In case you missed it...

We announced our wonderful news in our Christmas card but if you did miss it...we're 14 weeks pregnant. Row, Justin and I are over the moon happy about the new addition that will be joining our family. Baby Ming 2 is due mid July 2012, a dragon baby! Justin has been asking for a baby sister but we're not really sure if he even understands what a sister is. Some days he shows his excitement about the baby by telling everybody that mommy has a baby in her tummy (including his teacher at school when I was just 6 weeks) and other days he doesn't want to know anything. In the past week, he has been giving my tummy little kisses, let's hope that affection lasts!

Here she/ he is...

This pregnancy has been a little different to when I was pregnant with Justin. For one thing, I popped out way sooner than I did with Justin...so much so that people were asking if I was pregnant with twins!!!!! Up until almost 13 weeks when we did our first scan, we had to say, no I don't think so but we're not 100% sure as twins does run in our family. Needless to say, I started wearing maternity pants at about 10 weeks whereas with Justin, I was in normal clothes up until about 18 weeks. I also experienced morning sickness which I didn't have with Justin. It wasn't bad but having never had it before, I thought it was bad! With Justin I craved Mc Donalds and KFC, this pregnancy I was craving vegetables and fruit. 

Boxing Day Madness and New Year's Day 2012

We decided to brave the madness on Boxing Day...no we didn't go shopping, that would've been suicide. Instead, we joined the crowds at Darling Harbour playground. The weather was good, very warm with some cloud cover so it was comfortable outdoors. Justin's first stop was the flying fox, he had so much fun on it but it was so busy, he only went on it once.

The next stop was this massive wide slide which he had to climb up with the help of a rope. Not too hard for Justin, he was like a wallaby bouncing up there. Even Row had fun, joining Justin on this super duper awesome slide.

Climbing up the slide 

Coming down the slide

Row and Justin playing on the slide

Last but definitely not the least fun, Justin donned his rash vest and swimming nappy for some serious splashing around and fountain dodging. We ended off the morning with a much needed and deserved lunch of pizza...yummy, just something 'light' after our Christmas indulgences!

Fountain dodging

Splashing around

For our 3rd new year's in Sydney (which means we've been here for 2 years) we were invited for dinner at Claire and Hang. They made a delicious ham and some yummy salads and chow mein. Unfortunately, we had to eat and leave which meant we missed out on dessert. But we finally made it to the fireworks albeit the family show at 9pm. Justin was a little scared at first and even asked to go home but he eventually got use to the noise and even started enjoying it. Thankfully it was an early night which means we didn't make it till midnight. 

On New Year's day we were invited to a braai (BBQ) by our South African friends, Kirsten and John and their beautiful kids Hannah and Riley, at the Armory. It was relaxing and fun and the kids enjoyed the playground. After dinner it was tea and cakes at Kirsten's aunt's house. A nice relaxing way to ring in the new year with friends and good food.

Taking some lessons from Super Mom ;)

Wishing you all a healthy, happy and prosperous 2012. May it be a good year for us all. 

Merry Christmas!

Christmas has come and gone, in the blink of an eye, it seems. Justin seemed more aware of Christmas this time but we don't think he still fully understands what exactly Christmas is. He helped decorate the tree, helped hang up the stockings and even helped choose some of the presents for his friends and cousins. Every morning, Justin had to turn the Christmas tree lights on and admire the pretty colours. The one thing on his list....a guitar, one like Kau-Kau's (uncle Bg), a red one just like Murray Wiggle. Surprisingly we got him to sit with Santa and smile and ask for his red guitar. 


On Christmas Eve, we were invited to our friends Bev and Terrence, for a delicious dinner with all the traditional trimmings like turkey with stuffing, ham and an Aussie norm, prawns! Thanks for hosting us Bev and Terrence, the food was delicious and definitely set the tone for Christmas overeating and of course, the company was good, especially being away from family at this time of the year. Even the kids got into the spirit of Christmas by pulling crackers with one another. Just before midnight, Justin, Alison and Andrew exchanged gifts and were allowed to open them. Justin's eyes lit up when he saw what Ali and Andy had bought for him....a Mack truck with Sally and Doc (from Cars). 

Justin and Ali pulling crackers

Presents!!!!

Christmas morning dawned bright and not too early (thank goodness) and surprisingly, Justin was not nagging to open presents. Instead, he was quite content to play with the Mack truck (hence, us thinking he doesn't quite understand the Christmas indulgence...or maybe he's just able to savour each gift and appreciate it all ;) Justin eventually got around to opening his all his presents but not without playing with each gift for about 15min before opening the next one. The red guitar was definitely much appreciated and he totally enjoyed playing with it. 

Still trying to wake up

Justin's red guitar from Santa

Playing with all the new toys

Then it was off to Lisa and Frits for Christmas lunch....more turkey and stuffing, another ham and roast leg of lamb. With our tummies full and begging for a breather, we had our gift exchange before eating dessert (yummy) and still had tea and cupcakes afterwards! Thanks for organising and hosting the delicious pot luck Christmas lunch and the good company. 

Busy weekends

With an active toddler and very miserable weather, it was time to think outside the box on how to entertain Justin. We looked online for some ideas and one that popped out was the Australian Museum. It didn't seem very toddler-friendly but after checking out the website and seeing a dinosaur exhibition and a Kids Zone, we decided to go. We explained to Justin that we would be seeing some dinosaurs just like his books "The Bigger Digger." We basically had to bypass the entire museum because Justin was so excited about seeing the dinosaurs...until we got there. Whoa!!!!!!! They were massive...and it was dark...and there were sound effects. After a few minutes, Justin got use to it and kept pointing to the huge dinosaurs. After the dinosaur exhibit, we made a beeline for the Kids Zone where Justin did some art and craft and played with the toys. 

Standing with the T-Rex

Showing more interest in the interactive TV screen

Doing some art and craft

Two weekends ago, we drove up to the Central Coast to meet Justin's cousins Catherine, Nicholas and Matthew at the Australian Reptile Park. It's not too big, a nice size  that keeps the kids entertained and not too big that they get bored or tired. The main attraction were the crocodiles; even us adults were fascinated when the man fed those crocs. Nicholas and Matthew fed the kangaroos, Justin also wanted to but he wasn't brave enough to get close enough to feed them. His favourite animal was there too, koalas, lots of them, sleeping in the trees. Another big hit was Hugo, the Galapagos turtle. Hugo was massive and he was only middle aged at 60 years old. 

Sitting on the crocodile bench

Hugo

Feeding Elvis

Justin enjoying the day with Nicholas and Matthew

This past weekend we went to see The Wiggles. In anticipation of this big event, Justin watched The Wiggles DVD and practiced all the songs and his moves. 

We almost didn't make the concert as Justin had come down with a fever, cough and runny nose during the week and didn't even go to school on Wednesday. But on Saturday morning he seemed fine and was really excited about seeing the Wiggles. The whole morning, he kept telling us he, "I go see Wiggles, see Jeff, see Murray, see Anthony, see Sam, see Henry Otopus, see Dorothy Dinesaur, see Wags the Dog and see Cap'n Fesord (Feathersword).  Luckily, he fell asleep on the way to the concert and when he woke up and saw the massive Wiggles balloons, his face lit up and he just wanted to get out the car. Justin was so excited but also overwhelmed. Even Row and I were excited; we sat down, got the camera ready and waited for The Wiggles.....finally, they came out and Justin just froze! He sat on Row's lap or mine the entire concert, didn't want to sing or dance or clap. But after the concert, when we were waiting outside, Justin kept telling us he saw the Wiggles and they sang his favourite song Hot Potato which he then proceeded to sing and dance...ah well! At least we know he was probably enjoying the concert silently.

Waiting for The Wiggles

Watching the concert

Posing with The Wiggles

Sculpture by the sea

Sculpture by the sea is an annual art event held on the coastal walk between Tamarama and Bondi http://www.sculpturebythesea.com/exhibitions/bondi.aspx. We didn't make it last year as each time we wanted to go it was either too late, too hot, too busy, Justin's nap time, etc. This year there was no excuse as Justin wakes up quite early and you have no other choice but to get up as well. Luckily we headed out early as even at 8am, we circled Bronte looking for parking for a good 20 -30 mins, guess other parents had the same idea as us! It was a hot morning and there were many families milling around enjoying the different sculptures. It took us about an hour and a half to see most of the sculptures and by that time it was crowded and very hot. Personally, I'm not a fan of abstract art so I will admit that towards the end I just wanted it to finish. The description or name of each piece is so small and sometimes it wasn't worth jostling the crowds to read so in the end, it was just a piece of wood, or an old TV set, or a big pipe!

Justin's favourite sculptures were the shark, the tortoise, the funny creatures and the tap which he tells us is the tap for George from his book 'The Smartest Giant in Town'. 

But at least we finally made it this Sydney must do - must see event and we can tick it off our list. And who knows, maybe next year we shall go have a look again.

Is it a shrimp? Is it a periwinkle? Or is it a minnow?

Justin started swimming classes mid October and has loved every single class. When I told some of the moms at the play group that Justin was starting, they said be ready for tears and screaming! Even though Justin loved the beach and the pool last summer, he hasn't really been in the water this summer so I was feeling a bit anxious. But no need to worry, Justin is a natural water baby and loved swimming class from the get go. I actually make sure we arrive half an hour before class so that he can play around and then we stay for about 15-30 mins after class. From the third lesson, they start 'swimming' under water and Justin loves it. Funny boy hates it when the teacher pours water over his head but he does love swimming under water.

This class is more for getting children comfortable in the water and what to do should they fall in. They play a lot of games that encourage spacial awareness in the water, grabbing for the wall, floating on their back and sing songs.

Here are some clips of our water baby!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ymDVoAp1hM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0S137cgRh2I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWhQt8LDtnU

An outing to the aquarium

We have really made use of our annual pass to the aquarium, definitely made our money back about five times over. Yesterday, we caught the bus into the city with Rafael and Mao to catch the monorail from Chinatown. Poor Maya-jan (Rafael's baby sister) stayed home with granny so the boys could go nuts. This was our first time on the monorail and Justin didn't quite enjoy it. Thank goodness it was a short ride and he was much chirpier once we reached the aquarium. 

Every time we've gone there, different things catch Justin's attention. At the beginning of the year, it was the sharks, he loved the sharks! Now he's scared of them and won't go to the shark tank. The last time we went he was quite happy to watch the staff prepare the food for the dugong which was basically them washing lettuce and stuffing it into the wire rack. We stood there for a good 20 mins watching them do this. On most occasions, it's the penguins, dugongs, Nemo and Dory that he really loves. On these last two visits he's shown some interest in the octopus and the jelly fish especially as they 'light up' and are different colours. The aquarium have a special feature at the moment called "Claws" which is basically about crabs and they have two massive spider crabs which Justin loves as he's seen that in his book, "Tiddler, the story telling fish." He's even grown braver by touching the shark eggs, coral and shells in the interactive rock pool. 

As always, Justin and Rafael had a brilliant time together and enjoyed shouting in the tunnel, pointing out the rays, dugongs and various fish. Both boys passed out on the bus which meant it was a successful outing.

Looking at the octopus

The spider crabs

Justin pointing at Nemo and the ray

The dugong - it's so ugly that it's cute

Watching the shark swim overhead

At the interactive pool