The Hats, Aunty Ethel and Esther (again!!)

Thanks Mum!! - these hats used to fit me.

This was my first hat made by nana (it fits over an orange)

This hat was made by Aunty Ruth

Aunty Ethel, 101 years, 102 in December and William 1 in October

Mothers Group BBQ at our place
Esther and William before the ear pulling incident
Stay away sheila, leave my ear alone!
What's a handsome devil to do, the chicks dig me!
What a girl will do to get your attention!!

William is almost weaned and now weighs 8kgs!! He is a guts and is eating lots and growing fast - it is hard to believe it is nearly his first birthday.

William at Play at Mothers Group with his friends

William eating a rusk for the first time
William practising standing up

Tummy time

William's friends, Daniel, Ruby and Esther

William tackling Daniel
William and Esther

Thanks to Rebecca (Esther's mum) who always has her camera on hand.

Our Western Australia Holiday

Where to start!! William's first plane trip was uneventful, he slept most of the way and was not bothered at all by the plane. We camped for the first 5 nights until William got a chest cold - the doctor put him on antibiotics and told us we couldn't camp anymore and to buy a humidifier for our hotel room - The cold didn't seem to affect William much, he was still his happy little self.

William also had his first boat trip when we snorkelled with the Whale Sharks in Exmouth - Paul and I took in turns at getting in the water, I managed to swim alongside a Whale Shark for quite a while (see the picture above), it was an amazing experience.

Paul did a lot of driving, WA is SO BIG - Miles and Miles of Sweet FA. William handled it well, I sat in the back and kept him amused, he would get a bit fractious at the end of the day, but who wouldn't after after 300km to 700km's a day!!!!

Paul put William's toe's in the ocean and he squeeled - way too cold - the pool at the resort in Broome was a bit better - he didn't squeel but he didn't smile either, he was a little bit unsure but loved the fountain lions at the side of the pool when he could put his hand under the running water. We think he will be a real water baby - he loves having a shower and bath, kicking away and Paul will take him to swimming lessons when the weather gets warmer.

Paul and the Brown boys caught quite a few fish in Francios Peron National Park - enough for entree for a few nights!

William is now close to 8kg's and is full of beans, laughing a lot and eating quite well. I started weaning him a couple of weeks ago and he loves his bottles, screaming for more when I take it out of his mouth to burp him - a bit like Paul really with his wine!!!

The overnight flight home was hard - we all slept a bit but the house was freezing when we got home as the heating had been off for 3 weeks - straight to bed for several hours until the house heated up. I am now organising William's passports as I am sure a trip to the UK will be on the agenda soon.

William Hits 7.25 Kilos

Williams is now well over 7 kilos and doing really well. He now loves his solids morning and evening and Paul and I manage to get most of the food in William's mouth but some does end up over the couch, over us or over William when William manages to get his flying hands in the way of the spoon!!

We are off on holidays to Western Australia shortly for 3 weeks. Paul will be driving the 4WD over and William and I will fly over 4 days later (yes, that is how long it will take Paul to drive to Perth). We are joining Sarah, Gareth and their 3 boys on part of their 3 month trip. We will be camping for 2 weeks between Monkey Mia and Ningaloo and then 5 nights in a lovely resort in Broome - I have already booked my massage!! Some other friends (Collyers) will be driving the car back for us a couple of weeks later and we will fly back from Broome.

This will be our first family holiday and you will see William above in his new bathers and sun-hat - very cute!!

William is a very happy baby, laughing and smiling most of the time, oh and yelling at the top of his voice, at times we have been walking through the supermarket!! He loves his bath so much that we now put him in the big bath in a special seat as the baby bath got too small and we ended up with water all over the kitchen floor from William kicking and splashing.

Battle of the Football Codes & Grandparents

Paul parents have been here for the past 8 weeks to meet their first grandchild and to help me out whilst I recovered from surgery. I don't know who will miss who more as William got used to lots of attention and play time!!

The battle for the newest AFL team supporter is under way - Greg asked me who William will barrack for and I told him and others - that whoever gave him his first piece of football clothing could have him as the teams newest supporter as neither Paul or I follow AFL. A couple of days later a small parcel arrived from Pop (my dad) with a Collingwood beanie inside for William. Nana (my mum) was not very pleased as she did not know that Dad and gone and bought and posted the beanie - and yes he was first! Then whilst we were on holidays with both sets of grandparents we visited the local craft market and Nana came across a Brisbane Lions home knited beanie and quickly purchased it for William - all whilst Pop was looking the other way - you can imagine the laughter when my Dad saw William wearing his newest beanie - and the battle continues!!

Have baby will travel - there are a couple of shots below of William sleeping on a bean bag on a table at a winery on the Mornington Peninsula.

William now weighs 6.5 kilos and has started on solids - much to his disgust - he screws up his face and spits the cereal or pear puree straight back out again, so we might wait a little bit longer. He is the happiest baby, all laughs and smiles first thing in the morning and most of the day and loves being flown around the room in Paul's arms - he chuckles and simply loves it!! I have warned Paul to wait for his milk to settle, but you know Paul!! - no little accidents yet!!!

William's Social Engagements

Our Latest Table Centrepiece

Witches Goblins and Ghosts Party
William has been very busy socialising in the last month and was invited to his first birthday party. Olympia turned six and had a Witches, Goblins and Ghosts party so we dressed William in his skeleton outfit (courtesy of Uncle Tony) and he was a real hit (mind you, he slept through most of the party).



William was introduced to my Mums sewing circle. Afternoon tea with 6 ladies can't be bad, along with lots of cuddles.


William has also been on his first camping holiday to the RRC Dargo event. A few people were surprised to see us, but William loved the fresh air and the attention from the ladies!! (Oh No!!) It was quite cold at night but he was bundled up in his sleeping bag and slept through 8 hours, it must have been all the fresh air during the day and kicking his legs about on the rug under the trees.

Fresh Air!! Asleep under the Trees at Dargo


























Breakfast @ Dargo



We spent Easter at Apollo Bay on the Great Ocean Road with Paul's parents - Mary & Graham. William had his first visit to the beach - OK he didn't touch the sand but was snuggled up in the Baby Bjorn on Paul's chest. He was a little angel and slept in his carry cot in the corner of two restaurants, amongst all the noise, and lovely comments from the other patrons.


Mary & Graham have come out for 8 weeks to help out as I have had to have a major op but I got home from hospital yesterday and all is well.

William's First Easter

The Easter Bunny delivered a Peter Rabbit Bowl, spoon, mug and egg cup set with chocolate as William will be starting on solids in the middle of May - as of a week ago he weighed 5220 grams. I call him my little Milk Monster. He also got a Golly bib and rattle, a book, and some clothes from Mary & Graham.


William is awake more and very aware of what is going on around him, he loves going for walks and looks around at the trees and especially likes mirrors!!

We started Mother's group last week so in the coming weeks he will have a chance to meet some other babies. Paul, Mary and Graham have all had a bad cold, but William and I have managed to stay healthy so far!! (fingers crossed)

These photos were taken this morning - Tuesday 1st April

William Hits 4.5 Kilos

William has been home for over a month now and is doing really well. He has hit 4515 grams, is sleeping between 5 and 9 hours some nights and is a real milk monster. He is a very good baby and loves his cuddles and as you can see he looks like his Dad!!!