29 December - Fairies Wear Boots

Grace was a true fashion icon today. After catching up on any missed sleep for the week with a huge nap, we went for a walk around her Nan and Pops property this afternoon where she loved stomping her boot print into the sand on the hill.

28 December - Zoo Doo

Big day today. We went to Zoo Doo, which is the closest thing to an actual zoo in Hobart.

I had been warned for a long time about the "bus ride" and how you get harassed and attacked by various animals.

But nothing prepared me for the Emu attack, the crazy driver,  nor the Camels.
Leah had done it before, but I'm not sure she was quite ready for the Camel attack either.

Grace had a great day though, playing with her cousins, especially poor Abby who she was attached to nearly all day.

27 December - Shiploads

A quick trip this afternoon to Shiploads. It's possibly the only thing that Tasmania has and Canberra doesn't. Well, at least, the only thing that might be worth having.

Grace was pretty keen to have me try out this pair of glasses and wear them through the shop.

26 December - Hobart

Back in Hobart for a week, and of course all Grace wanted was to play with Abby and Matthew.

And once they arrived, no-one else got a look in. Even when she was eating fresh fruit, Abby had to feed Grace. And to change her nappy, we had to have a nappy change race with Matthew.

I think we may need to buy an Abby of our own, since Grace happily does so much with her.

25 December - Christmas Day

Merry Christmas!!
After all the shopping, lights, reindeer talk and Santa talk, we finally made it.....Christmas Day.

Grace loved all her presents, and it took nearly 3 hours to open them, as she insisted on playing with every toy before she would open another.

But we have done pretty well, there didn't seem to be any presents disregarded, so she must have approved.

The rest of the day was spent quietly, getting ready for our flight back to Hobart tonight, which is where I write this from.

With no day sleep, at 10:00pm an exhausted Grace has finally gone to bed.

And it's over for another year.

24 December - Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve this year means preparing for our trip to Hobart tomorrow night.

First thing was to drop the dogs off to their home for the week.

This time, they arent going to boarding, but are staying in a private house, with a while bunch of other dogs that are also staying.

It will be interesting to see how they go with so many 'friends' to play with for the week.

But after a quick look through the gate at me leaving they ran happily back to play in the yard.

23 December - Big Fish

A quick visit to the zoo today to pick up a gift, saw us with the inevitable trip to see the fish and turtles at the aquarium.

It's all Grace ever wants to see. She seriously couldn't care less about the animals there.

Today she was very impressed with the new huge fish, and followed him around the tank for some time.

And when I say huge fish, I mean huge....for an aquarium tank at least.

22 December - Dinosaur

Quick trip to Bunnings this morning and Grace found this Dinosaur craft kit.

So while I was slaving away for the Merrys, Leah and Grace painted the wood, and then this afternoon, Grace and I assembled it.

Pretty cool.

21 December - The Pursuit of Happiness

In the never ending quest to find Grace Turtle items I spent a while at thr Australian Geographic store this morning.

Things must be getting bad, as this Turtle Slap Bracelet was the best I could manage.

Still, Grace will like it. Its a turtle after all....

20 December - So Grown Up

I admit, I stole this photo from Leah but I was there at the time, so technically, if I had of taken a photo, it would have been the same.... :-)

I just couldn't believe how grown up Grace looked when I saw it. Amazing to think this is her third Christmas already.

This year she is really embracing Christmas. Especially the Reindeer.

19 December - New lights

They are installing new lights at the rugby oval at Manuka, and at first glance I couldn't believe how much of a lean it was on.

After taking the photo, and driving further down the road,I realised they were supposed to be leaning in, but I still think it looks pretty dodgy.

18 December - Penguins....

We ordered a magnetic fly screen to go over the cattery door recently, and it arrived today.

I was skeptical about how well it would work and whether the magnets would really click shut easily.

I have to say, it seems to work pretty well.

But by far the most impressive thing is the fact the magnets are shaped like Penguins.

So of course they hold well, everybody knows Penguins are strong little buggers.

17 December - That Time of Year Again

Yep. It's that time of year again.
Time to go out at night, look at how much time and money some people waste, and think about how glad you are that you aren't one of them!

Though I must admit, Grace and Maddie did enjoy the lights this year, especially the house where the foolish time/money wasters gave them balloons and lollipops.

It was obvious these people loved wasting their money. They were drinking red wine after all.

PS - We also had dinner at the Mawson club, where I was quite impressed with Grace and Maddies tower building expertise.

16 December - 6th Anniversary

Today was our 6th Anniversary, and the theme is candy and iron.

Leah gave me these awesome milk bottles filled with various lollies, complete with genuine old style paper striped straws.

I also got a stool for the Piano, which covers the iron part of the gift, which is awesome. Saves me kneeling on the floor to play! :-)

Very impressed, candy and iron is definitely not an easy gift theme!

15 December - My Magic Turtle

In the never ending quest for cool things, we decided Grace would like a turtle shirt (plus it was an idea for a Xmas gift for someone else too).

So after a bit of research, I discovered you could use a regular plastic freezer bag, a piece of white paper, and a little bit of magic to make an iron on stencil.

To test if it actually worked, I drew and cut out a turtle shape, and ironed it on to some test fabric.

A quick splat of fabric paint and I'm happy to say, the magic stencil worked perfectly and Grace approved of my design.

Quite the crafty little critter aren't I?

14 December - Pushing Trees

Another trip to the Doctor for Grace today, though thankfully she is getting better.

Certainly better enough that she couldn't possibly walk like a normal person down the pathway.

She had to dance while singing "I like to move it, move it", and as usual, try to push over all the trees!

Not sure why, but she really has something against trees.

13 December - Master Photographer

This morning while I was outside with Grace, 6 army helicopters flew over in formation.

If there is one thing I love about living in Canberra, it's the cool stuff like that.

Not so cool, is my photo of them flying over.

I swear, if you zoom a LOT, they are there.

PS - yes the sky really was that blue today.

12 December - Boring

Such a boring day at work today.
3 hours of discussion about a paper I am writing the cost benefits of a tuna electronic Catch Documentation Scheme...

Ho Hum...and yes, this seriously is the ONLY photo I took today.

11 December - Coloring is a Serious Business

Another advent calendar magnet tonight, and I couldn't help but be amused by how seriously Grace takes her coloring in these days.

Serious faces every time, and if she hands over a Texta, she will demand exactly what needs to be drawn. Usually, she wants a picture of herself sneezing, coughing or drinking her juice. Odd.

10 December - Starting Young

Every time Grace gets into my car lately, she insists that she will drive us and I should sit in her car seat.

She literally sits up, turns the wheel, presses buttons,  tries to move the shifter, and says "drive, drive, drive, drive, drive".

I really think she thinks she is driving.

9 December - Chalk

After poor Grace was sick last night, we had a quiet day at home, and finished some Christmas stuff.

In the afternoon Grace was a little happier, so she opened some new chalks to do some drawing on the concrete.

8 December - A Whole Piano

Amazingly, Costco actually did ring me to let me know the second box for my digital piano (see the blog from the 6th) had arrived and was ready for collection.

So this afternoon Nathan and I made a trip there, to buy some supplies for a bbq tonight, and to get my box.

I have to admit, now it's up, I'm really impressed with it. I've always wanted a piano, and this one is awesome.

No stupid glitzy keyboard sounds, just a full size 88-key grand piano or electric piano and that's it.

But I can add reverb, pitch shift, chorus, and even connect it to a computer or iPad to record.

Now I just need to teach myself how to play.

7 December - Christmas Tree Lights

It was the lighting of the Christmas tree in the civic centre of Canberra tonight.

Peter Combe entertained with lots of shocking songs as expected from him, and then at 9pm, the tree lights happened.

The tree was ok, but the Santas and reindeer lights that they project onto the surrounding buildings impressed me for the second year in a row.

6 December - Half a Piano

We bought my Christmas present tonight...

After phone calls every day to check that it's finally in stock, it actually arrived.

But, when we got there to pick it up, they politely informed me that only one of the two boxes was there...grrrrr

So here is a photo of the half a piano we did get...

5 December - It's a Wiggly Fun time

Huge day today. It was Wiggles day in Canberra, so we were out early, in the 40 minute traffic queue to get to the arena, followed by the 20 minute queue to get in to our seats.

I can't believe how many people were there.

It was one of the last ever shows with the "real" Wiggles, before the three new imposters start next year.

All I was interested in were the funny faces that Murray pulls, as always. Without a doubt, the best Wiggle. The new red Wiggle just looks like a total tool. It really won't be the same.

4 December - Christmas Calendar

Since its December, it's Advent Calendar time for Grace.

This year, Leah made her one with magnets that Grace can color in, and Grace Loves it.

3 December - What Fly?

Tonight after work, Grace and I had a play at a park, where it turned out, Grace was far more interested in chasing ducks around the oval.

But she was very very impressed when a fly landed on her face, and even more so when she thought it was going to go up her nose!

She even agreed to smile for the camera so I could get a photo.

2 December - A new Man

Well, almost a new man, after a couple of weeks of no shaving, and at least 5 weeks of no hair cut (and yes, the irony of barely having hair isn't lost on me).

But as Joan Rivers says, when a middle aged man complains he has no hair left, he should start looking in his nose and ears. That's starting to become true as well....

Anyway, hopefully it's obvious which is before and which is after in my photo.

1 December - It all begins

First day of December means the first day of summer, and the first 'day' of Christmas.

Two things I could live without.

But for the summer part, we setup a new little pool and slide for Grace which she loved.

And for the Christmas part, we set up our Christmas Tree.

Both turned out pretty well I think.