My Birthday

Thanks for all of the kind "happy birthday" wishes this week. I had a lovely birthday. We started the day by calling my dad b/c his birthday is on the 25th: since we are a day ahead, we celebrate our birthdays at the same time. Kinda nifty.

Max and I had a busy morning. We went to the Mt. Coot-tha Botanical Gardens to do their "hide-and-seek trail." It is a beautiful garden and Max enjoyed the trail. We stopped for morning tea during a brief rainstorm. The highlight of the outing was when we watched two crows trying to kill a young tiger snake. The crows' objective was to break the snake's back so it couldn't escape. A woman who was watching the snake and crows with us said that once the snake's back is broken, the snake will bite itself. Hard to imagine but okay. We didn't watch long enough for the crows to finish it off--a couple of Canadians couldn't help but approach the battle to take pictures. They kept scaring away the crows. Max lost interest (we stood about 10 meters away for safety so there wasn't much to watch when the crows periodically flew away at the approach of the Canadians).

After the botanical garden, we headed to the doctor where I received the swine flu vaccination then Max and I went to a cafe for a lunch date. He was so well-behaved at the doctor and at the cafe. He's usually so active that it is hard to contain him during those types of activities. What a birthday treat!

Our friend Emmanuel watched Max in the evening while Tim and I walked around the West End and had dinner at a Greek restaurant. It was so nice to have a leisurely meal with Tim. Thank you Emman and thank you Tim!

Bike Riding

Max learned to ride his bike without training wheels! He had attempted it in December but he wasn't confident enough to stick with it. This week he was ready.

Art from Preschool

Ready to go to the park: I asked him to dress himself. Little Jokester.

Riding his bike

Abby's 3rd Birthday

Max's friend, Abby, had her third birthday party today at an indoor play center and cafe. We had such a lovely time. Abby's family recently moved to Toowoomba, a town about 1.5 hours from Brisbane. It was fun to see them--we miss seeing them regularly.

Playing musical chairs

The kids didn't understand the game. They weren't listening to the music. The only time they sat down was when the leader told them to. There was no scrambling for chairs. No chairs tipped over. Two kids never sat on a chair together. They were thinking, "Why is this lady telling us to sit when there are not enough chairs?" Tears were shed over the lack of chairs only once.

Playing vids

The birthday girl and her mummy

The John Family

Some friends, Robin and Richard, from our Chicago days were traveling through Brisbane on their way to Perth. We met them at the airport during their brief stopover. They had flown from FL to LA, had a 12-hour layover (they went to the beach and rented bikes), flew LA to Brisbane then were boarding another 5-hour flight to Perth. All of them, kids included, were in remarkably good spirits. They hardly looked fatigued!

Thanks for the lovely coffee and chat!

The Johns scrambling for their next flight

As an aside, I am a bit of a "stress case" when I travel. Because only ticketed passengers can pass through security in the U.S., I haven't been in an airport terminal as a non-traveler in years. For domestic flights in Australia, any person can pass through security into the terminal. I found the experience rather relaxing as a non-traveler--I watched the stress around me from the safety of my worry-free bubble. In fact, if I had been holding any tension in my body, I think the travelers took it with them. No more yoga or massage for me! In the future, I'll just visit the airport!

Wednesday the 10th

We visited Tim's office over lunch

Max made a campfire from seashells.

Masterpiece from Preschool/Kindy

Marble Race

Here is a follow-up video of Max's marble race. He still likes to play with it but not as it was intended. He likes to create new paths for the marbles. In this case, he wanted the marbles to go outside on the patio but we didn't have enough pieces. We had a few discussions about gravity after he tried to extend the end towards the door, creating an uphill portion.

Playing "Super"

Max has a Disney anthology which includes a couple of stories about The Incredibles. We call them the "Supers." Max's cousins gave him this super outfit for Christmas 2008.

A "super" pose

Second Week of Preschool

Max was not nearly as excited about preschool this morning. Beforehand, he tried to convince me that it wasn't preschool day then, upon arrival, he didn't want me to leave him. Tugs at my heart strings. He's still so little!

On a brighter note, we went bushwalking yesterday afternoon at Mt Coot-tha. We'd had buckets of rain Saturday night so we had to walk through the stream bed where the path was flooded. Max loved it! He walked the summit path to about 1/2 km from the top then ran all of the way down.

Max Loves Red Peppers

Tonight I made pizza for dinner. Half the pizza had red peppers on it. Max's half had sauce, ham and cheese. When I served the pizza, Max asked what was on Tim's and my pieces. I told him that I put red peppers on mommy and daddy's but that his piece did not have any. Max proceeded to explain that he liked the PRETEND red peppers that were on his piece of pizza. Every time he took a bite, he exclaimed, "I got a red pepper!"

I would ask, "Was it good?"

"Yes!"

A few times he told me that he got a spicy red pepper in a bite. He liked the pretend spicy ones equally well.

First Week of February

Tim fell asleep as I read books to Max--I don't think either of them budged all night.

Max wanted me to fill a bucket with water. He proceeded to sit in it. When I pulled out the camera, he then asked me to take photos of him in different poses (smiling, saying "oh", standing in the bucket, looking up). He then started running a circuit around the patio columns, around the table, through the water in the bucket, and down the path to the back garden. I was the official announcer/commentator (saying things like, "Ooo, he chose to go a different route this time). I'd post a video, but, as usual, he's naked in it.

The best seat in the house

Max's friend, Abby, spent the night. Max went to bed early but Abby stayed awake for a late night concert (she played the drum/book).

First Day of Preschool

Today is Max's first day of preschool. He didn't really want to go but he came around to the idea when it was time to put on his "new" backpack and carry his lunchbag. When we arrived at his school, we saw a little girl who was in his pre-kindy class. He mentioned that "she plays with Toby. Toby snatches." I gave him a little pep talk about what to do if another child tries to take his toy. After that, it was smooth sailing. He put his shoes and backpack into his cubby, found some trains, gave me a kiss and hug, and that's that.

Daddy going to work. Maxie going to school.

Max loved this picture because he knew he was pulling a face

Ready for school

In his "classroom"

I'll have to post pictures of his school. It has such a good set up. It's in a converted home in a neighborhood. One wall has been knocked out so the kids can choose to be indoors or outdoors. The garden has a greenhouse, sandpit, climbing area, mature trees, rock walls, and a cave for the kids to play and climb on. There are always lots of different art projects (Max seldom does them) and many building/discovery toys as well as imaginative play areas. I'm a big fan of the place, as you might perceive.

He'll attend Mondays and Tuesdays from 9-2.30. It seems like a long time for the little guy. Hopefully he will still be keen to go tomorrow!

Joschka's Third Birthday Party

Max's friend, Joschka, turns three today but we celebrated with him yesterday. Max and Joschka are bushwalking, camping and biking buddies. The party was held at a local pool with nice wading pools and water slides. Maxwell went on the big water slide that ended in the lap pool all by himself! I am constantly amazed at his newfound comfort in the water--he just started putting his head underwater in December! No wonder people say that kids grow up fast!

Max and the birthday boy

We had four of five rain squalls during the 2.5 hours we were at the pool. The first one came before we had changed into our swimmers.

Sharing umbrellas and watermelon