Park

Week 25: I can feel bigger movements now - the baby turning and twisting as well as kicking and punching. I've spent most of the week with excruciating back pain - I'm not sure what's causing it, if it's the baby pressing against nerves, or my posture changing, but it's been really painful. I'm feeling moments of panic (I'm not ready! I don't know how to take care of a baby!) along with feeling more organised as we start to look at furniture and book in childbirth education classes.

Hair now has colour and texture. This is a pretty big week for your baby’s nose and vocal cords. The nostrils are starting to open up now (they were plugged up before) so your baby will be taking some practice “breaths.” And since the vocal cords are officially functioning, prepare to feel a few hiccups here and there!

Week 26: This week, my face got puffy (noooo!!!) and so did my feet, and I started to need to take afternoon naps like a nanna if I go out during the day. Over the weekend we went on a gospel walking tour of Harlem. Baby loved the gospel music, kicking and turning throughout the service.

Your baby's hearing is progressing as the network of nerves to the ears matures. And even though the sounds your baby hears are muffled, he or she may recognise both yours and your partner's voices.

Week 27: My mental acuity has been slipping since becoming pregnant, and I've had some doozys this week: such as deleting my calendar in gmail (it's not recoverable!). I've gotten even clumsier than usual, too. Case in point - cutting, burning, stabbing and bruising myself all in the one day ... On baby updates, it's getting easier for Alec to feel her movements.

This week, your little one weighs in at almost 2 pounds and is almost 15 inches long. Eyelashes are also starting to grow at the ends of the lids, and someone will be taking a first peek around this week, as baby's eyelids flutter open for the first time. The eyelids won't stay open for too long yet, but the blinking reflex will begin. More good news: Your baby probably recognises the voice behind all those lullabies now, and he/she is falling in love just as fast as you are.

27wks - Central Park

Pregnancy: Second Trimester, wks 14 - 20

2011-04-17T22:08:00.002+09:30

Week 14 - 15: Moved to New York! What an insane idea that turned out to be. I was so sick during the flight from lack of sleep and general exhaustion from having to carry around huge suitcases and my carry on bags that had two laptops and a hard drive, plus all of my photography equipment in them ... not the best idea ever. I tried to go shopping for jeans and nearly cried when none of them fit me. I thought jeans shopping while not being pregnant was tough - I had no idea it would be so traumatic while pregnant! I'm quite tired with the jetlag and finding it harder than usual to adjust to being somewhere different.

Baby is now the length of an apple, weighing about 2 1/2 ounces and measuring 4 inches. At the close of this week, all major organs will be formed (heart, kidneys, liver, pancreas, lungs, and spleen), although not necessarily performing their functions yet. The organs will continue to grow and develop over the next couple of months and will be up and running in no time. Blood vessels can be seen through the baby's thin skin, and although the eyelids are fused shut, the baby can sense light.

Week 16: Over the jetlag and settling in to New York. I'm busy finding us an apartment and sorting out paper work that needs to be done, but have found a great pre-natel yoga class that I have been doing twice a week. I don't seem to be any noticeably bigger or be feeling any different to the previous few weeks. I can't wait to move into our new home so we can start putting the nursery together. We looked at baby things in FAO Swartz yesterday and they were so cute I wanted to buy everything! Met our new doctor - he was great and made us feel very comfortable in his hands. He did a quick scan to try and determine the gender, but the baby was being most inco-operative, so we will have to wait till the next scan to find out.

Baby's now the size of an avocado! Tiny bones forming in baby's ears mean she can now pick up my voice. A few more minuscule changes: Eyebrows, lashes, and hair are starting to fill in, and taste buds are forming.

Week 17: Just before the end of this week, I started to feel not so good - really tired and unwell. It seems the baby was going through a growth expert, and my tummy popped out a bit. It felt so weird, I could feel the baby pressing down on my organs for the first time.

Baby is about 5 to 5 1/2 inches long from top to tail and weighs a little more than five ounces, about the size of a lobster tail. This week, the bones of the ear become fully formed along with the part of her brain that processes signals from the ears. She may change positions frequently, cross her legs, recline, suck her thumb, and turn somersaults. Her retinas have become light sensitive, and she may be able to detect a glow if you shine bright lights at the belly (even though her eyelids are sealed).

Week 18: It's getting harder to bend over in my mid-section. It feels like there is a giant waterballon in my way. I felt the baby kick for the first time tonight, while we were at the theatre watching Driving Miss Daisy on the last day of March. She has good taste in theatre already. It felt like a little punch or kick!

At five and a half inches long and five ounces in weight, she now may be large enough for you to feel her twisting, rolling, kicking, and punching her way around the womb. Plus, she's developing yawning and hiccupping skills and her own unique set of toe and fingerprints.

Week 19: I feel her moving much more frequently this week. It feels incredible! Little pokes from her tiny arms and legs. We go to Washington DC for the weekend and I realise that I look obviously pregnant for the first time on this trip.

Baby is now about the size of a mango. Vernix is beginning to coat the skin, which is a greasy, fat-like substance that provides insulation and regulates body heat as well as protects the skin since it is submerged in amniotic fluid.

Week 20: Halfway there! I had my 20 week ultrasound and everything looks perfect. They confirmed the baby was a girl and gave me the print out to prove it. I was weighed and I've put on 4kgs since becoming pregnant - most of it in the last week I think. I have to cut back on the ice cream and cupcakes and get more exercise!

Baby is now the size of a banana. She is now starting to hear sounds, both from inside the uterus and on the outside. She will have no way of identifying the noises yet, but in time will come to recognise our voices over anyone else's. The baby can now be startled by loud or sudden noises and can hear both my heartbeat and my growling stomach.

20 weeks in Washington DC.

Alec's Birthday - Washington DC

2011-04-05T22:31:00.000+09:30

We celebrated Alec's birthday this year with a weekend trip to Washington DC for the National Cherry Blossom Festival.

The weather was sadly gray-er than originally forecast, but we still had a fantastic two days exploring the nation's capitol.

First up was the National Air and Space Museum, where we saw cool things like the lunar landing modules, the first airplane, moon rock. We also checked out the American History Museum where I was delighted to see the original ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz, and Julia Child's kitchen.

We spent sunday wandering around the cherry blossoms and war memorials. The blossoms were in amazing abundance everywhere!

Happy birthday husband!!

Air and Space Museum

Cherry blossoms

Pregnancy: First Trimester

2011-03-02T09:28:00.007+10:30

Week 4: We found out we were pregnant! It was a fantastic surprise - a few days before Christmas. I felt fine at this stage, just a little bit more tired than normal.

Week 5-6: I started feeling more tired and a bit queasy, with full blown morning sickness hitting me at week 6 on the dot. We were also moving house these weeks which made for a trying time.
The raisin-sized embryo is shaped like a “C” — with what will be the head on top and the tadpole-like tail on the bottom. Outlining the “C” is the neural tube, which will eventually become the brain and spinal cord.

Week 7 - 8: I felt sick this whole time, and started to get other pregnancy symptoms like enhanced sense of smell. I also had a lot of food cravings and food that I couldn't stand the smell of. I couldn't stop eating during these weeks. The only thing that stopped the sick feeling was eating, so I was stuffing my face non-stop and looking chubby pretty quickly. We also had a dating scan at week 7 and were amazed to see a tiny flickering heartbeat. This was also the time where we flew to Melbourne to watch the Australian Open before Alec left for NYC.
The baby is going through an incredible growth spurt this week. The crown-to-rump length is a half an inch long — about the size of a blueberry — which is twice as big as last week and 100,000 times bigger than at conception. The teeth and inside of the mouth are beginning to form, and the ears are continuing to develop. Also, each eye now has an optic cup, retina and lens, and the top of the nose is forming. The hands and feet are beginning to form from stubby arms and legs, and the embryo's tail-like protrusion is starting to disappear into a less aquatic-looking human.

Plum - 7 wks

Week 9 - 10: I started feeling a bit better this week - more like myself again and able to eat normal foods again.

Measuring at about an inch, the baby's basic physiology is in working order — although it will continue to develop — and earlobes, wrists, fingers and toes are visible. The baby's genitals have also begun to form.

Week 11 - 12: The queasiness eased more and I started to feel more normal again. I had my 12 week scan and saw the baby in detail for the first time. It was an amazing experience watching it twist and turn. It has long fingers already! Now the size of a plum, baby's organs, bones and systems are in high development mode. First comes the framework, then the tissues; muscles and fat will follow later. One complete organ, however, is the pancreas, which is ready to produce insulin. Also, the digestive system is now capable of absorbing glucose and producing contractions that push food through the bowels.

Plum - 12 wks

Week 13 - 14: My last week of work and first week off work, getting ready to move to the US. The morning sickness has completely gone by this stage.
Baby is the size of a lemon. The ears have moved up from the neck and the eyes are gradually moving from the sides of the head to the front.

An Announcement To Make...

2011-03-02T08:30:00.001+10:30

Alec and I have an announcement to make ... we're expecting a mini Knight-Thomas! The "plum" is due August 30th, and will be a little American baby, born in New York.

We're so beyond excited with our little plum, and can't wait to meet him or her later on this year. We found out about our little one a few days before Christmas, making it a very merry Christmas for our family indeed.

A bogan onesie for the American bebeh.

12 week ultrasound of the plum.

So Long Sydney

2011-03-01T19:21:00.000+10:30

I've had a busy two weeks of farewells with family and friends. I'm so sad to be leaving the people I care about. Please come and visit us soon!

At Avoca Beach with Mum and Dad.

Breakfast at Not Bread Alone with school friends Shelley, Julia, Rosalie, Karyn.

School friends plus long-time non-school friend, Beck!

Dinner with Lisa and Emma.

Work friends farewell lunch: Katia, Ali, Victoria, Siobhan, Fadhila, Vinzena.

Farewell work drinks with Kate, Rich and Victoria ...

... and Fadhila and Kae.

Afternoon tea at Middle Head with Rosalie, Victoria and Francine.

Isla Paige Johnston

2011-03-01T19:09:00.000+10:30

I was so thrilled to meet Isla as she made her debut to the world on Feb 24th.

Congratulations Shell and Eric, she's just devine :)

Melbourne Weekend

2011-01-25T14:37:00.000+10:30

We had booked a weekend in Melbourne to watch the Australian Open looong before we knew about this New York business. It ended up falling on Alec's last weekend in Australia, so it seemed to be a good way to see him out with a bang.

Sweltering in the tennis. Don't be fooled, the clothes are for sun protection. It was boiling.

We also spent a day wandering around St Kilda and the CBD, just hanging out.

St Kilda boardwalk.

Luna Park!

The Victoria Art Gallery. Thumper!

We had such a lovely weekend - the perfect way (bar a weekend at the beach!) to spend our last weekend together for a while. Next time we meet, it will be in New York, baby!

Bye Alec!

2011-01-25T14:30:00.000+10:30

It's official, he's gone! I saw Alec off at the airport yesterday morning after our great weekend in Melbourne. Now the count down is on until I can join him. It's currently really cold in NY - about -15, the coldest day they've had in 6 years. By contrast it's 32 degrees in Sydney, with 40 forecast for tomorrow. Rug up, husband!

Shelley's Baby Shower

2011-01-24T14:28:00.000+10:30

I had a fun time helping to throw Shelley a baby shower. I can't wait to meet her little one!

My husband is a Xoogler

2011-01-15T19:00:00.000+10:30

We've had a huge few weeks. Alec was offered a job in a start-up in New York. We've decided to make the big move and give it our best shot! I'm so excited and terrified at the same time.

Alec's last day was Friday. There's no turning back now!

This weekend is packing and moving weekend. It is not fun. I'm hot and sticky and tired and over it. After tonight, I will be officially homeless for a few weeks while I try to transfer with work and wrap things up here before moving over to join Alec. At least I'm going to a house of some dear and generous friends of ours with air con and a pool tomorrow - cannot wait! Luxury!

The last bunch standing at Alec's farewell drinks, held at Gallon in Pyrmont.

First Wedding Anniversary

2011-01-03T18:17:00.001+10:30

I can't believe our first anniversary came around so fast! After an extremely long drive home back from Byron, we were in the mood for some low key celebrating. Alec surprised me by booking lunch at the Gunners' Barracks - where our wedding had been held exactly one year previously. It was so lovely to be back and just let the good memories of our wedding day come back to us while we ate a delicious lunch.

Alec had been thoughtful enough to ask for a table on the balcony with a view, however the weather turned grey and rainy (just like on our wedding day!) so we moved inside where it was warmer.

Happy first wedding anniversary my husband! I love you more and more every day :)

Byron Road Trip 2010

2011-01-03T09:36:00.005+10:30

We had a fantastic road trip up to Byron Bay over the Chrissie break. After Christmas Day in Stockton, we drove to Shoal Bay for Christmas night. We found a delicious pizza shop open and gorged ourselves on sweet, sweet pizza.

The next morning we met Alec's dad and his wife for lunch, before drive up to Port Macquarie for the night. An early start had us on the road to Byron. We spent the next five nights in Byron, walking on the beach, eating, bush walking to a waterfall, walking up to the lighthouse and reading. Exactly what we needed after a stressful end to the year.

Bon Jovi at the SFC

2010-12-20T09:42:00.000+10:30

I had a fantastic time at the Bon Jovi concert with my good friend Sally.

"In These Arms"

"In These Arms" Part 2

"Sleep When I'm Dead"

"Old Time Rock and Roll"

"Keep the Faith"

"Livin' on a Prayer" Part 1

"Livin' on a Prayer" Part 2

Watson's Bay Sunset

2010-12-18T21:35:00.000+10:30

A gorgeous evening in Watson's Bay

School Friends Christmas Lunch

2010-12-18T21:34:00.001+10:30

This years' Christmas lunch was held at Berry Island Reserve.

Stunning day!

Somebody was walking this year.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Google Holiday Party 2010

2010-12-18T21:32:00.000+10:30

The theme this year was 1950s, held at the Paddington Town Hall.

Me and my dapper husband.

Spinning!

A Very Poochy Christmas

2010-12-18T21:31:00.003+10:30

Getting into the Christmas spirit.

Babies, babies, babies

2010-12-09T22:30:00.000+10:30

Everywhere I look, my friends are having babies.

I met two little charmers on the weekend: Madeline Green and Josef Stransky.

Hello chubby bunny!

Little man Josef - 4 days old.

YouTube Sessions & Jessica Mauboy

2010-12-09T22:25:00.000+10:30

I met the lovely Jessica Mauboy at the launch of YouTube Sessions. She has a fantastic voice and was quite adorable.

Great Scott!

2010-12-09T22:13:00.000+10:30

Alec and I had a fantastic time at a Back to the Future charity screening to raise money for the Parkinson's Foundation.

Check us out in the DeLorean.

This is heavy!

Welcome Summer!

2010-11-28T19:54:00.001+10:30

Sydney is suddenly tropical. Stinking hot days, followed by days of non-stop rain.

I can't wait till Christmas this year. After last year's insanity of planning a wedding, this year is looking calm and relaxed by comparison.

Yayyyy summer!

Family outing at Manly

BFFs at Balmain

Poser

Vinzena & Mark's Wedding, St Mary's Cathedral

2010-11-07T19:17:00.003+10:30

Alec and I were guests at our first Scotalian wedding this weekend, held in the crypt at St Mary's Cathedral.

The beautiful bride, Vinzena, with her lovely parents.

The happy couple, Vin & Mark.

Outside the crypt, listening to the bagpipe player.

Congrats guys, on a gorgeous, fun, wedding, and what I know will be a fabulously happy marriage.

Aston Live at TGIF

2010-11-04T22:25:00.000+10:30

I had the amazing pleasure to watch the talented classical group, Aston, live at Google.

Halloween 2010

2010-11-04T22:17:00.000+10:30

Even though we don't traditionally celebrate Halloween, I love that Google makes a big deal out of the day purely because it's a bit of extra fun in the week. Here are a few pics from Googl'ween!

Ohh scary spider in reception.

The cafeteria gets a makeover.

There was a pirate wench in reception.

Stephen Conroy made an appearance handing out filters.

Victoria loving the pumpkin carving.

The bogan and Raggedy Ann make small talk.

Serial killer pumpkin.

Award-winning spider pumpkin.

On the weekend, I went to a party hosted by a friend and dressed up as Malice in Wonderland.

You're next, not-so-innocent pooch!

Chiara turns 1

2010-11-04T22:04:00.001+10:30

I've had a busy few months since my US-of-A trip with a lot of work, birthdays, netball and dance classes.

One particularly important birthday was for the ever-fashionable, completely adorable Chiara.

Little Miss celebrated her birthday with a pink tutu and totally gorgeous cake.

Happy birthday little one!

California and NYC Trip

2010-10-09T16:48:00.001+10:30

I haven't felt much like blogging lately, so this is a brief account of my recent USA trip. It was mostly for work, but I managed to squeeze in a trip to NYC and Monterey. Most of the trip, when I wasn't working, I was catching up with friends and family.

First stop, San Francisco.

Catching up with Isis, Mansi and baby Maya.

Dinner at Greens Restaurant in SF with Jamie, Lisa and Isis.

One of Mansi and Jason's Abyssinian cats.

Another of Mansi and Jason's pets!

Filming an AdSense video with Victoria in Mountain View.

Drinking the Koolaid on campus.

Next destination, NYC! I stayed with Masa for a few days in Brooklyn.

View from the Brooklyn shore.

Making a new friend in the park.

One of seven bridal couples I saw having photos taken in the area.

View from the Metropolitan Art Gallery rooftoop garden.

Doing what I do best ;)

Goofing off with Masa.

Dinner with Janice and Calman.

Hello Jersey Shores!

At the Google NY office with Olah.

And Nadia ...

... and Isa!

Then it was back to Mountain View...

On campus, taking in the sites.

Nom nom nom.

My friendly tour guide, Gus, and giant green Android.

Making a new friend! Meeting Zoe Pollock.

Alec met me in Mountain View. We were able to spend a long weekend in Monterey.

My favourite animals at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the jellies!

Drive down the coast to Big Sur. Amazing scenery.

Gorgeous water.

Gorgeous, jet-lagged, husband.

Beautiful!

Admiring the view.

The red woods in Big Sur.

Small husband...

Tiny wife.

Meeting the locals.

My brother and Michele drove down to nearby Carmel for the end of the weekend.

Back in Mountain View with the Ring family - Jeannette and little PJ.

Making more friends on campus! Meet Lola.

Birthday in Melbourne: Day 3

2010-08-12T22:07:00.002+09:30

My birthday fell on day 3 of our Melbourne trip. We had a sleep in, breakfast in the hotel, and then sauntered off to the Tim Burton Exhibition. I've always admired his films, so seeing his artwork on loan from personal collections was quite amazing. I found it entertaining picturing him as an animator for Disney, seeing as his personal style is quite the opposite.

I felt most inspired seeing the exhibition, as Tim Burton has clearly worked extremely hard to get to where he is. For every success he has had, he's had more than double the amount of projects go nowhere. His passion and skill have taken him to where he is, also his tenacity. It reminded me to be stronger and not give up on my dreams.

Hello giant blow-up scary person.

"Nananananananana BATMAN!"

My favourite quote of the day, overheard in the exhibition: "Did he do Shrek?" Lol.

After the exhibition we wandered around some more on the river banks until the sun went down.

The Yarra.

Very scenic.

As CBD as it gets.

Pretty bridge makes for nice photos.

Baroo?

It's my birthday and I'll pose if I want to.

And make my husband pose too!

Another graffiti wall.

Outside the ACMI building - such a cool design.

I lurve you blob!

Raaarrr!

We didn't exactly see eye-to-eye, lol.

Run, husband!

Blobs make for handy seats too.

And then SHE said ...

After much wandering, we had dinner at the very funky Fifteen. I love Jamie Oliver, so was keen to try his restaurant.

The restaurant was excellent. Stylish, great vibe, fabulous service. The food was really great, interesting recipes rather than the stock standard type, particularly for the veggo options.

What is down the stairs?!

Happy birthday to me! (This may have started out as "happy birrhday" ...)

Another year older ...

One more pose for the road. Happy, well-fed and slightly tipsy.

Even the restaurant had graffiti art ...

I'm on a tram!

Back at the hotel - Alec and the frog, together at last.

I wore out my husband ...

Thanks so much for the fantastic weekend away Alec :) xox

Birthday in Melbourne: Day 2

2010-08-12T21:24:00.005+09:30

Day 2 kicked off with brunch at Di Bella in north Melbourne with an old friend, Dana, and her bf Karl, an ex-intern at Google and who joined our netball team while she was in Sydney. Dana moved back to Melbourne after her internship ended and is moving to Seattle in the near-ish future to join Google there, where I'm sure she will take the Seattle netball team to new heights of victory.

I enjoyed the breakfast at Di Bella immensely, even more so because we were introduced to Dana and Karl's brunch technique of ordering food, then eating cake while the breakfast was being cooked. Breakfast of champions. Amazing.

Pear and chocolate danish. Divine.

Netball yay :)

After brunch (and an unscheduled drive to the bus depo in Footscray to pick up the wallet Alec left on the airport bus - PS Sunshine street is NOT sunny people) Alec and I walked around Melbourne and ate more food.

I'd like a purse THIS big.

I love how Melbourne has random sculptures scattered around it. Like the giant purse. Or the men waiting for a tram.

Like CityRail in Sydney, trams can take a while to arrive. This poor fellow has been waiting a looooong time.

I practice my tram-waiting face while waiting for the tram, of course.

Melbourne also has a lot of graffiti art. I enjoyed the little alleys with oh-so-cool cafes, jam-packed with trendy Melbourne-ites, and covered with bright designs.

Even the dumpsters got the art treatment.

The husband loves a good alley.

The wife loves a good Tiffany store ;)

Lindt gets arty.

Birthday tulips! Thanks husband!

Melbourne Central shot tower in the middle of a shopping centre. So cool.

More graffiti.

Dinner at Pellegrini's Espresso Bar for home-cooked, simple, Italian food.

After dinner it was off to Mary Poppins at Her Majesty's Theatre. Alec was fabulous and booked us great seats with a package that included wine and a goody bag (ooooh more gifts!).

"Feed the birds, tuppence a bag!"

The show was fantastic. I wasn't sure what to expect, so it surpassed any expectations I might have had. I adored Mary Poppins the movie when I was growing up, so the musical brought back lovely memories. The singing, dancing and set were all fabulous.

Birthday in Melbourne: Day 1

2010-08-11T20:24:00.001+09:30

For my birthday this year, Alec took me to Melbourne. We were blessed with lovely weather. A full three days of sunshine, wheee! We stayed at The Olsen, a fabulous new hotel in South Yarra, decorated with the artwork of John Olsen.

I love this - I did take one home with me!

Stylish room with artwork by Olsen.

Morning light - hitting the shops.

We had a lazy Saturday morning before wandering down Chapel St to grab some brunch and shop. Fun for me, perhaps less fun for Alec.

Feed me!

Coffeeeeee!

It was then off to the Melbourne Museum to see Titanic: The Artefact Exhibition.

Who knew Melbourne would be so sunny!

The exhibition was great. It contained a lot of artefacts that had been recovered from the wreck as well as telling many personal stories of people who survived and perished. It also had sobering facts about the sheer number of people who died.

"I'm the king of the world!"

Snack time at Koko Black.

Nom nom.

One more coffee for the road.

Heating from the inside out. Brr Melbourne is cold.

Tasty pudding.

Mousse martini. Looks amazing. Made me feel ill afterwards.

Walking through Melbourne in the fading light.

Tram!

Hip hop dancers in Federation Square.

Dinner - a local Thai joint.

Yay, we're in Melbourne!

Dreams and Desires

2010-08-01T22:07:00.000+09:30

I was going to title this post "My Bucket List", but I think the concept is a bit morbid, so I prefer to call it what is really is - a list of things I dream and desire to do.

1. Visit the sloth sanctuary in Costa Rica.
2. Visit the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania.
3. Publish a book of my photography.
4. Have my photography exhibited in a gallery.
5. Start a family with Alec.
6. Climb Machu Pichu.
7. Teach my daughter that I hope to have, to dance like no-one's watching.
8. Touch people with my photographs.
9. Set up a small animal sanctuary and take in all the reject animals no-one else wants.
10. Learn to cook a decent risotto.
11. Start my own business.
12. Ogle penguins in Antartica.
13. See a polar bear in the wild.
14. Visit the Galapagos Islands and swim with seal lions, watch giant turtles.
15. Never stop dancing.
16. Find a stronger sense of inner calm.
17. Be braver and stronger. Take more risks.
18. Support animal charities and welfare groups.
19. Help support animal legislation to bring about real change.
20. Renew my wedding vows on a Kauai'an Beach.
21. Stay young at heart.

I'm sure there are more, which I will post about later when I think of them.

Bye Bye J-Vo

2010-08-01T21:24:00.000+09:30

My dear friend JennJenn is heading off the the Mexico office soon. I'm not really great at telling people how I feel in person, or even showing it through writing. This seems to be surprising to a lot of people as they think of me as a writer, ergo, I must be good at every kind of writing. Also, I'm a prodigious talker, ego, I must be ace at expressing myself verbally. Ba-bow. It doesn't work that way. Turns out, I'm much better at showing how I feel through photographs.

So for my very dear friend's farewell, I put together a book chronicling her time at the office over the four-and-a-half years she graced us with her huge presence. In the words of a much better wordsmith than myself, Jenn is the biggest, little person I know.

My friend, I am going to miss you a lot.

I promise we will be visiting you soon. Love you lots.

Freshly Cut at the Gaelic Club

2010-07-28T18:34:00.000+09:30

I was contacted to photograph a music event sponsored by Jim Beam - Freshly Cut at the Gaelic Club. I haven't photographed live music before, and after I had finished, I decided it wasn't really for me. I did however appreciate the opportunity and was happy that I still managed to get some interesting shots. The three bands I photographed were called Seven Steady, Iron Jack and the Snowdroppers.

Eagle view from the balcony of Iron Duke.

Ahh the fans. This was Seven Steady.

Iron Duke again.

The lead singer of Iron Duke enjoyed singing from the balcony. Risky moves, I enjoyed it!

AIME National Hoodie Day

2010-07-28T18:23:00.000+09:30

I haven't had time to blog lately, I've been too busy taking photos and working.

One event I photographed was the launch of AIME's National Hoodie Day. One benefit to being the photographer is you get to meet everyone, such as the ambassadors Wendell Sailor and Ian Thorpe.

Football legend Wendell Sailor.

Me and Thorpie. He is a bit of a giant.

Milano Black Shag Rug

2010-07-11T20:46:00.000+09:30

I'm super-excited about a new rug that I'm buying - the Milano Black Shag Rug from Buyster.com.au. I've been looking for a black shag rug for a while to take portraits of kids on. This one has great texture and colour - can't wait to get it in the mail and start taking pics on it!

Michael Paynter Live at TGIF

2010-07-11T18:04:00.000+09:30

Sometimes I remember how amazing it is to work where I do. This Friday was one of those days, when at TGIF we had not only wine tasting from Oyster Bay, but also a live performance from a Sony artist, Michael Paynter. I hadn't heard his music before, but thought he had a fantastic voice. Thanks so much for coming in and performing for us Michael!

Rocking out at TGIF.

Great to meet you Michael! Love your work.

Appreciate Chocolate? - Yes I Do

2010-07-11T16:57:00.002+09:30

I attended another of Signorelli's cooking classes for Greg's birthday. The chocolate-lover's birthday fell on the day of the course, so we considered it a sign from above that we were meant to be there.

This time, it was Appreciate Chocolate with Kakawa Chocolate's Jin Sun Kim and David Ralph. The class consisted of a master tasting session, history of chocolate and demonstrations of how to temper chocolate, make ganache and create truffles.

The evening started with a platter of delicious fruits and dipping chocolate, and some potent Toblerone cocktails.

Nothing says welcome like a tasting platter...

... and cocktails.

Hello there birthday boy.

Ohhh, pretty things waiting to be tasted.

The husband enjoys his chocolately goodness.

As do I!

Kakawa's David Ralph spouts wisdom.

Ground up cacao beans - not especially tasty.

Dark chocolate - not my favourite, but not bitter like most generic dark chocolate is.

White "chocolate". Mmm sugary...

Blend of milk chocolate - love it. The markings are from bubble wrap.

Champagne truffles.

Basil truffles. Not for me, but very shiny.

Passionfruit/mango truffles. Amazing.

Almond slivers in milk chocolate.

Tempering chocolate.

Mmmm I'd like to lick the chocolate off the slab. Who cares about truffles.

Hello master bar tender. Thank you for the exquisite beverages.

Why birthday boy, whatever do you have there?

The class was excellent and I learned a great deal about chocolate. I was also given a huge amount of chocolate to taste and then take home. I have a high tolerance for chocolate, but still felt ill after eating so much chocolate. I can't wait to go to Kakawa's store eat more of their chocolate!

SIGNORELLI GASTRONOMIA
Ground floor of Accenture/Google Building
Trouton Place Pyrmont NSW 2009
(opposite Metcalfe Park)
P: 02 8571 0616

Thirty, Flirty and Thriving

2010-07-08T17:23:00.000+09:30

As the first year of my 30s draws to a close (yikes), I wanted to reflect on some positives to being in the next decade.

1. I'm not working in a crappy part-time job earning peanuts. Hooray for financial independence!
2. As a result of 1), I can afford the pretty things I wanted to buy in my 20s and couldn't afford. Hellooooo Alannah Hill and fancy camera.
3. Being married is so much better than dating and being in your 20s. Being married is totally awesome.
4. Self confidence. I have come to terms with who I am and am not. I am not thin, super-model pretty, a talented singer or an Olympic athlete. I am, however, a great photographer, pretty funny according to my husband, a great friend, daughter and wife, and apparently good at my job. And I'm comfortable with being just that.

Things I don't like about the 30s:

1. Hearing terms like the "dirty 30s". Hello, does that have any facts behind it, or is it just the rhyming? I think the 20s were dirtier, personally.
2. Being the oldest person in my netball team. The youngest just turned 17. Can we say generation gap?
3. My body getting slower. It upsets me that I can't keep up with sports as I used to. I hate feeling slow and getting tired more quickly.
4. Goodbye metabolism! I really should eat better.

All-in-all, the pros are pretty great.

Our 6-Month-versary in Parramatta Park

2010-07-07T20:03:00.002+09:30

The past six months have flown. I can't believe we've been married for half a year already. Amazing.

We wanted to do something a bit fun for the occasion, so I booked lunch at Lachlan's Restaurant in Parramatta Park since we had promised to drop by the Winterfest afterwards to see Daniel's group, the Orion Consort, perform.

Lachlan's is smack bang in the middle of Parramatta Park. The building was once Lachlan Macquarie's old government house. It has been resorted and turned into a restaurant. Thankfully, the old world charm remains.

Strolling across the park, on a stunning winter's day, towards the restaurant.

Tables set up on the balcony.

We were a bit early, so took a stroll around the property. The restaurant sits on Parramatta River. Very picturesque.

Pretty!

Dappled husband!

Happy 6-month-versary husband!

Looking out over the river.

Husband!

Wheee!

Our cosy table by the fire.

Herb bread with sun dried tomato. Very nice, fresh bead.

Potato and cauliflower soup with croutons. This was sensational. Creamy, thick and steaming hot.

Fish and chips.

Pumpkin and ricotta tart. It was a bit over-cooked sadly. I've eaten it before at this restaurant and it was sensational.

Affogato.

Coffee for the coffee bunny.

Money shot.

Sticky date and banana pudding. It was quite nice, but could have done with a smaller cake portion and more sauce. It was a little bit dry.

After lunch we walked over the bridge to Winterfest.

Not much I can say about this.

After drinking almost an entire bottle of wine, I was in a very cheery mood - perfect to enjoy the festivities.

Erm .. an Anglo Saxon?

Let the blood fest begin!

The Orion Consort. Very nice performance guys.

Jousting!

I love you husband :)

Afternoon with Rosalie & Chiara

2010-06-30T20:44:00.000+09:30

I had a lovely lunch with my dear friend and her tiny pink baby. I love Chiara's parka. She looks like a giant, polkadot marshmallow.

Who's the cutest? Oh yeah, me!

GoogleServe 2010

2010-06-30T20:38:00.000+09:30

It's that time of year again - time to serve the community in the cold. This year I bowed out of the organising committee as it was way too time consuming last year, and instead participated in a few events. One such event was bush regeneration in Woollahra at Trumper Park.

I'm not really the gardening type, so it was hard to get into the spirit of weeding. It was great, however, to see a huge area of weedy land transformed into a field of baby trees.

Dessert with Adriano Zumbo

2010-06-28T22:15:00.006+09:30

I have long been a fan of Adriano Zumbo, the fantastic pastry chef based in Rozelle. I found a cooking class he was taking at the restaurant under my building - Signorelli. An evening with Zumbo? Who could resist?

The unlikely celebrity, Adriano Zumbo.

The class fell on an evening with torrential rain. Many people were running late - including the star of the night. Adriano arrived, full of apologies and bearing several trays of intriguing looking ingredients.

Adriano demonstrated two desserts that he had created just for the occasion. A new version of tiramisu and a lemon curd tart with olive oil sorbet.

Watching Adriano in action was fascinating. The softly-spoken man had the room's attention with his every move and word. Several members of the class were scribbling down notes furiously, asking questions that would help them re-create the recipe at home. I happily know what my baking limits are, so was content instead to photograph and listen to the words of wisdom the great chef had to depart on us.

As he cooks, Zumbo shares his tips and stories of his childhood. He tells us about his time in France and his dislike for their huge food wastage. After he mentions this I notice as the night goes on that nothing goes to waste. Any extra material is boxed up in plastic containers for re-use. Burnt pine nuts are salvaged.

Most interesting is watching Zumbo crack open eggs on handed, with the reflex of one who has cracked more eggs than I shall ever consume in my lifetime. He shows us how to separate the yolk using our hands for a cleaner separation (some recipes require the yolk and egg white to be cooked at different temperatures, so having bits of white left on the yolk can spoil the dessert).

Zumbo whisks up the first of many frothy components.

The finished product, "tirimisu".

Lemon curd tart with olive oil sorbet.

After the two-hour class, we get the chance to speak with Zumbo. He is humble about his success and thanks us sincerely for coming to his class. We bow in worship a few times before heading out into the cold night.

I meet the genius.

SIGNORELLI GASTRONOMIA
Ground floor of Accenture/Google Building
Trouton Place Pyrmont NSW 2009
(opposite Metcalfe Park)
P: 02 8571 0616

Sydney Winter Weekend

2010-06-26T10:55:00.000+09:30

After a month of solid rain, the skies cleared and the brilliant blue I love came back. To make the most of the weekend we took a friend to Balmoral Beach.

Beauuutiful day!

Sitting in a cave under the rocks.

Sunny day = sunny husband.

Alec and Greg, his work twin.

The next day Alec and I had a date on the harbour again. After brunching at Burnt Orange, we did a bush walk around Middle Harbour.

Such a glorious day!

It's amazing how beautiful Sydney is when the sun comes out.

Happy 30th B'day Katia!

2010-06-26T10:45:00.001+09:30

A few weeks back, my dear friend Katia turned 30. We spent a lovely afternoon out in the Sutherland hire to celebrate.

With the birthday girl.

Alec makes a friend!

Welcome to the 30s KB!

Rain, Rain, Rain

2010-06-03T21:56:00.001+09:30

It's rained almost non-stop for three weeks. I understand that we need rain, but surely we've reached our quota and it's time to send some rain on down to Melbourne?

Date Night: Balmoral

2010-06-03T21:40:00.000+09:30

After Pizza at Pizza Olla, Alec and I drove to Balmoral for a walk on the beach. It was a beautiful night. Finally no rain, and almost no-one out on the streets.

Sydney Fashion Weekend

2010-06-03T20:10:00.000+09:30

A few weeks back I went to Sydney Fashion Weekend for the first time. It was chaos! So many stalls tightly packed with discounted stock. There was simply too much stuff and not enough time to get around to everything.

There were a lot of brands there and bargains, but too hard sorting through everything. It was super hot and crowded, so not a great shopping experience. As part of our tickets we had included a catwalk show. It was not bad! Nothing extraordinary that I wanted to run out and copy or buy, but entertaining to watch the skinny giraffes walk up and down the catwalk.

So very tall and expressionless ...

They all had great hair ;)

After the catwalk we had another prowl around the stalls and had a makeover at Napoleon. I got completely punk'd by my make-up girl, but thankfully Fadz had a fabulous job done and looked stunning.

Fadz gets a touch-up at Napoleon.

All-in-all, I think it was a bit of a waste of money. I don't think I would go again. It was too stressful tearing through the clothes to find something I liked, too hot and too many people. I don't need a bargain that badly!

Baby Photos: Chiara

2010-06-03T19:23:00.001+09:30

I took photos of my other favourite baby, Chiara, on the weekend. She is so beautiful and so much fun.

Hawaii Shopping

2010-05-29T19:44:00.002+09:30

I wasn't planning on doing a post on my Hawaii shopping, but Beverly wanted to see my purchases, so here we are. I reserved basically all shopping till the last day and went a bit berserk at the outlets and Alo Moana Centre. Thanks Alec for your supreme patience...

Honeymoon gift from the Hawai'ian mothership.

New charms from Juicy Couture.

This fab bag from LeSportsac was 50% off and served as my extra bag to bring my loot home.

Tissue and make-up pouch from LeSportsac.

Cute little money and travel pouch.

Little evening bag from the Coach outlet.

I love the logo.

Some interesting looking sandals from Crocs.

Overload at Sephora and Mac.

Urban Decay eyeshadow primer - it's amazing!

Laura Mercier make-up - I've been wanting to try it for a while. So far, it's fantastic.

Body wash from Philosophy. It smells fantastic.

My fave mascara from Fiberwig. Pricey, but looks great and doesn't smudge.

Liam's 2nd Birthday

2010-05-26T21:17:00.000+09:30

One of my favourite munchkins turned two in style over the weekend. We had a great time at his new Tamarama pad and ODd on fairy bread.

Happy birthday Liam!

Farewell J-Vo

2010-05-25T18:24:00.000+09:30

My dear friend Jenn is moving to Mexico City soon. She wanted to have a last night out with her fave Google gals, so we had a fun pole dancing class at Studio Verve followed by a dinner banquet. Jenn is an amazing athlete - as demonstrated by her superb tricks on the pole.

Holy moly, how does she DO THAT?

Demonstrating a much easier trick, the flying fox.

Sexy ladies, woo!

Dinner with wonderful friends.

We colour co-ordinated. Nice one girls!

Thanks for a fantastic night out Jenn. I miss you already.

Hawaii Honeymoon: Oahu

2010-05-24T09:19:00.001+09:30

Last stop - Oahu and shopping. Honolulu reminds me of the Gold Coast, so I like to get on and off the island pretty quickly. I'm sure there are beautiful areas on this island too, but it's just so built up that I'm not overly keen to explore it. We spent a very short period here - two nights and one full day. Just enough to shop till I maxed my credit card out.

Dinner at the Cheesecake Factory.

Honeymoon splurge gift.

Me and the Duke, we're old mates.

Waikiki sends us off in true Hawaiian style on our last morning.

Aloha Hawaii!

RSPCA Million Paws Walk 2010

2010-05-19T21:45:00.001+09:30

My favourite day of the year isn't my birthday, it isn't Christmas, and, despite what Alec thinks, it's not the chocolate holiday otherwise known as Easter. It's actually the annual RSPCA Million Paws Walk.

I've attended the walk for the past six or so years since Kahlua came to live with us. I'm not sure how much the dogs actually enjoy going and being around thousands of other dogs and people, but it's one of my highlights every year because it's the one day where you get to see so many animals lovers en masse.

I am a huge supporter of the RSPCA and have a difficult time hearing about how cruel people can be to animals and the numbers that are dumped and put to an early death every year. This one day is the day that restores my belief that there are also a lot of people out there like me and Alec who really love animals. This year the walk is at Homebush again, starting at the Olympic Cauldron.

Go pooches, go!

This tiny pug was smaller than Alec's hand.

Well, it has paws ...

Kahlua hitches a ride.

The girls walk in tandem.

I'm a sucker for the cute, funny-looking dogs.

Buffy wants to be picked up!

Happy Million Paws Walk Day everyone!

Hawaii Honeymoon: Kauai Part 5, Ins and Outs

2010-05-19T20:48:00.000+09:30

Pretty much the only bad thing about Hawaii is the food. They have a lot of junk food, and most regular food is cooked the fattiest way possible. Throw in vegetarian and it's a struggle to find anything to eat.

One of only two decent places we found to eat was the Bubba Burgers chain on Kauai. The burgers look like cute little McDonald's burgers - but they taste amazing in a way Maccas have never been able to master. They had a vegie burger made out of Taro, a root vegetable kind of like sweet potato. I was hesitant to eat it, but it was really good.

Inside Bubba's - watch your burger get cooked on the grill by the local teenagers.

How cute are they? How good do they look?

Completely wrecked by our 2.5 hour hike and desperate for burgerrrrrrrs.

There are a some very well-placed waterfalls in Hawaii so tourists who don't want to hike for an hour can still see the natural beauty without breaking a sweat.

Such as this waterfall, literally on the side of a road.

We found this pie stall on the side of the road. The pie maker had created about 15 types of fruit and dessert pies.

We tried two types, one of which was mango. It was the best pie either of us has ever eaten.

Also the best looking pie I've ever seen.

More fishies out the front of our hotel and at Poipu Beach.

Blurry photo courtesy of a dirty underwater casing.

Parrot fish!

In the hotel pool.

Last night on Kauai. Sadness.

So long Kauai, thanks for the tan!

Hawaii Honeymoon: Kauai Part 4, Kalalau Trail

2010-05-17T14:16:00.001+09:30

Kauai is a small island. You can drive from one side to the other (on the one main road they have on the island) in an hour.

We took a drive along to the end of the highway, along the Coconut Coast and North Shore, stopping along the way at anything looking interesting. It was a gray, rainy day, but fortunately the sun came out sporadically enough that it was still a great day for our hike at the end of the road.

The USA is famous for their fruit pies - and we happened upon a little cafe in Princeville that sold slices of blueberry pies that made Alec exclaim in happiness - much to the amusement of the waitress who had never seen anyone so happy to buy pie before.

One very happy camper.

Princeville is in the shadow of mountains, which makes for a very dramatic landscape.

Just your average, run-of-the-mill location ...

A short drive past Princeville we came to Ha'ena Beach Park, where we saw this amazing view...

Across the road from the park is the Manini-holo dry cave, one of several sea caves located in the area. The cave, which is about 300 yards deep, used to be much larger but the 1957 tsunami partially filled it with sand.

It doesn't look so big ...

Amazingly huge. The roof and walls have beautiful colours and details.

A little further down the road is the Waikanaloa Wet Cave.

We decided on a hike, despite the bad weather. We'd heard great things about the Kalalau Trail, which starts at Ke'e Beach and leads to Hanakapiai Beach. You can continue the walk further, but the mud from the rain made it a really difficult hike so we just walked the 3.2km to the beach and back again.

View along the hike.

Muddy!

Our final destination comes into view.

Alone on Hanakapiai Beach.

Alec has no idea this is the last photograph in which his 3rd pair of Oakleys will appear. Shortly afterwards, Alec took his shirt off, dropping his sunnies into the stream.

The beach is only accessible via the walking track, making for a peaceful destination.

Navigating back over the steam out of paradise.

Hawaii Honeymoon: Kauai Part 3: Waimea Canyon

2010-05-15T14:54:00.000+09:30

Waimea Canyon is the largest canyon in the Pacific. It measures 10 miles long, 1 mile wide, and more than 3,500-feet deep.

We took a drive up into the canyon to do a hike. There are a lot of hikes you can do - you could easily spend days trying to do all of the walks.

Stunning.

The view is spectacular.

The Fraggle Rock of foliage.

Completely wrecked. What, we have to hike BACK UP again?

Hawaii Honeymoon: Kauai Part 2, Up In The Air

2010-05-12T22:45:00.002+09:30

Around 90% of Kauai isn't accessible by land, so the only way to see it is with a helicopter flight. We decided to take the Jack Harter Helicopter tour because they flew a Hughes 500 with the doors off for maximum photo greatness. I was incredibly excited about taking photos from the air - only to find myself squished in the worst possible seat because I was the lightest person on board - between a fat lady and the pilot, which left my arms pinned in a position like a T-rex. I put Alec in charge of the camera and enjoyed the view.

"I'm in a helicopter!"

The waterfall in Jurassic Park ...

... is tiny compared to some of the other falls on Kauai!

Kauai is known as the garden island because of the lush landscape and tropical waterfalls. It is home of the wettest spot on Earth, as well as Waimea Canyon, known as the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. While smaller than the Grand Canyon (it's still massive, mind you), I think it's actually more beautiful.

The amazing red soil.

Kauai is also famous for the Na Pali Coast - a stretch of coast that you can also only see by air or boat. It's also stunning - cliffs, canyons, set against turquoise water.

Part of the Na Pali coast.

Wedged in tight.

More lush valleys. Is there a dinosaur in there?

Last waterfall of the flight - we visited it on land not long after.

We had a particularly lovely sunset that night - amazing lighting for a few photos.

Taken off Poipu Beach.

Beautiful light for portraits.

Do we have to go home? Really?

Hawaii Honeymoon: Kauai Part 1

2010-05-11T22:48:00.000+09:30

For a change of pace we spent our second week on Kauai. We stayed in a boutique hotel on the beach in Poipu. We had a gorgeous view from the window and it was amazing falling asleep and waking up to the sound of waves crashing on the shore.

Lovely decor.

Not a bad view!

Just another perfect day in Hawaii!

At the hotel pool bar with the first of many cocktails.

Staying on the beach allowed for many walks in different lights. Thanks for being such a good model Alec :)

Sand bar on the beach in the dying light.

I was hoping to spot a rare Hawaiian monk seal on our visit, but since they're classed as critically endangered (only around 1500 left in total, 150 of which are on the main Hawaiian islands), so we were stunned to see a seal on the beach right outside our hotel on our first night. The next morning we went for a walk along walk along the beach, and saw a second one. Two days in a row, what amazing luck. The seals had hauled themselves out on to the sand and lay there for hours having a snooze. Local life guards set up barricades around them to keep people away.

Ignoring the paparazzi.

We stayed in an area where we saw amazing sunsets every night, right outside our room.

We also stayed right on a beach with great snorkeling. The water was crystal clear, so we had perfect visibility. There was a surprising amount of fish as well - in amazing colours. The fish were really relaxed about us snorkeling all around them, letting us get really close.

How's the serenity?

Doesn't get much better than this.

Monk seal spotting #2.

We hadn't realised Kauai was famous for ... chickens. That's right. There are wild feral chickens running all over the island. You literally can't take a step without tripping over a chicken. They are thought to be a cross between the chickens the Polynesians brought across many years ago, and the more recent fighting chickens, making them a very hearty breed. I've never seen such healthy, happy chickens, so island life clearly suits them well.

No, I'm not your dinner ...

Hawaii Honeymoon: Maui Part 3, Under The Sea

2010-05-10T21:43:00.000+09:30

People who get sea sick should NOT get on boats. It's as simple as that. Yet, I always find myself on a boat when I go to Hawaii. This time I was enticed by the idea to visit the Molokini Crater off the coast of Maui.

The crater, rising out of the ocean.

Wearing a wetsuit top as the water was pretty cold still.

Lanai island in the background.

In the water, the ocean life was pretty average - I've definitely seen better variety and numbers in other places, such as on the Big Island of Hawai'i. It was still enjoyable though, even with the sea sickness!

The next stop was "Turtle Town", an area off the coast of Maui with a large population of turtles. I think I saw about five different giant turtles. Seeing them swimming towards us through the clear sea was amazing - gentle giants of the ocean.

Here they come!

Bye for now!

Back on land, we received a tip from a local photographer on a place to spot more turtles, a beach called Black Rock. We swam a few meters off shore, and, sure enough, there were more turtles!

Black Rock - another gorgeous beach.

This guy ate a lot of sea grass. Or fungus. Or whatever it is they eat.

Lookout on the way back to our hotel.

Last night in Maui.

Hawaii Honeymoon: Maui Part 2, Sunset on Haleakala

2010-05-10T20:39:00.000+09:30

For some reason I thought it would be a good idea to watch the sunrise from Haleakala, the second tallest mountain in the world (the second is on the Big Island of Hawai'i). This adventure required us to get up at 2:10am (!!) for our 2:30am pick up. I felt pretty terrible on the bus, driving through the night up the side of the volcano, but it was all worth it when we arrived at the summit at about 5:30am, just before the sun rose.

The sun rise is spectacular from this spot as the sun peaks through the clouds, giving a view like none I've ever seen before.

Dark. And cold (5 degrees!).

Getting lighter (but no warmer).

I was getting pins and needles in my hands at this stage, but kept on snapping!

Finally, the sun peeks over the clouds.

The glow fills the sky.

Oh hai there! Amazing to witness.

Freezing, but worth it!

Fully risen - beautiful!

We took a tour with Maui Downhill to the top because we wanted to bike down the mountain after seeing the sunrise. As a bonus we got to wear these sexy banana suits. I was seriously doubting whether or not I could wear one, but I was so cold that I was willing to suffer the fashion disaster to stay warm. Clearly I'm no fashionista.

Obligatory pose for the honeymooners.

Check out the view from up here!

After an easy bike ride down the mountain, we stopped at the base - near some lovely horses. This fellow wanted to be friends.

We arrived back at our hotel at about 11am - and went straight back to bed! It was exhausting, but an amazing experience.

Mother's Day!

2010-05-10T19:52:00.000+09:30

My mum's pretty great. I know I'm lucky to have such a wonderful mum, so I like to spoil her on Mother's Day. This year I took my parents to lunch at my favourite local cafe, Not Bread Alone, and then went for a drive to Middle Head Harbour to check out the historical area and the amazing view.

It was perfect Sydney weather - stunning bright blue sky and amazing warm sun. We wandered around for a while, then checked out the nearby cafe, Burnt Orange. I had tried to book us in here for lunch, but it was booked out, so instead we went for afternoon tea when it was a bit quieter.

Happy Mother's Day Mum!

xox