I thought baby proofing was important.

When Joe & I thought about how we would baby proof our house it seemed like it would be an easy task. I mean seriously how much trouble can one kid get into. So we started the task of gates and cabinet locks and finger protectors and the list goes on and on. So the gates are up and Stephen is safe from the stairs, the cabinet locks are on and Stephen can not get into the trash or the pantry. Just one thing, no one told me that I would need to cat and dog proof my house too and all the gates and cabinet locks in the world can not stop Chloe and Radar from destroying my house.

Chloe somehow knows how to open a gate and goes in and lays on the couches even though she has a futon as a bed now, apparently the couches are much better. Radar claws at the garbage until he gets the bag hanging out and him and Chloe eat whatever they can get into.

So I think that no matter how well I baby-proof my house until I dog and cat proof it I will be forever cleaning something up and worrying about who is getting into what.

Spring

Spring has sprung and this finds us with new activities and adventures. Stephen has discovered a new love of all things that fly. You may ask all things that fly? Well when you hear him saying "ane, ane" and pointing to the sky as the jumbos fly above, your heart will melt too. He is very observant and he thoroughly enjoys the new warm weather and being able to get out and experience life. We have been to the park and taken our first swing, played with the local kids and had a go on the slide with mummy not to mention the unending joy of his two cousins Georgia and Samantha. Most kids his age might lay back in the pram and fall asleep on a long walk, but Stephen sits up tall since he doesn't want to miss a thing. He points to the birdies as they fly by or the other dogs he sees in the park and giggles with excitement as we approach other kids for him to smile and be coy at. Our little monkey is nearly one and in this past year he has given us so much joy I can not imagine what the next years ahead hold for us.

Family

Being far from my home it was really special to have my family come visit me when Stephen was born. He got to know his Nanny & Poppy very well over the 4 months they were here and when we went home to Australia he had not forgotten there faces nor there extra quirky noises that made him look up and around and take notice.

My grandma, aunties & cousins live across the street or just a few houses away and they too make me smile and laugh and have been great sources of entertainment and enjoyment. I think they kind of like me a little bit more then they are letting on.

My other Aunties and Uncles in Australia are always calling me and have visited a few times. I know that when I get bigger I will be able to go back to Australia and live if I want to...

Snow Angels

Although Stephen has seen the snow a few times now he has not had the opportunity to lay in it and get a real feel for what it means. Well today that happened. Joe and I walked outside and the snow was falling, with out little monkey all wrapped up warm and tight we headed to the softest snow we could find, lay him down and watch him wrestle to getup, which entail resulted in snow angels.

Some may say torture, I say a good photo opportunity.

2010

This year began like no other, not only am I wife and run a busy household with lots of animals and craziness, but I am a MUM. Its nice to say, think and its nice when I hear it come out from his lips.

Ive just started back at work and I would have to say that as hard as it is to leave my little man, when I walk in that door in the afternoon and he catches my eye and I catch his the overwhelming love between us, is indescribable. Words can literally not tell you how I feel when he tries to leap from whom ever may have him towards me.

He has flourished so much this month, not only has he mastered crawling and furniture surfing but now he likes to stand up and use his car and walk down the hall. Yes he stumbles and falls but he picks him self back up and looks up at me as if to say " I got this mum, don't worry about me". I don't think Joe or I are going to be able to stop him from doing anything he may want to try as he gets older as he is so adventurous and confident. Stephen loves meeting new people and playing with other kids. I know that when we decide to have number two he will be very excited.

Baby's 1st Christmas

So everyone kept asking me, "What are you getting Stephen for Christmas"? and I thought I was a bad parent if I didn't get him something spectacular for his his 1st Christmas. But then realization set in and I knew that he would not ever remember what he got that day or probably for the next 5 years and knowing the rest of Joe's and my family I knew he would be rather spoiled so we decide practicality was the way to go. So he got socks, clothes and a xylophone. We had a lovely day with family and having the extra kids here Jonah & Tayha made it so much more enjoyable. Stephen opened a mountain of gifts from all of his relatives and when all was said and done and the toys were all laid out for him to play with he rolled his way over to the plastic bag full of all the wrapping paper and played with that. So I think we ca safely say although he loves all his gifts I was safe in my assumption that buying him something spectacular would have been wasted I should have just given him a large box and drawn some wheels and headlights on it and called it a fire engine.

Haloween

I had grand ideas of what to put Stephen in for his first Halloween, you know I wanted him to be perfect and look the part for his pictures. Then time got away from me and I didn't get the order in on time so I went to the mall and found a costume and you know what, I really don't think it would have mattered what he was in, he would have been damn cute in anything. So next year when he can walk I will get him the costume I wanted this year and it will be fantastic, but for now you will just have to enjoy this outrageously adorable 3 eyed monster. Happy Halloween Everyone!

Teeth

Just before we left for Australia in September Stephen received his 4 month shots, which he did very well with. That very same week gnawing on my finger and wouldn't you know it his first tooth appeared on the bottom. He never really complained much and so when we got to Australia and his second tooth appeared just days later I was even more surprised at how well he was doing. Well since then he has 6 teeth, He had 4 though by the time he was 6 months and the last two came in his 8th month. So he has 3 on top and 3 on the bottom and it makes it so much easier for him to eat his solid foods. But still you would not think that he was teething because apart from a bit of grumbling he really does not complain, actually I think our cats complain more about not getting fed on time than he does about his teeth ache.

Australia here we come

After all the visitors left, Stephen and I took a trip home to Australia to see the rest of the family and introduce them to the newest member of the clan. After a long flight of 24 hours, you would think that I would be exhausted, not with my son though. He played, ate and slept and when we were getting off the plane in Brisbane, one guy waked past me and said lady you must have the best babies I have ever seen travel, he never made a peep, unless he was laughing.

He continues every day to surprise us with his ability to adjust to things changing around him constantly. All of his cousins and Aunts & Uncles swooned over him for 3 long week in Australia and it was nice to enjoy the sun. We went to the beach, hiked through a rain forest and laid out and talked to the magpies. It was a great holiday.

Camping

July 4th came and went and after Aunt Vanessa left to go back to Australia we decided that a camping trip to the Vineyard would be in order. So we packed up our tent and off we went, Mum, Dad, Joe, Stephen & I. After the fun of setting up we sat out in the sun and relaxed. It was nice for Joe to get back to where his family camped when they were younger and see all his old family friends. Stephen slept through a bad thunder storm and the tent leaking, at 8 weeks of age sleeping 12 hour nights we thought we had to be the luckiest parents around. He enjoyed going fishing with the Christies and Zalkins and pottering around Oak Bluffs meeting all the strangers that stopped and greeted him and said what a cute baby he was, smiling on cue just to make the awww factor even better. We will be back next year hopefully with the Williams/Gendron family with us.

My Grandparents

I was named after two very important people, my Poppy John (mums dad) and my Grandpa Stephen (dads dad). My grandpa was a hero not only in the eyes of the public but to his family and friends. He was a kind, loving man who had too many friends to count and he gave his all in everything he did at work at home and at play. I hope to grow up to respect everything he was and aim to be as decent a human being as he was.

My poppy is the greatest that you could ever ask for. The day I was born he didn't want to put me down, and the tears in his eyes said it all. He has helped my mum and dad heaps around the house and he is a continuous mountain of support even from over 17,000 miles away.

My Nanny & Grandma are both ridiculously in love with me and say I could do no wrong. I know all I have to do is bat my eyelids and pout my lips and I will get whatever I want from both of them. As they saying goes " What happens at Nanny's/Grandma's house, stays at grandmas house.

Baby Jitters

The day we found out I was pregnant was an amazing day. I was at work on a break and I had a voice-mail from the fertility office saying I would need to come in for an appointment as my blood work had come back and I was definitely pregnant. I think I left my lunch in the microwave jumped in the car and sped to the firehouse to tell Joe. And then the planning began. It all seems like so long ago now but here is a picture of our boy right at the very beginning.