Annie-Bananie

Annie the Belles. Finally turned 5. What a gal. The girl has spunk. Always up for adventure. Got the greatest belly laugh of the bunch. The first to jump in and help and endowed with some serious endurance. We crack up constantly at this chick - and she joins right in. Whether it's at her 5th skinned knee of the day or her spunky 'tude with her sibs.

We love this girl. 

(And she's pretty much got Dad in the palm of her hand. He's remained powerless to her charms since day 1.)

Free Fall jitters

 Finally old enough for the "Free Fall" exhibit at the museum, we made it official on her birthday. Then she chose a picnic dinner at the island by Dad's work. The doll tea party was a hit with cucumber sandwiches and sibling servants being the highlights...

(our perpetual ragamuffin dresser - love it)

stuck like glue to this 3-some the first (emotional) month of school

the girl absolutely can't keep her hands off Sum-Sums

Two peas in a pod - it's wrestle mania with them 24/7 - and man, the girl is TOUGH

Athletics Carnival

All decked out in their house colors

They "trained" for a week straight before field day at school.


We're talking...
 - laps around the house
 - up/down the stairs
 - upside down push ups
 - wall sits
 - heavy lifting
 - no dessert... the works.

I think it all paid off though.

 Will experienced his first "runner's high"at the end of the 800 meter, where he placed 3rd panting, "I was running so fast I couldn't feel my legs - I wasn't even controlling them!"

Welcome to the addictive world of marathon running! He's committed.


Annie did group relays, Kenna placed 2nd & 3rd in various races, & Will made 3rd in long jump too. Fun day.

 Will started AFL or Australian Rules Football the same weekend (despite his sore racing legs.) What a game! I like watching football, but this version is way more fun. You can run it, kick it, throw it, bounce it - so much action going on. He loves it so far, but I still think he's made for rugby...

bad mommy wingin' it with soccer shorts as a sun hat

My Little Sidekick

I might need to start pinning a warning sign on Summer each morning, because it's just not fair. 

Everywhere we go she just charms the socks of innocent bystanders before they know what hit 'em. I know this sounds suspiciously like Mommy-bias, but people seriously do double-takes. We'll clog the aisles at the supermarket and pull out all sorts of personality from otherwise grumpy-looking strangers. All she has to do is crack that smile. Which she does, liberally. Her little 3-toothed grin makes me all sorts of late as I'm trying to run errands, but keep getting stopped with exclamations from smitten admirers. 

"Well, isn't she the sweetest thing?!" 

"Look at this bubsy smiling at me!"

"How old is she?"

"Will she let me hold her?"

"Is she always so happy?" 

They coo, tickle toes, snatch her right up. And the girl loves it. She remains incredibly good-natured, low maintenance and crazy sweet. Even her siblings have each guiltily confided that she's their favorite family member. 

She's pure heaven with a cherry on top and quite literally the best part of my life right now. (And that's sayin' something!)

Here's a little photo update for the grandparents...

Likes to be right in the action

If only I could go to school with the big kids...

Not one for baby food - the gal scarfs hummus, feta, salsa, pickles
and ate more spicy curry the other night than the big kids.

Chummin' up with a friend on Annie's field trip to the retirement home.

Poor lady gets mauled every time I volunteer - all the kids shouting "Summa!"

With shenanigans like this going on at a week old, it's no wonder she's so used to all the handling.

Dad is responsible for this one.

Don't we all have a picture like this?

Climbing stairs like a champ now

Peek a boo.

Bird Paradise

When I was about 6 years old, I got a little bird book for my birthday. I would spend hours sitting on the brick patio wall of our Tennessee home scanning the backyard with binoculars round my neck, that book by my side and a little notebook in hand. I loved un-clicking that fancy leather case to retrieve my dad's heavy binoculars. And flipping through those bright pages to document my finds. I felt extremely cool and grown up and scientific.

Fast forward 25 years. You  may remember in an earlier post that within a week of our arrival to Australia, we were chasing down emu on a dirt road outside the city. It was an awesome introduction to an environment that continues to impress with its exotic and beautiful wildlife, particularly the birds. Here are pics of some we've seen around.

pair of crimson rosellas in our tree

another in the back yard, so pretty

magpie through the back window

these guys are everywhere

white ibis in Sydney's Circular Quay

rainbow lorikeets at Sydney's Royal Botanical Gardens near the Operahouse

we couldn't get over their vivid colors

they couldn't get over the stash of bread - let us get within 2 feet

not sure if these count... flying foxes (bats) covering many of the trees, then unfolding, shrieking and swooping at dusk, swarms of 'em, it's crazy sauce

And some pics I stole off the internet of ones we saw without my camera:

lots of ravens in the neighborhood

emus: chased down two of these guys on a dirt road outside of town - fast runners!

galahs: these birds are in groups all over the place

magpie lark, smaller than the others

"kookaburra sits in the old gum tree"

sulphur-crested cockatoo - also everywhere, and loud

Cockatoos, magpies, laughing kookaburras, crimson rosellas... these guys are crazy noisy and seriously make it feel like you're waking up in a zoo. Take a listen to what morning sounds like for us (by clicking on the sound file of any of those bird names) at this cool site.

And if you're into "birding" (the new rage, I'm told) or want to check out where you might be able to spot similar birds, I've mapped them on a very cool site our friend started. Check out www.birdpost.com where you're able to search, chart, map and post bird sightings worldwide. Bird-watching has come a long way since I was a little girl- all high tech and fancy now with a growing online community. Cool stuff.

Happy birding!

Washing's on the Line

All of a sudden I found myself thrust back into the 1950's with clothes flapping in the breeze and children scampering underfoot. They thought it was brilliant.

I loved this afternoon.