I cannot believe that I am sitting here “rounding up the year”! Where has it gone?? I know the saying goes that the older you get the faster the years fly by – but am I that old already?? 2012 has been our first complete year spent in Sydney and has certainly been action packed. Here is a quick summary of our best bits…..
January
It was a lovely start to 2012 having mum and dad stay with us for a few weeks. I loved having them around so much that when I dropped them back at the airport to catch their flight I sobbed the WHOLE way home. Luckily I had been warned that this would happened and after a few days I was back in the swing of things and waiting for their next trip to Sydney.
February
Master J started Kindergarden his month. It was an emotional day for me as he looked so grown up, yet so small in his school uniform. I may have shed a tiny tear, but managed to hold it together very well. Miss H also started her little Kindy and looked so grown up. As they both started on the same day (very strategically planned) Mr D and I decided to take the opportunity to enjoy a lovely kid free lunch. We were having such a great time that we almost forgot the kids and ended up being late to pick them up……..on their first day! Such bad parenting!!!!
March
March was a big month for Mr D as he was promoted at work. On the 18th March we also celebrated making our first year in Australia.
April
This month our Miss H turned 3. She celebrated her birthday at Steve Irwin’s ‘Australia Zoo’ in Queensland. We spent the easter school holidays in Queensland, exploring some of the stunning Australian coastline. It was our first loooooooong drive with kids and a very pregnant me, but it didn’t put us off and we’ll defiantly be doing it again.
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| Crikey! It’s my birthday! |
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| Enjoying some of Queensland’s spectacular beaches |
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| Beautiful Byron Bay and a big bump |
May
On the 29th of May our beautiful little Miss L arrived into the world. We had a couple of slightly stressful false alarms on the week running up to her birth, and when she finally arrived we only JUST made it to the hospital on time!! (and gained a speeding and parking fine along the way). I had the most amazing 5 night stay in the most beautiful hospital (or hotel) getting to know my new little munchkin. It was hard being so far from my family at this time but I am so grateful to all our wonderful new friends that went out of their way to help us settle in as a new family of 5. Miss H and Master J was SOOOO excited to have their new baby at long last and we had to visit both schools to show her off. It really is amazing to see how innately strong the sibling bond is.
June
This month was a bit of a blur for me to be honest as I was a little sleep deprived to say the least! I did however manage to get a huge parking fine and crash the car! Fortunately no one was hurt (apart from our bank balance) but it was a real lesson for me, that I can’t do EVERYTHING on my own and that it’s ok to accept help. But on a more exciting note – we got news that my little sis and her Mr are expecting their first baby girl next year and I’m going to be an Aunty!!!
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| Settling in as the new dB5 |
July
Mum arrived this month from England (just in the nick of time) to meet our little Miss L and to help us all get through the first school holidays with three kids. It was an absolute godsend having her here and even though it was the middle of winter, the weather was beautiful and sunny and we had a wonderful couple of weeks. It made me realise just how much we miss not having mum and dad down the road.
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| When Granny came to stay |
August
This month I decided to turn my blog writing into something a little more permanent. I initially started writing it as a means to keep family and friends up to date with our lives in Sydney. I enjoy writing it so much that I’ve decided to go a little more public with it. I suddenly have found myself immersed in a new world of social media and had no idea how ‘big’ it was out there! I’m learning so much all the time and want to keep going (even thought I’m hard pressed to find the time sometimes).
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| Mr D takes the kids on a tree climbing adventure to give me some time to write! |
September
School holidays again! Can’t quite believe we are two‐thirds through the first school year! We headed up the north coast on our first road trip as a family of 5. It was only a 4 hour drive but we had to make several stops for feeding and wee’s and leg stretching. Thank god for ipads – I don’t know how my parents survived without them! We stayed in the beautiful Port Stephens Bay for a week and did nothing but chill out at the beach. I even managed to read a book!!!
