Myla's First Stamp... Kia Ora!

You would think that I came back from our family trip to Auckland all refreshed and ready to run up the mouse wheel, right?

Well, for starters, I found that my backyard was absolute carnage, I had six loads of washing to do, the house looked like it had never been vacuumed since shoulder pads went out of fashion, and the delivery guys handed over seven boxes of accumulated memories and purchases from our travel days to unpack.

On top of that I had bottles to wash (never ends!), a kitchen that still didn't clean itself, a bath tub that looked like an oil spill ransacked its edges, slugs to kill (raining non-stop in Sydney, these fellows were out in numbers), baby food to prepare, more reminders that I needed to get a new pedicure, and I so desperately needed another holiday soon!

Of course before any of that, I had to oblige grandparents and I know, I know... I heard you. So enjoy, here are the snapshots of Myla's first overseas holiday in the wonderful country of Aotearoa.

 Early morning wait for the cab... something else caught her attention obviously.

Please only wake me up when the champagne breakfast is served, cheers! 

 Of course there were tears! They ran out of kiwi fruits!

Myla didn't look too impressed when she found out she had to go out on a date with these lads... 

Myla doing what she does best... chilling in cuteness!

I wonder if all the dinosaurs disappeared because of the Big Bang....?

Those eyes, those eyes! 

Our little gerbil donning the Barbarians' jersey... see the bicep lift? 

Um.... should we have the lamb, the lamb, or..... the lamb? 

 Road touring is serious business... snooze catch up time.

Cuddle time with Teddy.

How Much Do You Love Your Watermelons?

Food simply put, is an adored institution within our household. Something to be cherished and respected beyond simple fodder for hunger satiation. Between hubby and I, we do try to be creative and vow many a time, to use each page of the thick volumes of cook books that we have adorning our shelves, once in order to properly be worthy of their purchase.

A simple glance at our book shelves in the precariously hidden corner that we think visitors will barely notice given they aren't "eye-level" will dispose the truth of our staying true to the practice that the intention is always stronger than the actual action. It's true but a sad one. We both love to cook but it's usually grand castles foaming in wonderful airs of imagination that our fingers magically whip up sensational delicacies to tempt the Zen of the Soul. Salads are tossed up high flowering in mid air akin to leafy fireworks, roasts permeate the daily lives of our happy bellies and puffy little maids of souffle greet us every weekend loyally.

Was quite a nice dream while we are at it, wasn't it?

Anyway, we do cook with lots of love at that and somehow, much to our surprise, we have not poison each other nor anyone else that we consciously know of to date, and do manage to cook quite creatively out of the freshest ingredients that we get our hands on every day. One thing I love about my hubby is his tenacity to dig in his sturdy heels and make his way up in the brittle cold of winter to the farmers' market grocer (note: uphill walk) to procure something nourishing and varied to feed his wife and child at home. A twist to the cave man existence and a lot less hairy and lot more sexy!

Our little girl has develop an acute taste for adventure. Most days she would be the one hurrying my hand holding the magic spoon but you do get an off day such as today that has many album-worthy pursed lips and crinkled face looks that spell out "are you kidding me MOTHER?!"... oh well, pureed pear and banana porridge can only tempt so many percentage of the nation.

But one thing we do know, the taste of the forbidden fruit is always sweeter. Have a look...

My First Melbourne Cup

The traditional day of excess and decadence in which the controversial use of animals for the love of human spectatorial love of sport merge in one solid moment on the gladiatorial grounds of 3200m.

My first Melbourne Cup 2011 and mama dressed me up in a lovely frock before we joined other mummies and babies at Auntie Geetha's MIL's gorgeous home to sip champagne and nibbles as well as partaking in a sweepstake that mama almost won to only see her horse (or was it mine?) to drop from a heady second place start storming off to an abysmal third and by the time the last curve turned, it was time to do the TAB common sight of raising your arm with the losing horse's ticket in hand and crushing it into a crinkled ball before tossing it out into oblivion. Of course mama was much classier than that... she kept that in my baby's book to remind me possibly some time in the future of my first foray into gambling... ah, the thought that counts!

But it was all about gathering in the spirit of fun and laughter and we bubs did a roar of a cry when made to pose in the beautiful house's drawing room. I mean, check the facts right? This wasn't just any beautiful homes in Mosman. It's the so-beautiful-that-it-does-a-triple-turn-taekwondo-flying-kick-bust-your-face-silly-knock-your-wits-scary beautiful with its plush green surrounding and glorious sun-filled room, we could not have had a more spectacular marquee to stand under on our heels (yes, we wore our heels, vain mummies that we were!).

It's a great Australian institution and I'm just thrilled that I got to spend it with my lovely mama (she looked gorgeous in her fascinator, I want to grow up fast just to be able to wear it like her, I want, I want!) and other mummies and baby friends of mine.

All images courtesy of Nele Verboven

Disruption - A Distraction Illusion?

I know, I know, before I even begin, I can agree with you that:

1. Have no idea how I came up with that title;

2. Not sure if I manage to say what I think I want to say; and

3. All of the above.

It has been a long while since I got on with the business of:

1. Shooting noteworthy photographs (in the span of time since my daughter joins my little world and expands it immensely, I have discovered that I have taken 1 (read: one) non-baby photograph, and that is not even posted at all here...

2. Covering banal observations of the world around me; and

3. All of the above.

OMG.

Have I just committed myself to a repeating robot that is slowly but surely degenerating to the level of communicating in numerically led sentences?

Perhaps I have turned into an inward, self-fascinated mother / discoverer / fluctuating sugar level hungry homo sapien / sporadic sleep satisfied / deliriously in love with baby smiles blogger that used to have a career out of annoying locals around South Asia to North Asia, spanning across to the Centrals and back to the Middle East?

And after all that, I still found myself torn between upgrading to a spanking Nikon D3 or Canon 5D Mark II, or should we forward to adding an 's' and another 'I' if you are into that sort of drift. I am still blissfully ignorant in committing to a decision between Lightroom and Aperture. I was so out of touch that I forgot they don't even stock the boxes in-store anymore and I can get free 30-day trial online. Go Steve Jobs, R.I.P.!

All right I will confess - I did have coffee and wine today.

Anyway, it is one of those crazy weeks just when you sort out a plan, it is time to toss it out of the window again. One thing I learn about my motherhood is that when you think you have scraped the bottom of the barrel, you always amaze yourself that you never realise that depth of patience you have in you just seem to surface and stop you from running out of the house, hollering on top of both lungs in a fashion akin to an angry elephant shot on the ass with some painful red dart that hangs around with that annoying red feather ending...

And when I could not think beyond one day and am bravely putting one foot ahead of another like a bound captive making her way down the plank above shark-infested waters, I flick up the iPhone and am reminded again...

... of all the reasons that this is so damn worthwhile.

 So which ale should I go for this round?

I love you mama, thank you for making my butter banana custard saute... YUM! 

 Oh the tummy? No worries, I did 400 crunches before breakfast this morning!

What My Daughter Taught Me

It has been an exciting period for Myla and me as she is growing exceptionally fast each day. Every night brings forward another day of precious sharing with my little girl being big and generous with her smiles and plenty of vocalisation regarding her letting me be aware of each and every of her feeling and emotion.

What amazes me is the very consideration that this little being is strongly in tune with her wants and she unashamedly asks for what she deems as crucial for her well being, moment to moment, unrelentingly consistent and assured.

I read amongst my books that part of her communication development at this stage includes her working our how to relate using her face, body language and babble. It does not matter that she does not speak English yet, she expects herself to be perfectly understood. Her feelings can be clearly seen in her facial expressions and body language.

Also I was taught that until she is much older, maybe even as a preschooler, she does not know how to "fake it" - all emotions are pure.

That struck me as being the strongest validation of a child's trust in you.

Of course I think she is my perfect child. My "perfect" child does have her beautiful days of brilliant smiles, coos, and hugs. She, my "perfect" child has her episodes of inconsolable cries, her 5-minute ritual vent before being tucked to bed, her temperamental decision regarding bath time. My "perfect" Myla is always happy to welcome me after waking up, she cries for me when she dreams a shade too muddy for her liking. My "perfect" little baby loves the world around her, dives into every exploration with full passion. She is indeed, an extremely perfect example of living life as it was thrown at you once.

In the best, most full on, no depth untouched, degree.

As we grow into adults, somewhere along the years passing one another, we seem to have lost the finesse of communicating earnestly. We mask our feelings. We hide our intentions. We edit our words. We correct our thoughts. We deny our instincts. We resist living bravely. It is life lived as one big masquerade ball.

Between lovers, parent and child, boss and employee, in-laws and the Law, we all somehow got more comfortable working along the lines of blurriness, we preferred to walk on the path of the common even though it took us down the wrongly navigated direction.

A child, at this stage, incorruptible and valiant in her effort to be understood, taught me the critical talent of speaking your truth.

That itself, is courage in all nakedness, and all its brilliance shone above the discolouration that I had somehow, crawled myself out from, each and every time I look at her.

A Letter To My Grandparents

This is what a good morning looks like!

We had our first road trip to Melbourne last week!

And I am mighty proud to say that I had done 2,300km in total cuteness and coolness. Played lots of "coo-coo" games with mama while papa was a hero behind the wheels. We stopped a few times on the way past the smaller coastal road and spent one night at Eden (half-way point on day one already!) and the next just off Wilsons Promontory before arriving in Melbourne, bringing in the sunshine.

I must say that we learned a lot more about how big this country can be. Although we didn't stop to spot any migrating whales, I was told they had calves as cute but a lot bigger than me, swimming with their mummies back to the colder waters. Mama named and fed two magpies, which we like to remember as "Max" and "Maddie" but I was totally blown away by how noisy the galahs, cockatoos and rozellas can be, yet none came close to the ferocious greediness of the parakeets when we put out the seeds for their brekkie. Papa reckoned he couldn't have found a better morning alarm with the bell birds although at first, we thought they gave off a weird shrill around the forests surrounding our cabin. Air was fresh, the food even better, and I was a real trouper once we reached Melbourne and stayed the first couple of nights at my Auntie Vinnu and Uncle David's home at Thornbury.

Getting Myla started on the dirt with super-sizing...

Myla and her papa, enjoying an arty moment there

Location: Cafe Comme

We had some super smacking dinner although I remembered I had to have an improvised bed to go to sleep on, hence I was really tired and gobbled up my dinner in no time. The daylight savings adjustment did little to upset me but I suspected it confused mama a little. We hung around a bit with Auntie Vinnu teaching (and reminding papa again) me a few of the old Tamil rhymes - plenty of fun but I found the little crab crawling game a bit too ticklish! We got along really well with Buddy, their adopted Kelpie cross Doberman and mama even successfully took him out for an energetic walk!

Oh yes, I took my first train ride too! The three of us took a real traditional family outing down town with papa showing off to his favourite girls some Melbourne haunts for the delights on the palate. We went to a really spanking Italian joint and thought it was a tad unfair that mama and papa devoured two baskets of those freshly baked olive bread while I had to settle with a bottle of milk! Anyway, I was happy that they made it up by taking me to a cafe for my first indulgence in the swanky cafe scene and I did feel quite adult sharing notes with papa about the gallery of paintings in-house. All these got me a bit tired and I decided to snuggle back to mama's arms for a snooze.

We took a nice walk towards the Federation Square and I could hear mama and papa laughing on about the funnier jokes of the day, and marveling at the wonderful mix of the classical and modern architecture that cut through the city's skyline. It's nice once a while that mama and papa get a bit of "non-baby" moments, don't you think? But not too much though, I miss them both and want to be in the action as much as possible!

Did you say Rudolph?

We went to visit Auntie Cath and Uncle Adam to see how they are doing with Lachie at Point Cook. I fell asleep during the drive but we had a whale of a day as I manage to squeeze out a big bag of poo once we arrived, haha! On this trip, I must say I kept mama very busy with the feeds and filling up the bags, fulfilling her suspicion of my being a high achiever in the department of emptying the bottles and filling up the nappies. Auntie Cath made a wonderful lunch but we were concerned that Uncle Adam pulled his back and he had to lie down next to Lachie on the floor... for a second I thought he was made to do tummy time too!

After another night of getting tucked into bed after a nice bath in Auntie Vinnu's big bath tub, mama and papa relaxed over a nicely (hot!) cooked chicken curry with the yoghurt thrown in and plenty of oiled rice (papa ate too much that night) before we had to say our goodbyes over roasty smells of freshly ground coffee at brekkie. We had to move over to Auntie Sonia and Uncle Dorian's place at Preston as there were earlier promised guests coming over at Thornbury. Yay, I got to play with Zai and Kavi, plus meeting another moggie, Ibra!

Did I say that they had a veggie garden which Auntie Sonia cooked plenty of yummy vegetarian food for us and mama took me out to play with two big chooks? I told mama that I want to have a garden just like that too. That night I slept very well as papa bathed me nicely and Zai gave her bedroom over to us. I loved to play with Zai because she's heaps of energetic bright fun. We went to the Melbourne Zoo and it was a very brave thing for the adults to do since it's school holidays. Mama conquered the mad queue on the way out to buy me my first singlet with an elephant mascot, I love you mama!

Over the two days, mama and papa again were spoilt with gourmet home cooked vegetarian meals and a picnic at that. Thrown into the picture were couple of good bottles shared amongst the adults but I suspected they hid the bacci ice cream from us kids! In the end, after many a nappy change and even more milk bottles, it was time to say farewell to them, but not without a promise to visit each other for annual camping trips. I love to see Zai and Kavi again because they are such cool friends.

On our way back we took the inland highway and stopped overnight at Yass. I was a perfect little girl and went to bed after a prompt shower. Yes, you read right. Since we booked last minute in this wonderful property surrounding a lake with noisy alpacas running in meadows of glistening green and pink cherry blossom trees, we got a room without a bath. So mama and papa decided to take me into the shower with them and you will be so proud to know that I wasn't scared when the water from the shower head lightly sprayed onto my cute little face. After getting changed into another wooly jumper, I joined mama and papa at the lounge to experience my first fire place. Wonderful canapes were served and the adults got a complimentary glass of Merlot from the winery nearby. Did you know one of the world's best known Riesling judge and cultivator is just a couple of kilometres away from us at the Helm's Winery? Heard mama and papa whispering that this will not be the last time we'll be coming back, oh I hope we get the spa suite next time because I really like to go swimming in the big bath!

By the next day, we drove home to unpack and relax. Mama was a super woman in cleaning up all the laundry, garden and even got me back into my routine while papa went grocery shopping to make sure our kitchen was well stocked up. I was already quite tired by the time papa picked up Tommy and Chewy at their dog resort stay. We laughed at their report card because apparently they made best mates with another Jack Russell Terrier cross, with lying in the sun their next favourite activity.

We had such a wonderful getaway and with so much happening, I really was in need to have a nice rest before the new week. So I got to sign off now, mama will be getting me up for a dream feed soon and I want to be a good girl and finish off my milk to go back to sleep again.

Love lots, Myla

My Little Angel

She does a cute snow fairy dance when she's delighted on the changing table (usually this means she's getting her kit off) but mama's little own angel is simply too cute for words in this petit bateau... just let me have a moment of bragging rights on my own "tiny person" :)

Resplendent!

Hear Us Roar!!

In what we looked forward to despite the night's colossal downpour at The Arms, it became a washout for the Les Bleus. However the fun of winning was sort of flattened out by a really bad bag of lousy locals that decided to not cheer for anything non-Wallabies (boo-ing is such poor form!) and the lack of respect for the All Blacks from the French front with a second-tiered team.

Just so they can have an easier path to the finals? Come on, play like real men!

Grisham and I doing our own version of the Haka... 

You know what they say about starring next to kids and animals! They are natural stars! 

Ok Ravi, I promise that I didn't feed your son that pint! 

These got to be some of the cutest kids around the 'hood!

Did I Say...?

... that I love you more than anything in the world?

You're such a cute baby octopus that I struggle to get clothed up (you love taking your clothes off) but even though you pack in a good set of lungs to tell me how much you disapprove of my trying to put on your some nice stuff to shield you from the cold and sun, I love you still more than anything in the world?

And for the odd moment in the future when you get angry at me because I won't let you have a boyfriend at age 12 and when I disagree with your wanting to wear that short mini, or when we have that real first fight over your choice of career / men / life, you will remember that I am only human and that I love you more than anything in the world?

You are all that I ever want and more. You are my angel.

6.91KG (once in your lifetime, and never to look back)

Five months have thundered their heavy hooves along the fields of discovery. I looked back and found on top of being blessed with the safe delivery of our child, we finally got to experience the ride of parenthood, which sees you stop figuring things out and kindly push you to be more aggressive in pursuing instead. You realise that it's not really about finding out one answer and pretty much fold up shop. I got to become a lot more comfortable with an attitude of discovering along the way that "answers" can evolve from one form to another depending on the situation.

Otherwise, some mothers really never leave the house and get everything online!

Not that something is wrong with online purchase but one can perceived the necessity of getting dangerously sucked into housebound existence. I found that my awareness has never been this heightened and my inner radar to make a more conscious effort to get out into the sunny air becomes an act of genuine pursuit for self happiness. In short, basic nurturing of the soul translates to my being able to be there for my daughter and husband, the core of my life.

Funny how you grow a little each day. Some days you embrace your feminine strength, some days you reach out to your fellow women for assurance and communal belief. Some days you shy away from what contrasts with your instincts, others you dive in to explore.

I'm finding that I've never been more challenged in keeping sight of my goals although pacing them in a manner to appreciate its simple moments is still at times, a struggle. After all I have been guilty of trying to get it all done.

Silly me, only to be reminded that you can never get it all done.

I also realise that I am never truly alone now. And no matter what happens, that little cherub face that has grown into a blossoming happiness of mine, will always have those swirling pools of chocolate affection staring through her amazingly long eyelashes affirming that even one day, when that day comes some day, I may utter "Young lady, I am going to get crossed with you...", you know that this little human you've made will stick her tongue out and probably get into trouble when her papa comes home - will always look back at you for that special kind of love that only you can provide for her. It's a full time act of awareness, consciousness and full responsibility of choices to be made. But she'll always look back knowing that you have and always will be there.

Always.

What A Whopper!

It's been such a couple of weeks. Good busy but totally flat out would probably be a better catch phrase for the mischief that Myla and we got up to. The sunny side of Spring is beginning to peek out behind the fluffy cotton flossy clouds and we knocked a few ginger beer and fish 'n' chips lunch by Balmoral.

Our little chipmunk loves... no, adores hopelessly the beauty of trees. You got to be real cute to distract her from this intense focus on what are appearing to be her latest favourite things:

1. Trees, the bigger the better. Bring out the big front;
2. Tommy & Chewy wrestling;
3. Blossom Bunny, her personal plush toy hanging beside her change table; and
4. Mama & papa especially first thing in the morning!

It's a happy chaos with the dogs running amok and my nearly got rained on by possum pee but Myla keeps things interestingly fresh. It is really never a single dull day. And she's good to her mama, with plenty of time to rest up and she fits in when we need to get somewhere. We've caught up with plenty mums & bubs group catch up in the park, a baby rhyming session in our local library plus a lunch at the delicious Toshiya Japanese restaurant. We had fun doing up her nursery and adding more stuff to keep the poor kid interested during her tummy time (still lots of complains from the little one but a parent has got to do what a parent has got to do dear!).

She's learning to catch the Rugby WC 2011 with her papa and we were a bit worried that she was making funny smiley faces when the 'Boks were scoring. And she's got a few more yellow shirts to confirm our suspicion that she makes that colour that tad cuter by the day. And what more to brag about you ask? Well... not our fault but the grandparents miss her heaps!

Of course there is the new ever-changing cries and she does have a few versions of them in her bag. The latest being this high pitch scr-wail (somewhere in between a cute scream and a "manja" wail) when she protests getting her kit on (yes, her papa is quite worried that this little girl is developing a liking to taking her clothes off... permanently) but all is forgotten when she does her snow fairy dance in the bath tub or the play mat.

Plenty of smiles and coos. This girl is definitely learning to communicate plenty with her parents and other friendly passer-bys. Sure didn't hurt when she smiled at the laundry guy to fish out our dry-cleaning quickly. At times, we got so many of those heart-melting moments and the always there delightful light in her eyes when she recognises you walking into the room... we ask ourselves one remaining question:

IS IT WRONG TO LAUGH AT HER WHEN YOUR CHILD FRETS?

Take a look at this... breaks your heart but sure gets you falling off your seat laughing at just how cute she can be, even when she goes all FERAL on us!

Happiness

Words aren't necessary sometimes, and at times, discrepant for moments like this...

Incredible Facts That You Learn

Besides how cute she sucks on her thumb (or all of her entire left hand), how much she farts (and at impeccable times too... like right at your open hand?), that she can keep getting cuter with every tiny laugh and squeals of delight, I have come to discover these much of information about the world:

• In England, the Speaker of the House is not allowed to speak
• Winston Churchill was born in a ladies' room during a dance
• Swedish people drink more coffee than any other race in the world (seriously?)
• Almonds are a member of the peach family
• The average person's left hand does 56% of the typing
• There is more than 25,000km of neon tubing in the signs on the Strip and downtown Las Vegas
• On average, there are eight peas in a pod
• Rice is the main food consumed for half the people worldwide
• The low rumbling of distant thunder is called "brontide"
• The fastest sneeze recorded was clocked at 166.7km an hour
• Barbie got her first car in 1962
• about a third of all Americans flush the toilet while they're still sitting on it
• Research indicates that mosquitoes are attracted to people who have recently eaten bananas
• Every person has a unique tongue print
• Liquorice can raise your blood pressure
• All of the clocks in the movie "Pulp Fiction" are stuck on 4:20
• There are more chickens than people in the world
• There are more plastic flamingos in America than real ones
• A shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes
• The sound of E.T. walking was made by someone squishing her hands in jelly
• Sigmund Freud had a morbid fear of ferns
• American Airlines saved $40,000 in 1987 by eliminating one olive from each salad served in first-class
• Months that begin with a Sunday will always have a "Friday the 13th"
• Because of the rotation of the Earth, an object can be thrown farther if it is thrown West
• Cats can hear ultrasound
• It takes about 20 seconds for a red blood cell to circle the whole body
• The average person falls asleep in seven minutes (not me!)
• The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket
• 214 crates were used to transport the Statue of Liberty from France to New York in 1885
• The only thing that can destroy a diamond is intense heat (but why do we want to do that?!)
• The starfish has five limbs and can regrow four of them, as long as its central body is not harmed
• A cat has 32 muscles in each ear
• A tiger's paw prints are called pug marks
• A 55kg crocodile exerts a force of approximately 700kg between its jaws
• 26 minutes of slow dancing will burn about 420 kilojoules
• An average snail moves at a rate of 58cm per hour
• Vintage port takes 40 years to reach maturity
• Around four billion litres of petroleum is consumed throughout the world each day
• Blype is the name given to skin that peels off after sunburn
• People do not get sick from cold weather, it's from being indoors a lot more
• Chickens will not walk on ice
• Chewing gum while peeling onions will keep you from crying
• Sugar was added to chewing gum in 1869 by a dentist, William Semple
• Prior to the 1930s, diamond rings were rarely given as engagement rings
• An estimated 90% of the world's fresh water is located in Antartica
• In the 1800s, pink was supposed to be a baby boy's colour
• The word "dictionary" was not included in the first dictionary
• Apples, not caffeine, are more efficient at waking you up in the morning
• The film "Titanic" costs more than the actual Titanic
• The largest traffic jam ever was 177 kilometres long
• Men are 6 times more likely to be struck by lightning than women
• To see a rainbow you must have your back to the sun
• Children grow faster during spring
• A Rubik's Cube has 4,325,003,274,489,856,000 possible positions
• Cats average 16 hours of sleep a day, more than any other mammals (need to check on my National Geographic first on this one...)
• Human thigh bones are stronger than concrete
• Madonna is related to both Gwen Stefani and Celine Dion (and I think Lady Gaga too?)
• The toothbrush was invented in 1498
• The first hair dryer was powered by diesel fuel
• The airplane Buddy Holly died in was the "American Pie"
• Koalas are excellent swimmers
• The penguins that inhabit the tip of South America are called jackass penguins (poor bastards!)
• A cow gives nearly 200,000 glasses of milk in her lifetime
• Ketchup was sold as medicine in the 1830s
• In the last 4,000 years no new animals have been domesticated
• Seaweed is used to thicken ice cream
• More people use blue toothbrushes than red ones
• Bats always turn left when exiting a cave
• Guinness Book of Records holds the record for being the book most stolen from public libraries
• On average, a four-year-old child asks 437 questions a day (hmmm...)
• The bullfrog is the only animal that never sleeps
• Every year, the Moon moves a further 3.82cm from the Earth
• The Eiffel Tower has 1,792 steps
• If you attempted to count the stars in a galaxy at a rate of one every second it would take around 3,000 years to count them all
• Just 20 seconds worth of fuel remained when Apollo 11's lunar module landed on the moon
• The Mona Lisa has no eyebrows
• Elephants are the only animals that cannot jump
• Animals that lay eggs don't have belly buttons
• Slugs have four noses
• Flamingos are pink because they eat shrimp
• Camel's milk does not curdle
• There are 293 ways to make change for a dollar
• Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated
• Mageiricophobia is the intense fear of having to cook
• The tongue is the fastest healing part of the body
• Strawberries contain more vitamin C than oranges
• A one-day weather forecast requires about 10 billion math calculations
• The bird that lays the largest egg in relation to its own size is the Kiwi
• The average person spends two years on the phone in his or her lifetime
• August has the highest percentage of births
• Google is a number (1 followed by 100 zeros)
• There are one million ants to every human in the world
• Frogs cannot swallow with their eyes open
• Teeth are the only parts of the human body that can't repair themselves
• A quarter of the bones in your body are in your feet
• The largest pumpkin ever grown recorded a weight of 482kg
• A lungfish can live out of water in suspended animation for three years
• Proportionately, Earth's atmosphere is thinner than the skin of an apple
• Road Runner has only been caught by Wile E. Coyote once, on 21 May 1980
• Bananas grow on plants that are giant herbs, and are related to the lily and orchid family
• The average weight loss of a racehorse during a race is between 6kg and 10kg
• The male fox will mate for life - if the female dies, then he remains single until death (oh bless!)
• A 500gm loaf of bread requires 2 tonnes of water to grow the wheat to produce it
• Only two animals can see completely behind themselves without turning their heads: the rabbit and the parrot (don't even try this at home)
• There are more than twice as many kangaroos as people in Australia
• A tightrope walker is called a funambulist (what did you say you do again?)
• Flounder swims sideways
• The human eye can, given enough time to adjust, see almost as well as an owl's
• The rush of air produced by a cough can approach 1,000km an hour
• Greyhounds eyesight is the best of any breed of dog
• In the time it takes to read this sentence, 50,000 cells in your body will die and be replaced; and
• It takes a tonne of ore to produce one gold wedding ring!

The Big "3" Milestone

It seems when you stared like a deer into the headlights of your new baby's face, then realised that sleep was going to be a tense in the past that someone (usually with that smarty pants look) told you that it will all "fall into place" by the 3-month mark.

Well, I've news for you.

You do somehow find that things morphed into a unique pattern of their own. Surprisingly, one night, as you made it past 1 in the morning, the next time you heard a tiny squawk that woke you, it was 5:37am! It still takes a Herculean effort to get your little one's interest to well, keep staying interested in things around her, ensuring she gets her needed time to feed, play, talk (by the way, she's a real chatterbox!), look at different things or listen to various sounds in as many degrees or angles they come in, cook dinner (no frozen meals, what an achievement in itself!), get the dogs walked and behaved in such a way that YOU are the master, the garden looking that tad decent, rescue a dogged flower pot (and its contents), the trash thrown, the spring cleaning done...

And to step out of the house in not one of those tracksuits ensemble. But saying yes to coffee is probably a given that is taken with serious intent.

We hit our big 12 weeks today and what I'm going to say is that some days are seemingly impossible, some moments are hard, but as many as they come, you are guaranteed of even more of the most wonderful experience of your child wanting to be with you, to want to hold you and have you close by, to fall asleep in your arms, her tiny yawn, her cheeky smiles, how she bashfully looks away when you play peekaboo, how she always want to have a nice talk about everything that fascinates her from the moment she wakes and when she nods off in your arms right in the middle when you are telling her about the animals and just how that tuff of hair stubbornly stands up, like so many things that you haven't figured out... and it's all fine too.

Some moments are meant to pause time and forever to be cherished. Enjoy a snippet here of Myla's first language class!