Just like that, another year is gone. Seriously, I know people say things go faster with the second one, but this last year flew! Morgan turned one on February 17 and we celebrated with some close friends a couple weeks after the big day. Her actual birthday was pretty low key, but she got a sweet, carefully picked out gift from sister (a "beanie boo" monkey, that just happens to be one of Emma's favorite things as well). And as it fell on a Friday, it meant that just Morgan and I got some time to do our own thing together. The rain fell down in buckets the afternoon of her birthday and the morning of her birthday party, as it seems to be the thing to do in Sydney right now. Every. Single. Day. But that's ok, the birthday girl seemed not to notice and the "You are my sunshine" themed party helped to balance out the otherwise dismal weather.
We've watched many milestones pass by in the past year and now we wait in anticipation to see what the youngest member of the family will do next (maybe walking, one day? She could really care less about it right now). But one thing's for sure, this girl is happy, and when she's not happy, well she let's you know it. We call it "the squawk" and I think most people that have heard it would agree, you can hear a little of it here (along with a lot of other chaos) while she carefully negotiates the stairs...
Seriously, back to the happy part. Quite simply she loves life. She loves to smile. She loves to laugh. She loves to eat. She loves to crawl as fast as she can with her head down until she falls face first. She loves to crawl up the stairs as fast as she can. She loves to hug and "kiss" your face. She loves when she's sitting in her high chair and sees daddy coming in the front door. She loves to sit in our little kid Ikea chair. She loves to "flap her wings" to show her excitement. She loves to fall backwards. She loves to throw her neck back and have you tickle it. She loves to sit in her Pilates v-sit (she must have a seriously strong core). She loves to sleep (THANK GOODNESS, not always uninterrupted, but nonetheless I'll take it). She loves to sleep in her cot. She loves her big sister. She loves when her big sister drives her around in a car. She loves bath time, especially with her big sister. She loves to rummage. She loves to open and close everything she can get her hands on. She loves to get everything out of any box, drawer, container she can find. She loves dogs. She loves the park. She loves ME.
She loves the park!
She loves just trying to be a big girl.
Always in her Pilates v-sit
We feel so lucky that her list of loves is so big. While I could make a list of things she does not love, that's not much fun. So pretty much just imagine trying to stop her from doing any of the above things and you can figure out what she does not love. And then you'll get "the squawk." And if your name is Emma, you might just get a bite as well.
No biting here, just a friendly whack on the face.
So here's a look at some of the fun of her birthday day and month. It's so hard to pick just one. It was a fun February.
Her actual birthday was spent with a semi-successful trip to the beach, but a really fun photo shoot at home!
From her birthday party...
The "Name that baby" game was so much fun!
When the icing gets a little too heavy for the cake!
The start of "her look"
Thanks to our playgroup friends Morgan even got a little extra birthday celebration!
Last weekend we finished "Sydney's Best Coastal Walk." We completed the Bondi to Coogee walk by doing the second half of it, Bronte to Coogee (although some might say the walk still goes a bit further to Maroubra). Notice a trend? It seems for some strange reason that with two kids in tow we don't ever do the full walk in one day. Of course I have no doubt we could if we tried, but I also have no doubt it wouldn't be near as much fun. Instead, last Saturday just like the Saturday that we did the first half of the walk, Bondi to Bronte. It was much more about having fun with a relaxed walk than it was about trying to conquer any epic hikes in record time.
Emma and Morgan started with some good playtime at the massive Bronte Beach playground while I got the duty of driving to the end of the walk in Coogee, finding a parking spot, and then taking the direct (non-scenic) 2 km walk back to meet them. From there we set out with one last look at the massive waves beating down on Bronte Beach and the Bronte Baths.
Bronte Beach Waves
In general the walk was very similar to what we had seen the first half, but I'm not complaining about that, because it was beautiful. Stunning coastline with steep cliffs, bright blue water, huge waves, and plenty of gorgeous beaches.
Me and my girls
We passed through what some might claim as the "most scenic burial ground in the world," Waverly Cemetery where we encountered a short detour through the heart of the cemetery due to storm damage that was still being repaired from last year on a small section of the walk. There's nothing like walking through the center of a massive cemetery to cause a barrage of questions from your four year old to say the least.
View over Waverly Cemetery
As we made our way through Steve concluded he would be happy with being buried there and I still deferred to my preferred cemetery of choice (Lauterbrunnen Valley in Switzerland). Hmmm.... guess we have some negotiating to do.
Looking north along the coast
We enjoyed taking in all the sights and sounds of coastal life the rest of the 4 km, 1.5 hour walk. Emma nearly made it the whole way on her own before asking to be carried and Morgan, well we won't be too harsh on her for the fact that not only did I have to carry her the whole way, but that she slept nearly all of it too.
Just a friendly game of lawn bowling with the best view ever (Emma Grace Photography)
Clovelly Ocean Pool
Waiting for the waves at Tom Caddy Point
3/4 Family Selfie!
More beautiful coastal views
Gordons Bay
Memorial Statue to the victims of the Bali bombing in 2002
Coogee Beach under the watch of the Surf Rescue Team
And as must be done at the end of all good "hikes," we found a delicious lunch and ice cream at Coogee Pavilion. Emma and Morgan loved the nostalgic games area on the ground level of this massive three floor restaurant complex too.
Finishing our walk and headed to Coogee Pavilion for lunch
It was a good day. We were thankful for the lull in the rain as Sydney the last few weeks has begun to feel a bit more like Seattle than Australia. And I'm looking forward to the return of the sunny, moderate autumn that I remember so fondly from last year.
Seems like everyone was happy with the end result.
