Train for the ages

Ella's expedition to the Weston Park train (see one of yesterday's stories) jogged a childhood memory of being excited by the train myself. So I dug through the old photo albums and uncovered documentary evidence to support my claim that this train must be almost as old as me.

The evidence is shown on the above -- compare with the snap below. It seems that the train "carriages" have changed colour in the intervening years, and perhaps the seats have been re-covered. But the styling is unmistakable.

You'll see from the photo that, despite this being my party, I was a shy lad and did my best to avoid the glare of the camera. Nothing's changed there. In contrast, Susie (at the back, obviously being egged on by Raymond King) wasn't shy about showing off. Meanwhile, uber-dork Cathy steals the show with her four-eyed death stare.

Tummy Time

Little Katy is getting more active on her gym mat.  Her neck muscles are much stronger as she is able to lift and turn her head while on her tummy. She really enjoys watching things move whether that be the trees outside or the toys hanging from her gym mat. 

  

And Ella still loves her...

Choo Choo

Mother's group ventured out in the 4C misty day to Weston Park to have a train ride and play. The kids absolutely loved going on the mini train.  The sun did eventually come out, while the kids all played and explored the playground.  The double width slide was also a great hit.

  

 

Good Memory

After being out for most of the day firstly to swimming lessons, then to watch daddy get his whooping cough booster (and watch him faint!), to the cafe to help daddy recover :), drop daddy off at work, drive out to Queanbeyan (including a snooze on the way) where we investigated options for paving of Pippa's path through the lawn, then home via coles and jammo playground, Ella was very particular as to her plans for the rest of the arvo - watching Upsy Daisy, Makka Pakka and Igglepiggle, which are characters from her favourite show In The Night Garden, in her pink suit :) When I told Andy about our day that night, he revealed that he had promised Ella if she got dressed she could watch In The Night Garden in her pink suit after swimming ... seems like her long term memory is beginning to function. BTW do you like my first attempt at plaits?

 

10 Random Things

1. Everyone in the house including Pippa and minus Ella has had a needle (or 2 in Katy's case) in the last week.
2. Why does Pippa chase birds flying in the sky and dust dancing in the sunlight when she catches neither?
3. I predict Katy is going to be a thumb sucker.
4. We just planted an apricot and a pear tree in the back garden.
5. Today I saw 2 Sulphur crested cockatoos having fun hanging upside down on a powerline.
6. Ella's can now sing her own version of 'Old MacDonald had a Farm.'
7. Andy may feature in an article in the Higher Education section of wednesday's Australian after he gave a lecture on the Southern Ocean at a forum on Climate Change yesterday.
8. I survived feeding, bathing and putting to bed the 2 girls by myself last night while Andy was out having drinks with the big wigs from the forum.
9. Katy is in the 90th percentile for height and her granuloma on her belly button has almost healed.
10. Trying out a new recipe tonight - coconut chicken curry risotto.

Beautiful Brindabellas

Today was an absolutely beautiful day - clear blue skies, light breeze and a top temp of 16C. What better way to spend such a fantastic day other than going for a walk. Katy, Pippa and I strolled up Mt Painter, the little hill at the back of our suburb and we were rewarded with stunning views of the distant hills - the Brindabellas. It make you appreciate what a fantastic place we live in.

Look on the Bright Side

Lunchtime naps are a thing of the past or have been replaced sometimes with a 20min catnap at about 4ish.  At first we (especially me) thought this was terrible but slowly we have got used to this change in routine.  Actually we now really like it as we no longer have to plan our day around getting home for lunch and a nap.  

With our new found freedom, we ventured out on Saturday to watch Andy run a cross country race that started at 1pm. We didn't get to see him all that much - only at the start and finish - and seeing though it was an 8km race we had a little time to kill.  What can one get up to while waiting ... well ...

• balancing on logs
  

 

• playing with rocks and sticks
  

 

• a new hat (course marker!)