Welcome to the world, Madeleine Rose!

Here are some photos John took of our brand new niece over the weekend at one week old. She's the teeniest baby I've ever seen, born over three weeks early and weighing 2.7kg.

With her Mummy, my beautiful sister

Beautiful dimples

Cuddles with her Auntie Jo

So teeny she almost fitted in the palm of my hand...

A Year in the Life of Alex

Alex's life so far:

12 Week Scan - June 2008

1 January 2009, the day before Alex was born.

Alexander Ethan, brand new at 1:50pm, 2 January 2009, weighing 3.7kg.

Three months - he used to smile and laugh in his sleep

Six Months - his chubbiest

Nine Months - first walk on the beach

Twelve Months

Happy Birthday to Alex!

Ahh, it's been so long since I've updated. The whole Christmas bonanza is one excuse, followed closely by Alex's first birthday. It's been a very fun few weeks.

Alex's first Christmas was fairly quiet. We had intended on travelling down to Canberra with my family, but John injured his back which made extended car travel out of the question. We did have a lovely Christmas Eve lunch and dinner with John's family, which included much seafood. John was in charge of cooking, so we lined up with the hundred of others in the morning at the fish market, and ended up with a live mud-crab among other goods. Christmas day was very quiet. Alex opened the few presents we (and Santa) had for him, then I did some washing, and John had a nap. But it was lovely having a nice quiet day with just the three of us.

Followed a week later by Alex's first birthday. We had a really lovely party at John's parents' house, with lots of family and friends there. I needlessly spent the week before baking goods that didn't get eaten. Alex was extremely spoiled, gift-wise. We incorporated a little bit of Korean tradition as well. There is a small ceremony where the child is placed in front of a few items that represent different "futures" for the child, and whichever the child touches first is their future. We selected our own "futures" for Alex, being a soccer player (soccer ball), accountant (calculator), doctor (stethoscope), international finance (a $5 note) and a couch potato (remote control). Knowing how much Alex loves remotes, we weren't shocked that he headed straight for the couch potato option. John did a "do-over" though, where Alex picked the soccer ball, to his Daddy's delight.

The Diego cake - decorated by John

Jungle animal patty cakes (slightly smooshed by car ride)

With his cousins Zoe & Erin

While all of his presents were cool, this car from the Cliftons was particularly awesome. It was handmade by some guy at Morpeth. Although Alex hasn't quite gotten the hang of riding on it yet...

Besides Christmas and birthdays, our new niece was born the other day, three weeks early! Madeleine Rose, weighing 2.7kg, a full kilo less than Alex newborn. We're off to Canberra this weekend for our first cuddles.

Alex now has his fifth tooth, and I'm guessing the sixth isn't far away either. The teething would explain his extreme lack of sleeping of late, but now that it's through, it hasn't helped that much.

He has also started to balance for a few seconds while standing, so we feel those first steps aren't too far away!

John got his results back from his first CPA module, and from a weekend of half-assed study, managed to get a distinction and be in the top ten percent of candidates. Nerd. (But very proud of him.)

Feels like there should be so much more to update... The new year is here, and as with all new years, John and I are possessed with a great desire to clean and rearrange the house, and exercise regularly. I have actually been going to the gym almost every day, and am on target to meet my goal weight in a few months time. In theory. The house is getting there...