Week 3 - Aussie, Aussie, Aussie

Yes I'm a bit behind in documenting our trip...been having too much fun. So, the 3rd week of our trip was a fairly quiet week, as far as I can remember, with only 2 major events. The first was Australia Day. This was celebrated by an extended family (my mum's) picnic at Wivenhoe Dam. It had all the elements of a traditional Aussie Day

• Stinking hot
• Damper
• BBQ lunch
• Swim (well a paddle in the dam)
• Sitting around in the shade with a cuppa, having a yarn.

The only thing missing was the backyard/park cricket match.

Thursday saw the end of the main Brisbane leg of our trip & the start of the New Zealand leg. We arrived in Hamilton just after midnight Friday morning & headed straight to bed. Next morning we finally got to meet the newest member of the Bray clan, Naomi, for the first time.
What a darling little thing she is. Joshua looks like just a big boof next to her. Ben & Joanna were also glad to finally see us in person instead of just on the webcam. Joanna was a little wary of Tom at first but didn't take very long to warm up to him.

The last thing we did this week was go to Raglan, a world-class surfing beach on the west coast of the North Island. It was a beautifully sunny day, & the water was beautifully clear and surprisingly warm . Joshua enjoyed the waves a bit more than he had when we were down the Gold Coast. It is a black sand beach which was interesting & also extremely hot on the feet!! After some fish and chips for lunch at the harbour, it was time to head back home. On the way home Tom, Ben, Joshua & I stopped off at Bridal Vale Falls, a 55m fall with a beautiful pool at the bottom of it. Unfortunately however you are unable to swim in it as water quality doe not meet health standards.

Joshua's development

Here is a status on the development of our son, which is very interesting for the parents, grandparents, mummies and child development research people, but for everyone else its just the normal way of life.

The last two weeks, since coming to NZ, the following noticable developments have taken place:

Joshua has been able to sit by himself for several decades of minutes, the amazing development is actually not the fact that he can sit upright for that length of time, but that he doesn't have to be entertained for almost the same lenght of time.

When he gets tired of sitting he will try to stand, which often results in a forward tumple, head first into the carpet and then to his back or tummy.

Joshua is eager to try to crawl, however, the skills of getting legs and arms to work together still needs a bit of development, which results in him either going backwards or in circles, and the fustration often ends in a cry for help.

Joshua has started eating solids, which consists of rice cereal mixed with banana, carrot, apple or pear. The consistency can hardly be classified as a solid, but still its less runnier than milk and it changes the colour of his poos.

The dinner feed normally goes really well and he will gobble down a small bowl of the stuff, while the breakfast feed is limited to a few teaspoons.

His night time sleeping is very irregular going from sleeping all night through (7.30 pm to 6 am) to walking a couple of time for a feed (normally 1-2 am and 5-6 am) generally he will go back to sleep quite well after a feed.

Joshua has discovered the ability to make noises other than crying. These are coughing and making lip smacking noises. Furthermore, the use of his demanding cry has been used for things otherthan food.

Okay that's the development news from a dad's perspective.