Summertime

Summertime. 

Growing up by the beach, these are the types of childhood memories I have of summertime in Australia: splashing on the shore line, chasing the waves back and forth, giggling in the surf. 

And although I loved my childhood growing up in a small coastal town, I could never move back. I thrive in the city. I need the hustle and bustle. I need to stay busy. But every now and then it is refreshing to go back, to see the roads and the coastline and beaches that I have memorized. 

Last Friday we took an unplanned trip to day trip Byron Bay, and spent the afternoon playing in the sea as the sun went down. 

A little timid at first, Eva clutched my hand as she tiptoed her way to the water’s edge. And although she never let go, I had never heard such loud screams and giggles from her as she played chasey with each new set of waves. 

I guess it’s only through seeing the joy and happiness of such a simple thing that it makes you realise how beautiful life can be. I just wish we took the time more often to stop and breathe it all in. 

15 January 33 Permalink

A Day at the Beach

The school holidays have ended, I’m back at work and we’re all trying to adjust into our old routine. For the first time in a long time we stayed home these holidays. Both our plans to go to Sydney and Byron Bay fell through at the last minute, which meant that I was back in my old routine of stay-at-home mum — playdates, day trips to the city etc. 

However, on the last day of the holidays, on an unseasonably hot Spring day, we made a spur of the moment decision to go to the beach. Packing up the car, we drove an hour north to the Sunshine Coast and spent the day at the beach. We ate a picnic lunch in the shade, collected seashells, walked along the sand, built sandcastles, and of course, there was lots of splashing. 

Maybe because I group up in a beach town, I have always taken wonderful beaches for granted. But Eva is already such a city girl. So with many picture perfect beaches within just an hour’s drive, we are going to have to make more of an effort to visit them this summer.

11 October 21 Permalink

Sunday Festivities

Sunday was busy. Eva’s grandma arrived from the States early that morning and we spent the rest of the day split between a local street festival and a 1-year-old’s birthday party! 

The street festival was fantastic —we should have just skipped the Ekka. There was a petting zoo, crafts, great rides, better food, and a fantastic neighbourly atmosphere. Eva rode the big, yellow slide with Johnny twice — excitedly yelling “again!” at the end of each turn. And despite what the pictures might portray, Eva was rather wary of the baby animals and seemed more interested in playing with the gate! We spent several hours just wandering around and enjoying the gorgeous weather.

Home for an hour, and then we were off to my cousin’s daughter’s first birthday. And as I checked the photo below, I realised that for Eva’s piñata at her birthday party, she was wearing the same dress —only then it was at least several centimetres longer!

This time however things did not go so well with the piñata. The savage beating given to this one upset Eva. She broke down into inconsolable tears, and it took us several minutes before we realised she was sobbing “donkey bad” over and over. Eva attempted to save the donkey from the other kids and Johnny had to hide the remains after they had ripped it apart. It was heartbreaking and gave me a new empathy for piñatas.

31 August 26 Permalink

Things to do: Melbourne

I’m the first to admit that I absolutely love Melbourne. Somehow I manage to look past its unpredictable weather, horrible traffic and the general grumpiness that most Melburnians seem to have (I’ll give them a pass and blame the weather!). 

The lush, public gardens; the blue stone filled streets; lane way cafes and boutiques; never a bad cup of coffee; the juxtaposition of modern and old. Melbourne has so much character. I grew up spending many of my school holidays in Melbourne exploring the city. And now I can’t wait to show Eva all of its nooks and crannies.

The following list is by no means exhaustive; there is so much to do there.

• Brighton Beach Boxes — My Grandpa has been living in the same house, just a short distance from the Brighton Beach Boxes, since the War. Back then, Grandpa’s neighbourhood was a satellite city and the beach boxes were just a group of sheds. Now the whole area is practically an inner suburb, and a beach box probably costs almost as much as our house! Every time we go to Melbourne, we take Eva down to Brighton Beach and take her picture in front of the kangaroo beach box. But this year, she insisted on exploring every beach box, and having her picture taken with the wave.

• The Kids Corner at the NGV — I only recently discovered this place and its perfect for the tired toddler who’s been dragged from shop to shop. Located in Federation Square its perfectly positioned. They can run around freely (at last!), exploring tunnels and engaging with a wide variety of hands-on and engaging activities.

• St Kilda — With Luna Park located on the shorefront, it brings back so many childhood memories and although it pales in comparison to modern theme parks, it’s the nostalgia that I love about it. Having said that, it’s really the cafes on Acland St that bring me to St Kilda. Melbourne has so many fantastic cafes, but these are just a few of my favourites: 95 Espresso Bar on Acland st St Kilda, Koko Black on Bourke St in the city and Tuccibrown on Bay St Brighton.

• Federation Square and Flinders Street Station — For me this cross-section is the pinnacle of Melbourne. A mix of the old and the new. I have to admit that I quietly love the juxtaposition of the new modern sleek infrastructure of the National Gallery of Victoria and Federation Square against the opposing corners of the historical Flinders Street Station and St Paul’s Cathedral. I say quietly because my father thinks it is the ultimate eyesore and I want to avoid hearing the the rant, again!

• Take a tram around the city — Again this is completely touristy, but I love it. If you get a chance jump on the free city circuit, which is bound to be one of the old Heritage listed W class trams. The wooden benches and interiors, the rackety noise they make as they move along the line — perfectly nostalgic. 

• Bookstores — Although bookstores aren’t really a reflection of Melbourne itself, I love a good bookshop — places where you feel you could just forever browse their collection. My favourite stores include: Readings, The Paperback Bookshop, and Hill of Content Bookshop. And if you’re organised enough, check out their websites as they each have weekly story times and kids activities. 

31 July 10 Permalink

Winter’s Garden

With Eva’s beloved “Hop” along for the ride, we spend the morning soaking up the Winter sun while exploring the vegetable gardens set up for the Delectable Food Festival. Not knowing what to expect, I was hoping they would have some activities set up for kids and a little taste testing, but we didn’t have the timing right. I guess I should have done a little more research…

Despite that, we made our own fun. We explored the various crops of food and Eva surprised us both with being able to recognise and name a few (wheat and corn!). However, we spent most of our time talking — shouting and giggling — back-and-forth through long, metal cylinders. And even though we didn’t stay too long, this festival is just another reason why I love living in Brisbane. The weather and the constant flow of activity — what’s not to love? 

All we need to do now is to convince the rest of our family to move here too! Although, I do rather like the excuse of traveling to America and Melbourne as often as possible. 

31 July 10 Permalink

What Eva Wore {to the Powerhouse}

What Eva Wore: Knitted Poncho and Leggings: Country Road, Shirt: Ralph Lauren (gifted), Boots: Minnetonka, and favourite stuffed animal: Jellycat Bashful Bunny Rabbit 

On Wednesday Eva and I took advantage of the last of the school holiday activities at the Powerhouse. With a range of activities, Eva spent most of her time in the colouring corner and rushed the stage like a teenaged school girl at the Little Frog concert — where, of course, she showed off her dance moves. 

Having a two-year-old definitely has it challenges. And taking Eva to places like this highlights some of these challenges.

Recently Eva has become more vocal about her wants and desires. She is egocentric like most toddlers and the concept of “mine” is often at the forefront of her mind. The other day while at the park she tried yelling at a group of kids playing on a field to go away because “it’s E’s” (she refers to herself as “E”) and told her friend that “it’s mine’s”! 

Eva has also hit the developmental stage of wanting to have more control and independence. Recently she has been fighting bed time as she tries every tactic to avoid it! She will say that she’s hungry, that she needs a drink or needs to get a particular stuffed animal or will want a book read again for the third time. Basically, she will try any strategy. One of her most used words is “waiting”—said when she wants us to wait for her—and is a favourite stalling tactic.

But despite the complete pain she can be when we are out, Eva is SO much fun! I understand parents who don’t take their toddlers to organised activities because they are just too difficult to control, but it is so worth the effort. Eva is now at that age that she is engaged, curious and wants to be involved in activities. And even though we all come home utterly exhausted, we are always ready to go out again the next day.

10 July 23 Permalink

GoMA: Toddler Tuesday

I often rave about how great Brisbane is for kids. It’s fantastic. Eva is definitely one lucky little girl to live in a city filled with so many exciting and engaging activities, events and festivals! Not to mention our beautiful (most of the time) weather. And yesterday was no exception.

I’ve taken Eva to GoMA a few times, but yesterday we went to Toddler Tuesday. A free program, it focuses on early art appreciation and incorporates a number of games and activities as well as exploring parts of the art gallery. The only downside is that it’s very popular, which means you can only sign up once in every eight week blocks and it’s often booked out months in advance. 

The focus of yesterday’s session was on shapes — recognising shapes within our everyday life as well as in art. The teacher took the small group of toddlers through a section of the gallery as they explored and identified shapes within Indigenous paintings, followed by a large, mirrored mosaic art piece. It was beyond adorable to see a bunch of toddlers all carry around their own brown cushion to sit on as they “appreciated” each artwork. After this, we went back to the seminar room where each child created their own mosaic made up of colourful shapes. 

And although there were some conversations and activities that were a little beyond her (the class is aimed at 18 months - 4 years), today Eva excitedly told me about shapes and listed all the ones she could remember and then later this evening she began pointing out shapes and patterns on her pyjamas! 

Once the session finished we explored a little more of the gallery. Eva was completely enamoured by a conjoined-twin deer like structure at which she gleefully yelled “deers” from the other side of the room before having to be reminded to stay off the display by a gallery staff member as Eva pointed at the deers “ants” (antlers)! And as if Eva hadn’t done enough art and crafts, we went to the Fly Away Home exhibition where she created a bird and nest before making a paper flower as part of a school holiday activity at the State Library. 

We had such a fantastic time that I’ve already signed Eva up for another session in September! 

4 July 20 Permalink

Afternoons

Recently these bike rides along the water front have become a ritual for us. As the Winter brings shorter days, we often race outside to take in those last moments of daylight. 

Johnny races home from work, we throw Eva’s balance bike into the back of the car, and then all rush out to the riverside to watch the sun set. Eva rides her bike up and down the river, coasting down the slopes, and gleefully pointing out every other bike riders helmet with a cry of “hat! hat! same!”

I can’t begin to explain how much I love afternoons like this.

On those days that both Johnny and I have been at work, spending the afternoon like this allows us to stop and enjoy the time that we have together. It gives Johnny and I a chance to catch up — although most of our conversations always end up being about Eva and the amazing and cheeky things she has been doing.

So rather than getting caught in a routine of running errands, cleaning the house, or making dinner after work — I’ve realise how important it is to make the time to spend as a family.

4 July 24 Permalink

Out of the Box

Saturday morning we took Eva to the Out of the Box Festival in South Bank where we quickly found ourselves trapped in a sticky maze, exploring a city of boxes and surrounded by street performers. I kept saying to Johnny how amazing it is for Eva to grow up in a city with so many interesting, engaging and kid-centred festivals and events. It seems like almost every month there is always something new to explore — whether it be a new exhibit at the museum or toddler art appreciation classes at GoMA (which we’re going to next month). And what is so great about these activities is that most of them are FREE! 

And while work commitments meant that we couldn’t spend the whole day at South Bank, the two-and-a-half hours that we did spend there went by quickly as we bounced from one activity to another. Story time in the Tall Tent of Tall Tales was a particular favourite for Eva, along with the never ending craft and art activities. Mine, however, was the Sticky Maze made out hundreds of meters of sticky tape and newspaper. Eva was a little more apprehensive about it as we ushered her through the maze.

By the time we left, Eva was exhausted and covered in chalk. Eva coloured up a storm in the toddler tent, where she tried to pass off a more expertly drawn piece as her own (we have ourselves a little art forger!). We had danced and coloured and listened to tall tales. We saw crazy cat people on stilts and a red-riding hood dance troupe. And once we got home and Eva took a long nap. 

18 June 23 Permalink