2 Years

Roxy turned two this weekend! We had her birthday celebration all planned out. What we didn't count on was Roxy waking up with a fever:

Cuddles with Mama after lots of cuddles with Papa. 

She perked up and we continued on with our big celebration! First stop: Boost smoothie shop for a Strawberry Swirl Smoothie in a Supergirl cup:

Look at the focus.

Next stop: South Bank for playing in the water features. Doc and I hung out on the sidelines while she and Nate splashed around in the water for an hour. She did lots of JUMPING and SPLASHING with all of the other kids.

 The view from the sidelines.

She did not want to leave.

After a long nap in her air-conditioned bedroom (we cranked it on for the first time this year), we enjoyed the afternoon thunderstorms and Nate made spaghetti with olives for dinner. It was too hot to bake pizza. We sang Happy Birthday and she blew out the candles in her bowl of strawberry ice cream.

I know it looks like I'm blowing out the candles, but really she did it.

Happy Birthday to our sweet girl! She's getting bigger, smarter, sweeter and funnier every day!  

Two Months

Doc turned two months old on Dec. 1. As much as I've been wishing for the days to slow down so that he doesn't get too big too fast, I'm afraid he just keeps growing. He's gained nearly five pounds and grown nearly 2 inches since he was born. He is such a good, sweet baby.

Momruh's Visit Part 2: Champers, Mulligatawny and Pavlova Send-off

Catching up here with a few more pictures from my mom's visit. She went home nearly three weeks ago, but I'm just now getting time to do this. Who knew life would be so busy with two kids?

I took my mom and Doc on their first visit to Straddie. It was a gorgeous day and the island was full of hippies.

Afternoons were filled with exercise sessions. This is Roxy participating in a P90X workout.

The night before she left, we had Mulligatawny stew, a bottle of champagne and a pavlova topped with whipped cream, strawberries, mango, kiwi and crushed macadamia nuts. Yum! We toasted each other with the cheapest champagne in the bottle shop and enjoyed our feast.

My dad made my mom promise to take Roxy out for ice cream. Here's the proof! Everytime we walk past that ice cream shop in the mall, Roxy climbs up into the chair and asks for ice cream. Thanks Mom!

It was great having my mom here. We spent naptimes chatting, planning meals, chatting some more. Or I slept while she read or was in the backyard on a bindi-killing spree (this bindi, not this Bindi). The drive home from the airport was pretty tough, but we're looking forward to her next visit, which is in just a few months. 

So sweet

This is a moment that makes my mommy heart swoon:

Roxy tucked a some of her afternoon snack (a pretzel) into Doc's hand while he napped.

What I didn't get a picture of was five minutes later when she was adjusting his blanket so that it covered his sleeping face. Such is the brother-sister relationship.

Photos to make my dad wish he was here and Happy Halloween

My mom is in town for a couple of weeks. She's about halfway through her trip and it's been wonderful having her here. We've been trying new recipes from my 30 minute meal cookbooks (have yet to make a meal in 30 minutes or less), we took a trip out to Straddie and she's been spending lots of time with her grandkids. :)

So what's missing? Or should I say: Who is missing? My dad. He decided to stay home this trip, but I bet he's wishing he was here. Especially after he sees these photos:

Nana hiked with Roxy in the backpack at the Koala Reserve! Go Nana!!

Nana meeting Murdoch for the first time.

Me and my bubba. His shirt says, "I love my mummy," but his face says, "Get me outta here!"

Roxy wears overalls just like her granddad G. 

Nana does the dishes after every meal ("It's therapeutic!") and she misses her normal-sized sink.

Wish you were here, G-Man.

Happy Halloween!

Second Anniversary

Today marks two years since we left the homeland for this sunburned country. When we first arrived, I didn't know if I would last six months, let alone two years. But here we are, with no immediate plans to leave, raising our two Aussie babies on the outskirts of Brisbane.

Although she's an American citizen, I think Rox qualifies as an honorary Aussie. She recognizes emus, koalas and wombats in books (but not squirrels), has vegemite on her toast for morning tea, endures nappy changes, sleeps in a cot, and loves going for rides in the pram. Oh, and she enjoys the occasional bikkie as a treat.

I wanted to get a family picture to accompany this post, but I just haven't done it yet. So for now, you'll have to be satisfied with a collage:

 Doc in his grunge onesie.

She thinks she's pretty funny (we think so, too).

Nate on paternity leave.

Me and Doc freshly sprung from hospital.

New Arrival!

We're thrilled to announce the arrival of 

Murdoch Karras 

born on October 1st.

We're beyond thrilled to be a family of four. More to come... Doc is sleeping now, so I'm going to sleep too!