monkey bar...sequal

since the big step up to completing the monkey bar a month back, fagan shows how much she improved today. we spent some time at eastern park today while on a day trip to geelong and once again; i was summoned to watch her in action....

fagan's new milestone

late october, we were @ jells park for picnic when fagan excitedly summoned me over to the playground. she told me that she can now successfully navigate through the monkey bars which eluded her previously. it was a big moment for her.

being a `monkey' girl, it is not the least unexpected ;-)

spring's here...

canterbury garden

...in fact, springs been here for a couple of weeks. it is only of late that the weather becomes a tad warmer, firmly leaving the cold days behind. that said, it's not wise to second guess melbourne's weather.

the last couple of weeks has been busy-fun for all of us. firstly, the kid's having their spring break and my parents visiting us here kept us all up and about. my mum's is especially excited since her daughter-in-law is expecting her new bundle of joy anytime now*. That's grandchild #5 for her.

the improving weather is a great excuse for us to all go out and have a little bit of the fun and sun. in the past 10 days, we have been to st. kilda, south melbourne market, camberwell sunday market, canterbury garden and just yesterday, picnic @ jells park. some haunts are old favourites while others were our first visits.

today is significant in some ways because we are exactly 2 months short of 2 years moving to down under. in many ways, we can be called true melbournians now. for a start, i am no longer shock at the prices of eggs here. i also don't bat an eyelid paying a$4.50 for a piece of roti telur/roti canai. `how issit going, mate?' becomes my conversation starter when i talk to fellow colleagues. i need my cuppa now (make it a skinny latte) to start my day and when we yearn for junk food, we head for the mackers....i could go on but you get the picture....

St. Kilda

Canterbury Garden

Picnic @ Jells Park with Tommy and Christine

*No, not Cecilia but our sister-in-law Zoe in Sydney.

our first ride

after a few false starts this month, cecilia and i managed to squeeze time for a short ride today during lunch time.

it was slightly overcast but i was eager to get her up the saddle and enjoy the ride, what with the cool weather perfect for a workout and the scenic eastlink trail. (ok, make that cold weather)

we drove to koomba park as our starting point. with our matching blues, we were soon were up and riding towards bayswater park. the pace is relax. there were few cyclists on a weekday so that adds to her confidence. the `flexible' dahon serve cecilia well.

i enjoyed the ride with her and hopefully, (her) sore bum aside, she will join me for future rides.

spelling `help'; spelling help

the littlest one came to me 3 days ago and said, "papa, i know how to spell `help'."

clearly impressed, i said, "great, how do you spell `help'?"

`SOS', she replied.

i was dumbfounded. it is not wrong but not quite right either.

i wonder who taught her that.

wasp sting

fagan had the unfortunate experience of being stung by a wasp on saturday during her chinese class. it happened outside her class during her lunch break. we brought her to the clinic just to be sure.

we found out later wasps are commonly found during this time of the year. its' stings are pretty harmless. one just have to endure the pain and the swell for a few hours before it subsides.

pic: fagan at the clinic still distressed by the sting. she refuses to have a picture taken of her swollen finger on her left hand.

visit

the kid's grandfather 3 weeks' visit to melbourne is reaching the end this tuesday. time flies. hopefully, it will give him some peace of mind that our rather boring, but predictable lifestyle here is a good thing.

(picture taken at skyhigh mount dandenong)