random summer 2017 updates.

Summertime was wonderful, but now it's more than officially over and we're heading into Autumn. Here are some random updates before I forget everything:

I'm upped my stay-at-home-mom game and registered Arden for music and swim classes - just the beginning of my journey into tiger motherhood! (Just kidding. I couldn't even if I wanted to.) It's been really great having diverse and exciting activities for her to experience every week. It also keeps me sane, to have some semblance of a weekly schedule. Arden especially loves the stimulation of being around other children, pointing to anyone under the age of 16 and saying "BABY! BABY!" (although one time she pointed at an old man pulling a shopping trolley, so maybe it's time to narrow down her definition of "baby"?).  There are also a bunch of free children's activities to attend every week around the city - playgroup, library song circle, and the State Library of Victoria's "Baby Bounce" which is much less violent than it sounds.

Arden's playgroup buddies.

Sleep remains our biggest issue with Arden. I know that someday we'll look back on these days and wish our parenthood problems were this simple again! But sleep is one of the foundations for general health, and the days are no fun when everyone in the family is rocking some serious eye-bags. Throughout the night, Arden relies on a combination of me nursing her and Ben rocking her to fall asleep, and sometimes she is wide awake for hours at a time (we've seen the moments between 1 and 5am way too many times this year!). This was unfortunate for me earlier this month when Ben spent a week traveling for work...

Arden is still 100% reliant on me for her afternoon nap (yes, we're down to one - and yes, I am probably one of the few mothers who is actually happy about this!), but recently I put my foot down and stopped bouncing her in her baby carrier, as it was giving me some serious physical pain (she's not a 7-pound infant anymore, I guess). So now I currently nurse her continuously for her naps in the glider chair, which isn't quite the "me time" I'd like, but it's a lot easier on my back, feet, shoulders and knees.

Summertime in Melbourne means various city-wide festivals, such as White Night (the now-fourth year of all-night culture and light exhibits), and the Moomba Festival (the Labour Day long weekend festival of rides, games, waterskiing competitions and the Bird Man Rally where people raise money for charity by plunging into the river in elaborate "flying" costumes). White Night is probably my favourite festival ever, with its unique light installations and the concentrated timeframe (7pm-7am!). Although the past two years our experience has been more like "White Twilight". Our baby may rebel against sleep, but we still try to keep a consistent bedtime for her and usually head home at around 9pm.

the Royal Exhibition Hall has the coolest light shows

a water-skier doing some tricks on the Yarra River

Last month, our friends Randall and Liz came to visit us for a week, which was so fun! We weren't sure how Arden would act upon meeting them (for the second time - she first met them when we visited Seattle last year), as sometimes she gets really intimidated by new people and clutches my torso like a terrified koala. But she warmed up surprisingly fast, and within minutes of their arrival she was dancing around with Liz, playing catch, giggling, and knocking down Randall's domino towers in record time.

enjoying the company of her new friends

We tried to show the Yoakums everything we could around our city and beyond, and they were thankfully very game for tons of walking (we racked up a LOT of miles on Liz's FitBit - around 13 miles one day, which is pretty much a half marathon!), a long day of car travel (with a baby that has historically done Very Badly in cars) and all the random stuff that comes up when traveling with kids. We took them to the usual city offerings (Flinders Station, Federation Square, the stadiums, the Shrine of Remembrance, Birrarung Marr, etc.), took trams to St. Kilda and Fitzroy, rode the train to Geelong for a day, and hired a car for a trip to see the Twelve Apostles along the Great Ocean Road.

tourists. haha.

watching the windsurfers in St. Kilda

one of the highlights of our great Great Ocean Road road trip!

Having Randall and Liz in town was such a treat. Even though we've gotten to know some really lovely locals here, there's nothing quite like catching up with old friends who hail from back home and share some good history with you (Randall and Ben were roommates in college). Conversation comes naturally, old inside jokes are revived while new ones take root, and Cards Against Humanity is still as hilarious and hysterical as ever - even when you're trying not to wake the baby two rooms over.

As I watched Arden playing with Randall and Liz throughout that week, I felt a bit sad that most of our families won't be able to experience her at this exact age - running around but still a little unsteady on her feet, constantly dancing and asking for "la-la" (that's her word for "music"), learning how to throw plastic balls around the apartment and cuddling her plush toys (her favourites are Deadpool and Pikachu - an eclectic combination). Hopefully our next visit to the States isn't too far off, but by then Arden will be onto the next stage. And hopefully it's not the Terrible Twos...!

our little girl is growing so fast!

CK