My first new year! It was SO incredibly HOT - the hottest New Year’s Eve ever in Melbourne - and it was also very difficult to stay awake until midnight. But when the new year came it was nice to share the occasion with Rob, Deb and Griffin.

 

Every year Ernie, Gwen, and Claire, who live in San Francisco, invite all their friends to a summer picnic in the St Kilda Botanical Gardens. I went along to the picnic last year, but I don’t remember it because I was still in my Mum’s belly.

So this year it was great to go along, meet all these people I’ve heard so much about, and play with all the other children. It was a beautiful, sunny, and much cooler day, and I shared some of my favourite toys with Jida and Claire. I also met Jim’s beautiful wolf dog Addis, who seemed a bit scary, but was actually very gentle and friendly.

 

Edit (Jan 24): Jamie has sent me this this excellent picture of me with Jida from that day.

I got a big present today - a funky new high chair. Yesterday we drove around visiting lots of shops with Nanna Luba, and after looking at lots of chairs we just couldn’t decide which one to get. But today we went back to the shops with my mum, and I tried out this chair, and just loved it.

Today I went to the Pub with my dad, to meet up with Anthony and have a drink with him for his birthday. When we arrived it was a nice surprise to be greeted by Jida and Claire (and their parents, of course), who I had seen only a few days ago. We all sat in out the beer garden, and had a fun play with all our toys.

Today I went to the Melbourne Aquarium for the first time, to look at the new Monsters of the Deep exhibition and see the frozen Giant Squid, the incredible Architeuthis dux. I know my dad has been looking forward to this for a while (he does have a bit of a thing for squid), so we were both very excited when we arrived.

Before heading down to see the squid we prepared ourselves by making a squid hat - just a paper one, nothing as fancy as this fabulous hat. Then we went down, past the very pretty jellyfish (see more pics below), and into the squid’s lair.

The giant squid was pretty impressive, especially the way it stared out at you with its hideous and huge frozen eye. I brought along my own baby squid, and there definitely seemed to be a family resemblance.

I’m such a lucky girl! After the excitement of the Aquarium in the morning we all went out for dinner to a nice restaurant to celebrate my auntie Mel’s birthday. Here I am giving Mel a big birthday kiss.

Today was very exciting! We went out to Warrandyte, on the banks of the beautiful Yarra, to celebrate Nicky and Pip’s wonderful and romantic wedding. Such a perfect day, with lots of fun music to listen and dance to, and many other kids to ogle and play with. And lots of yummy food - mmmmm peaches!

 

Another beautiful day, another fun outdoor adventure. This time it was back to the St Kilda Botanical Gardens, for a sunny picnic to celebrate auntie Mel’s birthday (even though her birthday was a week ago). I loved her crazy hat.

I had my 7 month check-up yesterday at the local Maternal & Child Health Centre (although I’m not 7 months old until next week). Here are my vital statistics (you can look at the graphs below for more details):

Length: 70cm
Weight: 7.74kg

I’m absolutely thriving. I’m eating lots of solid food, I’ve almost doubled my birth weight, and I’m not quite as lanky as I was a few months ago. I’m also getting far more mobile, rolling around and getting up on my haunches. Hopefully it won’t be too long before I can crawl. Also, as you can see, standing up in my cot is excellent fun!

I had a great day today. It was very hot, and I went with my dad to visit Grandpa and Bianca. We read books, ate fruit, and played lots of fun games - my favourite is definitely peek-a-boo. I also played on the grass outside, and went for a skinny dip in the refreshing pool.

 

It was so hot today - up to 43° Celcius, almost as hot as New Year’s Eve - and we’ve just been hiding away from the heat inside, waiting for the supposed cool change to come. It has been a fun few days, with these highlights:

1. Nanna Sandra is back again! Only for a week this time, but it is still going to be a lot of fun.
2. Our playgroup met in the park yesterday, and I had a great fun time with all the other kids.

 
3. I’m sleeping SO much better now that I can roll over and sleep on my tummy. I’m definitely a tummy sleeper, just like both my parents.
4. I’m really trying to crawl, but it is so difficult - much easier to cry out and get someone to take me to where I want to go.

Tonight we went for dinner at Grandpa and Bianca’s place. Nanna Sandra and Auntie Mel also came, along with Luke, Julie, Craig, and my cousins Ruby, Leah and Hannah. Here we all are after dinner (except Craig, who took the photo). I also went for another quick splash in the pool, along with my cousins and Auntie Julie.

For dinner we had a fantastic yummy meal. I ate some pumpkin and potato and tasted lots of other things, but in the end I went back to my most favourite food - and I’m feeding myself now!