Out and About

Last week we had the first rainfall in over 100 days! It only lasted about 10 mins but we got very excited. Perth is the sunniest state capital in Australia and, although the heat gets a bit oppressive at times,  it is great being able to get outdoors so much. During the summer there are free events and concerts every weekend, here are some we have been to recently.

Retro Rewind
This was a free concert in Yanchep national park. We took a picnic (well we picked up Subway en-route) and spent a few hours watching some 60's and 70's music and checking out the koala enclosure in the park.

Sculptures by the Sea
Nick surprised me last week by taking a day off  as it was our 9 year anniversary (crumbs where has that time gone!). We decided to go to Sculptures by the Sea which is a big outdoor art exhibition right on the beach at Cottesloe. It was a really hot day and the usual sea breeze was absent but it was still worth it to see all the sculptures in this beautiful setting.

Mandurah Crab Fest
Should have just been called Mandurah Fest as there was disappointingly few references to crabs.There was some live music, cooking demonstrations, market stalls, skateboarding and BMX ramps and some childrens activities. I was sure I would be able to get Devon a soft toy crab but alas no. We did get him a little hippy hoodie and some wooden instruments though (things that make a noise are his thing at the moment).
We got there early thank goodness as by midday it was heaving.

As you may have noticed, we use our baby carrier A LOT. It is by far the most useful baby item we own. I love our buggy but unfortunately Devon doesn't feel the same way. In contrast he rarely cries or fusses in the carrier, and if we are out for a while in it then he usually falls asleep. It's comfy and you are free to go wherever you want; stairs, sand, crowds are all easy peasy. We got an Ergobaby carrier, a bit pricey but worth it in my opinion.

Devon at 6 months

This month has been a busy one for Devon in terms of development; he really seems like a different baby compared to one month ago! 

He started the month by learning to sit (unsupported) and stand (supported). Next came a massive increase in his curiosity and suddenly he wanted everything he could get his hands on; faces, hands, watches, clothes, the cat, furniture, cushions, towels, food, drink, nothing was safe from his little hands. And of course everything he grasps goes in the mouth!

He's also now babbling away ('ma-ma-ma' and 'ba-ba-ba' etc) and making noises that sound suspiciously like real words ('eggs' and 'onion' appear to be favourites).

He lifts his arms up when he wants to be picked up, and when he wants a cuddle. It's very cute. And when he wants a feed he pulls at my top and lunges at me with his mouth open. He's starting to lunge forward for things out of his reach too, the first signs he has shown of wanting to get mobile!

Of course all this new-found interest in the world around him means he gets bored if he stays in the same place for too long or doesn't get new things to play with. He's mostly bored of his toys now so we find ourselves giving him water bottles, coat hangers and stubby holders to play with. 

We have also tried to give him lots of new experiences; I've taken him to a couple of local art galleries, we've been to the beach, had lots picnics in the park, been on a few bush walks and I take him for a daily walk around the garden and talk to him about the wildlife we see. We also went out for our first evening meal to a restaurant and it went ok!

It's becoming really obvious how much Devon loves being outside. He can be in a right grump indoors, take him out on the veranda and he's instantly happy! 

I was really hoping we would have taken him camping by now, but to be honest camping takes time and energy to organise for just two people, let alone taking a baby along. And spare time and energy are in short supply around here. I'm convinced Devon would enjoy it though.

We have committed to a 10 day camping trip to Kalbarri in April though, so we need to have at least one trial run weekend before then I think.

Please take me camping Daddy!

After trying baby rice at 5 months we then tried him with some mashed banana, and mashed avocado, both of which he liked. I then gave up with the solids for a while because Devon became far more interested in grabbing the spoon and bowl from me than actually eating! So the vast majority of the month he just had milk feeds.

But the past few days we have started him on finger foods, and he is doing great. I really like the idea that he just has a bit of whatever we eat. So far he has tried melon, cucumber, cooked red pepper, cous-cous, beef, chicken and pork. He loves the meat! We cut them up into long chunky strips and he picks it up and chews and sucks it himself. I'm not sure how much he actually eats but it is all good practise for him.

He is also doing really well with a sippy cup, he can practically use it himself, he just doesn't tip the cup quite high enough yet.

Pork and cous cous for dinner

In addition to all that, Devon caught his first cold and his first tooth is starting to come through! This has meant a few unsettled days and nights, but on the whole he has been a happier baby this month and is (slowly) starting to sleep longer. We have had a few 6-7 hour stretches at night recently, which has been brilliant.

I'm really looking forward to the next six months. I feel like we have got the hardest part done, now the fun can start!   

Devon at 5 months

January seems to be flying past at a ridiculous rate, and somehow Devon has reached 5 months old.

It's true, looking after a baby most definitely gets easier as you go along.

Devon is much happier now than he was a few months ago. Most of the time he sits happily on our laps, plays with his toys, watches the cat and is generally interested in what's going on around him. He loves being bounced and has a great time in his jumperoo.

This is a vast improvement from us having to constantly hold him and walk around the house while he wailed, never getting to sit down unless he was asleep or feeding, taking it in turns to eat dinner etc etc!

Unfortunately he still thinks 5am is time to get up, and wakes several times during the night. I think I've just got used to having less sleep now.

I also think we have grown more confident as we get to know what works and what doesn't, and have developed our own ways of adapting to life with a small baby.

We have just started the solids adventure. I was going to wait until six months, but he has been showing signs of readiness so I mixed up a few teaspoons of baby rice with some breastmilk a couple of days ago and offered it to him on a spoon just to see what he would do. Once he realised what was going on, he opened his mouth wide and gobbled it down, looking at me expectantly for more!

We'll be taking it slow with the solids though, as we're still going strong with the breastfeeding, which is not only easy peasy now, but has meant that I have now lost all my pregnancy weight (I put on 20kg - way more than you're supposed to!) without a shred of diet or strenuous exercise. Just shows you that nature knows best, obviously I needed to eat all those cakes during my pregnancy for milk making. And I still get to eat as much as I want!

It's getting hot now, and while we have air-con so it's nice and cool inside, I don't really like staying in all day with Devon. I get bored, so I figure he must do too. But it's hard to find things to do when it's 40 degrees out. We took him for his first swim last weekend, down at our local lido. They have a couple of shady baby pools, and he loved it, watching the other children and splashing about. We also go to the library sometimes as that's nice and cool too.

In other news, all our chickens are now dead. We're not 100% sure what killed them, but we found their dead bodies crawling with bull ants so it's possible it was the ants that killed them. We need to get rid of the ants nest before we can get any more chickens.

There is a transition going on in the garden, all the winter plants and grasses are dying off (Nick's lawn sadly didn't make it) while the summer trees and shrubs are surging into life. New lemons, oranges and pomegranates are starting to appear. I'm hoping we'll get a couple of pomegranates this year before the parrots eat them all again.

We have moved into bushfire season now, only last week there was a serious blaze that destroyed over 50 homes, only 10-15km away. And only this week there was a fire down the other end of our road. We are all members of a facebook fire alerts group, so if there is a risk we can be notified pretty quick. My emergency plan is basically grab Devon and go. Scary stuff.

This Festive Season

It's quite hard to feel festive when it's sunny and warm, Christmas in the southern hemisphere is a very different holiday to the Midwinter celebrations we are used to in the UK. Last year we went camping, but this year is our first Christmas with Devon, our 4 month old baby, so we stayed at home and had a nice relaxing time.

Normally we like a big family get together this time of year but that would have meant flying back to the UK, and with a four month old baby we didn't quite fancy it!

Even though Devon didn't really know what was going on, we wanted to make the day special so we put up decorations, got a few presents and ate lots of food.

We opened the presents slowly, one by one, taking breaks for naps and lunch.

It seemed too much effort to cook a roast dinner for just the two of us, so we cooked a ham like we do every year (in cider and spices) and had bread, cheese and chutneys.

Life with a baby is pretty different, no more lie-ins (5.30am is sleeping in late for Devon, I kid you not). Hence no more late nights, and little or no drinking anymore. But the perks are that Devon wakes every morning smiling his head off and now loves playing and laughing and interacting with people. He still has his grumpy moments but they are getting fewer. Getting a baby to laugh is one of the most gratifying things in the world and you don't want it to stop.

We didn't even try to stay up until midnight on New Years Eve, in fact we were all in bed by 9pm. Devon sometimes wakes for a midnight snack, but he didn't wake until 2.30am so we all missed 12 o'clock. Sleep is more important right now!

Instead to celebrate the start of the new year we all went out for a picnic on New Years Day to Lake Leschenaultia and it was a lovely day, 26 degrees and a gentle breeze.

We are quite excited about 2014. 2013 was great, our first full year here in Australia and of course, Devon was born. But the first few months of his life went by in a bit of a sleep-deprived blur, with a lot of trial and error going on. It's so amazing to think of all the things he will learn this year, starting to eat, walk and talk.

And now he is getting so much more aware of his surroundings, and we are slowly finding more energy, we can do more with him, take him camping, and hiking and all the stuff we like to do. As a result it feels like our normal life is slowly starting to resume!

Best wishes to all for 2014!

Devon at 4 months

This weekend Devon turns 4 months old! Where does the time go. We haven't been up to much apart from looking after Devon (although Nick did pop to Sydney the other weekend - and I'm sure he'll write a blog post about it eventually).

Devon is now so much more fun to have around, he laughs and plays and can grab toys with his hands. He's also discovered his feet, and likes sucking on his toes. His head control is much better now and he likes to sit up in our laps or in his bumbo seat.

He seems fascinated by other children, we went to a eight-year old's party the other day and he was totally absorbed by the children playing. So I took him along to a baby rhyme time session at the local library yesterday and he loved it!

We are getting Christmassy around here, even though it's getting scorching hot we wanted this year to be special as it's our first Christmas as a little family. So we have put a tree up and got a few presents together. My parents are flying back to the UK to be with my brother and his family so it will just be the three of us.

We'll be having a nice relaxed simple day with presents, Christmas tunes and movies and a cold meats lunch.