My regular blog readers will remember that I took some photos on Daffodil Day in memory of my mum not very long ago at the end of August... Well, Phan thought those photos were something quite special, so he actually sent an email (without my knowledge!) to the Cancer Council of Queensland asking them if they might find a use for some of my photos in their promotional material. As it turns out... The Cancer Council of Queensland was in the final stages of updating and revamping their website... and by good fortune and timing, they had a perfect spot to put on of the photos... the photo colours matched up to the website (by pure coincidence) and I think everyone involved was quite chuffed by it all! So after a couple of weeks of keeping this under wraps, I'm very pleased to link everyone up to the new look Cancer Council of Queenland website.
And if you want to check out where Elizabeth is - she is the face of the supporters of the Cancer Council... on this page - http://www.cancerqld.org.au/page/support_us/
I don't think I actually ever posted the full version of this photo on my blog - I posted it on Facebook, but I know some of you readers wouldn't have seen it, so here is the full photo - 
Elizabeth is the face of the supporters of the Cancer Council of Queensland!
Feeding Elephants (no this is not a euphemism for some child related thing - we actually fed elephants!)
Today we went to Australia Zoo ... we had a great time... Australia Zoo is pretty good - it has an excellent elephant and tiger exhibit and lots of opportunities to get up close and touch animals (snakes, crocodiles, koalas, kangaroos)...
The highlight of our day would have to be the feeding of the asian elephants... such a unique opportunity and we weren't allowed to take photos if we were in the feeding line (which allowed the line to move quickly)... so we bought the Australia Zoo photograph of Phan and Elizabeth feeding the elephant to remember our experience...
And just a couple more photos because I think they are cute... Everyone being captivated by the shows at the crocoseum (the main stadium at Australia Zoo)
And up close with a koala
The Cookie Monster Cupcake
We have Phong and Mel visiting us this week and today we took a trip out to Chermside for a spot of shopping and some lunch... While we were there we came across an awesome cupcake shop with really pretty (and yummy!) cupcakes... so we bought a box of four... a chocolate sundae cupcake, a carrot cupcake, a lemon cupcake and for Beth a special cookie monster cupcake.
Here's the girl being excited with her cupcake (photos courtesy of Mel) -
She sat there with her cupcake for about 10 minutes... admiring it... holding it... and not really keen to eat it... We wanted to keep browsing and shopping, but Beth insisted on continuing to hold the cupcake in her hand while sitting in the stroller.
About 5 minutes later, she started to nod off (she'd only had 9 hours sleep last night), so I went to take her cupcake out of her hand before she dropped it, but she lost the plot at me and wanted to keep holding the cupcake.... so I let her hold it and she started to drop off again... and just as she had fell asleep, she let go of the cupcake and it fell in her lap so I went to get it, but again she woke up and refused to let me put it away for her! Repeat this series of events another 2 or 3 times and finally she fell into a deep enough sleep that I managed to retrieve the cookie monster cupcake! It was so hilarious seeing her fight the sleepiness so she could continue to hold the cupcake!
She slept for about 45 minutes... and then when she woke up the first thing she asked for was the cookie monster cupcake! I was hoping she would forget about it once she went to sleep, but no.... she really loved that cupcake!!!
Make A Smile
Doing a "business" photoshoot for my friend (details regarding this will be revealed in due time...) and Beth was partaking in some of the fun...
Flashback - 2 months old
I was just looking back on some old photos tonight and I came across this ... *sigh*... Miss Beth is a couple of months of turning 3 now and seeing this just made me realise how quickly I've forgotten how itty bitty she used to be...
toilet.trained
Although Beth has been fully toilet trained during the day (and about 95% during the night) for a few months now, I still find it cute when I have to hang her knickers out on the line...
Summer Days Are Coming...
I know we're only a few weeks into spring, but the weather here has just been absolutely gorgeous and so beautiful... I feel like summer is just around the corner. So here's our silly girl, enjoying some of this beautiful weather ...
Also, for the benefit of those who aren't on Facebook and don't see my status updates (Emmi!), Beth had 2 classic quotes today -
Quote of the Day Number 1 - Beth was eating bread and sausage for lunch and decided to open her mouth to show me the masticated food in there and followed it up with "I gross"... classy..
Quote of the Day Number 2 - Beth accidentally kicks me in the stomach, I yelp out in pain, then ask her "What do you say when you hurt somebody?" and she says... "Danger Danger Velociraptor!"... nutty child...
Future Scrapbookers
Just wanted to share this layout I did last night, because I think this series of photos is soooo cute... :) The other cute little munchkin in this photo is Sean, Donna's little boy... he's just adorable! Photos taken by Donna (as I was camera-less when Beth insisted on taking over my camera!), photo processing by me using Eye Candy Actions and credits for the layout - Peaceful Season, Cardboard Backgrounds & Flower Stamps, all from Donna.
Lunch With Friends
Our day started today with playgroup with a Teddy Bear's Picnic theme... lots of fun activities (icing teddy bear biscuits for morning tea and making paper teddy bear medallions to wear) and there was lots of yummy food as it was break up day for the term... After playgroup, we dropped into Chermside... I had a few errands to run and thought I'd treat Beth to some sushi for lunch while we were there 'cos it'd been more than 2 weeks since we last had sushi... Anyway, we bumped into our friends Julie and Veronica there, so we joined them for lunch... It was really nice to sit and have a chat with Julie, while girls were being really quite funny and silly together. Julie had her camera on her and took some great photos of the girls (which I must get off her) and I decided to take this video snippet of Elizabeth and Veronica being such funny girly girls...
That's My Cookie
Just catching up on some photos... taken at the park while my sister and Mike were visiting...
When Real Life Meets The Online World...
Donna and I have been friends online now for about 2 years... we met through our mutual interest in digital scrapbooking... and over the last year or so we've gotten to know each other even more as I've been fortunate enough to be CTing for her and I follow her blogs - http://hickorydickory.blogspot.com & http://donnaduncombe.blogspot.com... (I'll take this chance to plug her designs too... check out her latest kit Peaceful Season @ Nuts4Digi... it's gorgeous!)
Anyway... after saying since the start of this year that we must catch up (and it's coincidence that we are residing in the same city!), we finally did meet in real life today (it's only taken us 9 months!)... We had such a lovely time! Beth, who is normally really shy around people she's never met, loved playing with Donna's little boy Sean (who is such a little cutie!)... They had fun launching themselves off the couch and playing tea parties/cooking... whilst Donna and I chatted like we normally do.. but with our voices instead of over the internet... :) I think the most fun was had by Beth when she played on this awesome homemade playground that they have in their backyard... She has mentioned the "green slide" and playing "rockets" a number of times this afternoon, so it must have been a highlight!
For me... I was rather nervous about meeting someone from the "online" world... It's the first time I've ever done so and I had all those weird, silly thoughts going through my head like... "what if she's nothing like I imagined? what if she thinks I'm really weird? what if we don't get along"... totally irrational... and completely unfounded, because we just got along wonderfully (as did our kids!)... Donna's pretty much exactly how I imagined her to be... easy-going, loves her kids and family, a little bit quirky (I had no idea she had a love for Dr Who!) and she is so cute and fun-sized! I don't know why it took so long for us to meet in the first place!
On a separate, but related note... Phan, Beth and I went to IKEA on the weekend in search of a little table and some chairs for Beth to use (her current one is just a bit too small)... It was a productive trek out there, because we did find the perfect table for her and I picked up some other bits and pieces (like ocean themed finger puppets, and some plastic cups and plates)... As we were leaving, we got into the lift with our trolley full of stuff and another mum with her son got in as well... and out of the blue, the mum asked me "Do you blog?"... I was a bit shocked and dumbfounded that someone (other than family) would actually know that I blog, so I said yes... and it turned out she was a member from Essential Baby and that she had come across my blog... we briefly exchanged a few words and she introduced us to her son Zac... and it wasn't until we were heading back to the car that I had a thought that the little boy might be the Zac from Zacarama.. who happens to be a blog that I follow as well... Leesa (that's Zac's mum) also has another blog too - My Balancing Act where she blogged some lovely words about our chance meeting... her blog is definitely worth checking out (especially for the awesome train cake that she's made on there!)
So there we have it... my two worlds which have been separate for so long have collided for a moment in time... The online internet world may seem a large place where you can get lost amongst the many people... but at the same time... it is a very small place... who knows who you can meet or what friends you can make...
Illustrating Our Day...
7am - Wake up... then lounge around and have cuddles in bed...
7:20am - Get out of bed.
7:30am - Have breakfast (2 pancakes with butter & sugar)
7:40am - Draw this - 
(I've annotated it in red, so you can make out what the heck she's drawn... She's very specific about what she's drawn too... I asked her later in the day what she'd drawn on this piece of paper and it was still all the same! So she's very definite about what she's drawn!)
8:00am - Start making a lot of noise whilst singing and dancing in the kitchen -
You'll probably need a translation of what she's singing... it's a song from Playschool (surprise, surprise) which goes something like this -
Here I am singing in the kitchen
All alone, singing in the kitchen
Everybody singing in the kitchen
Banging on the pots and pans.
Yes, I'm fully aware she's quite crazy... and that was a hell of a way to start the day... nice and *loud*!
As if that wasn't enough excitement this morning, we went to the park and caught up with some friends... and then Beth fell asleep in the car before noon... her first afternoon nap in 4 days... I didn't mind though, because it was an early nap... so she went to bed a decent hour still.
In the afternoon, Beth became fascinated with a photo that was taken when we went whale watching last weekend while Emmi and Mike were visiting us... And this is what she was doing -
I think it's hilarious how she thinks we're "all friends".
I haven't mentioned much about the whale watching experience... it was an "interesting", once in a life time experience... I've discovered I'm hopeless on the water, even though I took 2 types of motion sickness tablets... Despite it being a very clear, blue day and not all that wavy, I got seasick really bad... and Beth did too... she was very distressed when we hit the open water and the boat started rocking... She said "Whoa.. it's a bit wobbly".. then when she started feeling sick she started saying "up and down... up and down" in this voice that really meant "i feel bad, i really want to get off"... she actually managed to sleep for 2.5 hours on the boat which was half the trip... and Phan spent the rest of the time holding her and trying to distract her whilst I was (a) throwing up stomach acid (yes, it was gross) or (b) curled up sleeping on a bench. Thank goodness for a lovely American lady who gave me a piece of crystalised ginger, which stopped me from throwing up too much and gave me something to think about... In hindsight, it was amazing being so close to the whales and seeing them in their natural habitat... but it's not something I'm ever going to want to do again... I think the highlight of my day (and Beth's day) was getting off the boat!
Thank goodness Em and Mike had a wonderful time ... so the whole exercise was not a waste... I'm so glad they enjoyed it and they managed to take some great photos and some video footage. (Yes, I was so sick I couldn't even think about picking up my camera!) So here's some video footage that my sister took, which I appreciate much more now that I'm back on solid land... :)
The Age of Egocentricity
All the parenting books say that toddlers are egocentric... and oh, how true that is! Beth is so busy learning about the world from her point of view... everything revolves around her... and nothing illustrates this more perfectly than the way she sings some of the songs she's learnt from Playschool.
There is a song that goes like this -
The more we are together,
Together, together
The more we are together,
The happier we'll be.
For your friends are my friends
And my friends are your friends
The more we are together,
The happier we'll be.
Except Beth sings the second verse like this -
For your friends are my friends
And my friends are *MY* friends
The more we are together,
The happier we'll be.
No sharing any of Beth's friends here!
There is also this other cute song that Beth has learnt from Playschool that goes like this -
It's so nice to have a cuddle with a person that you love
Feels so good to have a snuggle with a person that you love
When I'm happy or in trouble I run fast right on the double
Just to sit and have a cuddle with a person that I love
Except her version goes like this -
It's so nice to have a cuddle with a person that loves me
Feels so good to have a snuggle with a person that loves me
When I'm happy or in trouble I run fast right on the double
Just to sit and have a cuddle with a person that loves me
LOL... she is so funny... And here's a couple of videos to that capture her singing snippets of that second song... she's a bit silly in the second video!
Another Sleeping Pose
Our little lady, passed out on the couch at 7:10pm tonight... which is extraordinarily early for her... However, considering the fact that she had a very late afternoon nap yesterday and subsequently was eating a banana on the couch at 10:30pm last night and didn't go to bed until 11pm... the early bedtime is warranted.
Happy Mummy here... enjoying the peace and quiet tonight which we missed out on last night...
Playing Shops With Uncle Mike
My sister and her hubby Mike are up visiting us this week... We're having a tonne of fun together... Great company... eating good food... celebrating my birthday (Wednesday just passed) and then celebrating my sister's bday tomorrow...
Beth's enjoying having "friends" around (her words! Lucky she likes family like friends!) and I'm enjoying having a break from the constant entertaining she normally requires... Here's a little snippet of how much fun she's having with her Uncle Mike...
