Australia Day 2012

Lachlan, Sydney and Noah

We celebrated Australia Day in Manly this year with a bunch of Americans (and a couple token Aussies!)  It was a great day of BBQ, wine and beer with a great view of Shelley Beach.  The kids played together - Sydney was surrounded by boys (only just the beginning, I’m sure!)  We had a ball and definitely felt a bit dusty the next day.  Thanks Jess, Michael, Laura and Scott for great food and great company!

We took the leap and broke Sydney of the swaddle this week.  She slept in a sleep sack for the first time and it went great!  We also introduced Lamby for the first time (comfort toy - small blanket on the bottom with a plush lamb head on the top).  She absolutely loves it!  I’ll have to take a picture of her wrapping her arms around Lamby one of these days.  It will melt your heart :)

Now that her hands are free to sleep (and suck) we’ve discovered Sydney is a left handed thumb sucker!  There’s a part of me that wants to discourage her from sucking her thumb because I know it will be a hard habit to break when she gets older, but between that and the paci, I think it’s the lesser of two evils.  Besides, how on earth are we going to stop her from sucking her thumb if that’s what she does naturally?  So, let the thumb sucking begin!

I was lucky enough to enjoy my Christmas present this week- David watched Sydney, armed with some expressed milk in the fridge and I got to spend a couple hours at the spa enjoying an AMAZING massage and facial.  It was wonderful!  What a nice break for a bit.

I hope the sun comes out this week - it feels like it’s been raining for ages!

~LAA :) 

Sleeping Through the Night

Watching the Broncos play football!

Sydney and Noah are good friends already

It’s the elusive dream that all parents covet - getting their babies to sleep through the night.  This week (gasp!) we enjoyed three nights with little Miss Sydney Bug sleeping until at least 5:30am.  What a difference it makes for us to actually get 6+ hours of sleep in a row!  I had forgotten what that felt like.  I think it’s been a good 6 months since that’s happened for me.  Come on Sydney Girl - keep up the good work!

I enjoyed my first GNO this week.  Daddy used some milk from the freezer to do the dreamfeed and I indulged in a few glasses of wine/bubbly with some of the women from my Mothers Group.  It felt great to get dressed up and go out on the down for a night!  Even if it was just around the corner in Manly.

We kept up our Yummy Mummies exercise group - I’ve actually started to see some great success already with all this exercise!  I have a bit of a way to go yet, though... Here’s a pic of our babies lounging in the shade while their Mommies worked their tails off :)

Noah, Sydney, Cassie and Lachlan

David swam another 10K yesterday morning.  This time it was in the harbour side.  Sydney and I walked up to Q Station beach to meet him half way.  It was quite a hike up the hills and on the way back the skies opened up and poured down on us, but it was worth it.  I’m so proud of David for doing such a large swimming challenge.  It’s like running a marathon but for swimming since it takes close to 4 hours to complete it!  Nice work babe.  I’m so proud of you!

Sydney asleep in her stroller in the rain

David on the home stretch

He did it!

~LAA :)

Mornings in Manly

Boy, Sydney lives a tough life snoozing in the morning summer sun on Manly Beach.  :)

~LAA :)

Typical morning on Manly Beach

Sydney is 3 Months Old!

My Goodness a lot happens to a 3 month old in only one week!  Sydney turned 3 months old this week!  Here are some pictures of her to commemorate the occasion. :)

Sydney is learning to push up!

We spent a lot of time practicing rolling over with Mommy and Daddy’s help.  She rolled over a few times on her own, but I think we’re a couple weeks off of it being a regular occurrence.  We also worked a lot on swiping at toys.  Sydney found both Leo the Lion and Ellie the Elephant on her play mat and seemed to be very proud of herself for doing so :) Daddy has been trying to teach her how to wave.  Her hand eye coordination is improving every day.  I bet we’ll see that first real wave in no time :)

One morning this week I had to put her in the carrier to finish my hair and makeup.  Lying on the play mat in the bathroom just wasn’t fun enough any longer ;).  Sydney was fascinated by the hair dryer and especially the flat iron - she was pushing herself away from my chest so she could get a better look while I did my hair.  I explained to her she’ll understand one day that as a woman if you have straight hair you’re going to want to make it curly and if you have curly hair you’re going to want to make it straight... oh the plight of women!  Such a tough life we live.

First day in the big girl stroller seat

I’ve started working out with the Manly Yummy Mummies (that’s what we call our mothers group) a couple days a week.  I pop Sydney in the stroller (she’s now graduated from the bassinet to the big girl chair!) and run my way over to where we’re going to do our exercises as a group.  It’s a lot of fun and very motivating to have others to work out with.  The best part isn’t even the success I’ve seen after only a week and a half of training, it’s that it’s FREE for all of us!  What a great bonus! :)

Sydney is starting to learn her name - she smiled a few times this week when we called her by name.  What an amazing thing to watch your child learn!
~LAA :)

Sydney loves Sophie the Giraffe

3 Months old playing the piano

First week in the big girl stroller seat! 

 

She's holding her own paci!

Sydney’s First 12 Weeks

Sydney loves making music!

Wow, so many things happen in the first three months of a little girl’s life.  She’s learned to smile (a lot!), stick out her tongue, coo and laugh, roll to her side, suck her fists (and most other things that she can get into her mouth)!  She’s started swiping at toys and actually grabbing them sometimes.  She’s got a comfort toy called “Lamby” that she adores and we’ve introduced her to a toy piano that you attach to the inside of the crib.  She kicks it to press the soft keys and it makes animal sounds and plays music.  She LOVES it! 

I’ve been so busy for the past three months that I’ve been terrible about blogging but one of my goals in 2012 is to keep up with my blogs on a weekly basis so I’ll do my best to keep everyone up to date on her development in a more real-time format :)  In the meantime, here are some great shots of her over the past 6 weeks.

~LAA :)

Sleeping in the over-the-shoulder-baby-holder

Sleeping in Daddy's arms

Tummy time!

Look how strong I am!

Starting to roll over...

Sydney loves to stick out her tongue :)

David Swam a 10K!

Check out that stroke!

Yes, that’s right.  My crazy husband actually swam a 10K!  It took 3.5 hours!  He went with a few folks from the Bold & the Beautiful and they swam from Manly to Queenscliff, to Freshwater, to Curl Curl, back to Shelley Beach and finally ending up back at Manly beach.  Sydney and I walked down to welcome him home and congratulate him on such an accomplishment.  I got some great shots of him swimming! :)

~LAA :)

Getting back in at Shelley for the home stretch

The lead group!

It all started at the Manly Life Saving Club

Sydney’s First Christmas and NYE

Meeting Santa

Christmas was really wonderful for us this year.  Although Sydney is too young to understand any of it, we had fun starting some traditions together.  Mimi had sent ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas which we used to read every year when I was a kid.  I really enjoyed reading it to her this year.  She seemed to be interested in the book as well which was an unexpected surprise.  Being only 11 weeks old we can’t expect much in terms of her attention span. ;) 

It took all day to open our gifts - again due to the attention span of our little Sydney Bug.  Santa was very good to all of us this year.  David got some pants and shorts since all his swimming has caused him to lose inches, I got a spa gift certificate from Sydney and David (YES!!!) and Sydney got a bunch of toys, books and clothes, along with a college fund savings account.  Mimi sent her a baby spoon in our silver pattern!  We were very fortunate this year.  We’re so grateful for all that we have. 

David, Linds, Sydney, Pete, Jo, & Samuel

Jo, Pete and Samuel (5 weeks old) came over for Christmas lunch.  We had our traditional beef wellington and crab legs.  It was delicious if I do say so myself!  There was SO much food, though.  We had enough crab left over to make a full pasta dish the next night! 

NYE was pretty chill this year (as you can imagine with a newborn!) we enjoyed the sunshine a bit that weekend and went down to the beach with Sydney (well, the shade in the grass over looking the beach, technically ;)).  The night of NYE we had dinner at home and took Sydney down to the 9pm Manly fireworks.  She woke up with all the commotion but handled it very well!  She didn’t seem bothered by the fireworks at all and the crowd kept her interest.  I was really impressed with her ability to take it all in, actually.  After the fireworks were over, we came back home to tuck everyone in for bed.  I ended up being the only one awake at midnight and watched the Sydney Harbour fireworks on TV while thinking about how blessed I am for what we’ve experienced during 2011. 

Sydney showing Daddy how it's done

Bring on 2012!

~LAA :)

Our little reindeer

How could you not love this little girl??!

1st annual reading :)

Sydney at NYE with Daddy

Thanksgiving 2011

Our holidays were a bit different this year than in the past - for good reason!  With a newborn to manage we had to learn how to celebrate in new ways :) 

Thanksgiving was fun with our friends Laura and Scott and their son Noah.  Laura is one of my fellow Mother’s Group-ers.  We met at our antenatal class and ended up in the hospital at the same time.  Ironically, Sydney came 11 days late and Noah came 9 days early!  Come to find out, not only are our children one day apart, but we live across the street from each other, we share the same birthday and Scott and David’s birthdays are one day apart as well!  It’s been wonderful having another mother so close to lean on. 

We introduced Laura and Scott to some of our favorite Thanksgiving traditions.  As Australians they hadn’t had the likes of pumpkin pie or traditional stuffing, let alone Aunt ZZ’s toffee.  As expected, everyone rolled out of the house with full bellies and warm hearts.  It was nice to share the holiday with them :)

~LAA :)

Mothers Group

First playgroup

Australia offers so many wonderful resources for new parents.  We’re really quite fortunate to be experiencing new parenthood living here.  From the breast feeding support to play groups, to the early childhood centers and mother’s groups - they really know how to set parents up for success in this country. 

My mothers group consists of 16 women, all with babies born within 3 weeks of each other.  The first 4 meetings were organized by the local early childhood center and then we were on our own to continue meeting.  I’m lucky that the women in our group all get along really well.  There are fewer women participating in outings now, but our core group of 10 or so have developed a real connection.  We have a ball together gabbing about new mother things - sleeping habits, schedules, breast feeding challenges, the rainbow of poo colors, developmental games... you name it! I’m SO grateful for this support group.  We all live in Manly or close proximity so we walk to our gatherings in a pram caravan.  It’s quite a site to see, actually but there are so many mother’s groups in Manly that it doesn’t seem to phase anyone when we rock up to a bar with all our babies and take over a corner.  I’m having so much fun getting to know the ladies :)

~LAA :)

The kids loved the parachute

Sydney checking out the scene

Sydney is 1 Month Old!

My how time flies!

~LAA :)

Daddy is psyched to have his picture taken...

How cute am I?

I'm just finding my fingers

We’re On Our Own

6 weeks in, the visitors are gone and now it’s time for us to solidify our little family unit.  It didn’t occur to me at the time, but for the first 6 weeks of Sydney’s life, my interaction with her was very business like in nature.  I was really the milk provider and infrequent cuddler because there were so many people who needed/wanted to interact with her during the early days.  With 3 of her grandparents flying across the globe to meet her, and David already back at work so the evenings became his only time with her, I really had to relinquish much of the available quality time to others since it was their only opportunity to get to know her.  But, when the visits came to an end, it was my turn.  I was finally able to spend some time getting to know my baby girl.

Something magical happened during that first week we were on our own.  I fell madly in love and we connected in a way that only a mother and daughter understand.  Sydney finally felt like MY daughter.  The out-of-body experience of being a new parent finally came to an end and my feet touched the ground.  I’m a mother now.  Sydney is my daughter.  David is her father.  We’re a family and our bond is so special, so pure.  My heart is warm with love and affection for what we’ve created together.  What an amazing experience it is to become a parent!

~LAA :)

Grandma and Grandpa Adams Visit

Three generations

Mom Sharon and Papa John (aka Grandma and Grandpa) arrived almost a week after Mimi departed.  Admittedly, I was nervous to host my in-laws for 2 weeks because David would be at work and the four of us would be on our own all day but my nervousness was for naught.  We had an incredibly special visit with Grandma and Grandpa.  Not only were they able to bond with Sydney, but the three of us were able to get to know each other so much better as well.  We had a ball together!  I’m SO glad they were able to make the trip out!

Grandma was incredibly helpful in the kitchen - I don’t think I cooked but once the entire time they were here.  We had some incredible food with my recipe collection expanded by the time they left - although I opted not to keep the recipe that called for many CUPS of corn syrup! ;)  It was so clear to me how instantly in love Mom Sharon was with Sydney.  She was SO good with her.  It puts a smile on my face envisioning them cuddling as I type.

Grandma and Sydney

The biggest surprise to me was witnessing Grandpa with Sydney.  When his own children were young, Papa John was working many long hours, often taking him away from the family overnight.  As a result, he didn’t get to participate as much as he would have liked in the rearing during their very young years.  When PJ connected with Sydney, he simply melted.  His timidness early on to hold her dissolved away quickly and it developed into his desire to snuggle with his baby granddaughter every chance he got!  It was magical to see.  Now if only we could get him to change a nappy... ;)

Grandpa and Sydney

Every time we spend time with the Adams family, I’m reminded just how lucky I am to have such incredible in-laws.  They’ve got to be the most warm, welcoming, generous and jolly people I’ve ever met.  There’s no way to feel unloved when you’re a part of the Adams family.  It’s an amazing feat that I emphatically hope to replicate with our own growing family. 

Grandma and Grandpa Adams are also the most generous people I’ve ever met - David has come by this amazing trait honestly, that’s for sure.  They arrived in Australia with and entire bag filled to the brim with gifts for our little girl.  In true Mom Sharon fashion (with Gigs/Auntie GG’s help of course!) she has managed to outfit our baby girl for her entire first year of life for next to nothing.  Carters was having a massive sale and Mom Sharon has a sixth sense for these things - it’s uncanny, honestly.   I’m surprised they didn’t owe HER money when she left the store! ;)

There were tears again at the airport when we saw Grandma and Grandpa off.  We’re all looking forward to the day when our visits won’t be so few and far between.

~LAA :)

First ferry ride

Sailboats from the ferry

Sydney taking the bottle like a champ!

Happy family

We missed you Auntie GG!