Wet and windy in Perth

Last weekend it was wet and windy in Perth so as we were stuck inside for much of the weekend we needed to come up with some fun indoor activities! We started with guess the animal.... Here we have an elephant, a gorilla and a Koala in a tree! 

  

 What I really enjoyed about this game was that Ethan didn't just copy what animals we had done, he came up with lots of his own!

Later in the day it was time to draw on the board. Clockwise from top left we did a family portrait, Jason drew Grandad and Ethan drew Grandma, then we all did a self portrait (check out the mullet I gave myself) and on the bottom left was the original family portrait in action!

 Sunday was still raining and Ethan asked to go on a rock adventure... so we dressed in our raincoats and wellies and went to Naturescape at Kings Park.

There were rocks everywhere.... which satisfied Ethan's request for a rock adventure!

It was wet but we didn't get rained on! Yay!

Ethan loved playing in the water with his Dad, building dams, climbing rocks, pretend fishing.... you name it!

Ethan was so confident over the rocks! I was really impressed! Here he is with his "fishing rod"

Ethan likes to push the boundaries! I asked him not to go too deep but.....

Unfortunately that warning went unheeded! Lots of water in the gumboots (lucky we had spare clothes in the car).

The orange mould on the logs was really interesting! Unfortunately I didn't have time (or the right camera equipment) for great shots as Jason and Ethan were itching to get up the tower!

My brave wee boy made it all the way up the tower on his own, with close supervision on the way back down from dad!

Here is the view from the top!

So all in all a great outing! On the way home we stopped for hot chocolate, coffee and strawberry milkshakes and to pick up some paint for the afternoon!

During the afternoon we made some paintings, which we cut into butterflies when they dried!

An enjoyable weekend was had by all, but we would like a little more sun next weekend thank you!!

Bush walk on a lovely winter's day!

Last weekend Ethan declared that he wanted to go on a bush walk! It was a lovely sunny (albeit cool) winter's morning so we were packed in the car and out of the house within 15 minutes of Ethan's request!

We decided to go to Bold Park near City Beach and started with the short board walk to the top lookout. As you can see Ethan was rearing to go! 

Come on Dad and Mum, Come on!!!

Halfway up the Boardwalk you get to see the city off in the distance! A great site!

We were really lucky to spot an eagle circling around above us! Ethan needed my sunglasses to spot him though as it was a lovely bright sunny day!

Ethan and his Daddy spotted Rottnest Island - it was so clear we could see the island easily (20km off shore). There were also lots and lots of boats out for Ethan to see.

A funny story of the morning came as Jason was looking intently out to see and said "the whale migration has started" I naturally assumed that he had seem something out in the water so I said "how do you know". I was expecting him to reply along the lines off "see the movement out there in the water"... but no.... his real answer was "I saw it on the news"!!!!

It was one of those lovely winter's mornings... cold and clear in the morning and really warm in the sun!

After the boardwalk we walked into Bold Park and did the bush walk that Ethan was after. We explored the tress and leaves around us and a great time!

Here is Jason at another lookout!

Ethan liked experimenting with his foot prints in the sand! Contrary to what it looks like with Ethan and his hood on, it wasn't actually cold at this stage! He just likes wearing his hood!

Ethan the lumberjack found a piece of wood which he promptly threw off the edge! I was waiting for him to go flying with the piece of wood hahahaha!

After 40 or so minutes we wandered back to the carpark, Ethan decided to check out where we went on the map.

As soon as we finished this adventure Ethan said "can we do another adventure mummy and daddy".

Disney on Ice

A week after Ethan's birthday Grandma, Mummy and Ethan went to Disney on Ice at the Perth Arena. 

We traveled there by train which excited Ethan no end!

 Then we walked from the train station to the arena (past the sinking of the busport project)... which was again a very interesting thing for Ethan!

 We were amongst thousands of 3 - 14 year old kids and their parents walking to the stadium and it was a little worrying that our "runner" Ethan would dart away and be swallowed up by the crowds! 

So it was a relief to make it to our seats! Here is Ethan with his cheesy "cheese" smile. He hasn't yet learned the difference between a grimace and a smile on demand yet!

 As you can imagine it is reasonably difficult to get photos on the iPhone of an ice skating show.... but here are a couple.... the Toy Story opening scene.

 Minney and Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy as well as the pirate disney show (the name of which escapes me now - blaming baby brain!).

 As soon as the show ended it was straight in the car to the airport to drop Grandma and Grandad off for their trip back to NZ. As you can see the excitement of the whole day caught up with Ethan and he was out for it within minutes of leaving the airport!

Ahoy me hearties...walk the plank... it's a very special boy's third birthday!

 Ethan recently turned three and we put on a pirate party for him. We weren't going to have a party this year but he asked for one, and being a soft touch I said yes!!

Jason and I took the Friday off work to get ready for the party and we made this cake for him!

 Here is some of the party food for the day! The jelly in oranges was a big hit and I am pleased that I made the effort to do it for the kids!

 It had been raining all week and a big storm was scheduled for Ethan's party day. But we borrowed a gazebo style tent and put it up in the patio to extend our under cover area for the kids to play.... as it happened, the two hours of Ethan's party provided the best weather of the whole day. We even got sunshine!

We had a few activities set up for the kids... a plank to walk, with treasure near the end as a prize and colouring in stations. The trampoline provided the most fun though!

 It was good to see people getting into the spirit of the party!!!

 Ethan had a ball... most of all he loved playing with his best friend Tommy on the trampoline!! (Thanks Grandma for the photos).

 Here is Tommy and Ethan enjoying the jelly!

All in all we had a wonderful party and Ethan and his friends had a ball!

A special thanks to Grandma, Grandad, Sandy and Nathan for help on the day and a very special thanks to everyone who made the day so special for Ethan.

A new addition to the family is on the way!

Jason and I are really excited to announce that sometime in November we will be welcoming another little baby into our home!

Like last time pregnancy for me means extreme tiredness and significant nausea. Which is made all the more difficult with a toddler... no more 4 hour nana naps each weekend day and sometimes I feel that I am barely functioning. But this eased at 16 weeks with Ethan so I am hoping it will this pregnancy as well!

It's been a tough road this pregnancy, at my dating scan they found a cyst on my ovary. As you can see from the dimensions in the scan below it is quite big (nearly 9cm by 7cm by 8cm). There was discussion of having this removed at 16 weeks pregnant but we are going to try and hold on and get it removed at 6 weeks post partum.

Then at around 9 - 10 weeks pregnant I was knocked off my bike, luckily the baby was ok and it was the cyst that took the brunt of the impact... there was a concern about rupture but all was ok.

However last week we had our choromosomal testing scan and while my risk factors are slightly higher than last time, mostly due to maternal age, we are still classified as low risk.

Here are some shots from the ultrasound!

 The next three shots are 3D and look pretty cool I think!

We haven't told Ethan yet as 9 months is a long time for us to wait, it would be an eternity for a toddler to wait. We will probably tell him after the 20 week scan (or even later if we can).

What do you do when unable to go to daycare - visit a reptile farm of course!

 Last Friday Ethan was unable to go to daycare due to a suspected case of conjunctivitis. Jason stayed home with him in the morning and I took the afternoon shift. When I got home I asked Ethan what he wanted to do and he said that he wanted to visit a farm with Snakes and Rhinos....which is essentially the zoo. However I had been meaning to take him to a reptile farm here for a while so I thought it was an opportune time to go so we headed out for an "adventure" (Ethan likes adventures).

We were the only ones at the park so we spent a good half hour exploring the snake and lizard enclosure.

The snake keeper then bought out some lizards and snakes for Ethan to hold, while doing so he taught both Ethan and I lots of things about snakes and what to do if you come across a snake.

I think Ethan was a little uncertain about the lizards tongue!

 Ethan was so brave with the snakes though - here he is with the little snake.

 And here he is with the bigger snake! My heart was in my throat the whole time and I had to fight all my instincts to not grab Ethan away from the snake!

 After the snakes and lizards the keeper bought out a dingo for us to pat and then Ethan and I were left to explore.

We saw crocodiles, peacocks, wombats, a fox and some kangaroos.

Soon it was time to head home, but not without a stop at the Margaret River Chocolate Factory for an ice cream!

A day in Freo - Ferris Wheels, Pirate Ships and Little Creatures!

Now that we live in Joondanna we very rarely get to Fremantle. However when I saw there was a replica tall ship of the Duyfken (the first European ship to reach Australia) holding an open day with a pirate theme I thought we really needed to make the trip down!

It was a beautiful clear day in Fremantle and we were pleasantly surprised to find a Ferris Wheel in the park. We had 20 minutes to kill before the Pirate Ship opened so we decided to take a ride!

 Ethan really enjoyed the ride! He was fascinated with the views.

 Its always interesting looking at a place from a different angle!

 As you can see Ethan enjoyed the Ferris Wheel!

 Then it was time for the Pirate Ship! Ethan was very excited about this (as were we).

 Entry was a gold coin donation (or treasure).

 Its hard to believe how people survived many months at sea in the cramped spaces.

 It was great to see how they lived back in the 1600s.

 Ethan had a ball playing and would have stayed on the ship forever (but lunch was calling).

 As it happened we were right next to Little Creatures brewery which has a great kids playground! As we arrived before 12pm we scored a table right beside the kids sandpit so Jason and I were able to enjoy some downtime while Ethan played and we all waited for our food! A win win all around!

 Cheers everyone!

All in all it was a lovely outing to Freo! We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!