Friday, December 31

2010 - The Year We Grew As A Family

Apologies for the distinct lack of blog activity... We went back home to Adelaide for 2 wonderful weeks to celebrate Christmas and only got back on Wednesday... We had such a great time... it just felt so good to spend time with all our loved ones and to catchup with family and friends. Lots of memories and photos to share, but I need to go through all the photos and blog about it, so that will have to wait for the time being.

Instead I just thought I'd take this moment to recap the year that was 2010...

2010 has been a year filled with many blessings for us... Obviously the highlight of our year was the arrival of the littlest member of our family. It is amazing how much joy Catherine has brought to our lives... She is mostly an easy going baby and just goes with the flow with whatever is happening... She is super smiley and is starting to get oh so cheeky too... Her latest trick, which I discovered yesterday, is pulling herself into an upright sitting position whilst she is lying in the bouncer and then she tries to dangle herself out of the bouncer whilst she reaches for a toy she wants! When I saw her do it, I called out in alarm for her to stop and she just looked at me and gave me the cheekiest "oh-i'm-busted" look. I think that means the days of using the bouncer are coming to an end... which is a shame ... I actually remember that Elizabeth didn't try this "dangle-out-of-the-bouncer" trick until she was 12-13 months... and here Catherine is doing it at 7 months!

Elizabeth has also grown up in so many ways this year... She's no longer a clingy toddler, but a confident little girl now... She has learnt so much from going to kindy daycare and I feel she has just developed in leaps and bounds this year. She has her own opinions on things and is curious about the world around us and is always asking questions... I am so happy and proud to see the delightful little girl she has become... Seeing the sibling interaction and the love between my two girls has also been so fascinating and heart warming to see... I truly love having two children much more than I thought I would!

Phan has ever been my constant rock of support through this year... with the addition of a new baby, he has truly stepped up and helped out in so many ways both practically and emotionally... Whether it was dropping in to do the grocery shopping on the way home from work... or coming home from work early to take over looking after Catherine when I was at the end of my tether with an unsettled baby... Se has always been there for me and come through for me. I am so, so blessed that he is my soulmate and that he is the best Daddy to our girls. As a side note, he has made some good progress with his PhD, with getting published in an international journal and presenting at various conferences and I am so proud of him for what he has achieved in his work life.

And me... well, I've been enjoying this beautiful life that 2010 has granted me... I love being a mum to two children a lot more than I thought I would... Sure, there are definitely moments where I have thought "OMG... why have I done this?!", but mostly those thoughts have been infrequent and on the whole having two children really has been a case of double the fun!

So what does 2011 hold in store for us? If things go to plan, hopefully we will be moving back to Adelaide at the end of 2011 and will be back with all dear family and friends. So I'm anticipating I'm going to have to get organised and will be slowly preparing for this move. Other than that, I guess we'll just have to wait and see what 2011 brings... Looking forward to sharing our 2011 journey with you... :)

I'll end this blog entry with a couple of pics taken today... We decided to head out to Southbank this morning... it was Catherine's first time at the "beach" and she was sporting the brand new super girl swimsuit that Santa brought her for Christmas... We also had a picnic on the beach (at the insistence of Elizabeth... she's rather obsessed with the idea of having picnics at the beach at the moment!)... so we had a fun-filled couple of hours at Southbank with Elizabeth paddling in the water and having lots of fun and Catherine having a little paddle (she didn't mind the water too much, but it was a bit on the cool side so she got cold quickly)... so we just hung out on the sand and watched the big sister and Daddy. I've more pics to share from today, but you'll have to wait for another blog post to see them... :)


Fun @ Southbank - Christmas Eve Day 2010 Super Baby Girl - Christmas Eve Day 2010

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