Oh Baby!

Photography

2010-09-24T23:25:00.004+10:00

My new 'hobby' is photography. I love it. What else can I say?!!!

My camera...

I love my handy little Nikon D80. It's reliable, it's good. But, my dream camera...the one I will save to get next, is a lovely, slick, Nikon D700. Needless to say, I won't be holding that baby in my hands anytime soon due to that beauty of a price-tag. One can keep wishing though, eh?!

My lenses...

My D80 came with a kit lens (18-135mm) which I haven't touched in over 6 months. It's a nice lens, but doesn't really meet my needs right now. I'm still going to hang on to it though.

My next lens purchase was a 50mm 1.8. Beautiful lens and highly recommended as a standard which most people should have (so of course, I had to get it).

My most recent purchase (thanks to all my bday pressies which came in the form of cold, hard CASH) was an 85mm 1.8. I've only had it for just over a week (due to backorder at Teds Camera). But, it was well worth the wait! It's a DREAM lens. I LOVE it. I can't wait to get it outdoors to shoot some lovelies!!!!!

Here are some recent fav's.

I'm BAAAAACKKKK!!

2010-09-24T23:22:00.003+10:00

So, I've probably lost what few followers I had due to my MIA status. Well, that's totally understandable. We've been busy, and I fell out of my blogging mode for a long while. So, I am going to attempt to jump back on the wagon and get this thing moving again. I have a lot of things in the works and will start writing about them here!!!

Easter Sunday

2010-04-06T14:31:00.011+10:00

We woke bright & early Easter Sunday, ready to start the day. Austin opened his Easter baskets from the bunny & from grandma Glo. He was excited to get some cars coloring books & firetruck puzzles!! We spent the afternoon at Yaya & Papu's house with an Easter BBQ lunch with the same food they do for every occasion (souvlakia, dolmades, pita, rice, potatoes, salad).

Easter baskets from Easter Bunny & Grandma

This is his 'posed smile'

Cascarones!

Austin found this little whistle and would not put it down all afternoon!

MMM....chocolate...

Easter egg hunting

You should be sleeping little girl!!

Going for a walk with Aunty Rita.

What happened to that ball I put in my pocket?!

Sienna - 6 months

2010-04-01T22:48:00.000+11:00

Our baby girl is half a year old!! Where has the time gone?!

She adores her brother and gets the biggest smile on her face every time she sees his adorable face. She rolls all over the place and rarely stays on her back. Unfortunately, she gets quite ancy when she's on her belly. So, we often have to change her position to prevent a meltdown. She started sitting up (tripod pose) and can do it for a few minutes before toppling over. She has the most gorgeous little laugh. She just giggles uncontrollably when we nibble on her inner thighs and her belly. She loves to be held and loves cuddles. She loves to beat her hands on anything, as if she's playing the drums. She gets ecstatic when we go for outings. As soon as we open the front door, she starts kicking her legs as if she's trying to ride a bicycle, full speed. She loves the outdoors and especially loves watching trees blow in the wind. She's a great shopper with her mommy. ;-)

She really loves to be worn in the Ergo (baby carrier). She has even had a couple of naps in there.

Happy Half-birthday darling girl!

We love you!!

Click here to see Sienna's 5 month pictures.

Easter party at "fun school"

2010-04-01T21:45:00.006+11:00

Austin had an Easter party today at his daycare [aka "fun school"]. They had morning tea, story time and an egg hunt. He had a blast and didn't want to go home at the end of it!

This is Imogen. She's one of Austin's girlfriends from mother's group.

Isn't she a doll?!

Sienna's Easter dress

2010-03-30T21:28:00.000+11:00

Here is Sienna in her gorgeous little Easter dress, knitted by Nickie Nut Knits. Isn't the dress adorable?!!

Naptime

2010-03-23T20:37:00.004+11:00

I put Austin down for his nap and he just wasn't ready to go to sleep. So, I let him play in his room for a bit before getting into bed. When I went to check on him later, this is what I found. He had lined up his trucks & cars all nice and neatly next to him before falling asleep. I guess he wanted a little company in bed.

She's official!!

2010-03-23T20:30:00.001+11:00

Sienna is an AMERICANA!!! We received her citizenship certificate and US passport. We also received her Australian passport. Doesn't her mugshot look cute?! Yahoo!!

Artsy fartsy time!

2010-03-22T21:09:00.004+11:00

Time to put on that cool art smock Tia Bren gave Austin for his bday and get down and dirty!!

Cascarones!!

SOLIDS!

2010-03-21T20:50:00.001+11:00

Well, we finally started Sienna on solids today. She had yummy rice cereal. MMMMM....makes your mouth water just thinking of it, eh?! Unfortunately, she didn't take it as well as her brother did when he started. As a matter of fact, she just clamped her mouth shut and wouldn't have a bar of it. AAAHHHHGGG....GOD, please don't give us another picky eater...pretty please!!

Don't let this gorgeous smile fool ya. She wasn't smiling about her solids!

Yo Yo Yo -- Sienna's in da house.

Someone else wanted in on the camera action...

Epiphanie

2010-03-10T21:38:00.002+11:00

Epiphanie camera bags is having an awesome giveaway. The winner can choose an awesome DSLR or a SWA gift certificate for $2500!!! I hope I win!!

Sienna - 5 months old

2010-03-01T14:25:00.001+11:00

Here is our beautiful girl at 5 months of age. She's just absolutely squashable!!

[pictures taken on March 3rd]

Click here for the link to her 4 month pictures.

Fluffy Stash

2010-02-28T15:41:00.001+11:00

Here is a shot of some of Sienna's fluffy stash. They're so absolutely snuggly soft.

Here are some action shots.

Animal farm fun

2010-02-25T15:10:00.000+11:00

We went to the animal farm at Bundoora Park. Austin LOVED all the farm animals when they were behind closed fences. As soon as he saw chickens or the peacock or any other animal roaming free, he FREAKED. Thankfully Sienna was in the stroller, so I was able to manage Austin as he leaped into my arms for dear life.

When I asked him if he wanted to go on a pony ride, his first response was "no mommy, that's not a pony. That's a horsey!!!!". Duh! Silly mommy!

After his episode with the chickens & peacock, I figured there was no way this child would go anywhere near the 'horsey'. To my surprise, he had no issue with it! However, as you can see from the photos, I think he was actually in a bit of shock. He clung to the reins like no tomorrow and was in a bit of a daze the whole ride; showing absolutely NO emotion.

I was terrified that he was going to jump off or fall off. Luckily, he survived the ride and was all intact at the end.

After witnessing Austin's fear of the open-air-animals, I didn't think he could possibly be more scared of anything ever again. Well, he proved me wrong. For days prior to arriving to the farm, all he would talk about was the tractor and how he wanted to ride the tractor and how he wanted to touch the tractor and how he wanted to see the tractor...

So, after walking around the farm for a while, we finally made our way over to the tractor for a ride. We made our way to the front of the 'wagon' and took a seat on the bale of hay. As soon as the wagon was loaded with passengers, Austin flipped out (yet again) and wanted OFF. I was holding Sienna in the baby carrier (Ergo...thank GOD for that!). Austin was clinging to my shoulders on top of his sister and would not let go. Everyone was staring at us and feeling sorry for the poor child whose mother looked as though she had no idea how to manage two children on her own. There was no easy way off the wagon since it was packed with people. Luckily, someone was looking after me that day because Austin finally settled down (still sitting on my lap) and ended up enjoying the ride.

We only spent 2 hours at the animal farm, but that was the longest 2 hours O F M Y L I F E!!

Helping daddy

2010-02-23T20:20:00.001+11:00

The other day, I was in the living room and heard Austin rustling through the fridge. I figured he was looking for a 'snack'. I walked in there when I heard cans being moved around.

This is what I found.

He was putting away 'daddy's drink'.

He was even putting them on the shelf where Arthur always puts his sodas. He asked me to help him move some other things out of the way to make room. What a good little helper!! Now if only I can teach him how to use the vacuum......

Austin's Stool

2010-02-23T20:15:00.000+11:00

We have this little red stool that Austin has claimed as his own. He uses it in the kitchen and in the bathroom and at the dining table and pretty much anywhere he needs a 'boost'. He always wants to see what we're doing up above and this stool does the trick.

Since he was a naughty boy earlier this week, we took away his stool as punishment. He has to be on good behavior until Saturday to gain it back. Let me tell you, it has WORKED! This kid is so attached to that stool!! Here he is using it to get a boost up to his plate on the counter. When I asked him to smile and say cheese, his response was "I can't say cheese. I'm eating sauce right now." [Sauce = ketchup]

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-14T22:21:00.010+11:00

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

I tried to capture a lovely picture of my two children kissing or cuddling or laughing or ANYTHING, as long as they were together. Well, as to be expected, they just would not cooperate. Actually, AUSTIN would not cooperate. Here is the best shot I was able to capture.

That was only after these horrible out-takes:

Finally caught a smile!!

And Sienna in all her cuteness:

Happy Chinese New Year

2010-02-14T13:14:00.006+11:00

We went to Southbank today to have Valentine's day lunch as a family. Little did we know that we were about to be swarmed with people who were out there celebrating Chinese New Year! There was a festival along the river with booths of food, games, arts & crafts, market, etc. It was really nice. Austin had a blast at the animal farm. Here are some picture from the day.

Will someone please FEED this child?!!!!!!

2010-02-11T21:46:00.001+11:00

If she didn't look so uh-hummm....H E A L T H Y, you'd think we are starving this poor baby when you see her chomping on her arm!!!

Feb 7th

2010-02-07T22:25:00.000+11:00

On Sunday, we went to the children's garden at the Royal Botanical Gardens. It was a pretty hot day, but the gardens are just beautiful. So, we packed up the car and ventured out with the kiddos.

Just before we left the house, I was taking a picture of Sienna wearing her cute little teething necklace. Austin said "where's mine camera!??". He ran to get it and started taking pictures of Sienna as well, while saying "click-click, click-click".

We stopped at Cafe Botanical for some 'lunch'. [This is the cafe I took you, Bren, on the day of your Aboriginal Tour at the garden.] I felt like breakfast, so I ordered some eggs with mushrooms, avocado & hash-browns on toast -- YUMMMMM. The menu said they used egg whites on this item, so I felt better about making this healthy choice to balance out all the excess fat in the other bits on the plate! Oh, how I wish I had my camera with me when they brought out the plate. Imagine whipped egg whites, like what you would do to make meringue. Now imagine a plate covered in that about 8 inches HIGH!! Yes, I kid you NOT! I couldn't even see my avocado or hashbrowns, or anything underneath. It must have been the worst dish I have EVER had. I can't believe they really serve that. Who are they kidding?!!!

Anyway, after lunch, we went back to the car to get the camera and other stuff to take to the garden. While we were unloading the car, Austin decided he wanted to "DRIVE". That's he newest thing. He always wants to drive our car. Well, we made the mistake of letting him sit in the driver's seat (no keys though) while we got everything together. He exited out the passenger door (we never opened the driver door). We returned to the car a couple of hours later feeling exhausted, overheated, thirsty and ready to jump in the car to go home. Arthur turned it on and all we heard was zzzz-zzzz-zzz; zzz-zzz-zzz. Yup, the sound of a DEAD battery. UGGHHHHH!!! Austin had turned on the headlights, the wipers and the blinkers when he was 'driving'. Normally, you hear a beeping noise when you leave lights on. But, that only happens when you open the DRIVER door. So, needless to say, our car died while we were at the garden. Luckily, we have RACV and they came to fix us up within half an hour. Lesson learned: do not let your 2.5 year old drive your car ever again!

Here are some pictures from the garden that day.

Feb 6th

2010-02-06T22:06:00.004+11:00

Here are some misc pictures I took on Saturday.

Here is our little man, reading the newspaper (the automotive section - go figure) and then using it to play hide-n-seek.

Sienna often holds her hands in this 'praying' position. It's so cute when she does it; especially when she's on the floor, trying to roll over with her hands together like this.

Here we are at a local cafe. Austin enjoyed his babycino with lots of chocolate sprinkles on top!

Sleeping beauty

2010-02-05T21:55:00.000+11:00

Sienna - 4 months old

2010-02-01T21:36:00.005+11:00

Our little chubba wubba is growing like a champ. She loves her milk, and it shows!!

Here she is at 4 months old.

(at the health nurse appt on Feb 10, she weighed 7.29 kg and was 65 cm long / 90th% in each category)

Austin heard the camera from across the house and came running to us. "Take mine picture, take mine picture". Who kidnapped my camera-shy little boy?!

Here she is at 3 months and 2 months for comparison:

Happy Australia Day!!

2010-01-26T21:02:00.002+11:00

Today was Australia day, so we decided to go for a drive up to the Dandenongs. We ate lunch at ' 'Pie in the Sky' and then went to 'Sky High' to enjoy some breathtaking views of the city.

Good morning!

2010-01-24T21:43:00.004+11:00

Sienna is all smiles and giggles in the morning when she wakes. It's hard to see here, but she adores her brother and is even more smiles when she sees him. Here are some shots of him attempting to help her up.

Oops...lost his balance and fell on top of her. Luckily, she has lots of cushion, so she just laughed.

When Austin heard the camera clicking away, he said "take mine picture, take mine picture". So, here are his GQ shots with his bed-head hair:

Boys and their toys!

2010-01-23T21:35:00.000+11:00

Is it possible for boys to have too many wheels? Austin just can't seem to get enough. He loves, loves, loves his trucks and cars and bikes and scooters and ALL.OF.IT!!! I'm glad it's summer here so he can enjoy all this gear!

Bath time

2010-01-22T21:28:00.002+11:00

Sienna absolutely LOVES taking a bath. Poor thing, she's quickly outgrowing her little bath seat though. The photo below cracked me up when I saw it because she looks like a mini-sumo wrestler!

Here she is in all her cuteness:

Meatballs!

2010-01-16T22:23:00.004+11:00

Arthur whipped up a bazillion home-made meatballs. After preparing them, he packed them into freezer bags so we can have some for future meals. What a good man! I think he's a keeper.

Future photographer

2010-01-16T22:08:00.000+11:00

Austin loves his camera (circa 2001). He walks around the house taking pictures of walls, floors, feet, corners, and lots of other interesting objects that only a true artist would appreciate. If he's a good boy, I might just put batteries in it one day! ;-)

Almost there!

2010-01-12T21:58:00.006+11:00

Sienna managed to roll from her back to her side/tummy. She simply needs to figure out how to move her arms under her voluptuous bosoms to be completely on her tummy!

Thanks Tia Bren!

2010-01-10T21:28:00.000+11:00

Here is Sienna posing in a cute outfit that Tia Bren sent her from America. She's smiling, so I think she liked it!

(Picture was taken Jan 5.)

Movin' to the country, gonna eat a lot of peaches...

2010-01-10T21:02:00.000+11:00

Peaches come from a can,
they were put there by a man
In a factory downtown
If I had my little way,
I'd eat peaches every day
Sun-soakin' bulges in the shade....

Okay, enough of the song...on to my post about mmmmm....PEACHES!! Yes, we took the kids out to the country (Bacchus Marsh) and picked our very own peaches. Austin had a great time when daddy was lifting him up in the air so he could pick the ones up high. But, his favorite part was when he found some old riggity truck. From then on, we had a hard time getting him to focus on his job. For some reason, he actually thought he was there to have fun!

We managed to fill an entire bucket of this beautiful, juicy fruit. This is the first of them, before we found THE TREE with the BEST PEACHES EVER!!! Needless to say, Arthur felt it was his duty to rid ourselves of these few poor performers so we could fill up on the top-grade stuff.

Hard at work (we're starting him young)...

Quality control:

Taste test (yes, it was washed before-hand):

You can vaguely make out the truck in the background of this shot:

Heading back to the car after a hard day's work:

Videos!

2010-01-09T23:06:00.010+11:00

Over the past few days, Sienna has been trying her hardest to roll over while on her back. She finally made some progress today when she was on her tummy!

Here is some more video of Austin & Sienna that I took today (mostly of Sienna).

Brotherly Love

2010-01-07T22:10:00.003+11:00

Austin just adores his little sister.

Sienna's birth story

2010-01-06T13:07:00.005+11:00

Better late than never, eh?!!

People haven't stopped asking me the details of Sienna's birth story, so I finally documented the saga below. It's amazing how some details never fade. Happy reading!!

It was Thursday, October 1st and my official due date was September 30th. I was absolutely exhausted from 9 months of pregnancy, months of consecutive sleepless nights, aching pubic symphysis dysfunction (aka: pelvic instability) and an overactive toddler. So, that morning, I rang in the troops to help bring some peace to my day. Yaya & Papu came over and whisked away my little terror so I could get some much needed rest. That afternoon, I actually managed a two hour nap! I NEVER had a nap during the entire pregnancy, much less TWO WHOLE BLISSFUL, UNINTERRUPTED HOURS!!!! I awoke feeling somewhat refreshed and human again.

That evening, my in-laws brought Austin back to us and they headed back home at approximately 8:00 pm.

We put Austin to bed and started getting ready to wind down for the evening. Here is a timeline of events that followed during the next two hours:

9:00 pm - I started feeling some twinges in my belly. They were nothing like what I experienced with Austin , so didn't think too much about it. I figured they *MIGHT* be braxton hicks (duh!). I opened contractionmaster.com to start timing them. They were very irregular, so it wasn't helpful at all.

9:22 pm - I sent a text message to the midwife student who was following me throughout the pregnancy and was meant to be at the birth saying "MIGHT be having ctx, so have mobile close just in case". Ummm....MIGHT be having contractions?!!! HELLLLLOOOO!!! By that point, I was unable to walk more than two steps without hunching over in pain. What the hell was I thinking!?!!

9:25 pm - Started packing the rest of my hospital bag and getting things together because I'm an anal cow who just had to get all my belongings in order. Again...what the HELL was I thinking?! I was in so much pain that I couldn't even do it myself. I had to direct Arthur so he could do the packing for me while I hunched over on the couch in agonizing pain. Oh, and in the midst of all this, he decided to take a little break in the toilet. I thought he was getting some things for me when I realised the fan was on in there. Yelling to him, What are you doing in there?!! He replied that he would be just a few minutes. For those of you who do not know him well, you will now come to realise that he has impeccable timing with this sort of thing. NO matter what time of day it is, his body seems to go into action the minute we need to walk out the door. This time was no exception.

9:45'ish - So, amidst all the packing, we realised that we should probably ring Arthur's parents to come back to the house so they could mind Austin. This is when it finally dawned on us that we *MIGHT* just need to get to the hospital sometime later that night. This is also when I finally realised that I can whip out my new toy: the TENS machine!! Thank Christ for that device, as it was my only saving grace during the rest of the events to follow. [if you don't know what a TENS machine is, GOOGLE it!]

After 9:45 - This section will be somewhat TMI, so readers BEWARE.

I went to the lieu twice and noticed that my panty-liner was tinged very very pale pink. I started thinking to myself that maybe the liners were now packaged pink instead of white. I must have had a 3 minute conversation in my own head about this when I could have easily just taken a new one out of the packet to check. But no. My preggy-belly-brain was in full action and I chose to ponder this ever so useless detail instead. [In case you're wondering, the liners are white out of the package]. So, the contractions were getting really really strong now. I couldn't tell how far apart they were since they were right on top of each other (but didn't realise they were right on top of one another until it was too late). At some point during this time, my waters must have broken without me realising it.

10:15'ish - Arthur's parents arrived. I was in our bedroom, on my knees and leaning over the bed while holding my belly. I could hardly breath because the pain was taking over my whole body [yet I was still able to tell Arthur to pack a few more things. I told you I'm an anal cow]. Arthur's mom tried to come over to greet me and she jumped back as if she had just witnessed Charles Manson in action. She obviously didn't realise that you DO NOT TOUCH A WOMAN IN LABOUR when said woman has had no drugs!!!!

10:20 - So, I had only been in pain for just over an hour at this point. I was in pain with Austin for a good 5 hours before we headed to hospital and then I was in labour for another 8 hours after that. So, I still had heaps of time, RIGHT?!! Somehow, amidst attempts to breath through the contractions, I was able to think clearly enough to realise that I was actually in labour and that we should ring the hospital. Once Arthur had them on the phone, the midwife asked to speak to me. I just couldn't bear to lift my arms off the mattress which I was clenching for dear life. Suddenly, I had the urgent need to P-U-S-H all while experiencing pain that I never thought could get any worse. The midwife told Arthur to ring 000 for an ambulance. In the meantime, she asked him to put me on the floor so he could, eh-hem, *examine* me. She wanted him to check if he could see the baby's head. So, Dr Arthur did his examination and reported no head...yet.

10:28 (per ambo records) - The ambulance arrived with 2 paramedics (one female & one male). I was laying on the dining room floor with nothing on down south; trying to get in some sort of comfortable position, but nothing was helping. The pain was almost unbearable and I was feeling so overwhelmingly hot and THIRSTY. The male ambo asked me if I wanted some pain relief. I immediately replied YES without hesitation. Somehow, during all the excitement, my plea was ignored. I NEVER received any drugs. Thank goodness for my handy TENS machine!!!

I was pressing the button on the TENS machine for dear life as if pressing it harder and harder would make it work any better. Arthur was still on the phone with hospital who was telling him to make sure my legs were not closed and make sure I was flat on my back. All the while, I kept begging for some water. Nobody was listening to me. HELLLLLOOOOO, woman in labour needs H2O!!! My mother-in-law had a wet rag that she was putting on my forehead to help keep me cool. I finally just grabbed that and started sucking on it as if I had been stranded on a desert island and was sucking water droplets from a leaf. I couldn't believe how desperate I was for water and, yet again, NOBODY granted my desperate pleas.

The paramedics tried to evaluate me on the floor, but they had a hard time seeing anything; so they brought in their bed from the ambulance and put it in the dining room. They lifted me onto that so they could have better view of my goods. I started pushing and the female ambo lady said (with a big smile, trying to break the tension) "So, who in the family has black hair?!!". I glared at her and didn't say a word, just kept pushing for dear life. Who the hell cares who has black hair lady?!! If you really want to know, look at me and my husband. We're right in front of you!!!! One more big push and Sienna's head was out. That's when I started to panic, realising that we had no true support if something was wrong. What if I needed an emergency caesarean to get her out? What if she wasn't breathing? What if ......

I screamed out "Is she breathing?!!!!". They told me to just concentrate and keep pushing. At this point, I felt as if I needed to just hold onto something solid, something that I could push down on with all my might. So, I let go of Arthur's clammy hand and grabbed the female ambo. I gave her a huge bear hug and gave a huge push which brought out Sienna's shoulders. One more push later, and out came the rest of her beautiful body. We heard her beautiful screaming lungs as they wrapped her to wipe her clean. The time was 10:53 pm.

They proceeded to put her on my torso when someone asked her gender (we were team green for this pregnancy). The ambo guy said "oh, girl I THINK". They hadn't even looked! One moment later I was holding my dear daughter on my chest. They quickly checked her apgar scores (which came back 9/10 & 10/10) then proceeded to put me in the ambulance with baby. Arthur followed us in the car so that he could bring the fully packed hospital bag which didn't fit in the ambulance. [I wasn't about to leave it behind after all that effort packing the damn thing!]

The ambulance ride to hospital seemed to last FOREVER. The male ambo guy was obviously new-ish at baby deliveries (based on how he was receiving instructions from the female ambo lady). While on the way to hospital, I was still having contractions (my body trying to deliver the placenta) and I still had no drugs!!. I was sweating and felt overwhelmingly hot; my blood pressure was like a roller coaster and I had lost a lot of blood. After a few more contractions, I suddenly felt something come out of me down below. The guy said to the lady "I think she just delivered the placenta". He held it for a few seconds (the size of an orange), just looking at it with a very confused facial expression. He was about to put it in a bag when he said "oh wait, no, this is just a big blood clot". Ummm....oooookay, and you just delivered my baby???!!!. A few more contractions later and the placenta finally came out. When that happened, I felt SOOO much better. The final relief came when we arrived at hospital and they opened the doors and a big gush of cool air hit me. Awwwww.....relief!

So, after 8 months of obstetrician appointments and thousands of dollars later (paying for private obstetrician), all he had to do was stitch me up. Arthur just won't let that one go. He said if we ever have another baby, he's going to ask for a discount! (aye-aye-aye!)

Sienna is beautiful and we are truly blessed that our darling daughter arrived safely into this world (and even more blessed that Austin managed to sleep through the entire ordeal!!).

Sienna - 3 months old

2010-01-01T22:38:00.000+11:00

Our baby girl is 3 months old now. Isn't she adorable?!!!

December 14 - Bob the builder, WATCH OUT!

2009-12-16T22:15:00.004+11:00

Austin put on his boots and grabbed the hammer to help daddy build Austin's new bed.

December 8 - Story time with daddy

2009-12-08T22:09:00.003+11:00

December 6 - Austin's first concert!

2009-12-08T21:58:00.006+11:00

Austin enjoyed his very first concert with cousin Eliza: THE WIGGLES!!

(Pardon the poor quality mobile-phone pictures!)

Sienna - 2 months old

2009-12-01T22:42:00.000+11:00

Here is Sienna at 2 months of age. She's growing so quickly!

Week #36

2009-09-01T21:01:00.006+10:00

August 30 - September 5

Austin shocked us this morning when he started singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star just out of the blue. He was playing with his trains when I heard his little voice. It took a while to get him to do it again for the video, but I finally got it (sorta).

The first part of this video is of him saying "rock-n-roll!". He says a word before hand that we haven't been able to interpret. Maybe you can figure it out!

**We finally figured out that he was saying "High Voltage, Rock -N- Roll"!!!

Week #32

2009-08-23T20:18:00.006+10:00

August 6

Brenda & Pris & Max were here in August for a fantastic visit with us. Here they are with Austin on the day after his bday having fun in his red [deflated] car.

Week #14

2009-04-13T21:47:00.008+10:00

March 29 - April 4

We took Austin to the Flower & Garden show. It was an extra special treat for him because we rode the tram there. He loved the ride on the "choo choo". At the show, they had a special Sesame Street section which Austin LOVED!! Needless to say, he had a wonderful day.

Come on guys...I'm WAITING!!!

On the tram:
(which he really did enjoy...we just didn't capture the smiles in the pic):

And, last but not least, here he is with his idol:
(I wish I could have captured his expression when he first saw Elmo. He was overcome with glee.)

Week #13

2009-04-13T21:46:00.004+10:00

March 22-28

No pics (holding head in shame, yet again)

Week #12

2009-04-13T21:42:00.008+10:00

March 15-21

No pics (holding head in shame)

Week #11

2009-03-09T20:35:00.006+11:00

March 8-14

Our little monkey:

Playing with his friend (second-cousin) Eliza:

Week #10

2009-03-09T20:29:00.007+11:00

March 1-7

He learned how to pull a stool up to his bookshelf so that he can reach the books and THROW them down on the ground. GRRRRRR...

Having a bit of a read:

He discovered his POCKETS and just loves posing as Mr GQ.

Week #9

2009-02-28T20:26:00.000+11:00

February 22-28

Ashamed to say that I did not take ONE picture this week. I'll have to make it up with lots more pics in the coming weeks.

Week #8

2009-02-28T20:22:00.000+11:00

February 15-21

Breakfast in front of the TV!?!?! What kind of parents does he have?!!!

Week #7

2009-02-17T21:32:00.007+11:00

February 8-14

Mmmm...Mmmm...Mmmm, vegemite sandwich!!

Week #6

2009-02-17T21:21:00.004+11:00

February 1-7

Ashamed to say that I didn't take many pics this week. Here are a couple taken the day we had Austin's mates over to our house for our [very] late annual XMAS party.

Sorry this one is blurry:

Week #5

2009-02-17T20:53:00.006+11:00

January 25-31

Burst water main in our neighborhood; water shot up over 130 feet into the air:

Watching the ducks at a nearby lake

At the zoo:

Week #3 & #4

2009-01-25T21:28:00.008+11:00

January 15-24

Our little gardener decided to help Chris on his garden (in King Lake).

Yes, this is what happens when you leave a child with ketchup for ONE SECOND.

STOP!! YOU CAN'T ESCAPE!!! (He's obsessed with keys)

Our little drummer boy.

Enjoying his new swing-set.

Bath-time fun. (FYI, the water was drained already....we don't normally bathe' him in an empty bathtub!).

Week #2

2009-01-10T22:42:00.008+11:00

January 8-14

One artsy-fartsy shot:

Week #1

2009-01-10T22:02:00.012+11:00

January 1-7

Waiting patiently for a babycino

MMMMM....yummy babycino

All done!

HEEE-MAN!!

2009-01-07T20:17:00.004+11:00

HAPPY 2009!

This is the start of our Project 365 (aka Project 52).

We hope you enjoy!

Jan/Feb

2008-03-27T12:17:00.002+11:00

During January & February, Austin was a very busy little boy. Some of the things he got up to:
* Started solids
* Took swimming "lessons"
* Attended Gymboree classes
* Started saying "Da-Da" (I'm convinced he thinks that's me)
* Was rolling all over the place like a steam roller
* Sitting on his own (a bit wobbly)
* Jumping in his Jolly Jumper (he LOVES it)

See the following link for some pics/video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxn-RNABnVs

Where do I start??

2008-03-11T12:27:00.010+11:00

I can't believe it's been over a month since I posted anything about our little man!! I feel so bad. So much has happened since then too. He's such an active little boy and he's growing, growing, growing!!!

Let's see, I'll dedicate this post to FOOOOOOD! YES, Austin started solids at 5.5 months of age on the 21st of January. We started him with good ole rice cereal. He took to it like a champ. We slowly started introducing vegetables and fruit such as sweet potato, pear, apple, zucchini, green bean, butternut pumpkin, peach, broccoli. In the last week, he has started on lentils and a tiny bit of chicken. The little tike isn't as keen on his proteins. So, I'm having to introduce very creative ways of getting those things into his food. Now I understand how frustrated parents get when their kids are finicky eaters! It isn't easy!!!

Here's a link to the video of his first solids and some photos too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnIjyjsJyWs

The kid is a very messy eater...

Better late than never

2008-01-24T09:46:00.000+11:00

Okay, Christmas was ONLY a month ago. So I'm not too far behind in posting this...am I?!

The first week of December, we took Austin to have his very first photo with Santa. I wanted to do it early to avoid the last minute shoppers and long lines. On the big day, we ventured into Myer in the city and quickly ventured out as soon as we saw all the school kids who were there with some school excursion. I was really surprised that a school would bring the kids into Myer to see the Christmas windows, train, etc....CHRISTMAS! In a time when we can't even breath a word of religion in the vicinity of a school; and their bringing the whole class to Myer for an excursion---on the day that we're there!???! WHAT THA!?

I finally managed to squeeze the pram through all the little people running around everywhere and made my way out of the mayhem. Next stop...David Jones. It was an easy ride up the lift to the floor of Christmas. The line looked short and so we joined the queue.

Someone said they have THREE Santas in individual rooms to help make things run quicker. Unfortunately for those who know the truth, that meant we couldn't see Santa. So, what happens when we finally get to the secret room (after waiting 45 minutes)?! We get SCRAWNY SANTA!! I was so disappointed and felt so robbed. I reckon Austin weighed more than this Santa. For a moment, I thought Santa was going to collapse under Austin's healthy frame.

Well, after waiting all that time, I couldn't exactly turn back now. So, we went for it and got Austin's first shot with Scrawny Santa. Note to self for future reference: Beware of hidden Santas! As you can see from the photo, Austin had a great time with Scrawny Santa.

Here are a couple of shots with the parents on Boxing Day:

And here is our little man after he had enough picture taking and enough of all this stuff called Christmas:

The 'Mexican' wagon

2008-01-22T20:25:00.000+11:00

Cousin Derek got a really cool wagon for Christmas. When Austin saw the pictures of Derek riding in it, he got really excited and wanted one too. Here's a photo of cousin Derek riding in his cool John Deere wagon.

Here's little Austin riding in his 'Mexican' version of the same wagon. Doesn't he look like he's having fun???

New videos

2007-12-20T21:12:00.001+11:00

Austin is starting to become semi-mobile. He is starting to roll a bit, sometimes becoming lazy and stopping half-way (and staying like that). I can't resist just tapping him to help him flip all the way over.

Today, I put him in his crib for a nap and he was fussing a bit (not unusual). I left him for a few minutes to fuss himself to sleep. Well, his fussiness became louder and louder. I went to check on him and he had turned 90 degrees from where I had left him. His little feet were kicking the bars on the side of the crib. When he was wiggling, his feet were poking through the bars and kicking the wall. All along, his arm was stuck underneath his body. He didn't know how to free it from under him. I managed to get him on video in this mess of a position. You can view it at the following link:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=GZTEXVvyX8o

It's Christmas time...

2007-12-19T13:52:00.000+11:00

Ahhhh....I just LOVE this time of year. Come December 1st, I didn't hesitate to pull out all our Christmas gear and start filling the house with Santa's, stockings, decorations, and all the rest. Arthur just loves how our house is like a walking Christmas museum. I hope our little man grows up to enjoy and love Christmas as much as his mom does. I hope he doesn't turn into the Christmas Grinch like his daddy!!

Growing up, we had all kinds of Christmas traditions. I suppose it stemmed from our mom who just loved this time of year too. Our home growing up was always full of Christmas decorations and a huge tree with lots of gifts underneath. My mom made this massive nativity scene out of ceramics. It was like a special feature that always went up in the living room. No matter how much (or how little) space we had there, she always found room for that. It was beautiful.

When we were really little, we would get together with my mom's 9 brothers & sisters and all their kids. Someone would dress up as Santa and hand out gifts to the kiddos. It was so much fun having all the BIG family together like that.

My parents use to take us to Christmas mass on Saturdays (normally) as it was shorter than Sunday's mass. When we got home from church, we were allowed to open ONE gift. We had to hold out until the morning to open all the rest. It was so much fun waking up and seeing all the gifts from SANTA!! I just can't wait for Austin to be old enough to understand Christmas and SANTA!

This year, we bought the book 'The Night Before Christmas'. One tradition we're going to start in our little family is reading this book to our little ones on Christmas eve (and the lead-up to Christmas too if they want). As for the church part, well we'll just leave that as a special treat to enjoy when we go to Texas for the holidays!

Happy Holidays from the Ioannou family!!
(Thanks to Lisa for the idea of posting Christmas childhood memories!)

I love my BUMBO seat!!

2007-12-19T12:55:00.000+11:00

Austin got his own little seat last month. He just loves sitting in it and looking all around. If his belly wasn't so big (and getting in the way), I reckon his seat would have teeth marks by now. Our little man is putting EVERYTHING into his mouth these days. Some shots of Austin in his Bumbo are below. He's 4 months old here (17 weeks).

Here he is as he reads a football magazine with dad:

Enjoying daytime TV:

Posing for mom's 'cheesy' XMAS photos:

Boot scootin' baby

2007-11-13T10:38:00.000+11:00

Austin really enjoys playing on his playmat. He can bat at the hanging animals for a long time before cracking the shits. He also LOVES to stare at himself in the little mirror. Hmmmm...early signs of vanity maybe? Surely NOT!!

We normally put a blanket over the back half of the playmat so that he can look at the clouds on that when he looks up. It's also a way to prevent him from staring at the television which is also behind the playmat. Well, yesterday, I put the little man down on his back with his head towards the front of the mirror to allow him to gaze deeply into his own eyes. I walked away for a minute and when I returned, I found this!

Our boot scootin' baby moved all the way up the playmat towards the top and yanked down the blanket. His boyish personality is really starting to shine. What's next???

I'm FOURTEEN weeks old!!

2007-11-13T10:18:00.000+11:00

Austin was checked by the health nurse yesterday for his 3 month appointment. He weighed in at a whopping 6.6kg (14.5 pounds!) and 63cm (24.8 inches)!! He truly is a little buda!

Here are some shots we took that afternoon (Nov 12). This is the first time we've gotten so many smiles on camera at one time!!

SUPERBABY!

2007-11-04T19:19:00.000+11:00

Our little man turned 13 weeks old today. Tomorrow (Nov 5th) is his three month birthday. He's growing up so quickly.

Here is a video we took today. It's amazing what we come up with to keep this kid occupied! I think we enjoy some of these things more than he does.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EU_Iix_GOKg

I think Austin worked up an appetite after his superbaby ride. Check him out as he gnaws on his dad's arm!

Austin's first Halloween

2007-10-31T21:46:00.000+11:00

Today was Austin's very first Halloween. We carved and decorated a couple of pumpkins, got all dressed up in his costume (as a baseball player) and had lots of candy all set to hand out to the kiddies. We know that Australians aren't really interested in Halloween. But, surely the neighborhood kids would make some effort for FREE candy!! Austin was ecstatic and couldn't wait for the big night ahead.

We had our first knock on the door at about 5:00 while Austin was eating. By the time I managed to pull him away from his food, the person had left. I was certain that it had to be some early trick-or-treaters. So, we walked out to the front of the house in search of them. We looked everywhere until we saw a door-to-door salesman leaving a neighbors house. This was the first disappointment of the evening.

The second knock on the door (and last) was around 6:30. I jumped up at lightening speed to grab the door before the trick-or-treaters had a chance to escape. When I opened the door, I saw our 80 year old neighbor. I instantly thought how strange it was that he would be trick-or-treating and WITHOUT a costume nonetheless. What does he think this is?!? As he proceeded to ask for Arthur's help to change a light-bulb, my heart sunk as I realised that he wasn't coming around for treats. It wasn't even a trick. He didn't even acknowledge the pumpkins on the front steps to the house.

Well, as if the night couldn't be anymore disappointing, I smelled something really fowl as I was holding Austin. I realised that he had a big POO. The kid hadn't gone in almost five days. Why did he have to pick Halloween (while dressed up in his costume) to finally go!?!! Well, I sat up to take him to the bedroom to change his nappy. As I peeled him off me, I saw that the poo had leaked out of his nappy and was already soaked through his costume and onto my shirt. I guess that's what HE thought of Halloween.

I'm not giving up. Next year, we will have a 'normal' Halloween...even if I have to pay the neighborhood kids to come to our house to do some trick-or-treating!!

Happy Halloween!!!

Future Kangaroos supporter??

2007-10-31T21:25:00.000+11:00

Our little man is destined to be a Kangaroos supporter....or at least that's what his dad says. Below are some shots of Austin in his firts Kangaroos outfit, taken at 11 weeks old. Could the expressions on his face be an indication of what he thinks of the Kangaroos?

Thanks FRANCO!!!

2007-10-25T12:39:00.000+10:00

Frank & Eva came by the day Austin turned 8 weeks old. Frank brought his fancy schmancy camera and took some great photos of our little bub. A few of the shots are below.

Videos

2007-10-09T17:17:00.000+10:00

Check out some of Austin's videos at the following links:

Speaking (8 weeks old): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHK3DWT16EU
Watching Mr. Flutterbug (6 weeks old): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2hO2iPWdOo
Just chillin' (6 weeks old): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1R21aMj9yGo

Our little boy is growing, growing, growing...

2007-10-09T10:55:00.000+10:00

I can't believe how much Austin has grown. Even in the last week, he seems to have just shot right up. I've had to 'retire' a bunch of his clothes which no longer fit him. He's even wearing some 6 month clothing because he's too long for the smaller sizes. Maybe it's wishful thinking, but I reckon our little man is going to be tall like his daddy (PLEASE GOD!!!). I know, some brands run smaller than others...I don't care. I'm still going to brag that my son is fitting into big boy sizes at 2 months of age! ;-)

We went to the pediatrician last week (8 weeks of age) and he said that Austin is doing great. He weighed in at a whopping 5.2 kg (11.5 lb)!!

I was at the supermarket the other day and the check-out lady asked me how old Austin was. She was shocked when I told her he was only 6 weeks. She said she thought he looked more like 3 months. Then, she said "are you breastfeeding". Not knowing where she's going with this conversation, I reluctantly (and in almost a whisper) said "yes". She then blurted out (in front of heap of other customers in line) "you must have really good milk!!". What am I supposed to say to that..."uh, thanks???".

Here are some shots taken on his two month birthday (Oct 5th):

Thank RITU for discovering Flutterbug!!

2007-10-09T10:27:00.000+10:00

Austin used to hate it when we changed his diaper. He would scream bloody murder whenever we got anywhere near his change table. It was really embarrassing because our neighbors could hear him and they were probably wondering what we're doing to the poor baby. When it was at its worst, he would scream so loud that he would even start choking! So, needless to say, we really needed to find a solution to that because it's hard enough to change his dirty diapers when his crap is flowing out all over the place. Add a screaming baby on top of it and it was a really messy job.

Well, our friend Ritu discovered this amazing toy which her daughter loves. So, we figured it was worth a shot to see if Austin would also love it. Anything was worth a try at this point. I was at my wits end getting his crap all over my hands as I tried to control the kiddo while he kicked and screamed. Don't get me wrong...I adore my son, but there's only so much crap I can handle!!

This toy is called Flutterbug. We put it above his change table and guess what?!! He adores it!! Austin can't get enough of Mr. Flutterbug. He even gets upset (grunts a bit) when we forget to wind it up (which plays music and makes his wings turn). So, thank you RITU for sharing your discovery with us!!

Unfortunately, he now kicks his legs out of excitement while watching Mr. Flutterbug. So, my days of dealing with flying crap aren't over yet! I have a feeling they're just beginning.

Below are some shots of little Austin (taken Oct 3rd -> 8 weeks old) as he watches Mr. Flutterbug.

Tummy time

2007-09-20T11:49:00.000+10:00

Austin has amazing neck muscles. Check out these shots taken during tummy time yesterday (6 weeks old).

Our Little Prince

2007-09-20T10:01:00.000+10:00

Well, the time has finally come where our little prince has finally managed to take over our bedroom!! It took 5 weeks, but he did it! This kid makes more noise when he sleeps than a drunken sailor. I've been told that his 'grunting' noises will start to settle when he gets closer to 3 months. Apparently those noises are normal as babies try to get used to their digestive systems. He also grunts when he's trying to escape his swaddle. So, hopefully he'll get over that soon.

Arthur moved to the guest bedroom so that he could get better sleep at night in preparation for work the next day (plus, he was sick for a while so was banished from us). I finally decided that I would try to sleep on the couch (just oustide our bedroom) to see if I could sleep better too. This sleep deprivation was starting to drive me NUTS! Well, the first night I went to the couch, I managed almost 5 hours of straight sleep (so did Austin)!! I had gone to sleep about 10 PM that night. I woke about 3 AM for a feed and then again at 6:30 AM for the next feed. It was amazing. I felt like a new woman the next day!!

You're probably asking "why don't they put him in his own room?". Well, he's been sleeping in a bassinette in our bedroom. Yes, we could EASILY roll that thing into his room which is a stone's throw away. But that makes too much sense....doesn't it??!!

It's amazing what sacrifices we'll make when it means more sleep.

Lounging on mom & dad's bed (6 weeks old)...

Baby Houdini

2007-09-20T09:09:00.000+10:00

Every time we put Austin down for a sleep, we swaddle him. The main reason is because he still has the newborn 'startle reflex' which wakes him when his arms go flying. So, we wrap him snugly to keep his arms by his side which helps him sleep better. Well, this kid has earned the nickname of Baby Houdini because no matter how snugly we wrap him, he always manages to escape! His little arms are always out and up by his head!!

Recently, I went to check on Baby Houdini when he was napping because he was doing his typical grunting noises. His eyes were still shut and his arms were still in the swaddle! I thought "BRILLIANT! He's finally not escaping!!". So, I leaned over to shift him a bit. I put my hand under his shoulder and it was loose!!! I SHIT myself!!! I thought he had dislocated his shoulder while trying to escape the swaddle!!!! So, needless to say, I ripped the swaddle off him with lightening speed. His long sleeve was still by his side the way it was when I had swaddled him. Tears were forming in my eyes as I thought I caused my poor baby to rip his arm out of its socket or something horrible. So, I lifted the sleeve and realised it was empty. What's going on?!! As I investigated further, I realised that he managed to pull his arm out of the long sleeve and his little hand was up near his shoulder (still inside his clothing)!!! I have no idea how Baby Houdini did it. It's going to be a secret that will never be revealed!

4 weeks old

2007-09-08T11:26:00.000+10:00

It's hard to believe our little man is already 4 weeks old (5 weeks tomorrow)!!! Here are some recent shots.

Trying to figure out how this sling thing works.

With dad on father's day (yes, dad's day is in September over in Oz).

Tummy time

HELLO!

Watching Mr Flutterbug (mobile to distract him while changing him).

Mr. Commando

Three weeks old!

2007-08-26T20:14:00.000+10:00

Well, it's hard to believe our little man is already 3 weeks old! Time is flying by. However, unfortunately, it seems to go in mega-slow-motion when it's time to wake for those nasty night-time feeds. Thankfully, he's given us a tiny little break the last couple of nights by sleeping a little bit longer between feeds. Please let this be the start of a new routine!!!!!

Last night, I decided to let daddy do one of the night-time feeds (at 1:00 AM) so I could get a bit of sleep! Previously, I figured it was only fair that I do those feeds & nappy changes since he has to work during the week. Well, enough is enough. It's the weekend and he doesn't work weekends. So, he's entitled to baby-duty just like me!!

Well, either daddy is very "smart" or he just really has no clue. Needless to say, he won't be doing another one of those night-time feeds for a while. Poor little Austin was miserable for some reason and Arthur just couldn't settle him. So, while I was SUPPOSED to be sleeping (the whole point behind getting Arthur to do that feed), I couldn't help but hear this poor little guy screaming bloody murder right outside our bedroom door. I finally got out of bed to find Arthur shaking the poor kid to try to settle him while loudly making a SHHHH-SHHHH-SHHHH sound. No wonder the kid was screaming. His dad was scaring the crap out of him. I offered to take over, but Arthur was adamant that he could handle it. So, I returned to bed feeling like my husband was in for a rude awakening. Moments later, Arthur came into the bedroom and jumped into bed...with no baby in sight. I asked him what he did with Austin and why didn't he bring him back into the room to sleep in his bassinet! Arthur just mumbled "your mom has him". I jumped out of bed and found my mom settling the baby by rocking him gently. I ended up taking over because he would have to go back to sleep in our room anyway.

So, needless to say, this episode ended up taking more of my energy and time than if I had just done the feed myself. Arthur will definitely be in for some "lessons" over the next short while until he gets it because damnit he WILL get it!!

Below are some recent shots of our precious little bub.

Holding on for dear life as daddy drives us through the city

Watching daddy's football team on television

3 weeks old!!
Isn't he cute in his little track suit!?!

Wearing the cool Stevie Ray Vaughan onesie that Auntie Brenda made

Like father like son (wearing matching Stevie shirts)

PICTURES!!!!

2007-08-15T19:52:00.000+10:00

3 days old

(after coming out of the special care nursery for treatment of his jaundice)

4 days old

5 days old

6 days old

(next to a photo of his cousin in the same onesie)

One week birthday

8 days old

9 days old

With grandma:

When this kid is hungry, you better not hesitate to feed him!!

Sucking mommy's pinky finger with a good grip so it doesn't go anywhere!

10 days old

Austin's Birth Day

2007-08-14T21:45:00.000+10:00

My mom arrived from America on Saturday, August 4th. What timing...we couldn't have planned it better. We captured one final pregnant moment, just in the nick of time!

Well, it all started about 12:30 AM on Sunday, August 5. I didn't have ANY signs of ANYTHING prior to that. Then, BOOM, out of the blue I was awakened with pain in my lower abdomen. "Could this be it? Is this what it's supposed to feel like? Is this a false alarm?" I had so many questions running through my mind. I didn't want to wake Arthur just in case it was a false alarm. Even if it wasn't a false alarm, he would need as much sleep as possible to help me get through the big event. So, I went to the bathroom and then moved to the sofa. Okay, maybe I should have woken Arthur at that point. But, I just wasn't convinced these were really contractions I was feeling. What was I thinking?!?!?

So, I turned on the computer and logged into a website that my sister gave me to help time contractions. You just press a space bar every time they happen and it keeps track of all the information for you. How easy is that! So, between contractions, I logged in and got it all ready. When the contraction started, I would just easily reach over and press the space bar. How difficult could that possibly be? WRONG!! I had no idea what was about to hit me. I was even trying to reach the space bar with my big toe at one point while lying on my side, biting the sofa cushion in agony. Again, what was I thinking NOT waking Arthur or even mom at that point?!?! Well, I waited until the contractions were about 7 minutes apart before waking Arthur. I really thought it could still be a false alarm. Again, WHAT THE HELL WAS I THINKING!?!

I finally made my way to the bedroom and calmly woke Arthur and said "I think I'm having contractions, but don't worry. I'll let you know when they are closer together before you need to get up". Yeah, like he was really going to be able to get any sleep after hearing that! Well, when the contractions were about 5 minutes apart, we rang the hospital and told them we were heading in soon. Of course, I had to have a shower first and get the final things packed into our luggage. Arthur also decided to have a shower and pretty himself up for the big event. In the meantime, mom was going nuts with excitement!

We finally left the house around 4:30 AM and as I stepped out the front door, BAM!! I felt a huge gush of fluid in my pants. Either I just peed myself or my water broke. God, please don't tell me I peed myself!! Okay, back in the house. I got changed and put on some 'protective gear'. Then, we headed out again. This time, I made about two steps out the front door and then threw up on the lawn -- TWICE. I was feeling really ill. We finally got in the car and headed to the hospital.

When the midwife examined me in hospital, she said I was already 5 cm dilated!! At that point, I was just begging for the epidural. I didn't give a damn how far along I was. I just wanted some pain relief....ANY pain relief!!! To my amazement, she actually said "Wow, you've come so far already, what a shame to not just go all the way". Was she looking for a black eye?! I WANTED THAT EPIDURAL NOW!!!!! Thanks to mom, I have a couple of photos which captured this moment with my oh-so-supportive hubbie by my side (and mom, the photographer, in the background).

Luckily, I didn't have to wait too long for the pain relief to kick in. After that, everything was just smooth sailing....until the pushing started.

At about noon, the obstetrician had me start pushing. He propped my legs up into the straps and sat in catcher's position. I was pushing like there was no tomorrow in the hopes that every push would be the last one. Unfortunately, little Austin was taking his time with each push. So, doc decided to use a vacuum to help his little head come out. Unfortunately, the vacuum unexpectedly dislodged and it took a bit of our baby's skin with it. So, now he has a big scab from that. :-(

Doc then pulled out the salad spoons and used them to help bring our son into the world. I just remember feeling a huge relief when it all happened. After that, everything is a blur. Doc put Austin on my chest and Arthur & I just gazed into his eyes. It was love at first sight. In the meantime, mom was in the background taking photos. I'm so thankful for that so that I can see some of the moments which I had forgotten!

Our little munchkin was healthy and gorgeous. His apgars scores were both 9's!! He was born at 1:17 PM, weighed 3280 grams (~7.2 pounds) and was about 50 cm in length (~19.5 inches). He's just perfect and we couldn't be a happier family. We love our little ray of sunshine, Austin Ioannou!!!

Our first family moments after birth:

Strike a pose!

Thank you, Dr. Steinberg, for the safe delivery of our healthy son!

The waiting is the hardest part...

2007-07-27T18:18:00.000+10:00

Lately, I can't help but think of that Tom Petty song "The waiting is the hardest part". Dr. Steinberg's due date is tomorrow!! So, Austin isn't technically late yet. But, all throughout this pregnancy, I had this intuition that he would arrive early. I suppose part of that came from the fact that my mom's first born was almost 2 weeks early and my sister's baby was also a bit early (born in April this year). So, I truly thought it was in our genes to have early first-borns. It looks like this child has taken on his daddy's genes instead. That family is famous for always being late. So, no wonder nothing has happened yet!! Oh well, as long as he's healthy and doing fine, we'll wait as long as necessary!

19 week ultrasound

2007-03-04T17:58:00.000+11:00

Well, time for another scan. This time, the doctor was checking all the bones and major organs. It was just amazing to see all the little fingers and toes and everything else. Our baby was just perfect. At the end of the scan, he checked the gender and confirmed that we are having a BOY. He said he was 99% certain and that we should ring him if the baby turns out to be a girl because he won't believe it unless he sees for himself!

The first picture below shows the 'boy parts'. The second picture is a 3d photo of our son.

12 week ultrasound

2007-01-28T09:50:00.000+11:00

We spent Christmas in Texas with our American family. When we returned from that trip, we had our 12 week ultrasound. During that ultrasound, the doctor said he was 70% certain our little one was a BOY. He took video of the ultrasound and it was amazing to see our baby squirming around. The results of my bloodwork combined with the ultrasound confirmed that we were carrying a healthy baby!! Dr. Steinberg said my results were some of the best that he had ever seen!!

8 week ultrasound

2006-12-16T21:50:00.000+11:00

Dr. Steinberg (our obstetrician) did an ultrasound at 8 weeks of pregnancy. It was the first time we were able to see our little peanut and his precious little heartbeat. It was the most amazing thing we could have ever seen. We were ecstatic when the doctor said everything was looking good so far and the estimated due date would be July 28, 2007!!

We're pregnant!!

2006-11-26T09:49:00.000+11:00

I found out that I was pregnant (with a home pregnancy test) a couple of days before Arthur's 39th birthday. I went to the GP to get a blood test and they rang me back to confirm the positive results. So, I bought Arthur a birthday card that said "Happy Birthday Dad". I wrote it as if it was from his son saying that he can't wait to meet his daddy in 9 months! I ended up giving it to Arthur a day early because I couldn't wait for his birthday. Can you believe that he didn't understand!? He had the most confused look on his face. I wish I had taken a photo! I ended up showing him a photo I had taken of the home pregnancy test that said "PREGNANT". I think he was in shock (in a happy way). He said it was the best birthday present he could have ever received.