Where to take visitors?

We're so excited to have a visit from the Swatek's in 72 hours! Our great friends Lynn and Jerry booked their free flights using frequent flier miles in early August just after we got here. They'll be here November 5th through the 13th and we can't wait to show them around. Thanks to Aldi, Alan and I will head home on the same flight as they do. We've been looking forward to their visit for months and have used many of Brad's days off to scout out the best places to take them. We think it will be interesting to hear their first impressions of Australia as we've been here just long enough for things to seem routine to us. Surely they'll have sticker shock though we've gotten accustomed to the high prices by now. Driving on the other side of the road no longer seems death defying. It will be entertaining to witness someone else's culture shock.

Our favorite day so far has been a drive through Royal National Park down the Grand Pacific Drive. We stopped at a scenic overlook to do a little bushwalking. Then stumbled upon an incredible beach that we had all to ourselves. Having grown up in the Midwest, we're easily impressed by a sandy beach and crashing waves of the ocean. Hope they love it as much as we do. This could make or break our future as tour guides.

View of Grand Pacific Drive from the scenic overlook

Bushwalking with Alan

Rocky section of the beach

Alan showing daddy a piece of seaweed

The boys walking on the beach

Our little Nemo

Alan has been to three swimming lessons so far. The first two were with Brad and the third was with me. I didn't get any pictures from the first lesson because it was too traumatic. We had to wake him up from a nap to leave for class. 

He's a little obsessed with blankets! Hate to wake him up but he did get a good long nap.

He hadn't been swimming since Key Lime Cove for Grandpa Van Camp's 60th birthday. Though he had since grown to LOVE taking baths. I got some good pictures from the second lesson before all the dunking started. 

The boys before getting in the water.

By the third class he didn't cry at all. He was much more relaxed and started to enjoy splashing around. They have them sit on the edge of the pool and sing Humpty Dumpty ending with a dunk on fall. They have the little ones shimmy along the side of the pool to the tune of Itsy Bitsy Spider to teach them how to get to safety once they get to the edge. 

Dad showing Alan how to blow bubbles.

They also do their fair share of dunking at each lesson. They teach the parents to blow in the child's face so they suck in air and hold their breath (it works).  

Alan getting ready to jump of the float for the first time (things go down hill after that dunk)!

Van Camp Piano Service (skips a generation)

Alan loves his music table from Grandma Van Camp! Recently the batteries were spent and due for a change. I got out my tools and changed them with Alan looking over my shoulder. I had an extra screwdriver (very well aware it's not the safest toy) that I handed over to avoid hysterics. He tinkered happily for quite some time. As I watched him, I wondered if some day he would follow in his Grandma Van Camp's foot steps and work on real pianos? I suppose time will tell. But for now it's precious to see his little mind at work. Maybe some day he'll learn the tricks of the trade - starting with wearing pants to work. 

Armageddon Day

The view from our apartment on the morning of September 23rd, 2009.

We haven't felt the need to purchase an alarm clock since Alan consistently gets up in the six o'clock hour. On Wednesday morning when he first woke up, Brad and I thought it was a mistake because there was a red glow in the bedroom and surely he must be up too early. We didn't think the glow strange at first. We thought it must be a pretty sunrise but not pretty enough to get us out of bed! After a few minutes passed, Alan was back to sleep but suddenly mother nature was calling. As I passed a clock I realized that it was 6:45 AM. I hurried to tell Brad because I wasn't sure what time he was planning to go to work. He hopped out of bed saying that he should get in the shower. We came out in the family/dining room and opened the blinds to discover what was causing the eerie glow. We had never seen anything like it before and both thought it must be fog lit up by sunshine. It seemed pretty special so we hurried to get the camera and snap a photo. There was a nice breeze so we decided to leave the door open. I turned on the news while Brad rushed off to get ready. Of course it was the top story and as I tuned in they were saying that people should avoid going outside, keep your windows closed, etc. Yikes! I ran over to close the window and then to tell Brad that it's actually a dust storm. 

For the most part, the dust settled within a few hours. It was the country's worst dust storm in seventy years. An article said "The haze was visible from space, appearing as a huge brown smudge in satellite photographs of Australia." Conservative projections said that 1000 tons of dust would fall in Sydney alone (crazy liberals were guesstimating 4000 tons but we'd rather take a conservatives word for it). The ferries were cancelled and international flights had to be diverted. Alan and I stayed indoors as much as possible yet I still felt a burning in my chest and eyes from it (our windows leave a lot to be desired). Brad called to say that people walking around outside were wearing face masks and covering their mouth and nose with handkerchiefs. It was a day unlike any other that I've ever experienced and definitely worth sharing. 

Live from Australia

Hard to believe that we've been here for over a month already! A lot has happened in a short period of time. We found an apartment, furnished it, celebrated Alan's first birthday, and managed to find some time for sight seeing. It's funny to reflect on where we are versus where we've been. Brad and I never imagined living in an apartment again. Although I don't think either one of us ever thought we would live in Australia. Life is full of surprises.

View of Sydney Opera House from ferry. Alan with his friend and birthday buddy Annabelle.

Brad attended several wards before I got here. Once he found one that he liked, I started looking online for places to live. For him, internet access was hard to come by at first. He would go to McDonald's at night for the free wifi to check email. On his days off he would try go see apartments and quickly discovered that the rental market here was HOT! People were somehow signing leases before the showing even took place. Given the fact that we were up against so much competition, we decided to use bribery. That was our ace in the hole since we had no rental history, credit history, or references. So we have a nice two bedroom, two bathroom unit with a great view of Sydney. It's across the street from a shopping mall, within walking distance of a library, parks, movie theatre, post office (great for all those packages from home) and the train station. The best perk of all is our great neighbors that Brad met at church who are also from the US. After we signed the lease we found out they live in the same building on the same floor. It's kind of like being back in a college dorm. We visit almost daily so that Alan and Annabelle can play. Since their birthdays are two days apart we threw a joint party.  They've been here for almost a year and have made our transition so much easier. 

The view of Sydney from our apartment and the pool down below.

I owe special thanks to Liesl for showing me the ropes. Alan and I go with her and Annabelle to Rhyme Time at the library, swimming lessons, and playgroup. There are so many activities here for moms with little ones! Maternity leave is one year at most places except for Aldi where it's TWO years. I've seen a lot of women with kids that are barely one already (pretty far along) pregnant with the next one. They go back to work for a couple of months and take another year off. That is one thing I wish the US would pick up on from the Aussies (and most of the rest of the civilized world for that matter). Outside of that, I'd say we've gained a greater appreciation for the US. 

A few of the animals from Taronga Zoo: Luk Chai the baby elephant and a cuddly koala!

For those who want to keep in touch our new address is:

706/581-587 Kingsway

Miranda, NSW 2228

Australia

I'm sure we won't get many phone calls but what the hey

Home Phone: 02 8581 0308

Kylie's Third Birthday Party

We arrived at Brian and Ashley's on Saturday just hours before Kylie's Mickey Mouse themed Birthday Party. We did our best not to get in the way and help with the food preparation and party decorations. Brad sliced peppers for the veggie tray and hollowed out a few for dip and other garnish. There was a fabulous fruit tray with dip (no fruit on hand to hollow out or pineapple to turn into a palm tree). There was a delicious seven layer dip (loaded with olives), pepperoni pizza dip, and spinach artichoke dip. Pasta salad (that Brad and I quality control tested) and a pear version of my fav granny smith apple salad (except no chicken, different dressing, and almonds instead of pecans). Almost forgot the burgers and hot dogs too. It was enough food to feed the masses! We had plenty to snack on while we visited. We had so much fun celebrating with Kylie! 

Here is the birthday girl looking adorable!

Here's her BFF Sophie!

Here is the kids table: Sophie, Kylie, Bailey, and Holden. Alan was hanging out in a high chair.

Look at this funny girl and her carrot nose!

The cake and gift table.

The fruit and veggie trays. Chips and candy galore too!

The rest of the spread! And a pretty nifty centerpiece.

Some of the party people: Betsy, Brian, and the Kirks.

And last but not least - the hostess with the mostess!

Firsts

Lately, Alan is full of firsts! He recently cut his first tooth! He enjoys sticking his tongue out and flashing a silly grin. Brad and I think he's fascinated by how his tooth feels. One night I got a good picture of him doing it. He's just drying off from a bath and getting ready for bed so I decided to play with his hair and try a faux hawk (older boys at church style their hair like a mohawk but the slang is faux hawk).


He finally discovered the joy of eating solids and we're rather entertained as well (until it's time for clean up). He's showing signs of being stubborn and insists on having his hand on the spoon otherwise he may refuse to open his mouth. As you can see it makes for a messy meal. Here we're trying prunes (doesn't he look thrilled ;)




Brad and I both attended his annual DM outing, so Alan had a full day to himself with Grandma Flanagan. Both survived their day! We came home to a sleeping baby and an exhausted sitter :) We were grateful for the time together but often wondered how our little guy was doing and prayed that he was on his best behavior. We fully expected to get a call saying that it was time to come home. So we checked our phones frequently and to our surprise no missed calls or messages! Aldi treated us to a tour of the Harley Davidson Museum (further fueling Brad's urges to buy a bike), bowling (Brad bowled a 182 which was the high score for our group of 42!), dinner (the food at bowling was better), and a room at the Hyatt in Milwaukee. That same night church had a murder mystery dinner and the neighbors invited us for a game night. Too bad everything fell on the same weekend :(



He had his six month doctor appointment on Monday which meant another round of shots :( To my relief, he's been rather pleasant in the week following. The past two rounds didn't go so well. He's growing like a weed! He's officially doubled his birth weight and then some weighing in at 19 lbs. Explains why my back has been killing me lately :) He's 28.5" long and about to outgrow his car seat which only goes to 3o". We'll need to upgrade his car seat soon but he still needs to be rear facing for another six months! Of course his head is still growing but not as much. Here's him in a hat our neighbor Holly made for him (in Cubs colors of course).



Brad came with us for the 6 month appt to hear more about the MRI which went very well! His appt was the first available of the day at 8:00 am. No eating allowed for four hours prior. So we planned our night out and set the alarm clock to wake him for feedings every three hours. Then in the morning we transported him from sleeping peacefully in his crib to his car seat and off we went. He didn't wake until just before the gave him the oral sedation medicine. Perfect timing but the first dose didn't quite do the job so they administered another half dose that was successful in knocking him out. He laid very still for the scan and they got the images they needed. No serious issues were spotted only some large subarachnoid spaces that are hereditary. While at the doctor's office she measured mom and dad's head to see which side of the family gets the credit for macrocephaly (big heads). Apparently both of us have above average head size! Here's a picture of him the night before his MRI in no-snap pj's from Aunt Kelly (perfect because he couldn't have any metal on in the machine). Poor little guy has no idea what's in store for him when he wakes up in the morning!



Each day brings a new adventure! He's working on using a sippy cup, sitting unsupported (pretty tough considering his head size), crawling (hopefully soon), and standing (with lots of help of course). Here's him in another adorable hat from Holly!

The good, the bad, and the ugly

Alan's first Christmas was fantastic (so it's too bad he won't remember it). A few weeks before Christmas we went to the mall and got a picture with Santa. Santa brought the Gymboree bubbles (just like the ones from class) and sweaters as promised. Christmas Eve we went to Grandma & Grandpa Flanagan's. Alan got just about every Fisher Price toy for 6 month olds including: a dunk 'n cheer basketball hoop, spinnin' around musical zoo, stacker, shape sorter, and bongo drums. He also got plenty of spiffy clothes (more to outgrow). Cousin Kassidy gladly volunteered her services with unwrapping his presents. Aunt Kelly held him while he caught up on his sleep. He got into his pj's after presents and slept the whole way home with a peaceful transition to his crib. We spent Christmas day at Grandma & Grandpa Van Camp's. He got a nice church outfit with a tie and some sporty Chicago Cubs and Bears outfits for watching the games with dad. He got to see most of his cousins, aunts, and uncles again.


Christmas Eve (4 months old) - the best gift of all!

Just a few days after Christmas, we had his four month dr. appt. Poor little guy had to get 4 more shots which left him cranky for about a week after. He weighed 15.31 lbs (I made them weigh him twice because I thought for sure he would weigh more) and 26.5" long (which puts him in the 90th percentile). He's now outgrown the 3-6 month sizes lengthwise so I packed up all the footy pj's and got out the next size. The bad news is his head is growing at a faster rate than the rest of his body (it was in the 90th percentile at his 2 month appt and is now off the chart). So doc wants him to get an MRI as a precaution to make sure there isn't anything wrong. He'll have to be sedated for the process and cannot eat for six hours prior. We have an 8:00 AM appt on February 4th (Grandpa Van Camp's birthday) at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. We should get the results back within a week.

The ugly: my dad prefers homely but my mom insists I was an adorable baby. How does such a small hand prop up such a big head? The doctor asked if anyone in the family has a big head (I suppose that would be me)?

Hang in there buddy! Your body will catch up with your noggin sooner or later.