ONE YEAR OLD!

Wow...can't believe we are parents of a one year old. I could go on and on about how it feels like just yesterday that we became parents and our lives changed in the most magnificent way, but you already know that! Our lives have been blessed beyonds words since Riley was born. It has been a joy to watch him grow and change over the year. He has accomplished so much and I am amazed daily by him. We thank God for bringing him into our lives and we pray he continues to keep him strong and healthy, that Riley will grow to know the Lord and that we will have the wisdom to raise him in the way of the Lord.

There are so many moments from the past year that we will treasure and never forget. But, here are just a few, Riley!

1. I just can't get enough of those sweet Riley kisses. There is nothing better than the sloppy open mouth kiss on the check.

2. Your smile and laugh bring so much joy to our lives! From the first giggle on Christmas morning, to the roaring laughter in the bath tonight.

3. Your sweet babbles from the back seat of the car make each and every trip so much more enjoyable. Before you I would dream of those moments and they are so much better than I ever expected!

4. I love to hear you squeal as you take off crawling towards something you aren't allowed to touch. You give yourself away every time, but at least I know you are up to something...I hope you always communicate with us in this way!

5. While we may not know exactly what you want, we love how you point to things and "tell" us all about it! So sweet!!

6. We love to watch you dance and twist whenever you hear the music...especially at church.

7. From when you were really little you loved to splash in the water during bath time. The only difference now is you make a bigger mess. But, so worth the clean up to see your sweet and smiling face.

8. You are a lover of all food! We love to hear you, "Mmmmm," after each bite and see you kick your little legs with excitement. We first witnessed the enthusiasm around 6 months we you started eating avocado.

9. There is no better feeling than cuddling with you while you sleep. I miss those sweet afternoon naps you would take on my chest and the morning ones you would take beside me in bed after Daddy would bring you in for your early morning feed. Both Mommy and Daddy love to watch you sleep and the sweet, gentle face you have while you rest.

10. We love your sweet spirit! You are loving and gentle, thoughtful and inquisitive, adventurous and patient and a little boy of many words!

Happy First Birthday, Sweet Baby! We Love You!!!!

Alma Park Zoo

On Saturday, July 2, we went to Alma Park Zoo. It is a childhood favorite, very family friendly, and just so fun to now take my own son to a place where I have so many good memories! Soon after arriving, Dad cooked a barbecue while we checked out a few of the animals close to the picnic area. After lunch, we walked the park and enjoyed the Baboon feeding and the then the Koala feeding. I have pictures of my brother and I when we were kids petting Koalas at this park (Should really dig those out and upload one). There is a Sun Bear exhibit at the zoo that I remember being there as long as we have been going to Alma Park. Unfortunately, today there is only one of the two bears still living. She is 32 years old, which is quite old for a Sun bear who's life expectancy is only into the 20's. Anyway, she now naps most of the time and is very rarely seen moving around, but I have great memories of her walking from side to side of the enclosure with the pigeon toed walk that Sun Bears have. And, of course, we had to get a bag of feed for the kangaroos which are in a walk through enclosure and you can pet and feed them as you walk through. It was a lovely day and nice to return to a place with great memories.

Eating a barbecue before walking through the park

The male baboon waiting for the zoo keeper

Not so sure about the furry animal

Oh, this is the animal in my books...not so scary!

Riley and Daddy hanging checking out the Kangaroos

Riley hanging with the Kangaroos

Raya, the 32 year old Sun Bear

Week Two - Botanical Gardens and Mt. Tamborine

On Monday, June 2,we stayed pretty close and just headed up to the local gardens, Mt. Cootha Botanical Gardens. Riley loved the ducks that came up to greet us at the edge of the pond. After walking around the gardens for a while, we grabbed some coffee before heading home.
On Tuesday, June 28, headed down the coast to Mt. Tamborine to walk along a rain forest skywalk and then hike down to Cedar Creek Falls. The skywalk weaved across the canopy of the rain forest before descending down to the rain forest floor where a small waterfall trickled down into the creek. As we drove up the mountain it was beautiful to watch the foliage change from the regular forest to the rain forest. After making the walk through the rain forest we headed down the mountain to the Cedar Creek Falls. We very quickly walked down to the water pools at the bottom of the falls as rain was moving in and we were going to have quite a hike back up. In any case, it was a beautiful day filled with breathtaking views and scenery.

Early morning play with Aunty Lizzy

Riley pointing out the ducks in the pond at the Botanical Gardens

At the Botanical Gardens...every child must have their picture taken in this strange sculpture
Sisters!

Laura with ice cream all over her face

Riley with his Aunties

On the Skywalk at Mt. Tamborine

We even saw a few creepy crawlers along the way

On the rainforest floor in front of the stream

View of the forest canopy

View of a portion of the skywalk from the forest floor

Mommy and Riley having afternoon tea

Cedar Creek Falls

Mommy, Daddy and Riley at the bottom of the falls

View of pools as we hiked back up

Riley hiking in style!

Family Picnic

On Sunday, June 26 we had a family picnic up at Camp Mountain. This park has beautiful views of the city of Brisbane and is surrounded by lovely scenery. I have a vague memory of being there when Susan was pregnant with Elizabeth...doesn't seem that long again, but she will be 18 in December.

Uncle Bruce and Aunty Kim joined us and we had a very Australian barbecue with sausages and lamb chops on the BBQ. After lunch we enjoyed a couple of delicious desserts before walking around the take in the views.

Riley with his Aunty Laura

Around the barbecue

Daddy and Riley

Riley with Aunty Kim and Uncle Bruce

A family shot

With Aunty Kim and Uncle Bruce

View of Brisbane from Camp Mountain

View from the other side of the mountain

My handsome little boy! So happy.

Australia - Week 1

After the 16 hour flight there were some very excited Aunties and Grandparents waiting to see Riley. We said hello to the girls before they headed off to school and Susan to work. We took the day pretty easy and I was very excited to have my beloved meat pie and sausage roll for lunch...one of my guilty pleasures that I enjoy frequently when we make our trips to Australia.
We took Riley up to Laura's school that afternoon to pick her up and allow her to opportunity to introduce her nephew to her teachers. She isn't very keen on the idea of being called Aunty! Guess that is understandable when you are 8!!

Laura couldn't wait to get home from school to play with Riley

Poor little Riley was still a little tired from the long couple of days of travel Aunty Lizzy was eager to help out too! Boy, was he spoiled this trip!

Pa was also excited to see Riley again...what a change from last October!!

Riley playing with his Aunties in the backyard

After arriving in Brisbane and spending the weekend with Dad, Susan, Elizabeth and Laura, we boarded another plane for Sydney. This was just an hour and fifteen minute flight...no biggie! We were excited to see Nana again and introduce Riley to some other family members.

No trip to Australia would be complete without a t-shirt! Thanks, Nana! We realized after leaving the country that this is Riley's only souvenir from the trip.

Our first full day in Sydney we decided to go to Taronga Zoo, one of the most beautiful zoos I have ever been too. It is located on the Sydney Harbor and had amazing views of the city and harbor.

This is a shot from a pathway through the zoo. Just beautiful and it was a gorgeous day considering it is the middle of winter.

Of course, we saw Koalas...sleeping as usual

Riley took care of his Grammy, holding her finger and leading her through the park

Couldn't get over how beautiful the giraffes were...they had an amazing view of the harbor too!

The lioness was magnificent

After a lovely day at the zoo, Nana prepared one of my favorite childhood dishes...curried sausage...mmmm!

Riley and his Grammy...so sweet!

While in Sydney we were lucky enough to be able to rent a unit/efficiency apartment at my grandmother's retirement village. It was so nice to have our own kitchen and more room than just a hotel room. The one thing missing was a bathtub for Riley. No problem, Nana had a plan...

Riley enjoyed bath time in his special tub!

Chris had one request when we were booking our trip to Sydney. He wanted to go whale watching. So, on Tuesday, June 21, we boarded a large boat and headed out to sea to find the whales. And, we had success! We followed a pod of whales north up the coast for a couple of hours. The sea was very choppy that day and they warned us that it may be a little much for Riley and we should reschedule. With no other options for rescheduling we boarded anyway. Riley did fine...I, on the other hand, almost lost my lunch. I have never gotten sea sick, but the continual rocking and sitting inside with Riley was almost too much. Once I traded with Chris and headed outside I recovered quickly. Anyway, it was worth it and we got some fabulous pictures from the experience.

We were fortunate enough to see one good breech and a few tail slaps while out. Of course, we saw them moving through the water for quite a while and they are just beautiful and amazing animals. The boat was close enough that you could hear when they would breath through the blowhole. At one point, one came up right next the boat. Just amazing! Unfortunately, it started to rain and go very cold towards the end of our cruise. Riley was rugged up and cozy for our trip back to Nana's on the train.

On Wednesday, we headed down to my hometown of Wollongong to see Nan and Pa and Aunty and Michelle and Uncle Alan. Heath, one of my cousins was off that day and able to join us for lunch too. It was no nice to see family and spend time together.

Riley and I with Aunty Michelle, Uncle Alan and Heath

Chris, Riley and I with Nan and Pa. We had a lovely time, just a pity the visit was so short.

Wednesday was a very busy day. It also happened that this was the only day we could organize to catch up with my cousins, Rebecca and Danielle (My mom's, brother's girls). We met them for dinner back in the Sydney area along with some other family that was available to meet.

Danielle, Rebecca and I

On Thursday we spent the day with Nana. She enjoyed spending the time with Riley.

Riley took in every word as Nana read to him. So cute!

Friday was our last day in Sydney. After packing up and eating a bite with Nana, it was time to head back to the airport again. Chris did great driving on the opposite side of the road all week in the rental. I think he only turned the wipers on instead of the blinker about once a day! We had a lovely week catching up with family. It was very busy, but very worth it.

One last cuddle with Grammy before leaving...I love this picture!