The Souvlaki Kid

It appears the youngest member of the family has developed a penchant for the popular Greek wrap.

Having caught sight (and probably scent) of what we were eating for lunch at Sunday's market, Jack circled past our picnic bench for a closer look (and signature 'sniff'). Without so much as a pause or flicker of interest, he continued on his circuit but swooped, mouth agape, on the third lap and tore a piece from the souvlaki, narrowly missing my finger. As he wandered off, all we could hear was an appreciative 'mmm, mmmm' for his lunch on the run.

A Lazy Sunday

There's nothing quite like waking late on a Sunday morning (of course, that's all relative... 7.30am is considered 'late' in our household) and taking the time to smell the proverbial coffee, dip into the weekly papers for an update (forget the in depth features, Jack allows about 20 minutes before paper recycling commences), then wrapping up warmly and heading off to a local outdoor market to sample the visual, craft and gourmet fare on offer. The indulgences necessitated an afternoon stroll where we took turns flying Anna's new kite while Jack studied sea lice and other sand creatures on Carrum beach. Ah for the simple pleasures in life.

A Trip to the City

This past weekend we decided it was high time we headed out of the burbs and into the city (talk about house move/packing avoidance behaviour!).

After a quick pit stop on the banks of the Yarra river (it was a hasty sandwhich, as it's still pretty chilly here), we headed to Federation Square where The Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) is hosting an exhibition celebrating PIXAR's 20 of animation. I thought it would be 'one for the kids', but it turned out to be really interesting with a behind-the-scenes look at how Nemo, Buzz Lightyear and other such characters were conceived of & finally brought to 'life'. Anna & Jack were mesmerised by the multiple visual displays. "Wow, so many TV's Mommy," Anna whispered, shaking her head in disbelief before reverently dropping to her knees in front of the closest plasma screen. Admittedly, only minutes later, it was I who was gawping in uneducated awe at the next installation - the Toy Story Zoetrope. 'Using over 150 modelled characters from Toy Story 2 including Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Jessie, Bullseye and the Aliens, this magical technical achievement employs early cinematic devices to achieve the perception of motion through the illusion of continuous activity. Rapidly rotating a sequence of objects, the zoetrope demonstrates the basic principles of animation before the invention of film' (explanation curteousy of the ACMI website). Fascinating.

Once we'd managed to drag Anna away from the attendants handing out freebies to promote 'Ratatouille' (the next big release) and cousin Dylan from the Wii consoles, it was nearing the 'tea hour' and the heavens looked ready to open. So we made our way back down St Kilda Rd to the National Gallery and headed for the members area in the hopes of finding a corner in which to enjoy a pot of tea and where the kids could stretch their legs. The members area turned out to be 'not one of those places' (more like a quiet 5 star hotel library), so we beat a hasty retreat to the gardens out back where the kids could romp & scoff chocolate cake impolitely. Perfect!

Mess Monsters & Mudcakes

We're sorry that the blog is a bit light on text of late, but the pictures speak for themselves... it's the (current) story of my life. Enough said.

The Party Season Continues

It was cousin Liam's (aka Buzz Lightyear's) turn to blow out the candles on the third of Aug & boy did the kids have a ball with party games, dress up costumes & each other for company!

Viv laid on a feast of treats... Jack, the erratic grazer, didn't leave the food table for 40 minutes after arriving. In fact, he even helped everyone finish off their milkshakes :)

Needless to say, everyone slept very well that night.

Another Year Older & Wider

Bring on the cake!!!!
Viva la crab apple tree bakery. It was heavenly.
Even sweeter were the strains of 'happy birthday to you' sung from the heart of the little ones... or rather, their stomachs - the gene strain is strong!
PS: click on the pic of Jack for a close up of that 'heart felt' singing... well, it's more like humming, but he's got soul