the grants incredible life

Amaya and her new hairdo!

2008-11-16T17:35:00.003+10:30

Last night Mark decided that Amaya needed a new hairdo in the bath. "Helmet hair" is what we like to call it!

She also has gorgeous hair when we blow dry it. Then she goes to bed and wakes up all curly. Love the curls, but love the blow dry look more!

Pizza with sprinkles

2008-11-09T22:01:00.001+10:30

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Amaya's words

2008-10-27T22:04:00.000+10:30

I love clothes
I love toys
I love Woody
toys
food
"bicky's please"
Counts to 5
Counts to 10 (with help)
Beginning to sing the alphabet song
Recognises these letter and numbers when we are at the shops:
b,o,r,a and 2,6,7
Elmo
puzzle
Woody and Buzz
spin around
Mister Happy

Words that we would like Amaya not to say:
Help!!
Stop!!
No
Don't

Our little fairy

2008-10-27T21:55:00.002+10:30

Well, since her second birthday, Amaya has had an interesting time. Exactly one week after her birthday she got her first dose of gastro. She was sick for four days and lost quite a bit of weight (of which she has quickly put back on!). Then I got sick.....

Anyway, Amaya then began to get her 2 year old molars, of which we saw the Terrible 2s begin!! We thought that we had lost our beautiful baby, as all we were seeing was a quick tempered little girl.... HOwever, it has come to light that the little girl that we know and love has returned and she is just as gorgeous.

Her talking is coming along and she is beginning to join words together to make simple phrases. Tonight at tea we had "i love clothes... i love toys... i love Woody". She is also loving numbers and can count to 5 on her own and to 10 with help. She also loves the alphabet song and attempts it on her own.

She loves music and today we discovered the music of Peter Combe. Amaya's favourite song is about singing to the number 5! She loves it.

She also loves her bath crayons/paints and is discovering her artistic side as she is bathing. (We had to try something, as our grumpy toddler wasn't wanting baths!)

Her fairy outfit was one that we bought her on Saturday and she put it on while we were at Mums. She loves it!
(I will post a picture when i get one- for now there are some on my facebook sight)

Cath's and Amaya's Birthdays

2008-10-05T15:18:00.002+10:30

Wednesday the 1st of October was my birthday and the following day was Amaya's. So we have had a very busy week. (Well, Mark has had a VERY busy week). He has worked hard to make sure that both Amaya and I have had great birthdays!

My birthday started with Amaya staying asleep until 8.30AM, so Mark and I had breakfast in bed. Then I had a relaxing day. The weather was 28 degrees, so Mark and I went to a nice part of town and looked in shops that we don't take Amaya into (Mum had Amaya). We got gelati and just window shopped, it was lovely. I then had a birthday tea with lots of lovely presents.

Amaya's birthday was similar, although Amaya and I went down to Brighton beach to have a latte and a bubbachino. We had a birthday tea for Amaya, with our closest friends. We all ate pizza and Amaya got lovely presents too.

I then had my proper party yesterday. A group of us sailed for a hour and a half along the coast line of Adelaide, eating and drinking. It was lovely. The weather was 20degrees, witha cool breeze. We didn't see any dolphins, but we did have a lot of entertainment on board.

So, birthdays are over for another year..... they are great when they come, but they go so fast.

Our picnic at the park and beach today

2008-09-13T20:49:00.003+09:30

Today the forecast was 24 degrees, our warmest day this spring. So we decided to go to the park and have a picnic. The beach is just across the road, so when we finished at the park we headed for the "water". Amaya loves the water and if we had let go of her hand she would have ran into the waves. (If only she could swim).

She loved walking with her Daddy through the shallow (freezing) water. Amaya loved the waves splashing against her and this funny laugh kept coming out when the waves hit. I didn't have the camera, otherwise I would have taken photos.

But i did have the camera for the picnic, so here they are.

(Temperature actually reached 28!!)

Amaya and the ducks

2008-08-19T22:42:00.002+09:30

Well, it seems like I have been taking lots of photos of Amaya over the past few days, and you might be wondering what else I do with my time..... Well yesterday (and completed today) I transplanted three trees in the front garden and completely weeded one side of the garden!!! (Whilst Amaya was asleep). I have also cooked a great lasagne with a secret ingredient AND a roasted potato and leek soup!

I have been busy. Mark did all of the washing over the weekend whilst i wasn't feeling well, so thats taken care of the washing (probably why i have extra time!)

Today after Amaya and I went to Kindergym, we went to a beautiful park to feed the ducks. It was only 11 degrees, so we dressed up for a typical Winter's day.....

Amaya loved feeding the ducks so much, that she helped herself to the bread! (It was fresh bread!)

Amaya today

2008-08-18T22:40:00.003+09:30

Amaya's words for the week are:
Harry (harry and his pocket full of dinosaurs)
Hurry
Sorry
Amen
Row Row (for Row your boat) (this also has actions!)
Dot
Hat

Today Amaya and I did some painting using a paint brush. She totally loved it and cried when it was time to put it away and have lunch. We had paint on the page, a bit on her bib..... NONE on the floor and NONE on me!! She knew exactly what to do with the brush. She dipped it in the water, put the brush on a colour in the palette and then brushed it on the paper.

She also had a new beanie come today (its size 3-6 as her hair is so thick). It has velcro to hold it on!!!

Oh and we also love stickers........

Licking the bowl!!

2008-08-03T20:25:00.002+09:30

Amaya has discovered that after mixing together ingredients, the best part is licking the bowl!

Amaya is such a good stirrer

2008-08-03T19:32:00.000+09:30

Amaya can cook, again!

2008-08-03T17:45:00.002+09:30

Today, I had Amaya and Mark helping me to make cup cakes. Amaya just loves helping and now she likes licking the bowl! She is so very helpful.

Amaya's latest word

2008-08-02T22:21:00.001+09:30

Today we were at a friend's house where there were 3 puppies. We weren't sure how she would go, but she absolutely loved them. Consequently, Amaya's new word is puppy.

Amaya, Amaya.

2008-07-28T21:54:00.002+09:30

Amaya is just discovering her own face and what faces she can pull. Its cute.

Our big girl

2008-07-28T13:53:00.002+09:30

This week we discovered that our little girl was turning into a big girl. She loves to chat (but we have no idea what she is saying). She is soo big. We love her.

Our trip around Australia! (Well, the bottom bit anyway)

2008-07-20T11:55:00.004+09:30

We have just arrive back fro our first real family road trip. We headed to the Hillsong Conference in Sydney and on our way back we popped into visit family and friends in Melbourne.
It was a great trip, apart from all of us getting sick, but we had a wonderful time. We got to drive on dirt roads, watch cattle stop traffic as it crossed the highway, saw BIG things (like the Big Cod and the Giant Ram), we saw a giant kangaroo almost get run over by a truck and most of all we had a ball.

We weren't sure about how Amaya would travel in the car, so we decided to break the 14 hour trip to Sydney over 3 days. Our first stop was Swan Hill, on the Murray River, in the Northern parts of Victoria. We then travelled through Deniliquin, home of the Utemuster, to Wagga Wagga. Then we travelled up to Sydney via Goulburn.

Hillsong was a busy and exciting week and we were surprised and amazed at how Amaya loved the music. We knew that she would like to dance, but not only did she dance, she attempted to sing!

Hillsong is normally very busy, so with a child is was quite difficult. Amaya normally has a 3 hour sleep during the day, but at Hillsong, sleep was not on her agenda. Infact, Mark walked around the stadium, where she did sleep, but it took Mark an hour just to walk around the arena because it is so big. Mark and I decided to take a day off each so that we could take in as much as we could without worrying about getting distracted and it was great. I got to hear Joyce Meyer and dance to Israel Houghton.

On our way back to Melbourne we stopped off in a town called Beechworth, which is on the edge of the Snowy Mountains. We saw a few snow capped mountains, but because we were all sick, going to the snow wasn't a good idea.

We then travelled to Melbourne and stayed with John and Lois Symmonds for one night and then with our friends Nat and Tim. We were spoilt and had a relaxing time. We got to go to the Dandenong Ranges and have morning tea at Sassafras, which is where our favourite tea shop is.

We then spent a day with Pete, Di and Ella and the kids played at Kidsmania. Amaya loved the ball crawl and wasn't fased by her Daddy and Uncle Pete lobbing plastic balls at her. she just said "Ouch!", but wasn't fussed.

Thursday was our travelling home day, which began at 5.00AM! We thought that by leaving early that we would make a head start on our day and it worked. We stopped at Ararat for breakfast and was home by 2.30. But just before we stopped we saw a massive red kangaroo crossing the highway. As we were in amazement at seeing our first real Aussie animal, a truck was coming in the other direction and ran over the roos tail! It was horrible to watch it on the road trying to get up. But it was able to get up and jump away.... Phew!

Amaya was fine watching her dvds on our portable dvd player, and she also slept a lot too!

Then we got home to do washing, washing and more washing!

Amaya at 21 months!

2008-07-01T12:50:00.003+09:30

Where is the time going, soon Amaya will be 2 and then 3 and then heading to Kindy, then school! Arrgh! But alas, she is still very little and very very cute.

Her new words at the moment are:
Hello (with a wave)
Friday
Socks
Stop
Borwy (Balamory)
Shops

She loves saying STOP because I think she likes the feel of her teeth and her tongue together. She almost has a lisp at the moment, which for now, is very cute.

Whenevershe watches playschool, the day is always Friday!

Her favourite tv shows are:
Pocoyo
Balamory
Charlie and Lola
And her favourite movie is Annie. Oh and another favourite is Hi 5.

She loves playing in the garden. Yesterday was freezing, but as I hung the washing out, she wanted to come, so on went the wellies and jacket and she was off!

Melbourne

2008-06-08T22:36:00.003+09:30

Last weekend I had the opportunity to head to Melbourne. I got to hang out with Megs, Joel and Nat. I also got to spend a quick time with Pete, Di and Ella.

Our soooooo gorgeous girl!

2008-06-08T22:26:00.003+09:30

Amaya is just becoming a gorgeous little girl, who is, at times, a little frustrating, but overall beautiful. She is becoming an absolute joy to watch as she does the funniest dance moves to Hi 5 and loves making people laugh. She is, also, discovering that when she wants something, she can whine. Hmmmm, don't like the whining, but we are winning in most cases when it comes to decision making!

But when you look at this face, its hard not to give in!

Cornflake girl and scrap

2008-06-01T11:33:00.003+09:30

I have a very talented friend who loves to do scrapbooking, so today I took a leaf out her of book and had a go at making some birthday cards. Here they are.....

We also have a little girl who loves cornflakes and at the moment is eating 2 whole bowls for breakfast! She loves them!

More words Amaya can say

2008-05-26T21:41:00.002+09:30

Well we are quickly discovering that when Amaya can put sentences together we won't be able to keep her quiet. She is such a jibber jabber and loves to talk, except that most of her words we cannot understand, but we have compiled an updated list of words that Amaya can say.............
hot
cold
hug
ball
flow (flower)
apple
sad
happy
ta (understanding that it can get her stuff)
"Hi" for Hi-5
Bye and Hi
Boo (even covers her eyes with hands for Peekaboo)

I think thats all for now.

It's been a while

2008-05-26T08:29:00.002+09:30

I have just realised that its almost been a month since we last blogged, so here's a quick life update..... Mark is almost ready for his prac, it starts in 2 weeks time. He is excited and busy planning.
We just spent the past weekend Red Shield Collecting and this year proved to be our most successful yet! We were very surprised, as petrol prices are sky high and the cost of living has increased, but people are still very generous!
Amaya is as cute as ever. She loves to sing and dance, especially to her favourite group, Hi 5. We listen to it in the car and she loves it. She also loves going to Kindergym and tomorrow we need to take our teddies for a Teddy Bear's picnic.

Lots happening in our house, but we are all good. And touch wood, we aren't sick! It seems that everyone else is getting that way.

Bye for now.

Our new receptionist!

2008-05-04T17:23:00.001+09:30

Amaya is wanting a new job.... a receptionist. She is very good at writing whilst talking on the telephone.

Gifted is one word to describe this!! he he.

Mark is also very bus studying and working at the moment and time with Amaya is precious. This week they had a few precious moments, and Mark got his matchbox cars out to play with. Amaya loves them!

Mark's 30th Birthday

2008-05-04T17:16:00.002+09:30

Friday was Mark's 30th birthday and we have had a fun filled weekend. On friday night we had a small family tea, where Amaya sampled her first tiny piece of chocolate cake. She wasn't too fased about it, and she loves her grapes more!! (Just need to find a fruit for winter!)

Mark was given an ipod (from me) for his birthday, of which he had no idea. So he spent all day Friday playing with that.

On Saturday I had organised a surprise birthday party for Mark, which he reckoned he know about. We had 35 of Mark's closest friends and family and we had a great time.

I then drove Mark to Victor Harbor for dessert on Saturday night. Oour favourite place in Victor is called the Anchorage, so we had yummy food.

Mark had a great weekend and was very lucky to get lots of very cool presents.

Will write more when I have a bit more time.

Our Perth holiday

2008-04-25T22:54:00.003+09:30

We have just arrived back after an almost 2 week holiday in Perth. We had a great time staying with Mum and Dad in the caravan "resort". We got to do lots of things like visit Hilary's wharf (especially the British lolly shop), walked up Jacob's Ladder to King's Park, walked around the city, caught the train to Fremantle, went to Mandurah, went to a wildlife park and the Perth Zoo. Oh, and of course, we did lots of window shopping too.

Amaya loved staying at the caravan park because there was a "bouncy bouncy" (a large air mat that the kids loved jumping on.) Amaya is working on jumping and all week we heard "Jump Amaya" and she would do her best try at a jump (a tiny gallop). It's adorable.

The plane trip over was not fun. She hated sitting on our lap for 2 hours and the portable dvd player that we took ran out really quickly and so did our food supply. So on the way back we were prepared, but making sure that she did lots of walking.. she was great! No crying, no whinging and she ate the food and watched Hi 5! It was a great trip back.

Now its back to work and getting back to thinking about school...... yuck. Check out our photos, we had a great time.

The New Trike

2008-04-07T18:40:00.001+09:30

Amaya is loving being outside and today the weather was so nice that we went for a ride on her new trike. She loves it! We just need to get her a helmet now.

Our Week

2008-03-31T07:18:00.003+10:30

This week has been a one of mixed feelings. It started well, had some sad news in the middle and then finished with a very grumpy child. A person who Catherine grew up with from the Ingle Farm Salvation Army passed away suddenly last week, then Amaya had her chicken pox injections on Friday. Mark reckons that he took his little girl to the doctors and left her there and bought another little girl home. Since Saturday, we have had a teary and sad little girl, who cries when we leave a room, or walk in the opposite direction to her. She is also cutting her last meat tooth, which is also causing discomfort for her.

But we are still ok and not too concerned about getting up 3-4 times a night.

Today Mark got ready for being a proper teacher by getting up before 6 and driving 45 minutes to his prac school. It was dark when he left and it was almost like we have switched roles, as my first teaching job when we were first married made me get up before 6 and leave when it was still dark. He was a little nervous, but i reassured him that he would be fine.

I'll just stay at home with Little Miss Sunshine/Grumpy.

The Artist

2008-03-26T15:38:00.004+10:30

With all of this wet weather, we haven't been able to make it to the park, and in the cupboard I stashed away a finger painting set. So today, when it was raining outside, we painted. Amaya wasn't too keen having the paint on her fingers and had more fun washing it off in the water.

Check out her designs!! With a bit of help from me.

Corn on the cob- Amaya's new favourite

2008-03-17T19:07:00.002+10:30

Today we found a new favourite for Amaya, corn on the cob. She can be like a seagull and eat what we eat. So increasingly we have a small mouth trying to eat what we eat- particularly off our plates. Check out the pics!

Dancing in the Silent Disco!!

2008-03-10T18:46:00.003+10:30

Last night we went out for out friend Susan's 25th birthday. This time of year in Adelaide is very festive and we were in the city last night with the Adelaide Fringe Festival. With this festival comes lots of people and lots of festivities. One of which we ventured into after having tea for Susan's birthday. We made our way to the Garden of Unearthly Delights, which is pretty much a sideshow (Merry go rounds, ferris wheels etc etc). But as it was Suze's birthday, we went on the Adult's Ferris Wheel (extra fast) and a Silent Disco. (So silent, that only the dancers wearing headphones hear the music- lots of fun!)

We had a great time.

The next day we had a little "cool" kid.

Helpful Amaya

2008-03-06T19:29:00.002+10:30

Amaya loves to help and Monday was no exception. She grabbed the feather duster and decided to help Mummy. It was incredible! I had to catch it on camera for ransom when she is older!

She also was very lucky this week as I managed to find an easel that was cheap and also the right height for her. She loved it. I can't get her away from the blackboard and now SHE is resonsible for the chalk pot because Mummy is not allowed to help, or even draw on the blackboard. If she could say, "Amaya do it", then thats what I would be hearing. I think we have alot to deal with, and very soon!

Amaya's excursion with her Daddy

2008-03-02T19:36:00.002+10:30

Every year there is an arts festival in Adelaide called the Fringe Festival. We haven't really been in the past because it was an "alternative" arts festical, however lately it has changed and Mark took Amaya to a kids dance festival in the park. I had dance at church, so I couldn't go :(

Amaya loved dancing and she looked great!!

We are heading back to the Festival next Sunday night as one of our best friends is having a birthday party there, but Amaya is staying with her Nanna and Grandpa.

(The last photo is Amaya chillaxing on the couch, eating a bikky.)

There she blows!!!

2008-02-27T22:55:00.002+10:30

So picture this, we creep as silently as we can into our sleeping princesses' bedroom to perform our nightly ritual of making sure she is comfortable, warm, and under the covers.

Gazing adorably at our beautiful little girl, she wriggled a little as we raised the side of the cot. Making sure she had her dummy close by... she lifted her bottom into the air and brrrr!!!! Yep, she farts in her sleep just like her Mum!!

You might be wondering why we are blogging this little story. We just found it so funny that we fell out of her room laughing so hard, and we wanted to remember it & share it.

Words Amaya can say

2008-02-24T08:21:00.004+10:30

Apparently by their 18 month check up babies are supposed to say 20 words. We thought.... "Oh my goodness, she can't do that!" But I thought that we would list the words that she can say just so that we can remember what she said at 17 months.

Mum
Dad
Up
Out
"Bob" Bob the Builder
"Roary" The Racing Car
Yay
Woaw
Nan
Oh
Uh Oh
Bubble

So at the moment we have 12 words. I don't think that we want her to say anything else at the moment because she won't be quiet once she starts!

Also she is starting to copy the last words that we say. Her teeth are giving her some grief and Mark had an interesting day with May May yesterday. Her meat teeth on her left arrived just after Christmas, and her meat teeth on her right have arrived in the last couple of days. She has woke up quite often, which sucks, but we still love her. Today we also saw another facet to her personality. Her funny facial expressions are getting hilarious, but we can never catch them on the camera. Will try and add a video when I know how.

Will also try and take a photo of Amaya on the tramp at kindergym, its her favourite.

Now it's cold

2008-02-20T21:24:00.006+10:30

The weekend brought hot weather, but today it was cold. Amaya got her first proper English coat (a real bargain 99p on ebay!! and thanks to Auntie Chris). Amaya looked a bit like an astronaut, but we loved it!!

I also was proud.. I got to braid my little girls hair today. She sits so still and lets me do it.

She also got some overalls which Mark loves. She is such a little girl now. We love her.

Now it

2008-02-20T21:24:00.003+10:30

Now it

2008-02-20T21:24:00.001+10:30

Amaya and Liam on a hot summer's day

2008-02-19T08:58:00.001+10:30

Amaya and Liam played together in the paddling pool today. Afterwards we had a nappy parade! They had heaps of fun.

2008-02-13T09:28:00.000+10:30

Sorry Day 2008

2008-02-13T09:25:00.000+10:30

Today marks an important day in the history and future of our country. Today our Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, said sorry for past hurt to Aboriginal people, in particular the stolen generation. It is very exciting and an important milestone for our future.

Australia Day '08

2008-02-03T15:42:00.000+10:30

Today Amaya planted her first plant. First she watered it with Daddy. Then she fell asleep on Mum. Its so hard being so cute.
She has also decided to copy Mum by walking around the house holding a bag.

Hi-5

2008-01-24T18:10:00.000+10:30

Today Amaya went to her first Hi-5 concert. She was one of the youngest there, but one of the best behaved. I could not believe how well she sat. We got there just before starting time and had a to wait a little bit, which was when Missy Moo decided that she wanted to walk up and down our aisle. But when the music started she sat on my knee and didn't move until about half an hour later. She clapped and got very excited when she heard the theme song for Hi-5. Her face lit up and bopped to the music. The wait for the concert was definitely worth it. The new members of Hi-5 are also just as competent as the others and the concert was so much fun. We had a blast!!

Our holiday adventure

2008-01-13T13:18:00.000+10:30

Mark and I have both been on holiday, but we haven't been able to grab some time on our own. So I thought that as a late wedding anniversary present, that we could go camping. I found a beautiful site at a place called Port Victoria, which is about 2 hours drive.

Mum took Amaya on Thursday and we headed off. The temperature in Adelaide was 41 degrees and when we arrived at our destination, the temp was about 43. We needed to set up the tent, but I almost fainted as the sun was so incredibly hot. We had to put the air con on in the car to keep as cool.

By 5 o'clock the tent was up, and we went to the beach to cool off. The water was delightful and we loved it.

Mark put some meat on the bar- b for tea and we sat in the tent and had tea.

After a relaxing evening, we went to bed to the still, quiet sounds of the calming water below........ then, 2am everything changed. The wind began to shake the top of the tent and woke both Mark and I up. We closed the tent windows and thought that the wind would die down. It got worse. I woke at 6o'clock to see Mark holding the tent up, stopping it from falling on me.

By 6.15am we had decided to abandon our luxiourious accomodation and thought that we could find somewhere else to stay that night. When we packed up the tent, the wind was soo strong, that it threw me. I laughed so much. We had breakfast in the car and slept for one hour while we waited for the caravan park office to open.

We travelled to the other side of the Yorke Peninsula, to Port Vincent. A sheltered spot, which had a pontoon for the kids to jump off and calm waters. We set up tent on the beach and after a cappucino, spent the day on the beach.

We came home, set the tent up in our backyard and had a wonderful night's rest. We then went to market 190 at McClaren Vale for breakfast and then picked up Amaya. It was a great time.

Uncle Paul and Auntie Chris

2008-01-08T21:05:00.000+10:30

We have had the pleasure of more overseas visitors!! (We love getting visitors with Pommy accents!) Amaya has had a great time getting to know them, and uncle paul especially has enjoyed making a mess of Amaya's face when feeding her. He has taught her how to lick out of her yoghurt container when she is finished and has also tried to lure her to drink cordial from a glass!! Hmmmmm, maybe not such a good idea Uncle Paul- but she loves it!

Have a look at our photos.

Amaya is finally walking!!

2008-01-06T21:35:00.000+10:30

Firstly, sorry for not blogging- the last couple of weeks have been extremely hectic. One of our biggest milestones with Amaya has happened, she is finally on the go- and I mean really on the go. On Christmas Day Amaya was dressed in a beautiful Christmas dress for church, but when we got home, she got quite frusttrated because she couldn't move around init. So I changed her and before I could put more clothes on- she became quite agitated, so I put her on the floor in a nappy and singlet and said " ALright then, Missy Moo- you do it!" So she walked from her room down to our kitchen where Mark's mum was standing. We were all amazed that she could do it!

She has had a few falls with the bruises to go with it, but she isn't too afraid of an ice pack- so thats good. We will need to get a harness, though, as she is beginning to not want to hold hands because she can do it. I can hear the words "I do it", being popular with Amaya. But its ok,l shes got 2 strongwilled parents, so i think that we will win!!

Amaya doesn't like Father Christmas

2007-12-23T18:30:00.001+10:30

We took Amaya yesterday for her second visit to Father Christmas and did not like him at all. She would stand next to him, but was not interested in sitting on his lap. Maybe when she is old enough to write letters that she will like him. It must be the big white beard!

Amaya Grace- the little girl

2007-12-20T19:30:00.000+10:30

Here is Amaya Grace our little girl, not tiny baby. She is adorable, however she has been cutting her teeth, and sometimes not too adorable. But here are some pics from our first week of holidays.
XX

She is so cool

2007-12-16T22:00:00.001+10:30

Here is bundle of joy. Looking more like a toddler than a baby.

Amaya's water pool

2007-12-09T09:49:00.000+10:30

Amaya got a sand tray for her birthday and yesterday she was using it as a water pool. She loved it and loved playing with her water toys. Our friends brought their little puppy Ollie and he also loved playing in the water.

Is she cute or what!!!

2007-11-28T20:23:00.000+10:30

Amaya is sick at the moment, but her spirits are high. She only gets grumpy when shes tired, or she can't breathe because she has a blocked nose. That's when I get the nose sucker and get all of the snot out!!!!

The photos are of Amaya having gorgeous hair before a sleep, funny hair after a sleep and then Amaya giving mummy a big sloppy kiss! I may get a cold now, but it was worth every bit of slobber!!

Amaya and Ella

2007-11-18T11:24:00.000+10:30

These two are like peas in a pod. They love playing together, although at the moment, that consists of Ella laying on the floor and Amaya trying to make her move. Amaya loves her and especially had eyes for Uncle Peter yesterday!
Amaya has began crawling. Although I prefer to call it shuffling. She is getting around the house and i have found her a couple of times by calling her and a little head comes out from a doorway in the coridoor. She is gorgeous and a lot of fun.

Anyway, have a look a these pics and I am sure that there will be lots more before Pete and Di go to Melbourne.

Our little princess

2007-11-11T18:17:00.001+10:30

Today was warm so Amaya decided to wear a dress. Its a bit hard to move around in a dress, but she tried. We went to Helen and Tim's for lunch and she behaved like a princess. She has even learned how to blow kisses and make a kissing noise with your lips. She's adorable!

Swimming beauty

2007-11-09T21:24:00.000+10:30

We went to Brighton beach tonight. Amaya loved the waves!! She didn't want to get out. She had a wave hit her in the face and she loved it!!!

The other photos are of Amaya's new sleeping position and her being extra cute and cuddly.

A day in the grant dayspa

2007-11-04T13:27:00.000+10:30

Amaya loves to be pampered........ how awesome is she. She is such a girl.

Jaimee and Amaya

2007-10-28T13:25:00.000+10:30

On Wednesday Jaimee came over to play with Amaya. They loved playing together and watching Hi 5!!

Man is she growing up!!

2007-10-23T19:47:00.000+09:30

Its only just been over the past few weeks that we have noticed a massive change in Amaya's development. She is beginning to copy (particularly me!) and become way more entertaining. Still not crawling, but when she is in Mark's new office, there are signs!! She is desperate to walk, but she won't let go of our hands or anything else!! And looks petrified when we let her stand on her own. But tomorrow her friend Jaimee is coming over, so she might get a lesson in crawling and walking.

Amaya's Jungle Party

2007-10-06T19:45:00.000+09:30

Today we had Amaya's Jungle Party to celebrate her turning one. We had heaps of fun, however Amaya got tired towards the end and had to go home for a nap.

She was very spoilt and got lots of lovely presents. There were lots of jungle animals at the party and was very cool!! But Amaya won't be having another party until she is 5. No one told me that a birthday party could be so stressful!

Amaya's first birthday

2007-10-02T22:26:00.000+09:30

Yay, Amaya is now one year old. I cannot believe that a whole year has gone. Well she was the most spoilt one year old and she loved every minute of it!

In the water!

2007-09-23T08:11:00.000+09:30

Amaya loves water so today she had her first "pool" experience in the back yard. Mum and Dad came over and played with her. She loved being nude and being outside. She also loves water and so she had a great afternoon splashing around. She is 1 in just over a week. We cannot believe that a year has passed since she came into the world and she is the best thing in our lives. It has been hard work, but all worth it!

Father's Day 07

2007-09-05T20:23:00.000+09:30

Amaya's favourite word is Daddaddaddaddaddad. So last week we had the best first Father's Day.

Week 48 in Amaya's life

2007-09-05T20:11:00.000+09:30

Well, she has hit the milestone of 48 weeks. I can't believe that time has gone. Well, actually I can, but I think that now is the best time that we are having with Amaya. Check out the pics!

Liam turns one!

2007-08-27T20:36:00.001+09:30

Liam (our next door neighbour) turned one last Friday and he had his party on Saturday. Amaya loved hanging with all of the other kids and loved the swings!!

I hate hats!!

2007-08-27T20:32:00.000+09:30

I thought that I would groove Amaya up. But, she said "go away Mum! I'm not a barbie doll!"

Ella Brooklyn has arrived

2007-08-11T20:24:00.000+09:30

Well, after 30+ hours of labor, Diane gave birth to Ella Brooklyn Hobbs on Friday the 10th of August at 7.04om. She weighed in at 7.04pounds and is very cute.

For those who have no idea who Ella is, she is our first niece and she is very cute. Both Mum and baby are doing well and Ella is feeding well.
More updates later,but here are some pics.

Dadadadadada

2007-08-04T22:48:00.003+09:30

Amaya has a new favourite word: Dadadadadadadadada
She loves her mummy too, but she can't say it yet. So Dad gets all the attention!

Surprise!!!

2007-07-29T22:18:00.000+09:30

Today we had a wonderful surprise. Megan, Andrew and Joel came for lunch. It was a surprise visit, not for a joyous reason because Megan's Nanna passed away and they were in Adelaide for the funeral. But we got to have an awesome time where we could swap parenting stories, (very freaky seeing as 10 years ago we were the same two girls naming ourselves the DESPERADOS!) and caught up on the last 9 months. We are also planning our family holiday together, its very exciting!

Amaya loved Joel so much that when Joel cried because he was hungry, Amaya cried too! She also cried when Megan left the room with Joel (to change his nappy) as she wanted him to stay!

Amaya on the plane

2007-07-15T07:50:00.000+09:30

Here is Amaya enjoying her second flight. She felt much happier having both her Mum and Dad with her.

She loved smiling at the air stewards and loved playing with the head phones.

Amaya goes to Noosa

2007-07-14T21:47:00.000+09:30

Uncle Bryce and Auntie Sue

2007-07-14T14:01:00.001+09:30

Amaya loves meeting people at the best of times, but she loved the time that she had to play with the Davies family. She loved playing funny faces with Uncle Bryce, cuddling Auntie Sue and Eliza and she loved Georgia teaching her to say "Bah!" (of which is her new favourite word).

Here is a quick photo of Bryce with Amaya.

Queensland Holiday

2007-07-14T13:26:00.000+09:30

Well, this morning we arrived back from a wonderful holiday in Brisbane. We were there for one week and packed a lot of stuff into it. Amaya travelled beautifully on the way home, but got a bit scared by the noises of the plane on our way up there. (Mark was also meeting us up there so just Amaya and I travelled together- trip back was much better. Two pairs of hands to control someone with an attention span of a pea).

But we all had a great week. Here are just a few photos of our trip.

Congratulations!!

2007-07-03T11:40:00.000+09:30

We would like to say Congratulations to our best friends Megan and Andrew on the birth of their son Joel Callan yesterday. He weighed in at 6 pounds something and both Mummy and baby are doing well.

Megs should be leaving hospital tomorrow.

Amaya has her first boyfriend!!

When we get a photo we will post it.

Amaya today

2007-07-03T11:08:00.000+09:30

Well Amaya was sick, but now Mummy is. I have Amaya's cold and while she is chirpy and getting back into her food, I feel yucky.

As you can see her appetite is definitely back as she loves bread and banana!

Mark is also away this week so putting these photos on he can see his beautiful baby.

My Nan and Pop

2007-07-03T11:04:00.000+09:30

Amaya loves her Nan and Pop. Here are some photos of when she was with Pop in June and here is a photo of our "Little Pooh" with Nanna.

She's sick!

2007-06-29T20:04:00.000+09:30

Our little May May is sick and not very happy. Its very sad but she's not smiling and isn't herself. Poor little one. She isn't eating all that much either. (She'll have to use all that fat that she has stored up around her tummy!)

We are very tired and I feel like I'm getting sick. YAY!

We are going to Queensland next week so i hope that she doesn't get an ear infection or anything like that!!

Speak soon

More photos

2007-06-24T21:05:00.000+09:30

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Our baby girl is soo cute that we just thought that we should put more photos on. This hat is what Nanna Hobbs brought for her. We first thought that she looked like a cat, but she looks like a cuddly koala! The first time I saw her wearing this hat was when she was standing in our bedroom banging on the window as i got home from work. She is very funny. She was smiling from ear to ear (with 2 teeth in the middle).

Amaya update

2007-06-24T20:41:00.000+09:30

Here is Amaya now. She is nine months old on the 2nd of July!!
The last two photos are of Amaya in her kindacot that Pete and Di bought for her. She loves it and its taken nine months to grow into it as she was just too small when she was a tiny baby.

She is just so adorable. I know that I say that all the time, but she gets cuter everyday! We love dressing her up in cute clothes too!

Like Mother Like Daughter

2007-06-11T21:58:00.000+09:30

Well, we went exploring and found some photos of Catherine when she was approximately the same age as Amaya and it's official, Amaya is just like her Mum... What do you think?

Adam and Chrissy's Wedding

2007-06-09T12:52:00.000+09:30

Well today was the day that Adam and especially Chrissy has been waiting for.... their wedding day. Here are just a few photos from this morning's ceremony.

Brushing my teeth

2007-05-28T09:42:00.000+09:30

Amaya began brushing her two teeth today. It was amazing knowing that as soon as i gave her her toothbrush, she knew exactly what to do! Amaya is a very perceptive child, and watches everything!
We love her so much.

Amaya's Laugh

2007-05-27T20:16:00.000+09:30

Our pumpkin patch baby

2007-05-27T19:56:00.000+09:30

Today we discovered that our little one would make a great Pumpkin Patch model!! We don't know where her good looks come from, but we think that she is adorable.
stay tuned for more cuteness!

The other photo is of the May May we get to see every morning!

Amaya and the chicks

2007-05-25T20:57:00.000+09:30

Chicken Day

2007-05-25T12:07:00.000+09:30

Auntie Suze has had chickens incubating in her room for the last 2 weeks. On Monday Suze became a Mummy (Yay, although 2 had to go and see Jesus coz its insides were hanging out!!) But yesterday Amaya got to see chickens for the first time. She loved them, however gentle was not a word that she knows yet and although the pictures looked cute, she gave them a good whack! (Not on purpose, but it was quite funny!)

Have a look at these pictures and when I can work out how to add a video, get ready for a laff!

Mr Grant the teacher!

2007-05-25T12:05:00.000+09:30

Today I was teaching Mark how to read a big book. He was being the very clever 5 year old student. What do you think?

My first potty

2007-05-20T22:33:00.000+09:30

Today I sat on my first potty. I had heaps of fun. After 20 minutes I did a wee!!

I got to play with my door toy too!! I love it.

Mother's Day 2007

2007-05-13T17:41:00.000+09:30

Today was my first Mother's Day and it was great. We had lots of fun and even had coffee with our new English neighbours.

We just want to remember those Mothers who are not with us today. In particular we remember our beautiful friend Chris Rust who showed me how to be the best Mum because she was an awesome one. We love you Chris and will miss you lots.

Have an awesome rest of the day!!

Photo of the week

2007-05-12T08:58:00.000+09:30

This gets our photo of the week award. We know that we are biased but she is just so darn cute!! The second tooth is definitely come through and they grab hold of things very nicely when they find there way into her mouth.

We learnt to mosh this week... Amaya loves to jump and thinks it's the best thing in the world (next to screaming possibly when she thinks she's being ignored - we're thinking about getting ear plugs... just joking!)

We also got a new ball this week, again this is especially good to eat apparently.

Tomorrow is Mother's Day - Amaya's first real one as last time she was still inside Mummy. She's looking forward to giving Mum a big slobbery kiss with her breakfast in bed

Kicking back

2007-05-06T22:43:00.000+09:30

Amaya is becoming more beautiful every day and we love her just sooo much.

We had special Mummy/Daughter time on Friday night and we had lots of fun!

Here is Amaya having special time with Dad.... however they both look like bogons because its early morning.

Our little may may

2007-05-06T22:15:00.000+09:30

Yesterday Amaya and her little friend Liam played on his new Hills swing set. (An aussie icon!)

They both loved it!

Well, what a week!

2007-04-30T22:22:00.000+09:30

Well, this week has seen the emergence of Amaya's second tooth. The first one came through beautifully without any hassle, yet this next one- not good. Someone has decided to wake up Mum and Dad on hourly calls to let us know that she still exists...... but we still love her.

She hasn't been herself and has been a bit off colour (not giggling as much!). However, we did get a chance to see her smile when this week she found excitement with a piece of material..... small things!!

She is absolutely adorable, even when she is screaming with sore teeth, of which we quickly puton the trusty Woman's and Children's hospital teething gel! (Lifesaver!) And a bit of Panadol!

She is great and soon we will put some photos of us too. But we just seem to be taking pictures of Amaya because she is so cute.

Anzac Day

2007-04-25T15:02:00.000+09:30

Well, today we hit yet another milestone. Not only has Amaya cut her second tooth, she was able to wear an outfit that she received on the day of her birth from Auntie Suze! It has taken 6.5 months, but the jeans are still a little too long. We thought though, that we would dress her in these clothes before it gets too cold to wear them.

Countdown to Mark's Birthday

2007-04-19T21:51:00.000+09:30

Full screen Countdown - Adelaide - South Australia - Australia

Click on this link for a countdown to Mark's Birthday - how very very exciting!!!!!!!!!!!

Hat Parade

2007-04-19T21:22:00.000+09:30

Today we decided to clear out some of Amaya's old clothes (she's only 6 months old!) that don't fit her any more. It's kind of funny to think that some of these hats were way to big for her when she was smaller (look at the two hats at the start- same hat, same child, different sized head!). We were looking at some photos the other day that were taken at the end of last year, she seriously looks different. It's amazing that it seems like yesterday we were doing everything for her, and now she sits up and is doing her own thing! Wow!!!

Anyway, it's two weeks until Mark's birthday on 2nd May & this year he turns 29...only 12 months until 30 - not sure if that's officially being old yet?

For those who have been following Cath's hand situation, she went to the chiropractor this week who thinks she has tendonitis and so he did some massage work on her hand and then strapped it up. So we will keep strapping it and hopefully it will feel better soon.

Cheers

Our little girl is growing up!

2007-04-13T21:59:00.000+09:30

Today was an amazing day in the Grant household...... Amaya began to sit up unassisted!

At first i put cushions around her bottom, but then I gradually moved them away from her and had them as buffers, just in case. Then she did it.... she sat up all on her own. She is so proud of herself, she has been very smiley all day! She even went back a little bit, at one stage, and put her hand out to stop herself!!! Yay. Her gross motor skills are beginning to show!

kEEP YA POSTED!

Our play date

2007-04-10T21:11:00.000+09:30

Easter Monday we travelled down to Victor Harbor to spend the day at Dave & Emma's house with Bec & Christian, and Nath & Liv and all the kids. It was a great day relaxing by the beach which was awesome!! We hope everyone had a great Easter.

The Easter Bunny!!

2007-04-08T17:28:00.000+09:30

Today Amaya had her first Easter. No chocolate in sight, just banana yoghurt!! Yum.

Nanna Grant came over last night and gave Amaya this bunny. She loves it!

We had a great Easter just hanging at home and relaxing. Amaya has sore gums and being at home is better for all of us.

However tomorrow we are heading to Victor Harbor to hang with our friends Emma and Dave, Nath and Liv and Bec and Christian. It will be great to just hang and relax.

Then its only two days of work and HOLIDAYS!! We are going to have a hectic two weeks I think because we are catching up with lots of people that we normally can't catch up with.

Anyway, have a lovely day.

Playtime

2007-04-08T17:21:00.000+09:30

Amaya is starting to sit up on her own. She is very clever.

She also was able to put the larger rings onto the base of this fisher price toy (purely fluke I think!)

I love my Dad!

2007-03-30T20:36:00.000+09:30

Amaya's new top it's very cute!!

And I have just found this photo that was taken just after her dedication in her favourite toy.

I love my Auntie Suze!

2007-03-30T18:22:00.000+09:30

Amaya loves her Auntie Suze that much, she showed her today......

She got her good!!!!

I love you Auntie Suze, Love Amaya

Amaya's new dressing gown

2007-03-28T20:17:00.000+09:30

We would just like to show you how grown up our little girl is. She has a dressing gown! Size 0, but something that she can grow into.

Lazy Sunday Morning

2007-03-25T08:58:00.000+09:30

Well, we were supposed to get an extra hours sleep, however Amaya didn't think so. At 6.30am she was wide awake and wanted food. So after we gave her some food, I decided that Amaya should go back to bed so that we could get the extra hour. Well, not in her bed as she decided, she wanted to sleep in Mummy's bed. So we did.

Then we got up and had some rice cereal with mashed pear and banana. Yum!