Regular Hero

I'm so proud of my hubbie - he helped to catch a "crim" today!

We three were walking down George St., Sydney, this morning when we saw a man attack a woman and her child. Who would do such a thing?! (In retrospect we think he may have been trying to rob her.) First he hit the child (just a bit older than Raina) on the head with a full beer bottle and then he kept circling around them taunting them with his bottles and threatening to hit them again. The poor kid was screaming with pain and fear and the mother was just beside herself. We were so shocked to see this happening in broad daylight! A few pedestrians rushed to her aid, including Darwin, and the crazy guy just sauntered off watching the mayhem he was leaving behind. When it looked like the woman was being taken care of, Darwin and two other men ran after him, and the chase was on.

They chased him for quite a few blocks until he disappeared from their sight, but luckily Darwin had been calling the police on his cell phone while running, so the downtown cops immediately ran out of the station and nabbed him!! Woohoo!!

Translator's Guide

We now have some new vocabulary in use in the Price household thanks to an ever-babbling Miss R:

mamone = watermelon
popoje = porridge
mook = milk
chi-chi = cheese
bape = grape
shishen = chicken
hoot = hot
bubbee = rubbish
bah = bath
I'd know = I don't know
I see = I want
bye-bye-dom = the state of being finished with something

Raina has invented a new sport: Mop-Jousting!

So She Thinks She Can Dance

Raina has developed her own style of dancing. It's called the Cute Step. Problem is, she gets a bit dizzy and falls over.

Mummy Tactics

Since Miss R came along I have been in rigorous on-the-job training to be a Life Coach. These critical strategies are slowly sinking in:

1) The Art of Distraction

"Sorry you can't jump in that pond (and surely sink to the bottom) right now, but WOW look at that big aeroplane in the sky - WHOOSH!!" - said with great enthusiasm and vigorous hand movements. I think all parents learn this one pretty quickly.

2) Practical Redirection

Miss R has a very frustrating habit of throwing her stuff - food, cutlery, dishes, anything really - on the floor when she's finished with it or just plain bored. Ignoring her didn't achieve anything; "don't do that!" just made her want to do it even more and with an evil glint in her eye; so eventually I came up with a new tactic - to ask her to give whatever it is to Mummy when she's done. Hooray, it's starting to work!

3) Loving Repetition

As a dear friend and very wise man repeated often: "Repetition is the mother of all knowledge." It's so true. Getting the loving part every time is tough (especially when you're sleep-deprived)!

If you have any successful tactics to share, please do!

My Dad

In a bit of surprise, my dear Dad had a triple bypass yesterday. He has come through the surgery remarkably well and though he's still in the ICU, drugged out, and hooked up to all sorts of important-looking machines, there was some colour in his cheeks when I went to see him this afternoon, which was heart-warming. Thanks for all the prayers and warm wishes for his speedy recovery!

A melodramatic side note: I was sitting next to my Dad holding his hand, when I suddenly felt quite dizzy and nauseated, and ended up fainting on the floor. In the blink of an eye, I had one nurse taking my blood pressure, another one doing a blood sugar test, and a doctor checking my vital signs. I tell you, the ICU is the best place to be if you want some attention. My Mum has been joking that I was jealous of my Dad in the medical limelight! After a cup of orange juice and some time on the couch I was fine. The nurse said that it's not unusual to experience such a thing when you see a loved one in a delicate state and I was the 2nd relative that day that had ended up on the floor :) A bit embarrassing, I must say!

This one's for the girls

I did my bit for equality today.

I went to look at a house for rent (we'd like a bigger place) this week. It was an old Federation-style place with large rooms and ornate ceilings. I thought it was in pretty good condition, although untidy, until I got to the kitchen and bathroom. The real estate agent apologetically said that the current tenants - 4 bachelors - were a bit "messy". I won't go into all the yucky, filthy details, but let me just say I honestly don't think the kitchen floor had been cleaned in many months.

One of the tenants arrived home while I was still there. He seemed to be a nice enough fellow and he also apologized to me for the "mess". But then he added with a grin: "There's no wife or girlfriend here!" Well! I just HAD to say something..."That's no excuse! You're a human being; you can clean whether you're a man or a woman!"

The female agent said to me afterwards: "You're game!" I'm just sad that his apology - to a woman - was followed by such a blatant sexist statement.

The big, bad, scary....vacuum cleaner!

We thought she was over it, but apparently not. We usually vacuum (hoover) when one of us can hold her and make the vacuuming exercise into a bit of an entertainment, but I had to go it alone the other day after the carpet was strewn by hundreds of muffin crumbs - quite on purpose, by the way, for our little girl has a penchant for seeing her food in the clutches of gravity.

So there I was trying to fix the muffin situation asap, while Miss Thing was so terrified that she was wailing and clutching her head and falling to the ground as if she was witnessing a most horrible catastrophe. There may have been some gnashing of teeth too! Well that's my excuse for not being able to do the vacuuming, what's yours?

Here are some photos from a more enjoyable time: in Grandma's garden.

Chomping on the doggie's ball was fun

Throw away all those fancy plastic toys...pegs in a pot are the best!

As of this week we have officially entered the "no" period. Oh oh! Raina's emphatic "no"s are accompanied by a fat-lipped pout and big frown. Any reprimand doesn't stand a chance in the face of such determination! Her baby-sign repertoire is steadily growing too: 'eat', 'drink', 'more', 'milk', 'thank you', 'book', 'sleep', 'prayer'; and we are working on 'cracker' at the moment. It is just so cool to see language and understanding unfold.

Now it's time to cheer and applaud: date night is back! After almost 14 months Darwin and I went out to a party TOGETHER last night and had a fabulous time! Happy Birthday again Corinne :) We were nervous, liberated and excited to be out amongst charming company and having lots of mature conversations. Thank heavens for grandparents!

Susu Mamas

In case you don't know Pidgin-English (spoken throughout the Pacific), "susu" means "milk" or "breast", and in PNG the Breastfeeding Association is aptly named, yep you've got it, Susu Mamas :) Well, this susu-mama and Raina celebrated World Breastfeeding Week with our local Susu Mamas group and ended up in the newspaper!

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall!

My calm-mother vibe was tested today when I saw Raina's screaming mouth fill up with blood after she lost her footing and fell over. At first I thought she had just cut her lip, but later realized that her top 4 teeth had made quite a dent in her tongue. My poor little sausage! The doctor said only time will heal it, they don't stitch up tongues. And it was the first time I've heard a doctor prescribe an ice cream and yoghurt diet! Okay, so the first fall is over. I am definitely not looking forward to the next one!

Walkabout

Raina is up and banging at the front door to go out walking as soon as breakfast is over. It has been amazing to see how confidently she is walking in just a matter of days...

One Year

Finally, some photos from Raina's birthday... has it already been a year?! Here's the whole album.

Cousin Lachlan helped Raina blow out the candle on her bunny rabbit cake

Here's Raina having a "Po-Knee" ride on Daddy's knee - he even gallops and neighs when you press his ear, a very entertaining pressie from Aunty Melanie and Uncle Leon.

Reading a new book word by word!

Raina takes Bus Number 11

Since last Friday Raina has been exploring the world on two feet instead of two knees. We had just borrowed some baby knee pads for her as her knees are all blistered up, but then she decided to take the plunge and really get walking. It's incredibly exciting to see the delight in your child's eyes as she makes it across the room, albeit teetering a little, but without any help. Perhaps hanging out with big cousin Lachlan that day provided some healthy competition!

Raina Joins a 12-Step Program

Tonight we saw Raina join a 12-step program. Twice she walked a total of twelve small steps on her own! It's very important not to count, make gestures or get too excited when she gets up on her feet, as she gets distracted easily and plops down on her bottom immediately. And you can't coax her to her feet; it all happens in her own good time. But it looks like she's going to be very mobile very soon - so watch out everyone!

On The Day That You Were Born

“On the day that you were born
the angels got together
and decided to create a dream come true.
So they sprinkled moondust in your hair
and golden starlight in your eyes of blue…”

We love you Raina! Happy 1st Birthday!

Not Sleeping, Waving

This morning, Raina was brought into our bed for an early feed. I awoke to find her next to me waving hello. What a nice way to start the day.

Tonight we saw Raina take two small, confident steps. She was in a great mood just before bath and bed time and she courageously took the steps between her Pink Cadillac and me. Precious moment!

A very important thing about today - July 11 - is that this is the date, four years ago, that Mei-Ling and I officially became engaged. We were in Nashville at the time and her parents were in Australia and my mother was in Germany, so rounding up everyone was a geographical challenge! Well, four years ... my how time flies.

Raina Likes...

...walking on her knees, pulling Mummy's hair clips out, riding on Daddy's horsey back, watching Grandpa's mobile phone light up, getting tickled by Grammie's white whispy hair, bananas, and bunny rabbits :)

Sunshine Escape

After such an eventful year of moving, new job, new baby, we decided it was high time for a relaxing getaway... Raina's two Grandmas joined us and we escaped the Sydney thunderstorms to spend 5 lovely days in Noosa on the Sunshine Coast. There were a lot of firsts for Raina - first plane trip, first swim, first spa, first time on the beach eating sand and chasing waves, boy that made her giggle! One of the highlights for us was going out to dinner, just the two of us, for the very first time since Miss Thing was born! Hooray for Grandmas :)

First plane trip for Raina!

Taking a stroll by the river...

Beach Babe :)

Four generations of women: We spent some special time with Grammie Featherstone - Mei-Ling's Grandma

On Sunshine Beach without much sun, but it was gorgeous just the same!

View our holiday photo album

5-Second Stand

Raina just hit 11 months and is now standing quite steadily on her own for about 5 seconds. When we get all excited and start applauding, she gets distracted and loses balance :)

Every day I am amazed at how much she knows already. Today we were sitting on the floor in the kitchen (one of our favourite hangout joints) and she was a bit whiny, so I asked: "Do you want a drink? Where's your water bottle?" Immediately she turned around and crawled into the living room. When I followed, I found her sipping water from her bottle. She knew exactly where she had left it, and it was the first time she demonstrated understanding "water bottle".

For the record, these are the words we know she understands so far:

• No! (Not sure about Yes yet)
• Bye-bye
• Car
• Walk, outside
• Hot
• Water, water bottle
• Ball, Bucket
• Hug, Kiss, Blow a Kiss
• Susu (milk in Pidgin) - she can also sign for milk and uses it for all food
• Nose, Fingers
• Raina, Daddy, Mummy, Grandpa
• Funky Monkey - her furry bedfellow
• Bunny Rabbit, Birdie, Fireflies, Doggy, woof-woof!

A Grand Adventure

My little brother left this week for a Grand Adventure in Ethiopia (via Dubai where he is visiting big sister Seff for a couple of weeks) ! He'll be doing a year of volunteer work at the One Planet International School in Addis Ababa. What a year it will be. We miss you already Bro!

Our latest family shot, taken on Mother's Day

On the homefront this week we had a 'Biggest Morning Tea' at Raina's little playgroup to raise money for the Cancer Council. Sohret put on a great spread and we all went home with delicious doggie bags. The kids had a great time trying out Halil's new see-saw and slippery-dip!

Raina and her boy-friends Tomas, Halil & Joshua :)

Why so serious, girl?

Happy Little Vegemite

Raina is definitely an Aussie kid now - she eats Vegemite on toast for breakfast and loves it! For all you non-Australians: yes, it may look like black tar, but it tastes great and is high in Vitamin B! Read a little history.