Catching up

PA250006
Originally uploaded by Crit Chicken

Last weekend (what a long time ago it was now!) we had a long weekend in Sydney, to show Grandma Joyce some of the sights. So we did the usual touristy things - ferry trip to Manly, ride on the monorail to Darling Harbour, Aquarium and Wildlife World, stand on the steps of the Opera House. We had a good time, but we all came home very tired, and D'Arcy came back with a cold. That would have been OK, but it was his birthday this last week, so he had to have another day off school to be ready for it.

Sadly I have no photos to prove that he is now 8, despite the fact that he had 4 birthdays: one with his dad and family a few days before; one at school in his class on the day (well, just cake really); one with my family on the day; and one a the local laser-tag place with some friends yesterday. At the two events where I was present I was either trying to wrangle food, or babies, or children, and didn't have a spare hand for a camera. No-one else thought to take any either, sadly, but perhaps I can get a snap of him opening some presents from his party that came to my house yesterday.

We are gearing up for the election, hoping our yard signs arrive in time for our party at least (they were on back order, and didnt ship with everything else), and inviting all the ex-pats we know. Still cautiously optimistic and not putting voice to the many fears of nightmare pre- and post-election scenarios (and there are plenty of them, trust me)

Erik can now roll from his back to his front (there's video of it, but it's still on the camera), but not the other way, and he gets grumpy if someone else doesn't rescue him and flip him back over. He's also very interested in his toes, and in shoving everything that comes within reach into his mouth, also becoming excited about watching us eat and tracking the progress of food to the mouth. He'll be 5 months this week, which is very hard to believe.